Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 10 - The Top 10)

10. THE BERMONDSEY JOYRIDERS - "Noise And Revolution" (2012) (Review here)

Difficult to believe that it's now seven years since that moment where the Bermondsey Joyriders genuinely did feel like the most vital band on the planet for about five minutes. Their second album "Noise And Revolution" saw them well and truly transcend their slide-guitar blues-rock beginnings to deliver a truly angry state of the nation address on how far the country had gone to the dogs under the coalition government (little did we know...) but one with killer tunes and plenty of variety (taking in punk, garage rock and British Invasion-style '60s styles) to create an absolutely killer album. The good times sadly wouldn't last - 2014's follow-up "Flamboyant Thugs" was a good effort but did feel like a little bit of a step down in terms of quality from its predecessor and since then it's all gone a bit quiet although the band are continuing to gig under Garry Lammin's stewardship (though the rest of the line-up from this era have now moved on). But still, this was a deserving winner of my 2012 Album of the Year award and you really should dig it out if you haven't heard it yet.

9. DANKO JONES - "Below The Belt" (2010)

So here's where this list starts to go a bit weird - Danko Jones has won an Album of the Year on this list...but it wasn't with this album, it was with 2015's "Fire Music". Which, let there be no doubt, was a damn fine effort. However...I just think "Below The Belt" is slightly better and it only finished second on my 2010 list by dint of being up against the next album on this one so in it goes. Especially considering that 2008's "Never Too Loud" had been a bit of a disappointment, sunk by poor production, this really was the rip-roaring comeback from the guy that we all badly needed to hear and songs like "I Think Bad Thoughts", "Full Of Regret", "Never Enough", "Active Volcanoes" and "Apology Accepted" were the sound of the guy getting back on top of his game. As well as the aforementioned "Fire Music", Danko put out two other very good albums in the last ten years in 2012's "Rock 'n' Roll Is Black 'n' Blue" and 2017's "Wild Cat" although this year's "A Rock Supreme", while still a good effort, felt like a slight step down quality wise. Then again, given that the last time that happened "Below The Belt" was the result on the next album, hopefully history's about to repeat itself...

8. THE JIM JONES REVUE - "Burning Your House Down" (2010) (Review here)

It's difficult to overstate just how much of an impact the Jim Jones Revue had when they blasted on the scene at the start of the decade. Blending classic '50s greaser rock 'n' roll with a Mary Chain style fuzzed-up distorted sound, their second album proper built on their eponymous debut, adding a bit of nous but keeping the thrillingly feral sound that made it stand out from the crowd very much intact with songs like the title track, "Dishonest John", "Big Len", "Shoot First" and "Premeditated" sinking their teeth into your brain like a hungry Alsatian and making it a deserved winner of my 2010 Album of the Year award. Unfortunately despite building up a huge London following they never quite managed to replicate it outside the capital (they must be one of the few bands where I've seen them headlining Shepherd's Bush Empire then a few weeks later playing the late lamented Harlow Square which was about a tenth of the size) and their third album, 2012's "The Savage Heart" turned out to be their last. Jones and bassist Gavin Jay would move on to the more bluesy swamp-rock influenced Righteous Mind (and you can hear traces of this sort of music moving into the JJR's repertoire) who put out two very worthy albums towards the end of the decade (2017's "Supernatural" and 2019's "CollectiV") but for me, the sheer rush of "Burning Your House Down" is hard to beat.

7. THE MEN THAT WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR NOTHING - "Double Negative" (2018) (Review here)

When they first crashed on to the scene with 2010's quickly-renamed "Now That's What I Call Steampunk Vol 1" and 2012's excellently named follow-up "This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Weapons", TMTWNBBFN were great fun but a bit of a novelty comedy band, writing short sharp punk blasts about George Stephenson, Charles Darwin and Isambaard Kingdom Brunel. However, 2015's "Not Your Typical Victorians" saw them start to move into darker waters on songs like "Third Class Coffin" and "This House Is Not Haunted" before "Double Negative" saw them taking the darkness of that album and adding a sharper punk sound to it to brilliant effect and well and truly casting off any novelty act preconceptions. The likes of "Supply And Demand", "Baby Farmer" and "God Is In The Bottom Line" were sharp and vicious although "Obscene Fucking Machine" did add a bit of humour to the equation for anyone worried it was all getting a bit serious suddenly. With the promise of new material hopefully imminent, it's anyone's guess where they go next but it should be well worth going along for the journey. A deserved winner of the 2018 Album of the Year.

6. PETER PERRETT - "How The West Was Won" (2017) (Review here)

Given that in the 37 years between the break-up of the Only Ones and the release of "How The West Was Won", Peter Perrett had released a total of one album, the prospect of seeing one, let alone two (this year saw him release another good effort "Humanworld") new albums from the guy at the start of the decade must've seemed pretty remote. A much more sunny and optimistic affair than most of the Only Ones' output, this was Perrett being glad to be alive and the likes of "An Epic Story", "Man Of Extremes", "Sweet Endeavour" and especially the quite lovely ode to his wife "C Voyeurger" were up there with the best Only Ones stuff - high praise indeed. With Perrett now back recording again, hopefully the new decade will see more material from the guy as he continues to make up for lost time.

5. THE URBAN VOODOO MACHINE - "In Black 'n' Red" (2011) (Review here)

Similar to Danko Jones, the Voodoos won my 2016 AOTY award for the excellent "Hellbound Hymns" but this one only missed out very narrowly to the Eureka Machines and I think would've won it in any other year. As with all the best second albums, it took the best elements of the Voodoos' 2008 debut "Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop 'n' Stroll" and built on them nicely to create a strong set of songs, several of which are still in the band's live set to this day - "Go East", "Cheers For The Tears", "Rather You Shot Me Down", "High Jeopardy Thing", "Goodbye To Another Year", "Heroin (Put My Brothers In The Ground)", the hits that should've been just keep on coming here! The group have had something of a tough decade with two members, Robb Skipper and Nick Marsh, sadly no longer being with us but they delivered a killer hat-trick of albums (2014's "Love, Drink And Death" being the third) and with new material looking to be forthcoming in the year ahead, it'll be good to have them back with us.

4. ELECTRIC RIVER - "The Faith And Patience" (2014) (Review here)

Six years on from this album, which deservedly won the 2014 Album of the Year award, I'm still puzzled as to why it just kind of never happened for Electric River. Following on from their "decent enough but no indications of what was to come" debut, 2008's "Radio No Go!", "The Faith And Patience" was described by a few folks as being Britain's answer to the Gaslight Anthem. Except, personal opinion, it was even better. Songs such as "This Garden Will Grow", "Leap Of Faith", "Water Song", "Hold Your Nerve", "Queen Of Hearts" and "Keep The Engine Burning" were the sort of genuine blue-collar ode to the forgotten towns of England that you just don't seem to get anymore and were welded to killer tunes and hooks which had you cueing this one up for listen after listen. Unfortunately it didn't give them the chart success they richly deserved and the group would split in 2016, a truly sad loss for the British music scene.

3. HEY! HELLO! - "Hey! Hello!" (2013) (Review here)

After the rather messy break-up of the Wildhearts at the start of the decade, Ginger announced he was going to concentrate on a couple of new side bands. While Mutation was basically an exercise in wilfully difficult noise rock, Hey Hello saw him hooking up with singer Victoria Liedtke to indulge his love of poppier music and their debut album was an absolute killer with the likes of "Swimwear", "I'm Gonna Kiss You Like I'm Going Away", "Black Valentine", "Feral Days" and "We're Outta Here!" being up there with Ginger's best. Widely acclaimed and even breaching the chart, a full group was assembled to tour the album and it seemed the sky was the limit...until Ginger and Victoria fell out and the latter was ousted from the band. The group brought in Hollis from the Love Zombies for the follow-up but that ended badly as well as she quit the group a week before the album launch tour was due to start and the album had to be taken back to scratch and recorded again. The group battled on with new singer Cat Southall but after all the various headaches, Ginger ended up winding the group up in 2017 and reuniting the Wildhearts. More of which shortly. However, Hey Hello did leave behind two good albums but it's this first one (my 2013 Album of the Year) which is the better of the two with the sheer sugar rush of the songs lending itself easily to repeated listening.

2. EUREKA MACHINES - "Champion The Underdog" (2011) (Review here)

Although my favourite Eurekas album is still the first one (2008's "Do Or Die"), this one does run it hairs-breadth close and was my 2011 Album of the Year. Seeing Chris Catalyst and co at their poppiest, songs such as the title track, "These Are The People Who Live In My House", "Zero Hero", "I'm Wasting My Time Yet Again", "Beginning of the End of the World" and "Professional Crastinator", this really was all killer no filler and deservedly brought the group to national attention. Subsequent albums (2012's "Remain In Hope", 2015's "Brain Waves" and 2018's "Victories") did unfortunately see the law of diminishing returns setting in a little bit although I think that's more down to just how damn good the first two albums were than the others being under-par. Either way, the Eureka Machines are still out there, still kicking arse live and hopefully we'll be hearing more from them in the decade ahead.

1. THE WILDHEARTS - "Renaissance Men" (2019)

Okay so I'll happily admit that the Wildhearts have been my favourite band for the last 25 years or so but when I heard they'd be putting out a new album in 2019, my thoughts were that it could genuinely go either way. The group's two albums prior to their rather messy dissolution in about 2010 or so (2006's self-titled effort and 2008's "Chutzpah!") both had their moments but, especially in the case of the former, quite a bit of filler as well. The early part of the decade saw Ginger putting together several solo projects but towards the end of the decade, he reconciled with Danny and CJ to put the classic WH line-up back together and 'Hearts fans collectively held their breath at the prospect of new material. As it turned out "Renaissance Men" was a truly triumphant comeback, probably the group's best since 1995's classic "PHUQ". In an age where rock had seemingly been swamped with idea-free clone rockers, this was the sound of a band taking their influences apart and putting them back together in a way that made it sound original but also still remembering to rock like an absolute bastard. The title track was pure pop, "Diagnosis" sounded like AC/DC covering the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", "My Kinda Movie" and "Emergency (Fentanyl Babylon)" were proper 200mph white knuckle rides, "Let 'Em Go" had a chorus that seemed to just be waiting for arenas to bellow along to it and "The Fine Art Of Deception" and "My Side Of The Bed" showed that they could let the songs breathe a bit when thoughtful lyrics required it. Quite simply, it's a reminder of everything that makes this group mean so much to so many people and as well as being my 2019 Album of the Year, it (just to say!) makes it as my Album of the Decade as well.

Well, I guess that's it then. As I said before, I hope everyone's enjoyed my deranged music scribblings over the last two decades plus but now it's time to take a much-earned breather. I'm sure there'll be other stuff to write about in this blog in the near future, be it music related or otherwise, but for now this is Andy James Close signing off. Enjoy your New Year folks and see you in 2020.

Andy's Top 100 Albums Of The 2010's (Part 9)

20. THE ROLE MODELS - "The Go To Guy" (2015) (Review here)

Think it's fair to say that nobody was expecting this. Prior to their first album, my basic knowledge of the Role Models was as the perpetual support band for other bands I'd frequently go and see at places like the 12 Bar and the Gaff but "The Go To Guy" quickly established them as serious contenders in their own right with tracks like "Saturday Night Sailor" and "Where They Half-Know My Name" proving that Rags was a pretty damn good songwriter. Two more excellent albums (2016's "Forest Lawn" and 2018's "Dance Moves") would follow in quick succession before Rags put the band on a temporary hiatus to concentrate on his new band the Digressions with drummer Simon joining him there and guitarist Nick going on to Duncan Reid & The Big Heads. I have a feeling though that the world hasn't seen the last of the Role Models and suffice to say that when that fourth album comes I'm very much looking forward to it.

19. JASON & THE SCORCHERS - "Halcyon Times" (2010)

Aided and abetted by Ginger Wildheart, "Halcyon Times" was a storming comeback from Jason & The Scorchers which certainly runs their best albums from the mid-'80s very close and is comfortably the best thing they've done since 1986's under-rated "Still Standing". Songs such as "Moonshine Kinda Guy", "Mona Lee", "Fear Not Gear Rot" and "Beat On The Mountain" saw Jason Ringenberg and co effortlessly tapping into that classic Scorchers vein of songwriting to produce an album that really did exceed all expectations. The group have continued to tour through the decade and hopefully a new album will emerge at some point as we enter the 2020's.

18. THE BRUTALISTS - "The Brutalists" (2018) (Review here)

Another album that really came out of left field. Upon hearing that ex-Quireboy Nigel Mogg had joined forces with ex-LA Guns guitarist Mick Cripps to form a new band, most people were probably expecting some sort of well-trodden blues-glam path but the Brutalists were anything but, merging punk, new wave and ska to superb effect on their debut to create something which owed various nods to the Jam, Bowie and Dr Feelgood but kept things varied enough to keep you guessing throughout. This year's follow-up "We Are Not Here To Help" ran it very close and hopefully proves that the Brutalists are set to be a major force on the music scene for many years to come.

17. MICHAEL MONROE - "Sensory Overdrive" (2011)

It probably won't be a surprise to those who know me to find out that Ginger Wildheart's fingerprints are all over the upper reaches of this list but there's a simple reason for that - the guy has a habit of turning the vast majority of stuff he touches to gold and when he joined Michael Monroe's band after Hanoi Rocks split up in 2010, he quickly added his muscle to the songwriting team to produce an absolutely killer set of tunes for their debut album with "Trick Of The Wrist", "'78" and Monroe's collaboration with Lemmy "The Fine Art Of Debauchery" setting out this band's stall in fine style. Ginger would quickly be off to other pastures but Monroe has continued his fine run of form through the rest of the decade with 2013's "Horns And Halos", 2015's "Blackout States" and this year's "One Man Gang" all being fine efforts as well with the likes of Steve Conte, Sam Yaffa, Rich Jones and (for the second album) Dregen all stepping up to the plate with finesse to complement the evergreen Mr Monroe. Long may he reign.

16. THE LOYALTIES - "Till The Death Of Rock 'n' Roll" (2013) (Review here)

Sad that this long-awaited second album proved to be the Loyalties' swansong with Tom Spencer now fronting the Professionals and Rich Jones joining Michael Monroe's band. But it was a hell of a way to go out, a more than worthy follow-up to 2008's classic "So Much For Soho" with the sort of enjoyable knockabout but energetic rock 'n' roll that the group were so well known for coming to the fore on the likes of "I Am The Blues", "Pheromone Jones" and the countrified "The Will To Kill". A much missed band but they left behind one hell of a legacy in their recorded output.

15. KORY CLARKE - "Payback's A Bitch" (2014) (Review here)

Kory has kept himself busy through the decade putting out a few Warrior Soul albums to varying degrees of success (2012's "Stiff Middle Finger" was a good solid effort, 2017's "Back On The Lash" and 2019's "Rock 'n' Roll Disease"...erm, very much weren't to put it kindly) but it was this solo effort that frankly stands head and shoulders above anything else he's done this decade for me with Clarke chucking whatever the hell he felt like into the mix (country, funk-rock, new wave, blues, big epic widescreen ballads, it's all there basically) and surprising everybody by hitting the bullseye pretty much every time. Proof that, when he puts his mind to it anyway, Clarke is one hell of a musical talent and hopefully the new decade will see him get things back on track after the last couple of disappointments.

14. THE GREAT MALARKEY - "Doghouse" (2017) (Review here)

Barrelling on the scene with some truly incendiary live performances and a decent debut in 2012's "Badly Stuffed Animals", it took folk-punk types the Great Malarkey a good five years to follow it up but "Doghouse" really was more than worth the wait. While long-standing live favourites "Duck And Dive" and "Beware The Temptress" kept the rave-ups of yore going, songs like "Shame", "Running Endlessly" and "Take It Kindly" saw a more thoughtful and reflective countrified style coming to the fore to good effect with some good lyrics to back things up as well. Still out there and gigging and hopefully a third album will be on the way soon.

13. ALICE COOPER - "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" (2011)

Comfortably Alice's best album of the decade, "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" really was a big everything-but-the-kitchen-sink effort which served as a perfect thematic sequel to the 1975 classic of almost the same name. With a guest list as long as your arm and several songs which were more than welcome additions to his canon ("Last Man On Earth", "Runaway Train", "What Baby Wants", "When Hell Comes Home"), this was proof that the guy still had it. Unfortunately the follow-up, 2017's "Paranormal" felt a bit by-numbers and his two albums with the Hollywood Vampires consisted of a largely superfluous covers album and this year's inconsistent but occasionally brilliant "Rise". I think it's safe to say though that Alice will be around for a while yet and with a new album featuring the classic Alice Cooper band due this year, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic for the future.

12. WOLFSBANE - "Wolfsbane Save The World" (2011) (Review here)

Wolfsbane were generally remembered as the class clowns of the first wave of Britrock so I think it's safe to say that when they made their comeback at the start of the decade with an album that probably ranks as their best, it definitely surprised a few people. But "Wolfsbane Save The World" really did deserve the accolades it got - solid, varied and supremely tuneful from the opening rush of "Blue Sky" through the anthemic "Smoke And Red Light" to the Steinman style bombast of "Illusion Of Love", this was the sound of a band spreading their creative wings and well and truly soaring. They remain active to this day although a follow-up has yet to surface - hopefully though it will do at some point in the next decade.

11. THE DOWN 'N' OUTZ - "This Is How We Roll" (2019) (Review here)

Prior to this, their third album, the Down 'n' Outz had simply been Def Leppard's Joe Elliot plus three of the Quireboys putting a Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter covers band together. However, "This Is How We Roll", their first originals album, really made people sit up and take notice, a shameless throwback to the days of the '70s when rock stars really did feel like beings zoomed in from another plane entirely but with enough respect for the genre and killer tunes of its own to well and truly soar. The likes of "Another Man's War", "Boys Don't Cry" and "Goodnight Mr Jones" really were absolute classics and showed that this band had more than enough chops to stand on their own two feet.

Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 8)

30. THE 69 EYES - "X" (2012) (Review here)

The 69 Eyes have been a regular presence as always through the decade just gone with three good albums - "X" was followed by 2016's "Universal Monsters" and this year's "West End" which were both solid efforts as well. This one though edges it as their best with the likes of "Borderline" and "Black" providing the swoon while "Love Runs Away" and "Tonight" brought the rock to the equation. Thirty years into their career they may be but this band still pack a hell of a punch.

29. FRANK TURNER - "England Keep My Bones" (2011)

Frank has been a busy man over the last decade with no less than five albums under his belt. "England Keep My Bones" narrowly edges out 2018's excellent "Be More Kind" as his best though with the likes of "I Still Believe" and "Glory Hallelujah" being wry but fierce looks at organised religion and the quite lovely "Peggy Sang The Blues" dealing with a loved one's death. This was Turner at his most human and tuneful and definitely one of Frank's strongest.

28. VINCE RAY & THE BONESHAKERS - "The Sound Of Sex And Horror" (2011) (Review here)

It all seems to have gone a bit quiet with the Boneshakers since this album but "The Sound Of Sex And Horror" was a worthy follow-up to the gleefully scuzzy psychobilly albums they put out in the noughties, packed to the gills with tight-as-you-like sleazeball snarlers like "Jailhouse Spock" and "Hot Rod Boogie", all topped off with Ray's demented cackle. If the Boneshakers truly are no more then the world is a sadder place for their passing.

27. IMPERIAL STATE ELECTRIC - "Honk Machine" (2015) (Review here)

This one took pretty much everybody by surprise. After the dissolution of the Hellacopters following 2010's underwhelming "Head Off", Nicke Andersson/Nick Royale formed Imperial State Electric and, on the evidence of their first three albums they looked like a solid bunch. However, "Honk Machine" well and truly saw them raising their game with forages into glam rock, power-pop and even gospel. Unfortunately, they would only last for one more album, 2016's "All Through The Night" before Andersson left to reform the Hellacopters but still, this wasn't a bad legacy to leave behind after all.

26. JONNY COLA & THE A-GRADES - "Spitfire" (2013) (Review here)

Ah man. If ever there was a band that should've ended the decade as world-conquerors... Jonny Cola and the A-Grades first came on to our radar around the turn of the decade with the "In Debt" album which melded the gleefully sleazy raunch of early Suede with elements of everything from synth-rock to power-pop but with the follow-up "Spitfire", they took things up one notch further with excursions into surf-rock ("Tropical Beach"), '70s glam ("In The Woods", "Blow Up") and even what could almost have been a film noir soundtrack ("Straight To Video"). Then just when it seemed they were poised to break through, they split up with various members going on to Desperate Journalist, the Speedways and Medium Wave. Listen to this album and ponder what might have happened if only...

25. SHUSH - "Soundtrack Of My Life" (2010)

Most of us at Pure Rawk were regulars whenever Shush played London in the early years of the decade and with good reason - "Soundtrack Of My Life" was an absolute cracker of an album with playful scuzzed-up pop-punk like "Fuck You" and "Caught In The Act" being balanced out by the more reflective likes of the title track and "Stay". They went on hiatus when frontwoman Milena took time off to be a mum and sort of never returned apart from the odd reunion gig here and there which is a real shame. Guitarist Andy now works as a producer (and has lent his talents in that area to some pretty damn good albums in recent years) as well as playing keyboards for the Digressions but I'm still hoping that we might see a second Shush album one day...

24. BRIJITTE WEST & THE DESPERATE HOPEFULS - "Brijitte West & The Desperate Hopefuls" (2010) (Review here)

Formed when former NY Loose frontwoman Brijitte hooked up with Sahf London scuzz merchants Kitty Hudson, the Desperate Hopefuls put out two albums in the teens before seemingly going their separate ways with Ritchie, Keef and Robin forming the Fiascos. This was the better of the two though with "Hard To Believe", "Hey Papito" and "Long Island Lolita" being the sort of songs that could easily have set on that second NY Loose album that never emerged. A great showcase for West's talent as a singer and lyricist and the Hudson lads' musical tightness, this is well worth you looking up if you missed it first time out.

23. CHRIS CATALYST - "Life Is Often Brilliant" (2017) (Review here)

Definitely an album that grew on you with repeated listening, "Life Is Often Brilliant" saw Chris taking some time off from the Eureka Machines to explore the more epic side of his songwriting range to good effect - "Sticks And Stones" and "How Do You Sleep" brought the necessary angst but it's the dreamy likes of "Wake Me Up On Monday" and the epic "You Die At The End" that really raised this one up into being something special. Definitely give this a listen if you've not already.

22. SAINT AGNES - "Welcome To Silvertown" (2019) (Review here)

It seemed as though Saint Agnes had been around for ages before we finally saw their debut album emerge this year - I think our first encounter with them in the live arena might have been as far back as 2012-13! But this was well worth the wait, building on the promise of various singles and EP's in the intervening years to create a truly mesmerising epic of goth, death-rock and psychedelia from the furious title track and "Death Or Glory Gang" to the sinister "Witching Hour" and "I Feel Dangerous Around You". This band are only gonna get bigger as the new decade goes on so check them out now while you can still catch them at the smaller venues...

21. THE DOWLING POOLE - "One Hyde Park" (2016) (Review here)

After a reasonably promising debut in 2014's "Bleak Strategies", Willie Dowling and Jon Poole's second album saw them raising their game to impressive effect, starting out all '80s new wave on the likes of "Rebecca Receiving" and "Vox Pops" before an excursion into the psychedelia with the dreamy likes of "Bring Back The Glow". By the time the title track rounded things off, you had images of Freddie Mercury and Brian Wilson jamming together. A third Dowling Poole album is due in the new year - if it can live up to these standards then it really should be near the top of your shopping list.

Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 7)

40. RYAN HAMILTON - "Hell Of A Day" (2015)

Ryan's second and third albums since the messy break-up of his old group People On Vacation (2016's "The Devil's In The Detail" and 2019's "This Is The Sound") are both very good as well but this does seem to be the one that I keep coming back to of his the most often. Songs like "Freak Flag", "Be Kind Rewind" and "Karaoke With No Crowd" are great slices of tuneful but thoughtful pop-punk and remain in his live set to this day. With the Harlequin Ghosts' profile growing all the time, expect Ryan and his band to keep moving onwards and upwards in the 2020s.

39. CHEAP TRICK - "Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello?" (2016) (Review here)

The power-pop veterans managed a brace of albums released surprisingly close together in the last decade but this one narrowly edges it over 2017's "We're All Alright!" for me. Packing all the hooks, choruses and earworms you'd expect from messrs Zander and Nielsen, the likes of "Heart On The Line" and "When I Wake Up Tomorrow" were good additions to Cheap Trick's back catalogue and proved that the band were very much still out there and kicking.

38. SILVER SUN - "A Lick And A Promise" (2013) (Review here)

A reunion that came and went with disappointingly little fanfare, "A Lick And A Promise" might actually be Silver Sun's best album since their debut veering from the trademark power-pop of "I Just Wanna Treat You Right" through the almost new wave style synth stylings of "She's With The Band" to the sunny acoustics hiding dark lyrics of "Smalltown Affair". James Broad has had the band up and gigging periodically throughout the decade and hopefully more will be to follow in the 2020's but it really is time this group were given the kudos they deserve.

37. TERRORVISION - "Super Delux" (2010)

"Super Delux" would turn out to be the sole album from the Mk2 version of Terrorvision throughout the decade although the band continue to gig regularly and even put a Christmas single out the other month. Although not quite up to the standard of "How To Make Friends And Influence People" or "Regular Urban Survivors" it was still a fine comeback effort with "Demolition Song" and "Pushover" deservedly taking their place in the live set among better known efforts. Hopefully another new album will be forthcoming soon.

36. CJ WILDHEART - "Mable" (2014) (Review here)

The first of CJ's trilogy of solo albums before he returned to the Wildhearts fold full time, "Mable" was also his best, telling the story of a messy few years following the 'Hearts' break-up around the turn of the decade. Songs like "Down The Drain", "Next To You" and "Kentucky Fried" welded some thoughtful lyrics to a memorable hook just the same way as Honeycrack used to do way back when. 2016's "Robot" was a solid follow-up while 2017's "Blood" moved into much heavier territory and was described by CJ as his "venting" album. It's to be seen if more solo stuff will be forthcoming from the guy but fingers crossed...

35. THE QUIREBOYS - "Black Eyed Sons" (2014) (Review here)

The Quireboys were certainly a busy band in the last decade, putting out no less than four albums of original material plus a blues covers album. While some of the subsequent efforts did betray a group arguably spreading themselves a bit too thin (although this year's "Amazing Disgrace" did a good job of steadying the ship), "Black Eyed Sons" was probably the pick of the bunch, blending Stonesy rockers such as "Lullaby Of London Town" with some more thoughtful moments such as the quite lovely "Monte Cassino (Lady Lane)" Very much a British institution and hopefully one that'll be around for a long time to come.

34. MOTOCHRIST - "Corvette Summer" (2010) (Review here)

Motochrist managed two albums in the teens, this one and 2015's "Chrome". Although the latter was a good effort as well, "Corvette Summer" just shades it as the better of the two for me, perfectly capturing the spit 'n' sawdust sleaze-punk of this band perfectly with "Sidewinder" and "Snowbeast" bringing the scuzz and the cheeky blues-gospel of "Big Love" and the countrified "Evil Is As Evil Does" providing some much-appreciated variety. A criminally under-rated band - catch 'em when they're over here next year and see for yourself.

33. THE SPEEDWAYS - "Just Another Regular Summer" (2018) (Review here)

Another real surprise from the latter half of the decade, the Speedways mutated out of "good but nowt special" pop-punks the Breakdowns but rapidly eclipsed their former band in terms of quality with "Just Another Regular Summer" bringing back memories of every good power-pop band down the years from the Undertones and Generation X to the Barracudas and the Biters. Still very much out there and gigging, you really should check this band out if you've not already.

32. VAN HALEN - "A Different Kind Of Truth" (2012)

When Dave and Eddie announced that the reunited Van Halen would be making a comeback album, you could have been forgiven for letting a gulp out but as it turned out, "A Different Kind Of Truth" was a good effort from these veterans, veering from the anthemic "Big River" to the spiky acoustic-led "Stay Frosty". Just like the classic Van Halen albums, it was a good soundtrack to the endless summer. Unfortunately (but arguably somewhat predictably), the reunion was put on ice towards the middle of the decade with various members going off to do their own thing but at least they left us with something good to remember it by.

31. TURBONEGRO - "Sexual Harrassment" (2012) (Review here)

Things weren't looking promising at the start of the decade for Turbonegro with the departure of long time singer Hank von Helvete but the recruitment of Tony "Duke of Nothing" Sylvester to replace him proved a wise move and "Sexual Harrassment" was the sound of a band rejuvenated with the scuzzy likes of "You Give Me Worms" and "Dude Without A Face" hitting with all the heaviness of a 16 ton weight. It would take them until 2018 to do a follow-up in "Rock 'n' Roll Machine" which alienated a few fans with a more synth-heavy sound but still packed enough of a punch to reward those who stuck with it. Let's hope they're around for a long time to come.

Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 6)

50. FAITH NO MORE - "Sol Invictus" (2015)

News that Faith No More had got back together as the middle of the decade approached was greeted warmly in all quarters but I'm not sure anyone expected a new album to come out of it. And I suspect even less thought that it would be a good effort but "Sol Invictus" certainly stood up to their better known output, blending the mix of earworms, insanity and casually hopping between genres without generally giving a f**k for convention that have been FNM's trademarks down the years. Let's be honest, only this lot could take the most obvious single on their album and call it "Motherfucker"...

49. SPARKS - "Hippopotamus" (2017)

With song titles including "What The Hell Is It This Time?", "Edith Piaf Said It Better Than Me" and "So Tell Me Mrs Lincoln, Apart From That, How Was The Play?" this could only have been Sparks. And happy to report that forty plus years into their career, the Mael brothers are getting no less warped or brilliant. "Hippopotamus" was a great reminder of what a unique but awesome band they are and a worthy addition to their extensive back catalogue as well as their first UK Top 10 album in over 35 years.

48. THE SICK LIVERS - "Mid Liver Crisis" (2015) (Review here)

Cut from similar cloth to the Hip Priests, the Sick Livers melded a Turbonegro style full throttle punk-metal assault with lyrics about getting well and truly fubar on whatever substances you can lay your hands on. After a couple of well-received EP's, "Mid-Liver Crisis" was their debut album and built on the progress nicely. Unfortunately the band came crashing to a halt soon afterwards leaving this plus some awesome live gigs as their memory. Various members would later resurface in other groups such as Nicotine Pretty and Tenplusone to carry on the legacy but it really feels as if this lot called it a day before their time.

47. THE LEN PRICE 3 - "Nobody Knows" (2014) (Review here)

Now closing in on 20 years as a band, the Len Price 3 remain one of this country's best kept secrets with their brand of spiky mod, tuneful power-pop and the odd excursion into punk and psychedelia making them one of the tightest sounding and most consistent bands today. Of their three albums from the last decade, "Nobody Knows" narrowly edges it over 2010's "Pictures" and 2017's "Kentish Longtails" as their best with the likes of "Swing Like A Monkey" and "My Grandad Jim" hitting the spot with pin missile precision.

46. STEVE CONTE - "The NYC Album" (2013) (Review here)

The former New York Dolls and current Michael Monroe guitarist's second solo album was a worthy follow-up to his 2008 effort with the Crazy Truth and songs like "OK DJ", "Dark In The Spotlight" and "Rock and Rye Queen" marked Conte out as an accomplished songwriter in his own right. Although his day job appears to have been keeping him busy in the years since, hopefully a third album will surface from the guy at some point.

45. THE HIP PRIESTS - "Stand For Nothing" (2019) (Review here)

The Hip Priests appear to have been getting angrier and angrier as this decade went on (then again, looking at the state of the country as the years have passed, maybe not a surprise) and following on from 2010's "Unleash The Priests", 2012's "Full Tilt Bullshit" and 2014's "Black Denim Blitz", "Stand For Nothing" saw them cranking the rage up to a whole new level with the likes of "Welcome To Shit Island" and "Rock 'n' Roll Leper" being furious howls of frustration at the world around them. Hopefully these guys are planning on sticking around for a while yet - in these desperate times, they seem like a more vital band than ever.

44. DUNCAN REID & THE BIG HEADS - "Bombs Away" (2017) (Review here)

After two reasonable albums following his departure from '77 punk originals the Boys, Duncan Reid's third effort with the Big Heads "Bombs Away" really saw him cut loose in his own right with a supremely tuneful brand of pop-punk which could happily stand toe-to-toe with the output from his former group. The likes of "C'mon Josephine" and "Man Behind The Desk" sounded like classics in the making and if Reid can continue this progress on album number four then it should be well worth the wait.

43. BROKEN TEETH - "Viva La Rock Fantastico" (2010) (Review here)

Aside from this, 2015's "Bulldozer" EP and 2017's "Four On The Floor", it's all been a bit depressingly quiet from Texas' answer to AC/DC over the past decade but "Viva La Rock Fantastico" was a great effort, taking the Bon Scott style swagger of old but tightening the sound up massively with a punk fury reminiscent of Danko Jones (who even makes an appearance himself on the title track). A superb album from a superb band - hopefully another one will be on its way soon.

42. BLACK SPIDERS - "Sons Of The North" (2010)

Hand on heart, Black Spiders had never really convinced me following their mutation out of Britrock second divisioners Groop Dogdrill but "Sons Of The North" decisively showed them striking on to much better things from their occasionally good but very inconsistent former incarnation. Songs like "Stay Down", "St Peter" and "Kiss Tried To Kill Me" quickly became live classics and saw the band establishing a reputation as one of the most promising groups on the scene. 2013's follow-up "This Savage Land" was a good effort as well but unfortunately it also proved to be their last with the group disbanding in the middle of the decade. Frontman Pete Spiby would reappear with a more reflective solo album in 2018's "Failed Magician" which is also well worth a look if you've not checked it out already.

41. ZOMBINA & THE SKELETONES - "Charnel House Rock" (2014) (Review here)

Amazingly, the only full album this decade from Liverpool's favourite ghoul-rockers (although the "Sinistereo" series of EP's that surfaced in 2016 could almost be counted as one if you put 'em together I suppose) and as the decade draws to a close they appear to have slid into inactivity which is a real shame. If "Charnel House Rock" does indeed turn out to be their swansong though then it was a fine way to go out, mixing the playfully sinister lyrics, catchy-as-hell hooks and willingness to experiment with music styles that a lot of groups would be too scared to go anywhere near that made/make this lot such a vital band.

Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 5)

60. THE STRANGLERS - "Giants" (2012)

Only album this decade from the Meninblack but it was a good one with the Mk 3 line-up putting out a good mix of punk aggression and more thoughtful mid-paced efforts such as "Freedom Is Insane" to good effect. They still pack a mighty punch in the live arena and with a new album apparently imminent it's pretty clear the Stranglers are set to be a force for a good few years yet.

59. NICK MARSH - "A Universe Between Us" (2010) (Review here)

This solo album from Flesh For Lulu frontman/Urban Voodoo Machine guitarist Marsh was a real testament to the guy's talent with the likes of "Destiny Angel" and "Girl On The Roof" sounding like Nick Cave and Ennio Morricone having a pint together. Unfortunately it would also turn out to be an epitaph as he sadly passed away from throat cancer in 2015. Much missed but this is just part of the great musical legacy he left behind.

58. KIRIA - "Radio" (2010)

Kiria would go on to appear in other guises as the decade went on, first fronting rockabilly revivalists Viva Le Pink as Missy Le Pink and then as country noir songstress Sarah Vista. But this first incarnation yielded a supremely catchy collection of spiky pop tunes in the Transvision Vamp/Voice of the Beehive mould and you really should make an effort to track it down if you missed it first time out.

57. THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM - "American Slang" (2010)

Another band who seem to have quietened down as the decade's worn on but it's easy to forget how Brian Fallon and co's "Springsteen through a grunge filter" made them one of the most popular bands on the rock scene in the early part of the decade and this album captured everything that made them great perfectly and the follow-up, 2012's "Handwritten" was decent as well. However, 2014's "Get Hurt" saw them striking into much darker waters and since then...well, nothing really. But still, for a time they genuinely looked like contenders.

56. FUTURE SHAPE OF SOUND - "Shakedown Gospel" (2018) (Review here)

Hailing from the same stable as the Urban Voodoo Machine, Future Shape of Sound's album was a real ray of sunlight after a first half of 2018 where it seemed hardly anything decent had been released. This mix of swampy blues, smoky gospel and pure energy was a real blast and marked these guys out as a band to watch - hopefully the second album will continue on with the momentum.

55. THE DARKNESS - "Pinewood Smile" (2017) (Review here)

After reforming in 2009, the Darkness have come up with four albums over the course of the decade with three hits and just the one miss (2015's clodhopping "Last Of Our Kind" being the sole bum note in there). 2010's "Hot Cakes" was a solid comeback statement and this year's "Easter Is Cancelled" showed them trying some new tricks successfully but for my money, the sheer exuberance of "Pinewood Smile" makes it the Darkness' best of the decade with the foul-mouthed likes of "Solid Gold" and "Southern Trains" showing a band well and truly getting back to their best.

54. THERAPY? - "Disquiet" (2015) (Review here)

This was one of the more pleasant surprises of the last decade. After 2012's "A Brief Crack Of Light" made it three unlistenable albums in a row, I'd genuinely given up on us ever hearing a decent album from them again. But then "Disquiet" came along and proved to be their best album in over a decade, recalling the ferocious but tuneful punk-meets-Britpop of 1994's classic "Troublegum". Even better, they followed it with 2018's "Cleave" which was a solid follow-up. Hopefully it's a sign that this band are back to their best after a prolonged fallow period and T? fans can face the new decade with confidence.

53. RICHARD HAWLEY - "Standing At The Sky's Edge" (2012) (Review)

A real oddity among Richard Hawley's output, "Standing At The Sky's Edge" showed him taking the woozy epic template of '70s Led Zep and adding a 21st century sheen to it to drag it kicking and screaming into the modern age and make a total mockery of bands like Greta Van Fleet (yes yes I know they didn't come along until a few years later but the point still stands) who seem to think it's just okay to pretend that all music since about 1975 didn't happen. Hawley has done other good albums this decade as well (2015's "Hollow Meadows" and this year's "Further" especially) but this just takes it as my pick of his albums from the decade.

52. SKINDRED - "Union Black" (2012)

Ah Skindred, what happened to ya guys? When Benji and co started this decade they were properly on fire with a great run of albums culminating in "Union Black" which melded a ferocious political polemic to some truly incendiary Ruts-meets-Sepultura musical backing.to devastating effect. Unfortunately by the time of 2018's "Big Tings", the fire had very much gone out with the group delivering a flaccid slice of nu-metal interspersed with plodding acoustic ballads which brought back bad memories of Staind. Hopefully come the new decade, this band will be back to doing what they do best.

51. THE ROUGHNECK RIOT - "This Is Our Day" (2012) (Review here)

Warrington's Roughneck Riot must look at the press coverage accorded to the not entirely dissimilar Ferocious Dog over the last few years and be scratching their heads a bit, having put out two great angry slices of folk-punk (this and 2014's "Out Of Anger") which were pretty much ignored. A pity too because both of them are far superior to FD's albums in this writer's opinion. The band spent much of the second half of the decade on hiatus but have recently got back together and hopefully a third album will be forthcoming.

Andy's Top 100 Albums of the 2010's (Part 4)

70. LAST GREAT DREAMERS - "Transmissions From Oblivion" (2016) (Review here)

After timing their initial arrival on the music scene in the '90s badly (they arrived just as Britpop was kicking off and pretty much sunk like a stone), the sudden reappearance of Last Great Dreamers was one of the more enjoyable musical occurrences of the decade. Releasing an "odds 'n' sods" compilation, "Crash Landing In Teenage Heaven" which was actually far superior to their official '90s album "Retrosexual", they then followed it up with their comeback album proper, "Transmissions From Oblivion" which mixed the best bits of glam, punk and power-pop to come up with something genuinely great. The follow-up, 2018's "13th Floor Renegades" was a good effort as well and hopefully there'll be plenty more to come from this band in the new decade.

69. THE NOVEMBER FIVE - "If You're Satisfied Then You Are Dead" (2013) (Review here)

Another band who dropped off the scene way too quickly after two very good albums (2015's "Awake In A Daze" being the other) but feck me, when this one landed it really did feel like this lot could be on the verge of taking the world by storm. Taking their stylistic leanings from goth and post-punk (the Sisters and the Cure principally) but adding a ferocious political anger to them, the sky really did seem to be the limit for the November Five when they broke on the scene. Unfortunately, it's been a good five years since I last heard of any activity from them (and their videos appear to be now gone from Youtube) meaning unfortunately I think this band is sadly no more which is a real shame. If you can find a copy of this somewhere though, really do give it a listen, it's a proper lost classic from this decade.

68. NEW MODEL ARMY - "Winter" (2016) (Review here)

NMA managed three albums during the decade with 2013's "Between Dog And Wolf" and 2019's "From Here" being the others (well, four if you count 2014's odds and sods effort "Between Wine And Blood") but "Winter" was the best of the three, mixing elements from several of their past eras with a few new tricks as well to create something genuinely special. A great album from a great band who remain very much a relevant force as the decade draws to a close.

67. THE CRUNCH - "Busy Making Noise" (2013)

Not just a supergroup but a superb group, the Crunch were formed by Sulo from the Diamond Dogs, Mickey Geggus from the Cockney Rejects, Dave Tregunna from Sham 69/Lords of the New Church and Terry Chimes formerly of the Clash and Hanoi Rocks. They put out two albums, this one and 2015's "Brand New Brand" before the various members returned to their day jobs but both were very good efforts and are well worth your time to track down. Hopefully downtime permitting we'll see a third Crunch album surface at some point.

66. THE MEMBRANES - "What Nature Gives...Nature Takes Away" (2019) (Review here)

The Membranes sort of re-mutated back from being Gold Blade in the middle of the decade and announced their return with 2015's epic but slightly unfocused "Dark Matter/Dark Energy". However this year's follow-up saw them refine the formula slightly to create a truly gargantuan beast effortlessly hopping between genres that you could lose yourself in for hours on end. With guest appearances from Kirk Brandon, Jordan (the ex-Pistols associate not the airhead page 3 girl) and Chris Packham of all people, this was a real treat for the old lugholes.

65. TEENAGE CASKET CO - "Still Standing" (2013) (Review here)

Surfacing six years after its predecessor and with founder member Jamie Delerict having long since departed to form the FDC's, I think most of us were surprised that Teenage Casket Co were still a thing at this point but "Still Standing" actually proved to be their strongest work to date. Much more melodic than its predecessor but still unafraid to rock the hell out, it would've spawned a whole glut of hit singles in the hands of a more commercially fortunate band. TCC would split a couple of years afterwards unfortunately but bassist Laney is now in the Harlequin Ghosts (more of whom later) and vocalist Rob Wylde now splits his time between fronting Tigertailz and Midnite City.

64. THE GLITTERATI - "Are You One Of Us?" (2010)

Another album which was a long time in the making but all the more satisfying when it did arrive. Following their brief dalliance with mainstream success in 2005 following their first album, the intervening half decade had seen the Glitterati touring like absolute buggers while putting this together and it proved time well spent as "Are You One Of Us?" had cut itself loose from the poor production that had hobbled its predecessor a bit to really kick in as a great album. Unfortunately the band weren't long for this world afterwards - Paul and Gaff would resurface in the excellent Dedwardians who sadly never got to the album stage before the latter would join up with Rags from the Role Models in the Digressions (again, more of whom shortly) as the decade wound to a close.

63. SUEDE - "The Blue Hour" (2018) (Review here)

The 21st century incarnation of Suede have put out three albums since reforming at the start of the decade (2013's "Bloodsports" and 2016's "Night Thoughts" being the other two) but this was their best efforts, taking the epic scale of the previous two and adding more of a focus to things. Feeling almost like a sister album to 1994's classic "Dog Man Star", this was Brett Anderson and co doing what they do best, big epic torch songs with a slightly sinister undercurrent and it was great stuff.

62. RICH RAGANY - "Like We'll Never Make It" (2018) (Review here)

Following a trio of excellent albums with the Role Models (more of whom later on this list), Rags' solo album (later toured with his new band the Digressions) saw a more reflective side to his songwriting, bringing back memories of Elvis Costello and the La's in places with some thoughtful lyrics and great tunes to boot. Rags is one hell of an under-rated songwriter and this album really deserves a place in your collection if it isn't there already.

61. BAR STOOL PREACHERS - "Grazie Governo" (2018) (Review here)

After a reasonably promising debut album in 2016's "Blatant Propaganda", "Grazie Governo" saw the Bar Stool Preachers really up their game to come out with one of the best pure punk albums in recent years, angrily railing against the injustices of society over the last decade. Given the fact that if anything things have actually got even worse since then, it's safe to say that (unfortunately) they should have plenty of material to follow this up with for album number three...