Trotter's Top Ten Albums of 2010

Here we go then - my Top Ten albums of 2010 in their own little blog for the first time, hindered somewhat by my marathon distraction that was the Top Fifty countdown of the Noughties that meant I didn't listen to anywhere near enough new music this year as I should have done.  (New Year's resolution: listen to all of Euan's recommendations!).  So with that little proviso (and with the normal 'I didn't buy or hear enough of these to form an opinion but suspect they're not half bad' namely Two Door Cinema Club, Kings of Leon, Bombay Bicycle Club, Laura Marling) on with the ten....As usual, comments and your own top however-many encouraged in this new bloggy-thing.

Number 10

'Man Alive' by Everything Everything

UK Chart high : Number 17 in September

Kicking things off, an album as mad as a box of frogs.  Channeling XTC if they had been driven mad by constantly having to play their tunes at double the speed, Everything Everything have created a gem of a debut that really is rather unique.  Sometimes that can go too far, and to be honest, after the twelfth track is finished you do feel a tad relieved.  But that's partly because you really can't tell where the music or vocals are going to go next.  Skittering beats, high-speed falsettos and off kilter melodies are the order of the day, but what makes it eminently listenable is the band's keen ear for a good pop hook.  Case in point the frankly brilliant 'MY KZ, UR BF' (My keys, your boyfriend for those over 25) a clear contender for tune of the year and 'Photoshop Handsome' that deliberately sounds like a Sega game put to music.  The lyrics too add to the feeling of disorientation - did they really say 'sitting with the parachutes on, but the airports gone' and 'I'm as giddy as a baby in a centrifuge' - well yes, they did.  I also learned what a Faraday cage is!  Who says bonkers music can't be educshonal.

Look at MY KZ, UR BF ; Schoolin' ; Suffragette Suffragette ; Photoshop Handsome

Number 9

'Acolyte' by Delphic

UK Chart high :  Number 8 in January

Yes, Delphic were saddled with the 'hotly tipped' curse slash blessing at the start of the year but they were swiftly able to dampen expectations by actually releasing their record.  That's not to say it's no good - far from it - just that they immediately quashed any hype about them being the next...(mainly New Order) by demonstrating what they actually DO sound like.  And yes, they do come across like a New Order for the rave generation and 'Acolyte' mixes the best of prime-period New Order and, it has to be said, a little of the worst of bog-standard Electronic.  Thankfully, the latter is only in smidgeon-sized quantities.  With the release of 'Doubt' in January my list of Top Ten's was underway.  'Doubt' is just brilliant; a modern/80's hybrid but in a genuine rather than over-worked fashion with a video full of shimmering, beautiful people and odd special effects - and a keyboard line and guitar that acknowledges rather than rips off their Manchester forefathers.  The instrumental title track is actually one of my favourites - anthemically building and building until it zips away without outstaying its welcome.  Their videos also were excellent, though not doing much to dispel the New Order comparisons.  Have I mentioned New Order enough in this review?  Shall I stop?

Look at Doubt ; This Momentary ; Halcyon ; Counterpoint

Number 8

'Baby Darling Doll Face Honey' by Band of Skulls

UK Chart high : Did Not Chart

Bit of a cheat this one, as it's from 2009, but I'm comforted that it passed most people by, not just me.  The authentic sound of southern, gutsy, grungy rock n' roll... if by 'southern' you mean Southampton.  'I Know What I Am' wore me down from always being on the radio to be honest - and the fact that 'Death By Diamonds and Pearls' was put to great effect advertising Britain's Next Top Model on Living TV.  No really, look here! and see Elle MacPherson give new meaning to the words 'wooden clothes horse'.  Sometimes you don't need music to be over-intellectual, ironic or complex, you just want to jump up and down and punch the air.  As well as the rockier singles, the album showed a just-as-effective tender side too (helped along by the male/female sharing of vocal duties - especially on 'Honest' and 'Impossible').  Lovely album artwork, awful album title and a lyrical callback to the 'Magpie' theme tune on 'Patterns'.

Look at Death By Diamonds and Pearls ; I Know What I Am ; Fires

Number 7

 'Contra' by Vampire Weekend

UK Chart high : Number 3 in January

The first album purchase of year for me is always a treasured affair, those 12 months stretching out before you with the potential to be the best ever year for music (insert eventual disappointment here). It's also a clever ploy for acts to release their album in January too - all that Christmas money sloshing about and not much competition in the charts except for the greatest hits collections from bands who've only released two albums anyway. But I digress. I loved VW's debut (it did rather well in my Top Fifty of the Noughties countdown) and was hopeful and intrigued by where they'd go next. 'Vampire Weekend' was so unique sounding that it could end up as a Strokes-sized albatross around their New York preppy necks. Well, somehow VW managed to release a follow-up that was both very similar and rather different from their first. There's still that sense of fun and sun present, although they do seem a bit more serious and grown-up here, so some of the exuberance is missing unfortunately as well the surprise of the new we had with 'VW'. I saw them live only a week after this release (on a cold, dark, wet February night) which I always dislike doing as you've not had time to really get to know the tunes. Consequently I was left a little underwhelmed and didn't go back to 'Contra' for a while. The singles saved them though. 'Cousins' had already proved to be a storming first single but 'Giving Up the Gun' (complete with star-studded cameo video) was genius.  Cue going back to the album and loving it.  They also came out with some of the best vids of the year.  Bizarrely the most controversial-yet-innocent-looking album cover of the year too - currently subject of many a lawsuit over image rights.

Look at Cousins ; Giving Up the Gun ; Holiday ; White Sky


Number 6

'Odd Blood' by Yeasayer

UK Chart high : Number 64 in February

Outweirding MGMT and The Klaxons in the same year is certainly a fine achievement - both in music and video.  'Odd Blood' from New Yorkers Yeasayer starts off with 'The Children' sounding like it is literally being hammered into shape by an army of underground orcs whilst singing in falsetto and overseen by David Sylvian - and actually it probably was.  But it's the singles 'Ambling Alp' and 'O.N.E.' that steal the show and deserve their own entry to be perfectly honest.  The former channeling OMD (if that could be in a good way?) wrapping around its key line 'You must stick up for yourself son, nevermind what anybody else done'.  The latter would certainly be a contender for single of the year if not for my self-imposed 'only one entry on both album and singles charts' rule - it's an absolutely sublimely weird slice of pure pop.  Then you have 'Madder Red' with the best use of 'oooh-oooh-ooohs' since 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.  But if these comparisons are....well...offputting the best way to think about 'Odd Blood' is that this album actually sounds like what people in 1980 thought music was going to sound like in 2010 - and gosh, that makes them right after all!  A bit of caution over their videos though open-plan, office-based employee friends!  Not least because Peaches Geldof makes an appearance.

Look at Ambling Alp ; Madder Red ; O.N.E.


Number 5

 'Interpol' by Interpol

UK Chart high : Number 10 in September

'What?!?!?  It's TTT - surely Interpol have to be number one?' you cry!  Well, proving that I don't completely have a blind (deaf?) spot when it comes to this fabulous band that have grabbed the prime spot every time they've released anything, here they are at Five.  Because of their previous highs it's hard to view 'Interpol' as being a success getting halfway up my chart and I can't help thinking that you'll only like this if you already love Interpol.  But let's focus on the positives first.  By any average band's standards it's still a fine effort.  It also contains some cracking moments that I can see will really flesh out their sound live - notably the 'Interpol in catchy chorus shocker!' of 'Barricade' complete with out-in-the-sunshine video and the ironically titled, darkest song they've ever made 'Lights' with it's treble-meaning lyric 'That's why I hold you here' - sexually charged, tender or refering to a captor and prisoner?  Then there's opener 'Success' with the foreboding 'I have two secrets, I've only told you one'...crikey!  'Interpol' is a much more stripped back, sparse, piano-led affair ('Try It on' and 'Summer Well' cases in point) with only a few killer riffs to satisfy the likes of me.  It's often a bad sign when a band releases a self-titled album that isn't their debut - mainly because it's often after they've released a greatest hits the previous Christmas and have ran out of ideas.  Interviews with the band, ominously following the departure of 'iconic' bassist Carlos D, heard them state how this was 'going back to basics' which frustrates me terribly considering their previous release 'Our Love to Admire' was so damn good because they'd done the exact opposite and expanded their sound.  That said, admirable effort - but where to next boys?

Look at Lights ; Barricade ; Summer Well (live)

Number 4

'The Drums' by The Drums

UK Chart high : Number 16 in June

Another one of those pesky 'ones to watch' at the start of the year - The Drums were NME cover stars for the first week of 2010 where we were categorically told they were the perfect indie/pop group.  Beneath all the hyperbole and the confident posturing though, there was a genuinely joyous band eager to get out.  'The Drums' is probably one of the poppiest, sunniest longplayers you'll find this side of Justin Bieber (just don't check round his other side).  You might have been tempted to file under 'just annoying' if that was all they had to offer though.  Instead, there's a depth to the album not immediately evident in the bouncy, pogoing singles - not least because you eventually realise you've been singing along to premature deaths of best friends and talk of life getting harder and harder and it all ending in tears - all set to an uptempo surfer beat obviously!  In this way, and also in Jonathan Pierce's vocal stylings, there's more than a tiny hint of The Smiths, just crossed with a west coast vibe and delivered with Brooklyn attitude.  Looking at things that way you can see what NME might have been talking about.  To stop events getting too lightweight on the album The Drums also try their hand at a more mournful vibe (echoing 'Stand By Me' on 'Down By the Water' and in the beautifully plaintive 'I'll Never Drop My Sword').  Whatever their mood though there's an underlying message to just let go (either in happy abandon or to forget your troubles) exemplified in going home and giving everything away in 'I Need Fun in My Life' after reading that old adage 'the more you own the less freedom you have'.  They don't hang about themselves either, rushing through the twelve tracks here in a little under 45 minutes, possibly conscious that if they hung about for much longer you'd want to slap 'em when you realise they're every bit as good as they say they are.  You swine!

Look at Best Friend ; Lets Go Surfing ; Me and the Moon ; Forever and Ever Amen

Number 3

'High Violet' by The National

UK Chart high : Number 5 in May

Believe it or not, I can sometimes be a little stubborn.  So people telling me that I should like something normally gets me digging my heels in.  Case in point with The National.  Thing is, I'm not even sure I'd actually heard any of their tunes before this year and their...what is it, fifth (?) long player.  Then 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' came along and I realised how foolish I'd been.  Maybe the change of attitude was partly because Matt's baritone now sounds so unique in today's falsetto/whiney heavy music scene and demands you take notice - voice of 2010 definitely.  I can only put it down to an ability to make you think that he's confiding in you, telling you all his 'white collar angst' (as I saw it rather unfairly described as in one review) but not in a drunken pest in the bar sort of way - we've all been there.  Or maybe it's because he sounds like Bryan Ferry and looks like my old A-level Geography teacher?  'High Violet' is spellbinding and could well be this year's entry that I've under-rated most, considering I'm still finding new bits to enjoy even now.  Lyrically it's just plain intriguing 'we’ll play nuns versus priests until somebody wins' on 'Little Faith', 'I was afraid I'd eat your brains because I'm evil...I'm a confident liar, had my head in the oven so you'd know where I'll be' on 'Conversation 16' - dark, sardonic but with a touch of humour.  Standout track to me, besides the singles, is 'England' which I interpret to be the tale of regret of an American about to get married yet pining for a lost love 'who must be somewhere in London'.  You can just feel the hurt in both music and vocals - brilliant.  I wasn't crying, it was dusty in the room.  'Terrible Love' is equally as emotive, complete with an army of pounding drums to...well, drum the point home.  For a band over ten years old, they just might be my new favourites.  And they have a mean brass section!

Look at Bloodbuzz Ohio ; Terrible Love ; England (live)

Number 2

'Total Life Forever' by Foals

UK Chart high : Number 8 in May

Foals already did quite well in the Noughties countdown so it was pretty obvious they stood a good chance of featuring on here with their follow-up as long as they didn't completely drop the ball.  In some ways this is a typical second effort from a young band - a fuller sound, more instrumentation and less exhuberance.  That said, the songs on here are far from typical.  Stand out track is the stunning 'Spanish Sahara' which NME just recently named their track of the year and attempting to describe it really doesn't do it justice.  Suffice to say it starts off quiet and slow and builds to a string and beat-laden climax, full of dark energy, mournful guitars and the refrain 'Forget the horror here, Leave it all down here, It's future rust, It´s future dust'.  It's tempo change at 4:14 is probably my favourite second in music this year too, if you needed to know!  Radiohead comparisons have started to be bandied about (not least because they're a quintet from Oxford) and this is certainly their very own 'Paranoid Android'.  'Black Gold' is another one of my favourites, following a similar pattern but with a rhythm to dance to and full of neat touches and little surprises.  I managed to see them this year (thanks Chris!) and they truly lived up to their hype as an excellent live act, the atmosphere in the crowd absolutely charged, everyone really getting into it and abandoning the 'stand still and take photos with your phone' position that seems so common now.  For that alone they deserve to be Number Two.  It's not all shifting tempos and bleak lyrics though - 'This Orient' is the brightest and catchiest they've been, evoking a Far Eastern love affair through the plucking strings.  Perhaps the Radiohead comparisons are premature, but I do have exactly the same anticipation for wondering what they'll do next.  'Total Life Forever' has enabled them to leave their limiting math-rock tag far behind and opened up massive possibilities.

Look at Spanish Sahara ; This Orient ; 2 Trees ; Miami ; Blue Blood

Number 1

'The Suburbs' by The Arcade Fire

UK Chart high : Number 1 in August

Let's get one thing straight, any end of 2010 chart that doesn't have 'The Suburbs' at its summit has been written by monkeys or people wilfully trying to not do the obvious (Hello NME!).  Quite simply, it's a modern classic, one of the Great American Albums and I can't heap enough praise on it (though I will try).  What's even more stunning is the level of quality maintained over 16 tracks, practically a double album.  Starting off with the title track, reminiscent of a '30's US piano singalong and perfectly reflected in Spike Jonze's video, you're straight in to this feeling of misty nostalgia for a childhood in a place you couldn't wait to escape from and yet now pine for.  Those mixed feelings play throughout the album, this isn't a scathing attack on the suburban way of life - that would be too easy for them.  The differents moods and feelings are also reflected in the variety of music styles on show, all Arcade Fire but with a slightly different twist.  We then launch into 'Ready to Start', a juggernaut of a track that hurtles along, false starts and then careers off again.  Its video was shot at Hackney Empire, a gig I was at which probably ranks as the best ever gig I've been to, just a few rows away from a band in rejuvenated, cracking form.  The side of my head (0:28) and forehead (0:41) are now signing autographs.  They crank up the energy further with 'Empty Room' and 'Month of May' echoing Gary Numan and The Ramones respectively.  'City with No Children' directly addresses the sanitisation of where and how we live in 'a garden left for ruin by a millionaire inside of a private prison' over a fantastic guitar progression.  The following tracks are the first of two pairs (Half Light I and II and later Sprawl I and II - something they're really fond of doing).  In Halflight I, there's a real sense of regret of over-protecting our children, with Regine singing sadly 'our heads are just houses without enough windows, you say you hear human voices, but they're only echoes' and in II the regret is reflected by Win revisiting the place he grew up in and thinking 'now that you have left me here, I will never raise my voice' - as if looking back at the perspective shown in the previous song.  It's 'Suburban War' though that is the album's critical point, where childhood is shattered by emerging adulthood, told from the perspective of music which 'divides us into tribes'.  Never has a haircut been given so much emotional weight - it's practically heartbraking - and when the booming drums kick in halfway through you know the innocence has left the suburbs altogether - it's a really remarkable song.  I've gone on enough, but I have to mention  the other highlight - 'Sprawl II''s joyous Regine-fronted electronic tour-de-force - the firecracker of rebellion felt in every syllable of the line 'they heard me singing and they told me to stop, quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock'.  We should be very, very thankful that they chose not to.

Look at Ready to Start ; The Suburbs ; We Use to Wait ; Sprawl II (live)


Listen to the Top Ten on Spotify - three hours of splendid music - apart from The Arcade Fire - you're just going to have to buy that one!

Ten Reasons to Start Watching The Walking Dead

1. It has Zombies in it!!!

2. Egg from This Life does a convincing American accent

3. It's not trying to be the new 24 or the new Lost

4. It hasn't Vampires in it!!!

5. The silence - scariest sound effect of them all

6. The cinematography - movie-level craftsmanship

7. It's not set in NYC, Los Angeles or Hawaii

8. Most inventive use of Zombie entrails in fiction

9. The first series is only six episodes long for you time-poor folk

10. It's almost as good as the comic series

Top Fifty Albums of the Noughties : The Full Countdown



With Apologies for the Carpet

So, after what seemed like a decade in itself, we've reached the end of the Top Fifty of the Noughties countdown and on reflection those ten years were really rather good weren't they?  And what a dull decade it would have been without these lads and lasses.  Overall half of the chart was made up of debuts too (always a good sign for the future) and also by North Americans beating the Brits - which was a surprise to me.  Radiohead won on quantity with all four of their releases finding a place throughout the Fifty and Interpol claiming two places in the Top Ten.  I reverted to form by preferring indie bands over any other genre and liked 2000 and 2007 most (let us never speak of 2006).  I've also seen 28 out of the 50 acts live, which means I've still got some good gigs to get round to.  Now I just have to get over knowing my favourite album is the same one as Bono and Alan Johnson's (as well as realising it wasn't on Spotify after counting down over four months!)

Here's the list in full - remember to look at previous individual entries for a detailed review, links to videos and Spotify tracks when available.

1 'Funeral' by The Arcade Fire (2005)

2 'and the Glass Handed Kites' by Mew (2005)
3 'Our Love to Admire' by Interpol (2007)
4 'Xx' by The Xx (2009)
5 'Antidotes' by Foals (2008)
6 'Sea Change' by Beck (2002)
7 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead (2007)
8 'Is This It' by The Strokes (2001)
9 'It's Blitz!' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2009)
10 ‘Turn On the Bright Lights’ by Interpol (2003)
11 'Friendly Fires' by Friendly Fires (2008)
12 'Primary Colours' by The Horrors (2009)
13 'Carnavas' by Silversun Pickups (2007)
14 'Kid A' by Radiohead (2000)
15 'Tangled Up' by Girls Aloud (2007)
16 'Neon Bible' by The Arcade Fire (2007)
17 'No More Stories...' by Mew (2009)
18 'Vampire Weekend' by Vampire Weekend (2008)
19 'Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea' by PJ Harvey (2000)
20 ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ by Coldplay (2002)
21 ‘Whatever People Say I Am...’ by Arctic Monkeys (2006)
22 'Antics' by Interpol (2004)
23 'Because of the Times' by Kings of Leon (2007)
24 'The Hour of Bewilderbeast' by Badly Drawn Boy (2000)
25 'Hail to the Thief' by Radiohead (2003)
26 'When Do We Start Fighting...' by Seafood (2001)
27 'Elephant' by The White Stripes (2003)
28 'Only by the Night' by Kings of Leon (2008)
29 'Fever to Tell' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
30 ‘We Have Sound’ by Tom Vek (2005)
31 ‘Amnesiac’ by Radiohead (2001)

32 'Baby 81' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (2007)

33 'Ten New Messages' by The Rakes (2007)

34 'Live It Out' by Metric (2006)

35 'Origin of Symmetry' by Muse (2001)

36 'Get Behind Me Satan' by The White Stripes (2005)

37 'Franz Ferdinand' by Franz Ferdinand (2004)

38 'Ladyhawke' by Ladyhawke (2008)
39 'Santogold' by Santogold (2008)

40 ‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones (2002)
41 ‘Parachutes’ by Coldplay (2000)

42 ‘The Optimist LP’ by Turin Brakes (2001)

43 'Finelines' by My Vitriol (2001)

44 'Auf der Maur' by Melissa Auf der Maur (2004)

45 'Relationship of Command' by At the Drive-In (2000)

46 'Lost Souls' by Doves (2000)

47 'Highly Evolved’ by The Vines (2002)

48 'Toxicity' by System of a Down (2000)
49 'XTRMNTR' by Primal Scream (2000)

50 'Deftones' by Deftones (2003)

Now where did I put those singles...?

It Always Ends With a Funeral

Number 1

'Funeral' by The Arcade Fire

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 1 in 2005

UK Chart high : 33 in 2005

Might as well get this out the way - I hated The Arcade Fire when I first heard them. There, said it. You see, first single 'Power Out' had an uncanny resemblance to Touched by the Hand of God by Trotter faves New Order - at least in a slightly-speeded up sort of way and I was annoyed no-one else had picked this up or the band admitted it themselves - upstarts! I did grudgingly admit that the track was still a corker though - full of energy, driving percussion and blazing guitars. The lyrics also were different from most things at the time (i.e. not about making a cup of tea or disliking your ex) conjuring up a snowbound childhood in a far off city. What really sold them to me though was their performance on 'Later...' which has to be one of the best debuts I've seen on that show. For one, there was a footie team-worth of them, they looked as if they'd been lifted from the '30's (especially the lovely Regine), they were playing with such passion and clearly really enjoying it - evident when band members were singing at the top of their voices despite being nowhere near a mike - and their string section ended up moshing and on the floor! Reports of crash-helmet wearing as a percussion-instrument followed as did the fact that several of the band would swap instruments through gigs as the mood took them. They seemed like a sonic army ready to make you love music as much as they did even if it killed them. As the band themselves admitted, it was a bold move that saw a debut album being named with such finality as 'Funeral'. But this was deliberate as several unfortunate incidents meant band members lost loved ones during the recording. This was shown to no greater effect than on the Regine-fronted 'In the Backseat' with echoes of Bjork and lyrics that perfectly evoked the rite of passage of having to grow up and take the wheel when an elder passes away - simply beautiful and a perfect ending to the album. There really isn't a weak track here and going back and listening again it's an amazingly high level of quality throughout - just when you're thinking the peak comes with 'Wake Up', shortly 'Rebellion (Lies)' begins and you have to rethink. It was a critics' darling too - getting 90 out of 100 on Metacritic based on an average of 33 reviews - which by any standard is fantastic and certifies it as a modern classic - even if it isn't on Spotify!  As well as all the energy there's an honesty here and a complete absence of pomposity and laying it on for effect. The music and lyrics combine to create a cathartic atmosphere, with soaring sing-along choruses that completely electrify live. It's also gratifying to see them getting the recognition they so deserve without compromising on their integrity unlike other Noughties breakthrough artists (naming no names).  There were times during this countdown that I toyed with not putting this at Number One, that the choice was going to be too obvious - but ultimately this countdown hasn't been about surprises (it's made up of previous Top Ten entries after all) it's been about the best.  These Fifty are without a doubt my favourite albums of the decade and 'Funeral' is easily my favourite album of that time.  Fitting one to end on really!

Look at Rebellion (Lies) ; Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) ; Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) ; Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) ; In the Backseat ; Wake Up (live with Bowie) ; Live on Later...
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Top Fifty Albums of the Noughties : 2-10

Well we're nearly there now, just the Big One to go, and just in time before I completely run out of adjectives to describe musical noises in a hyperbolic manner.  The Top Ten then, a nice spread from the decade (only 2006 not accounted for - officially The Bad Year for tunes in the Noughties), a mainly American affair, only one solo artist, a double for Interpol, five debuts and three bands in a row that went from four to three-pieces shortly after the albums at positions 2, 3 and 4 were released bizarrely enough.  So what's Number One?  Well I'm not telling yet, but you can always guess - there are a couple of clues in the summary I've just given to chew over.

10 ‘Turn On the Bright Lights’ by Interpol (2003)
9 'It's Blitz!' by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2009)
8 'Is This It' by The Strokes (2001)
7 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead (2007)
6 'Sea Change' by Beck (2002)
5 'Antidotes' by Foals (2008)
4 'Xx' by The Xx (2009)
3 'Our Love to Admire' by Interpol (2007)
2 'and the Glass Handed Kites' by Mew (2005)

As well as the Spotify playlists with a selection from each album so far (2-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40 and 41-50), there's also a shorter one for those of you like me with short attention spans (Noughties Shorts) here.

Who knew? Mew at Number Two!

Number 2

'and the Glass Handed Kites' by Mew

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 2 in 2005

UK Chart high : 129 in 2005

Everyone loves a bit of obscure, Danish, prog-shoegaze don't they?  Wait, come back..!  Mew had released three other albums before '...Kites' but I'd never heard of them.  It was only because of a few plays of single 'Special' on MTV2 that I even found out they existed (and so will always be my case for the defence of music television).  Firstly, the video was rather odd, beautifully shot in black and white with bonkers-dancing beardy-man and screaming woman...in a castle...at night...amongst the remnants of what looked like a wedding reception...whilst the band sang on looking rather Scandanavian and sweet.  The song itself wasn't much less weird, off-kilter drums, spiky guitars, sweeping keys and angelic, falsetto vocals - in other words as far from The Fratellis as you could possibly imagine.  I took a punt and bought the album and it was on of those happy surprises when you go in with no expectations and are blown away by what you find.  There's only been three albums that have caused me to laugh out loud when I've first played them (not in an 'Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West' fashion but a 'I can't believe what sounds are being made' way) and this was one of them - the other two were 'Technique' and 'Disintegration' by the way.  Frankly, I'd not come across anything like it, songs were almost having to be kept under control by the band, who seemed to be either playing different songs at the same time or (to quote a very wise man) playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.  It also seemed to have a concept behind it (all the songs link into one another) but damned if I knew what that was.  Like a lot of bands who don't have English as their first language the lyrics have a really unique spin, making use of language in ways you're not quite used to hearing (in a good way) so that there's an innocence and a darkness at play all at once.  This is why I forgive them for having a track called 'Saviours of Jazz Ballet' and making me love it.  I'm equally impressed at how well they perform live given the high-pitched vocals and complicated musicianship and the way they create a complete racket and then slowly shape the next track from it - that certainly keeps the crowd guessin' anyhoo!  This being their fourth album it also meant that they had a back catalogue to discover which had a fair few gems amongst them - not least on the record 'Frengers' (not quite friends and not quite strangers) and I've included a link to the closing track 'Comforting Sounds' as a special little treat - building from quiet to full-on crescendo - it really is a fantastic piece of work so give it a listen.  Overall, I don't want to paint a picture that it's a difficult listen and that it's overly-pretentious when in fact it has some of the poppiest hooks you could shake a Kylie at. And the fact that '...Kites' also has J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. on guest vocals should just make you want it even more.  Once again though, shame on Spotify - though at least a couple of singles are lurking about to include in the playlists!

Look at Special ; The Zookeeper's Boy ; Why Are You Looking Grave? ; Comforting Sounds (from 'Frengers')
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

A Lot To Admire

Number 3

'Our Love To Admire' by Interpol

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 1 in 2007

UK Chart high : 2 in 2007

So having already twice waxed lyrical about Interpol (and once in this top ten) you'd think I wouldn't have much more to say about this band.  Luckily I could go on and on about these stylish miserablists from NYC...and often do.  It's Interpol's third album that gets the better of their preceding releases in this countdown and a choice that I have to admit I'm surprised hadn't been reflected in other end of decade polls which seemed to pick their debut over the others.  While the debut is fantastic, it's this collection of songs that really marks Interpol out as one of the best bands of the century in my eyes.  Here they took their signature sound and played with it, expanding their reach, adding more drama and energy and coming up with even more arch, depraved lyrics than they'd ever done before.  '...Admire' seemed to purposely reflect the stadium-filling sound they were aiming for (and beginning to get a taste of when supporting Coldplay and other unlikely headliners throughout the world) with a confident swagger that was unapologetic in its ambition.  For once, chart positions also reflected quality and critical reception too - getting to the lofty heights of Number Two over here and Top Ten in the Billboard countdown.  Not that positions on a chart actually mean much, but it's nice sometimes for good bands to get the recognition and adortion they deserve once in a while.  So what is this record made of then?  For starters we have 'Pioneer to the Falls' which takes its cue from its title and comes over all cinematic and epic, chiming guitars evoking widescreen desert landscapes and untapped opportunity.  Next, simply the best thing this band have ever done 'No I in Threesome', which far from being a self-parody of a menage-a-trois (which given their debauched rep they could have easily done) is actually the exact opposite, a tender, piano-led song full of regret over losing what made a relationship special in the first place opening with 'there are days in this life/when you see the teethmarks of time/two lovers divine' (with an amazing, intricate video to match which ties back to the cover art in a really clever way).  The pace actually picks up in the mid-section with the insistent 'Heinrich Maneuver' (and another spellbinding captivating - and incredibly dark - video) and the pounding 'Mammoth' and then gives way to the ultimate comedown track 'Rest My Chemistry' where Paul Bank's lyrics really come into their own and conjure up the scene perfectly 'haven't slept for two days/I've bathed in nothing but sweat/and I've made hallways scenes for things to regret'.  Closing the album 'Wrecking Ball' and 'The Lighthouse' again evoke worlds of their own, full of brooding atmospherics but with a warmth that sets them apart from previous work.  Everything works so well here, not just the quality of the songs themselves, but how they sit alongside each other; making the album an easy listen - even if as far from easy listening as you can get.

Look at No I in Threesome ; Heinrich Maneuver ; Rest My Chemistry ; Mammoth
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Four Xx-rated

Number 4

'Xx' by The Xx

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 2 in 2009

UK Chart high : 3 in 2009

Sometimes less is more and sometimes even less is even more.  Sneaking in at the end of the decade The Xx's debut had plenty of people talking in 2009 and then even more people talking this year.  Such media saturation as this record has been getting over the last 18 months pretty much polarises people, giving people plenty of time to discover and 'get it' and also plenty to get sick to death of it.  Thankfully, I'd plop meself in the former category and while it's possible the number four ranking might partially be down to its (relatively) recent release its also fair to say I'm still playing it as much now as when I ranked it at two for the year that was 2009.  So for those of you who've been down a Chilean mineshaft for the past 18 months, what's all the fuss about?  'Xx' is definitely its own thing, perhaps wearing influences on its sleeve (Mazzy Star, Massive Attack, Portishead) but creating something very different and surprisingly unique in these 'everything's been done before and then covered by Westlife' times.  Minimalism is the name of the game here - moody basslines, electronic codas, whispered, breathy, empassioned vocals (both male and female) and blissful guitars all combine to create a late-night, chilled atmosphere that is both dark and seductive at the same time.  Not enough praise is given to both Romy and Oliver's vocals though, Romy like the moodier sis of Tracey Thorn and Oliver as the well-behaved little bro of Jamie T.  The alternating of vocal duties also has the benefit of keeping the record from getting too samey given its parse production as is seen to best effect on 'Crystalised' where both combine to sing diferent verses on top of one another.  There're also some very brave choices here, not least the frst track on the album being an instrumental which sounds like the lost soundtrack to some cold-war era spy film - all glacial percussion and building tension.  In fact that's one of the greatest strengths of the album - that it allows you to wander and imagine settings for the sounds you're hearing, not bombarding you with everything all at once in an effort to keep you entertained and engaged.  The music also lends itself to some great visuals, the best of which is on display in their hypnotic video for 'Islands' and on the swiftly-iconic album cover.  Inevitably questions are starting to be asked about whether The Xx can follow this perfect debut up, whether we'll just get more of the same and that the well's now bone dry.  For me, I think there's enough talent on display here and potential scope for further explorations (if not new directions) not to worry an awful lot about their future.  The ease of which they adapted this rather intimate sound to stadia and festivals seems to support that too.  In brief then, if you're looking for the ideal late-night debut album then, look no further...you did lock that door though didn't you?

Look at Islands ; Crystalised ; Basic Space ; VCR ; Night Time (live on Later...)
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Foals + Math Rock = 5

Number 5

'Antidotes' by Foals

Trotter’s Top Ten position : 2 in 2008

UK Chart high : 3 in 2008

Let's have another band from Oxford then, eh?  Foals were hotly tipped at the start of 2008 after a couple of media-teasing singles and an image that tied them in to the dog-end of '80's revivalism.  They were 'math-rock' and I didn't know what that was.  As it turns out math-rock is sharp, angular guitar and drum sounds forming often repetitive but atypical rhythms.  So there.  All of which would probably make anyone want to drown them on sight.  Get past all the fancy talk and bonkers imagery though and you're rewarded with a fine album that takes a while to 'get' but once 'got' keeps on giving.  I've talked before about the 'last gang in town' mentality of the best bands on the planet - like the Strokes, Horrors and Arctic Monkeys - and Foals share this in spades.  Just take a look at their live performance below for evidence of that; the band facing inwards totally focussed on their own sound and yet taking the audience with them every step of the way.  I've never wanted to pick up a guitar, hold it high on my chest and face stage right more in my life.  Bravely, they decided to jetison some of the very songs that had made them a hot ticket in the first place and excluded them from their debut album.  At the time I thought that was ill-advised but listening again to them now, realise it wasn't just a brave decision but a correct one.  Where they started out was very different to where they were clearly headed on release of 'Antidotes' and it made the record all the more cohesive as a result.  So while most of the tunes on display here follow a jittery, beat-driven, barbed template there is plenty of light and shade to add texture and depth too - the sort of music that builds and builds and suddenly you're left wondering how they took you from there to here without noticing the joins.  There's also a sense of blissful escapism created by Yannis' lyrics and vocal delivery (and occassional yelping) that adds to the other-worldiness.  So yes, they may find themselves in rooms with bits of meat dangling from the ceiling by pieces of string, but it's fun getting there.  Above all though, 'Antidotes' ticks all the boxes that a great debut should - bags of fresh ideas, original sounds, energy and impetus, hope and the promise of greater things to come...oh and songs about balloons fueled by love.  If any track off the album made me sit up and think there was far more from this band to come than what we've seen so far it was their final single 'Olympic Airways'.  By no means a traditional pop single but full of chiming guitars and lush layers of various licks and bleeps that build to a headonistic funky crescendo which is mirrored in the lyrics encouraging us to move away and 'find a place, an aviary for today'.  I smile every time I watch the video, though I do feel sorry for the sealife.  I've not seen them live yet, and by all accounts that's when they are at their best, but I'm soon to remedy that believe me.  Once again though Spotify scores an own goal by not having this album listed, tsk.

Look at Olympic Airways ; Balloons ; Red Socks Pugie (Live on Later...) ; Cassius
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version

Every Loser Wins

Number 6

'Sea Change' by Beck

Trotter’s Top Ten position : Top Ten in 2002

UK Chart high : 20 in 2002

Beck seems to have been around forever doesn't he?  You know, spouting gibberish over skittering beats, samples and guitars while throwing post-modern ironic shapes in multi-coloured video pastiches channelling Prince.  With his 1998 release 'Mutations' he stepped off that particular quality rollercoaster and got a tad acoustic and serious only to then get back to doing what he felt the record company and the world at large wanted him to be.  But then, with 'Sea Change' he had a rethink - reuniting with 'Mutations' and Radiohead producer-at-large Nigel Godrich and producing his best ever work.  So what makes this record better than his others - including 'Odelay'?  For me, Beck was always surprising, inventive, often catchy, sometimes baffling and very, very clever - but ultimately more admired than loved.  That all changed with the aptly named 'Sea Change' though.  Beck practically pours his heart out here following the break up of a long term relationship and holds back on all the quirkiness, stripping the sounds down to country-rock and lush strings and bearing his soul rather than talking about beefcake pantihose.  It's essentially the record as therapy, working through his various emotions one by one - be they hopeful and optimistic (album opener 'The Golden Age' beginning with the line 'Put your hand on the wheel, let the golden age begin' and looking to the open road) or convincing himself he's okay on 'Guess I'm Doing Fine', down to the discordant 'Sunday Sun', the grudging acceptance of 'Lost Cause' and the brutal, heartbreaking 'Lonesome Tears' probably the best thing Mr Hansen has ever done and a track that has made me cry (sob!).  Another aspect that sets this album apart, especially for Beck, is its absolute consistency - a word he would have hated any of his previous work to be accused of.  That's not to say that all songs sound the same, but they fit so well together that if you heard any of them separately you could easily identify them from this release.  He also has his dad to thank, who arranged and conducted the strings on his son's 'heartbreak album'  - aw bless.  Now, if my dad helped me on my album he would correct my grammar and spelling and then ask how the car that got me to the recording studio was handling.  But enough of Brian.  The raw emotion is just pouring out of 'Sea Change', helped by the ideally-suited, laid-back, country vibe and perhaps will be the only time Beck feels the need to be so raw and vulnerable on record, as he seems to have gone back to his everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach on subsequent releases.  But if that's the case (and just to be clear I'm certainly not wishing any more heartache on the poor chap) then that just makes 'Sea Change' all the more special.  It's a heart-rending, beautiful, touching album that provokes all sorts of emotions from the listener and proves what a talent the guy really is.  And the videos still prove he's completely barmy!

Look at Lonesome Tears ; The Golden Age ; Lost Cause ; Guess I'm Doing Fine
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version