albums of the decade - 94. Okkervil River - The Stage Names

94. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (2007)

Will Sheff and his Austin, Texas cohorts are at the top of their game here on this movie-themed long player, complete with nine tracks. Sheff's voice frequently weeps and it's very endearing. Other times it can soar like on opener 'Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe'. The lyrics are also superlative: "No-one wants a tune about the 100th luft-balloon" he cries on 'Plus Ones' but if he wants to sing about that, then that's fine. This metaphor could mean one of a few things. Maybe he's demeaning the plasticity of the 80's, maybe not. His folk is superior anyway. This kind of analysis could go on and on, and that's just one line. My advice: just dive in.

albums of the decade - 95. Carl Hancock Rux - Good Bread Alley

95. Carl Hancock Rux - Good Bread Alley (2006)

A great novelist. An inspiring poet. An edgy playwright. A top-notch essayist. Is there anything this man can't do? No. Hancock Rux's music mixes soul, funk, gospel, blues, rock and hip-hop with his penchant for monologues to craft a politically charged resonance that melts in the mouth. All of his records are worth hearing, but 'Good Bread Alley' is the most rounded of these. Hailing from Harlem, the artist wears his African-American identity proud on his sleeve and carries the literary conviction of Langston Hughes, but in a very modern capacity. The themes of gender, race and - more pertinently isolation - are themes we can all explore when listening to this crucial voice.

albums of the decade - 96. Grinderman - Grinderman

96. Grinderman - Grinderman (2007)

"11 tracks that scorch the earth lesser bands traipse on" said the Alternative Press about this concept album from the talismanic Nick Cave and it's hard to put it better than that. Just why it's not another album from the the Bad Seeds is open to discussion, but perhaps this is simply Cave letting loose more than ever before. He also uses 'Grinderman' as a license to experiment further than a lot of his noir coated folk. 'Electric Alice' even serves up some jazziness with them blues noodles and the aura changes frantically and fantastically. This either means that there's no limit to Cave's right to be heard, or that the green mutant thing on the cover is one bizarro freakazoid.

albums of the decade - 97. FM Belfast - How to Make Friends

97. FM Belfast - How To Make Friends (2008)

One of the most delightful bunch of people I've had the pleasure to meet, I interviewed FM Belfast for the Iceland Airwaves music festival in 2008. As the photo's below show, they showed me that aside from 'making' friends you can also 'bake' them. This is the only interview where I haven't needed to prepare a script as the humour and laughs ran the show. Never before have I seen a band have so much fun playing live. This album contains songs about chimpanzee's, running down the street in underwear and also covers Technotronic's 'Pump Up the jam' and Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name Of'. It's pop music of the highest callibre and my favourite tag on their lastfm.com profile is "glittering raspberry."

albums of the decade - 98. Kiko - Midnight Magic

98. Kiko - Midnight Magic (2002)

You may have noticed that French music exports really well - Daft Punk, Air, Phoenix, Sebastian Tellier and Mr Oizo (if only for that brilliant Levi's ad with the nodding puppet) - have all made their mark and it's all polished and pretty as expected. However, a real dark horse called Christophe Dallaca rode along and was not afraid to get his hoofs dirty and bring a load of clatter: clip-clop, clip-clop over stable disco beats. As Italo-Disco and its synthetic, spacey meanderings contrasted the banging techno that was to come in the 90's, 'Midnight Magic' sits somewhere comfortably between the two. In other words, highly recollective of Daft Punk's 'Homework.' This is the only kind of shit of its kind that I can happily play in my bedroom and I'm so not a clubber.

albums of the decade - 99. Quiet Village - Silent Movie

99. Quiet Village - Silent Movie (2008)

Plays like a film soundtrack. Isn't a film soundtrack. Could soundtrack your dreams. The blissful tones of say 'Victoria's Secret' or the organic drums on 'Pillow Talk' are Balearic in their appeal, yet the outlook for scope on this album is just global. There are a couple of pacey ditties, a few soul nuggets and lots of lush instrumentation and sampling. No shift in style jars with the next and there's no danger of blandness. 'Silent Movie' recalls Nightmares On Wax, Quantic Soul Orchestra and The Avalanches in a complete package of cosy, uplifting and quirky, as pertaining to those three inspirations respectively.

albums of the decade - 100. Matias Aguayo - Are You Really Lost

100. Matias Aguayo - Are You Really Lost (2005)

We begin with a producer from Santiago, Chile who relocated to Cologne, Germany in the 1990's to start experimenting with electronica. Where a lot of minimal music comes off sounding cold and boring, or experimental for experimental sakes, this record is warm and sensual. Sampling voices and double tracking his breathy vocals and clickety fingers over elegant beats, this is best played with a fragrant candle that smells of lavender and lime at 2am. It stays on the right side of quirky and is psychedelic in all the right places, see the lyrics to 'The Green and the Red': "Red was joking and Green was smoking" and then "Red was lonely and Green was lovely" - you don't need drugs to appreciate the magificent colours of this tapestry though, maybe just a glass of red, but not too many! Or else you'll feel a bit green...