musicAddicted

5. Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss
4. iamamiwhoami - O
3. Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
2. Joanna Newsom - Kingfisher
1. The Radio Dept. - Never Follow Suit

(Listen to the entire songs and read my descriptions below.
Don’t forget to check ranks 10-6 of top pop songs; top pop albums & top alternative albums of 2010.)

    5. Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss

Solitude Is Bliss is one of those songs which evoke deja-vu; as if you’ve always known them, melodies were coded in your DNA, just the group was needed to come to play it. Kevin Parker’s lyrics are similarly unconsciously well-known and friendly; he sings of human uniqueness and the need of time just for yourself. “Company’s okay, Solitude is bliss / There’s a party in my head and no one is invited” That are the lines that aptly express this generation’s schizophrenia; isolation from the world around with their iPod, never-ending hurry and non-stop connected to the eternal internet at the same time. But Tame Impala’s warm, psychedelic pop-rock is bit different: natural, friendly and old-school sincere.

    4. iamamiwhoami - O

Undeniably, Jonna Lee & company created the most innovative audio-visual project in the recent history of pop music with an unprecedented quality in all the components that form the result. The bottom line of this project lies in its music which is a vital mix of synthpop, soft industrial with tendencies towards Lee’s characteristic singer-songwriter approach. Within their BOUNTY. cycle, O is the most catchy and ambitious song. Minute of dark run-up, then beats come and finally, this year’s most complex lyrics about love. “Love, the kind that kills and scars, And makes you kneel and cry, To hell and back.” Jonna sings about self-consuming love over the cascades of amazingly sharp synths and when she comes to the line “The sound of letting go,” one can’t stop dancing and wondering, why this song didn’t topped the charts. First year of iamamiwhoami has ended, what can we expect this time?

    3. Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt

One of the most joyous and shiniest albums was written and recorded this year by Canadian violinist and composer Owen Pallett. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt itself is a pure splendour: moving rhythm, abrupt strings, anthemic chorus, playful electronic loops, chirping woods. Although Pallett’s vocals are quite static and flat, his violin lifts the song higher along with its imaginative lyrics of a young, obsessed farmer Lewis, who wants to fight his God - Owen. Ambiguous, half-erotic and half-obscure lyrics make the song both exciting and funny. Self-aware humour and a great talent for balance between art and catchy pop are characteristics that make Pallett a treasure in today’s indie scene.

    2. Joanna Newsom - Kingfisher

It’s impossible to find more emotive, imaginative and accomplished ballad in 2010, than a song written by Newsom. Concerning just this year’s Have One On Me alone, Kingfisher is still the most complex and colourful song that contains moods from playful ecstasy to silent uncertainty to antic tragedy by the end. Kingfisher is easy not to notice song- subtle and fragile- and its nine minutes of gradual shaping and building require full attention with an open mind to let imaginations evolve. Time devoted to exploring its beauty is worth it and brings indescribable satisfaction. Newsom is the best storyteller of her generation and Kingfisher is one of the most stunning stories of last few years.

    1. The Radio Dept. - Never Follow Suit

How can be this synthy dream-pop track better than the lyrical and harp mastery of Newsom, smart wit of Pallett, or a melodramatic aggression of These New Puritans? And how can it be the best track of 2010? What’s magic about Never Follow Suit and big part of the Radio Dept. work is its simplicity and straightforwardness. These are thoughtfully evolved by old-school synthesizers that evoke childhood’s nostalgia and dreamy happiness. Swedish trio has always been bit shoegaze, bit poppy, bit electronic; but none of these was too prevailing to define their genre. And this is their biggest advantage: every listener can find something he inclines to, as The Radio Dept. bring all of these styles on top-quality level. Never Follow Suit also defines at best the 2010’s trends: lo-fi nostalgia, 80’s electronics, early 90’s reverberated indie rock and typical indie DIY-approach. Once again: The Radio Dept. took something from all these influences, mixed it and spat the most catchy song you could hear all this year. Hazy and brave, guitar pop and synthy, simple and complex. Everything you need in 4 wonderful minutes.

(Don’t forget to check songs from ranks 10-6.)