Top-20 countdown - no.09

When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie

If you wondered how would the child of Andy Bell (of Erasure) and Anthony Hegarty (of Anthony & The Johnsons) sound like, you get your answer here: Nikoladj Vonsild has this magical voice that can melt your heart when listening to When Saint's Go Machine songs. And what songs. An electronic, synth-pop landscape that verges on neo-classical sometimes, without any beats to crush that voice, reminding me a lot of Cocteau Twins and a male Elisabeth Fraser - only this time more pop-oriented. Sometimes you get the sense that it is all about the singing, not the songs or the stories. But what singing indeed.

So far:

10. James Blake - James Blake
11. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
12. P.J. Harvey - Let England Shake
13. Scott Matthew - Gallantry's Favorite Son
14. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
15. Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia
16. Gotye - Making Mirrors
17. Austra - Feel It Break
18. Soley - We Sink
19. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes
20. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy