Oh yes! What better way to finish off the year than this beauty.
31 December 2014
the wave pictures - 'seagulls'
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Seems appropriate today with news that our new manager is to be Chris Hughton. I'm hoping for a long period of stability from him. Fingers crossed!
30 December 2014
saxophone the first part - 'this city (feat. phia)'
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I heard this on the weekly Bandcamp radio show just now whilst making dinner and was immediately caught by its ethereal levity. There's lots going on with the track, it's layered superbly but it still retains a wonderful minimal-ness. Check it out!
29 December 2014
thom yorke - 'youwouldntlikemewhenimangry'
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Fresh off the press, here's the latest from Thom Yorke. It's very much in keeping with a lot of his output of late, ambient, electronic, low-key and downtempo. It is rather good too.
petula - 'say yes'
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Hailing from Germany and currently touring with fellow countrymen Hundreds, here's a rather splendid tune to keep you relaxed in this extremely disconcerting interregnum between Christmas and the New Year.
27 December 2014
26 December 2014
24 December 2014
23 December 2014
My favourite songs of 2014 part 2
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And here's my top 10:
10 Damon Albarn - Hollow Ponds (I think this could possibly be Damon Albarn's finest moment)
9 Avi Buffalo - Overwhelmed with Pride (How good is this ballad? Just wonderful. That's how.)
8 Eels - A Swallow in the Sun (If there's a lovelier tune from 2014 I haven't heard it. Life-affirming)
7 The Acid - Ghost (Minimal electronica with a lot of soul. It's a beauty)
6 Terror Bird - Eyes Without A Face (I don't normally include covers in my best of list but this is no ordinary cover. It's very dark indeed.)
5 Orenda Fink - This Is a Part of Something Greater (Hairs on the back of the neck kind of music. )
4 Jungle - The Heat (Simple, sexy dance music that hits the spot.)
And the all important top 3:
3 Grumbling Fur - All The Rays (Impossibly catchy. The kind of tune that you want to last forever)
2 C.A.R. - Angelina (Dark 80s style Gothic electronic pop. I used to live, eat and breathe this kind of music when I was a teen)
1 Alvvays - Archie Marry Me (The kind of song that just overwhelms you with joy. It lifts, it soars. What a chorus.)
My favourite songs of 2014 part 1
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I've got the list down to around 45 or so tunes that rocked my world in this year. Rather than bombard you with one giant post I've split it into 2 parts: the also-rans and then my top ten singles. So here's the also-rans and there's some really juicy ones in there:
In no particular order:
Tricky - Nicotine Love ft. Francesca Belmonte
Chicks On Speed - Plastic Bag
Lamb - We Fall In Love
Sun Kil Moon - I Love My Dad
Neneh Cherry - Naked
The Felice Brothers - Alien
Adult Jazz - Pigeon Skulls
Strand Of Oaks - Woke Up To The Light
Hafdis Huld - Pop Song
Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Got a Girl - Theres a Revolution
Asgeir - King and Cross
Marissa Nadler - We Are Coming Back
FKA Twigs - Closer
Ty Segall - Mister Main
Moodymann - IGuessuneverbeenlonely
Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Body Electric
St. Vincent - Birth in Reverse
First Aid Kit - Waitress Song
Temples - Shelter Song
Shovels & Rope - Stono River Blues
La Roux - Let Me Down Gently
Lana Del Rey - Pretty When You Cry
JJ - Dean & Me
Numbers 20 to 11:
20 Lewis - I Thought The World Of You (The album has a John Martyn feel to it but this tune is more Nick Drake. The piano arrangement alone deserves applause.)
19 Mac DeMarco - Salad Days (I love his style. The tune belies the slightly more sinister lyrics.)
18 Interpol - All the Rage Back Home (Not their best album but this tune is definitely up their with their anthemic best.)
17 Beck - Morning (A tune that I must have played a hundred times or more this year. Still love it.)
16 Morrissey - Im Not a Man (Mozzer's strongest album for yonks. This tune in particular still has him shaking his fist at the world in indignation.)
15 Angel Olsen - Unfucktheworld (Alt-country/indie singer putting the world to rights)
14 Mirel Wagner - The Dirt (Could quite easily have been an out-track from Murder Ballads. Ethipoian/Finnish songwriter tells a great horror story.)
13 Saint Saviour - Let It Go (Why is this lady not the biggest UK female singer/songwriter? It's a crime for sure.)
12 Painted Palms - Soft Hammer (This fills the Beach Boys shaped hole in my life quite neatly and with absolutely no kitsch guaranteed)
11 Cibo Matto - 10th Floor Ghost Girl (Electro-pop with disco bass guitar. This year's party record. )
dro carey featuring chocolate & kid kairo - monomiles
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Now this is excellent. What a tune! Sierra Leone and Nigeria via Australia all represented here.
my albums of the year
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Hot on the trail of my little brother's list, here's my top albums of 2014.
1. Timber Timbre - 'Hot Dreams' (A fantastic genre-splitting treat. This album just shines)
2. Eels - 'Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett' (Never a wrong note in this instant classic)
3. Esben and the Witch - 'A New Nature' (A coming-of-age album showing great maturity)
4. Orenda Fink - 'Blue Dream' (Beautiful alt-country/indie)
5. Alvvays - 'Alvvays (Perfect indie-guitar pop. Just listen to 'Marry Me Archie' for proof)
And in no particular order here re my runners up:
Allo Darlin' - 'We Come From the Same Place (jangly indie-pop is in good hands with bands like this)
Avi Buffalo - 'At Best Cuckold' (very accomplished album, shows great maturity)
Beck - - 'Morning Phase' (In my opinion his best yet)
C.A.R. - 'My Friend' (electro-pop with lots of attitude)
Fear Of Men - 'Loom' (Fey, delicate, folky)
Goat - 'Commune' (Like eating trifle with your fingers - this album is messy but lots of fun)
Happyness - 'Weird Little Birthday' (sort of like a slightly more conventional sounding Art Brut. The lyrics are so sharp they cut)
JJ - 'V' (my favourite Swedish dream-pop band back with a great album. They've vocoded slightly her appalling singing voice but it's still pretty bad in a good way)
Lamb - 'Backspace Unwind' (A great return for a much-missed band, they've always bubbled under without breaking big and I'm glad to say this album is in that vein)
Lewis - 'L'Amour' (80s crooner records album gets forgotten for 20 years then re-released. This is exquisite, sounds like John Martyn singing soppy love songs)
Mac DeMarco - 'Salad Days' (Indie singer who does 'almost' disco tracks. An album to put a smile on your face and get your foot tapping)
Painted Palms - 'Forever' (Do you like Hot Chip? Passion Pit? Then you'll like these guys a lot)
Saint Saviour - 'In The Seams' (Sexy, vulnerable, intimate - if Inigo Calderon [sexy Brighton player] ever invited you back to his for a 'coffee' this is the album he'd put on for you)
Terror Bird - 'Clubs' (Canadian lo-fi 80s electro with what sounds like one of those classic Casio synthesizers. Her cover of Eyes Without A Face surpasses the original. No, really it's that good)
Woman's Hour - 'Conversations' (St Etienne fan, fear not, Woman's Hour is there to fill that hole in your life)
Here's 'Run From Me' from the Timber Timbre album at number one:
ólöf arnalds - 'turtledove'
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This is taken from the Icelandic singer's recent album and the title fits very nicely into a Christmas theme.
22 December 2014
my little jeans - 'dear santa'
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You know that way that Scandinavians have of keeping the traditions of great pop alive? They even do it with Christmas tunes too. This has all the ingredients necessary for a classic. Seriously, check it out here.
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