150. Kanye West – The Life Of Pablo (GOOD / Def Jam / Roc-A-Fella) (2016)
From the futuristic sounds of ‘Feedback’, to the gospel samples on ‘Low Lights’, The Life Of Pablo saw Kanye continue his quest to defy the notion of genre and push far
beyond the boundaries of just ‘hip-hop’. In true Kanye fashion, it was followed by a trail of media attention, Twitter feuds and all the uproar about that Taylor Swift lyric. As we have also come to expect from Kanye, the album provided us with some lyrical gems too, from comparing himself and his wife Kim Kardashian to Mary and Joseph, to the satirical and fabulously tongue-in-cheek ‘I Love Kanye’. Pablo certainly didn’t fall short in the way of guest appearances either, calling on good pals Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean to name but a few, as well as making room for newbies like Chance The Rapper. (LISTEN)
149. Local Natives – Hummingbird (Infectious) (2013)
We had to wait almost four years for Local Natives’ second album, but it was worth it when it arrived. Hummingbird was resplendent with smouldering guitar hooks, creative percussion patterns and slow, intricate rhythms. It was produced intelligently by The National’s Aaron Dessner to give a deliciously drowsy atmosphere perfectly suited to wintry evenings and boiling hot mid-afternoon festival sets alike. Despite resembling many other indie albums on the surface, Hummingbird had hidden rewards underneath for those prepared to give it multiple listens, and the songs had the staying power to remain inside your consciousness long afterwards. (LISTEN)
148. Gazelle Twin – The Entire City (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray) (2011)
Elizabeth Bernholz has quietly been one of the most compelling voices in what The Quietus’ editor John Doran described recently as the ‘New Weird Britain’ movement throughout the 2010s. The Entire City was her debut album under her Gazelle Twin moniker and still stands as her finest achievement, examining the comforts and threats offered by living in built-up areas, all told through a strict sense of minimalism that can feel both inviting and malevolent. (LISTEN)
147. Big Thief – Capacity (Saddle Creek) (2017)
Big Thief are one of those bands that have no mercy. Emotionally charged, they’re pioneered by their frontwoman Adrianne Lenker, whose voice and nuanced lyrical writing is nothing short of poetry. The outfit’s second LP Capacity was crushing and beautiful, an excellent record from a band that know how to translate their intimacy from feeling to music. No showing off or pride, just excellent musicianship and songwriting, comforting and haunting, with soothing melodies and twists of word sharp as a knife. (AS) (LISTEN)
146. Warpaint – The Fool (Rough Trade) (2010)
Although its been nearly a full decade since its release, listening to Warpaint’s thick, disorientating drone rock debut The Fool is still a disquieting experience. What was notable was how music writers struggled to pin down and define its sound, many elements of which were familiar to fans of My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and Spiritualized – the sweeping, bittersweet sadness of the emotions, the build-up and release of tension in the dynamics, the subtle application of ethereal harmonies. But this was testament to Warpaint’s talent, to make something sound so familiar and yet so fresh at the same time. A friend once described listening to The Fool to me as like emerging into blinding sunlight after a day spent in a dark, smoke-filled room – a great metaphor for its all-pervading chemical haze. (LISTEN)
145. Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 (Top Dawg) (2011)
A confident display of early promise and prowess within Kendrick’s career, Section.80 showcased an youthful MC, wise beyond his years, tackle race, femininity and oppression over a range of musically diverse beats. With punchy staccato flows and a cadence that reflected both sombre and tongue-in-cheek vibes, Kendrick’s introduction to the world almost felt like a diary entry as he narrated the fleeting moments of life within his section. (DA) (LISTEN)
144. Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising (Sub Pop) (2019)
It’s not always easy to look for hope in the face of prevailing doom and gloom, but Natalie Mering does just that on her appropriately titled Titanic Rising. Pulling from the canon of the great songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s, she constructs a statement that’s as dramatic as it is comforting. Non-patronising advice is delivered over luscious song arrangements, pleading to keep persevering in the face of the apocalypse of the 21st century. (EW) (LISTEN)
143. Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness (Domino) (2015)
For her fourth album, American singer-songwriter Julia Holter brought together a number of eclectic influences like Kate Bush, Talk Talk and Bert Jansch into a melting pot of ethereal, experimental baroque pop. The result was her breakout moment, as Have You In My Wilderness was one of those albums that reveals something new on every listen, from the sultry ‘Feel You’ to the intelligent literary influences on the likes of ‘Vazquez’. (LISTEN)
142. Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy (Merge) (2015)
A 29-track, 93-minute long rock opera about a tormented character meeting a psychologically straight doppelganger divided into five ‘acts’, The Most Lamentable Tragedy acted as a metaphor for its creator’s ravaged mental state – a crazy concept album about being crazy. TA’s frontman Patrick Stickles channelled his anxiety and self-loathing through raging, bilious seas of post-hardcore and melodic punk underscored by dark, bloody imagery akin to the Shakespeare play from which the band takes its name. (LISTEN)
141. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian) (2011)
Following a developmental path like many other great American indie bands of the 2010s, Adam Granduciel’s The War On Drugs followed up a tantalisingly incomplete debut with a much more fully-formed second album in 2011 and then went on to do even better next time. While Slave Ambient now looks like a stepping stone, it’s still a wonderful achievement in its own right. Though Kurt Vile had left by this point, he contributed electric guitar on ‘Best Night’ and ‘It’s Your Destiny’, but the revelation was Granduciel’s rapidly snowballing songwriting talent that meant that Vile wouldn’t be missed. His voice sounded uncannily liked a whacked-out Bob Dylan, playing Byrds-esque folk-rock refracted through a prism of brightly-coloured Spacemen 3 heroin rock. And tucked in neatly near the end, the gorgeous ‘Baby Missiles’, a direct hit of sugar-sweet drone-pop aimed at the pleasure centres of the brain, the maddeningly addictive synth hook sounding like Dire Straits’ ‘Walk Of Life’ if it was actually good. (LISTEN)
140. Richard Dawson – Peasant (Weird World) (2017)
Newcastle-based musician Richard Dawson had taken a rewardingly avant-garde approach to folk music for a whole decade by 2017, but on his fifth studio album he took the most significant leap forwards in his career so far. An ambitious song cycle set in medieval northern Britain, in which each track is narrated by a separate, distinct character, this weighty concept worked not only because of the depth of Dawson’s research and the empathy which he expressed it, but the extraordinary way it sounded. Rendered in creaky strings, torrents and trickles of acoustic guitar and the occasional patch of noise, Peasant sounded revelatory yet completely timeless. (LISTEN)
139. The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (Dirty Hit / Polydor / Interscope) (2018)
A reflection of how we consume media in the modern era, ABIIOR places being scattered in place of being consistent on an aesthetic pedestal, and still manages to make a legible statement out of it. From the somewhat sardonic pop track of ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’ to UK garage tributes of ‘Petrichor/How To Draw’, to the anthemic, grandiose songwriting of ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’. References to cultural and musical milestones of the past forty or so years not forgotten, ABIIOR stands as the band’s most in-touch statement yet. (EW) (LISTEN)
138. Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears (Transgressive / P.I.A.S.) (2018)
Having triggered preposterous and insulting rumours that they were managed by some shadowy male svengali, I’m All Ears was a spellbinding record from still-then-teenaged duo Let’s Eat Grandma that never paused for breath. Full of personality and creativity, it encapsulates the sound of pop in 2018; from the synth-wave of opener ‘Whitewater’, to the playful one-two of the PC Music-infused ‘Hot Pink’ and ‘It’s Not Just Me’ this is a record which dares to succeed in its variations. However, there were moments of tranquil beauty in the sumptuous ballad ‘Ava’, a moment which best shows Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth’s songwriting prowess. (LISTEN)
137. Slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain (Method Records) (2019)
With so many boundary-pushing releases, 2019 was another stellar year for British rap. But with its punky demeanour, sardonic wit and diverse production, Slowthai’s Nothing Great About Britain was perhaps the pick of the bunch. Whether he was targeting the far-right or looking back at the hardships he’d suffered throughout his childhood, it was all delivered with uncompromising honesty and – almost like when he held up that effigy of Boris Johnson’s decapitated head during his Mercury Prize performance – stark, confrontational imagery of the ugliness of contemporary British life. (LISTEN)
136. Jon Hopkins – Immunity (Domino) (2013)
Narrating a single night out throughout the runtime of the record, Jon Hopkins provides us with some of the best electronic music this decade. From the unyielding techno rush of ‘Open Eye Signal’ and ‘Collider’, to the more Brian Eno-like ambient moments of ‘Abandon Window’ and the title track, and everything in between. In production terms, Immunity is on par with some of the best techno coming out today, while purely musically it manages to stand as a statement all on its own. (EW) (LISTEN)
135. The National – Sleep Well Beast (4AD) (2017)
In 2017, The National hit a perfect sweet spot with Sleep Well Beast, incorporating all of the pulsating sadness and the melancholy inherent in Matt Berninger’s baritone, providing the bedrock for much of their music, while managing to elevate their songwriting and production to the next level with textures and colours that were anything but dreary. There’s even a guitar solo in it! (EW) (LISTEN)
134. Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger In The Alps (Dead Oceans) (2017)
Released at the age of just 23, Bridgers sounded much wiser and more experienced than her years would indicate on her debut album Stranger In The Alps. Reminiscent of the hushed, finger-picking intimacy of her strongest influence Elliott Smith, songs like ‘Demi Moore’ and ‘Motion Sickness’ that spoke to regret, sadness and yearning metastasised into something redemptive and uplifting. Her quality work with boygenius (alongside Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus) and Better Oblivion Community Center (with Conor Oberst) subsequently has everyone on tenterhooks for her second. (LISTEN)
133. Anderson .Paak – Malibu (Steel Wool / OBE / Art Club) (2016)
The album that put Anderson .Paak on the map, Malibu revealed a soulful tenderness and penchant for instrumentality that displayed the full scope of the talents within the artist’s repertoire. Employing swagger and flair throughout, the impassioned lover glides over bubbly synths, jubilant and ecstatic chord shifts and tight drumming to set the blueprint for the vibrancy we now expect from an Anderson .Paak project. (DA) (LISTEN)
132. Queens Of The Stone Age – …Like Clockwork (Matador) (2013)
QOTSA had begun the new millennium as one of its most exciting and powerful guitar bands, releasing 2000’s Rated R and 2002’s Songs For The Deaf. But following the comparative disappointments of Lullabies To Paralyse and Era Vulgaris, Josh Homme mothballed the band to pursue side-projects and production in 2007. So by the start of 2013, not only did few people expect a reunion, even fewer could have predicted that the new material would be so good. Not only was there a dark, psychedelic strangeness to …Like Clockwork, it was also their leanest and most focussed work in over a decade. Furthermore, unusually for an album so full of guest appearances (Alex Turner, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears, Dave Grohl and even Elton John made contributions), there was never any sense that the Queens were not in total control of their artistic vision. (LISTEN)
131. The Horrors – Skying (XL) (2011)
The Horrors’ third full-length album Skying built on the great leap forwards of 2009’s Primary Colours, which was probably the most surprising musical reinvention of the noughties. But where that album was sepia-tinged in its outlook, Skying chose to trip the multi-coloured light fantastic, an album of nuances and contrasts compared to the monolithic beast of Primary Colours. Layers of arpeggiated synths were built in alongside the hypnotic guitar soundscapes and motorik rhythms, giving proceedings a distinctly lysergic feel. Lurking at the centre of the album were the twin combustion engines of ‘Moving Further Away’ and ‘Still Life’, providing the highlights where most albums sag. This time around, the pressure was on: the world had come to expect this level of vision and ambition from The Horrors’ music, and it felt wonderful to have all those expectations matched, if not surpassed. (LISTEN)
130. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die (Stranger / Interscope / Polydor) (2012)
Lana Del Rey’s sweeping debut break-out started what many call the “Sad Girl” trend in pop music today. And we’ve been all the better for it. There’s the dramatism of ‘Video Games’, with its string sections and Lana’s hushed voice, there’s ‘National Anthem’ that pleads with a James Dean-esque lover while reveling in its own excess, there’s the earworm hit ‘Summertime Sadness’. Few pop albums have tangibly made a cultural trend impact on the scale of this one. (EW) (LISTEN)
129. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp (Jagjaguwar) (2012)
During the recording for Tramp, New Yorker Sharon Van Etten had briefly found herself homeless despite the critical success of her previous record Epic. Spending over a year in the studio with The National’s Aaron Dessner on production, she took her time making her next move, and the contrast is notable. Her colourful character portrayals and matter-of-fact lyrics hit hard precisely because of her dispassionate vocal delivery – Van Etten paints a picture but is resigned to its reality and resolved to cope in the face of it, rather than sounding angry. Tramp was therefore the sound of grace and dignity in the face of huge odds. (LISTEN)
128. Christine & The Queens – Chris (Because) (2018)
The androgynous French artist Heloise Letissier knows how to package heavy subject material into sauntering, suave pop tracks. Recorded in both English and her native tongue, and exploring the blurred lines of gender roles in sexual relationships and life as the ‘other’, Chris is an album that begs to be danced along to, confident in its vulnerability and individuality, showing off its vintage sound shamelessly. (AS) (LISTEN)
127. Kelela – Take Me Apart (Warp) (2017)
Heady, dripping with resentment, lust and letting go all at the same time, Kelela’s Take Me Apart launched her into public consciousness. With its message of female sexual freedom and responsibility, it’s a commentary on current matters of love and its morality, refusing to play games but all the while remaining playful. A titillating affair of modern R&B, neo-soul, vintage synthesisers and Kelela’s artistry, it’s a delicious, sultry piece of work. (AS) (LISTEN)
126. Real Estate – Days (Domino) (2011)
Following a promising start to their career with 2009’s nearly-but-not-quite self-titled effort, New Jersey’s Real Estate, assembled from the remnants of other bands, began the ‘10s with their sublime sophomore effort Days. Full of clean, bright and sharp guitar hooks fashioned into shimmering, daydreaming soundscapes by way of pedals, reverb and echo, it’s one of the most idyllic and delightful records to revisit. The songs’ construction, with a sense of making maximum use from a pretty minimal arsenal of instruments, was reminiscent of R.E.M.’s very spare and economical early work. Not that this overwhelmingly pleasant sonic feel meant that there was a lack of tension or anything – Martin Courtney’s lyrics positively ached with nostalgia and lost memories. They mined exactly the same seam for 2014’s follow-up Atlas, which astonishingly was even better. (LISTEN)
Tags: Aiste Samuchovaite, Daniel Antunes, Ed Biggs, feature, staff list, The Top 200 Albums of the 2010s
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