POX: 2010’s artists

These ones released the most consistently enjoyable music for me throughout the decade:

Beach House
Chromatics
Dean Blunt
Dj Koze
FKA Twigs
Grimes
Matana Roberts
Nicolas Jaar
Sault
Shabazz Palaces

Feel like I could easily switch Sault with other artists - like say, Grouper - since they appeared at the last part of teh decade and I don’t feel like they defined the decade as much for me as the other 9 artists in here but they cemented their place as one of my favorite acts of the past 20+ years with their four albums released in the past two years.

Less about artists and more about sounds/scenes for me. The first half of the decade I listened to so much shambhala stuff I had to coin a term for it and start a thread every year. Since 2016 or so, I think I started to grow weary of it at about the same time it started to get pretty weak with regard to quality and innovation. Still love the fuck out of Susanne Sundfor, though.

Second half of the decade, I've been really into the 90s style indie rock revival and americana/retro country. Charly Bliss is exquisite for a minute (and then not), but there are ton of others who just move and out of my listening rotation. As for the latter, almost anything that had Dave Cobb behind the boards was worth hearing. Dunno how long that scene can keep it up. Quality hasn't really diminished for anyone yet, though, except for Sturgill. WTF is wrong with that guy.

Over all, the whole decade was dominated by women for me in all three areas (shambhala, indie rock, americana). Maybe some men were making ok music, I'm sure they were, but I guess I didn't even want to hear from them much if at all?

Some of the artists I started off loving at the top of the decade became huge disappointments by the end: Gaga, Marina & The Diamonds, Charli XCX, probably some others, but they're the biggest offenders.

Charli XCX definitely went from an artist I was really interested about to one I don’t care for at all. I think her and Azealia Banks were probably two of the biggest disappointments for me.

Maybe Grimes to a minor degree because I can’t get past her relationship with Musk which I find repulsing, but honestly I can’t say I’m at a point where I’m musically disappointed in her yet. That said, Miss Antrophocene was definitely several notches down from her 2010s output for me.

I think most of ILM might feel that way about Azealia too.

212 was after all ILM’s winner for the 2012 tracks poll. There were several of us who were really exciting for what she was going to do next... and then things kind of took a weird turn for the worst.

Really excited*

charli xcx has only gotten better, she's certainly had an upward, if uneven, trajectory, but i guess her best record was this year so that's not last decade.

when azealia actually releases stuff it's still usually pretty good even if not on the level of "212" it's just she's been far too unstable to ever actually release much unfortunately

It’s just my personal opinion.

I’m aware Charli’s music doesn’t suck and she kept releasing music many people like. She’s a very competent songwriter and knows her way around a hook. I still love her early singles and I don’t think she has released anything which I actively hate.
However I do find her very inconsistent and without a strong style of her own. Maybe she has developed a stronger sound of her own idk, she lost me somewhere around 2016/2017 and the few songs I’ve heard from her ever since haven’t really pulled my attention to listen to the full album.

Maybe when the 2020 poll comes around it convinces me listen to her and I change my mind.

she's released four albums since 2016 and two of those (pop 2 and how i'm feeling now) are her very best. for the most part she stopped jumping from sound to sound around then too, having gone all in on post-pc music "hyperpop" etc. although the difference from most pc music-adjacent stuff is she's a great songwriter and has more to offer than just production tricks (though the production tricks are great too).

Neneh Cherry
Hollie Cook
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Galina Grigorjeva
Karen Gwyer
Jlin
Kuniko Kato
Janelle Monae
Ana Tijoux
Nicole Willis

Katie Gately
Julia Holter
Weyes Blood
Jennifer Castle
Jessie Ware (obv)

Top of mind:

Big Thief
Weyes Blood
These New Puritans
Kacey Musgraves
Waxahatchee
Boygenius (only one release, but these women run through the late part of the decade, and I prefer them together)
Mitski
Daniel Lopatin / OPN
Sheer Mag
William Tyler

Katie Gately
Julia Holter
Weyes Blood
Jennifer Castle
Jessie Ware (obv)

+

Sundfør
Mitski
Róisín
Nilüfer Yanya (hasn't put a foot wrong yet)
Wednesday Campanella

oh yeah Wednesday Campanella are absolutely my artist of the decade

some artists that come to mind for me. specifically thinking about music that I have enjoyed sharing with other people:

Lil B
Janelle Monae
Jeff Rosenstock
Jake Xerxes Fussell
Protomartyr
Serengeti
Owen Pallett
Cate Le Bon
Sturgill Simpson
Christine and the Queens

the big ones for me have been

Richard Dawson
Jute Gyte
Weyes Blood
Mitski

will have to think about others

wait nobody's mentioned Kendrick Lamar yet?!

Craig Fortnam (Arch Garrison/North Sea Radio Orchestra) probably on mine too

I'd add Liturgy if I wasn't mostly suspecting the 20s will be even more her decade

(ditto Oranssi Pazuzu, ditto Clipping...)

Oh that's 9. Ok throw in Joanna Wang and there's my POX. done

And you can have Gareth Liddiard (Drones/TFS) as a bonus, as I'm feeling generous

Yep no mentions of Kendrick or Kanye yet.

one of those things is not like the other

- OPN
- The Necks
- Richard Skelton/etc
- DJ Niggafox
- Siavash Amini
- Low
- Hieroglyphic Being
- Sons of Kemet
- FIS
- Nü Sensae

More 'artists who defined a period of my life' during the decade and also came out with excellent releases during the decade.

ahhh I can't believe I forgot Death Grips! I was specifically trying to remember artists I never listen to anymore whose work was HGUE for me during the 2010s, but I guess I consigned them to the memory-hole entirely

I’m an individual albums kind of guy more often than not so I’m not even sure I could come up with 10.

Beak>
Death Grips
Jlin
Tim Hecker
Horse Lords
Kanye West
Kendrick Lamar
Oneohtrix Point Never
Sw*ns
Traxman

Susanne Sundfør
Charli XCX
Jessie Ware
Miguel
Lana Del Rey
Paramore
Solange
Carly Rae Jepsen
The Radio Dept
Robyn

Mica Levi/Micachu
Demdike Stare
Pharmakon
Total Freedom
Rihanna
Katie Dey
Lido Pimienta
Frank Ocean
The Knife/Fever Ray
and I wanted to have mine be all 'first mentions' but I have to say Beak>, too, I listen to them constantly

If I count Tirzah inside Mica Levi’s output then I too would like to include her in my pox

Maybe:

Actress
Alberto Posadas
Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir
Chelsea Wolfe
Dordeduh
Lingua Ignota
Liza Lim
Thantifaxath
Tim Hecker
Tomb Mold

have u heard the latest Micachu it's so good (sad happy bad)

Katie Dey a great shout, Black Dresses also emerging as a v impt force

Thantifaxath would maybe be considered for mine if they'd released more than abt 70m of music

Not a dealbreaker as far as I’m concerned (see also: Dordeduh). Besides, it’s more like 95 mins.

Was also tempted to include The Ruins of Beverast. I certainly would have if we were doing the first fifth of the 21st century.

good shout aye

Likewise Grouper.

In the last 5 years, genre-wise: Afrobeats, South African House, electro- or R&B- influenced pop, jazz.
Before that: Hip Hop, MPB and other non-occidental folk-pop, african and latin music

The main evolution in my listening is that I've completely reoriented towards contemporary music and specific genres after a period of great eclectism

Artists:
Julia Holter, Rosalía, Jamila Woods, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsey Lu, Tinashe, Beyoncé, SZA
Wizkid, Samthing Soweto, Burna Boy, Sha Sha, Koffee, Lila Iké
Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Aesop Rock, A tribe called quest
Roisin Murphy, AAL, Susanne Sundfør
Björk, Elza Soares, Joanna Newsom, Klô Pelgag
Warpaint, Drones / TFS

I suppose I must have missed that the X in POX means ten.

Best way I know how to do this is list artist who appeared on my year-end list with some frequency. In which case:

The Mountain Goats
Janelle Monae
Aimee Mann
Kendrick Lamar
Beach Slang
Owen Pallett
Carly Rae Jepsen
Titus Andronicus
Taylor Swift
Chvrches

Mitski
PUP
Weyes Blood
Black Dresses
Richard Dawson
Katie Dey
Selena Gomez
clipping.
ScHoolboy Q
Liturgy

I'm late to the Charli XCX/Carly Rae Jepsen bandwagons (both only struck me in the last couple of years) but their 2010s output still rules.