The Top 100 of the 10s, part 9

Yesterday we started Wo's albums list of the 10s, slowly counting down to the number 1 spot. Today we continue with number 90.






90. Boudewijn de Groot's Voor De Overlevenden & Picknick Live. The Kik (2019)
This is a show I did not go to see. Despite the fact I have seen the band at least five times this decade, I thought that listening to this cover album was enough. It is impressive at it is and I like it better even than the original albums. The Kik does what I had hoped them to do and will do more in the coming decade, recreate something that the original artists cannot do or do not want to do anymore. An impressive feat this.

89. Butter. Karen Jonas (2018)
Mother cooks with butter and drinks straight whiskey. And writes and records great records and plays all over the U.S. east coast, but alas still never over here. Butter is an album where she flexes her muscles some more and comes up with a much broader range of songs without ever straying from her beloved country music. And, yes, she will return in this list (just like The Kik).

88. Blood Red Shoes. Blood Red Shoes (2014)
The duo, guitar - drums, that is so dynamic, so melodic. I will confess once again that I always prefer U.K. pop and rock just this little bit more to U.S., so will always count Blood Red Shoes above The White Stripes or The Black Keys e.g. The band's eponymous album kicks off relentlessly but effortlessly gets to the level I have come to expect through the years.

87. Americana. Ray Davies (2017)
So after silence of a decade Ray Davies returns with a formidable record showing that he hasn't lost anything of his power of songwriting nor his keen observational eye and ear. His relationship with the U.S. is explored in much following his latest biography, from the landing in the mid 60s to his getting stabbed in New Orleans.

86. Parable. The Stangs (2017)
An EP from a bunch of youngsters I have never heard from again after running into them in a support slot of The Kik? The Stangs' psychedelic pop songs belie the members' age by several decades. Except for the sound quality the album could have been made in 1967-68, thanks to the production of The Kik's Dave von Raven.

85. Demo 3. Bongley Dead (2014)
A vague email looking more like a phishing mail than anything else came to me after a review of, I do not know any more. After verifying it turned out that it was a band member of an Italian band reaching out to this blog. The result was a great album in my mailbox and a few years later a personal meeting in the band's rehearsal studio.

84. Coexist. The xx (2012)
That almost mystical album with all these silences in between the beats that never truly are finds its way into this list. The xx captures mystery into its music in a convincing way.

83. The Crucible. Motorpsycho (2019)
Motorpsycho left my span of attention somewhere around the turn of this decade. It all started to sound a bit more of the same to me, but just a little less good by the album. And then 'The Tower' was released, patience, patience, followed by the also towering 'The Crucible'. Yes, also more of the same but so devastatingly strong that a place here is well deserved.

82. The Beauty Of Our Youth. Soup (2013)
A double album at 45 RPM filled with beautiful songs. Soup was only flexing its muscles on this album working towards 'Remedies', the best read post on this blog to this day (without bots from Eastern Europe at that). This album was totally unknown to me at the time of release. Something I was fortunate to change after the Zoetermeer show of the band.

81. Why Me? Why Not. Liam Gallagher (2019)
Perhaps a bit opportunistic to put in this album already but I just find myself playing the album regularly. And yes, albums from 2019 have it easier than those from 2010. For now the album deserves this spot. The songs are strong and varied. Liam, with his team of writers trumps his older brother at the end of the decade. 'Chasing Yesterdays' only just did not make the top 100 though.

TBC

Wo.