Best of 2010

I promise I'll be back to posting soon but in the meantime here is my list of favorite albums of the last year, in alphabetical order.:


Albert Beger Electroacoustic Band - Peacemaker [Skronky post-bop/free-form jazz from Turkey-born Israel-based saxophonist]

Budos Band - III [Hummable tunes and brooding horn lines from the best of the Brooklyn based Afrobeat revivalists]

Burzum - Belus [The most infamous man in Norwegian black metal returns to form after serving out his prison sentence for MURDER! Don't give him any money. Steal this from the internet.]

Deathspell Omega - Paracletus [Brütal, soaring and noisy French avant-garde black metal]

Ebo Taylor - Love and Death [Legendary 74 year old hi-life guitarist from Ghana is back to show the kids how it's done]

Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids [Former Wu-Tang Clan member and critic's favorite turns out a record that's actually worth the hype. Featuring the best Spongebob reference in all of hip-hop]

Mugison - Ítrekun - Tekið Upp í Sundlauginni Janúar [Rockin' live album from Icelandic singer/songwriter's full band]

Sade - Soldier Of Love [Gorgeous and haunting UK R&B/Trip-Hop]

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way [Sassy soul with big band orchestration from the most well-known group on Brooklyn's Daptone label]

Shibusa-Shirazu Orchestra and Kuricorder Quartet - Namashibukuri/Wareshibukuri [Over sized psychedelic Japanese 3rd stream orchestra and a recorder quartet taking turns playing Yoshiyuki Kawaguchi's songbook]

Sigh - Scenes From Hell [Seminal Japanese black metalers create their most ambitious album yet. Orchestral gypsy jazz rock metal]


honorable mentions:

Manorexia - The Mesopelagic Waters [NYC No-Waver, JG Thirlwell's neo-classical, minimalistic chamber music]

Huun Huur Tu - Ancestors Call [Tuva's traditionalist lose the electronics and bring back folk sounds. Lots of overtone/throat-singing]

Daft Punk - TRON Legacy Soundtrack [Helmeted French dudes' soundtrack was way better than the movie. Lots of driving synths with a cool exploitation/horror feeling to it.]

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And the lifetime achievement award go to The Melvins for consistently putting out good or great albums for over 25 years.