Favourites of 2010: Fearon's Selections

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Well here I am after a brief break away, returning to Olive Music with an incredibly obvious list of albums that I really enjoyed over the past year. So many of the albums I've chosen may seem painfully obvious or obligatory or absurdly overhyped. Apologies for that but I assure you that I picked them purely out of what I've enjoyed listening to the most and that's been difficult as overall this has been a wonderful year for music with a glut of superb albums.

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Honorable Mentions:
Abe Vigoda - Crush (Bella Union)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)
Avey Tare - Down There (Paw Tracks)
Black Sands - Bonobo (Ninja Tune)
Isobell Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Hawk (V2)
CocoRosie - Grey Oceans (Sub Pop)
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (Polydor)
dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip - The Logic of Chance (Sunday Best)
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (4AD)
Foals - Total Life Forever (Transgressive)
jj - n° 3 (Secretly Canadian)
Alan Lomax - The "Southern Journey" Collection (Mississippi)
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can (Virgin)
Sleigh Bells - Treats (Mom + Pop)
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast (Kanine)
Villagers - Becoming A Jackal (Domino)
White Hinterland - Kairos (Dead Oceans)


10. Jose James - Black Magic (Brownswood)
By far the smoothest album to be released this year; with its mix of hip hop, jazz and soul Black Magic helps slow the world down for you.


9. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans)
An utterly gorgeous follow up to 2008's Shallow Grave, with this he cements his place as the finest folk singer and songwriter operating today. He shows time and again just how good a man with an acoustic guitar can be. And as if to premeditate questions that this album will surely raise about whether or not he can maintain his simple instrumental structure, he pulls out a piano ballad at the end. Not necessarily the highlight of the album, but it shows that he is capable of change for the future.


8. Caribou - Swim (Merge)
A notably predictable choice but with good reason, Swim is an album that's blissful yet energetic. It's feel-good dance music at its very best and most importantly for me, it's an album which has that ability to engulf you.


7. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul (EMI)
Being a big Sparklehorse fan I couldn't help but put this in; it's really wonderful album but instead of running so much like a typical album by one artist it does feel varied like a compilation. This album has taken the risk of being all about the guest voices and contributors but it very narrowly dodges this by having a really cohesive and singular 'voice'. This, I would say, is in no small part due to the late-and-great Mark Linkous's songwriting. The most spectacular guest spots for me come from Iggy Pop and Julian Casablancas.


6. Konntinent - Opal Island (Home Normal)
This album has an overwhelming sense of atmosphere; Konntinent knows what he wants to achieve and does so. It's perfect for putting on when you're on the bus and just blissing out.


5. Beach House - Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
A fine honing of the keyboard-drenched, hypnotic beats and clean-cut guitar sound. Great songs and great vocals from a great band. They've also released the best Christmas song I've heard in ages, grab it on their website.


4. Toro Y Moi - Causers of This (Carpark)
To me Toro Y Moi was always the finest person to propagate 'chillwave' style music and Causers of This just shows that he is the pinnacle of the genre. It's pop at its dreamiest.


3. Gil Scott Heron - I'm New Here (XL)
Heron's first album after an extended break isn't even a half-hour long but it is without a doubt one of his finest works since his albums in the 70s. With covers of Bill Callahan and Robert Johnson set alongside original pieces that discuss his life growing up with his grandmother, this album is poignant and stylish. It's blues, it's poetry, it's poignant and it has no remorse. It's also being remixed by Jamie of The xx.


2. Four Tet - There Is Love In You (Domino)
There Is Love In You is at times euphoric, heart-wrenching and exultant. The mood changes are smooth, the songs perfectly crafted and the overwhelming power and basic elemental force of the music is brought to the fore. Everything it tries, it does so well. It's another album that draws in the listener but can push them away just the same for emotional effect. Just a piece of electronic perfection.


1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
It was always going to be this for me, as she rarely sets a foot wrong. It's not the most innovative album of the year but it's not supposed to be. She's created a rich narrative in Have One On Me with a great variety in sound and style which is lush yet minimal.