Iai's Top 40 Of 2010
I haven't heard Cee-Lo yet. Judge me as you see fit. |
| 40 | | Vex'd
Cloud Seed
Swaps the ket for weed, smartly distances himself from the thug end of
dubstep, and writes a genre classic in "Heart Space". |
| 39 |  | Northern Portrait
Criminal Art Lovers
The third-best Smiths studio album. |
| 38 |  | In Mourning
Monolith
Millimetres away from becoming one of the best metal bands in the world
today. |
| 37 |  | Aboombong
Asynchronic
Drone with hypnotic African percussion - makes an hour feel like 15 minutes. |
| 36 | | Woven Hand
The Threshingfloor
Like Comus on downers, this is Christian music done right. |
| 35 |  | Noisia
Split the Atom
Ventures outside drum'n'bass in electro house and dubstep, but never
forgets to bring the bangers, hard. |
| 34 | | Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
I Learned the Hard Way
One of the most authentic retro-soul acts working today. If released in the
'70s it'd be a cult classic. |
| 33 |  | Akala
Doublethink
UK hip-hop that genre-hops in a way that's almost psychotic. Feel free to
mark this down as the only time 'grime' and 'post-rock' will ever appear in
the same sentence. |
| 32 |  | Massive Attack
Heligoland
A return to form that's not actually much of a return at all - this is a new
kind of Massive. |
| 31 |  | Jaga Jazzist
One-Armed Bandit
They've gone prog. Amazingly, they're still great. |
| 30 |  | Barren Earth
Curse of the Red River
They understand how and when to show their technical ability to its best
effect as well as any other metal band I've heard. |
| 29 | | Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh
Would be better served without the billing of a sequel, but she's still right
at the forefront of soul in the 21st century. |
| 28 |  | Vampire Weekend
Contra
Not as good as the debut, sure, but still way more accomplished and
involving than a band of this age and genre has any right to be. |
| 27 |  | Sufjan Stevens
The Age of Adz
Definitely not an EP. Definitely the second best thing he's ever done. |
| 26 |  | Dark Time Sunshine
Vessel
Underground hip-hop run through a futuristic blender. |
| 25 | | Bilal
Airtight's Revenge
On the one hand, such a deeply personal album. On the other, what a way
to come out swinging after 9 years of record company bullshit. |
| 24 |  | How to Dress Well
Love Remains
The R&B of Jodeci, New Edition et al. as if it were a sound being
rediscovered in the 2200s on degraded magnetic tapes. |
| 23 |  | The Indelicates
Songs for Swinging Lovers
Indie pop par excellence, with some properly sarky lyrics for grumpy old
bastards like me to enjoy. |
| 22 |  | Demdike Stare
Forest of Evil
Dark, dubby, reducing a chilling atmosphere to the level of a whisper. |
| 21 |  | Chancha Via Circuito
Rio Arriba
Digital cumbia, world-weary and elastically funky all at once. |
| 20 |  | Delorean
Subiza
The golden age of Balearic house wedged into an indie context - almost
defines the phrase 'surprisingly effective'. |
| 19 |  | Alcest
Ecailles de lune
Everything the follow-up to Souvenirs should have been. |
| 18 |  | Black Milk
Album of the Year
Is there another artist more obviously ready to take the step up to 'classic'
with their next album? |
| 17 |  | Anais Mitchell
Hadestown
The legend of Orpheus told as a folk-opera, with a cast including Justin
Vernon and Ani Difranco. Better than it sounds. |
| 16 |  | Daniel Bjarnason
Processions
Composer attempting cello-led classical crossover, with the unusual advantage of
actually sounding like he knows what he's doing. |
| 15 |  | The National
High Violet
Made me completely forget why I couldn't warm to their earlier albums. |
| 14 |  | The Gaslight Anthem
American Slang
Honest, unpretentious, and completely lacking in all the things I hate about
rock music. |
| 13 | | Georgia Anne Muldrow
King's Ballad
Those in the know said she'd leapfrog Erykah one day, and on the strength
of this year's albums, she's done just that. |
| 12 |  | Kvelertak
Kvelertak
Makes you wonder if there's any kind of rock music they wouldn't be great at. |
| 11 |  | Arcade Fire
The Suburbs
It must be hard work for the haters - they're such an easy band to enjoy. |
| 10 |  | Phaeleh
Fallen Light
Probably has a better chance than anybody of emulating Burial's success
and acclaim. |
| 9 |  | Actress
Splazsh
For an album that's so frighteningly complex, it's amazing how good it still
sounds when you're not paying attention. |
| 8 |  | The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt
An unerringly consistent lyricist, with an ever-expanding sonic pallette to
draw from. Makes other singer-songwriters look silly. |
| 7 |  | Big Boi
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Gleefully inventive and it also doesn't suck - so it gets over the bridge
Andre 3000 always struggled with, then. |
| 6 |  | Agalloch
Marrow of the Spirit
Ignore the naysayers, it's their best yet. |
| 5 |  | Her Name Is Calla
The Quiet Lamb
Lovely people that make lovely music. Top 10 post-rock album of all time for
me. |
| 4 |  | Tomba
Disturbed
If the heaviest of heavy dubstep is your religion, this should be your Qur'an. |
| 3 |  | Sufjan Stevens
All Delighted People EP
Definitely not an EP. Definitely the best thing he's ever done. |
| 2 |  | Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
After his last two turds, I can't believe he's come back with something so
brilliant. |
| 1 |  | Janelle Monae
The Archandroid (Suites II and III of IV)
Outrageously ambitious, and frighteningly successful with it. |
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