Albums of 2010: 15-11

15. Working For A Nuclear Fre City - The Jojo Burger Tempest

The Manchester space cadets of WFANFC did nothing to curb their ambitions on The Jojo Burger Tempest, another 2CD set which went out of its way to encapsulate everything worthwhile to have emerged from their home city in the last 30 years (sorry Oasis). Whilst the first CD flitted between guitar-indie, shoegaze, acid-house and krautrock at the drop of a hat, CD2's 30-minute sound collage took an even more direct route through WFANFC's array of influences



14. Women - Public Strain

That wintry album cover is apt - Public Strain is shrouded in a near-inpenetrable mist, and the cold, metallic grooves of China Steps and Drag Open are chilling. But elsewhere on Public Strain, the likes of Eyesore and Venice Lockjaw exude a warmth only originally hinted by their 2008 debut, whilst the intricate guitar interplay on Locust Valley and Heat Distraction perfectly demonstrated Women's increasing ability to balance dissonance with melody.




13. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

After a couple of so-so member-focused releases, the only thing BSS had to apologise for was for leaving it 5 years to give us a proper follow-up to their last record. Forgiveness Rock Record was the collective's tightest sounding record to date, and Lisa Lobsinger thrived  from a more prominent role, but all the hallmarks - celebratory jams, odes to masturbation, a fine Emily Haines-led song in All in All - that  make any BSS record worth its weight in salt were present and correct.




12. Sleigh Bells - Treats

The formula couldn't have been much simpler; put Alexis Krauss' chearleader vocals to Derek E Miller's brash guitar riffs, add some mammoth beatds and crank everything up into the red. The sugary goodness of Paliament-sampling Rill Rill, strategically placed as the album's centrepiece,sweetened the deal, but Treats was as its album title suggested: probably not good for you in the long-term, but instantly gratifying, and absurd amounts of fun.




11. Andrew Cedermark - Moon Deluxe
The former Titus Andronicus guitarist's solo debut record was one of the year's surprise highlights. Moon Deluxe's energy owed at least something to his former band, but its organic instrumentation (guitars creaked  and roared like tree branches in a storm), seamless song progression and Cedermark's rambling, narrative vocal stylings had perhaps more in common with the likes of Phil Elverum and Jason Molina.

Albums of 2010: 20-16

The Ones That Got Away