Collaborators' Top Albums List - 2010

I am honoured to present you the child of intense labour done by the collaborators of ProgArchives during the last two months, be them Special Collaborators, Collaborators, Reviewers, Admins on VIP Members. Thanks are in order for everyone who contributed. We had record numbers, like 65 voters and 214 nominated albums! Does this signal the resurgence of progressive rock music? I'll let you decide.



Here goes the list comprising the top ten albums of 2010, as voted.








    #1. Clivages - UNIVERS ZERO

   

    After all these years it feels reassuring to know that Univers Zero is alive and well while still going strong in their important exploration of music boundaries as we know them. In their early years this band sounded like nothing we've ever heard before and although time might have caught up with Univers Zero in terms of production and sampling this music has a definite potential of transcending the barrier of time and live forever.

    (Rune2000, Prog Reviewer)



    #2. Bateless Edge - FROGG CAFÉ

   

    Frogg Café is more than just a rock or prog rock band, it is a musical force encapsulated simultaneously in the     minds and souls of a host of talented musicians blessed with A-level musicianship and indefatigable creativity, and all this glory is once more confirmed by the reality of "Bateless Edge", the band's most recent effort. It is, indeed, a mandatory member of any Top 5 or Top 3 list of 2010's outstanding prog releases worldwide.

    (Cesar Inca, Special Collaborator)


   
    Sharing the last entry on the podium, we have two albums with the exact total of points.

    #3-4. Coyote - KAYO DOT, and Aquarius - HAKEN

   

    I dont know what it is about Toby Driver but his projects, particularly Kayo Dot, never cease to amaze me at every turn and Coyote is no different. Its dark, haunting and utlimetly unsettleing sound and feel blows me away and I make no apology for once again giving 5 stars to Kayo Dot album. This will probably remain as the best album of the year that I will hear and more than that it is going down as one of the best albums I've ever heard and all but matches the bands classic debut Choirs of the Eye.

    (Sleeper, ProgReviewer)

   
   
    Aquarius has left me speechless. I've been searching for an album from 2010 to confidently call a masterpiece, and this is definitely it. If you like progressive rock, progressive metal, or just about anything else, this is absolutely essential. This is one of those cases where you have to believe the hype. It's really that good. Although I rarely give debut albums 5 stars, I'm going to make a huge exception here. I have a pretty good feeling that this is an album that we will be looking back on 30 years from now and calling it the definitive debut album from this era. This is an essential masterpiece that you don't want to miss!

    (J-Man, ProgReviewer)



    #5. Iridule - YUGEN

   

    A dense album, Iridule is not easily digested (much like their two previous albums), but provides a rewarding listen once fully absorbed. Aside from loving their brand of controlled madness and organized chaos, I am highly impressed with the punctuality and proficiency of the playing, the clarity of the recording and the intricacy of the compositions.

    (Avestin, Special Collaborator)



    #6. Écailles de lune - ALCEST

   

    Yes, it is almost perfection. There is little I can say that will dent my love for this album. It the astonishingly beautiful, and has taken several steps ahead from Neige's debut effort. The more diverse soundscapes and powerfully developed emotional hooks mean that Écailles de lune is a truly memoralble listen. Even the abraisive black metal vocals sound better than any I've ever heard before. Oh, and what about that cover...

    (AnyColourYouLike, Collaborator)   

   

    #7. One-Armed Bandit - JAGA JAZZIST

   

    My favorite jazz rock/fusion album of the year for a reason. Combining electronic music, indie, jazz, Zappa-esque fusion and the post-rock spirit ever present in Jaga Jazzist's music, 'One-Armed Bandit' is a very catchy album, one of those records you'll play in its entirety every single day for about a couple of months and then store it on your shelf until you feel you're in the mood to remember the great music you've heard.

    (Starhammer, Senior Member)



    #8. Il Tempio Delle Clessidre - IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE

   

    Il Tempio Delle Clessidre have clearly come up with an album that will have fans of RPI in raptures. Despite being in the seventies tradition a modern production brings it right up to date and such is the excellence of the compositions, given the right exposure could easily transcend boundaries and reach and be enjoyed by prog fans who don't normally venture into the RPI genre. Nothing less than 5 stars will do for this masterpiece of progressive rock.

    (Nightfly, Collaborator)



    #9. Marrow Of The Spirit - AGALLOCH

   

    There's no denial that 'Marrow Of The Spirit' is a monster of a work; a thick and towering beast that takes quite a few listens to really sink in. Like all of Agalloch's music, there is a great deal of atmosphere here, as well as a forlorn and existential worldview that certainly won't be brightening one's spirits anytime soon. While being so excited and eager to listen to an album can very abundantly lead to disappointment, 'Marrow Of The Spirit' comes only a shard away from reaching the perfection that 'The Mantle' achieved, and for once, despite my anticipation, my expectations have all been exceeded.

    (Conor Fynes, Prog Reviewer)

   

    #10. Création De L'Univers - XING SA

   

    In other words, the band offers a fresh and inspired melting pot of slightly dark avant jazz-rock, created by a trio of drums, bass and organ/mellotron, with the occasional help from guest vocals and sax. The band sounds very confident and keeps their improvisations very focused, never too long or indulging in unnecessary solos. It isn't as dense and dark as Guapo or Nebelnest, but on the plus side it means the music remains fairly accessible and might serve as a good introduction for this type of modern Zeuhl/Avant rock. Création De L'Univers is a superb album with a certain spot in my 2010 top 10. I'd recommend it to all fans of early 70s jazz-rock, RIO and Zeuhl. A solid 4 stars, both accessible and a grower.

    (Bonnek, Special Collaborator)



Let the awards party begin!


Edited by harmonium.ro - February 24 2011 at 01:28

Very happy with this list. Good reflection of a strange year in prog.

Very nice work, Alex.  Thanks to all who participated.  I too am pleased with the list.  

I missed the deadline; rats. I only heard a few albums anyway and Clivages was my favourite, and it, apparently, didn't need my support anyway. 

Thanks for compiling this Alex. Obviously my top ten looks vastly different from the collective, but that's the beauty of this site, the widely varying tastes

I find it interesting that for another year we come together in jazz and avant styled prog. Haken took the metal world by storm this year and was the album I didn't want to be #1. 

Oh wow, PA ditches symphonic and all that for a year? Interesting.

Negoba wrote: I find it interesting that for another year we come together in jazz and avant styled prog. Haken took the metal world by storm this year and was the album I didn't want to be #1.  Thanks for all the work and looking forward to an amazing 2011.

I think more interesting is that there are two black metal albums in the top 10

wow, excepting Haken's album, every other I mentioned or would mention would be 45th of below.

Great job H.Ro