1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I have to confess. I think I'm afraid I might like this album. Maybe that's why I've avoided it since it came out. Nevertheless, I figured I now have to try it. Now that I'm finally listening to it, I though my fears were confirmed -- the beats are pretty choice, the flow isn't bad -- but fortunately (unfortunately?) Kanye West tries to actually sing, including sections with misplaced auto-tune. On Power, Kanye tries to be edgy by sampling 21st Century Schizoid Man. The album definitely has its moments, but I'm just turned off by the atrocious singing, the 'edgy' lyrical content and would-be gangsta sections you often hear in Pop Rap. However, in the end, it isn't a total failure, and I can sort of understand why people like this album. But no, I don't think I'd be able to endure this entire album in one sitting.
{I published this as my review}
2. The National - High Violet
This is one of those albums you've heard, but you can't remember much of it. To me it sounded like a generic Indie Rock band. Music to play on the radio or in the background during a party. It isn't bad, but it feels incredibly unremarkable.
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
I enjoyed previous works from Arcade Fire (Funeral and Neon Bible) a lot, so I was somewhat looking forward to this. In that light, it was a pretty big disappointment. It sounds more like a cash-in than really a new record. Sure, it is listenable, but that's just about it, too. It might be intentional -- portraying the suburbs as bland and uninteresting, but I frankly don't care. Maybe their previous albums were just too good.
4. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Not being a fan of Joanna's style (based on the previous record, Ys), I haven't listened to this beyond a couple samples. Really, though? Three CDs long? A for effort, at least.
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
This is probably one of the last records I discovered through /mu/ (4chan's music board). Being the seat of hipster garbage among many other things, Beach House was hyped there, and there was a promotional free stream I checked out. I was hoping for a great Dream Pop album -- unfortunately I only got thalf of that. I guess if you're into the style, you'll dig this, but beyond that it doesn't have much appeal, in my opinion.
6. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Here's the first record I decided to listen to while looking at the 2010 chart. I wasn't much of a Deerhunter fan, having listened to a couple of songs off Microcastle. However, this record is actually not bad at all, which is the reason you're now reading this blog post. This record starts off kinda slow, with a bunch of tunes you might expect from a Neo-Psychedelia record. What's Neo-Psychedelia exactly, you ask? Don't ask me, I'm just saying this based on other albums I've seen with this genre label, like a bunch of The Flaming Lips albums. Toward the end there's a bunch of more proper rock songs.
7. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
Finally! A really good album in this list! This is probably one of the few Contemporary R&B records I really like. There's a sweet story that provides a nice build-up for the album, but most importantly there's some excellent dance-able tracks scattered across the record. There's plenty of variation, too: two Overtures, dance tracks like Dance or Die, Faster and Tightrope, there's the lyrical content of Cold War, psychedelic ideas with songs like Oh, Maker and Say You'll Go, and there's a fast-paced song, Come Alive. All-in-all, the album is great. Of course there are things to complain about -- the track with of Montreal (Make the Bus) is not to my liking, and I'm not that foond of the closing track. The Overtures are really quietly mixed. But that's details; this album is good, you should listen to it. On that note; recently, the follow-up The Electric Lady, was released (at least, as exclusive? stream at afropunk)!
8. Luis Alberto Spinetta - Spinetta y las bandas eternas
[live]
9. Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel; Monumentum; Momente (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg; ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien/Sylvain Cambreling; Dennis Russell Davies; Friedrich Cerha)
Another release with very few ratings, considering how high it is on the RYM chart. This seems to be a double CD of content by different orchestras, playing music composed by Friedrich Cerha. I'm not familiar with either, but the reviews of others sound very promising.
10. Heaven & Hell - Neon Lights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
[live]
11. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Flying Lotus is an unusual fellow. This used to be shuffled under the Glitch Hop genre, but it seems the community has changed its mind, as it is under the parent genre IDM now. I suppose IDM -- Intelligent Dance Music -- is pretty accurate; Cosmogramma sounds like it takes cues from major artists in that genre, like Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin. My opinion on this style has varied a lot over the years, and I'm fairly sure it will change again in the future. The Boards of Canada brand has never really managed to excite me the way a lot of more experimental music does. Nevertheless, I remember liking Cosmogramma. As I listen to it again, I can see why: there's a lot of unusual beats and samples put together in a nice and atmospheric record. The amount of fuzz (?) seems rather excessive, though.
12. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
Aha! The first metal album in the list! Considering the high ratings that metal releases on RYM tend to get, this is quite surprising. I know Agalloch mainly from their drummer, from whose blog Cosmic Hearse I have learned about a ton of great bands. I've never delved into Agalloch itself that much, however. The enormous amounts of praise this band has gotten made me almost certain I whould just feel disappointed. For this blog post I decided I'd finally give this record a shot -- that is the point, after all. Despite the fact that it is filed under Atmospheric Black Metal, a genre that more often than not bores me to tears. Indeed, this was not a mistake: the album provides a warm, folk-heavy metal record with plenty of atmosphere, but lacking the uneventful repeated riffage that marks a lot of Atmospheric Black Metal. The album is varied and dynamic; both the foreground and the atmosphere change over time, without feeling chaotic. Considering this seems to be written off as Agalloch's worst or second worst album, it might be time to try The Mantle or Ashes Against the Grain.
13. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
Often hailed as one of (progressive) Black Metal's finest, Deathspell Omega was a must-hear band for me back in 2010. Although initially I liked it a lot, I can't say I fondly remember it.Which is surprising, now that I'm listening to it again: this album opens with Emperor-esque grandeur, before veering in and out of more progressive regions of metal. Compared to a lot of 'true' Black Metal, this record is overflowing with melody and complexity, while to Progressive Metal listeners this record will sound much, perhaps too much like Black Metal. It's a pretty adventurous record, but it does in the end meander a bit -- which may be why I didn't have such positive memories.
14. David Bowie - A Reality Tour
[live] This is a live album. I know a lot of people hail Bowie as the best thing since sliced bread, but I can't say I've ever gotten into it, so I haven't listened to this.
15. Various Artists - Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings
Ah yes, this beautiful album cover. I really need to listen to this: a folk record by a bunch of bands, including Ulver and Dornenreich. I don't know most of the names that well, but this looks like a record combining songs of metal bands that have experimented with Dark Folk. If Dornenreich is any measure, it'll be fascinating.
16. Mono - Holy Ground: NYC Live With the Wordless Music Orchestra
[live] For a while, Mono was among my favourite Post-Rock bands, right next to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. That was a long time ago, but maybe I'll give this album a spin some time -- the orchestra could add a fascinating touch.
17. Joe Bonamassa - Live from the Royal Albert Hall
[live]
18. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
I remember the hype surrounding this record. Listening to it now, it may just have been justified: active, energetic and intimate songs that shine in simplicity. Supposedly lyrical content is at the core of records like this -- which is probably why Singer/Songwriter and I tend to agree to disagree. Not so here; the tunes hold their own, and the voice of the singer (Kristian Matsson) is pretty intriguing. I'm pretty sure this album would be almost as good if the guy would just hum all the songs. Apparently this guy gets compared to Bob Dylan all the time. Far be it from me to dismiss that, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe because I only heard Blonde on Blonde, which hardly sounds like a Contemporary Folk album.
19. Transatlantic - Whirld Tour 2010 - Live From Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
[live]
20. iamamiwhoami - In Concert
[live] Well, this is a very unusual release. It's labelled as a live album, but it's actually more of an improvised piece of audiovisual art. I wonder what a proper release of this band (?) sounds like. Regardless, this is a very intriguing release. But there's also actually good music, which could pass for a pretty solid Electropop release. Watch the release here.
