We may well be hurtling through an era of dizzyingly rapid
technological innovation, but if our reflective glance back at the
most highly-rated contemporary music of the first quarter of 2010
tells us anything, it is that acoustic, organic music, rooted in
emotion and craftsmanship, holds sway.
Probably the only artist to feature in our top 10 of albums
released since January 1 (ranked by our aggregated reviews system
from approaching 50 respected sources) who could be said to
represent music at the technological cutting edge, would be Four
Tet (aka groundbreaking electronic producer Keiron Hebden).
Otherwise, 2010 so far has been a critical triumph for acoustic
folk, acoustic world music and, perhaps most surprisingly,
jazz.
If you'd suggested to us in the middle of the Noughties that the
most significant album to appear at the start of the new decade
would be a triple album from a hippy-dippy, harp-touting,
shrill-soprano voiced, poetry-spouting 28-year-old Californian
girl, we would have politely suggested that you check into the
nearest health farm.
But the sums don't lie.
Of the raft of reviews, only a tiny handful suggest that Have
One On Me is anything less than exceptional, and a sizeable
minority boldly proclaim it a masterpiece unlikely to be bettered
for many a year.
We confidently predict that when it comes to our annual chart
assessment, Newsom will be up there at the top, such is the
unprecedented number of 10/10s and 9/10s the album has
garnered.
Laura Marling, at No.3, could be viewed as Newsom-lite:
personal, literary, emotional indie-folk, with similar parallels
between her and Joni Mitchell being drawn as with Newsom, but it is
a moot point if she would ever attempt anything as ambitious as the
Californian's triple-album epic.
We were not particularly taken aback to see Ali Farka Toure's
final posthumous release, alongside fellow MalianToumani Diabate,
up there - the guitar virtuoso has long been hailed as a genius of
African music.
But we have to confess to some surprise at the level of
widespread critical acclaim given to both jazz representatives in
the top 10.
Admittedly, Polar Bear have been recipients of a Mercury Music
Prize nomination, but their "experimental post-jazz' we expected to
have a mainly specialist appeal. However their album has been
generally lauded across both the upmarket heavyweight papers and
the more cultish online review sites.
With Mulata Astatke, as this is a quite recent release, only
time will tell if this is a blip or a genuine emergence into the
mainstream for the father of Ethio-jazz. But there is no doubting
the sincerity of the enthusiasm for both Astatke and Polar Bear
from some fairly unlikely quarters.
On the rock front, it would appear that it's the more thoughtful
side of the genre that's appealing to reviewers rather than the
rabble-rousers.
The second These New Puritans album is unconventional
art-rock that is challenging, to say the least, and the debut from
The Unwinding Hours is emotional post-rock that is unlikely to
result in any broken limbs in the mosh-pit.
Interestingly, while our review sources are spread across the
UK, US, Canada and Australia (albeit with a UK bias) the only
presence for a rock act from across the Atlantic comes from The
Besnard Lakes. And they're from Montreal.
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8.66
Joanna Newsom
Have One On Me
Have One On Me is suffused with space, invention and
playfulness, even in the face of Newsom's sometimes unnerving
intensity. It's also exceptionally beautiful.
Uncut
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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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8.14
Laura Marling
I Speak Because I Can
Her first triumph: a collection of literary and emotional songs
to have you whooping with joy or fighting off tears, with tunes
that deliver new riches with each listen.
The Guardian
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8.00
The Unwinding Hours
The Unwinding Hours
Always sung with maximum passion and played with maximum
intensity, this is an album that would, in a fair world, place The
Unwinding Hours as stars in the vast alternative rock field.
Sputnik Music
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7.99
These New Puritans
Hidden
Showing clear progression and monumental ambition, TNP have
crafted a stark and dense knockout performance.
Clash Music
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7.98
Four Tet
There Is Love In You
Even the most curmudgeonly critic will find it hard not to raise
a smile or breathe a contented sigh, for this is a true antidote to
January living as we know it.
music OMH
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7.94
Gorillaz
Plastic Beach
Oh, for more albums as strange, unpredictable and jaw-droppingly
good as this.
The Times
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7.88
Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Steps Ahead
You probably don't need to know much about Western (let alone
Ethiopian) jazz in order to recognise and enjoy Astatke's genius,
which is so proudly on display here.
music OMH
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7.83
Polar Bear
Peepers
Even at their most gesticulating or achingly smooth, their music
is vivid - there's rarely a moment that goes by that doesn't goad
you into thought, persuade you to continue on their journey, to
their destination by their mode of transport.
Drowned In Sound
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7.82
The Besnard Lakes
The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night
This album is a blinding listen, interesting, deep and indeed
beautiful to behold.
The Quietus