1)
Burial - Untrue
Another atmospheric darksteppa from the secretive man. I like it, yeah, more of the same, but it's a garage record I liked, which is why it goes in at #1. I hate garage, and yet this I enjoy.
2)
Modeselektor - Happy Birthday
German duo party so hard it's not true. Nice follow-up to Hello Mom. No single track of the same magnitude as Kill Bill vol4, but stomping electro fun all the way. A joyous album, which plenty fo collaborations which work really well. Even the one with Thom Yorke.
3)
DJ/Rupture vs Filastine - Shotgun Wedding Volume 6
I've harped on hard about this. It's pure blinding genius mixing and blending from the Soot records labelmates. Mashing up the sounds of the world into a soup of beats and danceable pleasures.
4)
The National - Boxer
A band I'd not heard of before this year. This album totally converted me. Great indie.
5)
Bogdan Raczynski - Alright!
Bogdan back to his junglistic silly best. This albums is like Bach meets Venetian Snares and Sickboy and Knifehandchop, and learns a thing or two from them before teaching them how to do it themselves. Despite featuring a kazoo this album kicks it hard.
6)
Luna-C - Project 14 Mirrors and Wires
A hardcore stomper. The only "dance" album I've heard in a long time of any worth. Just class, especially considering the genre.
7)
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
More balkan-infused indie from the sickeningly young Zack Condon. Slightly more pensive than the previous effort, very very good.
8)
Venetian Snares - My Downfall (Original Soundtrack)
An album in the same vein as Rossz Csillag Allat Szulettet- classical meets anger through Aaron Funk, and comes out beautiful with interludes of snare-rush joy.
9)
Nina Nastasia & Jim White - You Follow Me
Just when you thought Nina Nastasia was brilliant, this comes along and says she's better. Jim White's drumming is a welcome addition and brings a backbone to the sadness which kept me afloat.
10)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Pure madness, again, but very approachable this time.
11)
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Lovely.
12)
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
Scottish miserablism, similar to Arab strap, but less samey, and, obviously, different.
13)
Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls
Yay for the Brighton organelectrorockers. Could be their last album.
14)
Boxcutter - Glyphic
Dense, dubby, trippy, clever, I liked it a lot.
15)
Nadja - Radiance of Shadows
Post-doom? Something like that anyway. Powerful, sludgy engulfing guitar-driven textures.
16)
Klimek - Dedications
Minimalish compositions, light, airy, lost in minutiae.
17)
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
good songs
18)
The Chromatics - IV
Girly italo-electro. Featuring an awesome cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill. This was the fix of camp electro I needed for the year.
19)
Last Step - Last Step
Aaron funk makes acid, and does it remarkably well. Sounds heavily influenced by Aphex, this is right up there with the giants of the genre in full squelchy bleepy glory.
20)
Akron/Family - Love is Simple
An album I was surprised to like, but it grew on me a lot. It's more of that music with guitars and singing.
Grinderman would also be on the list if I'd remembered it came out this year, as would DMST's You you're history in rust.
And some other stuff I keep forgetting.
