Albums of 2010: #1: The ArchAndroid

#1: 'The ArchAndroid' by Janelle Monae

I have always been a soul kid at heart, so it's no surprise that a form of modern soul (fused with R&B, funk and indie) has taken the top spot on my personal countdown for 2010. Janelle Monae has been creeping her way into the industry for a few years now, collaborating with the likes of Outkast and signing to Bad Boy Records in 2006. She released a mini-album, 'Metropolis: Suite One', in 2007 which set the basis for her unique blend of genre conventions, the soul burning at the heart of her sound and the sci-fi themes that make me absolutely, positively want to marry her.

Sci-fi and music often make me go slightly gaga and may explain my obsession with all things Bowie, so when this album appeared in my life, I knew it would settle into my heart and never leave. 'The ArchAndroid' is a concept album about an android named Cindi Mayweather, sent back in time to free the citizens of a city called Metropolis, looking to bring back love to the suppressed people minority. Overtures are seldom used in modern music but Miss Monae opens the album with a dramatic orchestral flourish, bringing in cinematic, historical and visual ties alongside everything else on offer. Janelle is a master of crafting a tale and presenting it with a hundred other influences at the back of your mind, whilst producing something wholly unique, original and outstanding.

Outkast style hip-hop bursts into life on the likes of 'Dance or Die' with Big Boi himself even appearing on breakout single 'Tightrope' (the video of which showcases the jawdropping movement and grace in the choreography of our titular innovator). R&B that showcases a voice with the breadth and depth of Mary J Blige is a recurring tone, with 90s beats and nu-soul soundbites on the likes of 'Locked Inside' and 'Neon Valley Street'. Even indie rock pushes its way through the fold with Of Montreal (who Janelle supported on tour) cracking their way into the funk-laden 'Make The Bus'. Superbly strange sound manipulation is used with a deft hand in the backmasking of 'Neon Gumbo' and the echoing spiralling rock of 'Mushrooms and Roses'.

'Cold War' is the most incisive and personal track on offer, providing a profound and thrilling journey into her mind, taking on the issues surrounding roles of minoritiesm, specifically females, in society and in the music world. The music video (watch it below) is a stunning depiction of individual emotion with the camera focusing on the beautiful face of Miss Monae as she sings her heart out, recalling the famed Sinead O Connor video, especially as a tear streaks down her face at the line 'I was made to believe there's something wrong with me...'

One of the last tracks on the album, 'Say You'll Go' is a slow and steady electronic-tinged melody with Janelle's carefully controlled vocals lamenting drifting alongside, reminiscient of a Stevie Wonder ballad from his peak in the 70s. To top it all of, the track breaks down into my favourite piece of classical music, 'Clair De Lune' from the 3rd movement of Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy, cementing her as the love of my life and 'The ArchAndroid' as the most beautiful, beguiling and groundbreaking records of 2010.

Albums of 2010: #6: This Is Happening

#6: 'This Is Happening' by LCD Soundsystem

A trilogy either consists of a gradual but definite decline, plummeting from the exciting, original first attempt right through to the turgid, tired, downcast finale, or an action packed, ever-exuberant expression that only strengthens and adapts with each successive release. In music, this is usually in the former camp as groups burst into existence with a phenomenal debut and then fail to ignite the same fuses with each subsequent album. James Murphy was a Brooklynite before Brooklyn really got big, taking his electronic music and merging it with a whole realm of pop from the last five decades, bringing something labeled 'Dance Punk' to the attention of the world, and absolutely positively crafting the most wondrous kind of trilogy. This was music that indie kids could really get down and dirty to...

And, with both a heavy heart and a sigh of relief, 'This Is Happening' is LCD Soundsystem's last hurrah, an Eno-inspired blast of intelligent, mature backlash against an industry that is fast outgrowing the 40 year old hipster at the helm. 'Dance Yrself Clean' shuffles into a muffled introduction to disguise the horn-like synth that stabs into the track and shakes the speaker, and your dancing feet, across the room. 'Drunk Girls' is a lesson in all-out, 'White Light/White Heat' dance rock from a wise master whilst 'All I Want' reveals a bitter somberness amidst the 70s guitar swoons.

We get to see a glimpse at the reasoning behind the sudden retirement of LCD on 'You Wanted A Hit', with Murphy and co spending nine minutes giving the most beautiful and twitchy 'fuck you' to the music industry. 'I Can Change' is a moody Human League ballad, jerking with the resonance of regret as Murphy croons out those words we have all thought (and realised we really, really, really shouldn't have) 'I can change, if it helps you fall in love'.

James Murphy has accepted his status as an icon of cool, saying "I understand that if someone's going to make me his idea of cool I can't control that." although you can feel the indie kid inside him squirming at the thought. Well, I am sorry Mr Murphy but this record, and the entire LCD legacy, will have you cited and listed as the benchmark for 'cool' for a few years to come yet (until you decide to come back under a pseudonym and blow everything away, of course).

Albums of 2010: #8: The Suburbs

#8: 'The Suburbs' by Arcade Fire

I often drift into High Fidelity mode and ponder my ever-shifting top albums of all time which generally consists of records of days-gone-by; Bowie, Stevie, Joy Division et al. A smattering of contenders post-2000 appear every once in a while but none more consistently than Arcade Fire and, more specifically, their mind blowing debut 'Funeral'. Easily my most revisited album of the decade about to pass, Arcade Fire came together as several odd Canadians to change indie pop into something more meaningful, creating concept albums that defy the logic of concept albums.

2010 bought their third offering, an album full of the heartbreak and heartwarmth of adolescence, catching that ethos of youth so precisely, it's almost impossible to see Win, Regine and friends as fully grown adults. 'The Suburbs' veers from chipper piano to sweepingly somber orchestral fluttering, taking the listener on a teenage dream of a journey from start to finish. The concept floats from the enclosed entrapment of the so called suburbs, dreaming of escape and excitement, to the trials and tribulations of a career driven lifestyle dicated within 'We Used To Wait', where a longing for a more secure and restless time is pumped out via new wave chords and a subdued piano piece.

Arcade Fire manage to weave between genre landmarks, from the 'Heroes' sound-a-like of 'Half Light II (No Celebration)' to the laidback Americana musings of 'Wasted Hours', whilst some form of indie electro dances about on 'Sprawl II', ending up with a style and sound echoing a pot-head Blondie. Here lies the ultimate success of 'The Suburbs', with 16 tracks somehow managing to sound brisk, fresh and breezy whilst summing up every youthful triumph, mistake, opportunity and experience, using a veritable smorgasbord of sounds, instruments and ideas in order to reach the widest range of recipients, diving headfirst into their brain and yanking on all of the musical memories until something hurts.

Arcade Fire are a group with their wits about them, crafting three modern and intelligent albums that hark back whilst evoking utter emotion with an unexplainable ease. And on top of all this, they work with numerous charities, gig incessantly and manage to create videos that interact with your location and push the boundaries of what is possible with technology, music and visuals. Arcade Fire have ruled the noughties with a soft and gentle touch; it is difficult to see where else they can go, but it will be damned exciting to watch them wander.