Albums that missed our Top 60 Albums list, but at least one of our writers loves.
Album: Scars
Label: Ultra/XL
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Forget 2012. If 2009 marked the apocalypse, Scars would make a fantastic send-off for planet Earth. In their dependably inimitable manner, Basement Jaxx have crafted an album that fuses together beats of numerous styles and orientations. Scars distills a good half-century's worth of dance music from around the world--ska, Euro-pop, bhangra--and funnels it through the genius of Felix Buxton and Simon Racliffe. Santigold, Yoko Ono, and Yo Majesty lead a motley crew of guests who bring a distinct flavor to each production, which makes singling out one defining track a futile enterprise. However, if today is all we had, and tomorrow ceased to exist, I know I'd want to face my mortality with the voices of Sam Sparro ("Feelings Gone") and Lightspeed Champion ("My Turn") leading the way.