2010 End Of Year Review - Top 10 Albums.

The final installment of BobbySix.com's Review of the Year features the main event - the Top 10 Albums of 2010: 

Choosing BobbySix.com's album of the year was a tough run thing in 2010. It fell between two strong front-runners: Laura Marling and These New Puritans. For a long time, TNP were in the lead but Marling's album proved to be a real grower - even taking into account the fact that she seems to wander into an Irish accent at regular intervals. And, besides, we couldn't be seen to agree with NME, who handed the number one spot to the band from Southend. So Laura Marling (pictured above, in concert in Sydney) wins. The fact that she has only just turned 20 is, frankly, unbelievable.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010

1. I Speak Because I Can - LAURA MARLING
"A dark, serious, yet breathtakingly elegant album. Her delivery is slow and her delicate, beautiful poetry has developed yet further. Like Emily Brontë with an acoustic guitar, she gives an almost unbearable sense of sorrow and yearning... " (full review...)

2. Hidden - THESE NEW PURITANS
"These New Puritans haven't so much changed direction as ripped up the whole road. This isn't half-arsed, sloppy experimentation either. Hidden is as precisely executed as it is ambitious. If you thought they were little more than indie also-rans, think again." (full review...)
 
3. The Memory Machine - JULIA STONE

"Anyone who assumes The Memory Machine to be a collection of songs that were thrown away when they were cutting the last Angus & Julia Stone record is a million miles from the truth. Rather, this lovingly-crafted, poetic and absolutely beautiful record represents Julia Stone’s best work to date." (full review...)

4. Let The Hard Times Roll - DAVID FORD
Eastbourne's David Ford returns with his best record so far. Panic, Call To Arms, Hurricane and To Hell With The World show just how Ford can mix pessimism and optimism and create something truly romantic in a world gone to shit.

5. We Are Born - SIA 
"Probably her best solo record to date, the slickly produced and downright fun We Are Born is the sound of Sia really letting loose. Stand-out track, the disco-pop You’ve Changed, sums up the vivacity of the album as a whole. On it, Sia sings, 'You’ve changed/For the better.' Indeed." (full review...)

6. Dark Night of the Soul - DANGER MOUSE AND SPARKLEHORSE
"In bringing down the curtain on Mark Linkous’ own tragedy, the wonderful and poignant Dark Night… adds to a Sparklehorse legacy that perfectly illustrates the beauty and fragility of life. In Linkous’ passing, the world is a poorer place." (full review...)

7. The Suburbs - ARCADE FIRE
A mixture of classic kitchen-sink throwing and really perky melodies from the one of the greatest bands in the world right now.

8. Serotonin - MYSTERY JETS

"While its big-hitting songs don’t better the singles that Twenty One boasted, Serotonin is the band’s most well-rounded offering to date and bursts with guts, heart and honesty." (full review...)

9. Body Talk Part 1 - ROBYN
"With the eight songs clocking in at half-an-hour yet still managing to seamlessly travel in so many directions, Body Talk Pt 1 is quite the achievement and really whets the appetite for parts two and three." (full review...)

10 Erland And The Carnival - ERLAND AND THE CARNIVAL
"Quintessentially English in its sound, the psych-freak folk of Erland and The Carnival is a weird and wonderful treat, and potentially one of the best debuts from a UK band this year." (full review...)

The Cubical - Come Sing These Crippled Tunes

Another week, another critically acclaimed act to come out of the UK. This time, it’s Liverpool’s The Cubical. Produced by Dave Sardy (Oasis, Primal Scream, Wolfmother) at LA’s legendary Sunset Sound studios, Come Sing These Crippled Tunes takes from a number of sounds, like Nuggets-esque garage, deep blues and psychedelic rock.

Opening song Great White Lie is a pulsating start, with infectious “Whoa-oh-oh,” backing vocals, blues-rock guitars and lead singer Dan Wilson’s whisky soaked growl. It sounds like The Zutons being beaten into submission with an empty Jack Daniels bottle by Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart. Wilson sounds even more like Waits on second track, Edward The Confessor, roaring with the gravel of an 80-a-day smoker over twangy guitars.

Sometimes, the influences are channelled a bit too faithfully though, like Would Be Lovers, which is Murder Ballads-era Nick Cave to the point of pastiche. However, unlike other backwards-lookers like King Khan, things here aren’t done with a knowing nudge in the ribs and an ‘aren’t we clever?’ wink, but rather with an authentic rock spirit; one gets the sense that this quintet really means it. Yeah, so they sound a bit like this band and a bit like they’re from that era, but, regardless of the fact that they are hardly treading uncharted territory, Come Sing These Crippled Tunes unquestionably has a fire in its belly. With music as raucous and enjoyable as this - and delivered with such passion - it seems a shame to question whether it amounts to anything more relevant and long-lasting than a loving homage. Just turn up your stereo and enjoy the ride.