This was released very early in the year and became one of my first obsessions of 2010. The band’s previous release had been a dreamlike, aural collage of sounds and vocals that I found quite haunting, but with their follow-up they chose to fully embrace 80’s pop and go for big hooks. It was an utter success, containing some of the year’s strangest, most compelling pop songs. Ignore the experimental opening track. It’s a red herring of sorts, because what follows is a collection of tunes heavy on melody. It’s the album MGNT should have released this year.
11. Bjørn Johan Muri - Airwaves
Rarely is a Eurovision hopeful’s debut so engaging. The genius here lies with the material Muri was given. Instead of trendy, urban pop (which would have been the obvious way to go), this album’s filled with soft-around-the-edges, lightly electronic music that is tailored for radio without losing any of its artsy cool. It’s all carried through by Muri’s instantly recognizable vocals. Polished radio pop didn’t get much better this year. It takes the Norwegian "Donkeyboy" sound and augments it into something more youthful and interesting.
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