16. Drake - Thank Me Later

Drake’s album dropped under a lot of pressure.  The graduate of Degrassi: The Next Gen came out of nowhere to drop some emo inspired monotone verses on his mixtape So Far Gone and the next thing you know he’s courted by Jay-Z and Lil Wayne.  Weezy won out and Thank Me Later finally dropped on the Young Money label at the top of 2010.

Backed by IDM influenced instrumentals, Drake dropped some emotionally raw verses that owed much to Kanye West’s genre busting breakdown 808’s and Heartbreaks.  Was it R&B, was it Hip Hop?  Was it neither?  It didn’t matter as fans (especially the ladies) drooled over not only his poo-eating grin, but also his luscious tracks with the likes of Alicia Keys (Fireworks) and Swizz Beatz (Fancy).

Karaoke and Resistance asked if the lure of fame was really worth it, but it was when Drake  got all loverman with The-Dream on Shut it Down that we really knew he had the R&B game on lock.  Fear of making it big was a recurring theme on the album, leaving Drake feeling nostalgic for the regular life he only recently departed.  Which makes you wonder where he goes from here?  He may succumb to the lazy trappings of the R&B grind, but for now he’s in a league of his own.

Download So Far Gone Mixtape HERE

17. Lupe Fiasco - Enemy of the State

Listen to the music below.  It speaks for itself.

18. Caribou - Swim

It takes some sort of mathematician to construct the kind of giddy algorithms that frame Daniel ‘Caribou’ Snaith’s songs.  Lucky then that he is the son of university maths professor.  However, if you’re thinking that his music is some sort of nerdy classical monstrosity only enjoyed by those with Mensa credentials, your couldn’t be more wrong.

Trading in what was once known as IDM (Intelligence Dance Music), it’s easier just to call it dance music.  Although not as accessible as his earlier releases (which alternately sounded like electronic folk music and shoegaze), Swim is just as rewarding, and on repeat listens, even more so.  The intricacies reveal themselves slowly, and what at first seems oddly placed becomes key.

Wild saxaphone solo’s, bleeding synth’s, nimbly picked guitar and clattering drums are all part of the purpose built sound.  The vocals come and go, eerily pitching themselves above the music, detached in a way that evokes the loneliness of a break-up, a divorce or of just being plain by yourself.  The organic, pulsing beats below make the loneliness feel like a warm sweater on a cold day, making the juxtaposition of the two opposing poles seem like a match made in heaven.

19. A-Trak - Dirty South Dance 2

I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, but if I did, then this would probably be it for twenty ten.  Since winning the DMC world DJ championships at the age of 15 and every DJing award imaginable, A-Trak has carved out an enviable career.  Working with Kanye West, starting his own label (Fool’s Gold) and then crafting the addictive Barbara Streisand with Armand Van Helden (as Duck Sauce), it seems there is little left for him to accomplish.

Luckily for us A-Trak found the inspiration (and time) to put together the second installment in his Dirty South Dance series.  The concept is simple - Dirty South acapella’s grafted on to some of the silkiest beats of the year.  

It works for a number of reasons.  Firstly, the sing-song flow of southern rap heavyweights like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy and Gucci Mane is a perfect match for the melodic dance instrumentals.  Secondly, A-Trak hasn’t just sampled a bunch of house hits for his backing tracks.  He’s has a ear for tunes, and his selections seem well researched.  When you add in his talents behind the technic turntables, you have an irresistible concoction.  There’s no point in me breaking down the nuance’s of each song for you.  You’re better off just listening to the damn thing yourself, because sometimes when something just feels right, you just do it.
 

20. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Upon hearing the name The Suburbs I mistakenly thought the Arcade Fire were doing away with colossal statements.  Surely they couldn’t muster the same intensity and wealth of idea’s that fuelled their two previous opus’s Funeral and Neon Bible.  Yet here we are.

The albums opens with The Suburbs, and if feels like we’ve just dropped in ‘Marty McFly’ style into a suburban backyard, recalling sunny summers, bbq’s and the dad’s old Holden cruising the block.  It’s a great ruse, lulling us into a lo-fi daze before ripping us back into reality with the charged Ready to Start, where lead singer Win Butler wistfully recalls the glory days before he apparently sold out.  

Where Funeral saw the kids digging tunnels to escape the Suburban malaise, The Suburbs seems to be drawing inspiration from those that were left behind, doomed to forever pick up the sunday paper off the front lawn and tend to the garden.

The Bruce Springsteen influence comes up a lot when talking about the Arcade Fire, and again on this record the comparison is apt.  Month of May is as ragged and unpolished as the best Boss barn-burners, but there’s more to this album than E-Street riffs.  Album closer The Sprawl II feels like MGMT covering The Knife and signals yet another glorious departure for the band, just another highlight in an already classic career and a perfect ending to a near perfect album.

21. Honourable mention: Guido - Anidea, Gorillaz - Plastic Beach, Chemical Brothers - Further, The Roots - How I got Over, Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 2, Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer, Flying Lotus  - Cosmogramma