1. Katy B - On A Mission
2. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
3. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
4. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rolling
5. The Kills - Blood Pressures
6. Neon Indian - Era Extrana
7. Rebecca & Fiona - I Love You, Man
8. Toro Y Moi - Freaking Out (EP)
9. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
10. Jill Scott - The Light of The Sun
**The list below is strictly based on my opinion and, of course, I'm not a critic so don't judge.
#10
10. Foster The People – Torches
This is probably the most over-hyped album
of the year, too, but admit it, the tracks like Call It What You Want, Houdini,
Pumped Up Kicks are what you must expect to hear from a decent pop band. The boy’s
album is fun, frank and cynical. Foster The People is just like MTV version of
MGMT.
Favourite Track: “Pumped Up Kicks”
Favourite Track: “Pumped Up Kicks”
#9
9. Theophilus London – Timez Are Weird These Days
If you’re looking for a rapper in high
fashion but already had enough of Kanye West, if you’re looking forward to see
a rap record with more musical creativity apart from auto-tune and swaggering,
if you crave the crossover between rap’s urban touch with funk, electropop and
indie, this hotshot is definitely the place to be.
#8
8. TORO Y MOI – Underneath The Pines
Chazwick Bundick seems like the dictator of
the whole Chillwave/Indie scene lately. This year Toro Y Moi sheered away from foggy chillwave into more
funky bass and more lively vocal in this latest album came out last February,
and everyone else seemed to do so. This album
sounds like the revival of Air’s Moon Safari, which sounds like a good thing to me.
7#
7. SBTRKT – SBTRKT
While remaining subtlety behind that wooden
mask, an English DJ, SBTRKT (pronounce Subtract) persists to turn the
overpowering dubstep trend in England to make it feel soft, sexy and soulful by
his minimalistic mastermind, bringing out less well-known singers throughout
the country to sing for him.
Favourite Track “Pharoahs”
#6
6. Those Dancing Days – Daydreams & Nightmares
Despite the fact that their debut album
didn’t get me at all, Daydreams & Nightmares feels like a sugar dripping
lollipop, like running free, laughing with friends, hugging trees again. These
made-in-Sweden indie pop girls do their job so great at marrying the nostalgic
synth to aggressive drums and put it into a set teenage love song.
Favourtie Track “Can’t Find Entrance”
#5
5. Beyonce – 4
This album was released as if to cure
mainstream pop decent music deprivation, the best R&B since 2010 Janelle Monae’s Archandroid. 4 is full of love, it depicts her natural state of mind toward
her lover, personal yet relatable. Beyonce has come far enough to make music
purely the way she wants.
Favourite Track “1+1”
#4
4. The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
There is something sexy about the bass, the
down-tempo /slow jam R&B, the samples and the hazy morning-after-dark lyrics.
Abel
Testayfe, behind the name of The Weeknd, received breakthrough blog hype
and critical recognition over the world, but remember this is only his first
studio album.
Favourite Track “The Morning”
#3
3. Jamie Woon – Mirrorwriting
Jamie Woon, this London-bred producer from
the same school as Amy Winehouse, is like doctor evil, balefully invents
everything on his laptop, piano, bass, up alone in bedroom penning lyrics along
with his soulful voice, and it turns out so addictive and very
mind-controlling.
2. Friendly Fires – Pala
The lead single Live Those Days Tonight was
the track of the night the first time I heard it and became the track of the
month after last summer had passed, and that made Pala highly anticipated
to me. Fortunately, the rest of the album was not disappointing; they’re even
fascinating, inventive, quirky and very bitchy like how them boys are.
Favourite Track “Live Those Days Tonight”
#1
1. Adele - 21
Of course, who else would you guess? It’s
Adele’s year, no others. Who knows a love wreck would inspire this much. These
teary-eyed soul tracks are profound, mellow and smooth, aggressive as they
should be, and are connected with perfect symmetry as they keep topping one
another from the first track to the last.
Favourite Track “Set Fire To The Rain”
