Hearing the words “heart attack” does not quite capture the experience of actual cardiac arrest, and to a greater extent, “dancepunk” fails to capture the brute power that is Echoes. Last year’s single “House of Jealous Lovers” set up the disco ball, but viral rump-quakers like “Killing” and “I Need Your Love” knock it out of the club.

9. British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power (Sanctuary)

The bastard stepchild of the great ’80s mope-wave bands and the psychedelic ’70s acidheads, British Sea Power successfully mine both influences for some sturdy hooks. The lyrics may be unnecessarily dense (“Then we’ll hyperventilate in the old forest/Then I will see all those things, things that cannot be seen”), but are delivered with palpable conviction.

10. Pretty Girls Make Graves – The New Romance (Matador)

The New Romance continues the grand post-punk PGMG tradition, with the schizophrenia of the band’s tempos and chords supplementing the delicate imperfections of Andrea Zollo’s vulnerable voice. The disc’s highlight, “This Is Our Emergency,” serves as a perfect exercise in false-climactic restraint.

—Crimson Arts columnist Ben Y. Chung can be reached at bchung@fas.harvard.edu. This is his final column of the semester.