Best Songs of 2010 so far...

Three months in, these are my favourite songs of 2010 thus far. I've probably forgotten about 100 but so be it. There are Youtube links for the ones that are not on this SPOTIFY PLAYLIST. Yes, a few are from 2009, no I don't care.

In no particular order...

Foals - Spanish Sahara (Youtube)
Gorillaz - Melancholy Hill
These New Puritans - Three Thousand (Youtube)
Gil Scott Heron - Me And The Devil
Best Coast - When I'm With You (Youtube)
Toro Y Moi - Blessa
Yeasayer - O.N.E
Hot Chip - I Feel Bonnie
Late Of The Pier - Best In Class
SBTRKT - Soundboy Shift
Summer Camp - Ghost Train (Youtube)
Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun
Yuck - Georgia (Youtube)
Jay Electronica - Exhibit C (Youtube)
Los Campesinos - Straight In At 101
Caribou - Odessa
Oberhofer - Away Frm U (Youtube)

img: Yves Drillet

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Yeasayer

So 'Odd Blood' is officially out there now for you to buy and own from today. This album leaked so long ago that it's actual release seems strange, almost unnecessary. It's an amazing album though and definitely one of the years best so far. The New Yorker's second record has lived it's life online so it's no surprise that the blogs and mailing lists hold some great Yeasayer treats. For a start the band have given both of their singles away as well as remixes. These aren't just any old singles either, 'Ambling Alp' and 'O.N.E' are big, kaleidoscopic bursts of light and fun- their remixes twisting the pure pop veins and taking them to opposite ends of the adrenalin map.

MP3: Yeasayer - 'Ambling Alp'
MP3: Yeasayer - 'Ambling Alp' (Memory Tapes Remix)
MP3: Yeasayer - 'O.N.E'
MP3: 'O.N.E' (XXXChange Remix)

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Albums To Be Excited About In 2010

Artist: Vampire Weekend
Title: 'Contra'
Due Date: January 11th
What Can We Expect? From the songs aired at their KCLSU gig and those recently played on US TV a lot more of the same. Big Summer time hooks, off kilter instrumentation and Ezra Koenig's detailed musings and introspections on his life.
Free Download: 'Horchata'


Artist: Los Campesinos!
Title: 'Romance Is Boring'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Word going around is that this is LC!'s masterpiece. Having grown vastly between their shrill but charming debut and it's follow up 'We Are Beautiful...' this much derided but woeful misunderstood band are turning out to be one of the most intriguing and forward thinking bands around. New single 'There Are Listed Buildings' feels like a condensed version of everything that makes the band great. With a new band member, guest spots from Xiu Xiu and Parenthetical Girls alongside the best album title going this could be an early contender for album of the year.
Free Download: 'The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future'



Artist: Lightspeed Champion
Title: 'Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley) the second Lightspeed Champion album is set to be a more upbeat and life affirming effort than the depressed escapism of Dev Hyne's debut. Song subjects include much talk of England (Hynes now lives in New York) including a prostitute from Dalston and indie girls from Hackney.


Artist: These New Puritans
Title: 'Hidden'
Due Date: January 18th
What Can We Expect? Lazy bastards will probably liken this album to 'Doing a Horrors' and entirely missing the point that TNP have always been amazing. Nothing has been heard of 'Hidden' yet but expect big big drums, itchy paranoia and the sound of Mark E. Smith being dragged through the back streets of London at midnight.


Artist: Yesayer
Title: 'Odd Blood'
Due Date: February 8th
What Can We Expect? If 'Ambling Alp' is anything to go by an astonishing and baffling piece of brilliance is in the pipeline. Chris Keating showed the world via Simian Mobile Disco that he is a warped genius and that he can turn his hand to anything. Reports coming from recent Yeasayer gigs have told of a brand new sound whilst the bands percussive work on Bat For Lashes 'Two Suns' bodes well for a dance orientated dose of psychedelic pop.
Free Download: 'Ambling Alp'


Artist: Field Music
Title: "Untitled due to practical reasons" whatever that means.
Due Date: February 15th
What Can We Expect? A 20 track double album from the brothers Brewis. Expect head bending melodies, fragile heart break and probably cameos from The Futureheads.
Free Download: 'Measure'


Artist: The Kills
Title: Nothing yet...
Due Date: Early- Mid 2010
What Can We Expect? Speaking to Alison Mosshart recently she said, "Me and Jamie probably have about twelve or thirteen songs written now. The way we work is on acoustic guitars but the whole thing totally changes when we programme in the drums so whatever it sounds like now I know the end product will be nothing like it currently is. I’m hoping it will be out in early to middle of 2010 if we can get things sorted after Christmas.”


Artist: Christina Aguilera
Title: Untitled
Due Date: Tbc
What Can We Expect? This could be amazing or awful. Working with a glitterati of names including M.I.A, Goldfrapp, Ladytron and Sia the 'Dirrty' star is certainly pushing the pop envelope and I can't wait to hear the results. Danny from Ladytron first spoke about working with Aguilera a good few years ago so the chances of hearing this album any time soon might be hopeful but fingers crossed it comes out this year and doesn't sound like a bad Lady GaGa rip-off.

Also due next year:

LCD Soundsystem (Jame Murphy is prepping this for March)
Mystery Jets (Recently showcased new tracks to journalists)
Liars- Sisterworld
The National
Hot Chip
FourTet- 'There Is Love In You'
Errors- 'Come Down With Me'
Foals (Recording now)
MGMT- Celebration
Friendly Fires (Recently spoke of wanting it out for next years festivals)
Kele Okereke (Recording w/ Hudson Mohawke + Armani XXXChange)
Crystal Castles
Blood Red Shoes
Battles
Klaxons (In studio w/ Rick Robinson)
Radiohead(Maybe!)
Deftones

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Simian Mobile Disco- 'Temporary Pleasure'

From Klaxons to Arctic Monkeys, Peaches to Florence James Ford is the man twiddling the knobs for some of the biggest acts in music right now but in between producer duties he is also one half of Simian Mobile Disco; one of the nations biggest dance acts. Returning for their second album Ford has used his impressive contacts list and recruited the likes of Beth Ditto, Hot Chip and Gruff Rhys to make guest appearances on the floor fillers more cohesive and euphoric second album.

At just ten tracks long ‘Temporary Pleasures’ isn’t around for a long time but it sure is around for a good one. A hedonistic atmosphere runs through the record at all times beginning with Super Furries’ Rhys on ‘Cream Dream’. Similar to last years Neon Neon album it’s a synth heavy retrospective with falsetto hooks and a nagging electronic pulse. From thereon in we get the amazing ‘Audacity of Huge’ featuring Brooklyn experimentalists Chris Keating of Yesayer, his charismatic appearance see him crooning lines about “a bag of Bill Murray, a Damien Hurst telephone’- it’s a surreal ode to pop culture and unrequited love and possibly one of the finest songs of the year to date. As an album that sees the act on the front cover often fading into the background (Purposefully you suspect) then the albums success relies solely on the guest stars. So acts like pointless hipsters Young Fathers and Jamie Liddell on ‘Turn Up The Dial’ and ‘Off The Map’ respectively do nothing for the album and rather take up space that more great instrumental tracks such as ‘1000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong’ could have used. However when the guest vocalists nail it they elevate the record to greatness. Beth Ditto in particular illuminates ‘Cruel Intentions’ releasing the disco diva that has lurked inside her for so long. Soulful yet eminently danceable it is better than anything on the most recent Gossip album. Similarly Alexis Taylor brings the playful rhythms of Hot Chip to the table on ‘Bad Blood’ adding afro-pop beats into the fray alongside his haunting and woozy voice.

If you’re looking for a sleek and compact party album for the Summer you could do a lot worse than ‘Temporary pleasures’ an album that should well see James Ford and Jas Shaw make a name for themselves in their own right.

7/10

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