35. I Am Kloot - Proof

I Am Kloot have always been a band that have flirted with success their entire career. Their first and arguably best album “Tourist History” garnered much critical acclaim and their steadily built up a loyal fanbas. Since then, the Mancunians have struggled to live up to this and have lurked in the shadows of their peers, Elbow. However, with new mercury prize nominated album “Sky At Night” they look to change that. The first single off the album “Proof”, a re-working of a track off their second self titled album, is ironically proof that they can compete in the mainstream. This slow, sweet song is driven by the soft vocals and acoustic guitar. John Bramwell is a wonderful understated lyricist and his ode to an evening out with a loved one is truly divine. “hey, heard you read another book/ should I take another look/ who am I without you?” I Am Kloot have more than competed with the big guns and from the sounds of this, their perfectly comfortably doing so.

36. Laura Marling - Devil's Spoke

Ah Laura Marling. The NME Queen of cool... She is pretty cool but really? Anyway one thing that cannot be disputed is that she makes great albums as well as awesome singles. The first single from her widely acclaimed and mercury prize nominated second album “I Speak Because I Can” is “Devil Spoke” a brutal, sexual song that adds a vicious undertone to most folk songs. It’s fast-paced driving acoustic guitar adds menace to the promiscuous song topic as Laura as she always does wraps the song in stunningly poetic lyrics but still makes the song relatable and clear. “Eye to eye/Nose to nose/Ripping off each other’s clothes in the most peculiar way” she sings so passionately over the climax of the song. Laura may not have lived up to her promise of releasing two albums in a year, but with songs like this she most definitely keeps us waiting so impatiently for her third LP and I’m sure it’s going to be one we will remember as fondly as the last one.
P.S She's really hot.

37. Warpaint - Elephants

One of the brightest and most talked about bands of the new decade. Warpaint are an all girl group formed 6 years ago but were yet to release anything until last year’s debut EP “Exquisite Corpse,” from this the single Elephants was released. With a sparse wave of sound, similar to the of last year’s surprise hit The XX. Lead singer Emily Kokal’s siren like voice sits so brilliantly on the distant sounding drums and dreamlike guitar. The sound gradually builds and builds until the guitars begin to screech and Emily’s voice begins to ghostly woo over the top. The sound never overpowers the song itself, everything gel’s together perfectly and with this Warpaint more than justify the hype that’s been surrounding them. Their albums not bad either.

38. LCD Soundsytem - Home

Oh LCD Soundsystem, why must you bid us farewell! It’s true, James Murphy has said this is the last LCD album and this, is the last song on it. Home is a fond farewell to the highs and the low’s (but mainly the high’s) of their career. This fond farewell keeps all the trademarks the resemble everything you love about LCD Soundsytem. The long build ups, the groovy synth sounds and the wit infested lyricisms of Mr Murphy all merge together so wonderfully and so typically of them. This added with a sense of seriousness and a beautiful vocal harmony for a chorus makes this the perfect curtain call for one of the most important bands of the last 10 years. It sounds like LCD will miss us a much as we'll miss them.

39. Twin Shadow - For Now

Brooklyn based electro pop act George Lewis Jnr, aka Twin Shadow is making noticeable footprints on the indie scene. His debut album Forget is receiving endless praises from music fans and critics alike and it’s clear to see why. His talent for creating catchy chorus and beat is at its clearest in For Now. It’s wonderfully danceable melody is complimented with clever lyrics surrounding the mess of adolescence and trying to find meaning in love “In Bed with all the ones I hate/ To give myself, myself away.” Twin Shadow captures and celebrates the brilliance of 80’s pop in a way that so many others have tried and failed and For Now is one of the brightest neon stars in the collection.

40. Chapel Club - Surfacing

Chapel Club are a new band that is yet to release an E.P or L.P but have released great tasters during the year as well as playing the NME Radar tour with The Joy Formidable and Flats, quietly creating hype around them. One of their first offerings, the brilliantly subtle, swirling , Surfacing is a brilliant way to assert yourself on the forefront of the indie scene.
Lead singer Lewis Bowman, an award winning poet as a teenager, really creates a beautiful atmosphere around the booming drums and thudding bass with his wordplay “Night breezes seem to whisper I love you/Bodies swinging in the sycamore tree/ Dream a little dream of me.” With this they already pull themselves out of the “post Joy Division” catalogue with exciting live shows and a depth that exceeds most other bands looped in this category. Watch out for them as one of the big new bands of 2011.

Paul's Top 40 songs/ Top 10 Albums of the year!

Introduction

Hi guys! I’ve kind of done a blog a bit before but never knew exactly what to focus on completely so it’s just dwindled really in the existence of near completion. I’ve decided to do a best of the year style thing with songs and albums.
I’m going to choose the top 40 songs that I personally think are the best of the year, and the top 10 albums of the year. It’s surprisingly difficult narrowing it down. When you really think about what to include it becomes a lot tougher, there were a lot of songs that were on the verge of entering the top 40 and I know, along the line there will be a couple of songs that I probably should have included, and a couple I definitely know I was right to not include (MCR – NANANANANANANANANA) but I hope that this list will also open up a few new songs that some people may not have necessarily heard before and also give me a chance to share an appreciation with others of a certain song or album.

I hope you enjoy this list as much as I enjoyed listening to it.