Right, that time again. However, I’ve decided to go one further this year and actually give you a rundown of each album. Let me know what you think?
And So I Watch You From Afar: All Hail Bright Futures
-The first of six instrumental albums; however, probably the most fun. Personally, I feel this is their strongest record. The musical equivalent of a good night out, AHBF sees ASIWYFAF (too many abbreviations?) at their least pretentious, which is something post-rock struggles to do at the best of times. The guitar riffs are part pop, part indulgent, but completely catchy. The Irish trio throw in the obligatory “whoops” and “yeahs”, but augment these with some actually singing-in beautiful four part harmony in places. As an album, the whole thing holds together rather well; although, the record is really centred around three tracks that move seamlessly from one to another-the calypso groove of Stay Golden, the intense race of Rats On Rock and the string quartet led Trails. A great record that is great fun.
Best enjoyed: 2am, at a house party, just at the point when everyone is ruining your living room rug and before the police are called because of the heavy feet on the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkWXiEAnqFc
Best bit: about 1 min in when the beat changes and the steel drums kick in (trust me, it works)
-Yes, an obvious choice and one that is probably on the coffee table of every middle aged Guardian reader in Britain; however, this is a record that must be included, if only for the fact that it’s the first double album I’ve not thought is a total piece of self-indulgent wank. Before it was released, the anticipation was palatable: the band were working with James Murphy; they had hinted at Haitian rhythms and BOWIE was rumoured to be involved. Yet, on its release, many critics panned it, with some hedging their bets and stating that they were basing this on only one listening at press conference. The album was said to be (to quote myself) “self-indulgent wank”: too long; directionless in places and borderline ridiculous in how serious it took itself.
So, why should you bother with it? Well, because it’s the best kind of album-the kind that reward you the more you listen. Yes, the tracks are perhaps too long in places, but overall this is a strength, as the subtle nuances would be lost if the tracks were shorter; something apparent in the title track and the absolutely brilliant double feature Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice) and It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus). The record sounds like Let’s Dance era Bowie playing late 70's disco music in the middle of a Haitian carnival in Studio 64 at the start of the 1980s. A record that sounds exactly like stuff you’ve heard before, but like nothing you’ve ever heard.
Best enjoyed: A long train journey somewhere, possibly at night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soo9hnLqXqY
Best bit: the second chorus and Win’s falsetto before the line “makes me feel like something’s wrong with me.”
-Ah Thom Yorke, how you divide opinion. Frankly, I’ve given up on Radiohead, as the direction they are moving in bores me, which is sad, as In Rainbows was an extremely refreshing album. Yet, there is something rather funny in the ethos of Yorke’s two bands: Radiohead, the “guitar band”, seem more interested in making instruments sound like laptops, whilst Atoms For Peace, the “electronic band”, want to make laptop music sound like instruments.
So, what to make of AMOK? A difficult listen at first and at times the lyrics seem a bit contrived; yet, this is a record that is thought provokingly beautiful in points and has some really funky guitar and bass lines (what would you expect from an album that includes the Chilli Pepper’s Flea).
Best enjoyed: Hung over, on a flight to Berlin (although from experience, I wouldn’t recommend it.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gWrnQVc5a4
Best bit: 54 secs in, when Flea joins the party.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Spector At The Feast
-And so we come to Spector At The Feast. BRMC (More abbreviations, I’m sorry) are experiencing a sort of second renaissance at the moment and the accolades that they are receiving couldn’t be more deserved. This band are fairly important to me, as they were one of the first “cool” bands that I got into and probably one of the few garage rock revival bands of the early 2000s that I actually liked. They also seem to be a band that I keep coming back to.
Spector is an album that is steeped in sadness, as many of the tracks are about the passing of the band’s mentor, and bass player Robert Levon Been’s father, Michael Been. The record is a fitting tribute, with the band including a cover of Been senior’s one major hit “Let The Day Begin” from his days in 80s stadium pretenders The Call. In terms of its sound, much of the record is business as usual (something that is largely due to guitarist Peter Haynes’ influence). However, the album does throw up a few surprises that veer away from the distorted, Phil Spectoresque (pardon the pun), riffy wall of sound: “Firewalker” is a dreamy, ghostly, bass lead number that sounds like the band recorded the vocals from the other side itself, whilst “The Returning” is a genuinely touching reflection on what it means to have someone absent from your life. The record sounds like a band that are coming to terms with their future, whilst reminding us what they do exceptionally well.
Best enjoyed: On the walk home from a night out; desperately trying to remember the past.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh97e3dshhY
Best bit: the counterpoint between the vocals near the end of the song, where the two frontmen sing over each other.
-For those of you who have never heard of Eluvium, it is the stage name or moniker of Matthew Cooper, who has been making some of the most elegant, ambient noise for over a decade now. Still very piano based, Nightmare Ending contains some of his most deeply moving pieces to date and at times sounds like Morricone if he had swallowed a synthesiser and then fallen in love with reverb. One of the most wonderful things about this record is the lack of concentration that is required to listen to it and indeed this is the best way to approach it, as what Cooper excels in is suggesting feelings or moods; something that is ever present on tracks like “Sleeper” or “Warm” or the superb opener “Don’t Get Any Closer.” However, the album isn’t just “Eluvium by numbers”, as Cooper experiments with the odd rhythmic pulse and percussive sound, as well as including a half spoken/half sung excerpt from Yo La Tango’s Ira Kaplan.
The one downside of the record is probably the length, as the material in the second half of the album isn’t as strong as the first and Cooper would have had greater success if certain tracks had been left on the cutting room floor. Still, this is a beautifully and meticulously crafted piece of work. One reviewer commented on the ambiguous nature of the title: is this a nightmare ending, as in the end of the nightmare and beginning of relief or are we facing a nightmarish end to something? I find keeping both of these in mind whilst you listen only deepens the records’ majesty.
Best enjoyed: While contemplating the ins and outs of your current situation, whilst at the same time, looking for an escape from it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKyMDjFxIQ8
Best bit: from 4.22 to 6.53 where the organ creeps in, only to be replaced with the most stunning reversed vocals.
Explosions In The Sky and David Wingo: Prince Avalanche Soundtrack
-The first of two soundtrack albums this year. Known for their beautiful, guitar lead, compositions, Explosions In The Sky have teamed up with Ola Podrida front man David Wingo (a man who is no novice when it comes to soundtracks) to score David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche. Whilst many of the key aspects of Explosions’ sound are present, the record is, understandably, a more restrained affair. There are no bursts into reverb lead catharsis; instead, what Explosions present here is much more subtle, with guitar intricacies swapped for piano led atmospherics and acoustic arpeggios. The influence of Wingo is certainly telling; however there are moments when Explosions dust of the delay pedals and build up to their usual, melodic, wall of sound… if only for a moment.
Best enjoyed: In the park, in the sunshine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bplop1J8_q4
Best bit: 2:07, when Explosions continue what they started on Take Care, Take Care, Take Care and add some rudimental vocals to proceedings.
- Probably the first album I was truly excited to hear this year; largely due to Foals bringing out Inhaler at the end of last year; a track that promised so much by sounding so unlike anything Foals had previously released before. However, much to my initial dismay, when it was finally released, the rest of the album then sounded exactly like stuff Foals had released before. So what makes this such a good record? Well, firstly, the production is commendable-each little nuance is beautifully placed and accented and nothing sounds like it’s competing for dominance in the mix. Secondly, despite following the classic formula (with the exception of Inhaler), the quality of songwriting has taken a huge step forward since the last record. Okay, there is nothing as accomplished as Spanish Sahara, but as a complete collection of songs the tracks sit comfortably with each other and flow nicely.
Lyrically, the album is lacking in any real thematic quality and Yannis struggles to shift away from vague meditations on lost relationships; avoiding any genuine sentiment; yet, as many will agree, who buys a Foals album for the lyrics? Here, Foals sound more confident than ever: less angular, more smooth and very muscular.
Best enjoyed: Preparing for a night out-the three slower paced tracks should be the perfect accompaniment to those moments where the excitement dips as you await that person that always takes forever to get ready.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1tuiqd8qxc
Best bit: The chaos from about 3.21 the return of the dirty beat and the pauses towards the end.
- Another obvious choice and another coffee table favourite (it was very telling how over exposed Blake has become, when my dad phoned me up this year to tell me that I should really get into that James Blake guy.)
I am in awe of James Blake. It was upsetting when I found out that he was two years younger than me. When the first record was released I bored my friends into listening to it… many struggled to enjoy. The issue with his self titled debut was that it was perhaps “too much” James Blake in places and at times I felt genuine songwriting was substituted for abstract obtuseness. With his sophomore effort, Blake has negated such awkwardness for actual songs and the results are just as engaging, if not more so. Vocally, Blake has moved away from simply looping certain words or phrases and actively moved towards proper lyrics and vocal lines-hauntingly fragile sounding in places. Musically there is a lot more to get onboard with here, whilst still remaining quintessentially James Blake. Why should you it check out? He didn’t win the Mercury Music Prize for nothing.
Best enjoyed: As my father would say “through headphones, in a comfortable chair, with the lights dimmed and a glass of good malt.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I
Best bit: Half way through the chorus, when he holds the high falsetto note. Magic.
- Like James Blake, this year saw Jon Hopkins receive his second Mercury Music Prize nomination (the first being his collaboration with King Creosote on 2011's Diamond Mine.) Unlike Blake, Hopkins missed out on the coveted prize; however, it could be said thatImmunity was every bit as strong a contender as Overgrown. What we have here is eight vividly atmospheric tracks that move from feelings of euphoria to a sense of anxiety and claustrophobia (in a beautiful way, of course.) What is probably most striking here is the power of the piano, the key weapon in Hopkins’ arsenal and the corner stone of the record. Used in tracks like “Breath This Air”, the inclusion of the piano part leads the piece in a different direction by adding a sense of emotional connection with the listener (touching base amongst the sparse electronics). However, when it is employed in pieces like the record’s title, the piano takes centre stage; building the track from the ground up. Another record to lose yourself in.
Best enjoyed: Driving alone at night with the headlights on and volume turned up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8eQR5DMous
Best bit: One of the more touching pieces. Skip to about 4.00 mins in, just as King Creosote’s soothing brogue drifts in underneath; subtly and deliberately incoherent.
Laura Marling: Once I Was An Eagle
- Teenage prodigy; experienced beyond her years; the reincarnation of Joni Mitchell? All these things have been said about Laura Marling over the last five or sixth years. The problem is that youth and experience are incongruous and despite the impressive lyrical and musical content of Marling’s previous works, it always seemed as if Laura was “borrowing” sentiments and feelings from others: sometimes literary figures, sometimes other song writers. Yet, on her fourth outing, the English Rose draws deeply from her own heartbreak and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. On this record she has never sounded more haughty or more real.
Like her other work, Once I Was An Eagle contains vivid imagery, particularly the predatory central image of the title. The record opens with four tracks that are almost variations on the same theme and flow seamlessly into one another. During this opening, Marling proclaims that, by the end, she was the “eagle” in her relationship; referring to her lover as a “dove.” It is this sense of dominance and strength that is presented across the album with Marling emphasising her position as the victory in love. Sounds like feminism at its most visceral? Well no. The lyrical content is more confident than triumphant and is more the sound of someone finding their feet after love has gone wrong, rather than bitterly whining about it.
Once I was An Eagle is beautifully crafted album that, unlike her other records, is fairly sparse in terms of instrumentation: Marling’s voice and guitar work are left largely to themselves and only occasionally augmented by the odd piece of lap steel, hand drums and cello.
A testament to Laura Marling’s song craft and subtle reminder of her talent.
Best enjoyed: With a glass of wine, a few months after a break up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIQjLrffIq0
Best bit: The last minute of the fourth song, where the riff returns and everything comes full circle.
- The second record on this list to be born out of tragedy and again it’s the passing of parent that forms the central themes: memory; time and loss. From the drama of the opening track, You and I, it is clear that Local Natives have stepped up their game since their 2009 debut. In terms of songwriting, Hummingbird is, ironically, a far more confident album, despite the sense of abandonment that is ever present in the lyrics. This is largely due to the production, as the record was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. What the New Yorker adds to the songs is a sense of subtle mastery; working with the intensity of the band and layering their energy throughout the tracks and throughout the record, rather than stripping the band down towards the more minimalist approach of his own band. This works exceedingly well in tracks like Mt. Washington and the blistering Breakers, but it’s the songs that deal with Kelcey Ayers mother that are most engaging and perhaps most touching (see Heavy Feet and Columbia). A record with the gravitas that the band have always promised.
Best enjoyed: In the sunshine, but with an air of melancholy about you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW_2eGw7dSM
Best bit: Second chorus, where Dessner holds Ayers back for an extra eight bars to give the track the “Heavy Feet” it alludes to in the title.
Milo: Things That Happen At Day//Things That Happen At Night
- The album I am probably proudest to include in this list, on the grounds that I have yet to see an end of year list that does include it… the fools. Another painfully talented young man in his early twenties, Milo is the moniker of one Rory Ferreira who has been putting out his own brand of glitchy, spoken word rap since his early teens. What is probably most sickening about Milo is how unbelievably prolific he is, as he has released six or seven collections of work over the last two years. What’s worse is, that in Milo’s case, quantity and quality aren’t mutually exclusive, meaning the standard of what has been released is consistently good.
However, enough flattery. Why should you listen to this record? Well, technically, what we have here are two separate EPs, produced by two separate producers, released as one whole body of work. Thematically, the record is suppose to represent two halves, day and night; however, and this is where we are reminded that Milo is still human and still young, they don’t seem to reflect either. Yet, once you look past this, what you find is a collection expertly produced tracks (Milo is very picky when it comes to producers) with meticulous, and at times hilarious, lyrical content. What Ferreira does well is marry popular culture with aspects of philosophy; tying the mundane and redundant to questions of human existence (maybe both of these aren’t mutually exclusive either?). One minute he’s referencing Voltaire or Hume and the next he’s talking about X-Men characters or 90s TV shows. At times this can seem juvenile; however, at no point does it seem unintentional and that is what makes the record such an interesting pursuit. The future of rap? Maybe.
Best enjoyed: While trying to remember what you actually learned at university.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPSk-WmXVU4
Best bit: About 2.00 mins, just before the chorus comes in.
Mogwai: Les Revenants (Soundtrack)
- The second soundtrack album from the second instrumental “band” on this list. To be honest, this one is better than the last. The great thing about this record, is the fact that it genuinely is a RECORD and not just a soundtrack. This is perhaps due to the fact that the band had very little input from the French production team and therefore decided to simply create some music that “sounded a bit zombie-like”. However, what makes this album so brilliant is the fact that it is so incredibly subtle and restrained. Most of the tracks are piano led and are merely flavoured by the noises of the rest of the band. Although the television series was truly excellent, you don’t need to have seen Les Revenants to enjoy this album, in fact, most people had the record at least four months before the series was broadcast in the UK.
Best enjoyed: A long drive through the mountains.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvJy1LAnw_k
Best bit: When the cello takes over the main melody.
The National: Trouble Will Find Me
- This could be my favourite album of this year, despite the fact it’s probably not best album on this list. When the band put out Demons a few months ahead of the album’s release I was worried, as here was a very angular (yet, beautiful) song, with an odd time signature, that was very difficult to love. Yet, all doubts were removed when I heard the remaining twelve tracks. What separates this from previous National albums is the feeling of effortless grandeur that permeates the whole record. Where High Violet threw in everything but the kitchen sink, Trouble takes things a little easier, but manages to get the same results. Overall, this is still very much a National record, as many of the key aspects of their sound are present. Yet, what is really impressive is the subtle way everything is put together; as a friend of mine has said: “The National are amazing at doing very little, but sounding like they’re constructing symphonies.” Another area that sound be addressed here is Matt Berninger’s lyrics. On this record, there is something despairingly hopeful about his musings on growing older and the heavy weight of the responsibilities that we all must face as we age. Again, another album that has been lauded, but, in my opinion, one you need to hear.
Best enjoyed: With a glass of red wine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9W0LfGdtE
Best bit: The verse about the “LA women who fall asleep whilst swimming”
Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of The City
- A lot of people hate Vampire Weekend and do you know what it’s understandable. Their brand of Paul Simon aping, chino wearing, hipster afro-pop can be said to have become wearing… that’s if you liked it in the first place. To be fair, I did and suppose still do, but I can admit that recently Vampire Weekend are very close to becoming caricatures of themselves. However, I think they must have felt the same thing, as Modern Vampires of The City sounds like a band that are pushing themselves again.
Largely self produced, the band have put the African drums to bed and replaced them with more solid sounding beats, both synthetic and acoustic. In terms of songwriting, the band have taken stock of what they do well and attempted to subvert this in places and the results are certainly interesting. Take Diane Young, it sounds scarily like George Michael’s faith in places, but it works; look at the strange auto tuned vocals in Ya Hey, off putting slightly? Yes, but it works.
Vampire Weekend haven’t thrown the rule book out completely, there are still the usual suspects present in their sound: the Mozartesque harpsichord, the pounding drums, the almost academic quality of Koenig’s lyrics (a real strength on this record); however, they have decided to try and do something different.
This is a record that suggests that you can hate these slightly pretentious Vampires, but you cannot deny that they are bloody talented
Best enjoyed: In your best pink polo shirt with your wayfarers on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mDxcDjg9P4
Best bit: “The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out, what you on about?”
- Before the release of Wild Light, 65dos came out and stated that their last album (the outstanding We Were Exploding Anyway) was their magnum opus: the culmination of ten years of refining their craft; the sound they were after all along, perfected. So how do you follow something like that? You strip it back, that’s how.
Where Exploding was essentially a dance record made with guitars, Wild Light sounds like the soundtrack to the best science fiction movie never made, but don’t let that put you off. Before, 65 had a habit of simply building up to the big pay off: the euphoric moment, the huge beats, the loudest guitar riffs, etc; however, on this record, they deliberately restrain themselves; toying with our expectations-the surprise piano break on The Undertow and the blissfully glitchy drum outro in Sleepwalk City, for example. The overall effect of such restraint is that the album flows beautifully. Wild Light is an album to be enjoyed as a whole.
Best enjoyed: A long walk on a cold evening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMp3hovjQyQ
Best bit: from 3.40 onwards, where the dance notes sit beautifully above the guitar swells.
Honourable Mention (albums that I liked, but either haven’t had enough time with or weren’t as strong as the above):
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