2010 Songs of the Year (Nos. 45-21)

45.  Yeahsayer - Rome

Among the many amazing tracks on Odd Blood, there is something innately appealing about "Rome," and its insistent beat, Looney-Toons on acid music, and sing-song lyrics.  Tellingly, when I have seen them play this song live, it gets the most dancefloor action from the crowd.  The breakdown in the middle is killer.  (See also "O.N.E." and "Madder Red")

44.  LoneLady - Marble

Taking a cue from nervous post-punk bands from the 80s like The Sound and Comsat Angels, LoneLady revels in the energy she winds up.  Echoing drums and chiming guitars mesmerize until the tightly wound core breaks, releasing all the tension.

43.  Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

I am constantly accused of only liking obscure or weird music.  While I tend to like more alternative music, I do like a good pop song.  This song is more addictive than crack, and I am not in the least bit ashamed to admit that it is a great song.

42.  Delphic - Doubt

Yes, they crib from New Order, et al. But if you are going to crib from someone, why not crib from the masters.  Plus, when you come up with an infectious song like this, that is all that matters. (See also "Halcyon" and "Counterpoint")

41.  Gorillaz featuring Little Dragon - Empire Ants

There are almost too many songs on Plastic Beach that are deserving to be on this list, however, "Empire Ants" spoke loudest to me, mainly because it is not the most "Gorillaz" like song; it is a lowkey and almost pastoral ballad with some of Damon Albarn's most affecting vocals which midway switches to a gloriously analog synthed out coda. (See also "Stylo" and "On Melancholy Hill")

40.  M.I.A. - XXXO

From THE most underrated album of the year.  "XXXO" drives home its examination of identity in our Internet obsessed culture with Pro-Tools precision.  (See also "Born Free" and "Caps Lock")

39.  Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

The first Arcade Fire album to make an impression on me, perhaps because I am moving into that age where I am no longer young and not quite old and the world is still a big mystery.  In "The Suburbs" they don't offer any answers, but they let you know you are not alone in your searchings.  (See also "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" and "Rococo")

38.  Belle and Sebastian - I Want The World To Stop

At first I thought Belle and Sebastian had peaked early with their first three albums and hit a mid career doldrum that was painful to witness, and yet, with their last two albums I am beginning to think they saved their best for last.  Write About Love is packed to the gills with hit after hit, and "I Want The World To Stop," is the centerpiece, with crisp musicianship and wonderful middle aged musings on how things were once simpler. (See also "Calculating Bimbo" and "Sunday's Pretty Icons")

37.  The Radio Dept. - Heaven's On Fire

Sweden's The Radio Dept. hit everything right this year.  "Heaven's On Fire," is a relentlessly catchy and wonderful mixture of 60s pop and Baeleric disco.

36.  Mount Kimbie - Carbonated

Gorgeous dubstep and house mixture from British duo Mount Kimbie.  A simple melody is transformed with the addition of a diva vocal cut up and processed into almost another instrument. 

35.  Joker - Tron



Just wait until the :52 second mark and the year's sickest bass line takes over your speakers.

34.  Klaxons - Echoes

Although the album Surfing the Void is wildly inconsistent, there are enough great tracks on it to warrant listening to it, and I will say that the album is a definite grower.  With that said, there is nothing growing about "Echoes," it leaps out of the gate with one of the best melodies of the year. (See also "Twin Flames")

33.  Pantha Du Prince - The Splendour

Minimal techno, based on the title alone, would appear to be a boring mess.  Put in the hands of the right people, such as Pantha Du Prince, it becomes something transcendent.  In "The Splendour," the twinkling, gamalan like synths and soft percussion gently push and prod at the beat until it hypnotically reaches a fever pitch.

32.  Crystal Castles with Robert Smith - Not In Love

On the album, "Not In Love," is done completely by Crystal Castles, but somewhere they had the genius idea that it would sound even better with Robert Smith on vocals.  Wow, is the only thing I can say.  It takes a good track and elevates it to classic status.  Smith's vocals add the right touch of quivering emotion to the tale of a relationship that is over and done with but just won't end.

31.  These New Puritans - Hologram

Merging avant garde symphonic music with post-punk nervous energy seems to be a recipe for utter pretentiousness.  Credit These New Puritans for knowing when to pull back at the right moment.  "Hologram," is a gorgeous interstitial in the midst of the swirling grandeur of Hidden.  Barely two minutes of haunting piano, horns, and vibes. (See also "We Want War" and "Attack Music")

30.  Massive Attack featuring Martina Topley-Bird - Psyche

Massive Attack's Heligoland is severely underrated.  I had a very difficult time even narrowing down the album to one track that I liked the most.  I think I changed my mind about ten times before settling on "Psyche," which features the haunting vocals of Martina Topley-Bird.  Muted percussion and submerged electronics push along with pointillist swirls of acoustic guitar to hypnotise the listener and pull them into the song until its abrupt ending, breaking its spell. (See also "Saturday Come Slow," "Flat of the Blade," and "Paradise Circus")

29.  James Blake - CMYK

Get over it Kurt Peters, this is post-dubstep.  In "CMYK," James Blake takes samples from Kelis and Aaliyiah, cuts them up, elongates them, and pushes them to the point of breaking, but utilises the negative space to create something fresh, new and alive. (See also "Limit to Your Love")

28.  Best Coast - Boyfriend

I surrender to this despicably catchy song.

27.  Baths - Lovely Bloodflow

Bath's voice can be offputting.  It took me a long time to get used to his hiccuping falsetto, but once I got over the newness of his voice, I was hooked.  Thankfully his music was the nice base I needed.  He is from the new school of electronic music championed by Flying Lotus, Teebs, and Nosaj Thing that use a variety of samplers, effects pads and pedals and take their music on the road and twist and turn it into someone beautiful and organic.  "Lovely Bloodflow" moves lanquidly on a bed of stuttering percussion, string synths, and treated pianos, but is rich with energy and a warm heart. (See also "Maximalist")

26.  Sade - Soldier of Love

Sade, you can take all the time you want between albums if you keep coming back with amazing songs like this. (See also "The Moon In The Sky")

25.  Blonde Redhead - Oslo

Penny Sparkle is such a complete departure from their usual sound that I was hesitant to even listen to it at first.  When I did I was initially disappointed but something kept drawing me back to it, to the point where it is one of my top albums of the year.  "Oslo," the centerpiece track on the album, which is a series of tracks about the many permutations of love and its fallouts, is an almost ice cold meditation about a woman hunting for a physical connection but not love, which is contrasted with the music which goes from a chilly synth heavy passage during the verses, to a more organic and dare I say funky sound for the chorus, which seems to show the woman seeks more than what she says. (See also "My Plants Are Dead," "Penny Sparkle," and "Black Guitar")

24.  Forest Swords - If Your Girl

The penultimate track on Dagger Paths, a "re-imagining" of Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew," which breaks it down to literally the bassline and makes into almost a funeral dirge.  That is until the end when the drums and guitars kick in and the song takes off for the stratosphere.  At that point in the song, my breath catches each time.

23.  LCD Soundsystem - All I Want

Borrowing from Berlin era Bowie, and almost cribbing verbatim the riff from "Heroes," James Murphy and Co. twist it into their own DFA sound, singing about wanting it all, knowing it's unattainable, and yet not being able to stop the pursuit. (See also "Dance Yrself Clean," "Drunk Girls," and "You Wanted A Hit")

22.  The Drums - Me And The Moon

The Drums could have come fully formed from 1982, and that is not a slam against them.  "Me And The Moon," is driven by a sad melancholic undertone in the bass synth, which is hard to discern under the John Hughes colored pogo pop of the drums and guitar.  The song seems almost joyous until you pay attention to the lyrics, which convey the sad fact the man's lover is asleep with his/her back to him, leaving him to ponder whether he has a more meaningful relationship with the moon at night. (See also "Let's Go Surfing")

21.  The Twilight Sad - The Wrong Car

I will admit that The Twilight Sad hit a bit of a snag with their last album.  It was a good album, but lacked the brilliance of their debut.  It was like they boxed themselves into a corner and didn't know how to get out of it.  With "The Wrong Car," it sounds like they figured out the best thing to do was go big or go home.  The 7+ minute track slowly builds into a feverish finale complete with swirling orchestral strings.