8. Neon Neon - Stainless Style



This would have been a few notches higher on my chart if not for the dire hip-hop tracks. In fact, on my mp3 player I’ve deleted them entirely and replaced the meandering Raquel with the much-preferred radio edit. Now if this was the album they’d released, it’d be a different story, because their non-rap songs are immense. Add a couple more singing tracks and we could be talking album of the year or very close to it. Hopefully they get a second chance and ditch the rappers.

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7. Kaka - Kaka



Last year this spot was occupied by another Swedish indie artist named Pikko. Kaka is actually Ricky Karlsson from one of my favorite bands ever, the Mo. With his electronic-pop debut, he stayed reasonably close to the Mo template but definitely got more experimental. It certainly sounds like an indie pop album, but with emphasis on the “pop.” He knows how to go straight for the jugular with his songs, crafting melodies that are radio-ready while still retaining an artistic edge. It’s probably the strangest album on my countdown and the least well-known.

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