Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I've always been sceptical of Royksopp, they are so beloved, so well received that a part of me always wanted to dislike them, inspite of their brilliant production work, but the sheer strength in depth of Junior was impossible to deny. I found myself instantly grabbed by the spacious Royksopp Forever which despite it's horrible title is a thing of sheer beauty with a string arrangement so well judged it brings a wonderful tranquillity to a sparse and subversive beat which grows in menace as each effect is stacked creating a gorgeous piece of electro opera. Yet this stand out does not define the rest of the album, Junior sees Royksopp combining their talents, bring both the downbeat and spacious to the table and blending with their radio friendly near saccharin pop. The new middle ground sound surprisingly thrills smoothing the extreme edges of their previous sounds and creating a far less grating product. The album was of course highlighted by the three big singles the Robyn assisted The Girl & The Robot, the sugary Happy Up Here, and the staggering This Must Be It. But despite the clear highlights it's that rarest of quantities: consistency that makes Junior truly stand out.

It's been over ten years since Raekwon's staggering debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx but in 2009 I'm sure many hip hop fans and critics alike where asking themselves did we really care about Raekwon anymore? Did the world need a squeal to one the '90s defining albums? Surely this was just a cheap cash in to boost an artist whose critical credibility was on the downslide, and most importantly would kids listening to Lil'Wayne, Jay Z and Kanye still be thrilled by Raekwon? Of course now looking back at the end of the year these questions seemed foolish, ...Cuban Linx Part II was a more than worthy successor, while it couldn't surpass it's predecessor it served as the perfect next chapter to one of hip hop's great narratives. This time rather than running from the mafiaso crime game Part II saw Raekwon and Wu Tang exploring every aspect of gang life, from cooking crack to executing rivals and running from the cops. While the album seemed to lack the clear moral tone of it's predecessor, it maintains the cinematic epic feel with it's slick beats and cleverly arranged skits, while the narrative is less coherent it is nevertheless compelling and the albums scope is unparalleled in contemporary hip hop. Yet at it's heart the albums greatest strength is it's knowingly old school sound, after all this isn't a set of retrospective newcomers, this is the former kings of the game, reminding us they may not be rocking to electro squelch or dub step but they don't need to worry about sounding contemporary or cutting edge because in today's market Wu Tang's finest has never sounded fresher or more epic.

2009 was a promising year for electro fans, we were all anticipating the big releases from Royksopp and Vitalic but few would have been aware of Fever Ray, the debut album from a new act that wasn't all that new at all. After crafting some of the decades most beautiful, danceable and oft challenging music no one should have underestimated Karin Dreijer Andersson. As one half of The Knife she had achieved legendary status and the unrelenting adoration of the worlds critics, but it had been three years since The Knife's staggering Silent Shout how was she to follow such a creative peak? Well in effortless fashion it would seem; Fever Ray shares many similarities with the Knife it's textures remain steely, harsh and almost alien and of course they still come together beautiful but Fever Ray felt more relaxed, more spacious, more patient and perhaps more human. It was filled with charm rather than steely cool, When I Grow Up and Dry And Dusty felt remarkably fragile and tender despite the ping pong bass effects and starry arrangement, at their core these tracks were loveable and tender, highlighted by the fragile and strained vocals. It was as if the strangeness and inaccessibility of The Knife had being ripped away revealing a loveable often comical heart (trust me it's there buried under the ice cool beats) and best displayed on the wondrous Seven as Karin strains "We Talk About Love, We Talk About Dishwater Tablets, And We Dream About Heaven" it's not exactly Lily Allen but it's undeniably earnest and touching. Fever Ray may have been a little more downbeat and perhaps a little less thrilling but what it lack in punch it gained it atmosphere and emotional resonance.

There are few sounds in this world sexier than Karen O's ice cool croon, and when Zero was unleashed upon the world at the end of 2008 it seemed Karen had found the perfect vessel for her irresistible tongue as Nick Zimmer supplied the most divine of crunching riffs and soaring synths. Of course little did we know then that just a few months down the line the unholy dance floor beast Heads Will Roll was laying in wait. The grooves were irresistible, it's as if the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had created a direct link to the nations hips and they were commanding us to dance our collective arses off. So within two tracks the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have successfully grooved us into oblivion what could possibly follow that act? Well with Shock Shock they simply wowed us, Karen's vocal performance was impeccable and the track grows in stature as the band let it burble and develop until it becomes an understated yet sprawling epic, powerful and truly touching, a remarkable feat for a track that's starts of so sweet and so disarming. It's at this point that you realize that you no longer miss Zimmer's trademark guitar, the synths and the carefully crafted arrangements are far more engrossing. It's amazing that a band that made it's name with it's feral rage would reach their artistic high water mark when tamed. In taming their sound the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have stumbled across true brilliance, when Karen O unleashes herself in the music and loses the plot mid stream the contrast between the slick and the uncontrollable is exhilarating even on a track as polished as Dull Life. Yet when thinking back to It's Blitz! now the truly memorable moments are it's sprawling ballads Skeltons and the heart breaking Runaway, the later while unable to match the epic pop punch of Maps miraculously manages to up the emotional ante creating the YYYs most affecting and powerful track to date.

When ever I assemble these list I've always been accused of making some real head scratching decisions (Hit Me Baby, Kala and The Soft Bulletin spring to mind) but it almost always stems from my desire to put smiles on people's faces or more specifically to have a smile put on my face by music. So I'll always elevate the status of feel good music, and while the idea of putting Guns Don't Kill People Lazers Do above Fever Ray seems bizarre in hindsight it's wholy justified. While the quality undoubtedly lies with the latter it's simply no where near as much fun as Major Lazer, and that is the key to this record; fun. When two of the world's best deejays and producers Diplo and Switch combined forces to produce an album, everyone was more than a little excited, and of course we were all more than a little deflated when we heard they'd be creating a dancehall record? I mean seriously could there be a less credible genre? Well what we should have known then and what we all recognize now is that Diplo and Switch never fail, and by creating Major Lazer and redefining the dancehall sound they created one of the year's most fun and frivalous records. Instantly accessible from the first listen Guns Don't Kill People... boasted the slickest beats and the smoothest production and a unparrelled feel good factor, every track carried it's own unique charm and it's own signature groove whether it be the down tuned bass of Lazer Theme or the looped Santigold vocal on the excellent Hold The Line. The whole album was buzzing with an insatiable energy characterised by a conveyor belt of guest stars who were doing anything but going through the motions. Ultimately how could I possibly deny an album that had the sickest beats in town, now enough talking lets drop Pon de Floor and have a dance shall we? Just try and resist.