20. Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters
NY's noiseniks Teengirl Fantasy, aka Nick Weiss and Logan Takahashi, are not your normal teengirl fantasy. Their ethereal ramshackle, 'Cheaters', is a dreamy freakout which builds and builds into an off-kilter, hazy synth-rock jam drenched in soul samples and Kraftwerk-esque analog synthesizers. They sound like a forward-thinking The Orb, but making music with the intent of inducing drowsiness- it is not just a resulting side-effect.
19. Gold Panda - You
As this list has probably affirmed, leftfield electronica has certainly flourished this year. From the ethereal dreamscapes projected into the stratosphere from the US' Blondes, Teengirl Fantasy and Kisses, to the thriving UK 'post-dubstep' scene comprising Mount Kimbie and James Blake, and from the slick Scandinavian pop of Lykke Li, Robyn and Lindstrom & Christabelle to the ever innovative sounds of German eclecticist, Pantha du Prince, this year has been the most important year for electronic music in decades. It has been a transitional phase, showcasing development and ingenuity.
But the man who led it all, unmentioned as of yet, was a very unlikely figure named Derwin Panda, under his moniker, Gold Panda. He was not an inept animal, but a musical genius. His lo-fi, bedroom production of samples, chiming bells and keyboard pounds were groundbreaking, melodious and funky. Much more will be explained in due course....
18. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
The best band of our generation and the best film director of our generation. Spike Jonze directing an Arcade Fire promo? Yes please!
17. Caribou - Odessa
Like Gianfranco Zola was the university-educated genius of the footballing world, Caribou's Dan Snaith has become the world's first popstar with a Phd in Mathematics (I think?).
Ensuing 2008's marvellous Polaris prize-winning 'Andorra', this year, Caribou released their most pop-orientated album to date in the form of 'Swim', which was also nominated for the Polaris prize, but this time also charted on the Billboard top 100 - quite an achievement for such an artist.
On it, they entangled psychedelic and prog. rock influences in a brash, electronic mesh of harmonious vocals and unorthodox synths. The beguiling first single, 'Odessa', is incredible; Snaith sings 'She can say' frenziedly, in a thrilling, introspective conception of Can-esque freakout funk.
16. Twin Sister - Lady Daydream
As I said before, Twin Sister are unworldly, neo-psychedelic lovelies, whose music you could place somewhere between Yes and Bat for Lashes.
Back in January, they released debut EP 'Color Your Life', whose lead single was this; a kaleidoscopic fusion of droning synths, distortion, lead singer Andrea Estella's saccharine vocals, catchy little riffs and quirk. Like the aforementioned 'All Around and Away We Go', this is another song that you can submerge yourself in entirely, jiggle a little bit to and be compelled to play over and over again.
