Best Albums of 2010 – 20-16

Before I crack on, it’s worth giving an honourable mention to acts who’s records I’ve only recently got my mits on, and therefore been unable to consider properly, as good and they’ve sounded from an initial listen.

– Jenny Lewis finally delivered something to live up to Rabbit Fur Coat with the Jenny & Johnny album I’m Having Fun Now.

– I can put up with Sleater Kinney’s ‘hiatus’ charade if the Corin Tucker Band can produce an album as good as 1,000 Years.

– Why, why, why did I not pick up the John Grant album Queen of Denmark sooner??

– Engineers have had a tough time of late but the Ulrich Schnauss-assisted In Praise of More sounds really promising.

– Having seen them play as Brother Louis Collective and really liked them, I don’t understand why it took me till late November to buy Boots Met My Face by Admiral Fallow.

– Apparently Ital Tek are classed as dubstep. On the strength of their Midnight Colour album, I think I need to revise my sweeping opinion of that genre.

– Losing Sleep by Edwyn Collins is another one I should have pounced on a bit quicker. Tremendous comeback by a Scottish leg-end.

– Shetlander Thirty Pounds of Bone sound like he drank a bucket of whisky before recording Method. This is a good thing.

– If only Laeto had held on to III until the New Year. Silly boys…

– The first Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan album was great; the second was lacklustre. Hawk sounds like a return to form.

So where was I?

20.       Oceansize

The Manchester prog-metallers recaptured their mojo with this, their fourth album. This sounded absolutely enormous and was everything that you’d want an epic rock album to be. Mike Vennart, who I interviewed in September, delivered some of his finest lyrics and vocals to date and the album comfortably mixed experimental arrangements and commerciality across eleven snarling tracks.

19.       Grinderman

Raucous and filthy, this was a natural successor to the first Grinderman album. Again an outlet for Nick Cave’s garage rock fetish, it wasn’t for the faint-hearted as my original review testified.

18.       Tunng 

Pastoral English folk with a twist. They’ve been plugging away for years to moderate levels of recognition but this album, which I reviewed earlier in the year, feels like a career high. Hustle and Sashimi twinkled with pop nous and snaking Fairport Convention-style guitars crackled throughout. I thought they were custom-built for Latitude but it didn’t happen :-(. 

17.       LCD Soundsystem

If this truly is to be LCD’s last album, then they’ve certainly gone out on a high. Not everything worked, but from the point where Dance Yrself Clean went supernova to the final bars of Pow Pow, it’s classic James Murphy. The influence of Bowie was massive but this was an homage rather than a pastiche and aside from two humdrum closing tracks, scintillating throughout. Full review’s here.

16.       Blood Red Shoes – Fire Like This

A vulgar display of power from the Brighton duo, at least the equal of 2007’s debut effort. Light It Up was punch the air rawk and Colours Fade a blinding drone of an outro. Great stuff.

This Is Happening

Album of the Week: LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

First things first, Sound of Silver was one of the albums of the last decade. I’m pretty sure I placed it at fifth when I put together a list about six months ago.

North American Scum and Tribulations (from 2005’s messy but decent debut) both sit comfortably in the top 10 of my iTunes ‘most played’ list and I regard James Murphy as one of my era’s finest lyricists and something of a musical genius.

So it’s fair to say This Is Happening is an album I was always going to seek out and treat favourably, despite a handful of so-so reviews elsewhere.

Sound of Silver it ain’t but if, as expected, this is Murphy’s last album under the LCD banner, it’s a worthy sign-off.

It’s not perfect. For example, the Bowie-esque Drunk Girls is something of a dud and Somebody’s Calling Me feels aimless.

Even the opener Dance Yrself Clean takes an age to warm up. With LCD you expect bangin tunes and thumping bass (™ Spaced 2000), but after a frustratingly lo-fi start these only kick-in at 3.07. Thereafter, however, the song’s a stormer.

Even better is floor-filler One Touch despite Nancy Whang’s trademark squawking which I’d always thought were a bit superfluous.

All I Want is great too, despite its aching guitar making it sound like a Heroes knock-off and the bongo-fuelled headrush of Pow Pow is as good anything on Sound of Silver.

It’s good to see Murphy’s lyrics are as caustic and witty as ever. Nothing equals Losing My Edge but You Wanted a Hit rather neatly sends up heightened expectations of the band and Drunk Girls is a humourous social commentary.

LCD Soundsystem have ridden out the punk/funk scene (sorry – whatever did happen to the Rapture and Radio 4?) with style, made two great albums and one superb one. What Murphy does next will be very interesting indeed.

Grappling Hooks

Album of the Week: North Atlantic Oscillation – Grappling Hooks

Also, clear winners of this week’s Weirdest Band Name Award, when I googled North Atlantic Oscillation, my results were dominated by the climate phenomenon that the Edinburgh three piece have named themselves after.

Six months ago I had never heard of this lot, and already they have a record deal and issued a mini-album with this, their full debut, hot on its heels.

It seemed like quite a rise since they came up in a conversation with Milo last year and together with a scathing Skinny review, reports of confused musical stylings and that ridiculous name, I was a little cynical about the whole thing.

However, I always approach a new record with an open mind (seriously, I do!!) and am keen to talk up Scottish acts unless their name includes words like ‘Nutini’ .

Grappling Hooks

Pre-release reports talked of clattering rock music welded to chilled out electronica, a bizarre mix on paper, but for the most part it actually works. I can see what the Skinny were getting at, but I strongly believe that a band – unless they’re doing it in a truly cack-handed, cringeworthy fashion – ought to be praised for pushing the boundries a little.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. Some songs like Some Blue Hive would work perfectly well as a simple guitar/bass/drums racket and the electro touches feel unnecessary.

Cell Count and 77 Hours are far better, more subtle in the way they weave some nice Boards of Canada-esque synth noodling into already strong melodies to great effect.

Ceiling Poem has an eye on LCD Soundsystem’s dancable indie rock and Star Chamber sounds like ’90s American hardcore titans Helmet remixed by Aphex Twin – and as good as that sounds.

I can also see how they’ve built up a strong reputation on the gigging front too – some of the heads down wig-outs on the album (most notably 77 Hours and Drawing Maps From Memory) sound as if they’d lend themselves rather well to live shows.

So all in all, a band well worth a look, provided you don’t mind, uh, oceanic weather changes or whatever the hell that name’s about.

Teed Off

An open letter to Geoff Ellis, boss-man of DF Concerts, promoters of T in the Park.

Dear Geoff,

Thanks for the terribly predictable T in the Park line-up announced last month with only the merest smattering of quality and originality among the commercial dross you’ve picked out.

It’s never bothered me before, as you’ve always managed to book plenty of bands that I, one of your more discerning regulars, appreciate.

Putting Broken Social Scene, Dirty Projectors and Four Tet in there left me optimistic that there would be more where that came from and I would have enough ‘fringe’ music to amuse me, along some of the better populist choices like Muse and Biffy.

So I was tingling with a little excitement when I heard there would be more bands announced last week.

And what do we get? Madness. Jamie T. Paloma Faith.

Oh dear.

Also in there were Delphic (a decent album, but hardly compulsive viewing) and Frank Turner (don’t mind him, but a few friends appreciate his music a lot more than I do). But overall it was still a massive let down.

So that’s 55 acts announced and I’ve counted 14 that I give a toss about with a meagre seven in the ‘must see’ category.

So what does Moany Music Snob of Musselburgh do now?

Simple. I’m voting with my feet.

Or more to the point, my wheels. It’s a nine or ten hour drive to Sussex, but after I finish this post I’ll be booking tickets to Latitude.

Latitude already has a great looking line-up. Aside from the homely, relaxed atmosphere that the festival is said to have, having the National, the xx and Grizzly Bear headline its second stage is an instant stamp of quality.

The Horrors are in there too and Charlotte Gainsbourg will lend the occasion a bit of Gallic class.

It’s the weekend after T so going to both is clearly not an option, both financially and for childcare – so our T tickets are now up for grabs.

This post was meant to be a general moan about the quality of the Balado line-up, under the premise that I would still be going. I’d scribbled down a few thoughts on who I’d like to see you book. The xx and Grizzly Bear were both on that list.

So were LCD Soundsystem and the Hold Steady, but I can’t see that they’ll be added now. With so many big acts now on the bill, it’ll be up and coming acts that’ll pad it out.

Not necessarily a bad thing, but a hell of a chance to take. A lot of folk go to festivals for the craic and the booze, and that’s undoubtedly a massive part of it, but for me it’s mostly about the music.

In the same way that I can barely tolerate being in a pub or club (Clubs! Ha! I remember them…) that’s playing terrible music, I don’t wish to find myself watching Kasabian in a field, hands stuffed in pockets sulking, because there’s nothing better on. And paying £180 for the ‘pleasure’.

James Murphy, Craig Finn and their respective bands almost certainly won’t be playing Latitude either, but the five acts named above give me the sense that it’ll be well worth the cash. There’ll be lots else happening too.

Latitude takes comedy seriously – Marcus Brigstocke and Kevin Bridges have already been announced. There’ll be talks on films and books, a bit of poetry and some theatre.

Now I’m not going to badge myself as a middle class twat at this point and say “I’m going to a festival for the poetry” as that would be a total lie and not what I’m about.

But, as an alternative to watching the latest sadsack Oasis wannabes playing to a bunch of pissed up neds spoiling for a fight, then Bret Easton Ellis doing a reading from one of his books will do nicely thanks.

And even if I did stick to the music, of only 10 bands announced, four fall into the aforementioned ‘must see’ category with Florence the only one that I’d go out of my way to avoid.

Of course, I’m taking a massive risk. It would just be typical that the second I get my confirmation email from Latitude, you’ll send out another press release announcing that Frightened Rabbit (who are surely a no-brainer), Fever Ray and Sigur Rós are to play T.

But fuck it. As much as I’ve enjoyed T since 1999, having been to Connect in ’08, I’ve found the idea of a smaller, more focused festival hugely appealing.

Am I getting old? Probably? Is T’s loss of appeal coinciding with my own music taste spiralling up my backside? Almost certainly. Am I categorically finished with T? Well, Geoff, I’ll never say never on that front. Who knows?

But at least Latitude will have more beards than Buckie and I’ll be more likely to trip over a buggy than a bam.

And as this is effectively ‘our holiday’ for the year, the road trip and scenic setting will make it more fun than tailgating a coach crawling up the M90 with some wee bellend in a football top baring his arse shouting “T in the fuckin’ Park big man!!!!” at us for the whole journey.

Yours sincerely,

“Evil” Stu

Musselburgh

Now…. does anyone want to buy a T in the Park ticket?

This…

…or this?