Albums Of The Decade - 88. Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound

88. CLOUD NOTHINGS - LIFE WITHOUT SOUND

Stuttgart, Germany, 2017 - I felt low from the get-go moving there, especially considering I'd just left Asia after living there for six years. I had a landlady who was criticising my predecessor by saying he urinated on the sofa, when in fact it was a coffee stain. I started an office based job as a trainer and the whole year sucked my soul dry - the only good thing about the company is that they had sparkling water on tap - so you pop in your lemon wedge and at least there's salvation.

Luckily this album came around at an apt time, at the top of the year, and accompanied me right throughout; when coping with the perils of hedonism, when needing a soundtrack to run up the hill to, when lyrics are key to capturing questions about ones own existence. The strightforward lyrics, coupled with some of the best hooks in punk, allowed for one of the records I am thankful for most in the last 10 years. It picked me up when I was down, and there'll be more of this band on the list. No spoilers :)

Albums Of The Decade - 89. Matthew Dear - Black City

89. MATTHEW DEAR - BLACK CITY 

Was a toss-up between 2010's Black City and 2012's Beams, but this one shades it, down to the 80's influences in the creepy, self-aware house that Dear produces. Typical Dear to serve up vocal bastardized hybrids with stellar production. From front to back, this feels like someone's smoked in some plastic and breathed out some rainbows.

Dear has got something going on with his mouth, whereby he samples sounds he makes with his jaws, teeth, anything uttered, moaned, rasped, crunched - then layered under some production with singing on top - this is well-bred, yet anxious. Fractured and gooey. And he lays it on so thickly. Take "You Put A Smell On Me" for example:

And afterwards, you can come with me
To my big black house, on the black sea
I would like, you to put on something nice, that's safe and warm
It's a little red gown, with a name on it
You can dance with me just for a bit

This is the sound of self-delusion. The character sounds like he's talking to noone. At least that's how I interpret it. Even better are on "Slowdance" where the groan sampled sounds like he's in real pain.

It's a precious head wrapped up and bound for Ghana
I can't be the one to tell you everything's wrong
It's like every bee sting, tries to make my ears ring
Let them wash your face, man
And sing you your songs

I'll just leave you with that.

Albums of The Decade - 90. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

90. KURT VILE - SMOKE RING FOR MY HALO

One of the sloppiest, most existential artists in modern music; one of the most talented artists out there. One of the grainiest springboards for better things -  2011 saw me discover this singer-songwriter with gusto aplomb. Vile is absolutely someone whose output has rang continuously in my ears all decade - especially with that swimming effect used on the effects pedals, which is also employed by his former band The War On Drugs.

I remember it being cold for once in Taipei in the winter of 2011 and "Runner Ups" coupled with the oncoming trade wind, created this aura, this relief, this depth:

If it ain't workin', take a whiz on the world
An entire nation drinkin' from a dirty cup
My best friend's long gone, but I got runner ups

When I'm walkin' my head is practically draggin'
All I ever see is just a whole lotta dirt
My whole life's been one long running gag
Two packs of red apples for the long ride home
Well, you know, baby

Lyrics like that are typical of his self-deprecation and there's plenty more where that came from, as you could probably gauge from the title track and other delights like "Peeping Tomboy" - playful is key here :) 

Albums Of The Decade - 91. John Talabot - fIN

91. JOHN TALABOT - FIN

This played recently on my balcony with a bottle of pilsner in my hand and I finally realized that I was in the hub of summertime. Just back from my annual holiday and realising there was no need to be blue, a simple spin of this 2012 modern classic by Barcelona's Talabot confirmed to me that all you really gotta do is let the good times roll.

Taken from his Last FM page "His influences range from flamenco to northern soul, from African music to traditional Asian songs - well to add to that it's house and disco and electricity. An absolute smorgasbord of styles, yet consistent tempos here offer up a range of emotions, whether it's the old school nostalgia of "When The Past Was Present," the sinister howls supplicated in "Oro Y Sangre" or the puckering-up heard in "Destiny" - there might not be a bigger diversity on any album on this list.

Talbot wil hopefully release some other mierda in the near-future, other than his excellent DJ Kicks mixtape and that was 2013. Here's hoping. Track below. :)

Albums Of The Decade - 92. Bibio - A Mineral Love

92. BIBIO - A MINERAL LOVE 

Underrated sepia beige. Could there be a worse line than that to sell this album? It's folk with rose-tinted lenses, it's a dove cooing, it's spring spilling into summer. The production is as angelic as a delight, as a dessert. Normally. I'd abhor something so mucically fluffy - but Bibio has the depth to line this output with substance.

I first ran into Bibio at the top of the decade; glued to 2009's Ambivalence Avenue,making a big move to Taiwan in 2010. As I played tracks like Lovers' Carvings to my new roommates, it stopped them in their tracks. That timelessness of summer was captured in a few chords of gold, as Stephen Wilinson gave the bucolic sounds that chastened the city sprawl that we were feeling.

Advance it to 2016 and as I was leaving Asia, the technicolor hues were seeping through the audio, as four albums in-between had shown that Bibio, as a package, had finally put the feather in his cap. And. while it's rarely just a record that stands alone to represent an artist during the last ten years, at least with this effort, it typifies idealism in a laudative sense.

Albums Of The Decade - 93. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

93. THE WAR ON DRUGS - A DEEPER

UNDERSTANDING

Didn't feel it at first. Just seemed too much of a comfy cushion to sink into. But like the title of the album suggests, a little time spent with the record should result in some sumptuous soaking-it-up like a bubble-bath, or a foot massage, or a freshly washed blanket, or tropical fruit shampoo.

This band steadily gained momentum with this, their latest offering showing up in 2017 - A Deeper Understanding doesn't immediately astound, lke their 2014 masterpiece Lost In The Dream but the rewards are different. This is pure shoegaze, with country leanings.

The best thing for me about this project, is that since their 2011 sophomore album Slave Ambient - they had a full decade of building up the apex that this album created as it won the 2018 Grammy for best rock album. That kind of shit isn't usually important around these parts but considering they beat Queens of The Stone Age and Metallica to the title, we'll drink to that.