Running 2010 down.

... In which I attempt to narrow down my favourite albums of the year to just ten, and realise the embarrassing scarcity of blog posts I have put up in 2010. Are you ready? Do you care? Then let's write a freaking end of year album list!

10. Eels - 'End Times'

The second in a trio of Eels albums released in the last 18 months, 'End Times' found E at his grizzled, caustic best. Equating the end of a relationship with the apocalypse is hardly a groundbreaking concept, but the album convinces due to the sheer gravity of the songwriting. However, 'End Times' is not all bleak - somehow a song about a female suicide bomber, 'Paradise Blues', was one of the year's most triumphant. The third in the trilogy, 'Tomorrow Morning' was a consciously breezy affair, but felt forced; 'End Times' is wholly, winningly downhearted. Standout track: 'Mansions of Los Feliz'

9. Four Tet - 'There Is Love In You'

On 2008's 'Ringer' EP, Kieran Hebden took a definite step in the direction of the dancefloor, shaking off the pretty glitch-folk of his earlier albums. 'There Is Love In You' is the closest thing to a 'proper dance album' that Four Tet have released, and in places it kicks hard (the pulversing, euphoric 'Love Cry'), but also retains a sliver of the strangeness that has become their calling card. The disembodied female voice(s) on 'Angel Echoes' and the tidal synths on 'This Unfolds' confirm Hebden as one of music's most innovative producers. Standout track: 'Angel Echoes'

8. The Bees - 'Every Step's A Yes'

Released in the summer to a largely indifferent reception, 'Every Step's A Yes' is easily The Bees' finest effort, a warm, honest slice of psychedelia which is effortlessly charming. Try not to beam widely when 'I Really Need Love', 'Silver Line' or 'Tired of Loving' is playing. Hard, isn't it? The reason this album is such a success is consistency; previous Bees albums have been eclectic to a fault, 'Every Step's A Yes' is simply a joy throughout. Maybe their next record will generate more buzz. Sorry. Standout track: 'Silver Line'

7. Male Bonding - 'Nothing Hurts'

Generally seen as the best English response to the American 'Shitgaze' scene, Male Bonding have much more pop nous than they are perhaps given credit for. And whilst 'Nothing Hurts' unfolds at a breakneck pace, not least on the frantic 'Year's Not Long', at the heart of the album is a savvy way with a hook. 'Weird Feelings' and 'Franklin' sound like Vampire Weekend in a blender, and the pretty acoustic closer 'Worse To Come' surely suggests the opposite. A hugely promising debut. Standout track: 'Year's Not Long'

6. Twin Sister - 'Vampires With Dreaming Kids' / 'Colour Your Life'

OK, so this isn't strictly supposed to be here, given that it's a compilation / round up of the Twin Sister output so far, and one of the EPs was released last year. However, this band are too good to ignore. Over the course of the ten tracks on here, the band displays the range, maturity, invention and skill that takes most bands a lifetime to perfect. Their first album will be one of the highlights of the new decade. Standout track: 'The Other Side Of Your Face'

5. The Tallest Man on Earth - 'The Wild Hunt'

Kristian Matsson has ascended rapidly to the top of the sensitive singer-songwriter pile - and no wonder. On 'The Wild Hunt' he lays out his stall in a no-nonsense, devastating fashion; and every song sounds like a standard. 'King of Spain' is witty and anthemic, 'Love Is All' is simply gutwrenching. He is also responsible for my personal live highlight of the year - a spellbinding cover of Gillian Welch's 'Everything Is Free', accompanied by Megafaun at Green Man. Not a dry eye in the tent. Standout track: 'Love Is All'

4. Beach House - 'Teen Dream'

Whilst the hype around this record upon its release hasn't really translated into critical acclaim at the business end of the year, this remains a remarkable piece of work. Strident, unashamedly dramatic and, most importantly, filled with frighteningly good choruses, 'Teen Dream' provided a hazy soundtrack to a long summer. 'Zebra', 'Norway' and '10 Mile Stereo' led the way in terms of accessibility; 'Silver Soul' was the album's aching, desperate core. Standout track: 'Zebra'

3. Boston Spaceships - 'Our Cubehouse Still Rocks'

...In which we all learned never to write off Robert Pollard. The man has been gaining momentum again recently, and 'Our Cubehouse Still Rocks' is the staggering culmination of this revival. Backed by members of the Decemberists and other former GBV comrades, the Spaceships simply bash out sixteen classic cuts, oozing confidence, swagger and humour - qualities that, a few years ago, it seemed that his Bobness was beginning to lack. The year's most unexpected and gratifying return to form. Standout track: 'Come On Baby Grace'

2. Arcade Fire - 'The Suburbs'

Okay, confession time. I didn't give this album a hope in hell, based on the monolithically poor 'Neon Bible'. And so I ignored it. That was a mistake and, Mr. Butler, I'm sorry. Arcade Fire have done a very clever thing here and isolated the qualities that made 'Funeral' so incredible, marrying them to a new lyrical maturity, and ditching the bombastic approach to arrangement that made their previous album so woeful. They have caught something which, whilst it comes in a classic-song disguise, is very much now. Their fears are ours, and they communicate them beautifully. Standout track: 'We Used To Wait'

1. Field Music - 'Field Music (Measure)'

I never thought I would ever place a double prog album at the top of this list. Because that, when all is said and done, is what Field Music make. And not only that, it is prog of the most tricksy, elusive, mathematical kind. Yet something about 'Measure' is truly magical - the sheer brio with which the Brewis brothers approach their craft, the dizzying twists which pepper their songs, the occasional moments of McCartney-esque melancholy which cut through the fussiness. To make an album with twenty great tracks on it is remarkable, but such is Field Music's modus operandi that it feels more like forty. Enormous though it may be, this is a hugely fun record, bursting with exuberance and wisdom, a fine summation of what it means to be English in 2010. Personally this one record gives me great hope for songwriting in this country - that a band is still taking cues from bands like XTC, The Beatles, even - whisper it - ELO, suggests that there are still great pop records to made here. And the Brewis brothers, on the evidence of 'Measure' at least, may be two of the most ambitious songsmiths in music right now. Let's hope they haven't used up everything on this sprawling, packed masterpiece. Standout tracks: 'In The Mirror'; 'Measure'; 'Let's Write A Book'; 'Choosing Numbers'; 'Something Familiar'