albums of the decade - 81. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

81. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)

Oh the buzz! Oh the hype! The Pitchfork melodrama! Then surprise, surprise, the attention wanes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are left alone to get a record deal, to get some cash to eat some meals. This debut album was originally self-pressed to a few hundred copies, but they had to rush out thousands more, like a chef would with hot-cakes. From start to finish, the music is as 'indie' as can be, by the American definition at least. By that, we're not talking Blur or Bristish Sea Power, but instead Wolf Parade, Yeasayer et al. Music for the hipster. Clap your hands for these guys for starting that whole trend of a fashionably nasally way of singing. Great band: you can drink from your hip flask / get joined at the hip / stroke your beard and shake your hips to this band, but it don't mean you no hipster.

albums of the decade - 82. Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me

82. Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me (2001)

To label Roots Manuva 'UK Rap' would be to do him a disservice. To dub him a dub artist would be equally narrow-minded, Rodney Smith is his own brew and is more intoxicating than "ten pints of bitter." He's managed to shake the shackles of Dizzee, Wiley, Lethal Bizzle and the rest: "I'm a one man -powerhouse, succeeding within the scene" he asserts on 'Dreamy Days," without being aggressive and that's refreshing! So, 'Run Come Save Me' is his second record of four (so far) and finds him trying lots of different things. Jazz, electronica, dub and loads of reflection are all in the mix, as well as the classic Manuva wit as per 'Join The Dots:'

"I melt your order like sugar and seltzer water
Whoever felt the horror but knows that their chance vague
Surround your sound like a spandex pants

leg"

All his albums are great, and while this isn't his tightest as such, I feel its appeal grows in its disorder. Boy all over the shop!

albums of the decade - 83. Beach House - Devotion

83. Beach House - Devotion (2008)

I've spent the last year, on and off, gorging myself on HBO's The Wire and its gritty, hard boiled depiction of Baltimore, Maryland. It's tough to grasp then, that the dream-pop outfit Beach House are from said city, especially when their music is so arresting. 'Devotion' has 11 tracks and they contain plenty of longing and heartbreak, as if the glimpse of light is somewhere on the horizon, but still a long way from this dark cave. The instruments and lyrics are sparse, for these haunted songs employ a 'less is more' policy, or for vocalist Victoria Legrand, perhaps 'loss is more'. When the curtain comes down on 'Home Again,' the pain is soothed and one of the most beautiful songs in an age packs the best discharge on an album ever. The Wire may be so preoccupied with the hustle of 'the game,' but for Beach House, they are so already ahead of that shit.

albums of the decade - 85. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

85. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport (2009)

Bristol, UK brought Massive Attack. Brought Portishead. Bristol brings the noise now. Right now is about the noise. Fuck Buttons bust out of the blocks last year with crazy debut 'Street Horrrsing' that goes completely batshit, all over the shop, the layers upon layers of swirling noise building and building, with screeches of bottled-up frustration being gloriously uncorked at the climax. The music works on the premise that aggravation and jubilation can be drunk up in the same glass and the same is true of 'Tarot Sport'. At the time of writing, this had only just been released but its intensity is immediately apparent, as opener 'Surf Solar' brings the jams like never before. This time Fuck Buttons use beats, so you can dance to every emotion under the sun in this epic of a follow-up. It's noise made to last.

albums of the decade - 86. Fennesz - Endless Summer

86. Fennesz - Endless Summer (2001)

Press play on this one and someone not au fait with glitchy music might think the CD is skipping or that it’s a shitty MP3. If that’s the case then ask them to look deeper, or to listen on headphones to some Fennesz and they may cinematically change their mind. ‘Endless Summer’ may seem like an ironic choice to name music that can leave the listener feeling frosty, but there are layers of warmth to be found, especially after repeated spins. I caught him live on the same bill as Animal Collective, Caribou, Four Tet, Explosions In The Sky and Matthew Dear (what a line-up!) in an amazing London all-nighter. The thing that struck me about Fennesz was how the drones reverberated around the whole Coronet Theatre and the sounds washed over everyone, it was so cleansing. This album is a great introduction to melodic noise, as the guy from Austria, Christian Fennesz, set the standard for abstract sound at the top of the decade.

albums of the decade - 87. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

87. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005)

Everyone knows everything about this band that are everywhere. Some think they're shit, some think they're ace, but if we were to average everything out, most people would think they're alright. Thing is, until a year or so ago, Bloc Party were always a mixed bag live. I saw them in Miami playing to a stadium full of school-kids, and they totally bottled it, as if all the British references in their lyrics were lost on the crowd. At Glastonbury however, they blew me away, the band totally in their element, giving me the impression that they have noticeable confidence issues. On record though, they're always gonna be tight. While second effort 'A Weekend In The City' is much more streamlined and endearing, this debut is rough around the edges in a punky kind of way. It's the classic, brave debut album before the quality took a tumble a little bit later for commercial reasons. Luckily, Bloc Party have kept their integrity and haven't gone completely crap like Eminem, Franz Ferdinand or Radiohead.

albums of the decade - 88. Herbert - Scale

88. Herbert - Scale (2006)

Matthew Herbert is the classic British eccentric. He is also perhaps the ultimate producer in modern music. Aside from producing great records from Roisin Murphy and Micachu & The Shapes, he gets politically active in his own sampling. In 2005's 'Plat Du Jour,' Herbert sampled various foodstuffs and those exploited in India picking artificially grown rice plants and much more to get his case forward. On 2006's Scale though, it was household objects including breakfast ceral and gas pumps. If all of this sounds a bit oddball, just give 'Scale' a spin and you'll find one of the best soul albums in an age! How it all fits together is anyone's guess, but by golly it does and it's a miracle and he never ceases to amaze etc etc etc