5) Maths - Descent
Holy Roar, put simply, is perhaps the best record label this country has produced in a really long time. Not only do they have a roster to die for, but their shameless work ethic and continued D.I.Y. approach means that they are a definite weapon in the argument for the music industry. Arguably, the jewel in their crown this year has to have been Maths' debut, a soaring, hard-hitting post-hardcore record that flourishes at every opportunity. Equal parts Tool and At The Drive-In, each song is layered so exquisitely and the production means that the album as a complete piece of work is both seamless and glorious. A challenging, intricate debut that surpasses many of the old vanguard of the genre.
4) The XX - XX
Easily the most promising band of the year, the XX's debut was the ultimate soundtrack to the end of the decade. Dark, minimal, but evocative, the stunning vocals set to a post-post-punk backing track, it blew me, and many, many others, away. 'Islands' is my song of the decade, no question. The remixes, by both the band and their legion of admirers, show unbridled promise and although its a huge cliche, they really are a band to watch like a black shirt-clad hawk.
3) Wavves - Wavvves
Imagine the best beach party you've been to. Every in rolled up jeans, cheap Ray Bans and consuming more drugs than a multiple tumor cancer patient. Beer cans equal in number to the grains of sand under your feet. Now imagine this was done to a John Cale soundtrack. Wavvves make noise, but what a noise. The guitars don't sound like their being played, it sounds like their being kicked down the stairs into a Sonic Youth roadie.
2) The Horrors - Primary Colours
'Reinvention' is such a dirty word. Fuck you, Cher and Madonna. Reinvention has now become a term used solely to describe the length/visibility of vagina that old hags have on display. The Horrors, however, proved that reinvention was very possible. Dragging shoegaze kicking and screaming into the new year, the band shifted their image from horror-punk jesters drawn by Tim Burton with such attention to detail. The songs became longer, broader and immensely more powerful. Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine now have something to worry about; the Shoreditch bitches may challenge their position as kings of noise in years to come.
And the moment literally noone has been waiting for:
1) Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I genuinely thought that I would never find an electronica album that would ever top The Postal Service. I have looked, trust me. Bonobo and Mr Scruff have come close but nothing's channeled the wonderment and unlimited potential of synthesized noise. Then I heard Fever Ray (Karin from Scandinavian duo The Knife, famous for their Jose Gonzalez-covered 'Heartbeats') and the arse fell out of my world. Haunting samples, cardiac basslines and vocals taken from a Hayao Miyazaki movie, it was deeper and darker than the Indian Ocean. I love this album more than I may ever love my children. Please, turn off the lights, get yourself a bottle of absinthe and enjoy.
Well there we go. I may well try and do a '5 acts of 2010' but I don't know if I will have the time to. If not, happy Kwanza. Now fuck off.
EE
x
Wednesday 16 December 2009
It's Been A While (10-6)
Sorry for the terrible Staind reference, but seriously, I have become lax as shit with regards to this blog. So I thought, as the year draws to a close, I should do a little summation of my top 10 albums of the year. Because everybody else seems to be doing it and it's piss easy :)
10) Converge - Axe To Fall
Ok, so hardcore's always going to be a divisive musical genre, but that's really the point. Anyone who has any sort of inclination can appreciate that Converge are one of the most intense and passionate acts in the past 20 or so years. 'Axe To Fall' is, to my mind, their finest piece of work, their magnus opum if you will. The brutality of each song in no way overshadows their skill as musicians, and the level of craftsmanship into each song, each breakdown, is something that should be revered highly. Yes, it's an assault on your ears, but this may be the best album to get you pumped up since Rage Against The Machine re-invented swearing in songs. And Jacob Bannon sings, which is surely one of the most intriguing developments in the scene ever.
9) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Perhaps the unrivalled darlings of 2009, Animal Collective have a definite sound that can only be theirs, and on the new album channeled their psychedelic hybrid of folk and electronica into new, unchartered waters that will inevitably lead to many imitators, but few who can match the level of intensity. Lead single 'My Girls' is the world's greatest drug come-up put to music, and throughout there are definite signs that the outfit really have put thought into their product. Considering so many 'indie' bands are now relying on keyboards and electronic music to take their music to new levels, it is thoroughly refreshing to see a band that achieve this experimentation with such ease and aplomb.
8) Volcano Choir - Unmap
Folk has certainly been one of the big hitters of the past year, with Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons all achieving high degrees of both commercial and critical success. Volcano Choir, a meeting of minds courtesy of Justin Vernon (who is, to all extents and purposes Bon Iver) and underground heroes Collections Of Colonies Of Bees, provided one of the most pleasant and ethereal albums, if not of 2009, then perhaps of the entire decade. Taking an obvious nod from nu-folk archetypes Sigur Ros, the use of vocals as instrumentation as opposed to narrative produced a sonic-landscape that many have tried to accomplish, but few with such grace and charm.
7) Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
If one band was guaranteed to get you into the right parties and give you the best drugs, Black Lips would be that band. The raukos 'flower-punk' has gained them a notoriety that most bands employ people to achieve, and their most recent release shows that the band have no intention of slowing down or changing tack. Equal parts overdose-meets-Stooges-meets-Velvet Underground, the careless approach and often shambolic guitars convey images of what the Libertines might have sounded like if they replaced crack with acid and had been born during Woodstock. Oh, and 'Drugs' is, not surprisingly, one of the best songs to tackle the subject since Andy Warhol died.
6) The Dead Weather - Horehound
When I first heard that Alisson Mosshart and Jack White were recording a collaborative album, I won't lie, terrible, unimaginable things happened in my pants. Two of the most original acts of the past decade, based around Mosshart's modern day Nico meeting Jack White's pioneering garage/blues credentials, the album certainly didn't disappoint. A dark, whiskey swagger and haunting keys made the album the best thing to happen to leather jackets and dark sunglasses since heroin. As a mark of how good this album was, one of my very dear friends, Polly, had 'Cut Like A Buffalo' tattooed on her. And Polly's awesome. She got me into weed and hairspray.
N.B Numbers 5-1 to follow soon.
10) Converge - Axe To Fall
Ok, so hardcore's always going to be a divisive musical genre, but that's really the point. Anyone who has any sort of inclination can appreciate that Converge are one of the most intense and passionate acts in the past 20 or so years. 'Axe To Fall' is, to my mind, their finest piece of work, their magnus opum if you will. The brutality of each song in no way overshadows their skill as musicians, and the level of craftsmanship into each song, each breakdown, is something that should be revered highly. Yes, it's an assault on your ears, but this may be the best album to get you pumped up since Rage Against The Machine re-invented swearing in songs. And Jacob Bannon sings, which is surely one of the most intriguing developments in the scene ever.
9) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Perhaps the unrivalled darlings of 2009, Animal Collective have a definite sound that can only be theirs, and on the new album channeled their psychedelic hybrid of folk and electronica into new, unchartered waters that will inevitably lead to many imitators, but few who can match the level of intensity. Lead single 'My Girls' is the world's greatest drug come-up put to music, and throughout there are definite signs that the outfit really have put thought into their product. Considering so many 'indie' bands are now relying on keyboards and electronic music to take their music to new levels, it is thoroughly refreshing to see a band that achieve this experimentation with such ease and aplomb.
8) Volcano Choir - Unmap
Folk has certainly been one of the big hitters of the past year, with Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons all achieving high degrees of both commercial and critical success. Volcano Choir, a meeting of minds courtesy of Justin Vernon (who is, to all extents and purposes Bon Iver) and underground heroes Collections Of Colonies Of Bees, provided one of the most pleasant and ethereal albums, if not of 2009, then perhaps of the entire decade. Taking an obvious nod from nu-folk archetypes Sigur Ros, the use of vocals as instrumentation as opposed to narrative produced a sonic-landscape that many have tried to accomplish, but few with such grace and charm.
7) Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
If one band was guaranteed to get you into the right parties and give you the best drugs, Black Lips would be that band. The raukos 'flower-punk' has gained them a notoriety that most bands employ people to achieve, and their most recent release shows that the band have no intention of slowing down or changing tack. Equal parts overdose-meets-Stooges-meets-Velvet Underground, the careless approach and often shambolic guitars convey images of what the Libertines might have sounded like if they replaced crack with acid and had been born during Woodstock. Oh, and 'Drugs' is, not surprisingly, one of the best songs to tackle the subject since Andy Warhol died.
6) The Dead Weather - Horehound
When I first heard that Alisson Mosshart and Jack White were recording a collaborative album, I won't lie, terrible, unimaginable things happened in my pants. Two of the most original acts of the past decade, based around Mosshart's modern day Nico meeting Jack White's pioneering garage/blues credentials, the album certainly didn't disappoint. A dark, whiskey swagger and haunting keys made the album the best thing to happen to leather jackets and dark sunglasses since heroin. As a mark of how good this album was, one of my very dear friends, Polly, had 'Cut Like A Buffalo' tattooed on her. And Polly's awesome. She got me into weed and hairspray.
N.B Numbers 5-1 to follow soon.
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