Recently, The Maccabees have been playing a cover of I Am Kloot’s “Because” during their live sets. See. This past Saturday at their show in Manchester (as part of the Shockwaves NME tour), the boys got to play “Because” live with none other than Mr. Johnny Bramwell. Obviously I wasn’t there, but by the looks of things it was pretty epic:

The NME Awards Tour kicked off in Newcastle on Thursday night and I was lucky enough to have won some tickets, so after queueing for an inordinate amount of time amongst thousands of 14 year-olds and being charged an insane amount for two beers the lovely Cat and I stepped into the breach.

First up were The Drums who all looked a picture of completely uninterested ‘New York Cool’ apart from singer Jonathan Pierce who flailed about like an outrageously camp Ian Curtis for the entire set. They’re an odd beast, The Drums – after loving ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ so fervently, each song I’ve heard after that seems a variation on a theme rather than a different idea, and that quickly manifested itself in their set as well. It was samey, not entirely in a bad way, but enough to make you forget which song is which. My main gripe was the fact that they used recorded whistling and handclap sounds from their album tracks rather than actually doing it onstage, which just seemed a bit confusing and lazy to be honest. It was all over rather quickly and the crowd seemed receptive enough, but as far as warm up acts go, they weren’t the best I’ve seen.

The Big Pink were up next, arriving onstage in darkness and smoke to the lilting sound of Cypress Hill’s ‘I Wanna Get High’ before launching into a set at least twice as loud as the previous one, blasting out their 90s rock/shoegaze collage in a haze of panning spotlights and constant UV light. It was certainly quite a show, and bloody fun to watch, but the crowd were really only interested in one song, the rather irritating ‘Dominos’, and after that finished they quickly lost interest. It made me wonder whether when I was that age if I would only care about one song by a band – I really hope I wasn’t that fickle.

After a whirlwind changearound by the roadies, Bombay Bicycle Club shambled onstage, looking more like the crowd members around me than a band that got the reception they did. It might have something to do with their youth, but BBC got a huge reaction from the young’uns, despite not having any obvious hits or street cred. Whatever the reason, the band quickly whipped the crowd into a frenzy, concentrating on their heavier material (‘Magnet’ was brilliantly loud) and amping it up early in the set. The best thing about BBC is just how uncool they are, there was none of the pretense of the last two bands, they made no attempt to have an ‘image’ or to conceal their excitement, when the music got heavier they thrashed around like they were dancing in their bedrooms, laughing and smiling with each other. It’s nice to see a band who just love what they’re doing, and don’t want to project anything else other than that. It also helps when you’ve got a set of brilliant songs, without a moment of filler – ‘Evening/Morning was as spectacular as ever and ‘Always Like This’ worked its dance groove magic on everyone in the place. The band left to huge cheers and with smiles on every face in the room.

Headlining tonight’s entertainment was everyone’s favourite lovelorn rapscallions, The Maccabees, who bounded onstage, took up their instruments and proceeded to prove why they were top of the bill. I’ve watched the band a fair few times now, but this was as loud and energetic as I’ve ever seen them. They seemed supremely confident, knowing that they can use material from both albums and get a good reaction from either. I forgot just how loud and intricate some of their music is too; when three guitars are used at once you can really notice the change in noise, and when that’s further backed up by a mini brass section the sound just gets bigger and bigger. Bouncing between hits from both albums, we were kept guessing what was next. From the sheer speed of ‘X-Ray’ to the glorious high points of ‘Can You Give It’, all the songs we wanted were there. As it turned out though, one of the high points came from an album track I’d not given much of a listen to – ‘One Hand Holding’ helped open their set with an impassioned singalong from the whole band and an energy that characterised the rest. This was a band on top of their game and knowing it, belting out every song with the passion only a true belief in their work can produce, and as they finished their set with ‘No Kind Words’, a cover of Orange Juice’s ‘Rip It Up’ and ‘Love You Better’ they proved to us and themselves that they deserved to be NME’s top choice for this tour.

The Drums – I Felt Stupid (YSI)
The Big Pink – Velvet (YSI)
Bombay Bicycle Club – Magnet (YSI)
The Maccabees – One Hand Holding (YSI)

Biblical indie group team up with top UK hip hop artist to give their lead vocalist some time off;).

Thursday saw the first date of the latest NME showcase come to the O2 Academy in Newcastle. The line up consisted of three up and coming bands who are looking to build on successful 2009s going into this year, with veritable granddads of the scene (by comparison to the others) The Maccabees as headliners. The Drums, The Big Pink and Bombay Bicycle Club all released debut albums or EPs in the second half of last year to critical acclaim. Would they live up to their records in a live setting?

I arrived at the academy at 7.45pm to find queues right round the back of the building, so I did the obvious thing and went to the pub. However upon getting into the gig at 8.15pm, The Drums were already playing their last song, ‘Forever and Ever’. It sounded good but I was annoyed I didn’t get to hear the singles ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ and ‘I Felt Stupid’.

Next up were The Big Pink and I have to admit that despite hearing plenty of good things about their debut ‘A Brief History of Love’, I have not yet heard it. They started amidst a mass of strobes and feedback and the first song was very impressive and I can see why many people mention obvious shoegaze influences, specifically My Bloody Valentine. Next they played a cover of ‘Cannonball’ by The Breeders, which didn’t fit entirely into the rest of the set. Live, the duo are supplemented with a drummer and a bassist, although they still relied on programmed beats which sometimes sounded superfluous and unnecessary. ‘Dominoes’ was predictably played last and even more predictably the crowd went mad. It is a good song though.  A mixed bag overall.

Bombay Bicycle Club were afforded a longer set as main support and filled it with choice cuts from their debut album ‘I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose’. There was little stage banter between the songs choosing to focus on a tight and frenetic set. The best crowd response was reserved for ‘Always Like This’ and the closer, with its appropriate lyrics for the end, ‘Cancel On Me’. I really like the album and they didn’t disappoint me live, not appearing at all fazed for a band so young.

The Maccabees played a slightly shorter set than last time they were in town due to the four band bill, but they showcased the best tracks from both ‘Colour It In’ and ‘Wall of Arms’. They opened with ‘William Powers’, the set slowed down in the middle for the ever popular ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ and they closed with ‘First Love’ followed by ‘No Kind Words’. They returned to the stage and surprised me massively by playing a cover of ‘Rip It Up‘ by indie pop forefathers Orange Juice. It was a nice addition to the set although most of the crowd seemed unfamiliar with the track. ‘Love You Better’ rounded off a set where the musicianship was consistently excellent and Orlando’s voice was as strong as ever.  The Maccabees are a very proficient and entertaining live band these days and a great choice for the headline spot on this tour.

I had to check this one out ‘cos I really like these 2. They both have the knack of making really good pop with depth (examples below).   I’m not sure about the collaboration tune yet, but at least it got me remembering these amazing Roots lyrics.

The Maccabees featuring Roots Manuva – Empty Vessels

Some say I’m arrogant, some say I’m laid back

From a council flat payin’ higher rate tax

Who’s the daps, who’s the geez, must be me, Manuva MC

With a second LP, for all of the girls I got the vitality

Then you should say nothing more at all.

Today’s post will be both the “serious” one and the music post. Inspired by The Maccabees’ song “No Kind Words” that had me thinking about it’s chorus “If you got no kind words to say, then you should say nothing more at all.”.

This sentence seem so true to me, but at the same time so false. One of my life philosophies is that you always have to speak your mind, no matter how hurtful or mean this can be. But after listening I started thinking “What if not everyone can take the truth?”, and it seemed fair enough to assume that. So it comes down to either abandoning your principles, or potentially hurting people you care about. Of course if your idiosyncrasy is to just be an ass, and not to just be true, then there is no conflict. You should change that.

The real dilemma lies in the other case, when you do not have malevolent intentions, but rather be a realist and objective. I am still at a loss concerning this matter, as my feelings for truth are pretty strong, but so are my feelings for people I care. This has me behaving differently from time to time and/or person to person, as I can’t figure out what should be done. I guess the only line I can draw is whether the one at the receiving end can handle the pressure or not. If yes then fire away, otherwise you better zip it…

Playing two songs from Wall Of Arms. Can not wait for The Maccabees’ next album.

bright young things.
sugars & spices, slices & dices.

lovelove.
nazzie(:

As far as normal work days go working in the world of leakage detection you don’t tend to get many. But even by my standards Tuesday was random. It began on Slough Trading Estate and ended in London with a kebab.

The office as featured in The Office

Now, I don’t mean to be harsh on Slough but I can’t imagine many people have great days that begin in Slough. It’s what’s commonly known as a shit town. A concrete annexe of London that’s essentially just an enormous trading estate. But this is where my great day began. Eddie Sheldon was also in Slough delivering a car and, rather randomly we discovered, that we were sat less than 300 yards from each other. In his brief sojourn to STE (Slough Trading Estate, come on, get with it) he was keen to seek out The Office (the office block where the opening scenes of the TV show were shot).

I was delighted to direct him on his way knowing full well that I was going there myself in the afternoon to check for leaks. I defy any Office fan to see that building without grinning, quoting some lines and spending the rest of the day singing Hand bags and glad rags.

While Eddie was down the pub with the Swindon lot I moved onto London for the evening’s entertainment. Rather fortuitously managed to get on the guest list for a Mercury Music Prize Session featuring  The Rumble Strips & The Maccabees at the very exclusive (I’ve since found out) Hospital Club in Covent Garden courtesy of Twiglet’s brisk response to a competition on Twitter. So I was heading to meet Lisa (as Twig couldn’t make it he gave us the tickets. Cheers Twig). £7.50 on the train from Slough. Bargain, or so I thought. But it only took 17 minutes which works out at 43p per minute of travel. Making it, cost per minute, cheaper to fly to Sydney. First Great Western operates a tight ship (train) and Brunel built a smashing railway but I certainly think a flight to Sydney represents better VFM than a trip from Slough to London.

No pictures of the Magna Carta allowed. But this is the British Library from the outside.

Once in London I took up my favourite position on the bus (top deck, front row FYI) and got into my usual habit of thinking that everywhere you look you’re going to see a famous person. First up, England rugby union coach Martin Johnson. What followed was rather unexpected; I got off the bus to have a closer look. It wasn’t him. Fortunately though I was now at Euston where I bumped into Greg Wallace from Masterchef and Winni Mandela*. Now further from my destination than I hoped I elected to walk the rest of the way to save £1.20 (20% price hike for 2010 on pay as you go Oyster, thanks Boris just because you’ve got a bike) and to waste the spare hour that I had. Next unexpected occurrence, I found myself in the British Library. I do love a free exhibition and noted that they were showing the Magna Carta. Tick! Job done, time effectively wasted, onto the gig.

*Not really.

The Maccabees in good voice

Having had our names checked off the guest list we soon discovered that the bar was free. Or as I like to put it: as much bottled beer as you can drink in 2 hours. Positioned equidistant between the bar and the stage we were treated to a splendid array of upbeat indie from The Rumble Strips then the headliners The Maccabees. Now, bless them, they’re doing alright for themselves the Maccabees but it was pretty clear that their hearts weren’t really in it and that the lead singer and the rhythm guitarist had had a good session on the beak before getting on stage. To be fair to them though, it was still a good show and the crowd (a mix of prize winners and toff nosed industry twats) weren’t really giving them much in response. Apart from Lisa & I who seemed to be doing everyone elses drinking for them. It was over by 9pm so we toddled off back to Stokey for a regulation kebab and bed. Excellent. Wish everyday was like Tuesday.

Lisa with the wide eyed guitarist Felix White

So if you read this blog you know that from time to time I get quite lazy about posting on it.  My sincere apologies.  Sometimes I love doing it and sometimes it feels like a chore.  I also wanna share quality music.  I have noticed that alot of other blogs will post some rather uninspirational music.  My question is why?  I suppose it is one of those to each their own kinda things.

-

Since I have not posted in some while I am gonna put a generous amount of tracks for you to sample.  I guess I will try to redeem my laziness with bulk.  Also I am gonna post some hip hop tracks that I have been digging as of late.  Hip hop is not something that I generally post but I think you will appreciate these tracks.  Enjoy.

-

Jay Electronica – Exhibit C

Chiddy Bang – The Opposite of Adults

Kardinal Offishall – Clear (Skratch Bastid Remix)

A-Trak ft. Lupe Fiasco – Mastered

Meat Katie vs. Friends Of Mine – Which Way Are You Looking

The Juan Maclean – No Time (Shit Robot Remix)

The Knife w/ Mt. Sims and Planningtorock – Colouring Of Pigeons

The Maccabees – No Kind Words

Wild Beasts – All The King’s Men

Spoon – Written In Reverse

Cosmo Jarvis – She’s Got You

Vampire Weekend – Cousins

The Maccabees featuring Roots Manuva:

Listen, love it, buy it.

Yes, it’s the inaugural list for what is surely the most coveted award in the entire music industry… The Soulside Funk Award!!!! So without further ado let’s go!

Mamas Gun… Mamas Gun… Mamas Gun… according to Last.fm they had (at least) 655 plays (through my PC and iPod) over the last twelve… and lets not forget the months the CD sat in my car – think its still there to be honest!

Speech wins it because I never thought the UK Hip-Hop scene could give us an album like this, full of originality,  personal heartache, and instrumentally organic and pure.

The Indie music awards goes to The Maccabees.  I love Orlando Weeke’s attention to detail in songwriting – the way he describes the little simple things in life makes the music heartwarming and you gotta love the machine gun drumming on most tracks.  Oh, and their cover of Boom Boom Pow still has me in stitches and Wall of Arms was on the shortlist for album of the year.

The Randomness award goes to Beth Jeans Houghton for that wig… it still gives me nightmares even now!  Joke is she actually has a really nice head of hair!

I really should not like The Saturdays as much as I do… Frighteningly I might be turning into a fan, which is wrong on so many levels.  Still, of all of my pop fetishes in 2009, they were both my guiltiest and most enjoyable.

I still find it hard sometimes to comprehend just how good this concert was – I think I was dreaming or something.  It had everything; emotion, funk, energy, and thinking about her performance of Golden still sends shivers down my spine.

I will always remember 2009 as the year I discovered Mamas Gun.  Their live shows were among the best and the album was on constant repeat on Spotify, on the iPod, on iTunes, in my car….  I genuinely feel my life has improved by 37.2% because I have their music in my world.

Eric Roberson is Neo-Soul.  From his songwriting to his unrivalled live shows he has stood head and shoulders above his peers for a longtime.  Add to that the fact he has time for all of his fans, spending hours upon hours after gigs signing CDs and chatting with them he is a shining example to everyone in the music industry!  That is why he gets the MUCH KARMA AWARD for Lifetime Achievement!

Soulside Funk

Realized that I never made a Best of 2009 list. So I decided to make one. Late? Yepp.

——————————————————————————————————————

1. – The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms

This was an easy decision to make for me. It’s the only album that I never put down since it came out. They took the sound they had established on their debut album, Colour It In, and expanded it. This album is a little less punk influenced, and a little more dark and mature. Singer Orlando Week’s vocals changed up slightly. But if anything they improved. His lyrics were great as always. Love the drumming. Their old drummer left, but they found Sam Doyle who is equally as  talented. Every song flawless. Really love everything about this album. It’s a shame that this album isn’t on many lists this year. It’s classic.

2. –  KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon: The End Of Day

This album on the other hand, is on pretty much every list. And it deserved to be. CuDi did anything but disappoint. Even I was surprised at how good this album turned out to be. I’m sure everybody has heard it so I don’t really need to go into detail. But what I love most about it is how relatable is. Those who don’t like the album argue that it’s not lyrical, and you know what? Correct. Because there’s too many rappers. Too many people can compare things using simple metaphors and similes. It’s not all that impressive anymore. KiD CuDi brought the emotion back into Hip Hop.

3. – Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Chances are you’ve heard some of their songs in movies and commercials over the years. But they’ve never really blown up. Couldn’t tell you why. They’ve always made really good songs and their albums have always gotten good ratings. Yet it’s been nine years since their debut album, United. And they still haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve. So fourth times a charm, right? Well let’s see. It’s their best album to date. It’s songs are the soundtracks to more commercials and movies than ever before. It’s critically acclaimed and Grammy nominated. And it’s about time.

4. – Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist

This band releases a good album every year. But Portugal is one of those rare cases where each album they release is better than the last. In fact. The only complaint that I have about this album is that it’s not long enough. Don’t get me wrong. It’s an average length for an album. But songs like “Guns And Dogs” are so good that you don’t want them to end. By the way. That’s got to be one of the ten best songs released in 2009. As you might have guessed from the cover, the album is out there. But it’s also so soulful. They make it work perfectly. Can’t wait for their ‘10 release.

5. – Mos Def - The Ecstatic

So thankful for the return of The Mighty Mos Def. It’s been a while since Mos released a legit ass Hip Hop album. It has been a decade actually. Well this album has got it all. Madlib, his brother Oh No, Slick Rick, Talib Kweli, the late J Dilla, and even Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. Just the way that Mos decided to open The Ecstatic is ridiculous. Listening to that, you know Mos wasn’t fucking around. And Hip Hop didn’t have much to brag about this year. Jay-Z and Wale were both huge disappointments. Cuban Linx II was pretty good. But I put that down after a week. So. It’s good to have Dante back.

Ed Schofield, 21, from Surrey is a budding photographer who is busy propelling himself from the kid taking pics of his mates to the guy making a career out of his passion. Having been a photographer for Banquet Records‘ indie club night, New Slang, for some time now; he has captured bands such as The Maccabees, Mystery Jets, Hot Chip and Example with his lens. His Flickr stream displays images from all over the world that he collected whilst travelling, and his latest project is launching online magazine, Mint. We predict big things, watch this space.

In November I went to the Editors concert in Vienna with deadra. They brought two supporting bands, Wintersleep and The Maccabees.

Wintersleep

For some reason, Wintersleep started to play 20 minutes before the concert was supposed to start (and usually it starts a half hour after the official time). Therefore, deadra and me only caught the last song. But I really like their newest album and they are well worth checking out if you don’t know them.

The Maccabees

The Maccabees on the other hand are not my cup of tea. All their songs sound the same and that gets tiring pretty quickly. [Honestly, at one point during their show, I turned to deadra and asked if they were playing the song for the second time. And I was not trying to be funny - I actually meant it.] Anyways, that one song is okay, it just makes for a rather one-dimensional band experience and I have to admit that we left after they started to play it for the fourth time.

In the ways of crowd-warming, neither supporting band would have been my first choice, but thankfully, the Editors can handle themselves in that regard. And they did.

Editors

I have to admit that I warmed to the Editors mostly through their newest album – though I do like the earlier albums, In This Light and On This Evening is, imo, their best work so far. deadra, on the other hand, is more into their older stuff. But they managed to satisfy us both – they played for almost two hours, the setlist being neatly divided between their three albums.

The stage and light design was pretty cool and though they interacted rather little with the audience (and when he did, he had a tendency to mumble so it was a little hard to understand), in this case, their music was more than enough to have the crowds dancing pretty much the whole time.

Tom Smith has an interesting dancing style (if you can call it dancing) and also a tendency to brachiate from microphone stand to microphone stand. I don’t think that I have seen him longer than a couple of seconds without a mic in his hands. It was pretty fascinating to watch.

Summarising, it was a good show, very danceabel and sing-along-y.

Here are few tracks I came across today. Enjoy.

La Roux — I’m not your toy (DatA remix) (stream)

Decoder Ring — Beat The Twilight (stream)

The Maccabees — Empty Vessels feat. Roots Manuva (stream)

Miami Horror — Sometimes (G.L.O.V.E.S. remix) (stream)

Breakbot — Make You Mine (stream)

And just to throw a curve ball in there, I’m going to include a little country. I hardly ever listen to country, but I actually really like this song:

Keith Gattis — Down Again (link)

thanks: ilicitronix, boom boom chik, sounds country

A cross genre collaboration is so often absolutely rubbish. Examples include the recent Kanye West collab with 30 Seconds to Mars (via The Smoking Section), it was garbage. Then again, Kanye can’t do much right at the moment.

Rule of thumb is that rappers don’t go with with indie. Kid Kudi’s giving it a good go, and did well when he joined forces with MGMT. But still, it normally doesn’t interest me much.

That changed however when I heard the rework The Maccabees did of their brilliant song, No Kind Words with Roots Manuva. The song is called Empty Vessels and it is a great cross over, for once.

A rapper needs a good uniform beat and a tune that doesn’t over power his lyrics. And that, it turns out, is exactly what No Kind Words is capable of.

The song starts with the brilliant drum beat and a bit of guitar with Roots Manuva laying down his verse over the top. Suddenly the hench bass kicks in and you really start to feel it.

The song finishes with Orlando Weeks singing his chorus, “If you’ve got no kind words to say, you should say nothing more at all”, with Roots rapping his chorus, “Empty Vessels with a big old noise”.

It’s the best of both worlds. Though I personally would have called the song No Empty Kind Vessel Words.

The Maccabees- Empty Vessels (Featuring Roots Manuva)

After a long day of work, mixtape monday takes my mind off of everything that it has been consumed with for the past 9 hours.  As I lounge in my chair and tune on to the first episode of The Bachelor, the perfect sound of melodies fill the air.  This isn’t a mixtape about love or heartbreak; this is a mix about everything being the way it is for a reason.  Enjoy.

Side A: Your Words Have Been Repeated By Everyone

1. I Was Unconscious, It Was A Dream – Slow Club  ♫And your heart it aches for the lives that you will never lead
2. Chimes – Bowerbirds ♫ These are ancient songs that fill my body
3. Unavailable – Papercuts ♫ I’m sorry, but who are you
4. Niagara Falls – Harlem Shakes ♫We can drive all night till beneath new sun
5. Black Water Child – Fionn Regan ♫ Don’t hide your face in your hands, ’cause if your eyes play tricks,it’s outta my control
6. Gray or Blue – Jaymay ♫I’m with another boy; he’s asleep, I’m wide awake
7. Welcome to the Walk Alone – The Rumble Strips ♫Welcome to the walk alone; Come right on in, make yourself at home
8. What If – Bombay Bicycle Club ♫ If only one of us had the guts tonight
9. Leftovers – Johnny Flynn ♫ Leftovers is what I want; Don’t need no fine cuisine
10. Tree Bones – Port O’Brien ♫ Dressed up with my sister; I was a bat and she was a fly

Side B: We All Have the Same Feelings

1. First Love – Emmy the Great ♫ I remember how we met, but your name I forget like the door that I have kept unopened
2. Hardwood Pews – Horse Feathers ♫ Lovely ladies make pretty babies, it’s true
3. Blood Bank – Bon Iver ♫ There’s a moon waning crescent, we started to kiss
4. Tissue Shoulders – The Maccabees ♫ Never go on your own, never go. But when you go, Just try to find someone or other with the GPS turned on
5. Honey Won’t You Let Me In – The Tallest Man on Earth ♫As we cease to know where our fate will go; We won’t see the rivers tied up in the vines
6. Busted Heart – Bishop Allen ♫ I was born a stranger thinking out loud in a foreign tongue
7. I Promise – Jeremy Warmsley ♫ You are the dream that I forgot
8. Cosmic Love – Florence and the Machines ♫ A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes
9. Hooked Up On Us – Jay Jay Pistolet ♫ When our hands first intertwined and our lips first met
10. Wake – The Antlers ♫ Well you can come inside, unlock the door, take off your shoes.

And my time here is done.

-Krista

]]> http://recordgeekheaven.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-top-20-albums-of-2009/ Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:58:40 +0000 recordgeekheaven http://recordgeekheaven.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-top-20-albums-of-2009/

Honorable mentions: Noisettes “Wild Young Hearts”, Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest”, The Horrors “Primary Colours”, The Flaming Lips “Embryonic”, Atlas Sound “Logos”, Arctic Monkeys “Humbug”, M. Ward “Hold Time”, Yeah Yeah Yeahs “It’s Blitz!”, The Maccabees “Wall of Arms”, Fruit Bats “The Ruminant Band”, Tegan & Sara “Sainthood”, A.C. Newman “Get Guilty”, Passion Pit “Manners”, Regina Spektor “Far”, Sonic Youth “The Eternal”, Mastodon “Crack the Skye”, Circulatory System “Signal Morning”, Japandroids “Post-Nothing”, Lake “Let’s Build a Roof”, Manic Street Preachers “Journal for Plague Lovers”.

20. Future of the Left—Travels with Myself and Another

The most exciting punk rock band to emerge for quite some time, Future of the Left take the heavy, sludgy rhythm section assault of bands like The Jesus Lizard and combine it with their completely original, conversational lyrical delivery. Many of the lyrics on Travels sound as if they are referencing some obscure movies or short stories, but they are actually just the demented musings of Andy “Falco” Falkous. For instance, one person’s shame involving their family’s usage of plastic silverware is documented in “Stand by Your Manatee”. It’s the kind of stuff you would normally think is too weird to be fiction.

19. Polvo—In Prism

I never really listened to this band when they were active in the nineties, but this album caught my attention. After listening to it a couple times, I felt like it was the crazy, freak-ass guitar record I had been waiting for since Chavez’s Ride the Fader changed my life back in high school. Though it’s not on par with that record, In Prism is certainly some kickass rock and roll. The opening riff of “Right the Relation” makes me want to jump up and punch out the ceiling every time it comes on (to be specific, it has a lot of really cool “bendies”), and there are moments like that all over the record. My excitement led me to check out some older Polvo stuff, and I could only listen to it as the works that led up to In Prism. I may be biased, but this may be Polvo’s best record.

18. Jay Reatard—Watch Me Fall

After releasing a bunch of “limited edition” singles only to re-release all the songs on CD a year later, it’s no wonder 2009 saw a bit of a Jay Reatard backlash. I mean, people were really pissed after spending all their money on these 7” singles when the same songs were eventually made available in one easy-to-use package. When you think about it, it’s kind of a scammy business plan. However, I was not one of the unfortunate fans duped into this deal—in fact, Reatard was still pretty under my radar at that point, though I had purchased one of his records (Blood Visions). So, maybe I was one of the few people who didn’t roll their eyes at Watch Me Fall when it came out. It’s not an amazing album by any means, but it’s a good rock album, and it got a lot of play from me this year.

17. Sunset Rubdown—Dragonslayer

The songs on Dragonslayer are sprawling, and for the most part deviate from any common formula. This makes for an unpredictable and at times a frustrating experience, but the album’s real rewards come in the chemistry of Sunset Rubdown as a band. The production sounds very live and in-the-room, giving it all an off-the-cuff spontaneity that makes it sound like a record I have been waiting to hear for awhile—just a raw and honest representation of a pretty stellar rock band. Also, it’s one of the best guitar albums of the year. Some of those lead licks are insane.

16. White Rabbits—It’s Frightening

Especially when compared to the White Rabbits’ debut Fort Nightly, Britt Daniel’s production gives It’s Frightening more than just a little bit of a Spoon feel. It’s still undeniably a White Rabbits album—their pummeling drums/piano/guitar combo is taken to new and glorious highs on this record, the latter two often tracked together playing the same part, which gives all the riffs very heavy and metallic textures. But Daniel’s approach to recording the album—which seemingly involved leaving all available tracks open, as well as lots of tape tricks—definitely gives it the dark, experimental air of a Spoon project. With these powers combined, however, the end product is a unique one.

15. Das Pop—Das Pop

Unabashed, insanely catchy pop from Belgium—count me in! It contains some of my favorite songs of the year, like “Underground”, “Wings”, “Saturday Night Pt. 1”, “The Last Thing”, and “September”. Unfortunately, a lot of the songs are forgettable, or downright bad. If Das Pop could have come up with three more amazing tunes to throw on here, this album would have made it to the top five. The songs try to combine power pop song structures and ideas with disco-influenced production, so one can understand how it could be a hit-or-miss affair. When it hits, though, it’s a pretty freakin’ good time.

14. Stardeath & White Dwarfs—The Birth

“Smokin’ Pot Makes Me Not Want to Kill Myself” could wind up being the anthem for a new generation of rocker kids. “It’s not in our mind, and we’re not wasting each other’s time,” sings Dennis Coyne (yes, he is the nephew of Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips). It’s really more of an acoustic stoner jam than a rock song, but considering the fact that rock music is being re-interpreted by several new crops of forward thinking artists, Stardeath’s interpretation of the “rock anthem” could wind up working as well as anyone else’s. “Age of the Freak” could be a song like that as well. When Coyne sings “Love has always been your greatest fear,” there’s something that feels so dead-on about that statement.

13. Children—Hard Times Hanging at the End of the World

The best metal album of the year, hands down. I know Mastodon’s Crack the Skye was a pretty important metal album this year, and I’m not denying the greatness of that record. But for me, metal is best when it walks the thin line between itself and punk rock. I like my metal raw and under-produced, blasted out live in the studio, with very little frills or processors or anything of that nature, and so much metal of today REEKS of that shit. That’s why this album was such a breath of fresh air for me this year. Every song on Hard Times is an epic guitar freak out (with the exception of the title track, which is an acoustic segue), as relentless as the music of the Fucking Champs, but with VOCALS!

12. The Antlers—Hospice

My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, but fortunately she is in remission now. I think when I first tried to listen to this album, however, she was still undergoing treatment, and I wasn’t ready for it. I mean, in any case, a concept album about someone dying of bone cancer is not one that a lot of people are going to breeze through. But if you can open your mind to experiencing Hospice, it will be worth it. Initially, there’s just so much about it that’s unsettling as hell—lyrically, you have the bone cancer and the dying, and musically, you have the sonic equivalent of that, I guess. There are a lot of grating electronic noises and things of that sort, not to mention an overall feeling of hopelessness. But underneath it all are some really terrific songs, like the childlike “Bear” and the mysteriously wordy “Two”.

11. Wilco—Wilco (The Album)

People are starting to discredit Wilco, and that makes me sad. Maybe they aren’t making Yankees and Summerteeths anymore, but they are still one of the five best bands on the planet. Furthermore, Wilco (The Album) is the best thing they have done since Yankee, if only because of the tragic epic that is “Bull Black Nova”. “This can’t be undone,” sings Jeff Tweedy, and even though the song is about a guy who kills his girlfriend, this line kind of sums up Tweedy’s attitude about his music these days. He’s not trying to one-up himself anymore—with this incarnation of Wilco, it’s all about finding a common ground between the group’s members, and figuring out a way to play to everyone’s strengths. That’s kind of what you have to do when you have a band of people as talented as the musicians in Wilco, and I think they are doing just fine.

10. Kurt Vile—Childish Prodigy

He’s kind of like Elliott Smith meets Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, with a little Bruce Springsteen thrown in for good measure. But Kurt Vile’s debut full-length album, Childish Prodigy, represents all these sides at once, and thus becomes unlike most albums released this year. It’s kind of like painting—when you mix all the colors together, you get just kind of an ambiguous gray. The songs feel fragmented and tossed off, but have a relentless rock spirit to them. The opening track, “Hunchback”, is raunchy and bluesy without being too obvious about it, and there is enough of a unique swagger to it that keeps it light years away from anything cheesy. But Vile’s solo songs are usually the standouts—on the addictive “Overnite Religion”, or the eerily beautiful “Blackberry Song”, reverb and loop effects are used to add glorious textures. They just kind of wash over you, and that’s always fun.

9. Julian Casablancas—Phrazes for the Young

Casablancas goes even further into new wave territory with his debut solo album, but with how good 5 of the 8 songs are, I still trust him. “Left and Right in the Dark” may boast some Flock of Seagulls-style guitar delay, and “11th Dimension” may be pretty damn synth-heavy, but these songs have two of the best choruses of the year easily. “Forgive them, even if they are not sorry” (from “11th Dimension”) is one of my favorite lyrics of the year. Despite whatever production he decided to utilize for these songs, Casablancas is obviously still in top form as a songwriter. The one-two-punch of a closer that are “Glass” and “Tourist” round out one of the most impressive solo debuts of some time, the latter featuring some sweet guitar lines that emphasize an overall feeling of agoraphobia.

8. Girls—Album

Every year, there are a batch of albums that get hyped to the point of us wanting to choke on our own puke. We were fortunate in 2009, though, that many of these records were actually really great. Album was one of those. It was that perfect late-summer record for me, a time when I could smell fall coming and everything was transitioning over to that time of year. Album kind of mapped that transition out for me musically, in the way that the record starts out as one thing and shifts into a completely new thing, only to end up as an even more different third thing. It’s like taking a lo-fi, heartbroken tour of the last 50 years of music, all while in the comfort of your neighbor’s basement. Everyone talks about how awesome “Hellhole Ratrace” is, and I’m going to join in—it’s fucking awesome, an epic ode to the short time we have on this planet that is at once sad, yet also sounds anything but hopeless.

7. It Hugs Back—Inside Your Guitar

An album that deserved way more praise than it got, Inside Your guitar is about as subtle and unflashy of a rock record as one is bound to find. It didn’t get a lot of attention this year, and from the first listen, it’s easy to see why—the vocals are almost literally whispered, and everything from the production to the playing is incredibly low key. But many of the songs are downright masterful—“Work Day”, for example, should have been a big single, with its instantly hooky guitar riff. Most of these songs are simply too subtle to be bound for radio play, however. There have a shoegaze quality, but also a sense of playfulness—kind of like musical Vicodin.

6. Dinosaur Jr—Farm

Maybe Dinosaur Jr is simply repeating history. Since reforming, they have released one pretty good record (2007’s Beyond), one stellar record (this one), and there are already rumors floating around about tensions resurfacing within the band on tour. Think about it—DJ’s first album, 1985’s Dinosaur, was pretty good; their next album, 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me, was stellar; and by that time, they had already started throwing guitars at each other onstage. If this pattern continues, we can expect one more classic record from this lineup (per 1988’s Bug). If Dinosaur Jr implode before any of this, at least they will have left Farm in their wake, an album chock full of the glorious sound of seasoned rockers refusing to go out whimpering. As a songwriter, Mascis has developed a formula he does not stray from too often, but even that 90’s slacker persona he has cultivated and perfected over the years can’t hide how committed he is to this batch of songs. He even sounds invested in Lou Barlow’s songs, perhaps because Mascis realized they would be two of the album’s best. Here’s hoping that made him guffaw a little.

5. St. Vincent—Actor

Meet Annie Clark, my biggest head-trip crush since Bjork. Aside from being really, really hot, she also happened to make one of my top 5 favorite albums of the year, so that just makes it even more aaaahhhh, you know? Actor took some time to grow on me, though—it’s at times really beautiful, but it’s also got some really weird patches to it, parts that made me kind of wince for a little while. The end of “Black Rainbow”, for instance, is this huge orchestral build-up that’s all diminished and goes on for a really long time, and it always made me kind of uncomfortable. But once I realized how great the rest of the song was, everything came together nicely. Songs like “Save Me from What I Want”, “Actor out of Work” and “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood” were great enough to grab me right off the bat. Each of these songs you can just groove to, or rock the fuck out to, depending on your mood. It’s no surprise that Clark was influenced by Woody Allen and Disney films while making this record, because there are equal amounts of bright orchestral whimsy and human darkness to Actor.

4. Throw Me the Statue—Creaturesque

Compared to a lot of other albums on this list, Creaturesque sounds somewhat sloppy—everything from the production and execution of the songs to their sequencing just seems a little…off. But over time, I have come to believe the record was born out of necessity—maybe the band had a bunch of songs they really liked, but they were very different from each other, so they had to be inventive about putting it together as an album. I don’t know what really happened or anything, but whatever they did, it really worked. Creaturesque is appropriately titled because it is its own beast—hard to understand, and impossible to tame. It really picks up towards the middle, around when the pulse-quickening “Cannibal Rays” hits with its driving, linear drum pattern and sunburst synths. But through repeat listens, this whole album has become air-guitar-worthy in my heart.

3. Yo La Tengo—Popular Songs

This is the best album Yo La Tengo has put out in over a decade, and that is saying a hell of a lot when you look at their recent output—yes, I am aware of this. I have been listening to this band for a really long time, as many of their fans have, and I am still confident in my decision. It seems as if Yo La Tengo continue to understand music making more and more, yet continue to understand life and love less and less. Such is the plight of a music geek, I suppose, and there are three of them in this band. But when you think about it, it the world of rock and roll, this is a perfect formula for greatness—your musical chops develop, while your life chops deteriorate. You would be a constant song factory! This is not just any band, though, and considering how well the album represents their storied career, Popular Songs is an album only Yo La Tengo could make.

2. Animal Collective—Merriweather Post Pavilion

I think this album has helped me to keep an open mind whenever I listen to things now. Initially, it sounded like something I wouldn’t usually like, but for some reason, I could not stop listening to it. I had heard other Animal Collective albums, and was really surprised by how melodic MPP was in comparison to those. I’m a sucker for a good melody, so that could be why I like it so much. I also just really dig how AC figured out how to work their pop sensibilities into their experimentation—it gives more structure to everything, and they have managed to retain their charming weirdness. Merriweather’s opener, “In the Flowers”, is one of my top 3 favorite songs of the year. In the “Then we could be dancing” section, where the house-beat bass drum fades in over that shuffle rhythm—THAT is an amazing moment. It’s a totally original way to use something familiar, and it was especially awesome to hear that and like it in a time when the dance thing just seems so overdone. It seems that the goal of this record is to breathe new life into everything it touches, and more often than not, it succeeds.

1. Phoenix—Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Though it eventually stretched its reach into the mainstream and has become the sort of record heard in gas stations and supermarkets, this is definitely the album of the year for me. Perhaps it is because of the fact that, despite that it has become that kind of record, I’m still not really sick of it. In fact, I am very happy at how much momentum the record is gaining. It’s a really good sign that the pendulum of popular music may finally be swinging in our direction, something I have been waiting to happen for a very long time. And it makes sense why so many people like this record—it’s pretty much flawless. The first two songs—“Lisztomania” and “1901”—are the best singles of the year, tight and neatly assembled little packages of pop that explode from the stereo with glorious guitar patterns and driving rhythms. From there, Wolfgang doesn’t let up, but it does take the listener to unexpected places. The tension-building sound collage of “Love like a Sunset” gives way to the propelling drum and guitar duels of “Lasso”, one of the album’s best songs. It all rounds out with “Armistice”, which seems to be a reprise of every idea presented on the album while simultaneously acting as a cliffhanger for what is to come. After hanging around for all these years and putting out some downright compelling music, 2009 proved to be Phoenix’s year to shine, and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was the catalyst.

Yeah, I pretty much failed at life when it came to keeping up with my favorite-songs-of-the-year-advent-calendar idea. My bad. At first, it was easy to blame exams and schoolwork. But by the end of the month, my laziness was to blame. And life. I actually had what seemed like a life for a couple days there, it was weird.Then the holidays, can’t forget those.

New Year’s Resolution? Finish these posts and try not to neglect this poor blog. So, let’s roll. I will try to keep commentary to a minimum since there’s quite a few songs to go through.

14. Emmy The Great – Two Steps Forward
“Two Steps Forward” is yet another example of Emmy the Great’s songwriting talent. This is one of Emmy’s older songs that didn’t make it onto her debut album First Love, but it was included on the Edward EP released back in August. I highly recommend you watch the Black Cab Sessions performance of this song.

15. No Doubt – Stand and Deliver (Adam Ant cover)
This year, No Doubt returned and my heart could barely handle it. 2010 will (hopefully) see the band release a new album and I will get to experience more of this. YES PLEASE.

16. Jack Peñate – Let’s All Die
Who doesn’t love a good party jam about death? Hm? I wasn’t exactly head-over-heels for Peñate’s Everything Is New, but “Let’s All Die” was one of my favorite tunes from the album. It wasn’t until after seeing Peñate live that it definitely became my favorite from the album. It’s just too much fun.

17. Jamie T – Sticks ‘n Stones
For the longest time, I had this dinky little live recording of “Sticks N Stones” and of course I loved it, but I had no idea the power this song would have over me once my ears experienced a proper quality recording. HOLY SHIT. This song was born to be on repeat. When I feel like life is kicking my ass, “Sticks N Stones” is there to help me kick life right back, square in the balls. It’s like my own personal “Eye of the Tiger” but a million times better. People, there’s a reason Jamie T is KING.

18. Generationals – Nobody Could Change Your Mind
I like happy music. I really really do. And you know who made some damn good happy music this year? Generationals.

19. Slow Club – When I Go
There’s something very beautiful about the way Charles and Rebecca’s voices complement each other as they sing about back-up plans for love and life.

20. The Lullaby Club – Batman and Robin
The Lullaby Club were a 2009 musical discovery who are still quite a mystery to me. They were a random friend request on the ol’ myspace and for some odd reason instead of hitting the usual ‘ignore/delete’ button on band requests (like I did 98% of the time), I decided to click and have a listen. There was close to nothing on their page, just a link that led nowhere and a couple songs. And as luck would have it, the songs were rather good. If you’re a fan of the whole folk/pop/happiness thing, you might really dig them. There’s something quite familiar about the vocals and I’ve tried to find more information on the band, but my google searches have yielded nothing. If you know anything, please fill me in.

21. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
I think I’ve made my feelings about this song pretty clear on previous posts. Something about it being so good I want to have babies with the song, or whatever. This summer I discovered that one of the greatest ways to listen to this song is while driving through a thunderstorm, darkened clouds and lightning in the distance, with thunder roaring just as the song reaches its climactic ending. Talk about epic. Totally helps you forget about the possibility of hydroplaning, crashing, and dying.

22. Peggy Sue – Lover Gone
Sometimes when people break up, they write bitter, hurtful songs about their ex-lover. Sometimes when people break up, they write nice songs about their ex-lover and how there’s no hard feelings since ultimately it was for the best. This is one of those songs. 2010 will be a good year for Peggy Sue as it will see the release of their first album Fossils and Other Phantoms. Excitement!

23. The Maccabees – No Kind Words
It was the first taste of what was to come from The Maccabees on their second album Wall of Arms and mother-eff if it didn’t leave you wanting more! Recently, the boys reworked the tune with Roots Manuva and the result, “Empty Vessels,” will be featured on a special reissue of the album in early 2010.

24. Johnny Flynn – Lost & Found
This whole year has been a tease of what Johnny Flynn has in store for his second album, set for release sometime in 2010. Sweet jesus, I am excited!

25. Regina Spektor – The Calculation
Alright, I intentionally saved the best for last. OMG REGINA?! WHAT A SHOCKER! Part of the excitement in a new Regina Spektor album is (a) not knowing how she’s changed up some of her “classics” and (b) not knowing how many songs will actually be brand new songs no one has ever heard before in any way, shape, or form. “The Calculation” was one of the latter. In classic Regina fashion, she wrote a whimsical love story jampacked with Spektoresque metaphors that manages to be as catchy as it is beautiful. Since May, I’ve listened to “The Calculation” at least once a day everyday and I’ve been happy for at least three minutes.

BAM! Done. Better late than never, right? For songs 1-13, check out the tags.

Part 3 of my countdown of my favourite albums of the decade….

30. Kanye West-Graduation (2007)

Graduation, Kanye’s third effort, moves away from the soul samples of The College Dropout and the gushing orchestral sounds of Late Registration towards more of a progressive electro/pop-rock feel and moves from the observational lyrics of his first two albums to more introspective and personal writing. Graduation is a brilliant assertive record, with some very well written introspective songs, Flashing Lights, Everything I Am, I Wonder as well as some immense, almost imperial Hov-esque assertions of dominance in the game. Champion, Barry Bonds and The Glory all discuss Kanye’s position at the top of hip-hop, but Stronger tops all of these in its pure audacity. There was such a huge backlash to West using a Daft Punk sample and rapping over it, but the backlash soon disappated when Daft Punk played at the Grammy’s with Kanye, in their first ever live TV performance. People criticise Kanye’s idolisation of Jay-Z, but this record even addresses that on Big Brother, a tribute to Jay, showing just how self-aware he has become. Oh and the production is immense.

Favourite Track: Can’t tell me nothing (incredible showing of defiance and lyrical nous)

Sample track: Good life video (great video)

Metacritic score: 79 (user score 83)

29. Lil’ Wayne-Tha Carter III (2008)

Before listening to Tha Carter 3, I hated Lil’ Wayne. I’d only heard him on annoying cameos and Lollipop, but I couldn’t see where the hype was coming from, i just saw him as a gimmick. But then I listened to Tha Carter III and my mind changed almost instantly. This is an incredible album, seemingly able to harness Weezy’s crazy into awesome verses over outstanding productions. Wayne seems able to make everything sound improvised, throwing in chuckles and adlibs, but all the better for it. His rapping is so strong throughout; he destroys one of the beats of the century on A Milli, he matches Jay and receives the baton from him deservedly in Mr Carter and even manages to sound endearing through mysoginy in Mrs Officer. The diverse range of productions, from Robin Thicke to Bangladesh to Kanye to Swizz Beatz to Cool & Dre and The Alchemist, makes the album a thrilling ride. Considering how bad he can be, I imagine Wayne as a pendulum swinging back and forth, rarely getting it right-but when he does no-one can compete with him.

Favourite track: Comfortable

Sample track: A Milli video

Metacritic score 84 (69 user score)

28. The Maccabees-Wall of Arms (2009)

The Maccabees sophomore effort marked a big improvement on what was already a great album. This album further set them apart from the quirky indie pop crowd (Bombay Bicycle Club, Los Campesinos, Good Shoes et al) with a very well written, slightly heavier and darker sound (reflected in No Kind Words). Lyrically, Wall of Arms is stronger than its predecessor and whilst retaining their endearing and slightly leftfield style the band have got more intelligent and are writing better and more meaningful songs. Markus Dravs can take some credit for the improved, more orchestral sound, clearly influenced by his work on Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible. There are alot of touching moments here, none more so than Orlando’s declaration that I want nothing to hold tonight but you, I keep this pillow it’s such a poor substitute for a soul in Dinosaurs. The album is consistently brilliant, from the throbbing bassline melody of Can You Give It? to the pondering of Wall of Arms and the dreamy Bag of Bones.

Favourite Track: Wall of Arms (Through these eyes there’s no God above me, no Devil below me, no purgatory no pearly gates, the worms are what await me, its only me who can forgive me)

Sample track: No kind words video

Metacritic score: 75 (95 user score)

27. Jay-Z-The Black Album (2003)

Jay’s “ahem” retirement album came just 26  months after Blueprint and in the meantime he had made a very good but not classic double album (Blueprint 2). 2001-2003 was most definitely one of the peaks of Jays outstanding career, and the high quality of Blueprint was very nearly matched with the Black Album. The Black Album mixes the laid back mafiosa productions of Reasonable Doubt with the Kanye led soul samples of the Blueprint to brilliant effect. Track after track of brilliant productions by Just Blaze , Kanye and the Neptunes as well as one of Timbaland’s best ever beats (Dirt off your shoulder) lay the foundations for Jay to produce some of his best, most imperious work.  Shawn is flawless technically throughout mixing styles and lyrical content constantly. The Black Album is his last “great” album, whether he can reach the drive or energy he had here again is anyone’s guess.

Favourite track: Public Service Announcement-still a live favourite and an absolute beast (I’m like Che Guevara with bling on, I’m complex)

Sample track: 99 problems video

Metacritic score: 84 (89 user score)

26. Bon Iver-For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard the story of how this album was written-Justin Vernon split up with his girlfiend and band and went and hid in a Wisconsin log cabin for 3 months where he wrote and recorded this album. For Emma is an irrestibly beautiful record. It reflects loneliness and longing so well, and its low-key sound is so perfect and soothing. Vernon’s voice is probably the best of anyone who made this list, almost angelic in quality and his self-harmonies throughout the album are outstanding. Lyrically, Vernon conjures up imagery of solitudeand heartbreak spectacularly. On his lyrics Pitchfork said “It’s as if he’s trying to inhabit the in-between spaces separating musical expression and private rumination, exposing his regrets without relinquishing them. His emotional exorcism proves even more intense for being so tentative.” Flawless.

Favourite track: The Wolves (Act I and II)

Sample track: Skinny Love live on Jools Holland (described by one of the commentors as ear cocaine)

Metacritic score: 88 (94 user score)

25. The Go! Team-Thunder, Lightning, Strike (2004)

Thunder, Lightning, Strike is simply amazing. It is filled with boundless, glorious noise, sewing together flamboyance, quirkiness, sturdy sampling, and a well-traveled feel that can take you anywhere you want to go. [Lost at Sea Review]

This album is deserving of a place on this list because of it’s musical brilliance and its ridiculously dynamic and euphoric sounds. With Ian Parton’s production nous, Ninja’s energetic freestlyes and a great mix of well used samples and live instruments, the album really is an uplifiting joy to listen to. The band are hard to pin down to one genre, combining indie, hip-hop, pop, alternative dance, Motown, funk and general noise perfectly.

Favorite track: Get it Together

Sample track: Ladyflash video

Metacritic score: 86 (86 user score)

24. Maximo Park-A Certain Trigger (2005)

Maximo Park are not musical genius’ or innovators, or anywhere close really. A Certain Trigger is an unashamedly indie-rock album, musically it doesn’t do anything far from the norm (except Acrobat), but it is a great indie album. Paul Smith and Duncan Lloyd’s lyrical brilliance (and it is lyrical brilliance-a lyricist doesn’t have to be incredibly cryptic to be extremely emotive and relatable) is what got this album into this top 50. The album is solely about the beginnings, disfunctions and endings of relationships and the duo perfect this. Apply Some Pressure is a sharp and witty story of unrequited love, and Kiss you Better follows the same theme-convincing a girl of your superiority over a love rival. Maximo are at their best when Smith is questioning his relatonships. Now I’m All Over the Shop is about a breakup/post breakup and breakdown of a previously loving relationship, with tinges of regret throughout, and the Coast is Always Changing and Postcard of a Painting also deal with change and relationships ending. It’s a pity the band haven’t come close to their debut since.

Favourite Track: Postcard of a Painting (you are just another thing that I have yet to fathom)

Sample track Graffiti video

Metacritic Score: 75 (86 user score)

23. Jamie T-Kings & Queens (2009)

JT is quite possibly the best contemporary storyteller British music has and Kings & Queens reflects his briliantly observational style throughout. This is seen no better than in Sticks and Stones, in which Treays doses a good deal of nostalgia in his tale of past friendships and relationships remembering not only the negatives (When you’re bleeding on the floor, and no one hears your call at all) but the positives too (you’re still my friend its impossible to hate you). This is pretty reflective of the album, which is as consistent as it is brilliant, from the anthemic Man’s Machine to the tribal shouts of Spider’s Web. Emily’s Heart and Jilly Armeen do really deserve special attention, both outdoing previous acousticy efforts with heartbreaking tales of breakup and unrequited love respectively. Jamie T has picked up as the bard of British pop where Mike Skinner left off. Long may it continue.

Favourite Track: The Man’s Machine

Sample Track: Sticks ‘n’ Stones video

Metacritic score: 74 (87 user score)

22. Kanye West-Late Registration (2005)

Late Registration was created with a huge amount of pressure hanging over Kanye’s head, but this pressure appeared not to matter one jot, or if it did it only inspired Kanye to make an album that almost matched his debut. Late Registration shows a more eclectic approach by West than the soul samples of the College Dropout, creating a more orchestral sound, incorporating a 20 piece orchestra into much of it’s composition. Kanye is lyrically as strong as ever, blending hilarious stories (Gold Digger), contemplative ponderings (Heard ‘em Say) and sentimental memories (Drive Slow, Roses, Hey Mama) with full on political commentary (Crack Music-H(ow we stop the Black Panthers? Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer., and the outstanding Diamonds remix). Of course it wouldn’t be Mr West without some cocky statement of his achievements (Touch the Sky, We Major). Guests are picked to perfection here with Adam Levine, Brandy and Jamie Foxx providing great hooks and Nas, The Game and Lupe Fiasco coming through with awesome verses. Only error=getting Jay on Diamonds Remix, he murders Kanye! Late Registration is a stunning record, I do love Kanye getting introspective on Graduation, and thought 808’s was a fantastic achievement but I’d love to see some incorporation of his social commentary returning to his work-its why I rate him so highly.

Favourite Track: Gone feat. Common and Consequence

Sample track: Touch the Sky video

Metacritic video: 85 (user score 85)

21. Eminem-The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Eminem ditched the Slim Shady persona for much of the Marshall Mathers LP and with great results, creating an incredibly dark and introspective album full of anger and defiance with a distinctly militant tone reminiscent of Public Enemy and Nas’ anger inspired tracks. Eminem is at his insightful best throughout covering topics from his childhood (Kill You) to his relationships (Kim-one of the most intense songs i’ver ever heard) and critics (The Way I Am-a big fuck you to his haters). Stan is an incredible track, detailing the life and death of an obsessive fan, all in a dark, depressing manner. Dre shares production duties with the Bass Brothers once again, with Eminem trying his hand on The Way I Am. It’s amazing how technically gifted Em is just on this album. The way he used to destroy Dre’s beats was really something special. For example, Dre’s good but simple beat for Who Knew? is just torn apart by Eminem, he makes it sound so so easy. Encore and Relpase were disappointments, but there are definite signs that Marshall is returning to the standard he reached 10 years ago…we can hope…

Favourite track: Bitch Please II

Sample track: Stan video

Metacritic score: 79 (93 user score)

Cradle me, i’ll cradle you.
I’ll win your heart with a woop-a-woo.
Pullng shapes just for your eyes.
So with toothpaste kisses & lines.
I’ll be yours & you’ll be…

Lay with me, i’ll lay with you.
We’ll do the things that lovers do.
Put the stars in our eyes.
& with heart shaped bruises.
& late night kisses, devine.

i love Barry Pilling & his really cool, really awesome stop-animation videos. & not forget his great taste of music!

& are you cool?
symmetrical,
hypocritical,
analytical,
so critical?

lovelove.
nazzie(:

Havent written about anything much on here for a long time, but i felt the need to document my favourite 50 albums of the decade. My music taste has varied hugely throughout the decade from obsessions with Nirvana/Green Day to Sum41/Limp Bizkit/Coldplay to Usher/Kanye West to Arctic Monkeys/The Killers/Milburn to Death Cab/Bright Eyes to Jay-Z/Lupe Fiasco through a million other bands. this list would have probably be vastly different 5 years ago,even 1 year ago, and im sure it will be different once again in a years time. Enjoy…

50.Snow Patrol-Final Straw (2003)

5 years ago I would have told you this was one of the greatest albums of all time. Snow Patrol were rising through the charts and seemed to be riding a wave of new found Radio 1 love and popularity. My opinion of the band has deteriorated notably since then, but its that deterioration that highlights just how good the band were at this stage of their career. Final Straw shows Lightbody at his lyrical peak, singing convincingly of broken relationships and fresh ones beginning. Musically its hardly groundbreaking but the melodies twist round Lightbody’s words perfectly throughout a diverse range of songs. It seems as though the band are stuck in cliches now, a sad state considering just how good they can be.

Favourite Song: Grazed Knees (It’s easier to lie and be safe, Time and time again I’m half stalled, One giant leap of faith is easy, When everyone you ask is so sure)

Sample:Chocolate video

Metacritic score: 73 (86 user rating)

49. The White Stripes-White Blood Cells (2001)

White Blood Cells, like Final Straw was for Snow Patrol, was the White Stripes’ commercial breakthrough. Back when I was 12 or 13 I was obsessed with Fell in Love with a Girl, listening to it 4 or 5 times a day, ignoring the rest of the album. When I did branch out, the results were incredibly impressive. Jack White is undoubtedly one of the success stories of the decade and his unrelenting brilliant guitar playing and immense yodelling drawl on this album pretty much define rock and roll in the noughties. Hes not just an amazing guitarist and singer though, he is also a brilliant songwriter and lyricist. From the thrilling drive of Fell in Love With a Girl to the innocence and sweetness of We’re Gonna Be Friends to the Union Forever which is basically Citizen Kane in a song. Genius.

Favourite Song: We’re Going to be Friends

Sample: Hotel Yorba video

Metacritic score: 86 (87 user rating)

48. OutKast-Stankonia (2000)

At the turn of the decade OutKast had released three brilliant, critically acclaimed Southern hip-hop albums, providing  a welcome alternative to Diddy’s Bad Boy Empire of the East and Dre’s Aftermath of the West. Stankonia somehow  managed to improve what OutKast had already mastered; they went from an outstanding Southern hip-hop duo to an outstanding, multi genre act. Stankonia incorporates elements of drum and bass, heavy metal, funk, samba, gospel, techno and bhangra garnering comparisons to Prince. Lyrically both rappers are on form throughout, combining Big Boi’s realism with Andre 3k’s surreal imagery. B.O.B. is in a way a perfect summary of this, the song has a ridiculous amount going on yet it works perfectly. In 2001 Jay-Z Set a Blueprint for mainstream hip-hop, but arguably Andre and Big Boi had already set one for creativity and originality in 2000.

Favourite song: Humble Mumble (do you want to live or wanna exist? The game changes everyday so obsolete is the fist and marches, Speeches only reaches those who already know about it, This is how we go about it-all of this verse is immense)

Sample: Ms Jackson video

Metacritic score: 95 (84 user rating)

47. Q-Tip-The Renaissance (2008)

Q-Tip’s second studio came to my attention through Kanye West’s blog, with Kanye frequently “ZOMGZ THIS SHIT IS HOT” posting songs from the album, so I thought i’d give it a try. Thank you Kanye West. The Renaisscance is an intelligent and positive record about life, love and loss told by The Abstract himself. Since Tribe split up, Q-Tip released Amplified (a great funky album, but not a classic) and worked unsuccessfully on the experimental unreleased (until 2009) Kamaal the Abstract, so The Renaissance marked a welcome return to form. Musically it lies somewhere inbetween the funky Dilla beats of Amplified and the smooth Love Movement but with added energy, all provided by Q-Tip. The production (10 tracks Q-Tip, 1 Ronson, 1 Dilla) is perfect and works so well with Q-Tip’s rapping (and singing) voice. Guest stars work brilliantly, providing hooks but taking no attention away from the song or Q-Tip himself. This is quite possibly the best uplifting album I’ve heard, pure brilliance.

Favourite song: Gettin’ up (We can start a clan just like the Kennedy’s)

sample: Life is better feat. Norah Jones video

Metacritic score: 82 (92 user rating)

46. Grizzly Bear-Veckitamest (2009)

I’m a latecomer on the Grizzly Bear bandwagon, but I’m most definitely on it now. Veckitamest is a complex, poignant and beautifully written record. It seems to incorporate large elements of different styles of music from the “indie-folk” genre blended together by Droste and Rossen’s haunting vocals. Fellow folk act Fleet Foxes debut was a great album, but the vocals sometimes felt cluttered; Veckitamest has none of this problem. The vocals here are textured brilliantly, and the songs sound like a symphony weaving its way through an epic piece. Lyrically, the album is outstanding and While You Wait for the Others deserves special attention (its now one of my favourite songs of all time). The songs tone is so defiant, so critical and incredibly accurate (i’ve felt this way about a lot of people. and people have probably felt this way about me) that it is faultless.

Favourite song: While you wait for the others

Sample: Two weeks video

Metacritic score: 85 (85 user rating)

45. Noah and the Whale-The First Days of Spring (2009)

It seems impossible to believe this band released Peaceful, the world lays me down a happy, yet bland and generic indie pop album, nothing original or relevant, only 1 year earlier because The First Days of Spring marks not just a development but a sharp change of direction. The album is specifically focused on the break up of Charlie Fink’s relationship with Laura Marling, taking the listener through casual optimism to depression to defiance to acceptance to insecurity to hope and ending with the declaration that “my door is always open”. Fink isnt even that talented a lyricist but here his words are so full of emotion, so full of life-reflected in his voice throughout- that the album is a beautiful piece of work. Musically, the album ranges from orchestral (Love of an orchestra) to low-key acoustic sounds, perfecting both. It will be interesting to see where the band goes from here, whether Fink can create an album quite so emotive again is anyones guess.

Favourite song: Our Window

Sample: The First Days of Spring trailer (the brilliant film they made to go with the album)

Metacritic score: 71 (96 user rating)

44. Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend (2008)

Vampire Weekend burst onto the indie scene in late 2007, breathing life into what was becoming a dead and original mainstream. The band’s infusion of energy and originality are frankly apparent in their brilliant debut, with uplifiting “afro-pop” sounds complemented by Ezra’s brilliantly dexterous voice. Along with a good dose of lyrical wit in tales of everyday people (“One”), places (“Campus”) and journeys (“M79″) the album has an overarching theme of freedom and breaking off from the norm. Koenig is not only a storyteller but an observer, a detailed one at that, telling of spilt kefir on your keffiyeh and a satirist (Lil’ Jon he always tells the truth). it’s going to be difficult for them to improve on near perfection but i’m confident it can be done. Bring on Contra!

Favourite song: Bryn

Sample: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa video

Metacritic score: 82 (80 user rating)

43. The Maccabees-Colour It In (2007)

The Maccabees came onto the scene at the same time as a number of apparently similar generic sounding indie-pop bands with a couple of standout demos and singles, but not a great deal setting them apart from the rest. However, when Colour it In was released it was clear the band were a cut above the crowd. The album works so well, as it covers a wide range of topics from evil girls (X-Ray) to young love (First Love) to nostalgia (Lego) to the beginnings of a relationship (About Your Dress) and even the local swimming pool (Latchmere). Orlando and Felix are hardly Conor Oberst with the pen but they write sweet, clever, relateable songs with awesome melodies. To write a song as cutting and energised as X-Ray and one as sweet and poignant as First Love deserves applause. Even songs that aren’t stunning lyrically manage to tug at heart strings by a simple repeating melody (Tissue Soldiers). The band have only gotten better since.

Favourite song: Precious Time

Sample: First Love video

Metacritic score: No score-c. 72

42. Kings of Leon-Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)

Its not useless, its a blinding album, better than their first one, and they came up with it really quickly-Vince Noir, The Mighty Boosh. Randomly watched that episode of the Boosh last night and thought it fitting to include that quote. Aha Shake is a brilliant album, with the Followills driving guitars and Caleb’s drawl complementing each other perfectly. The album is full of danceable bangers (Four Kicks, Razz, King of the rodeo) and slow epics (Milk, Rememo, Day old Blues) but the best is saved for Taper Jean Girl, an all time classic. It should be compulsory ,when downloading Sex on Fire or Only by The Night, to be redirected to the Kings of Leon’s wikipedia discography to highlight that they existed before 2008 and were in fact alot better. I dont resent the band now because of their success, I just think they have run out of creative talent. Only by the Night has some good songs on but it is clearly written for stadiums, there is a lack of energy or grit that made this album so special.

Favourite song: Taper Jean Girl (Heartbreak knocking them down like the 7th grade)

Sample: The Bucket video

Metacritic score: 74 (82 user rating)

41. The Shins-Oh, Inverted World (2001)

The Shins’ debut is so great because of its raw, atmospheric sound. The band’s sharp melodies and the stunning strength of Mercer’s lyrics create an album that sounds almost part Beach Boys, part Paul Simon. Mercer is arguably as talented a lyricist as the latter and shows his prowess throughout. He excels at pretty much everything he tries. Know Your Onion is a look back at his teenage days (shut out pimpled and angry) and feelings towards life (what kind of life you dream of? you’re allergic to love), whilst New Slang describes disilusionment and longing, clinging to lost hopes for love, “looking in on the good life” of others. I could quote from the album all day, as it is a piece of genius. Mercer releases his collaboration with DangerMouse on March the 8th, exciting times.

Favourite Song: New Slang

Sample: New Slang fanmade video-Garden State/The Last Kiss/Napoleon Dynamite clips

Metacritic score: no score c. 85

Here’s the second of my three list posts chronicling the best of this year’s albums in my own humble opinion. Just to make it clear, many of these albums won’t have been reviewed by me at the time they were released, so if you’ve never seen me mention them before, it’s just that I’ve actually got off my arse and listened to these albums for the first time in the past few weeks. Here we go!

10. The Maccabees – Wall of Arms

I was really rather excited about this album when it came out. The first album had sounded like a bunch of excited tykes whooping and jerking about in the throes of romance, all froth and fun. I wanted more. Instead what I got was a band grown up, more expansive, more serious and more melancholy. And I loved it. From album sampler ‘No Kind Words’ onwards I was hooked on this new sound. The Maccabees made an album concerned with retrospect – Orlando sings “Those killer eyes don’t look the same as they used to do/Not like the eyes that I make at you” in ‘One Hand Holding’, looking back on the perfect loves of Colour Me In and seeing them as they’ve become. Their sound too sounds like an echo of what they once were, the same tone and style, but somehow lengthened into shadows of what they produced before, overlapping and slowing down. The Maccabees have made, for me, one of the truest “evolutions” of sound from one album to another, not only developing their style, reminding us not only what they are, but what they were.

The Maccabees – Can You Give It (YSI)

9. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura’s unique brand of heartbreak twee had passed me by for far too long before I got ahold of this gem of an album, but I won’t let it happen again. Opening with the infectiously joyous strains of ‘French Navy’ and washing over you wonderfully from there, this is an album that flows better than most. What’s most interesting though is how such gentle, smile-inducing music can hide the sadness that seems ever-present in Tracyanne Campbell’s lyrics. Even in the most excitable moments we’re met with “I wanted to control it/But love I couldn’t hold it” – the duality of it all is just perfectly pitched so you get a sense of both sides at all times.  It seems as though final track ‘Honey In The Sun’ points in a different direction though, all trumpet fanfares and quickstep drumbeats as Ms. Campbell says “I wish my heart was cold as the morning dew/But it’s as warm as saxophones and honey in the sun for you”. The real triumph here though is taking such old-fashioned styles and making them sound fresher than any new indie guitar band can manage nowadays – let’s see if that cheers them up.

Camera Obscura – Honey In The Sun (YSI)

8. Telekinesis – Telekinesis!

Michael Benjamin Lerner, with a little help from bandmates and Chris Walla (of Death Cab fame), has created one of the best rock records of the year out of practically nothing. He seems to have taken a few basic instruments, a love for Japan and some analog tape and, with very little effort, made eleven songs that recall the best of Weezer and that stable of American rock. The bastard. From the very beginning, this all sounds like a soundtrack for some fantastic road movie that has yet to exist, with all the required highs (‘Coast of Carolina’) and lows (‘Rust’) and a love interest thrown in for good measure (‘Awkward Kisser’). It’s ridiculously uplifting, not to mention spectacularly impressive.

Telekinesis – Foreign Room (YSI)

7. Mos Def – The Ecstatic

I don’t pretend to know a whole heap about hip-hop. When I enjoy it I can’t look into it as closely as I can with rock, folk or alternative, the whole culture of different producers on one album, guest vocalists and sampling just passes me by most of the time, so I can’t really expect you to listen to me try to muddle my way through tne technical aspects of this album It would be embarassing for us both. What I can talk about is why I’ve enjoyed this album as much as I have. To have a hip-hop album so full of multicultural influences and mercifully free of the ganster mentality that I can’t relate to (I couldn’t sound much more white/middle class could I?) is a genuinely new pleasure for me. From ‘Supermagic’s one-two punch of Middle-Eastern guitar riff and perfectly-delivered refrain to ‘Quiet Dog Bite Hard’s sparse structure and hypnotic rhythms, part of the pleasure is Def’s willingness to let the music work for itself some of the time – the focus doesn’t need to be on him. It’s a refreshing lack of the egocentricity which has become all too common recently, as well as a trust put in the music to carry a song, which in turn makes Mos Def’s own contributions more important and interesting, we want to hear him talk to us.

Mos Def – Supermagic (YSI)

6. The Horrors – Primary Colours

I have to admit, I was never a Horrors-hater. I quite enjoyed the whole gothic Vaudeville act they put on, ridiculous costumes and all. I never thought it was a particularly serious attempt to convince us that they were Victorian Undertakers making garage rock; rather that they enjoyed a sense of the absurd in their music. The audience that took to them however was unfortunate, a group who never saw the irony as anything more than a fashion to follow, which made the whole affair a little less entertaining. It seems that The Horrors themselves saw that, and their subsequent change surprised everyone from fans to the derisory of their critics. The far more measured pace and reliance on distortion as an instrument on Primary Colours remade The Horrors as enigmatic musicians rather than the exhibitionist actors they once were (hell, even the album cover is essentially a blurred, coloured version of the first Strange House’s band shot cover). Melody overlaps with discordance throughout the album, making the opening of the upbeat ‘Three Decades’ far more spaced-out than it could have been, and obscuring the malevolence in ‘New Ice Age’ and there are far more songs now – ‘I Can’t Contol Myself’ is a laid-back, almost surf-rock ghost train, and ‘Do You Remember’ recalls some of Joy Division’s best moments, making the most important part of this album (and the most impressive) that these are songs you will remember as tunes, not performances.

The Horrors – I Can’t Control Myself (YSI)