20. Tammar – Visits (Suicide Squeeze Records)
19. Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow (Fish People)
18. SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Young Turks)
17. Rainbow Arabia – Boys And Diamonds (Kompakt)
16. Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi – Rome (Parlophone)
15. Active Child – You Are All I See (Vagrant Records)
14. Cashier No.9 – To The Death Of Fun (Bella Union)
13. Adele – 21 (XL)
12. Washed Out – Within And Without (Domino)
11. Jay Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne (Roc-A-Fella)
10. Dustin O’Halloran – Lumiere (Fat Cat)
9. Jamie xx & Gil Scott Heron – We’re New Here (XL)
8. The Weeknd – House Of Balloons (self-release)
7. Tom Waits – Bad As Me (Anti)
6. Yuck - Yuck (Mercury)
5. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (Parlophone)
Following an 18-month delay, the cancellation of the release of Part I of this album and MCA’s announcement that he had throat cancer, it was worrying but increasingly likely that the best days of the Beastie Boys were all in the past. So that makes it all the more extraordinary that in the spring they released their best album since 1994′s Ill Communication. HSC PtII is groovier and nastier than anything since Sure Shot burst on to your Discman on the coach back from the school trip to the Science Museum. The collaboration with Santigold is pure awesome.
4. Little Dragon – Ritual Union (Peacefrog)
There must be something in the water in Sweden that makes them able to produce leftfield pop like no one else. This album’s quality was something of a surprise although it shouldn’t really have been since lead singer Yukimi Nagano stole the show on Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach in 2010. A heady mix of electronica, soul and catchy pop riffs that managed to sound melancholic and upbeat at the same time. This is a complete album that never drops a weak track or deviates from its shimmering dub-soul groove of synths, echoing bass and Nagano’s yearing vocals. We’ve had the lead track ‘Ritual Union’ on repeat since the release in July and it still sounds so f**king good.
3. Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise (Circus Company)
This record really shouldn’t work. It is, on the face of it, a dance record but is at turns slow, pretentious and, frankly, undanceable. It features spoken-word snippets in French and veers dangerously close to the despicable “chill-out” genre in places. It’s like the noughties never happened. Yet, somehow, Nico Jaar’s soundscapes slowly and methodically invade your system. It’s a soothing LP that just oozes sophistication and so, despite any initial hang-ups, you can’t help but fall in love with it. Go on try, dare you.
2. Metronomy – The English Riviera (Moshi Moshi)
English Riviera should have won the Mercury Music Prize #justsayin. A concept album about the south coast of Blighty, what’s not to love? Add into the equation that it’s a huge step forward sonically for the band, is paced like a proper album (with all the hits in just the right places) and has probably the best cover art of 2011 and I’m sure you’ll now agree they was robbed, non? Granted, PJ Harvey is a national treasure but this LP was the great British gem of the year.
1. Jonathan Wilson – Gentle Spirit (Bella Union)
Much has been made of Jonathan Wilson’s Laurel Canyon credentials (the suburb of LA that was home to the golden eras of The Doors, Neil Young, The Byrds, etc), often including the word ‘revival’ in the same sentence, but this is not a retro album, this is more than a 70′s-inspired, Crosby Stills Nash and Young-channelling homage, it’s an outright masterpiece of songwriting, performance and production that would stand tall in any era. In fact, the implicit hedonistic guilt in ‘Can We Really Party Today?’ makes it as much of a song-for-our-times as anything else we’ve heard this year – the world’s crumbling around us but let’s go out and get wasted anyway. That said, this is an album that sounds like a soundtrack to a mescaline-induced road trip across an imaginary desert. In a very good way. But it also sounds great in the slow lane of the A27 in the drizzle. Lush strings, beautiful vocals, psychedelic wig-outs, even a cover of Gordon Lightfoot, this is an album that gets better and better with every listen.
