50. Kisses - Bermuda
LA boy-girl duo Kisses garnered much attention earlier this year for their cute, appealing brand of synth-twee. This was their debut single, released back in March on the groundbreaking Transparent label. It was a perplexing and plaintive delight, highlighting their fabulous, wistful synth pop reminiscent of Hot Chip, but as if influenced by Paul Simon's Graceland and Belle and Sebastian's Tigermilk.
49. Janelle Monáe - Cold War
If there was one artist this year who really got robbed of her record sales, it was Janelle Monáe. She had it all perfected - the tunes, the phunk, the dance moves, even the hair. It seemed obvious to the world that these elaborate traits, topped off with her creation of one of the finest, most original concept albums since Ziggy Stardust, could only lead to one thing: stardom. Unfortunately and ashamedly, the only adoration she got in the UK was from the critics. The standout track was 'Cold War', an epic alt/r'n'b crossover, highlighting her powerful voice and a superbly directionless guitar solo.
Hopefully, unlike the similarly talented Aaliyah, Monáe's first no. 1 will not come posthumously - indeed I think it will come soon.
48. Small Black - Photojournalist
Chillwave burst onto the blogs back in 2009 with incessant flourishes of praise for Neon Indian and Washed Out's lo-fi loops and electro fuzz . However, after the release of the former's Psychic Chasms album and the latter's Life of Leisure EP, it seemed the genre was dead - there was no way in which it could be developed further, we thought. But then came along Small Black, the newest wavey, technicolour sensations purveying all things electronically laid back. Having put on one of the most talked about shows at this year's SXSW, they subsequently released superb debut album New Chain, defying Chillwave its death and prolonging its influence on today's music culture.
47. Crystal Castles - Baptism
Noyau dur electro-thrashers CC returned to the scene this year with another eponymous album Crystal Castles II, the follow-up to 2008's successful Crystal Castles. Back with live shows as hectic as ever, the highlight of my musical summer came when watching the big screen at Suffolk's Latitude Festival, and seeing singer Alice Glass punch one of her fans right in the face (Youtube it). She jumped about, shrieking for the whole set (which typically for the duo, was cut short). They recently released the visceral but transcendent single, 'Baptism', with a suitably brash accompanying video. There's also a cool Rihanna mash up of the tune, which I urge to Youtube, in addition to the punch.
46. Sky Larkin - Still Windmills
I love Sky Larkin. I love how the entwine heavy guitars with gentle vocals and make it sound normal. On their recent second album, they were obviously influenced more by American bands like Pavement, Sleater-Kinney and Death Cab for Cutie (with whom they have producer John Goodmanson in common), rather than being your usual Clash-aspiring indie band. On 'Still Windmills' Nestor's powerful, intricate rhythms and Doug's rolling bass combine to form the perfect backdrop for lead singer Katie Harkin and her kaleidoscopic guitar swirls.
