The Musologist – 2010
So here we are in the penultimate edition of ‘albums released in my lifetime in a year ending with a zero’. I’m sure there’s a catchier title out there, but hey. 2010 was an interesting year and the albums chosen contain two by acts nearing the end of their peak and two by bands emerging and stamping their mark on the music world. Enjoy.
McFly – Above The Noise
A sonic departure for sure. Enlisting producers Dallas Austin and Taio Cruz abandoned the raw pop/punk sound they were best known for and replacing it with a slick 80s sound that allowed them to compete with their contemporaries. It paid off though and songs like ‘Shine a light’ were embraced by their fan base as well as new audiences.
Field Music – Measure
The Brewis brothers from Sunderland to this day remain a well-kept secret, but those in the know couldn’t even predict this sprawling masterpiece. Chamber pop, classic rock and progressive with a small p. Like ‘The White Album’ without being in any sense derivative, from the concise ‘Them that do nothing’ to the analog disco of ‘Let’s write a book’. Music for thinkers. AND dancers.
Snarky Puppy – Tell Your Friends
Jazz-Fusion was all but dead in the water by 2010, even now, one could be excused for never even hearing this genre even by accident. Enter Snarky Puppy: a Texan jazz collective that gained traction as they crept across to New York, Manchester and into the clubs of Europe in their mini-van. Now they’ve picked up some Grammys and gained the admiration of their heroes, you should check this album out and…Tell Your Friends.
Ozzy Osbourne – Scream
After the storming ‘Black Rain’ Ozzy was showing no sign of flagging and no shortage of confidence either, even to the point of replacing longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde with the unknown but nonetheless explosive Gus G. Once again produced by Kevin Churko, this is an album that doesn’t miss a beat and delivers as consistently as one of his classics. He’s a self-deprecating contradiction is Ozzy, but an astonishing artist with one of the best voices in hard rock, even at his last gig at Villa Park.
