Murphy's Blog

My Albums of 2011

2011-12-30T12:28:00.000Z

ThePreamble

Asalways, I’m not deluding myself that anyone actually reads this stuff and, evenif they do come across it thanks to a typo in a Google search, that they willtake any notice of it but I find it good year end therapy and an opportunity toremind myself how good (or bad) a year its been for ‘proper’ music.

Again,as always, the rules are that no re-issues, no best-of’s and no live albums canmake it in the list which, this year, stops The Jesus & Mary Chain takingthe top 4 or 5 slots!!!

Itsfair to say that this could have been a top 30, 40 or 50 list this year andthere is some great stuff missing mainly because you have to draw the linesomewhere!

Finalconsideration … I am in no way saying these are the best albums of theyear, but that they are my favourite albums for many reasons.

Feelfree to scoff and comment at the stuff you have heard but keep you’re opinionsin check on the stuff that you haven’t until you get the time to go find it andlisten.

TheList

20. BombayBicycle Club: “A Different Kind of Fix”

The Crouch End collective’s thirdalbum continues the theme of sounding completely different from the last oneand delivers a superb collection of polished alt / indie tunes that often startin one place and then head off somewhere completely different just because …

Check out: “Beggars”

19 LouReed & Metallica: “Lulu”

A classic example of when havingaccess to albums before the music press reviews hit the web / shelves canafford you time to make up your own mind long before the sop called experts tryto make it up for you.

I would class myself a fan of LouReed and more of a distant appreciator of Metallica and had been lookingforward to this since it was announced. It surprised me how complex and challenging this album was but I’dencourage anyone who might like the combination to invest some quiet time tolisten to this properly and ignore the populist reviews that appear to haveburied this.

Now all we need is a Mark E Smithand Black Sabbath album in 2012!

Check out: “The View”

18 Radiohead: “The King of Limbs”

Another example of Radioheadcatching everybody by surprise by announcing the fact that the album existed onthe same day they offered it for download.

Initially disappointing, repeatedlistens were encouraged by the brilliance of “Lotus Flower” and “Codex” … theserepeated listens continue to draw you into a collection of tracks that growinto one of the band’s most cohesive, if not best, collections.

Check out: “Codex”

17 R.E.M:“Collapse into Now”

Anyone who discovered R.E.M. as aresult of (or after) ‘Everybody Hurts’ may have failed to recognise the historyof ground breaking indie-Americana they had served up previously via brilliantalbums such as “Life’s Rich Pageant”, “Document”, “Green” and “Out of Time” …despite a fast decent into mediocrity since the departure of drummer Bill Berryin 1997, their last (ever?) albums of “Accelerate” and this offered someglimpses of the genius that had gone before.

Should history find the possibilityof pretending that “Up”, “Reveal” and“Around the Sun” never happened then R.E.M. should be considered one of theworlds most important bands, ever.

Checkout: “UBerlin”

16 Iceage:“New Brigade”

Danish youth punks deliver debutalbum of raw structured noise that reminds you what it was like to listen toThe Pixies for the first time … nuffsaid !

Check out: “New Brigade”

15 dEUS: “Keep You Close”

The Belgian outfit have been around(on and off) since 1994 when they released the edgy art-punk album “Worst CaseScenario” that caught the attention of many including me. I’ve been a fan since and watched themdevelop in many directions, often varied, often unsuccessful.

He band have taken several breaks intheir 6-album career and while “Keep You Close” doesn’t have the edge of thedebut, it retains the essence of creativity that made me like them in the firstplace.

Check out: “Keep You Close”

14 Explosionsin the Sky: “Take Care, Take Care, TakeCare”

Ah, the ubiquitous instrumentalpost-rock fascination continues … and not for the last time on this year’slist!

The Post-Rock genre is often accusedof being ‘samey’ with many claiming ‘ it all sounds like Mogwai’ but closerinspection reveals many different facets of the quiet-quiet-loud-LOUD-quietgenre that takes so much time to appreciate but delivers so much inreturn. Texans Explosions in the Sky delivertheir sixth album which is less accessible than many of its predecessors butretains the effortless sonic layering that we have become accustomed to.

Oh, and based on this years offerings by both bands … its sounds nothinglike Mogwai !!!

Check out: “Last Known Surroundings”

13 Girls:“Father, Son, Holy Ghost”

Second album from the San Franciscoduo that made the top of many of the music press reviews of the year for goodreason. A varied album that includesinfluences from many musical eras but delivers a fresh, angst-ridden andcontemporary indie-Americana feel.

Check out: “Vomit”

12 WildBeasts: “Smother”

I have to admit that I wasn’t a fanof Wild beasts up until the release of this album … I gave previous album “TwoDancers” a fair chance but just couldn’t tune into the falsetto vocal stylethat saturated the sound.

Early reviews of “Smother” suggestedthat this had been toned down and, while its still there, there is much morespace to appreciate the song structures and textures.

I’ve seen them live twice now andencourage anyone who hasn’t to do so when they can … rarely can a band withsuch a complex sound deliver so well on stage.

Check out: “Reach a Bit Further”

11 BritishSea Power: “Valhalla Dancehall”

Brighton’s post-punk collectivecough up their fifth album of pseudo-topical, arcane-ironic that your eithergonna love, hate or never listen to … up to you.

Check out: “Who’s in Control”

10 PeterMurphy: “Ninth”

The undisputed godfather of goth’sninth (albeit only eighth studio) album while being uncreatively named includessome of the best post-Bauhaus stuff we have heard from the great man.

On first listen, it’s important toeither grin and bear the first couple of tracks or just skip them (don’t worry,they eventually work) and delve deeper into the darker moments that commencearound “I Spit Roses”.

Repeated listens are required to dothis collection justice … then go and dig out your Bauhaus collection, we’veall got one … don’t we?

Check out: “The Prince and Old Lady Shade”

9 Blueneck: “Repetitions”

The Bristol ambient post-rockersfollow up 2010’s “The Fallen Host” with an astounding album of mostly ghostlychill out sounds but where the volume knob is sometimes cranked up slowly anddeliberately.

Haunting vocals and oftenunstructured arrangements require the right frame of mind to appreciate butwell worth the effort.

Check out: “Pneumothorax”

8 TheStrokes: “Angles”

Since the release of the 2001’s “IsThis It”, the muso press constantly called for The Strokes to re-invent theirsound to avoid them becoming too one-dimensional. When the band tried to do this on subsequentalbums they were panned for losing their identity … they couldn’t win!

So, 10 years on and after a lengthyhiatus that saw many solo albums from band members, The Strokes return with asound that is exactly what people where calling for … clearly still The Strokesbut with some spot and polish.

Unfortunately, the band appear to betainted in the eyes of many of the populist press these days but for those withopen ears, they sound (almost) as good as they did 10 years ago.

Check out: “Under Cover ofDarkness”

7 ArcticMonkeys: “Suck it and See”

After the mixed reviews of 2009’s“Humbug” where the band re-invented their sound, they play a blinder by comingback with an album that had influences from all over the place.

Preview tracks like “Brick by Brick”and “Don’t Sit Down …” led us to believe the sound would be similar to themurky rock-blues of the previous offering but when the album was unveiled weheard bits of Stone Roses, some Echo & the Bunnymen and not a shortage ofDavid Gedge’s Cinerama (one for the purists the last one!)

Again, many made their mind up basedon the early reviews and more fool you, this is a wonderful and varied albumand was certainly the soundtrack of my summer!

Check out: “That’s Where Your Wrong”

6 TheFall: “Erstatz GB”

The great John Peel once said of TheFall that they were “always different, always the same” and this remains trueto this day.

One of the most consistent Fallalbums in years, it has been given some stick by the so called purist Fall fanswho don’t rate it … I think they worry that it might just be listed to bypeople who are not worthy!!

If you’re a Fall fan you will haveyour opinions on this but I rate it very, very highly … If your not a Fall fan,this might just be the very place (and time) to start … enjoy!

Check out: “Taking Off”

5 BlanckMass: “Blanck Mass”

The solo guise of Benjamin Power whois one half on electronic noisemeisters Fuck Buttons … this is one of thoseindescribable pieces of work that you will find either hugely affecting orcompletely disposable.

Genre busting electro-drone that is effectivelya collection of ambient soundscapes that on first listen don’t add up to muchof anything but given the right collection of circumstances can be the perfectaccompaniment to those times of reflection and concentration.

Check out: “Chernobyl”

4 WeWere Promised Jetpacks: “In the Pit ofthe Stomach”

The Edinburgh indie-collectivefollow up 2009’s “These Four Walls” with a way more mature collection thatsounds great first time round but continues to grow on repeated listens.

Another example of brilliant Scotsindie rock that builds on the success of The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbitetc.

Must be played loud!!!

Check out: “Human Error”

3 Mogwai: “Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will”

So, all instrumental guitar basedpost-rock sounds like Mogwai then eh? Well, I reckon this changes the game slightly as Glasgow’s finest decideto back off the noise a tad and focus on adding even more layers to the soundstructure that has stood them in good stead since 1997’s “Mogwai Young Team”.

The essence of the Mogwai sound isall here and many of the arrangement styles have been heard on previous albums(‘White Noise’, ‘Rano Pano’, ‘You’re Lionel Ritchie’ etc) but these areaccompanied by some radical departures like ‘Mexican Grand Prix’, ‘How to be aWerewolf’ and the stunningly beautiful ‘Letters to the Metro’.

John Peel’s Fall quote of “alwaysdifferent, always the same” could equally apply to Mogwai, another band thatPeel loved.

I managed to see Mogwai live twicein 2011 and they continue to deliver the best live experience around.

Check out: “Letters to the Metro”

2 ThisWill Destroy You: “Tunnel Blanket”

I discovered TWDY thanks to thewonders of last.fm where they were presented as a band that I may like based onmy previous listening, given that their first album was pretty much a post-rockby numbers offering (albeit a brilliant one), last.fm were not wrong.

“Tunnel Blanket” departs from theirinitial offerings in many ways … its still instrumental, its still guitar basedrock but it takes on a much more drone structure in many ways that takes someserious effort to tune in to.

This is an important album for me inseveral ways, firstly because its brilliant … its takes many listens toappreciate but it is utterly brilliant. Secondly, this is the album that was a constant for me around the deathof my father earlier this year and seemed to fit perfectly with that ‘I don’tknow what I should be listening to here … Am I sad? Am I angry?’ mode.

Given this, I appreciate that thiswon’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I always say that personal music taste isall about reference points and they don’t come much bigger than this for me.

Check out: “Black Dunes”

1 WuLyf: “Go Tell Fire to the Mountain”

I’msure I mentioned on my Facebook page very early in 2011 that these guys wouldbe on many peoples best of list come the end of the year … well, after repeatedlistens and revisits, they certainly deserve to be on top of mine.

Themost under-promoted and under-hyped band in a long time, this reminds me oflistening to Happy Monday’s ‘Bummed’ for the first time (after a colleaguegifted it to me as he thought it was shit, thanks Graham!!!) it also reminds meof what a fusion of Foals, Arcade Fire and the Clash would sound like.

Idon’t care that the lyrics are largely undistinguishable … I don’t care thatthe sound is raw and unpolished … despite the influences its fresh and thatwill do for me !!!

Checkout: “LYF”

The Fall: Ersatz G.B.

2011-11-05T20:45:00.003Z

There's been alot of crappy things about the past week (organization restructures at work,another bloody cold, watching £100 of fireworks take about 90 seconds to go'bang' etc etc) ... But the week will be remembered largely for the being ableto spend lots of time listening the upcoming album By The Fall, "ErsatzG.B."

For those ofyou unacquainted with The Fall (where have you been for the past 30 odd yearsand equivalent number of studio albums !!!), you may not realise thetrepidation that can precede listening to new stuff ... Fall albums can be stunning, average or train wrecks with the past few erring on the pretty damngood, albeit inconsistent.

Here, the samelineup that delivered the last two albums (something of a record in the worldof Mark E Smith) churn out the most consistent Fall album in many a year. Now the challenge here is to assess consistency v quality and after20 or so listens I'm gonna say we're in (by Fall standards) 9/10 for consistencyand 7.5/10 for overall quality ... Trust me, this is a pretty special place tobe!

One thing thathas to be said is that Mark's songwriting and vocals sound incredibly fresh inthat he sounds 20 years younger. "Taking Off" for example,sounds like it could have come from 1992's "Code: Selfish".

The two exceptions to this nostalgia are "Greenway" and "Monocard"which are as rough, dirty and excellent as they come (I pity the cat and the dogat this point).

Ela takesvocals on "Happi Song" but otherwise we have the best example inyears of the genius of Smith ranting over a gas-tight band.

Trepidationover, brilliance confirmed ... Roll on next year where we will no doubt gothrough it all again!

8.5 / 10

Released 14/11/11

Wild Crow: The Tunnels, Aberdeen (29/10/11)

2011-11-05T20:39:00.000Z

Me!

Its not every day that you (try and) dress up as Beetlejuice but Saturday 29 October 2011was one of those days.

A fancy dress soiree at The Tunnels in Aberdeen on behalf of the 82AD campaign to raise funds for Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland.

As part of the night, we were treated to a set by local Aberdeen band Wild Crow personified by the father and son Ellington's on vocals and guitar duties.

The first few songs were interrupted by a failure in the hi-tech self-tuning guitar gadgetry failing to ... er ... self tune! which led to lots of nervous looks, frantic knob twiddling and punters heading for the bar. It didn't stop the outbreak of the odd limited mini-mosh pit though as the charity spirit (and beers) helped navigate the fraught opening stages.

Wild Crow

Once the tech issues were resolved the band cruised through a decent set of rifftastic numbers that reminded of Primal Scream, T-Rex and a twist of Soup Dragons thrown in for good measure.

Early big tunes 'Misfit', 'Perfect Girl' and 'Sugar' were the pick of a lively set which seemed to take an incredibly promising turn towards the end when a couple of newer songs appeared to be borne of a different band entirely in their complexity, arrangements and ability to hold some serious interest ... if these tracks signal the way forward for the band then they may have something worth listening out for.

The closing number "Dirty Gena" brought things back to earth with a sound that, albeit catchy and well executed, seems like a regression following the previous few numbers.

A good night, a decent set and worth checking these guys out.

Over £1500 raised for the charity into the bargain ... which was pretty much the whole point, well done everyone involved!

6 / 10

New look ...

2011-11-05T16:48:00.004Z

Realised that my blog site had been ignored for too long and needed to work out how to use the thing again to get ready for the usual 'Top X Albums of [Insert Year]' drivel coming up.

I may start to add some more stuff here for no-one but me to read, bit I've said that before !

Testing 123

2011-06-18T19:31:00.001+01:00

So, new iPad, loads of apps etc etc ... Now to test how easy it is to actually write something with it and see just what happens when posting to my blog from the Blogspot app.

I know that no one reads this so I don't know why I'm bothering to write anything other than 'testing 123' but hey, ho.

Now off for a bath to listen to the new Peter Murphy album "Ninth" for the millionth time this week ... If there's anyone out there ... Buy it :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My Albums of 2010

2010-12-21T11:43:00.003Z

… and yet again I sit in front of a PC, sorry scratch that, I’m all iMac and that these days, to write some nonsense about the music I’ve discovered, enjoyed and raved about during the year.

I don’t claim for a second that the following represents the best of the year, it’s my list of my favourite stuff which is a pretty important distinction as it immediately means that your opinion of my list doesn’t count !!!

So, my 2010 in music …

First, the stuff that didn’t qualify for my top 20 … this falls into 2 camps:

1. Stuff that I discovered in 2010 that was technically released in 2009

2. ‘Best Ofs’ and live albums (because Stephen Currie says these don’t count !!!)

There was lots of stuff that I found in 2010 that didn’t make the list for the reasons above, but I have to highlight 2 albums from 2009 that just can’t be ignored … both of which were found by exploring strangeglue.com’s (RIP?) top 50 of 2009.

Late Discoveries

There Will Be Fireworks – “There Will Be Fireworks”

I still remember the first time I heard this masterpiece … from the opening sonics and spoken word intro of “Columbian Fireworks”, it was clear that this was worth some serious attention … when the opening track opens up into a Mogwaiesque wall of sound and then falls away into the structured beauty of “So the Story Goes”, it’s clear something special is playing.

The (now) wife of a friend apparently described this as ‘Murphy music’ given the Scottish accent vocals and clean indie sounds that I appear to gravitate to and it’s fair to say that the whole structure and sound of this ticks lots of my musical boxes … the references here are many and varied given the eclectic structure of the album and I defy anyone to listen to “Guising” & “Off With Their Heads” and not be blown away by the genius and maturity of the experience.

I’ve lived with this album for almost a year now and I’d seriously have to say that if someone asked me now to list my top 10 albums of all time, this just might make it … its stunning !

And it has to be considered that these guys recorded and distributed this themselves with no recording deal … currently working on album no.2, I just hope it comes close to the brilliance of the debut. Regardless, I will always hold this piece of work up as a reference point … I thought I was getting too old to be blown away by new music … thanks guys !

The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Hometowns”

Debut from the Canadian alt country / indie outfit that stands out for its consistency across 13 tracks that never lets up in its power, impact and longevity.

If listening for the first time, it’s worth pointing out that the opening couple of tracks can be fairly hard going and don’t initially signal the quality of what’s to come … but if you get as far as “Don’t Haunt This Place” I guarantee you’ll stick with it and won’t be disappointed.

Also currently recording album no.2, I really hope I can list that in next year’s list !

Best ofs & Live Albums

Mr Currie confirmed some months ago that best ofs and live albums don’t count so I have to state here and now that the following albums would have made my top 20 without question had they been allowed:

Mogwai – “Special Moves’

The album to accompany live film “Burning”, the world’s most sonically stunning combo define their career to date with a collection of live tracks that can’t fail but blow you away.

If exploring Mogwai for the first time, start here and make sure you get the version that includes all 17 tracks or else you will miss out on some the highlights.

Regardless, I defy you to make it all the way through “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead”, “Hunted by a Freak”, “You Don’t Know Jesus” and “I Love You, I'm Going To Blow Up Your School” (quality hi-fi gear required) and not be physically and emotionally moved … if you do, all I can say is “see you, your dead inside!!!”

Mono – “Holy Ground”

Recorded in New York in 2009 with full orchestra, Japanese instrumental post-rockers display that maturity and brilliance that brings them on par with Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor … leaning heavily on 2009 studio album “Hymn to the Immortal Wind” (my no. 2 album of last year) this performance takes things to a new level for the band.

I caught them in New York earlier this year minus the orchestra and have to say the experience was unreal but the added dimension of the ‘classical’ backing appears to add something special to this type of sound and typified perfectly on this occasion … buy it, immerse yourself and be all the better for the investment!

Elliott Smith – “an introduction to …”

I don’t have the time or talent to summarise the Elliot Smith story for those who don’t know it but to call him another tortured genius that was ‘taken’ too soon would tell about 10% of the story.

Elliot died in 2003 (a week after my wedding, I remember hearing the news during my honeymoon) from stab wounds to his chest. His girlfriend claimed the wounds were self-inflicted and like many great music industry deaths, I suspect we’ll never know.

Although a ‘best of’ could never do the great man’s recording history justice, it’s a great place to start … ‘singer / songwriter’, ‘man with guitar’, ‘intelligent balladeer’ … however you want to describe Elliot Smith, it won’t even come close!

Right, onto my top 20 … no detailed reviews of each as I don’t have the time and no-one will be particularly interested!!! Just a comment or two to justify why I’ve included it …

Top 20 of 2010

20 iLiKETRAiNS – “He Who Saw The Deep”

Despite most previous output from the Leeds outfit being based around history lessons in a post-rock (with vocals) stylee, “He Who Saw The Deep” is a much more accessible, if ultimately shallower, experience that takes some time to get into gear.

Advice for the uninitiated is to head straight for “These Feet of Clay”, “Sirens” & “Sea of Regrets” before judging the album … if you don’t like those, forget it !

19 Belle & Sebastian – “Write About Love”

Exemplars of twee indie pop return after a four and a half year hiatus with arguably one of their strongest albums to date.

This is a grower that takes several listens to appreciate … I had written it off after first listen and only a positive review on a website made me take a second ‘look’ … some beautifully crafted tracks as always … still twee !

18 Pg.lost – “In Never Out”

No top 20 of mine would be complete without an obscure post-rock / instrumental offering.

Sweden’s Pg.lost follow up the inconsistent, yet superb, “It’s Not Me, It’s You!” with a much more considered album that, again, takes a significant investment of time to fully appreciate.

The opening minutes of “Prahanien” make you wonder if this album I ever going to get going but by the time it closes with the 12 minutes of “Gomez” the urge to hit ‘repeat all’ is overwhelming .

17 Foals – “Total Life Forever”

Not as ground breaking as “Antidotes” but probably more consistent … the bar was so high it was always going to be difficult to match expectations.

Then again, anything that has “Spanish Sahara” on it can’t go unrecognized can it?

16 Malory – “Pearl Diver”

German electronica / dream pop / shoegaze outfit deliver an hour of genius that takes you in many directions that are all ‘nice’ … opener “Floating” typifies what’s to come by weaving around a central concept while firing off in several directions over its 7 minute duration.

Record label Club AC30 really does look like one cool place to be right now!

15 The Radio Dept – “Clinging to a Scheme”

More Swedes !

This time retro-indie tunesmiths with a smattering of pure pop / dance thrown in for good measure.

Think ‘Belle & Sebastian’ meet ‘The Field Mice’ meet ‘Badly Drawn Boy’ meet ‘Beats International’ (seriously, check out the beats on “Never Follow Suit” !!!).

14 These New Puritans – “Hidden”

I don’t have the talent to describe this piece of work in any way other than to say stunning experimentilisation that just works on every level …

The official line is:

"Six-foot Japanese Taiko drums, a thirteen piece brass and woodwind ensemble, sub-heavy beats, prepared piano, a children’s choir, Foley recording techniques (including a melon with cream crackers attached struck by a hammer, used to simulate the sound of a human head being smashed), and the ethereal voice of Heather Marlatt from dream-pop group Salem."

Only issue I have with this description is the flawed genre definition of Salem as ‘dream pop’ ??!!!

13 Gorillaz – “Plastic Beach”

What do you get if you take Damon Albern’s art project and add a dash of Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Mark E. Smith, Paul Simonon, Kano, Little Dragon and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and the concept of the end of the world?

… second on of the day is “Where’s North from here?”

12 Interpol – “Interpol”

Saying that the latest Interpol offering is ‘darker’ than previous output would suggest that we are talking about a place where even night vision wouldn’t cut it … and that would be unfair (just) …

Largely slated by the great and the good of the music ‘press’ I would argue that this is Interpol’s most complete album to date.

Yes, it’s inconsistent and bleak but this is Interpol … you won’t see next year’s X-Factor winner having a go at covering epic “Lights” will you? … not a bad thing … not a bad thing at all !!!

11 Air Formation- “Nothing to Wish For (Nothing to Lose)”

The return of shoegaze was exemplified in 2010 with Air Formation’s fourth (and strongest) offering.

If you can get past the first couple of minutes of opener “Three Years Pass” that make you think you’ve put The Cure’s “Disintegration” on by mistake followed by Matt Bartram’s opening vocals sounding like either he can’t sing or he forgot his in-ear monitors that day … you’ll be treated to a wave of sound that transport you back to the golden days of Ride, Slowdive and Chapterhouse.

Too many stand out tracks to mention with a level of consistency that deserves way more recognition than it got.

10 Wild Nothing – “Gemini”

Jack Tatum’s one man collective goes all retro indie and shoegaze on us in this with more Belle & Sebaistian, Field Mice and Ultra Vivid Scene references than you can shake the proverbial stick at!!

9 The National – “High Violet”

They said it would make the “Alligator” v “Boxer” debates redundant by blowing them both away however, for the record, I still believe that Boxer remains the better, erm, ‘record’

Having said that, this remains a great album by a band rising in stature by the day … I can envision R.E.Mesque status in a few years … I just hope they don’t go the same way creatively!

8 LCD Soundsystem- “This is Happening”

So is this really James Murphy’s swansong? If so, it’s not a bad way to go!

Not an album that grabs you from first listen but repeated exposure reveals structure and complexity that rewards more and more with every visit.

As always, the Talking Heads references are present and correct and supported by clear Daft Punk and Velvet Underground influences.

7 Steve Mason – “Boys Outside”

Ex-Beta Band man Steve Mason bears his soul on the depression years in the first album recorded in his own name after dabbling with other solo personal such as King Biscuit Time and Black Affair.

Must have been a tough process to write but is an example where facing the demons can produce the best results … “Let Her In” typifies the intensity with lines such as “ … and to the children I never had, here is the love, I was your dad … there is a reason that I never got to hold to hold you tight but what it is I’ll never know …”

Not an album that will cheer you up after a bad day but one that should be explored by everybody that want’s more from their music than a good tune.

6 Beach House – “Teen Dream”

Third album by the Baltimore duo that also falls into the ‘dream pop’ genre (I must be mellowing in my old age !!!)

A top choice of many of the music mags in 2010, standout track “Norway” provides a good reference point for what this is all about.

Perfect winter chill out stuff.

5 Frightened Rabbit – “The Winter of Mixed Drinks”

Selkirk’s Scott Hutchison’s once solo project continues to expand and deliver more and more intense indie angst. There’s not many who could deliver a track about suicide contemplation in an upbeat indie pop style such as “Swim until you can’t see land’.

Anyone who hasn’t seen the band live yet has probably missed out on the sheer impact they can have in small venues where they hold silent audiences in the palm of their hand … reports from the recent sold out Barrowlands gigs are that their increased popularity has brought the trendy ‘NED’ brigade that can often ruin the experience for most. The price of success I suppose but I hope it doesn’t shift Scott’s focus from continuing to deliver what he does so brilliantly.

4 Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”

How to follow the brilliance of “Funeral” and the overblown pomposity of “Neon Bible”? MMMmmm … how about a full-blown concept album about the experiences of growing up in the ‘burbs?

Summed up by the line “If I could have it back, I’d like to waste it all again” most people will relate to at least some, if not most, of Win & William Butler’s references.

Musically consistent and a lyrical masterpiece … “The Suburbs” is a great way to respond to the criticism of “Neon Bible” but will be a hell of an act to follow.

3 The Fall – “Your Future Our Clutter”

The NME review of ‘YFOC’ referred to The Fall as “the best new band in Britain” which, on first read, seems a bit mental considering that they have been around for 35 years and churned out 28 studio albums in that time! The review clearly referred to the continued reinvention of the band by Mark E Smith which sometime delivers and often doesn’t.

‘YFOC’ delivers, big time!

Definitely the best Fall album since 2005’s “Fall Heads Roll”, possibly the best since 2000’s “The Unutterable” and in ‘Bury Pts. 1 + 3’, probably track of the year !

2 The Walkmen – “Lisbon”

As for many, my intro to The Walkmen was being blown away on hearing “The Rat” around 2003 … I immediately bought their only album available at the time (2002’s “Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone”) only to find that:

· it didn’t have “The Rat” on it

· none of it sounded remotely like “The Rat”

Initial disappointment was dispelled when I realised just how good that album was.

The follow up album “Bows + Arrows” did include the “The Rat” but by that time I was hooked on the more angular and raw sound that these guys appear to make out of next to nothing.

Pretty much everything they’ve done since has been up there with the nest for me with (2008’s “You & Me” was #2 in my list for that year).

“Lisbon” doesn’t disappoint and stands up with the best of the band’s output.

Possibly an acquired taste … but I suggest you get acquiring !

1 Warpaint – “The Fool”

OK, so where the hell did this come from?

LA, all girl, alternative rockers who have been messing around since forming in 2004 end up pulling this masterpiece out of nowhere.

An album all about layers of sound, similar to the post-rock genre but topped off with the stunning, ethereal vocals of Emily Kokal and track that build and drift off in all directions.

I’m not sure exactly what it is about this that makes it my top choice by far for 2010 … but I guess I have a bunch of musical buttons that this happens to press ... mostly all at the same time !!!

Albums I Wish I Had Heard Before Doing My Top 10 of 2009 #1

2010-01-09T23:00:00.001Z

There Will Be Fireworks "There Will Be Fireworks"

My Top 20 Albums of 2009 ...

2009-12-07T20:45:00.002Z

I had planned to write war & peace for each as I had in 2007 but couldn't because:

1) I don't have the time

2) I can't be arsed !!!

3) I have 20, not 10 !!!!!!!

So, with choices, placings and comments open for abuse, I give you ............

20) We Were Promised Jetpacks: “These Four Walls”

Not sure if it’s just me or whether 2009 really has been a seminal year for Scottish bands (there’s more than one in my list this year). Very confident debut by one of many good new jock indie rock bands around today, it’s nice to see that Frightened Rabbit aren’t alone.

19) Brand New: “Daisy”

While reading online reviews for an album that appears later in this list I came across a recommendation for another band who also appear later. While reading reviews of the latter (confused??!!!) I came across Brand New and reviews of “Daisy”. While most were positive, there appeared to be a theme of reviewers identifying that Brand New had changed musical direction on all of their 4 album releases … this was interesting enough to check out Daisy.

On first listen, this is confused alternative Americana, further listens reveal structure, layers and influences that produce a remarkable album.

18) … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: “The Century of Self”

Texans Trail of Dead sit squarely on the border between art-rock and post punk and often dabble with progressive tendencies … the opener “Giant Causeway” leads you to believe the prog element will be in gear here as it reminds you of an excerpt from the Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy theme !!!

It will always amaze me that these guys are not huge as they stand head and shoulders above most of their peers. Conrad Keely’s song writing and delivery deserves at least the recognition of Jack White et al …. In my humble opinion of course. I sleep comfortably knowing that I recognise the talent even when most others don’t … your loss !!!

17) Camera Obscura: “My Maudlin Career”

I defy anyone to listen to Camera Obscura and not be totally besotted with Tracyanne Campbell’s beautifully delicate vocals. Coupled with the near perfect song writing, arrangements (the string and horn arrangements are by Björn Yttling, of Peter Bjorn and John) and production, My Maudlin Career delvers another great album from another great Glasgow based (proper) indie band inspired by 60’s pop.

16) Yeah Yeah Yeah's: “Its Blitz”

I cringed when I heard Nick Zinner was ditching his guitars for this and though we were in for a cheesy retro electro-fest. No fears though ... the guitars are still here, they just go through some mega techno pedal configuration before hitting yer lugs !! Amazed that their earlier albums have been listed in top 20’s of the decade when this has been overlooked.

15) Bombay Bicycle Club: “I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose”

Yeah, silly name, cheesy indie pop riffs but well worth listening to over and over again to appreciate the subtleties and maturity in play here. A bit Foals, a bit Maccabies but bloody good stuff.

14) Dinosaur Jr: “Farm”

The ninth studio album from J. Mascis et al and the follow up to 2007’s post reunion of the original line up “Beyond”. It unmistakably J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph, its nothing new but its as consistently good as anything they’ve released in a long time.

13) Biffy Clyro: “Only Revolutions”

I’ve been a Biffy fan since they release “The Vertigo of Bliss” back in 2003. That was a spiky, alternative album that took many listens to even work out the structure of most of the tracks. Since then they have started to become a bit more mainstream and accused of being the Scottish Foo Fighters and I have to admit that I got less and less enthusiastic about each release … albeit I have them all. I didn’t expect much of “Only Revolutions” but have loved it since the first listen.

What’s wrong with being the Scottish Foo Fighters anyway ???!!!!

12) Julian Plenti: “Julian Plenti is Skyscraper”

The solo incarnation of Interpol’s Paul Banks, Julian Plenti is Skyscraper is to Interpol what Casablancas’ “Phrazes for the Young” is to The Strokes … except for one thing … Julian Plenti is on my list !!!!!!

Where Casablancas obviously wrestled for a long time to come up with a deliberately quirky collection of tracks, Banks rattled out this in a short period yet still managed to progress beyond the shackles of his day job.

What starts sounding like a decent Interpol album develops into a wonderful statement intent for either Julian Plenti, Interpol or, hopefully, both.

11) Caspian: “Tertia”

Almost the best instrumental post-rock record of the year … almost !

10) Ian Brown: “My Way”

After several brilliant albums, Ian Brown let himself down with 2007’s “The World is Yours” … I still feel guilty that he was affected by our meeting in New York while he was mixing that album, maybe no though !

Ian knew his previous effort was not up to par and committed to record an album based on the same principles that Michael Jackson had for ‘Thriller’, including the rule that if any track could not be considered a possible top 5 hit, it was binned.

“My Way” certainly appears to have been recorded using the technology around in the days of ‘Thriller’ given its constant barrage of cheesy loops and beats that sit just below the surface of some of king monkey’s finer work … OK, this is the guy who wrote ‘I am the Resurrection”, “F.E.A.R.” and “Keep What Ya Got” so that was a bold statement but this really is fantastic stuff.

09) Stellastarr: “Civilised”

Perhaps not musically justifying its place, but for the sheer enjoyment it gives listening to one of the worlds most under rated (especially live) bands, it had to be here. “Civilised” loses itself a bit for a couple of tracks in the middle so if you give it a listen for the first time, hang in there.

Its nice to have them back, if only for the chance that I’ll be able to see bass player Amanda Tannen in the flesh again someday soon

08) Silversun Pickups: “Swoon”

Often (and wrongly) cited as Smashing Pumpkins wanabies, this follow up to 2006’s “Carnavas” was highly anticipated. It still amazes me how Brian Aubert approached song writing as few of the tracks here have any kind of traditional structure while still being very accessible.

Anyone who hasn’t heard this should play “The Royal We” and “Panic Switch” back to back and very loud … then go back and listen to the whole thing.

07) Monsters of Folk: “Monsters of Folk”

I always knew there would be a Conor Oberst album in this year’s list but I hadn’t guessed it would be this one !!!

I’ve struggled with his other 2009 release “Outer South” and may well, on reflection, regret not having it anywhere here. When I first saw reviews for “Monsters of Folk” I was prepared to hate it …

I’m not a My Morning Jacket Fan and haven’t been a huge fan of most of the post Bright Eyes Oberst but have to say that, despite its roots, this is a stunning collection of many different styles delivered by a bunch of guys on top of their game.

Travelling Wilbury’s for the .net generation? … so ???!!!!

06) Arctic Monkeys: “Humbug”

I have to admit to being a huge Arctic Monkeys fan from the very beginning ... one doubt I had was what they would do after the initial childhood observational song writing style had nothing left to deliver … “Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not” was based heavily on reciting adolescent memories from the early days in Sheffield and what it missed out on musically was more than made up for in lyrics.

“Favourite Worst Nightmare” had matured musically however was still in the same vein, it was all beginning to dilute lyrically though.

Stereophonics had been in the same position after their first two albums and whereas they decided to crawl up their own arse, Arctic Monkeys chose another path …. Go dark, go heavy !

This is the album that makes Arctic Monkeys fans decide whether they are going to invest in continuing a musical development journey or just remember the happy times when bouncing around to “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor etc”.

I personally don’t subscribe to the view that Josh Homme influenced the direction of this album in any way, I think the band wanted something very specific from him and he delivered … they all did.

05) Manic Street Preachers: “Journal for Plague Lovers”

I’m not even going to attempt to say anything original about an album that has been so widely discussed and deeply dissected as this.

Suffice to say that I think the band managed to deliver something quite special from Ritchie’s last lyric collection and especially in their ability to return to the darkness of “The Holy Bible” instead of building on the commercially successful platform that “Send Away the Tigers” had provided.

I saw them playing this live in London this year and it was quite a spectacle … so many years after Ritchie, these guys still miss him like it was yesterday … and now they’ve nae lyrics left !!!!!!!

04) De Rosa: “Prevention”

For me, this will always be associated with memories of the time leading up to the birth of my son.

I was working from home for a few weeks before he came along and listening to lots of random stuff based on loose recommendations etc. I was reading a Mogwai forum one day when read that Barry Burns had played piano on most of the new De Rosa album so I downloaded it.

It took several listens to get into, but this was constantly on my ipod while I was painting bathrooms, building furniture etc. They were due to play Aberdeen the week after Fraser’s due date but as he was late, I couldn’t go … they have since split up and the chance to catch them live has gone.

I’ve listened a couple of times in recent weeks to see if it stands up and still believe it is a beautiful (albeit ‘nicely’ flawed) record.

03) The Twilight Sad: “Forget the Night Ahead”

Having seen The Twilight Sad live many times and loving the brilliant debut “Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters” (2007), I still didn’t see the development that happened to allow this album coming.

While retaining the wall of sound guitars from the debut, “Forget the Night Ahead” introduces much more complex arrangements in additional to James learning that he can actually sing a bit !!! Tracks like “I Became a Prostitute” and “Made to Disappear” point to a potentially more commercially attractive direction but here’s hoping they retain the hometown edge

… definitely the highest placed album in my list from a band from Kilsyth !!!

02) Mono: “Hymn to the Immortal Wind”

Mono’s early albums had them tagged as the Japanese Mogwai, not unfairly given the similarity of the debut “Under the Pipal Tree” (2001) to the early Mogwai recordings. Over the years though, while both retaining the flawed tag “post-rock”, its fair to say that musical similarities are much more tenuous and Mono have established themselves as one of the world’s premier instrumental rock bands.

“Hymn to the Immortal Wind”, is a stunning collection or sound scapes that one minute remind you of epic film soundtracks and the next minute have you grabbing for the volume button as your ears start to bleed.

01) Manchester Orchestra: “Mean Everything to Nothing”

I discovered Manchester Orchestra just this year while reading online reviewed of the Silversun Pickup’s “Swoon”. “Mean Everything to Nothing” hadn’t been released at the time and I grew to love them through previous release “I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child” which was in a relatively mild alt. rock America styleee. There were one or two classic tracks on there that made me want to hear more.

“Mean Everything to Nothing” is a different beast to “I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child” … its more confident, much louder and Andy Hull has developed a vocal style that can both scare young children and make grown men greet (listen to "I Can Feel a Hot One", after a few glasses of wine just after becoming a dad for the first time !!). The band admitted that they wanted the album to be in two halves, the noise of the first and the calm of the second … it works, but needs the investment to get to the end.

Impossible to single out tracks but special mention to “Shake it Out”, and aforementioned “"I Can Feel a Hot One". Probably an acquired and specialist taste but one that ticks most musical boxes for me (on many levels) … one of the best albums I’ve heard in many years.

Top 10 Albums of 2008

2009-01-21T18:42:00.000Z

I had my list done weeks ago and had planned to do the whole blog review thing as I did last year but circumstances mean that I haven't had the time, the energy or the inclination.

The other thing I failed with was to limit the list to 10 ... I did the whole paired decision making process to systematically narrow down a list from 20 to 10 but my number 10 and 11 came out with the same score and I couldn't split them ... therefore, my top 11 of the 2008 are:

11. TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"
10. Sigur Ros - "Með suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"
09. Conor Oberst - "Conor Oberst"
08. Spiritualized® - "Songs in A&E"
07. The Wedding Present - "El Rey"
06. The Fall - "Imperial Wax Solvent"
05. Glasvegas - "Glasvegas"
04. British Sea Power - "Do You Like Rock Music"
03. Foals - "Antidotes"
02. The Walkmen - "You & Me"
01. Mogwai - "The Hawk is Howling"

Album: Foals - "Antidotes"

2008-03-15T14:54:00.001Z

By the time you get to my age its uncommon to hear anything in music that’s even close to being original … most stuff sounds like a direct copy of someone from a previous musical generation or some kind of fusion of two or three influences that can easily be extracted after a few listens … it can all get a bit predictable and dull …

Foals are no different … to me they sound like many things I’ve heard before … but all the better for it … this is a stunning album that takes many, many listens to fully appreciate but grows in depth and quality every time you hit the play button !!!

On hearing the early singles, someone asked me who I thought the influences were … my instant reaction was Mars Volta meets Haircut 100 !!! I’ve changed my mind now, Antidotes shows way more maturity than the early demos & singles and has me thinking of Talking Heads circa “Fear of Music” (1979) and “Remain in Light” (1980), Gang of Four's "Entertainment" (1979) with a bit of early Spandau Ballet chucked in for good measure … there’s a splash of Echo & the Bunnymen in there too but you’ll have to work hard to get some of that !

On early listens of Antidotes , it all sounds pretty much samey … if it wasn’t for the fact that most of my favourite albums had the same effect I wouldn’t have spent much time on this but I’m on about 50 repeat listens in now and its all making sense !

This is not a lyrically deep piece of work, far from it, in fact I actually have no idea what any of the tracks are about, and I don’t care. This is an album of rhythms and layers … the rhythms are obvious, the layers take time.

Stand out tracks are difficult to pick … the obvious targets of “Cassius” and “Balloons” actually blend into the album well and don’t jump out at you like singles can when listening to albums. For me, the peak is the 3 minutes into “Two Steps, Twice” when, following a slow build up it completely changes direction, reminiscent of half way through Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers” … I just have to witness this live … the ’91 summer of love flashbacks will be trippy !!!

“Antidotes” isn’t very original, it’s not something we haven’t heard before and it’s possibly light on lyrical depth …. But its utterly brilliant !

Albums of 2007: The Notable Mentions

2007-12-30T12:06:00.000Z

OK, so I said before posting my top 10 that I'd list the notable mentions for 2007 .. and here they are. I've listed these in alphabetical order so no real relativity involved ... just a list of great albums that didn’t make the top 10 for one reason or another.

Albert Hammond Jr: "Yours to Keep"
Band of Horses: "Cease to Begin"
Beastie Boys: "The Mix Up"
Biffy Clyro: "Puzzle"
Bright Eyes: "Cassadaga"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Baby 81"
Calla: "Strength in Numbers"
The Cult: "Born In To This"
Editors: "An End Has a Start"
The Fall: "Reformation Post TLC"
Foo Fighters: "Echoes , Silence, Patience and Grace"
The Good, the Bad & the Queen: "The Good, the Bad & the Queen"
The Go Team: "Proof of Youth"
Ian Brown: "The World is Yours"
Idlewild: "Make a New World"
Jimmy Eat World: "Chase the Light"
Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"
LCD Soundsystem: "Sound of Silver"
Malcolm Middleton: "A Brighter Beat"
New Young Pony Club: "Fantastic Playroom"
The Primary 5: "Go!"
Public Enemy: "How to Sell Soul …."
Reverend & the Makers: "The State of Things"
Shocking Pinks: "Shocking Pinks"
Thurston Moore: "Trees Outside the Academy"
The Twilight Sad, "Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters"
The View: "Hats Off to the Buskers"

Two of the standouts from here that coulda, shoulda, nearly made the top ten are both Scots bands, namely The Twilight Sad and The Primary 5.

And finally ...

Many, most, both of you will disagree with some or all of my top 10 or notable mention choices ... all I can say is go and write your own blog !!!!

Albums of 2007: #1

2007-12-25T13:13:00.000Z

Radiohead – “In Rainbows”

There can’t be anyone alive today that hasn’t heard that Radiohead have released an album in 2007 … “In Rainbows” hit the headlines big time thanks to the unique way that the band initially released it via download only and asked those downloading to decide how much they were willing to pay. For the record, I paid £3.50 for my download !!! When you analyse what the band did, it was genius … traditionally a band will release early copies of their recordings to journalists etc to review in order to generate publicity.

In recent years however this has provided the opportunity for people to “leak” the recordings on the internet therefore negatively affecting sales on release. Radiohead appear to have cut out the middle man by generating the publicity in other ways and, by all accounts, generate significant revenue by officially leaking the recording … brilliant! Add to that the fact that “In Rainbows” has also been released in a collectors edition and will hit the shops as a traditional CD around the 1st of January 2008.

It appears though that the publicity of the release mechanism has overshadowed the content of “In Rainbows” … which is a great pity as this is a phenomenal album. Not since “OK Computer” have Radiohead released such an accomplished piece of work. This isn’t to say that the intervening years have been crap, nothing could be further from the truth , however “Kid A”, “Amnesiac” and “Hail to the Thief” have not been quite up to the standard that “OK Computer” set … nothing much since has mind you!

“In Rainbows” kicks off with “15 Steps” which is leads you to believe this may be another freaked out electronica show … but once the guitars kick in its 100% old school. “Bodysnatchers” is just brilliant and has that classic change of direction half way through that even hits you after dozens of listens.

“Nude” is the first of the beautiful tracks here … if your not chilled after listening to this then you need to cut down on the coffee (or equivalent!!). I’m sure the band have been listening to Mogwai’s “Black Spider”, the subtle guitar backing here has the same undertones.

“Weird Fishes / Arpeggi” is classic head Thom Yorke head shaking material, follwed by the down beat but haunting “All I Need”.

For me, “Faust Arp” is a tad weak but works well to set up the stunning classic that is “Reckoner”. Thom’s voice reaches Anthony & the Johnsons levels here and to great effect.

“House of Cards” slows things down a bit and then “Jigsaw Falling into Place” hits you as the stand out track on first listen … its has legs too, it won’t always be your stand out track but you’ll never tire of listening to it.

“Videotape” is a sedate closer but in context works just fine … and then you listen to it all over again!

Those with the second disc from the box set will also know just how good tracks like “Down is the New Up”, “Go Slowly”, “Up on the Ladder” and “4 Minute Warning” are and admittedly all in the same vein as the first and main disc. The problem child in this bonus set is “Bangers & Mash” which stands out in all the right ways.

“In Rainbows” deserves to be listened to time and again, each time you do your view of it changes … never in a bad way … this is classic stuff, I just hope the release hype dies down and the world wakes up to the fact be have a seminal album here.

Hail to the ‘head !!!

Albums of 2007: #2

2007-12-24T13:23:00.000Z

The Raveonettes - "Lust, Lust, Lust"

The Raveonettes have two main sounds:

· a dark minor chord based sound that wouldn’t be out of place in spaghetti westerns or grind house b-movies … with Jesus & Mary Chain styleee heavy distortion, feedback and general noise

· a mix of 50s / 60s bubble gum pop and Glaswegian indie pop … with Jesus & Mary Chain styleee heavy distortion, feedback and general noise !!!

On previous albums (”Lust, Lust, Lust” being their fourth) they have tended to stick with one of these styles for the entire set, here they move between them and sometimes combine them to great effect.

Its clear that Surin and Sharin have found a couple of effects for their Fenders that they like and their damn well gonna use them as much as they can here. Opener “Aly, Walk With Me” is as dark as they come and appears to set the scene for a downbeat album. “Hallucinations” introduces the pop sound and the Mary Chain noise feedback and its clear this is going to be a style clash rollercoaster.

“Lust” is a classic example of how a simple drumbeat, simple chords and an effective lead guitar break can sound stunning, especially when accompanied by subtle harmonies and a haunting melody. This style is used on several of the tracks here and most notably on the beautiful “Black Satin” that follows the more upbeat “Dead Sound”.

The musical rollercoaster is most evident in the trio of tracks led by the noise pop fest that is "Blush" followed by the eternally dark but stunningly simple “Expelled From Love”. The trio is complete by the pop cheesefest that is “You Want The Candy”.

The upbeat “Blitzed” and “Sad Transmission” lead you to believe that Danes are going to keep the popfest going to the end and just when your head starts to bop along like an extra from “Grease”, the haunting “With My Eyes Closed” brings things back to earth.

Despite the upbeat pop tunes here, The Raveonettes are essentially a dark, minor chord outfit and fittingly, close the album with the sad and reflective “The Best Dies”, anything else would have missed the point.

Although the band, and this album, is a fusion of so many different influences, this is simple but beautifully structured stuff … its also an indie noise fest when the mood suits. Its not a mass appeal record, but those who are fans of the various influences will get it and understand why its so high in this list.

Albums of 2007: #3

2007-12-22T11:30:00.000Z

The Shins - "Wincing the Night Away"

From the moment in the film "Garden State" when Natalie Portman handed her huge headphones to Zach Braff and told him that The Shins would change his life, to be followed by the soundtrack blasting "New Slang" ... The Shins had me hooked.

"Wincing The Night Away" is, by far, the most accomplished output from the band to date with every single track being of the highest quality and having the potential to change someone's life as "New Slang" had done for Portman's character.

The subtle openings of "Sleeping Lessons" disguise the pace and tone to come but once it springs to life, the album just keeps on going churning out cracker after cracker !

After "Australia" you get the feeling that the album may have peaked a tad early but then the teasing snippet "Pam Berry" tees up the track of 2007 in "Phantom Limb". This is song writing at its best and was probably the soundtrack for many people's summer of 2007.

The album keeps going with one quality track after another, never repetitive and none with skip potential for the iPod brigade.

For those who haven't yet embraced The Shins, close your eyes, imagine Natalie Portman handing you some huge headphones and telling you this will change your life … Enjoy.

Albums of 2007: #4

2007-12-21T17:15:00.000Z

Smashing Pumpkins - "Zeitgeist"

Billy's back ...

There may have been Zwan and the solo album but Billy Corgan is Smashing Pumpkins and "Zeitgeist" is a welcome return for the angry wee man who appears to be falling out of love with his homeland ...

"Zeitgeist" is Billy Corgan's call to arms for the American people to wake up and realise what's going on in the world in the name of the war on terror and the deflection from the domestic problems of the good ole US of A. For the average European who is used to the "f**k the system attitude" of most alternative & punk bands for the past 30 years, this all sounds a bit tame ... but lets not forget that American's publicly questioning their position in the world is about as popular as a bag on your hip !!!

Musically, this is a classic rock album and retains the classic Pumpkins washed out guitars and precise drumming sound ... only Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) remain from the original line up but its the voice and the drums that define the Smashing Pumkins so, business as usual then.

"That's the Way (My Love Is)" sounds like the output of Corgan's first post Pumpkins project Zwan and shows he's still a softy at heart ... don't tell him I said that mind !!!

"Tarantula" delivers the definitive track on the album, no surprise it was the first single released ... Its only trumped by the 10 minute classic "United States" that appears to sum up Corgan's view of his motherland both lyrically and musically ... this is a monster of a track that conveys the political anger that only Rage Against the Machine can top.

Many will say that Corgan only reformed the Pumpkins because the solo work was bombing but Corgan has admitted that he feels musically devoid when he's not working in a Smashing Pumpkins project, regardless of who's working with him.

But who cares what Corgan calls his projects, if they keep sounding like this then its win-win all over.

Albums of 2007: #5

2007-12-21T16:50:00.000Z

Manic Street Preachers - "Send Away the Tigers"

I was recently asked where I though the Manics ranked in the great scheme of things ... difficult one as these guys are pretty much taken for granted, or ignored, by the masses ... but this once important band haven't gone away, on the contrary it appears the Manics are back.

The question of where the Manics ranked came seconds before their gig at the Music Hall in Aberdeen in December 2007, this was a gig that was one of the years best (and its one hell of a year gig wise !!!) and portrayed the band in the genius light they belong. Spookily, weeks later, the NME have announced that the band will be awarded the God Like Genius award in early 2008 ... nice to hear they agree with me !!!

Now, the album ...

Tha Manics have been making great music for years but, in my opinion, haven't made a great album since "Everything Must Go" ... "Send Away the Tigers", wait for it, possibly trumps even that and stands as one of the finest bodies of work produced by the band post Ritchie.

The album is full of anthemic rock tracks without a dodgy one in sight ... "Underdog" is a song for the fans " ... this one's for the freaks ... " starts James as he sets out to make the points that being different ain't a bad thing ... ist hasn't done Nikki any harm after all !!

The duet with Nina Persson on "Your Love is Not Enough" evokes memories of the classic "Little Baby Nothing" with Tracey Lords' vocals.

This an album full of potential classics while retaining James' obtuse lyrical edge. This will be number one on many people's list for 2007, and so it should be ... there are days when its mine, I may regret it yet ...

Albums of 2007: #6

2007-12-21T16:15:00.000Z

Babyshambles - "Shotter's Nation"

The old adage states that Pete Doherty is a Marmite man, you either love him or hate him ... and the majority of people who hate him appear to do so based on the newspaper headlines and his public lifestyle ... two points to make here:

- its not the man that should count, its the music !!!

- what are people basing their opinion on? The drugs? Thank Christ the Beatles and the Stones ain't trying to cut it these days then eh?

In my opinion, the Libertines were never given the recognition and respect they deserved ... Arctic Monkeys et al have a lot to thank them for I suspect.

Lets face it though, Babyshambles' first offering "Down in Albion" was patchy at best ... things didn't look good for post-Libertines Pete.

"Shotters Nation" is a different story all together, this is as good as any off The Libertines' output and appears to have been largely under recognised.

The opening "Carry on up the Morning" is classic, self deprecating Pete ... "its wasn't easy, getting out of my bed ... its too easy, getting out of my head ... " is the "look, I know I'm f**ked up" marker in the sand.

The single, "Delivery" follows and turns out to be one of the weaker tracks here and is followed by the superb Libertinesque "You Talk".

"Unbilotitled" is as deep and personal as things can get for someone who's life is as public as Pete's "... you said that you loved me, why don't you f**k off, anyone would think you were only ripping me off ... " Many of his so called friends are dismantled here, some named, others obvious.

More Libertine stylee tunes follow in the guise of "French Dog Blues" and the storming "Baddie's Boogie" ... in between these is the beautiful "There She Goes".

Things are closed off with the introspective "Lost Art of Murder".

Marmite aside, there can be no argument that this is a brilliant album, not just good, brilliant ... you might not like it (even those who have actually listed to it) but its quality cannot be denied.
I bet if any of these is going to get a comment ... its this one !!!

Albums of 2007: #7

2007-12-21T15:44:00.000Z

Dinosaur Jr. - "Beyond"

J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph back together again ... so is this in my top 10 for nostalgic reasons? No chance! It may be almost 20 years since the original line recorded "Bug" but "Beyond" probably eclipses all previous work by the band.

Kicking off with "Almost Ready" and keeping the pace up through "Crumble" and "Pick Me Up", its clear that this is going to be good ... the play out on "Pick Me Up" will make you want to pick up any guitar shaped object and stand in front of a mirror pulling those grunge faces ..... just me then ????!!!!!!

Things don't lighten up til "Were Not Alone" and then chill out totally on "I Got Lost".

"Lightening Bulb" picks things back up again and the closer "What If I Knew" just makes you want to listen to the whole thing again.

"Beyond" revisits grunge in an intelligent and contemporary way ... the world needs another J. Mascis ... any signs ????

Albums of 2007: #8

2007-12-21T15:25:00.000Z

Interpol - "Our Love to Admire"

Recommending Interpol to someone is hard ... their dark, monotonic, down beat sound is a difficult sell (like trying to cheer someone up with a Joy division album) ... but this, their third, release is just an incredible body of work that deserves to be heard by everyone who appreciates "serious" music.

Opening "Pioneer to the Falls" is about as bleak as it gets but, in its own way, is as rousing and anthemic a track as they come ....

"No I in Threesome" presents a listening dichotomy, is this a tongue in cheek send up structured to sound dark, or is Paul Banks opening his heart on a struggling relationship? Whatever it is, it works as one of the stand out tracks here.

Things get as upbeat as it comes on "The Heinrich Manoeuvre", the first single release from the album ... and when followed by "Mammoth" suggests that things are looking more cheery ... but "Pace if the Trick" brings things back to the dark side where Interpol are most at home.

Things continue on the dark side for the remainder of the album and conclude with the stunningly bleak "The Lighthouse" which has the same overtones as Radiohead's "Motion Picture Soundtrack" from Kid A.

"Our Love to Admire" is another example of an album that isn't instant, even for Interpol fans, it needs several listens while in the correct frame of mind but, for me, is probably Interpol's finest work to date.

Albums of 2007: #9

2007-12-21T15:05:00.000Z

Explosions in the Sky - "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone"

No top 10 is complete without a slice of post-rock genius. Although Mogwai did release a soundtrack album in 2007 for the Zidane film, I didn't class it as a true Mogwai release and its therefore not in this years list ...

So the post-rock release of the year for me is this incredible piece of work by Explosions in the Sky. I still have vivid memories of lying by the pool in Florida this year with this constantly repeating on the iPod. Fans of the post-rock genre will love this from first listen, others may have to work a bit harder to appreciate the genius of the track structures and the lack of vocals.

Track names tend to be largely superfluous with this type of album but stand outs include the opening "The Birth and Death of the Day" (a perfect title for the quiet, quiet, loud, loud, quiet structure) and the eminently chilled "What Do You Go Home To?"

For the Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor and 65daysofstatic fans out there ... this is a must listen to .... just make sure your chilled out with your eyes closed when you do !!!

Albums of 2007: #10

2007-12-21T14:45:00.000Z

Arctic Monkeys - "Favourite Worst Nightmare"

Coming quick on the heels of the debut "Whatever You Say I Am ... " it was feared that the Arctic Monkeys' had jumped the gun a bit by releasing another album so soon and on the first few listens, this sounded a tad weak.

After letting this grow on you for a while though and its clear that Alex Turners song writing genius continues, supported by a tight band on a mission.

The beauty of "Favourite Worst Nightmare" is that your favourite track never seems to be the same on consecutive listens. Kicking off with the first single "Brianstorm", followed by "Teddy Picker" sets a hell of a pace that doesn't let up until the half-time whistle signalled by "Only One Who Knows".

The second half kicks off with one of the slow burners, and my favourite track on the album "Do Me a Favour" and the whole thing wrapped up with the sublime "505".

I heard many people say that this was a disappointment after the first album but this needs some work and patience like all great albums.

Stick with it, its a blinder !!!

Albums of 2007

2007-12-21T14:25:00.000Z

Instead of just emailing a dull list of my favourite albums of the year (or trying to remember them while pished like I normally do !!!) I'm going to list my top 10 in reverse order in the next few posts.

I'm aware that the reverse order bit is a bit naff but, hey, if you can't be naff on your own blogsite at crimbo time, just when can you be naff?

I'll list my numerous notable mentions after the number one ... just to add to the general levels of naffness !!!!

Intelligent debate on the relative merits of my choices would be welcomed .... but I won't hold my breath !!!!

Cue the Top of the Pops theme tune ....

Dirty Van Graffiti #1

2007-11-30T15:41:00.000Z

Laughed out loud today when sitting behind white van man in a boggin' van with some graffiti scrawled in the dirt proclaiming:

"Let's go enthusiastic ... like"

Made my rainy Friday

Long Time, Nae Post ….

2007-11-19T20:56:00.000Z

As usual with stuff like Bebo, there’s an initial enthusiasm, lots of activity and then things kinda dry up … it was my enthusiasm that dried up, not the lack of things to post about !!!!

I’m not going to fill in all the blanks from the past few months (who cares?, Ed.) … but to summarise the musical highlights I’ve not posted about:

Connect Festival:

Fantastic … aside from the mud, the walk from the car park to the camp site, the mud, the excessive alcohol and, er, the mud !!!

Stormin sets included The Jesus & Mary Chain, Beastie Boys, Mogwai, Echo & the Bunnymen, Teenage Fanclub, Rio Kiley, CSS and Aereogramme’s last ever set.

They say The Cure and My Bloody Valentine for next year ….. what Mud ????

Ian Brown @ Caird Hall, Dundee:

He can’t sing ... he can’t … but he’s Ian Brown … great gig !!!

The Wedding Present @ Fubar, Stirling:

The best band in the history of the world tour again and this time celabrate 20 years since the release of their George Best album. Mid set, they played “George Best” all the way through … ah the memories !!!

The Fratellis @ AECC, Aberdeen:

Average ….

The Foo Fighters @ AECC, Aberdeen:

Gig of the year so far, Grohl’s a showman alright … and I think he genuinly enjoyed himself !!!

Planned gigs for the rest of 2007:

Kings of Leon @ AECC, Aberdeen
Manic Street Preachers at The Music Hall, Aberdeen
Ian Brown @ AECC, Aberdeen

Those are 3 nights in a row !!!!

Then Arctic Monkeys AECC, Aberdeen on 14 AND 15 December !!!!

2007-08-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

4 sleeps til connect ....

The line ups just about finalised and the weather looks promising ... tent's bought and trial erected (fnarr !) ... 6 man tent for two of us including 2 separate internal domes and a beer stash communal area in the middle.

I went all sensible yesterday and bought waterproof & thermal socks (twenty five bleedin' quid ), some gators and a battery LED lantern ... I'm sorted !

Heading to Livingston to kip with Tony on Thursday night (a few practice beers nae doubt) and then head to Inverary first thing Friday to get the tent set up and meet up with Stephen C.

Must see bands so far:

Friday

The Aliens
Aereogramme (last ever gig)
Jesus & Mary Chain
Beastie Boys

Saturday

Rilo Kiley
The Only Ones
The Hold Steady
Teenage Fanclub
Mogwai
Modest Mouse

Sunday

Patrick Wolf
Aqualung
Tilly and the Wall
M.I.A.
Paul Hartnoll
LCD Soundsystem
Idlewild

+ the bonus of the midnight to 2am DJ sets by Mogwai on Friday and Mani from Primal Scream on Saturday.

Add to that the setting, the specialist beer / wine / whiskey / cider tents and the fact I'm off work on Monday & Tuesday and I reckon this will be a good one.

Now if Red Star can win tomorrow and the 'tic on Wednesday then there will be proof indeed that Carlsberg do last weeks in August ...

Hollibags '07 USA - The Story So Far ...

2007-06-15T20:43:00.000+01:00

Now, don't start with all that "why's the saddo writing to his blog when he's on holiday ??" nonsense ... the truth is, its 30 odd degrees outside, I've just eaten a huge (even by Yank standards) sandwich and I needed the respite in this air conditioned haven ... its was either write to the blog or sleep !!

We traveled down to Florida from New York yesterday and I had my first ever drive on the right experience to get us from Tampa airport to Bradenton ... yip, I know I must have led a sheltered life having gotten this old without having to drive on the right but I'm not too proud to admit it ... thanks to the trusty TomTom we arrived with no problems and made straight for the local fat bastard steak house and then the supermarket for lashings of Sam Adams lager and cheap wine ... then back to the villa to catch the premier of the new season of Rescue Me on FX.

New York was as mental as ever ... on our last visit in 2004 I discovered John’s Pizza on 45th and 7th which was, bare none, the best pizza ever ... this time round, not only did we go back but we went back twice ... those visits, plus Carmines and Virgils means that I'll need to be in the gym every night for the rest of the summer just to get back down to moderately overweight

When we were in Virgils (just off Times Square) Nicola spotted Ian Brown walking in with his entourage ... after calming down from the excitement of being in the presence of a legend, I went up to say hello and ask if I could get a photo with him once he'd finished his meal ... on his way out, he stopped by the table, had a chat and Nicola took the photo you can see in the New York 2007 photo album Turns out he's in NYC mixing his new album. I pulled him up on not playing Aberdeen on his current tour but he tells me they have a date at the AECC lined up for December its just not announced yet ... you heard it here first !!

I thought the hollibags couldn't get much more eventful that that but today, we were in the Publix supermarket in Bradenton topping up the Sam Adams lager and cheap wine stocks when I was asked for ID to prove I was over 21 !!!

We went to a Broadway show on the last night in NYC (The Pirate Queen) which cost us $111 a ticket !!! Even worse, we were all so knackered I think most of us had forty winks in the second half !!!

My next update to the hollibags blog will no doubt read something along the lines of "eat food, drank beer and wine, vegged, got burnt ..." So don't wait up ...

:-)

'Mon the Hollibags

2007-06-02T20:40:00.000+01:00

This time next week its off to New York for 4 days followed by 10 days in Florida

... none oh yer Orlando shite though ... apparantly we're staying in a more genuine part of hurricane central ... which kinda means "Mark, yer drivin 100 miles again today" !!!)

Not much lined up this year to rival seeing Mogwai in San Francisco last year although we're off to the NY Yankees game next Sunday ... dancer, $8 beers and a bunch of fatter bastards than me chanting "lets go Yankees" ... ye cannae whack it !!!

BTW ... bird table / seeder jobbie was a disaster ... it appeared to attract the crow cast from Omen to visit my back garden each morning at approx 5am and wake everyone in the street ... check out the upcoming 'For Sale' post on Acergy's bulletin board (beats ads for Singing Kettle tickets mind you).

Anyone catch Silversun Pickups on Jools tonight? No? Of course they didn't ... I'M SPEAKING TO MYSELF again !!! Oh well ... two words ... therapy !

Night Night ...

Whur's The Burdz?

2007-05-26T20:36:00.000+01:00

We got a bird feeding table type thingy today ... perhaps the pinnacle of domestic bliss or maybe the Beechgrove syndrome gone mad ... who knows ?

Question is ... how do you know if the burdz appreciate the gesture ???

I thought of creating a sign in book for the burdz, you know the type of thing:

- what type of burd are you (sparrow, crow, massive devil burd) that type of thing ...

- were you satisfied with the range of nutz 'n' seedz on offer?

But clearly that was silly ...

So .....

Offers of help to help the burdz appreciated ...

I'll post any photies of burdz at the table if I see them ...

Otherwise ...

Happy Birthday to me in 40 mins ...

Typing after 2 beers, 2 large glasses of red and a bottle of bubbly is hard man .. really, really hard !!!

Hello? Anyone there?

2007-05-14T20:32:00.000+01:00

It was a long weekend, a drab 2-1 win for Celtic over the team supported by Neil Lennon's favorite Ovis Aries worriers (not quite his words, but you get the drift ) ... much wine on Saturday evening and a few beers in the Edinburgh pubs watching the climax (it wasn't that good though !) of the English tediumship ...

Not many ways better to finish off such a weekend that catching Mogwai live ... those who haven't yet witnessed the Mogwai live phenomenon (I told you I'd be OTT ) can only but imagine the juxtaposition of ear bleeding noise and geniusly structured pieces of post-rock subtlety (are you reading this NME boys ???!!!!)

This was my first visit to The Liquid Rooms and was well surprised at how compact the place was ... this was going to be loud !!!

Support was by The Magnificents who appear to be a strange fusion of Joy Division, Talking Heads and some modern day electronica (see LCD Soundsystem et al).

The Mogwai set was flawless and included "Superheroes of BMX", "Friends of the Night", the best rendition of "Ratts of the Capital" I've ever heard and a storming version of “Ex-Cowboy”.

Bang in the middle of all this we were introduced to Aiden Moffat (formally of Arab Strap and now L. Pierre) who provided vocals for "R U Still in 2 It?".

An encore of "Glasgow Mega Snake" followed by "We're No Here" and then the obligatory 15 minutes of noise rounded off a superb set.

Nae "Auto Rock" Stephen ... you’re gonna have to get that Connect ticket after all !!!

Aereogramme Split Up ...

2007-05-12T20:28:00.000+01:00

Maybe its something I said earlier ???!!!

Anyone going to see Biffy Clyro should make sure they get along early to see Aereogramme's final shows ... see what you've missed !!!

From nme.com:

Aereogramme split up

The Scots post-rockers call it a dayScottish rockers Aereogramme have split up, citing "the never-ending financial struggle coupled with an almost superhuman ability to dodge the zeitgeist" as their reasons.

The band, signed to Glasgow's influential Chemikal Underground label (sometime home of Mogwai and The Delgados), had only just returned to the public eye in January of this year after a four-year absence with their fourth album 'My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go', which received largely positive reviews.

In a statement posted on their MySpace site last Friday (May 9), the band said:

"It is with heavy hearts that we tell you all that Aereogramme have decided to split up. Reasons are multiple and complex. It is however fair to say that the never-ending financial struggle coupled with an almost superhuman ability to dodge the zeitgeist have taken their toll, ensuring that we just don't have any fight left in us. We are immensely proud of the four albums that we made over the past seven years. We hope that they continue to grow in your hearts. We plan to honour and celebrate the beautiful friendships we have made along the way with (our) final shows over the summer.

"We would like you all to consider our headline show at the QMU in Glasgow to be our farewell UK show and to view the Connect Festival in Inverary as a damn fine opportunity for everyone to see The Jesus And Mary Chain. Finally we want to thank you all for listening to our music and coming to our shows over the years. You have given us a glimpse of something truly special. Aereogramme. x."

Aereogramme's final shows are:

Aberdeen Music Hall (May 30)
Edinburgh Potterow (31)
Glasgow Barrowlands (June 1)
Glasgow QMU (16)
Scheesel Hurricane Festival (23)
Neuhausen Southside Festival (24)
Grossefehn Omas Teich Festival (July 27)
Inverary Connect Festival (August 31)

2007-05-11T20:25:00.000+01:00

A couple of big events lined up for the weekend ...

Firstly sees my last visit to Celtic Park as a season ticket holder which happens to coincide with Neil Lennon's last home game in a Celtic Shirt ... there will be tears before bed time ... and they won't be for Neil !!!

Secondly, I'm off to see Mogwai at The Liquid Room in Edinburgh on Sunday ... if you thought I was OTT over Aereogramme & The Lemonheads, ah'll be wipin' ma seat writing about Mogwai

................................ does anyone read this shite ????

Gig Review: The Lemonheads @ The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen - Wednesday 9 May 2007

2007-05-10T20:20:00.000+01:00

It takes a brave band, or Evan Dando, to let a stormin' support act go on before you ... Evan allowed The Icarus Line to play before The Lemonheads on Wednesday and some tube reporter from the Evening Express had the audacity to print that they over-shadowed Even et al ... mate, yer maw !!!

Those who consider Evan a god .. just me then ???? ... expected some blaze of glory entrance on the night but we got some shy, retiring gadgy in a hat wandering on stage with the acoustic while the warm up tape was still playing ... "hey, I'm .. eh ... good to be here" is not the opening words that were expected !!!

A solo, acoustic offering of "Hard Drive" from his solo album opened the night and we felt that a quiet set was to come ... nope, the rest of the band joined after that and we were promised a set of "country, rock 'n' roll, emo & punk rock ... " and that's what we got ... after some impromptu George Bush piss taking !!

The set was mainly taken from "Its a Shame About Ray", "Come on Feel ... " and the new, stunning, eponymous album .. there was some stuff from "Car Button, Cloth" too but the less said about that the better ("The Outdoor Type" aside).

The band trooped off around 11:45 and left Evan to run through some acoustic stuff that included a genius, instant reaction to a crowd request for "Big Gay Heart" ... at around 11:55 he announced that he was being pulled and that "there must be some disco going on or something ... ", no Evan, its Wednesday, midnight and the crowd all need their bed coz their 30 something professionals, not the wide eyed, drug fuelled indie kids of the late 80's your used to !!!

The band came back on for a quick blast of "Rudderless" and then it was over ... brilliant it was, utterly brilliant

... and no "Mrs Robinson" ... thank Christ for credibility maintenance :-)

Its Lemonheads Day !!!

2007-05-09T20:16:00.000+01:00

Once in a while Aberdeen gets to host bands of legend status ...

2007 has already seen The Fall at The Tunnels for two nights in a row.

Tonight, we get to see The Lemonheads at, you've guesssed it, The Lemon Tree !!! ... once more for the cheap seats ... ITS THE LEMONHEADS @ THE LEMON TREE !!!

I'll no doubt write a dodgy review later tonight / tomorrow ...

Gig Review: Aereogramme @ The Tunnels, Aberdeen - Friday 4 May 2007

2007-05-05T20:00:00.000+01:00

Just got into Aereogramme in the last few months and realised they were playing Aberdeen soon ... that flies in the face of my usual experiences of just getting into a band the week after they play a gig I can actually get to !!!

I had two great fears for this gig:

1) that no-one would come with me !! and

2) they might actually be shite live !!!!

Thank's to Eric's willingness to take a risk (and the fact that Sarah was probably actually already booked to go out that night !!! ... he came along to address fear 1).

Fear 2) was also blown away thanks to a storming set.

The usual "why are these guys not massive?" question was easily answered on this occasion when they took the stage ... they are NOT an MTV friendly band in that they are predominantly large hairy blokes ... but they are a shit hot band.

Post set, I harangued one of the band to let me know who left the answer phone message at the end of the recorded version of "A Simple Process of Elimination" and why they hadn't played it live ... I also tried to get him to confirm they were playing the Connect festival in August and I think he said they were just to get rid of me !!! I did buy a T-shirt though !!!

The evening was rounded off with too many beers and falling asleep in the taxi on the way home !!!