Yep. Broken Bells. Broken Bells? Yes. Im as surprised as you are that this is my no.2 pick for the year. Truth is, I didnt really like Broken Bells first album, y'know the one that everyone else did? So why then do I like this 2nd album so much when it appears to have been completely ignored by everyone in the music press (how would I know if I havent read any 2014 lists, you ask? Good question...). The answer is very simple, its way more upbeat than the first album and i'm a sucker for disco funky indie which Dangermouse has now pretty much nailed. Its a mixture of Gorillaz and Black Keys' El Camino, in fact this album really could've been the latest Black Keys album but im guessing after hearing the latest Black Keys album Dangermouse decided to give his Broken Bells project all of the good tunes rather than them cos that new album is utter shit! In the hands of The Shins vocalist what would've been a bluesy funky romp turns into a funky disco romp and its glorious. All killer no filler.

11 years after Kelis brought her Milkshake to the yard she returns with a full compliment of entrees in this concept album based on food accompanied by Food Network shows and recipe books et al. Of course to hark back to her biggest hit 11 years ago is a little unfair, Kelis has gone through several re-inventions since then, not forgetting her fantastic house album of a few years ago. One constant in all her re-inventions though is her soulful vocals, so it shouldnt be any surprise that she has finally made an all-out soul album. Its certainly no surprise that its bloody great because if you didnt know already Kelis is a goddess and can do no wrong.

Where in blue hell did this come from?!? I've followed BBC for a very long time, and I will never forget the first time we saw them at the Barfly in Camden, they were first on the bill at 12.30pm for the XFM All Dayer about 7 years ago I think. There were about 10 of us in the room, 6 of which were me and my friends. A bunch of nerds took the stage and produced some insanely catchy guitar music which literally made my jaw drop, i turned around to look at my friends and they all had the same expression. This album produced that expression 7 years on, a complete departure musically from that cold day in January but still very much them nerds putting out track after track of what I can only describe as indie r'n'b pop?! The album is packed full of singles, and has rightly propelled them onto Radio 1 A-lists, Festival headliners and sell out mega tours. Well done boys!

Get the body butter baby lets go party all alone... Thats the line that starts this album and it pretty much sets the tone. Sexy, full of humour, its Broken Social Scene condensed and concentrated. If you're a BSS fan and you dont own this album go and get it, cos its just as good if not better than their full band albums. It might be not be as large, or as sprawling as a BSS album, its more focused and thats a very good thing. Its got the hooks, its got the melody and its certainly got the best of Kevins lyrics.

Well hello old friend, welcome to the new world, this is called Facebook and this is called Twitter here's how you use them... oh wait no dont do that with it, no that's a bit intrusive, ouch! OK if you want I spose.... What's a forum? Despite the Social Media hullabaloo that came with this return from the yorkshire boys, of which I have a lengthy past, this album is an absolute triumph which must be celebrated, by the old fans, by new fans and certainly by the band itself. It sounds like Nine Inch Nails if they were coached by Simon Cowell and still manages to come out sounding great. By that I mean it has the industrial noise and dark tones of NIN but its unashamedly cheesy pop still at its heart, which is why Embrace will never be cool! But goddamnit they're talented and I dont care who knows.

The Willy Wonka of Vinyl really earned his title this year by releasing this fantastic successor to Blunderbuss his debut solo LP. A more fun record to his previous, Ol' Jacky White tells stories about Three Women he has on the go, Drinking and being sent to an isolation hospital where people get treated for leprosy.... OK maybe it wasnt all fun. He spits out rhymes like a west coast rapper on some tracks and just seems to be having a jolly good time. The result is his best record since his White Stripes prime. Lordy, Lord!

Getting this years "I TOLD YOU SO" award from the wife is this album from Jenny Lewis. After years of subtly pushing Miss Lewis into my consciousness it became a lot harder to resist in 2014 as she released an album packed full of sing-along pop / country hits. It didnt take long for each song to worm its way into my brain as I found myself singing along almost unwittingly, she's just that catchy.

I cant tell you how happy I am to have Slow Club in my top 10. Long time Sheffield indie hero's broke free from their folk shackles this year and released the diva in Rebecca Taylor to produce a blistering motown soul record which showcases her amazing vocal range. She's also hilarious on Twitter, a Sheffield Wednesday fan and a total babe *swoon*.

The fact that I forgot about this album in my first draft of this blog sums up my feeling towards it really. I love Damon, he was undoubtedly my gig of the year at Governors Ball this year, his passion live is unmatched, hes just a joy to watch and as he interspersed the set with Gorillaz and Blur tunes you didnt get the lull of some of the more miserable tracks on this record. The reason it makes the top 10 over some other more complete albums is that there is 4 very good tracks on this album (Everyday Robots, Lonely Press Play, Mr Tembo and Heavy Seas of Love) which outshine songs on the records i mentioned above. Unfortunately the rest of the album I found to be too safe, too plodding and not very interesting im afraid.