Vinyl This: best of 2010

2010 has been a year filled with new releases from many of my favourite bands. those releases plus a number of personal new discoveries has made me feel 2010 has been one of the best years in music in a long time. for one thing the indie scene has really begun to expand with artists willing to experiment and breaking the conventional constraints of musical genres. So in celebration of a good year in music here is a list of my top 10 enjoyed albums of 2010.

10. the roots: how i got over

with the roots full time gig on jimmy fallon many wondered if their days of recording intelligent political soulful hip-hop albums were over. and while how i got over is the roots eleventh studio lp is is arguable their best. with a striped down soul sound and collaborations with indie artists such as dirty projectors and joanna newsom this new album is definitely a bit of a different pace for the roots however the roots never seem to loose control of the album.

favourite track: right on

"Right On" by The Roots (feat. Joanna Newsom & STS) from Bigger Than Blogging on Vimeo.

9.delorean: subiza

spanish indie pop group delorean have been working at finding their sound for just shy of a decade and with their third full length lp they finally find it. unashamed with their love of sun soaked upbeat dance pop delorean have stumbled upon a formula that combines euro electro dance music and indie rock creating a sound that is fresh, light, feel good, and freaking enjoyable. it is pure indie pop pleasure.

favourite track: simple graces

8. mia: maya
mia has never been one to shy away from confrontation and after two politically charged albums it is clear that mia is no pop princess or diva. 2010 has definitely had its ups and down for mia with a truffle fries controversy making unnecessary debate over mia's claim as a voice for the "third world" and she did disappoint many who were expecting more globetrotting equator based electronic sounds as the followup to 2007's kala. following the expectations of others however has never been mia's style. with maya mia turns to the micro-world of the internet and the computer. with this shift mia created some of 2010's most challenging and abrasive music that given time grows on you till you can't get it out of your head.
favourite track: tell me why

7. caribou: swim

one of this summer's most catchy debut singles was a track that for me sounded nothing like anything i heard before. caribou's lead single odessa from his latest album swim is what lead me to look up this album and what i found was an album of electronic dans beats that incorporated sounds you rarely hear used in music. caribou has stated that he wanted to make an album that sounded as if it was recorded underwater and it does. everything track is distorted and warped but in a way where the sounds are new and fresh and while the rest of the album is not as immediate as the lead single odessa, given just a little bit of time it become addictive. swim is definitely a new musical experience worth having.

favourite track: kaili

6. mgmt: congratulations

mgmt's multiplatinum selling debut oracular spectacular released in 2008 was deceptive to many fans who fell in love with the singles like time to pretend and kids. to them mgmt were all about creating catchy upbeat electro pop singles however, those fans did not pay attention to the music that made up the majority of the album, pure psychedelic rock. so when this year's release of congratulations came and there were no catchy electro pop singles fans reacted. but what mgmt did deliver is quality album oriented rock music which draws great inspiration from groups and artists such as the beatles, pink floyd, david bowie, and brian eno. so while congratulations is not what many fans expected it is a collection of the best psychedelic rock to be released in a long time. to put it simply congratulations is simply just good challenging music.

favourite track: song for dan treacy