A year in albums, 3 of 4.

... Only eight to go now.

8. Skream - Watch The Ride
So, I decided I'm gonna go on and stick an album at the 8th spot that I actually don't even own (yet, but I'm gonna go buy it soon). And how's that now? Well, Watch The Ride in itself may or may not be worthy of this position, but the fact itself that I have opened my ears to dubstep deserves a mention, because it's probably my most groundbreaking new leap into a genre since I started listening to Kashmir and Jamiroquai in stead of mainstream stuff of the early 00's. I have always admired musicians who try to take their stuff further than anyone else (as long as it satisfies my ears too, that is), and that's exactly what's fascinating about dubstep, whether it be Skream, Benga or lesser known names. Dubstep as a phenomenon is still fairly new and fairly underground, and I think it will continue to be. I don't think it can exist outside of the vividness of the World's absolute cultural metropolises - London, Berlin, New York City. Watch The Ride is all bass, all dub, and some of the most mind-blowing, heavy-throbbing, beats on this planet.

7. Bloc Party - Intimacy
Ofcourse, I can't snub Bloc Party, who quite surprisingly and on a short notice released their third full-length last August. Although I don't believe in such things as a 'favourite band', Bloc Party comes pretty damn close. I think one of Bloc Party's great traits is their ability to be diverse. These days, very often bands find a sound and stick to it. That's perfectly alright, and often makes great records (such as the #1 on my list, wait and see...), but I really do admire bands who are able to do both ballads, great rockouts and more alternative stuff while still being distinctively themselves. Bloc Party have a distinctive sound, which, even though it has changed through their three albums, is visible all throughout Intimacy as well. So with all this praise, why are they stuck at number 7? Well, to be honest, I'd put Intimacy as the least impressive Bloc album. Ofcourse it's hard to follow up their #2, which is probably one of my favourite albums across the boards, but still I feel many of the tracks on this one do not have the same longevity as the two former albums. Still however there are moments of brilliancy, such as the big beat-hinting two opening tracks 'Ares' and 'Mercury', the beautiful yet perhaps slightly cheap 'Signs', Bloc classic 'Talons' and, probably what's turned out to be my favourite track on this album, the gracefully intensifying 'Ion Square', which is really an exquisite tune, constantly building up through layers of synth'ey noises and pads, constant hi-hat motion and elegant lyrics on coming to terms with romantic mishap.

By the way, my last.fm top three is actually:
- 'Better Than Heaven'
- 'Ares'
- 'Mercury'

6. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
The ridiculously titled (come on, everyone must've known people would call it simply 'Viva La Vida' anyway...) fourth effort from perhaps one of the worlds biggest bands right now, Coldplay, is ofcourse also sure-fire on this list. It was actually the first album I got this year, I bought it from a street vendor on Nanjing Rd. in Shanghai (but it looks like an original!). Put straight, it's the bravest album they've ever done, but honestly that says more about Coldplay than it does about VLV. But in my ears, it lacks the epic ballads that Coldplay do best, and that have graced both A Rush of Blood to The Head and X&Y. It is still a strong album though, and it seems to be one of those on which the songs do not blossom at the same time. At first, easily accessible ones like 'Viva La Vida' and 'Cemeteries Of London' stood out, then it was '42' and 'Death and All His Friends', and now I find songs like 'Lost!' and 'Strawberry Swing' the most appealing. A genuinely good album, but a bit flat at times.

The top three has been:
- 'Viva La Vida'
- 'Cemeteries Of London'
- 'Life In Technicolor'

5. The Knife - Silent Shout
I still vaguely remember the first time I put on Silent Shout and listened to it. Without the freakazoid that made Deep Cuts a bit undigestible at times (albeit legendary too), SS is just a musical masterpiece, and I immediately knew what all the fuss was about. Heralded throughout the World, Silent Shout is a benchmark album for electronic music. The tracks fly by as a cynical, apocalyptic yet vivid rollercoaster - up through tracks like the massive club-like anthem 'Like A Pen', 'We Share Our Mothers Health' and the eponymous opener, and down through 'Marble House' and the trembling and staggeringly beautiful 'The Captain'. If anyone said electronic music can't be beautiful and pensive, 'The Captain' prooves otherwise.

Most listened are:
- 'Like A Pen'
- 'The Captain'
- 'Silent Shout'

Only four more to go then, and they'll be up in a few days!