Album pt II 2010

There's been excitement, grumbles, upheld complaints, and that's with the less interesting half of the list....

On to the top5, to be honest 6-10 were pretty arbitrarily decided. Firstly a quick diversion into others I liked:
Most Fun album 2010 : Sabaton 'Coat of Arms' what can I say, great live, great fun. War-metal!

Best reissues: Nick Cave ptII; Frankie goes to Hollywood; Modern Jazz Quartet

5 Dimmu Borgir 'Abrahadabra'. More symphonic than metal, Dimmu Borgir went the whole hog for this album. Admittedly they had a bit to prove having kicked out two band members, but this album is a monster. There's a very large orchestra, choirs, the works. And live, it was brilliant. A band where each album is better than the last.

4 Pure Reason Revolution 'Hammer and Anvil'. This is the controversial choice, the band polarises people. Their first album is a perfect piece of cheesy prog, the second is a dire piece of crap, and this one sort-of continues the more Depeche Mode feel they've been moving to. But with a bit of prog. It does seem to polarise people, but it really clicked with me.

3 The National 'High Violet'. A band who can't do anything wrong. Just buy it. And their back catalogue. Throughly enjoyed the gig in December too.

2 Karnataka 'The Gathering Light' I first caught them premiering tracks from this at a festival in 2009. And we were blown away. If anything the album improved on the live tracks. So of course the band splits, and ruins any chance of it selling in the quantities it deserved. Oh and no merchandise either. Bloody hell. However I have it good authority there's more new stuff in the offing this year, and the tracks they've released on the website (demo's) sound good.

1 John Grant 'Queen of Denmark' I have raved to everyone about this album. I don't care how annoying I've been. It is that good. I caught him in a small pub in Leicester doing an absolute blinder of a set. Since then I see he's been selling out much larger venues. Rave reviews from everyone. Direct lyrics, lovely arrangements, and backing by most of Midlake on the CD.

There ya go.

B