It's been another bumper year for our tireless New Band writer. Join him as he runs through his playlist of 2010's best tracks
As with any 12-month period since time immemorial, 2010 was hailed by some as a weak year for music, while others claimed it was a bit of a classic. Personally, I can't remember a time when I paid less attention to old music, to reissues and box sets (give or take the fabulous Big Star 4CD trove, actually a 2009 US release), and more to the new stuff.
Admittedly, this is partly because as the New Band Of The Day writer I get sent about 30 CDs, tracks and links a day ? 150 a week! ? to listen to, from which I have to choose the 20 New Bands of the month, but there's more to it than that ? with chillwave, witch house, dubstep, juke and slow DJ Screw-influenced rap all blowing my mind this year.
But first, an apology, for the absence from this list of anything from Drake's Thank Me Later (my album of the year) or Nicki Minaj's startling Roman's Revenge, neither of which we were given permission to use by their record company. Had they been included I could have used this playlist as proof that, perhaps for the first time in living memory, the best music of the year was made by new acts.
From oOoOO to How To Dress Well to DJ Nate to Teengirl Fantasy to Drake, many 2010 artists shared a penchant for messing with R&B, playing with the tempo or, literally in Nate's case, taking a soul tune like Deniece Williams's 1977 hit Free and putting it through the studio mincer. What I really like is the way it all drifts together so seamlessly ? it might be more down to accident than an active free exchange of ideas, but you can play MillionYoung's Pilfer, Toro Y Moi's Freak Love and Washed Out's Belong next to Drake's The Resistance and they sound as though they all used the same producer. There was also confluence between Girl Unit's dubstep, DJ Nate's fancy footwurk and the witch house/drag of people like Salem (not featured here) and Balam Acab.
It wasn't all about reverb-heavy synthesiser music round these parts, though. Rumer proved that there was still a place for conventional pop songcraft and Janelle Monae showed there was still a need for a Prince-style polymath. And Gayngs proved 10cc are more fashionable than ever. Still, as a Guardian blogger pointed out recently, seemingly everyone making music right now has been infected by the chillwave bug, either in the actual sonics or the sense of dazed or dreamy wonderment. There are traces everywhere, from the Vaccines' garage fuzz to the keyboard reveries of Porcelain Raft and Idiot Glee. Indeed, if there was a soundtrack to 2010 ? and if New Band Of The Day had a leitmotiv ? it was the wistful, ghostly flow of the acts below, nostalgic for a vague past but utterly of the moment.
The playlist in full ...
1. How To Dress Well - Lover's Start
2. oOoOO - Hearts
3. MillionYoung - Pilfer
4. Rumer - Slow
5. Sleep Over - Come Wander
6. Balam Acab - See Birds (Moon)
7. Janelle Monae - Oh, Maker
8. Still Corners - Endless Summer
9. Best Coast - Boyfriend
10. Porcelain Raft - Dragonfly
11. Washed Out - Belong
12. Toro y Moi - Freak Love
13. Perfume Genius - Gay Angels
14. Cults - Most Wanted
15. Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters
16. Summer Camp - Ghost Train
17. The Vaccines - Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)
18. Gayngs - The Gaudy Side Of Town
19. Girl Unit - Wut
20. Kisses - The Heart Of The Nightlife
21. Darkstar - Aidy's Girl is A Computer
22. DJ Nate - Free
23. Wretch 32 - Who Am I
24. Chad Valley - Ensoniq Funk
25. Selebrities - Audition
26. Trophy Wife - Microlite
27. Minks - Ophelia
28. Neon Indian - 6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)
29. Idiot Glee - All Packed Up
Julianne Hough Paula Garcés Genelle Frenoy Shania Twain Gwen Stefani
No comments:
Post a Comment