Monday, 21 January 2013

Better Late Than Never - The 50 - 2012


Better late than never they say, computer problems the curse of a Christmas in catering and then a holiday have left it till now for me to publish my yearly album list I lovingly call the festive 50, although we have moved into the cold beginnings of another year now so I will rebrand to just ‘The 50’. I have thrown of the shackles of employment for a while to take stock and decide of where I am best suited to practicing my art, I was feeling stifled and slightly like a diva and after a drunken argument with one personified cow and a real life one followed by a long walk to reflect I was left with the notion that I should follow more of my own advice. You are not your job, I’ve heard that said by wiser men than me recently but it is advice that I have doled out before it Is why I don’t like to be called Chef because it distances me as a human from the mere toil that I partake in. I have also distanced myself from one of the main things that sets me apart that makes my insides feel alive and like the special little snowflake that I surely am – from the music that keeps my heart beating and my soul singing. Far too long I listened to Kiss FM last year and felt so spongy in my ears that I couldn’t find it in my heart to speak loudly enough, I was attacked by vicious ear worms that sought to eat away at my taste and leave me like a drooling fool in a discount bar chain grinning gormlessly to vapid pop morsels thrown out by dubious dj’s for the pleasure of the baying masses. Sometimes I like a folly into the world of mass commercial music because then you can go back to the safety of your home audio zone to my digital radio playing BBC 6 Music and my bedroom mornings with the new and exciting discoveries and feel special and warm that in the maelstrom of the mundane you can still find a space and a sound for you to feel alive, this time I dwelled too long and it nearly finished me off.
I need to speak of the death of music retail and my apology for how I absorb music which has not helped the situation but I feel that now is not the time – I need to give this first message of the year and my recap of 2012 to have a positive note and for all the business talk and arguments of nostalgia and the changing future we need to always keep focused on what is truly important which is the music itself, no matter how it reaches your ears.  It has been a hard year for me to absorb music as much as I usually would but still I have enjoyed gems and heard things that I found to be genuinely new exciting and exactly where I want my head to fall I hope that you have enjoyed the sounds of 2012 too and are waiting eagerly for the next year of musical exploration however the business end holds up.
As before the list is in a semi flowing order but not too strict until you come to the hard fought top 10 and I include a favourite track so as to create a playlist for me to enjoy with the top 5 albums getting 2 song entries in reward for their dominance over my musical year – hope you enjoy and will be back to read as I discover more bands this year.

50.          Plan B – iLL Manors
                                                            Wanted to start the list with something loud and this album could be one of my most listened too of the whole year being as how much my former collegues liked it and put it on repeat while we prepped – as annoying as that got it is a well thought out album with a true message and some pithy lyrics start it with an OIIII and the title track ‘ILL Manors’

49.          Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
                                                                        Much lauded by those apparently in the know though the result is somewhat samey through the whole album there are some lovely old sounds in hear that will warm the soul of any old-time rock’n’roll fan. Cant go wrong with track one ‘Hold On’

48.          Purity Ring – Shrine
                                                            A late discovery that shows the growing Dream-pop genre pushing on from were trip-hop died and filling eerie spaces witch sketchy glitching beats and sweet vocals give ‘Saltkin’ a go

47.          Band Of Skulls – Sweet Sour
                                                            Theres something pure rock about this album that I couldn’t ignore it was sort of two sided with occasional quieter parts but it’s the killer riffs and big sounds that will really have you hooked – its not clever its just riffs – ‘The Devil Takes Care Of His Own’

46.          DIIV – Oshin
                                                            Heard on a wonderful BBC 6 Music live session I was very eager to hear more and was pleased when I did – need to listen and find out more because I think we can expect big things there is something frighteningly nihilistic and hollow that fills a lovely eerie space like on ‘How Long Have You Known’
                                                           
45.          Wintersleep – Hello Hum
                                                            Reccomended by Mr Miles Patterson because he knows my musical street so well there is the touch of Clap Your Hands Say Yeahh in there and the touch of all that is good about moving on a folk tradition in new alt ways. ‘Saving Song’

44.          Minus The Bear – Infinity Overhead
                                                            I doubt this band will ever recapture the excitement that I got when first discovering them but there is still something about there unchanged style that I cant resist, the synths are getting louder but the tapping riffs are still there and the beat is as strong as ever. ‘Empty Party Rooms’

43.          Yeasayer – Fragrant World
                                                            Took me a while to catch up with the hype but when I did it all came flooding in with a lovely affected sax sound and a glitch greatness just like the opener ‘Fingers Never Bleed’

                                   
42.          Van Morrison – Born To Sing No Plan B
                                                            Another voice I just cant resist, he has a format and he sticks to it because it just creates great music that could only come from one man, forget how much I like that trad jazz smoothe style and van can always pull me back ‘Close Enough For Jazz’


41.          Frankie Rose – Interstellar
                                                            A bit of a grower but when the right song hit me at the right time I was really taken with, more dream-pop that can sound contrived or create really personel and aching songs just like ‘Pair Of Wings

40.       Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg  
                                                            Busy year for this young lad as he burst onto the scene with a massive hit from what could be considered an unlikely sound to make it so big, taken to the hearts of many demographics. I fear he is a one trick pony but the trick sells and catches you up in its infectious manc charm. ‘Lightning Bolt’ was everywhere this year and here it is again

39.          Shearwater – Animal Joy
                                                            A band I always want good things for because of their original vocal approach and intense atmosphere that they create somewhere between scathing dischord and beautiful melody, listened to this alone and far from anyone else and was taken in – hope I have the quiet time to enjoy it again soon with such great tracks as ‘Believing Makes It Easy’

38.           Jack White – Blunderbuss
                                                            I wasn’t taken by this album at first even though I loved a lot of the sounds that were going on within it but on re listening it could grow in my appreciation – like I have said there has not been enough time for all these great tunes especially when you have a 70’s Lennon sounding jack with boogie woogie piano on ‘Trash Tongue Talker’

37.          Patti Smith – Banga
                                                            What a sensational return from a phenomenal artist with a great aging to her voice and the same unmistakable pith to her style, theres a lot of depth to this album that makes it sound honest and open. ‘April Fool’

36.          Cribs – In The Belly Of The Brazen Beast
                                                            On reflection I didn’t listen to this album anywhere near enough, that’s what happens when I compile these lists I go back listen and call my self a plonker for not making more times for gems like this part noisy monster and part delicate wallflower. ‘Glitters Like Gold’

35.          The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know
                                                            Highly recommended by the excellent Cian Phillips this slice of haunting scotish misery is a real desolate chunk of introspective greatness – if you like that sort of thing. Think Interpol sitting in a cold room cold turkey from heroine and rain lots of rain they should write songs for the realistic scotish tourist board. ‘Nil’

34.          Tribes – Baby
                                                            Possibly quite vile trite scensters but they play a catchy melody and seem to have a sense of wistfull brutishness that I was quite drawn too, cant say I listened to the album too much but whenever I was making a playlist I kept putting this song on it (I bet Cian will Kill me for putting this against Twilight sad but I say to him write your own list, I’d love to read it) ‘Half Way Home’

33.          Tallest Man On Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
                                                            Ill admit to being disappointed at first listen, it is very stripped back from the sound of the last album which has become one of my favourite albums of all time. These songs are simpler but are still blessed with a marmite voice and a sense of Nordic mysticism that spins a heartfelt tale, I need to take a roadtrip along some fjords and this album might make me love it or listen to it on a scratchy record player alone in a log cabin – on reflection I’m listening to the album now, I need to book a log cabin and buy a slightly scrated vinyl copy ‘Bright Lanterns’

32.         Mark Lanegan – Blues Funeral
                                                            What do you expect from Mr.Lanegan except gravelled voiced blues genius and he delivers, this album is as straightforward dark gritty and raucious as you would want, I love a good voice and this is one of rocks best. ‘The Gravediggers Song’

31.          The 2 Bears – Be Strong
                                                            One of my occasional dips into the pool of house beats usually having something to do with one of the producers of this chunk of house pop brilliance, apparently recorded after the writer lost his job but wanted to find solice in the joy of music rather than any misery and postering. There is a real humor to this album that is cheered on by the warm bobbly sounds that are very uplifting. I have to pick this track as it could be a genuinely new genre all of its own House-Country  Time In Mind’

30.          Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
                                                            There are an increasing amount of artists who make this list purely for my undying love for them, this album has one of the worst album covers of the year, some of the themes stretch plausible and they use the sme key and chord sequences and rhythms I swear they have used 5 times before but I love it, I love the way the vocal sounds I love the turn of phrase and just the way they put songs together – nuff said ‘Harlem Roulette’

29.          Dr.John – Locked Down
                                                            What with the late publishing of this list I did have a good look through some popular best of lists before proceeding with my own even dwelling back onto Pitchfork media’s website to confirm there wanky idiocy, this album popped up and man am I sorry I missed it, nobody makes music quite like this, a true shaman of the blues and of exploration in sound, its hard to pick between individual songs because this is a cosmic jam you need to be part of so I will put the first track but I urge you to keep playing ‘Locked Down’


28.          Disappears -  Pre-Language
                                                            This was an instant hit in my ears, there was just something in the production that appealed to my post punk empty sounding sensibilities  a repetitive sound akin to Gang Of Four but with a hollowed colder sound that seemed to lend the songs with a real sense of malice. I didn’t listen as much as I would like because album is precisely why so much Kiss FM was played on the work radio because if I had my way I would have played this most of the time and as much as Will.I.Am hurts my mind at least I can comprehend it where as tis sort of thing might have dampened spirits and made people think they don’t know what music is anymore. ‘Replicate’

27.          Sharon Van Etten – Tramp 
                                                            Some people have labbled this album as trite and dull but among the hallows of true miserabilists we know that that is life and it is actually an album and artist of rare genuine honesty and aching beauty with some great helping hands on board this is a gem from an artist on the up and up in my humble opinion I heard a daming rvview on 6 Music and I hate it whn a outlet you respect disagrees with you but that’s the power of opinion, quieten the doubters  with ‘Serpants’



26.          Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man
                                                            I remember the first time I layed my googly beer googled eyes on Natasha Khan an was transfixed by the beauty of her voice and face, she has gone in interesting directions with her music career  her last release really turned me off but this is polished accomplished and as the name suggests haunting in a very digital age. But for all its hipster potential it is very tender. A new Kate Bush? ‘Laura’

25.          Bruce Springsteen – Wrekin Ball    
                                                            It’s the boss what more can I say. He’s been very literally jumping on a few bandwagons these days but he has been doing it with his own sense of style and talent. He’s an all American hero who sings to the nation and while he became famous for singing to the grinning masses while times and ride were high now with a disenfranchised nation The Boss has aimed an album at the hard working nation the middle American who loves a rallying chorus. ‘Shackled & Drawn’


24.             Tindersticks – Something Rain
                                                            Im a sucker for a storyteller so what is there not to love about this band so achingly real and small that you cant help but listen in a sometimes cosy and sometimes uncomfortable bubble, maybe it’s the Nottinghamshire connection  that sour Midlands way of attacking storytelling with wry wit and sometimes that bit too much honesty. ‘Show Me Everything’          

23.          David Byrne & St Vincent – Love This Giant
                                                            It was a airing that set the indie world a flutter, at first it seemed unlikely but when you think about it it makes erfect sense and it certainly does when you listen. Byrne is a wry genius but he could be seen as unbalanced and airing his sound with another forces his creativity and showcases his quirky voice. It’s a great airing with an interesting and individual result. ‘Who’

22.         The Shins – Port Of Morrow
                                                            This release was hotly anticipated from the start of the year, Indie kings dropping a fourth look into the troubled mind of James Mercer, with poor reception for there last release although I loved it this is back to a form that people love them for and although Mercer described it as a struggle to write it is a joy to listen too. Dreamy and delicious ‘For A Fool’


21.             Grizzly Bear – Shields
                                                            This band is super cool for all the right reasons they have been honing their skills ever forwards to this fourth album where they have expansive style and tight delivery of complicated and intricate style without coming across as pretentious or wanky. This is clever music that is well poised in the climate of taking a tradition and giving it something completely new. ‘Speak In Rounds’

20.          Anais Mitchell – Young Man In America
                                                            This is an artist that feeds straight into my love of storytelling and sinning a scene that we as a listener can soak in.  Folk music is witnessing a resurgence in new forms alternate interpretations but in many ways this is a pure form, the sounds are quite natural and the voice is so strong it is hard to ignore. This album speaks to a changing nation both directly and in an obtuse fashion. ‘Dyin Day’

19.          Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel
                                                            Quirky can have a myriad of connotations but when fronted at this artist it can be coupled with individual, intuitive and original to make it nothing more than a complete complement. A lot of artists go too far down the quirky path and end up making their music inaccessible and fall into traps of pretension and far too often their talent doesn’t keep up with their ideas, this is a line Fiona Apple has surfed so well they have left us with this fine record showcasing a strong and original vocal strength with the frailty of a kaleidoscopically artistic outlook. ‘Daredevil’

18.           Richard Hawley – Standing At The Sky’s Edge
                                                                        Artists get slated for trudging out songs of the same style but then also get slated for changing too much. This is not A Richard Hawley album as you might have come to know them it is a cosmic departure that plays to another side of his skillset and after you finish languishing over the lack of tender vocal stylings it is an exceptional and expansive record that is especially great to drive too. Think the wonderful guitar solo for ‘Sunrise’ by Pulp and you are tapping into the headspace for this other worldly cosmic offering. ‘Before’  

17.          Grimes – Visions
                                                            There are parts of this album that I find quite irritating but the parts that don’t have that effect more than make up for it. This is spotlessly modern totally en vogue and overflowing with cool, those could sound like a damming indictment but with sounds as good as this it feels like pushing things forward a genuine evolution rather than any type of posturing. I have enjoyed laying this to others and the mix of the sublime and smooth are so well balanced with the kick of bass is a revelation. ‘Be A Body’

16.          Here We Go Magic – A Different Ship
                                                            Its great to be the only erson in a large audience hearing a song and knowing it, maybe not for the band who suporting a band can find themselves on a much larger stage than they are used to but for me it feels like they re laying straight into your head and with an album this good im sure they layed into some other eoles earsace as well. Really ersonal anfd fragile sounding songs with a great shuffle and ubeat twang. ‘I Believe In Action’

15.          The Mars Volta – Noctourniquet
                                                            Theres very few bands that get criticised for the addition of tune to their music but there are moments in this release that have genuine melody and dare say it coherent lyrics that are in English. The dark majesty has always been threaded through the volta’s work but with this clearer sound we can feel the personal and  make stronger connections with the music,. Don’t get me wrong there is still a maelstrom of anger and swirling effected guitars  with a glance inside tormente twisted minds. ‘Dyslexicon’

14.          Howler – Give Up America
                                                            This is pure punk swagger, gritty tight and the gravelly continuation of the rock and roll dream, a rock and roll dream that sees the vapid way we fill our lives the empty hollow ideas in the modern youth and maybe wants to retreat to a simpler times are pour and spit scorn all over the nonsense of it all. The sound is dirty the vitriol is pointed at the American dream and it makes for a great ride for all us punk cynics. Like The Strokes with nails in their throats rather than frappacino’s . ‘Wailing (Making Out)’


13.          M.Ward – Wasteland Companion
                                                            My pixie troubadour with his understated rock and roll swagger and his tender voice that seems to be singing just after a bought of sobbing. Tender and tugging on those heartstrings is where his voice sits best but he always tends to play the fallible hero and there is always a sense of the true sadness of the world and the warm feeling of somebody who enjoys the misery and wallows quite warmly in it. With the characteristic sounds and images this is M.Ward through and through. ‘The First Time I Ran Away’

12.         Hot Chip – In Our Heads
Another chance to envelop myself in roughly the umbrella of house music because here are a band that come at that set of sounds with a real sense of humour that distracts from the usual bunch of soulless buffoons who bleep and whoop under its name. There is such an 80’s reticent hanging over this release taking all the addictive and glitzy parts of that sound without the embarrassing parts and the cringe worthy nature.  The core of the success is the mix of dance ethic and lyrical poetry that is intelligent and poigniant but never taken too seriously.  ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’

11.         Walkmen – Heaven  
                                                            A lot of people are describing this as a much more mature sound for the band now they may have known them for longer than me but I can only say it works and it’s a stunning record. Sometimes sounding like a campfire song for tired cowboys the sound can quickly expand but always has a simplicity at the heart that lends . I have the image of a cowboy heartthrob singing his heart out into a simple tin box and then we have one of my favourite singles of the year. ‘Heartbreaker’

10.         Elbow – Dead In The Boot
                                                            Seeing this band grow in popularity has been a double edged sword for me, still in love with their storytelling and midland straight talk mixed with poetry that makes Guy Garvey a national treasure in my eyes. On the other hand their music is now more of a draw to the stadiums I am now watching them play in and the songs that I first loved are no longer making set lists and the dark edges of the band are all but brightened by curtains thrown wide. But then this B-sides collection surfaced from nowhere and showed me that this group still have a love for the slow the subtle and the dreamy sound of Trip-Hop and a more subtle storytelling. If this had been an album release of a band going back to their roots rather than a B-sides collection of the type of songs they are unlikely to release again then it would be closer to the top of my list but I will listen with keen ears and keep hoping that ‘Newborn’ or ‘Powder Blue’  will one day make it back to the live arenas.  ‘Lucky With Disease’

09.         The Vaccines – Come Of Age
                                                            Top ten entry two years running, I like a productive band and after an explosive debut  they quickly deliver a piece of straight to the point rock that is British quirky and drawing on a rich tradition to shout rousing angst over jangly guitars.  There’s a wry wit and cooing honesty that rings out to the self-deprecating masses and tell the tales of youth with all the cynicism and fun that has to offer. ‘I Always Knew’

08.          The Maccabees – Given To The Wild
                                                            This is this group’s tour de force as they have honed their skills and formed a cohesive group capable of delivering work that is mammoth in its scope and enormous in its sound. Tight, tight, tight in the performance with production that really utilises this skill to beautifully produced effect. The wall of sound that swoops to envelop the galloping piano lines . For all the pomp and grandiose effect there are still moments of the small and intricate and some fast paced rockers that are hard to ignore just like ‘Pelican’
             

07.               Lambchop – Mr.M
                                                            In Part the sound of Bill Callahan with his voice so pure it could make a wolverine purr and at part the slow deliberate sound of Tindersticks this album is equal parts heart breaking and heart-warming. Slow paced and deliberate with use of staccato strings that differentiates against the swoon of the deeper rich sound of the same instruments. The music is in essence simple and grows as the songs build upon themselves  with the vocals appearing from nowhere making them effortless and welcome, knowing and telling.  This is one of the most subtle album of the year  which has a beautiful effect on the soul. ‘Mr.Met’

06.             Django Django – Django Django 
                                                            Had to be the catchiest single of the year, when I heard ‘Default’ I danced and I have done every time I have heard it since and the rest of the album continues with such a sense of movement and ingenuity that it deserves all the eager fans they have gained tis year. The album is challenging and changeable but it is also sharp stylish and thoroughly danceable and groovy it calls to mind other Scottish rockers like The Beta Band who’s experiments with the fringes of psychadelia have started a movement that creates a Celtic groove that has much to show us. ‘Default’

05.             Beach House – Bloom
                                                            New classifications and sub-genres of music pop up from year to year, they disappear just so quickly which doesn’t necessarily mean that music fitting the initial descriptions of that sub-genre isn’t still made but that we just aren’t calling it that anymore. Dream-Pop is a term that has been bandied about a lot this year and I wasn’t so sure that I liked it until I heard this album that seemed to define the definitions while simultaneously pushing it further. This duo create huge sounds that are playgrounds for beautiful melody, the counterpointing of the strong sexy baritone at the bottom spectrum and the coohing ahhh’s at the ethereal top end create that dreamlike sound that lend to the classification. Atmospheric and enthralling with polish and style that make this album quite intoxicating. ‘Lazuli’ & ‘Other People’

04.          Tame Impala – Lonerism 
                                                            Two years since their last much less critically acclaimed album and this group of Perth Psychedelic rockers have retreated and given us a hyped up freak out that has bite and some sounds that you might have never thought would leave this album so close to the to of so many lists this year. Usually playing bare foot and with the look of a look of the x rated extras for a Austin Powers party scene these die hard rockers and riff fiends have given us a real trip into their world and had us all on the edge of our seats for those of us with long hair giving us validation as we let it down and sway to the irrepressible mood of psychadelia. ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ & ‘Elephant’

03.          Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
                                                            This is for me a perfect post-punk record and contains points of genuine anger that always have me leaping for the ‘Like’ button. Some of the lyrical posturing sets this album up as such a dark call to the disenfranchised that it is an echoing reminder of all the broken promises we have made to our youth – Kurt Cobain wanted to show our pretty little lives to be as empty and vapid as they truly were and here Dylan Baldi just wants to scream  in guttural desperation how he thought he would be worth more than this and that as we fall in line we show how pointless we have become – cheery stuff The heavy sound in these songs is well produced and engineered to give a real atmosphere, like the pounding Bass that is reminiscent of QOTSA or the clean and frantic guitar riffing of so many preppy punkish guitar bands – in parts clever and disturbing this is a perfect full stop to the decision that despite the tweed jackets and increasingly expensive taste in wine I am still a Punk. This year turn it up loud award and two great tracks that cut from wallowing in noise based enormity to tight and controlled with cut throat precision. ‘Wasted Days’ & ‘Fall In

02.           Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
                                                            There are some types of music that I love, that I think are such bases for all other forms of musical expression that they should never be ignored one of these is the deep sexuality and swarve cool and style of soul music. Unfortunately for me the masters of this genre are not of my generation which of course doesn’t seclude me from appreciating their music but I didn’t have chance to discover them to take them to heart and make them part of my quest for the new – this album solves that problem and gives us a piece of work that is enthralling as it is incredibly well made as sparkling brand new as it built on the fine tradition of soul music. Frank Ocean may have appeared to have appeared out of nowhere but he has developing his style while working behind the scenes and working with some of his games top artists and mentors on his first solo release he is already a true new voice that balances enough urban music clout to give him real cred with enough tender honesty to pull at even the most hardened indie pop hacks heartstrings. The is a phenomenal flow to the album and a diversity that nods heads to so many branches of the urban music spectrum it becomes an homage to the genre itself. ‘Super Rich Kids’ ‘Forrest Gump’

01.    Alt-J – An Awesome Wave 
What can I say about this album that hasn’t been said
already except to declare my gushing love for what they have created. When I read Pitchfork Media’s  review of this album which was the only less than favourable words I have seen printed or heard said I refused to go back to that site again as I have never disagreed with something more completely, I felt glad to be British and not obsessed with cool so I can fully appreciates and soak myself in the complicated yet subtle piece of genuine British ingenuity.  This is art-school rock that has been thought about to every detail but also a group who seem to be happy in their own sound as is evident in the interlude soundscapes that link the album rather than fragment it. For me it is the interaction between the vocal and the guitar lines that make this album a stand out success with harmonies building like British madrigals and then dropping into guitar lines with bite and vigour. The songs have a dark edge and an intelligent wit that make them so appealing to an English Gent such as myself, I’m glad that Pitchfork don’t like it they can have their Kendrick Lamar and their Mix tapes and we will keep this evolutionary rock that is s subsinct as it is expansive. ‘Breezeblocks’ & ‘MS’








Well here’s hoping  for more great music in 2013 and hopefully some more time to listen to it and write about it, saying that it’s the 21st now and I have already listened to one album more than likey to make this list in a years time. Hope you are all well and are looking forward tonew and exciting things. Pace and Love

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