Best Of 2010 38-35

38) Theophilus London - Humdrum Town

Theophilus London is a Brooklyn based rapper, songwriter and producer.  Humdrum Town was his debut single (released on Green Label Sound, a free download singles label).  As a track it is distinctly difficult to pigeonhole.  London’s raps echo back to hip-hop of the past yet he contrasts this wonderfully by injecting unquestionably contemporary and modern pop sensibilities.  It is a smooth and soulful pop song that also, unlike many of his contemporaries, has a great deal of lyrical depth to it.  Second single Flying Overseas featuring Dev Hynes of Test Icicles and Lightspeed Champion fame and Solange Knowles of being Beyonce’s sister fame, is also well worth checking out. 

37) The Unwinding Hours - Knut

The only real positive of Glasgow’s brilliant Aerogramme splitting in 2007 was the emergence of Iain Cook and Craig B’s new project The Unwinding Hours.  The band formed in 2008, waiting until 2009 until officially announcing the project before releasing their self-titled debut album in February of this year.  Album opener Knut is a beautiful six minute masterpiece that feels like a natural progression from where Aerogramme left off.  It starts off so incredibly quietly, that the natural reaction is to wonder whether your speakers are even on, before gradually building up and getting louder before hitting the listener with an absolutely beautiful, yet inevitable wall of noise.  Everything I loved about Aerogramme is present in Knut; Craig B’s haunting and distinct vocals, the quiet/loud aesthetic, the powerful and honest lyrical content.  However, like I said earlier, it does feel like a progression rather than a mere attempt to cling onto former glories by re-hashing the same ideas that worked so well for Aerogramme.

36) Jónsi - Go Do

Jón Þór Birgisson, aka Jónsi is the vocalist and guitarist for Icelandic’s finest export Sigur Ros.  He has also released music as Riceboy Sleeps a joint venture with boyfriend Alex Somers.  His debut album Go, however marked his first release as a solo musician.  However a lot of the record is indebted to Nico Muhly, an American composer responsible for the record’s wonderful arrangements.  Go Do like everything Jónsi has worked on before, is heavily reliant on his absolutely stunning voice, which is one of the most distinct and I would argue, best in modern music.  The sheer beauty he can get across with his vocals make his voice a incredibly powerful instrument in itself.  The track like most of his debut record combines this stunning voice with a wealth of beautiful instrumentation.  Beginning with a shrill birdsong, it does not take long before it explodes into life with a stomping drum beat and a flute before Jónsi’s other-worldly vocal begins.  The rest of the track continues in a similar vein, Jónsi’s uplifting vocal continues to be utterly compelling contrasting magnificently with heavy percussion and soft, jittery electronics.  Absolutely gorgeous.   

35) Django Django - Wor

I first came across Django Django in The Guardian’s ‘New Band of the Day’ section on the newspaper’s website (the band were ‘new band 570’ for interested parties).  The piece, when trying to describe Django Django’s sound said this - ‘In fact, it's quite tricky to explain quite what it is that Django Django do, which is good, because it suggests they're doing something a little bit different.’  If a respected music journalist for a broadsheet newspaper found it difficult to describe the band’s sound, then I have very little chance but I’ll have a go at trying to get across just how magnificent this year’s WOR is.  The track begins with an air-raid/ambulance siren and progresses in the bizarre manner one might expect from a song that begins in such a way.  Spiky, stop-start guitars and some great percussion give the song a magnificent sense of rhythm and energy, allowing it to zip along at an almost ridiculous pace allowing the listener very little time to establish what the hell is actually going on.  Absolutely magic.