Daft Punk: Sitting pretty (sort of) at No.2 in the Poll of Polls, despite the rating for their album putting it no higher than the 48th best of the year
The week in ADM
Michael Palmer reflects on what the latest standings in our Poll of Polls mean. If anything . . .
It's December! Finally! Our sources, having been on their best
behaviour all year, can at last put together their list of
favourite records and submit them to the North Pole. Here at ADM
we're checking these lists (twice) and publicly displaying the
nicest of albums. The albums that our sources would most like to
unwrap on Christmas morning, before smiling slightly, keeping to
themselves the fact that they've already downloaded the album and
have been listening to it on Spotify for like a year now. But
thanks anyway, no really.
So, sitting top of the ADM Poll of Polls is Vampire
Weekend. Their third album scored an 8.2 average when our
sources posted their actual reviews, and is the 13th highest rated
album of the year. Interestingly, it got places in the top 5 from Q
(who gave the album 8), Spin (also 8) and Rolling Stone (9) but not
from AV Club, who gave it 10.
Just below in second is Daft Punk. Not bad for
what our chart suggests is the 48th best album of the year. Our
sources have Selective Access Memories perhaps, as Mojo, Rolling
Stone and Faster Louder include the album in their top 5s despite
only giving the album 8.
In fact, there's only one album that can claim to be among the top
ten highest rated albums of the year AND currently sit in the top
ten of the best of lists. Want a clue? It's My Bloody
Valentine. Is that enough of a clue? Their album m b v
scored an 8.7 and is the 2nd-highest-rated album of the year and,
despite a wave of 10 and 9 scores, so far only Uncut name it in
their top 5 of the year. It has received enough sub-top-5 votes to
be placed 10th on the Poll of Polls at this stage, but surely more
sources will remember that they loved it so much?
The most curious of cases though, sits in 8th in the Best Of The
Best Ofs list. Spin and AV Club find a place in their top 5 of the
year for Haim, whose debut album scored a 7.4 and
is, according to our numbers, the 184th highest rated album of the
last 12 months. One Hundred and Eighty-Fourth. I guess it must be a
grower.
With all the list-making taking place, it's easy to forget that
musicians are releasing albums all year round, and our sources
aren't going to let their opinions of these albums go un-posted.
Out of the recent batch our wooden spoon goes, rather predictably,
to Britney Spears. Only a 5.0 for her first album
with a co-writer credit, though she may be pleased to learn that
there were 15 albums released this year that were worse.
Elsewhere: no ratings yet for Mutual Benefit,
Milosh, British Sea Power,
Black Flag and New War but early
reviews are strong for each of these albums with the rather notable
exception of Black Flag; watch those spaces.