Top 10

10. JAMES FIGURINE
Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
The more that I contribute to Two Way Monologues, the more I realize that electronic/dance music has a great and major part in my life. It’s not just the old school raver in me from days past; I think I will always be a fan of the genre, and James Figurine is another great electronic artist that lets my love for the music never go away.

9. SPARTA
Threes
I have a weird relationship with Sparta and their music. Sometimes it takes months for me to love a particular song, or get to the point where I can’t get their CD out of my player. Upon first listen, I knew the same would be true of this disc. In a couple of months’ time, I won’t be able to get enough of this one, and thus it had to be on my top ten list.

8. BECK
The Information
What can I say about Beck? He’s definitely one-of-a-kind, and I love his funk and quirkiness. It took a long time for him to grow on me, but good luck peeling him off now. The Information is full of typical Beck charm.

7. SUSANNA AND THE MAGICAL ORCHESTRA
Melody Mountain
This record holds a lot of meaning to me, and I felt a very personal connection to what I heard from this lovely pair of musicians from the faraway land of Norway. The songs are re-creations of songs past, from such artists as AC/DC, Leonard Cohen and Prince. Though the songs weren’t written by the duo, they are still beautifully interpreted and crafted pieces of art.

6. MERZ
Silver Tree
I’m not trying to be lazy, but I will just re-quote what I already said about this album, because frankly I don’t think I can say it any better than I already have. As stated in my review of this lovely EP, “These five songs stand tall and gracious on their own, but are beautifully wrapped together, coming to us from an artist willing to wear his heart on his sleeve. The songs gave me more reason to fantasize and evoked a Rolodex full of emotions. In conclusion, this record makes me dream of a forest full of Silver Trees.”

5. SEBASTIEN SCHULLER
Happiness
This is one impressive album, which managed to captivate me, made me question music and how we categorize it, and overall left a lasting impression. Shuller does his thing and he does it really well, and Happiness is definitely an album worthy of being checked out.

4. YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Show Your Bones
These guys are the epitome of fucking cool. From Karen O’s do to their funky beats, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are just down with it. I love this record, it’s a great one to throw on and rock out to.

3. DEFTONES
Saturday Night Wrist
As one of my favourite bands, their newest managed to grab my attention and hold it without much effort. I can’t quite explain it, but the combination of their music and Chino’s voice has a way of crawling under my skin and haunting my every move. I think even if they put out total shit, I would love it anyway. Okay, maybe not, but this one is indeed another goodie courtesy of the Deftones camp.

2. BENOIT PIOULARD
Precis
It’s beautiful, magical, raw, honest and dreamy. I don’t know how many times I can say it -- I love it, love it, love it, love it, LOVE IT. Absolute perfection. (Oh yeah, and I would like to add here that I would officially like to change my original rating of this album from 8.9 to 9.5, which to date comes in as the highest rated review courtesy of yours truly.) Peace.

1. BE YOUR OWN PET
Be Your Own Pet
No matter what mood I’m in, I throw on this little ditty and life is just fucking peachy. I love the energy and everything else they bring to the table. From beginning to end, thrown on repeat to hear over and over again, I just can’t get enough of this debut disc from Be Your Own PET. It’s just an all around good old time, and sometimes that’s all one needs.