When word was out that the Coen’s follow-up to last years A Serious Man was going to be a remake of a classic western movie, many were excited to see what they could do with this under-appreciated genre. What was actually put on screens was ultimately dissapointing and this review is going to contain a lof of, ‘for a Coen brothers film, this is surprisingly ….’.

To begin with, for a Coen brothers film this is a surprisingly dull script. Having never read the book it is impossible to tell how closely they followed the original book (although looking at the wikipedia page for both it appears like it is pretty close), but the story that is presented is far too simple for the excellent world the Coens have created. Typically, the Coen’s material is nuanced with superb characterisation and snappy, polished dialogue. They have faltered on a couple of occasions, The Ladykillers is apparently pretty awful and Intolerable Crulety was a bit of a misstep (although it does have some redeeming features), but they typically produce good, interesting modern cinema. True Grit is at heart a bit of a lifeless screenplay and it feels like they they pulled their punches a bit.

The main actors all play their parts quite well, with special mention having to go to Hailee Steinfeld’s accomplished portrayal of the young Mattie Ross. For such a young actor, she had a wonderful screen prescene and really carried the film along its rather dull storyline. Jeff Bridges competently does his bit as the gruff Rooster Cogburn, but there is nothing there to challenge this accomplished actor. Matt Damon is woefully miscast in his role and his Texas Ranger character feels like it could have been completely omitted without affecting the movie in any way.

So the problem then does not lie with the acting, rather the script and the storyline. For instance, watching the movie, it is difficult to know what to make of the main villains of the piece. Are we expected to fear them (like Javier Bardem’s excellent villain in No Country for Old Men)? If that is the case, then the script gave no real tension on the part of the main two villians. In fact, the impression that we are left with is that one of them is a pretty reasonable guy and the other a complete idiot. You could say that they were trying to make the point during this time there did not exist a stereotypical, Hollywood style good vs evil. Rather there was a whole raft of normal people doing whatever they could to take advantage of the situation without the typical passion for good or evil deeds that we are used to in movies. If this is the case, if the Coens wanted to give the impression that the notion of good/evil didn’t really apply in this time, then they did it in a very hamfisted fashion. One particular scene, where the Bardem’s character finally manages to capture the young girl out for his blood was such a missed opportunity. The film grammar and tone was suggesting that something dark and uncomfortable was about to happen, but the resolution of that scene was pathetic.

While this movie is worthwhile watching and a must for any Coen brothers fan, far better modern western movies are out there ready to be appreciated. The Proposition (another movie with links to Nick Cave) and The Unforgiven are better made and have much more depth and nuance.

Here we have two decidedly different movies, with no real common thread other than that they happened to come in the mail at the same time. Normally these two movies would probably have almost nothing to do with each other but watching these two movies so close to each other highlighted some peculiar similarities that are definitely worth exploring.

Looking at the first piece, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford we find a interesting modern western movie. Set around the death of Jesse James this movie is mostly character driven, set in and around the lives of the main players, rather than trying to tell us some grand overarching story. Romulus, My Father is similar in this regard. It is a simple story with only a few main characters which looks to highlight the relationship between a father and son. It employs a efficient form of storytelling, using dialogue sparingly and letting the strong acting carry the narrative.

Although both of these movies are trying to reach a similar goal, they go about it in markedly different ways. Romulus is stripped back, subtle and simple. It doesn’t try to overwhelm the viewer with sentimentalism or a message, it just tries to outline a basic story of a father and son, and leave actors to go from there. The massive amounts of emotion that come from this film are in fact driven almost completely by the acting of the two main actors. The script in and of itself is actually fairly simple. There are no long pieces of dialogue to bog down the emotion impact of the imagery and acting.

Jesse James on the other hand suffers from the exact opposite of this. Where Romulus has a stripped back simple script, Jesse James is dialogue and exposition heavy. The dialogue is incredibly well crafted, with impeccable acting from all of the main players, especially the actor that plays Robert Ford. However, the writers felt it necessary to try and put in quite a bit of context and back story to the piece. This would not necessarily be a problem, but the script was not quite strong enough for the historical and contextual information to be put in the dialogue so instead it delivered by a jarring, out of place voice over.

Now voice-overs are not by their nature a bad thing, they in fact can be put to very good use. It could probably even be excused if the information that was being relayed was actually necessary, but it really is not needed in the piece. The main focus should really be on the characters, specifically the title characters, and the constant narration simply gets in the way of this. This is the main reason that we can compare these two seemingly unconnected movies, Romulus handles this incredibly well. The temptation was probably there for the writers to put in a narration from the boy, now grown up to be a man, thinking back on his father and the way that he brought him up. But instead they left it to the pared back script and wonderful direction to answer any questions that the viewer might have had. You get the distinct impression that is was at least partially dumbed down to suit a mainstream audience. That is not to say that mainstream movie goers are adverse to intelligent cinema, rather that in an effort to make it appeal to as wide a audience as possible, they put in a heavy-handed narration in order to explain to everyone the context that the James Gang was working in.

Nevertheless we have here two very competent, watchable movies that deserve close attention. The Assassination of Jesse James for its incredible dialogue and acting, and Romulus also for is incredible acting, but also for the considered directing and subtle script.

The arrival of first Toy Story in 1995 heralded not only a new age of CGI based animated movies, but the arrival of the powerhouse that is Pixar Studios. From that first effort, the studio has gone from strength to strength, putting out numerous well written animated movies with only a few minor missteps (Cars is probably their weakest effort, but it still more interesting than almost everything that Dreamworks has put out to date). Their 1999 film, Toy Story 2 is in a exclusive club of sequels that are better and more well realised than movie that precedes it. The sequel built on the universe established in the first movie and added a fantastic amount of texture and complexity to the characters. The announcement that they were going to put out a third installment in the series was always going to be a bit of a risk, and unfortunately the final product does not live up to the quality of Pixar’s previous efforts .

Toy Story 3is one of the few Pixar movies to have not only a weak story but a uninspiring screenplay to match. The entire first act feels like a few minutes of character development stretched out to fill almost thirty minutes of screen time. This would not normally be an issue if there was a typical Pixar flair to the screenwriting, but the whole first act felt very flat on the screen, with only a few gags and very little exposition and plot development. One saving grace was the competent opening credit sequence which did a great job of showing the progression of Andy’s life from when we saw him last as a boy, to finally leaving home and going to college. What would have been a far better idea would be to expand this montage to include much of the story of the first act. This would have allowed the story could move out of the house more quickly and to get to the childcare centre, which is easily the strongest part of the film.

The movie begins to build some momentum once it moves to the second act and some of the Pixar magic that we are all used to begins to shine through. The idea that the toys have been taken to a childcare centre has a lot of potential, and the writers use this to bring in some fantastic new characters. The standout new character is the ultra-vain Ken doll that drove much of the humour throughout the film. This is a great example of a well realised character that brings so much humour to the movie, while still being used to drive the plot along. Characters like Ken show how adept Pixar are at developing humorous characters, without resorting to mundane pop culture reference like other animation studios and franchises (Shrek is the worst offender for this, with the later installments of this series having the shelf life of a carton of milk). Some of the other new characters are not as well realised as Ken, with the notable exception of the movie’s villain, Lots-O’-Huggin Bear (wonderfully voiced by Ned Beatty).

There is a considerable amount of time spent here at the daycare centre, but the inevitable action climax comes all too soon and is  fairly predictable. Toy Story movies are meant to be all about characters, and while it is understandable that an exciting climax is needed at the end of the movie, the one they chose here is visually exciting, but ultimately forgettable. It seems unlikely that Pixar would have the bravery to kill off one of their characters and as such there is a expectation that everyone will find a way to pull through in the end. The movies redeems itself slightly with the last few minutes of the movie, which deals with Andy and what he decides to do with his beloved toys is great, but this small coda does little to revive the fortunes of the story.

Moving on from the plot and characterisation, like every Pixar movie that preceded it (and pretty much all CGI animated features these days) the visuals in Toy Story 3 are immaculate. They really have this down to a fine art now and the emotion and depth that they can get on the screen is truly amazing. What is less exciting is the use of 3D in this movie, which was so minimal that 2D would have probably been a more satisfying experience. If the extra dimension is not being used for anything interesting, then the darker picture and lack of smoothness becomes so much more of a problem. The only other stylistic problem that comes to mind is the rather dull Randy Newman score. This is a calling card for the series (especially the theme song, You’ve got a friend in me) but it feels dated and gives an odd rehashed flavour to the movie. An update to the tired score would have gone a long way to shake the constant feeling that we have seen this all before.

Toy Story 3is not a bad movie, and is miles ahead of other sequels in the big animation franchises. It is firmly in the worth watching category, but the lackluster story, boated first act and average 3D effect mean that it is ultimately a bit of a disappointment. If this story was all that was left in the Toy Story universe, then it is probably best for everyone that we leave the franchise alone and look toward what Pixar wants to show us next.

This first volume contains three short stories with the first part of the larger narrative and two small vignettes coupled with an discussion with eh. The first, Train Ride, is the most successful part capturing a single conversation between a girl whose relationship just ended and her friend. It is a great example of simple, efficient storytelling and manages to bring in great emotion using just a few pages and small amounts of dialogue. I love it because it is believable, you can easily imagine eavesdropping on these two girls and overhearing something similar.

First Date, has a similar, low-key vibe to it, but is aiming for a slightly different, more comical goal. As the title suggests it chronicles the first date between two prospective lovers and what occurs after they go back for coffee at her house. The final panel payoff got a good laugh from me and the success here comes from the subtlety in the humour. The build up is spot on and the punchline works because it is surprising and unexpected.

Oxygen Part 1 completes the book, but as it is only the introduction to a larger story, I will not go in to any great detail here. Rather, once I have picked up the next two volumes from the creator’s website and a full review of the whole work at a later stage. As it stands, Digested Issue 1 is concise, effective storytelling coupled with great B&W art and a slightly twisted outlook on life. If the quality is maintained across the rest of the story, then this will be a great Australian comic and something that is definitely worth seeking out.

Based off a popular graphic novel, Kick-Ass sets out to be a very different type of superhero movie. The idea that a regular kid could decide one day to become a superhero is an interesting one and something unique in the world of comic book movies. He has no special powers, no discernible skills or special merit that differentiates him from any other teenager save for a desire to be a comic book hero. Mixed into this interesting world is the real superheros of Hit Girl and Big Daddy and a genuinely evil main villain.

Easily the best parts of the movie come in the form of the story of Big Daddy and Hit Girl. They are the most interesting part of the whole story with their over the top comic book violence and incredibly foul language. They add a fantastic energy to the film and the audience is eager to see them back on the screen whenever the story shifts away from their arc. Its not often that we can say this, but Nicholas Cage is fantastic as Big Daddy and just goes to show that he can excel when presented with good material.  Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl is a complete revelation. She jumps into the role of a ultra-violent superhero with complete enthusiasm. The scenes that we get with these two characters are worth the price of admission alone.

The main problem with the movie comes down to the rather dull screenplay. Having never read the graphic novel that it is based on it is difficult to say if the problems lies with a director who was too concerned with staying true to the source material, or if its an inherent problem with the story itself. Looking at the movie, I imagine the problem lies with the script more than anything. It seems to be really concerned about telling the story of Dave Lizewski and while Aaron Johnson did a reasonable job in this role, this character is far and away the most boring part of the movie.

This problem comes to the fore during the second act. Everything slows down to a crawl and we get to see the most boring part of the movie, the love interest. The notion here is that everything thinks that Dave is gay and thus becomes best friends with Katie while all the time being secretly in love with her. Well unsurprisingly, this love story turns in to a predictable, boring mess. The inclusion of this into the movie drags it out, and the time wasted on developing the relationship could have been better spent on other areas of the film. One area that could used some more depth relates back to Hit Girl. We get a brief reference to the possibility of her being brainwashed by her father into becoming this violent superhero. This notion is interesting, but the movie drops it almost as soon as it is brought up by one of the minor characters. This would have been a much better use of screen time than the dull relationship that offers us no real insight into the main character.

Kick-Ass is a decent 3 star movie brought down by its poor script and character development. It is definitely worth seeing, especially on the big screen with some of the best comic book action that we’ve seen in the last couple of years. It is however, a slight disappointment. Kick-Ass could have been an interesting look at the nature of heroism, but instead decided to go for a slightly juvenile action movie with some redeemable qualities.

The debut of the Melbourne version of Jersey Boys was met with considerable fanfare in June 2009. Its continued success and the almost full Wednesday matinee that I attended attests to the popularity of the show. The story revolves around the birth of the band and its various iterations before the final lineup comes together underneath the name of The Four Seasons. Following the history of the group, Jersey Boys attempts to use the familiar music to draw the audience into their story. As might be expected the music is easily the best bit of the show. The song selection was fantastic and a good range of music across the band’s career was featured.  Unfortunately the story side of the musical is nowhere near as interesting. Most of the problems with the story come in the first act. For a musical about the Four Seasons, they spend an large amount of stage time on the various groups that preceded them. There is no doubt that the varying band members and number of band names that they performed under are an important part of the Four Seasons. But so much time is spent on this part of the band’s history that when some of the tragedy and emotion comes in the second act, the audience didn’t seem to care.  This was evident from looking at the crowd reaction to the story and the music. The crowd was indifferent during the first half and hour and only came to life when they finally performed some of the big hits (The run of Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man got a great reaction). Finally when one of the few tragic scenes occured right near the end of the second act, it failed to get much emotion from the audience. For a musical that was light-hearted and even a bit throwaway at times, this attempt at tragedy fell very flat.

The humour felt very clunky at most points in the show. Most gags fell flat on the slightly older crowd with the notable exception of some of the physical humour and the character of Nick Massi. This is a bit of a shame as a good musical can usually be relied upon to deliver some good jokes to lighten the mood. Finally the amount of swearing was a bit unexpected for a show of this nature. They understandably wanted to capture the culture of New Jersey during this period and rampant swearing was definitely part of this. However, I suspect they at least partially wanted to add it in to defeat any criticism that the material was a bit too sweet and light-hearted. Apart from a few jokes about sex and some double-entendres the rest of the material was pretty light. There were only a couple of more serious scenes in the whole piece and as mentioned previously those were pretty throwaway and had little emotion.

On the positive side, the music and performances by the cast were top notch. The distinctive falsetto of Frankie Valli was done very well and the backing band was right on the money. One minor annoyance was that the New Jersey accents were a little bit much though, especially from Scott Johnson. I understand that most people would expect people doing this show to put on American/New Jersey accents, but unless they are seamless it is rather distracting. It would have been better to run with a more generic American accent or don’t bother with it at all. The Melbourne version of Jersey Boys is a very solid performance of an alright musical. The pacing of the musical is a little out of whack and the writing is just not sharp or funny enough to be truly memorable. Fans of the band will enjoy the musical because of the great music, everyone else should try and get cheap tickets if they want to bother at all.

Let’s get this out of the way at the start here, this movie is all about Colin Firth. Much of the buzz around this film concerns Firth’s acting and deservedly so. He is a fantastic actor to begin with and here is an absolutely fascinating character that he can really sink his teeth into. The amount of emotion that he brings to this film is outstanding and his nomination for Best Actor is certainly justified. In essence this film is a exploration of grief at its most base level. The loss of his long term partner irreparably damages George Falconer to the point that he feels suicide is the only answer. Over the course of a single day we witness George trying to tie up the loose ends in his life so he can finally end it. The story is simple and does not try and overwhelm the viewer with a complex narrative. Rather, Tom Ford allows Firth and the supporting actors to really explore grief and the impact that it can have.

The main problem with this movie is that it falls apart in the final act. The first third of the movie establishes George as a character and defines him very well. We meet George, who is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his partner eight months ago, trying to wrap up everything important in his life so he can kill himself. The first act establishes the character and his motivations so perfectly. The second act possibly drags on a little bit to much, but Julianne Moore is superb in her role as George’s best friend. The final act is quite troubling. Gorge’s interaction with one of his students is fantastic. Also the flashbacks which give us snippets of the relationship which ended so abruptly are subtle and give great insight into the character. Really the problem lies in the last few minutes of the film and the way in which they chose to end the story. There were a number of ways to end the story and unfortunately the one that they chose was odd and quite a jarring end to a slow and deliberate movie.

For a first time filmmaker Ford does a remarkably good job with this movie. It is, however, not without its faults. The overuse of slow motion ruins some of the pacing in the second half of the film. Furthermore, the constant switching between muted and warm colour tones becomes distracting. It is easy to see where Ford was going with this but this obvious film technique feels like it pandering to the audience. A good movie should be able to portray its emotion in its characters rather than not so subtle camera effects. The score, while great in places, felt a little overpowering in some scenes. This is a very competent film with an outstanding performance by Colin Firth. The disappointing third act does prevent the movie from being considered a true classic but it will be interesting to see where Ford can take his movies from here.

There was a reasonable amount of buzz going in to this movie with a trailer which did a great job of building anticipation. However, this has to be one of the biggest disparities between a trailer and the actual movie that there has ever been. The trailer was considered, tense and left the viewer with a great sense of unease. The actual movie was formulaic, poorly written and ultimately forgettable. Scorsese can usually be relied upon to deliver tight, focused movies. However, the direction here felt very inept. The use of flashbacks and dream sequences bordered on the comical and the overuse of CGI sapped the emotion out of the film. They were relied upon to convey the back story of the main character, that of the death of his wife and his experiences in World War Two. However, this reliance on flashbacks just served to slow down the movie for little purpose. It got to the point where we no longer care about the main character’s motivations and just want the present day story to resolve itself.

The problem here is that the present day story had little suspense and was not particularly interesting. The problems here seem to lie with the direction and choice of sets and shots that were made. For instance, surely Scorsese could have found a great island to shoot the movie on with suitably creepy cliffs and civil war buildings. It is very obvious watching the film that it was done in a number of different locations and with the heavy use of green screen. A movie like this should feel claustrophobic and suspenseful. But by the end of the movie when the inevitable twist occurs it fails this to such a degree that it feels almost farcical.

Amazingly enough Di Caprio’s performance was rather bland. Considering he was the standout actor in the last few pieces that he did with Scorcese (particularly Gangs of New York and The Departed) his performance in this felt very uninspired. Mark Ruffalo fared a little bit better. He was understated and felt very natural on screen. Still this is miles away from his best performance. The rest of the cast are there but not even remotely memorable. Its not as if the movie lacked screen time to develop meaningful characters. The 138 minute run time feels bloated with so many detours in the fairly simple story that by the third act the audience just wants the film to be over. All in all this is a poorly written, blandly directed film that is completely forgettable. Just skip this one and re-watch any of the good Hitchcock films instead, it will be much more satisfying.

For an album that was released right at the start of the year, this is the one that I can listen to anytime and anywhere. This will probably bust its way in to the back half of my top ten albums of all time. It’s that damn good. Merriweather Post Pavillion is a triumph of modern music and songwriting. Animal Collective are one of those bands that don’t just write songs, they write complete albums. Like any good record, it is not something that you can just pick and choose your favourite tracks. Each song flows effortlessly from one to the next and compliments each other perfectly. The whole album sounds fantastic, they obviously spent a considerable amount of time getting the sound perfect.

If I was forced to choose a favourite track from the record the My Girls would have to be the one. It can stand apart from the other tracks as a good single, but makes perfect sense in the context of the album. Its lush, textured and every listen is completely different from the last one. My Girls also has one of the best film clips of the year and is worth seeking out.


2. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

I feel a bit sorry for the Dirty Projectors. They had to go and release a perfect album the same year as Animal Collective and be slightly out-shadowed by it. The only reason that it holds the number two spot in this list is that I found the flow of tracks in Bitte Orca to Nevertheless, this album is a triumph. Bitte Orca is an album to be savoured from front to back so listing individual tracks is a bit pointless. They seem to lose their perspective when separated from their brethren. But if I had to pick a few gems out that can stand on their own then the first two tracks Cannibal Resource and Temencula Sunrise would be hard to pass up. Stillness is the Move was a slightly odd choice as the first single from the album as it has a very different feel from the rest of the album. This is mostly due to the vocals which do jar a bit from the rest of the album. I do believe that in the context of the whole record it does make sense, but it was definitely an odd choice for first single. It was a difficult choice between this album and the eventual number one album from Animal Collective. Merriweather Post Pavillion is slightly more difficult to wrap your head around, but is ultimately more satisfying. The fact that we got two perfect albums in one year is incredibly impressive and both bands should be applauded for their efforts.


3. Karnivool – Sound Awake

The inevitable inclusion of the best hard rock album of the year further highlights the terrible state of Australian music. There was nothing else from this great country of ours that was even close to getting in the top ten. One of the main reasons for the inclusion of this album is the way it sounds. Unlike a lot of Australian bands which seem to have the production values of a 50′s radio drama, Sound Awake sounds fantastic. It is loud, dynamic and unrelenting. Set Fire to the Hive would easily be one of the best singles of the year. It does exactly what a single is meant to do, defines the whole feel of the album into a easily digestible 4 minute track. Other highlights include Goliath . From what I hear, these guys are also amazing live so I think the next couple of years will be very good one for this exciting Aussie band.


4. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Two Weeks is the showpiece of the album. It is a great song, very well written and a fantastic performance from the band. It’s weird that this didn’t do that well on the Hottest 100 for 2009. It ranked way back in the 60s but for my money it was one of the best tracks of the year. Apart from the great individual tracks it is a full realised album. Each song compliments the others very well and the flow from one to the next is fantastic. Grizzly Bear are an accomplished band and their previous effort, Yellow House is just as good as this effort. This is another band which are meant to be a great live act, hopefully they come back to Australia soon. It will be great to hear some of these tracks live.


5. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

A great indie album from a French band that I had never heard of until 2009. They have a fairly extensive back catalogue, with this being their fifth album. I imagine that this record is the first that many have heard from this great band. In fact, this was one of the few tracks that I recognised from the Hot 40 New Year’s Eve countdown thing that was on Channel 9.  Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a brilliant indie album, with catchy hooks and great instrumentation. The vocal work from Thomas Mars also deserves high praise. His lyrics are not only very interesting, but he has a great vocal style. Its got some great individual tracks, Liztomania, 1901 and Lasso are far and away the best on the album and some of the best singles of the year. This album feels fresh and very different from other Indie bands from the last few years. It’s a struggle to think of anyone who comes near Phoenix. On some level The Shins, but Phoenix are a much more musical band, their songwriting seems much more mature.


6. Brother Ali – Us

A curious album which seems to have gotten very little airplay outside of the US. I only found out about it by the rave reviews that it has been getting on Metacritic. It is easily the best hip hop album that I have heard for the last few years. It is musically interesting, using fresh samples and lots of live instrumentation which is sorely lacking from a lot of modern hip hop. The Preacher is the definite highpoint on the album. I honestly can’t think why this track didn’t become a number 1 hit single. Its got a great hook, fantastic lyrics and could easily be a killer nightclub track. House Keys is also worth a listen.


7. The xx – xx

Another top indie album from a completely new band. These guys will be massive over the next few years if the quality of this debut effort is anything to go by. Xx is well written, well produced and sounds incredibly polished. They obviously had a really great production team on this album as the whole record oozes style and substance. Highlight individual tracks are difficult to pin down. Crystalline and Islands are standout tracks for obvious reasons. The first has a fantastic sense of melancholy to it, with the second slightly more upbeat vibe. As echoed throughout this list, the real joy of this album is to listen to it all the way through.


8. The Antlers – Hospice

Disappointed that there wasn’t a Arcade Fire album this year?? Don’t fret, The Antlers released Hospice, so that should tide you over until late 2010! That comparison is probably a little bit unfair as The Antlers are not completely derivative. There are certainly some comparisons that can be made, and they aren’t quite up to the standard of Arcade Fire. But they put together a very competent album with a couple of great highlights. Two ranks pretty highly on the top ten tracks of the year and is a great song. Slyvia is also worth a listen and had to be one of the few tracks about Sylvia Plath that exist in the world. The only real complaint about the album is that it is a bit over written and over produced. Had they scaled things back a little bit I feel that the album would have had a chance to breathe a bit more.


9. Passion Pit – Manners

This is definitely a case of love it or hate it. Michael Angelakos’ singing may not be to everybody’s taste, but it has my vote as being the best pop album of the year. This impeccably recorded album oozes style and is genuinely fun, an attribute which is sorely lacking from most modern pop music. Little Secrets is a great pop track which should have made waves in the charts, but seems to have been largely overlooked by everyone apart from the JJJ crowd. The standout track from the record has to be The Reeling. Its one of the best electronic/dance tracks of the year. Its got a great hook and a fantastic syncopated beat. Sleepyhead got a fair bit of notice out in the public, but I found it a little underwhelming.


10. The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules

I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t exactly a classic album, but its place as number 10 for 2010 is definitely justified. Rules is a simple concept done exceptionally well. Its jazzy, funky and very well put together. The main reason why it doesn’t rate higher is mostly due to the fact that it is rather simplistic, both lyrically and musically. The Whitest Boy Alive have their own unique sound, but it is an album which is great background music. Highlights include Keep a Secret, 1517 and Courage.

This also takes out the other related award for the most hilarious album of the year. Now as a bit of a background, I am no Muse fan. Knights of Cydonia was fun for a while, but after that I found the band derivative, pointless and incredibly boring. The Resistance took it to a whole other level. At times it feels like a bad Muse cover band playing b-sides. At other points it feels like a bad Queen cover-band fronted by a singer who so desperately wants to be Freddy Mercury. Finally some of the tracks sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist contracted a rare strain of zombie syphilis and was let loose inside a music studio for a year. Amazingly this album has received reasonable reviews from the music press. They seemed to mostly be enamoured with the three part track titled Exogenesis: Symphony that closes the album. In fairness, it is far and away the best bit of the album. It’s just such a pity that it followed absolute dross like The Uprising and The United States of Eurasia. I emplore you Mr Bellamy, put the guitar down and step away from the mixing desk. Can I suggest taking up cross stitch? Or petanque? I hear its very relaxing.


2. MSTRKRFT – Fist of God

Wow, this album is fucking god awful. There are literally no redeeming tracks, nothing that makes this even remotely listenable. How did this get through the record label? I am just trying to forget that this even happened and hope to dear god that the new Justice record redeems dance music after this travesty. In fairness, 1000 Cigarettes is not completely horrible. But it can’t hold a candle to anything off Justice’s debut record. Also, this album will probably go down in history as one of the worst covers of all time, it looks like bad Playstation One graphics that someone put together on their computer using Microsoft Paint. Avoid at all costs.


3. Gomez – A New Tide

Yawn…. What the hell Gomez? How do you go from some of the best British indie albums to this uninspired, college rock offering? This was one of the few albums that I actually purchased this year, and it got played once in the car and hasn’t left the glove box. Like many of the albums on this list it’s not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. It is just dull, uninspired and lifeless. The previous record, How We Operate also was not their most accomplished album, but it had some great individual tracks and was genuinely fun. Listen to that or Bring It On instead, they are much more satisfying.


4. A Place to Bury Strangers – Exploding Head

I like Joy Division as much as the next guy, but seriously, just leave them alone and write your own music. To be brutally honest I barely gave this album a chance, the first few tracks were mediocre so listening to the rest of it seemed a bit pointless.


5. Clutch – Strange Cousins from the West

Again we have an example of a great band that made a particularly dull album. Like Gomez, Clutch held a lot of promise with their earlier albums. Their unique mix of blues and hard rock was a joy to listen to and their 1998 release Elephant Riders is an underrated masterpiece. This album just seemed to be phoned in and had almost no soul or passion. By all accounts they are a fantastic live band and hopefully their Soundwave 2010 performance will go some way to atoning for the dull record released in 2009.