If the ADM summary of the most critically-acclaimed albums of
the first six months of 2010 tells us anything, it is that, as far
as reviewers are concerned, the most accomplished music being made
today falls some way outside the realm of rock, in its mainstream
forms.
If we put to one side 65daysofstatic, who operate in the
experimental post-rock field and whose sound owes more to techno
and electronica, then only two artists representing rock feature in
the top 10 rated albums of the year thus far, and both are at the
foot of the chart.
Neither of them could even remotely be termed ground-breaking,
albeit their latest efforts have been widely appreciated. Paul
Weller is 52 and has been doing his thing for three decades and
more. The National established their heartfelt indie rock
credentials at the start of the Noughties, and have rarely strayed
from that path.
Perhaps the biggest surprise at this halfway point is that one
American folk singer-songwriter has been superseded by another.
Like everyone else, we confidently expect to see Joanna Newsom's
triple CD holding sway when the best-of-2010 lists are compiled. We
did not expect it to be gazumped at the top by a folk opera
reworking of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in
post-apocalyptic America, from a hitherto relatively unknown
Vermont singer and guitarist.
It should be stressed that Mitchell's album has been less widely
reviewed than Newsom's but nevertheless only one review has deemed
it anything less than exceptional (the BBC, who went only as far as
"memorable") and four or five declare it a masterpiece.
And thus to another soul-bearing American singer-songwriter. Mike
Hadreas's piano-accompanied minimal songs of personal torment as
Perfume Genius fits very neatly alongside Mitchell and
Newsom.
The remainder of the top-rated albums can be filed under
electronica, world, experimental hip hop and futuristic pop. White
boys with guitars are few and far between.
Whether this signals a long-term trend remains to be seen.
Regardless, it is already a shift away from the best-reviewed
albums of 2009, more than half of which could be filed under rock
in one guise or another.
* We excluded albums with fewer than eight reviews from the chart.
The average number of reviews received is 20.
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9.17
Anais Mitchell
Hadestown
That it works so brilliantly well, that in under an hour it
creates a world you'll want to return to time and time again, that
it is a glittering model of the form - of collaboration itself - is
nothing short of awe-inspiring
Drowned in Sound
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8.66
Joanna Newsom
Have One On Me
Please, buy this album. Don't download it, buy it on a physical
CD, hell, buy it on vinyl. Get rid of outside distractions, remove
any white noise and give Have One On Me the full attention it
deserves as one of the finest albums of this, or any, year
No Ripcord
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8.56
Perfume Genius
Learning
Already, it is easy to tell that this has all the hallmarks of a
timeless piece
Culture Deluxe
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8.43
Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
Ali And Toumani
There is a sense of both immense space and telepathic closeness
on this beautiful album, with the superb recording putting the
listener right in the middle of the action
Daily Telegraph
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8.22
65daysofstatic
We Were Exploding Anyway
It's an album that flows superbly ... there isn't one track that
you'd replace here for any other
The Line Of Best
Fit
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8.18
Flying Lotus
Cosmogramma
Flying Lotus is poised to be not only a name to watch in the
next decade, but a guiding light and bridge to the next big
things
Pop Matters
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8.16
Caribou
Swim
This is blissed-out electronica, that puts human warmth on a par
with electronic experimentalism to create something entirely new to
listen to
Independent On Sunday
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8.14
Janelle Monáe
The ArchAndroid
An album destined, surely, to take its place among the classics
of its age
music OMH
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8.13
Paul Weller
Wake Up The Nation
The sheer conviction with which it's performed carries you along
despite yourself, wearing the astonished expression almost all of
Wake Up the Nation provokes
The Guardian
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8.12
The National
High Violet
This is what music must do, this is what music means. Anything
else is froth. A masterpiece
The Sunday Times