Putting together an electronic album, whether it be techno, house, disco, garage, dubstep — is no easy feat. When assessing the top LPs of 2010, we were more than happy to relax our usually rigid focus and consider albums across all electronic sub-genres. The result was a list that maintained an intriguing balance between techno albums, experimental/garage/funky albums, as well as the odd house album, and a disco album. Much like the EP adjudication, we are looking at these LPs on a track-by-track basis, while considering the whole work as well. Specific to LPs, we are also very interested in assessing the album’s overarching theme, or the story that unfolds during the listening experience. This last detail is the factor that allows good electronic albums to become great ones.
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Top Ten LPs of 2010:
01 | White Rainbow
Artist: Sei A
Label: Turbo
Release Date: November 2010
Cat #: TURBOCD029BP
Beatport
No surprise here. We virtually announced it back in November, but White Rainbow is now officially our album of the year for 2010. If you’re looking for a flawless techno album, a standard by which all others should be judged, this LP by Sei A will certainly do the trick. What makes the release so special, is Sei A’s willingness to use his brand of techno to break down sub-genre barriers, presenting a type of musical diversity that is truly sparse in these digitally fueled circles. As we’ve said before, “He easily skips from techno assault weapon in Flicker, to snake-charming Syriana-groove in Flylo, to spiritually feckless ambient in Body of Eyes.” Sei A’s voice is a comforting tour-guide, courting you along as this dark and twisted plot effortlessly unfolds.
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02 | Black City
Artist: Matthew Dear
Label: Ghostly International
Release Date: August 2010
Cat #: GI120
Beatport
Black City was something of an enigma to us upon its release. Would we include it in our year-end rankings? Is it electronic enough? Do we even like it that much? Since August, this LP by Matthew Dear has grown on us, and now, it makes so much sense, on so many different levels. Combining alluring vocals by the man himself, along with all things experimental, disco, ambient, with distant shades of house music, this album is a sheer masterpiece. Dear’s soulful, yet seductive pipes put this one over the top, with top-shelf tunes like I Can’t Feel and Soil To Seed.
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03 | If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade
Artist: Riva Starr
Label: Made To Play
Release Date: February 2010
Cat #: MTPCD003
Beatport
Before you roll your eyes, think back to the latter-half of 2009, and then the front-half of 2010 — remember the tropical/tribal/latin sound that was almost a pandemic in house music? Well, whether you like it or not, all tributaries of the tribal renaissance flow back to the effort of Riva Starr, and the work from this very album. Tracks from this album (like Maria) first began to surface at the beginning of ’09, sparking the beginning of what was undeniably the biggest craze in gangster house circles, for well over a year — especially with the likes of French Fries, Homework, Malente, Round Table Knights, and the Sound Pellegrino crews all adopting these ideas. What this album lacks in cohesiveness, it makes up for with the quality of its individual tunes — take Dance Me, Black Cat and Bulgarian Chicks, as just a few examples.
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04 | Comedy Of Menace
Artist: Terence Fixmer
Label: Electric Deluxe
Release Date: September 2010
Cat #: EDLX010
Beatport
If you’re looking for a pitch-black, industrial-infused, uncomfortable techno album, none beat Comedy of Menace, the fourth full-length release by Frenchman, Terence Fixmer. This album ropes together a hurd of DJ-friendly, listner-abrasive, techno bombs, all the while, paying homage to the techno greats, transporting your mind to the ever-inviting warehouse venues of the Kreuzberg district. With an EP release on Turbo and a flurry of releases surrounding this album on Electric Deluxe (Speedy J’s label), 2010 has been somewhat of a revival for Fixmer.
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05 | Delicacies
Artist: Simian Mobile Disco
Label: Delicacies
Release Date: November 2010
Cat #: DELICD001
Beatport
SMD promised that they were going to ditch the lovey-dovey vocal-filled harmonies, trading them in for some heavy, ugly, techno artillery — and they certainly did so. Although, the uniqueness of this album stems from the progressive musical pedigree of James and Jas infiltrating classic EBM sounds — incorporating those classic SMD harmonies, and cloaking them in dark Berghain beats. Aspic is the track that epitomizes this, taking a stark minimal groove, genius in its simplicity, and layering a menacing stab loop almost copy/pasted from Temporary Pleasure. It’s a gift/curse thing here, but it works, and we love it.
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06 | Glass Eights
Artist: John Roberts
Label: Dial
Release Date:
Cat #: DIALCD22
Beatport
Glass Eights is the quintessential 6 AM album. It does everything and nothing for us. We mean everything and nothing in the most beautiful and polite way possible though, as John Roberts dishes the enchanting experimental/ambient sounds of nothingness like few others have ever been able to. Beginning to end, this difficult-to-define sound experience permeates the cerebral zone of music appreciation, and forces you to let go of the material world. Tunes like Pruned, Went, Ever or Not, and Glass Eights don’t impose on you, they simply seduce you, and carefully lull you into a lasting obsession.
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07 | Crooks & Lovers
Artist: Mount Kimbie
Label: Hotflush
Release Date: July 2010
Cat #: HFCD004
Beatport
What a kaleidoscopic conundrum. This album is everywhere, exploring the crevices of dubbed-out and spacey R&B grooves, classic UK Funky, and minimalesque shades of the darkest wonk-wonk bass you can imagine. Crooks & Lovers is soaked in the sounds of Burial and Four Tet, but we’re not complaining, as those ideas have be recreated in an innovative and tactful way. What separates the London-based duo of Mount Kimbie from their experimental ancestors is their willingness to unravel, disassemble and rethink dubstep once and for all. They’ve breathed sober life into a genre that is marred by hopeless distortion and meaningless vocals to create something lasting, and gorgeous.
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08 | Swim
Artist: Caribou
Label: City Slang
Release Date: October 2010
Cat #: SLANG753778
Beatport
Swim is living proof that a quote-unquote pop album can adopt explicit elements of electronic and rave culture and still be massively popular. Repeatedly being billed as album of the year, and a musical gift from the indie God’s, we certainly enjoyed everything that Caribou had to offer here. Whether it’s the melodious saw wave in Found Out, the trance stabs in Hannibal and Kaili, or even the disco groove in Odessa — this album is a very palpable celebration of electronic music, under the more acceptable guise of indie rock. It makes sense why this album is being confused with the Eucharist in many music congregations.
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09 | Lucky Shiner
Artist: Gold Panda
Label: Ghostly International
Release Date: October 2010
Cat #: GI123
Beatport
We’ve had an in-the-closet thing for Gold Panda since Quitter’s Raga in 2009, and the appreciation has grown from there. Lucky Shiner is a stunning example of hip-hop kicks being thrown into the spider-web of a low-bpm indie-electronic wet dream. Gold Panda is always so impressive in his willingness to use of voluminous orchestral sounds to emphasize the passing of time in his musical story. Chalk this important super-sleeper down as another huge win for Ghostly International, and a great contribution to our LP ranks.
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10 | We Can’t Fly
Artist: Aeroplane
Label: Eskimo
Release Date: September 2010
Cat #: 5414165035546D
Beatport
After the first listen of We Can’t Fly, we were teenage-girl sulky. After being spell-bound by so many incredible disco-pop remixes by this French super-duo, we were expecting to continue this adolescent love affair — but it never happened, our hearts were seemingly crushed. The album’s first single, by the same title, ignited so much hope when it was broadcast over BBC Radio 1′s 500th essential mix, but follow-up efforts like Without Lies and Caramellas were few and far between. Horribly misguided hair-spray rock efforts like I Don’t Feel, almost make us nauseous, and stand as a stark reminder of why this album couldn’t be pegged any higher.
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11 | Drift
Artist: Marc Houle
Label: M_nus (Minus)
Release Date: September 2010
Cat #: MINUS98CD
Beatport
Kudos to Marc Houle for expanding the horizons of techno here, and really showcasing his grasp of EDM far beyond the reaches of dark Berlin noise. Much to our surprise, Houle mixes in his typical witchcraft with tunes that sound a lot more like Joy Orbison, than Richie Hawtin. It’s a really refreshing amalgamation, although we would have preferred a couple more big-room weapons, and a couple less horror movie theme songs — as in, less suspenseful synth articulation, and more manual triggered 909. All in all, a very nice collection from this M-Nus talisman.
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12 | Roska
Artist: Roska
Label: Rinse
Release Date: April 2010
Cat #: RINSECD016
Beatport
The most explicit link between hip-hop and electronic music as you’ll find on our 2010 rankings. The marriage between dubstep and rap music has never been understated, so Roska took the opportunity to exploit this affinity, showcasing how this relationship could work as a danceable fabrication. He flaunts the hybrid sound through a series of playful, listener-friendly compositions, tip-toeing through soca grooves, picking up classic house elements, and arriving at a very catchy tropical variation of wonk-wonk bass.
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