Cougar Microbes

Somewhere in between starting his own “Yo, Ima let you finish BUT…” meme, endless twitter rants and outlandish extended music videos Kanye West found time to record his best album to date. Following the auto-tune obsessed meanderings of ‘808s & Heartbreak’ you would have been right to wonder if Mr West had relinquished his rapper ambitions. That claim is soon laid to rest.

The superstar had already begun hinting at what he was about to cook up with his ‘G.O.O.D Fridays’ project but when ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ dropped in late november so did a few jaws. Has Kanye finally released an album to match the size of his ego?

The album states its intentions early by kicking off proceedings with the track ‘Dark Fantasy’ with its outlandish faux British Alice In Wonderland-esque introduction. This is followed by a bombastic gospel choir and some head bang demanding verses which make this the perfect prologue to this album acting as a vindication of his state of mind.

Having kicked off in such impressive fashion he keeps delivering upon this stellar standard throughout. As can be expected there is a multitude of gueststars on display but it is interesting to note that only 5 tracks actually feature rappers. West has always been more of a producer than a rapper in my mind so it notable that two of my standout tracks, the bass lead and ego fueled ‘Power’ and ‘Hell Of A Life’, see him largely going it solo whilst delivering some of his most memorable lines.

Still, when you consider that tracks such as ‘Monster’ and ‘So Appalled’ feature an array superheroes including Jay-Z, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, CyHi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & The RZA and that ‘All Of The Lights’ samples the voices of the likes of John Legend, La Roux, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Elton John (!) and it starts to become clear that Kanye’s Blackberry is the ultimate musical wet dream.

Fortunately these inspired guest performances, with notable mention for Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj, don’t bloat the album but rather play another small part in the larger picture in Kanye’s vision. ‘Fantasy’ suggests total control over music and image and this album is intentionally, and somewhat surprisingly, light on skits and interludes. However it is not lightweight as a result of it. In fact its “meager” 13 tracks come in at 70 minutes without ever outliving its welcome guaranteeing value for money.

Few artists polarize opinion as much as Mr Kanye West. A few weeks ago I was at a house party where the conversation naturally turned to music and the best albums of 2010. My admission that I thought very highly of ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ was met with slight bewilderment. When I asked if my interrogator had actually heard the album he responded that he had no real interest because he disliked the artist. .

Think what you will of Kanye West the man but in ‘Fantasy’ he has not only released a timeless hip-hop album but possibly one of the best albums of the past ten years.

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NEXT: #01 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

PREVIOUS: #03 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin

I loved this contrast of colour as the tiny shoe just sat there.

Les Savy Fav returned in 2010 with their 5th studio album in 2010 ‘Root For Ruin‘. This Accomplished set of songs follows in the trail previously blazed by its predecessor ‘Let’s Stay Friends‘ and sees the perennial underdogs take their polished aggression to new heights. Cougar regular Ruby included them in her top 10 stating:

There is something so familiar and comforting about the quality and sound of ‘Les Savy Fav’ that really distinguishes them apart from the often transient sounds of their peers.

‘Let’s Get Out Of Here’ is the classic example. Play it once and you feel like you grew up with the song, it’s instantly comfortable and it’s instantly your friend. ‘Sleepless in Silverlake’ has provided one of my favourite intros of the year. It gradually peels back each layer of the song, some guitar pieces, some percussion and then the vocals hit in and the melody has motion.

‘Appetites’ takes them back to their post hardcore roots fuelled with loud guitar rhythms, some precise shouting and some aggressive pace which proves they’ve definitely still got their appetite and we’re as hungry as ever for them.

This impressive display of ccomposed aggression comfortably rubs shoulders with the other releases on this list.

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NEXT: #02 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

PREVIOUS: #04 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Yeasayer – Odd Blood

How do you follow up an album that is so distinct and brilliant in its amalgamation of “world music” and modern rock that it instantly became timeless? This was the question Yeasayer were facing when recording the follow up to 2007’s ‘All Hour Cymbals’. And the answer? Well in short you don’t…

Instead the band sought new horizons. By design ‘Odd Blood’ often veers into chart friendly territory yet crucially maintains a fiercely individualistic streak. A will to get people moving appears to be at the core of this more accessible direction, not too unlike recent efforts by fellow New Yorkers TV On The Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

‘Odd Blood’ truly succeeds because tracks like ‘O.N.E.’, ‘Madder Red’,‘Ambling Alp’ and ‘Mondegreen’ work just as well when heard within the album as a whole as they do individually. The album is littered with subtle allusion to 80s sounds confronted with most modern recording techniques to achieve a blend of beats, melodies, keys and shamanistic chanting.

There are few bands around who sound like Yeasayer and even when attempting their version of a so-called accessible album the Brooklynites come out with a sonic mishmash that seduces you into repeat listens. In my mind this is futuristic music from the past.

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NEXT: #03 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin

PREVIOUS: #05 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Tokyo Police Club – Champ

Having shown so much promise on their debut Tokyo Police Club returned with their brilliant second full length ‘Champ‘  in 2010. Right from the opening notes you are in for something special with the band making the matter of writing catchy anthemic songs seem wholly painless.

The Canadians manage to build on all the early promise they displayed whilst throwing a few interesting curveballs into their indie meets punk meets pop template.

Back in July Cougar regular Kenny commented that Tokyo Police Club ‘seem to have a fresh, different, brilliant idea for every day of the calendar year.’ It is for this reason that these 11 intelligent upbeat tracks demand to be returned to frequently.

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NEXT: #04 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Yeasayer – Odd Blood

PREVIOUS: #06 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Kick Up The Fire – Kick Up The Fire