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.