As an occasional music reviewer over the past few years, principally for the BBC, I will be giving my thoughts on new album releases on this blog from time to time. I'll start the ball rolling by nominating what I believe are the best five albums released during the first half of 2010.
In no particular order:
Vampire Weekend - Contra
There's an awful lot of preppy American Ivy League graduates churning too clever by half, jerky indie pop records these days, but Brooklyn's Vampire Weekend remain worthy of the hype. Yes, almost everything they do owes a huge debt to Paul Simon's Graceland. Granted, they pretentiously pontificate on subjects like drinking horchata (apparently a traditional Spanish drink in case you care). But with melodies this joyous and beats this infectious, you can forgive them their indulgences.
Suitable for fans of: Paul Simon, MGMT, Talking Heads, DeVotchka
Beach House - Teen Dream
The Baltimore duo have been on the scene for a while now but it is only on this, their third album, that they have really hit their stride. Teen Dream boasts a dynamic that is both epic and ethereal at the same time, with Victoria LeGrand's bewitching vocals soaring gorgeously over layers of reverbing guitar and floating organ. Blissful and hypnotic, this record may well go down as 2010's Fleet Foxes and give Beach House the genuine mainstream success they richly deserve.
Suitable for fans of: Mazzy Star, The Cocteau Twins, the late 80s shoegazing scene
John Grant - The Queen Of Denmark
Imagine if ELO had grown up gay in the American Midwest and you'll have some idea what John Grant sounds like. After years of obscurity as the front man of indie underachievers The Czars, the Denver troubadour teamed up with his more successful friends Midlake to produce an album of sumptuous textures, grace and occasional humour as its creator recounts his experiences as a small town outsider. Steeped in the sounds of 70s FM rock, I should hate this record, but it's strong, piano-led melodies, perfect orchestration and Grant's warm, rich singing voice make it an unexpected triumph.
Suitable for fans of: ELO, The Carpenters, early Elton John, 10CC
Trembling Bells - Abandoned Love
If someone had put the 1969 line-up of Fairport Convention in a time capsule and reopened it this year, the album Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and company made next would quite possibly have sounded a lot like Abandoned Love. This is big, bold, dynamic folk-rock, performed with a verve a million miles away from the twee real ale supping image that bedevils much of the genre. These Glaswegians are more like the house band at the most bacchanalian of medieval banquets.
Suitable for fans of: Fairport Convention, Bellowhead, The Levellers
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
2010 is proving to be a treat for campanologists everywhere. Broken Bells is the first collaboration between indie-rock stalwart James Mercer of the Shins and electro/hip hop producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse, and they've delivered an impeccably chilled out summer album that combines the jangly melodies of Mercer's band with the sonic invention that has become the Mouse's trademark. Difficult to classify, these are essentially classic guitar pop songs put through a blender of languid beats and soundscapes to produce something quite different to anything else you'll hear this year.
Suitable for fans of: Gnarls Barkley, The Shins, Tricky, DJ Shadow
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