Here we go again: The end of another year in music!

2010 may well be remembered as the Year of the Future (if not the Year of All Hearts–hint hint!): A year of fembots, androids, bionic women and time-traveling adventures deep into the 22nd century.

Space-age love stories and robo-dramatics colored a large portion of the year’s biggest releases in pop, no doubt a response to the reign of the machine on the pop charts as synth-pop productions continued to dominate the digital airwaves in 2010.

Below is the list of MuuMuse’s Top Albums of 2010, which was based on a variety of factors–from individual song and single goodness, to the complete album experience, to overall artistic integrity, to an album’s ability to ‘stick’ as the year progressed. Basically I’m trying to say that it’s a bit of a hot mess, but I tried my very best.

There’s also a rather controversial dishonorable mention prior to the Top 40 list that will likely blow my chances for that much coveted position as editor of Rolling Stone. DAMN IT.

Now…LET’S DO THIS.

Without further ado…the list!

While passing through the PopJustice forums, I stumbled upon a post mentioning the Toronto-based band, Parallels. While I didn’t (and admittedly, still don’t) know much about the group at the time, I now know this: their debut is amazing.

Visionaries, the band’s debut album released on February 6, brings to mind a potpourri of influences: Sally Shapiro, Belinda Carlisle, The Knife, Cat5, New Order and Cut Copy, among others. Not a bad set of sounds to come to mind, is it?

For fans of italo-disco, crystal synthesizers, and chilly grooves inspired by the dance floor sounds of yesterday, I believe you’ll find in Visionaries a truly unexpected delight.

Click here to stream Parallels‘ debut album, Visionaries, in full.

Click here to visit Parallels’ MySpace, and here to check out their music on iTunes.

YES.

With what appears to be the greatest single of 2009*, Saint Etienne has returned to the dancefloor with “Method of Modern Love,” the Richard X-produced lead single from their upcoming compilation album, London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne. The group has been dangling song samples in front of their fans’ salivating faces for weeks now, but only now we can finally experience the full release.

That should have been worded differently.

*As of today.

Anywho, here are just some of the features of this track, which can be officially dubbed as “brillz”:

+ A proper ‘disco beat.’

+ Echoey bits.

+ The line “shot with a bolt of blue,” which may very well stem from classic New-wave favorite, New Order‘s “Bizarre Love Triangle.”

+ Sounds a bit like Kylie‘s “The One” (otherwise known as Perfection.)

+ A solid middle eight, featuring the greatest spell-out of “love” since Ashlee Simpson‘s “L.O.V.E.”

Buy it now!

DL: Saint Etienne – Method Of Modern Love (Sharebee)

Click here to purchase “Method of Modern Love” in limited signed form (!) from the band, as well as a pre-order for London Conversations!

On January 5th (MY BIRTHDAY), 2009, Kylie Minogue will be releasing, Boombox, a brand new remix album featuring mixes by Chemical Brothers, Fischerspooner, and more!

1. Can’t Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head (Bootleg with New Order)
2. Spinning Around (7th District Club Mental Mix)
3. Wow (Death Metal Diva Scene Mix)
4. Love At First Sight (Kid Creme Vocal Dub)
5. Slow (Chemical Brothers Mix)
6. Come Into My World (Fischerspooner Mix)
7. Red Blooded Woman (Whitey Mix)
8. I Believe In You (Mylo Mix)
9. In Your Eyes (Knuckleheadz Mix)
10. 2 Hearts (Mark Brown’s Pacha Ibiza Upper Terrace Mix)
11. On A Night Like This (Bini & Martini Mix)
12. Giving You Up (Ritron Re-Rub Vocal Mix)
13. In My Arms (Sebastien Leger Vocal Mix)
14. The One (Britrocka Remix)
15. Your Disco Needs You (Casino Mix)
16. Boombox (LA Riots Remix)

iTunes Bonus:

Can’t Get You Out Of My Head (Greg Kurstin 2007 Mix)
Butterfly (Mark Piccotti Sandstorm Dub)

According to the blurb on Kylie.com, the album features smashing mixes of Kylie’s most popular tracks, as well as some “lesser known gems.” I’m still trying to figure out just what tracks they’re referring to…”Spinning Around”? Still, it’s a comprehensive package, featuring all of my favorite mixes (Fischerspooner! New Order mix!) I’m looking forward to it.

DL: Kylie – Boombox (LA Riots Remix)

Hold on to your hard hats, everyone–it’s time to take a brief sweep through Pitchfork territory. Go ahead and gather up the 1980′s (sans the Speak-N-Spell), dark pop, sprinkles (shots, if you will) of indie-electro shivers, Anthony Gonzales, and a few good producers including Ken Thomas, Ewan Pearson, and Morgan Kibby. Jumble that all up together and what have you? Nope, not Xanadu, though kudos to you for your unwavering optimistic attitude toward the film’s revival. No, it’s the latest album by M83, entitled Saturdays=Youth.

Intending to supply a nod or two to those golden days of yore, Mr. Gonzales has thrown a wrench into his typical electro-ambient stylings with the occasional blips and bleeps that made the ’80′s so undeniably cheesy and wonderful. Now don’t roll your eyes just yet. I, like you, am quite beyond the whole ’80′s revival scene (it’s so mid-’00′s), but when I say revival, it’s not in regards to the mere usage of a few blaring synthesizers, but more of a subtle recapturing of the sounds and noises of 1980′s New Wave pop.

Saturdays=Youth is stunning, truly. The moody, breathy male and female vocals of the album carry well over its collection of strumming guitars and clouded synths, allowing each track its own unearthly sound. Layered tracks like the first single, “Couleurs” as well as lead-off track “You Appearing” and “Highway of Endless Dreams” prove that the involved producers are adept at doing more than merely recreating yesterday’s sounds, but rather carving complex monuments devoted to previous conquerors of all things synthesized. Gonzales also proves to pave his own inroads into dark pop, providing songs like “Graveyard Girl” and “Kim & Jessie,” unmistakably legitimate tracks that fall in line perfectly with the best of them–from Depeche Mode to New Order. There’s also the breathtaking sixth track, “Up!” of which I’m convinced features Allison Goldfrapp’s tender vocals. Through the album’s deeply dark melodies and brighter flourishes however, Gonzales never loses his way for a second.

If you’re interested in learning more about the album, head over to Amazon to hear clips of the tracks, or to the M83 MySpace for additional information.

Now introducing the debut album, Pain Disappears, from electronic musicians Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia. Mlle is the French abbreviation for the word “mademoiselle.” I forget the exact translation of that word, but roughly it means “made in moiselle.” The collaboration produces unquestionably hypnotic music. The typical song off of their upcoming album features complex mash-ups of thumping electronic blips, melancholic guitar strumming, and unadulterated synth-rock. The song production is reminiscent to that of Cut Copy, Royksopp, and New Order. Each track’s echoey vocals are pulled straight from the pages of classic 80′s dark electro-pop. “Dead Souls” offers a dark Junkie XL-ish, thickly-French accented reflection of memories from the past. Give this fresh collaboration a shot…It’s one of those CD’s that can be brought out in the middle of the dance floor, or listened to while drifting into slumber. I found myself really enjoying the diverse tunes on the album. The tracks can be monotonous (they tend to last around six minutes), but the melodies are individually infectious and reflective.

Included in this post is a MuuMuse Excluusive for you all, the Ben Watt radio edit of the track, “Dead Souls.” Dig in!

DL: Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia – Dead Souls (Ben Watt Radio Edit)

Please enjoy, and if you like what you hear, make sure you buy their album, Pain Disappears, on March 4th from BuzzinFly Records.
And you, what do you think?