2010 -In Review

Thought I'd wrap things up for this year with a big post about all the recent musical goings on and maybe a bit about what I'm looking forward to in 2011.


Back at the start of the year, Wilco announced their Solid Sound Festival and I was obviously excited at the prospect of a festival curated by such a great band. The fact it was held somewhere obscure in Massachussets scuppered my chances of going, but I didn't notice any names that stood out from the other bands on the bill. So imagine my surpise on getting to hear Avi Buffalo, a young, prodigiously talented band, throw up my album of the year. It's a fantastic record, full of great melody, brilliantly nervous lyrics and the odd blast of quality musicianship.

The new Oceansize record was probably what I was looking forward to most this year, and I wasn't disappointed. Self Preserved... was hardly what I expected, but was stunning throughout, mixing the band's trademark heaviness with a improved sense of variety and depth to their writing. Depth is certainly what Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me offered, three discs of her bewitching folk allowing her to really explore her sound and throw in elements of jazz, blues and all sorts into her musical cauldron.

Special mentions go to The Walkmen and Laura Marling for the maturity of their records released this year, both of whom seem to have moved up a level in the confidence and quality of their songwriting. Arcade Fire and The National have deservedly ruled the indie airwaves this year with two stadium-sized records that for once justify the term.

Here's my top 10 list for this year, filled up by quality records by ex-Aereogramme crew The Unwinding Hours, new folk hero Villagers and Icelandic mellowness queens Amiina.

Albums of the year

1. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
2. Oceansize - Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up
3. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
4. The Walkmen - Lisbon
5. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
6. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
7. The National - High Violet
8. The Unwinding Hours - The Unwinding Hours
9. Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
10. Amiina - Puzzle



Live music has had a great year too, and there have been a few real highlights for me. Thom Yorke's solo show in Cambridge in February this year was truly incredible mixing tracks from his solo record with rare Radiohead classics and even a generous helping of new material. Whether or not this ends up on the upcoming Radiohead record remains to be seen, but I was blown away in particular by a track called Give Up The Ghost. A simple, rhythmic guitar part layered with Yorke's harmonies, it sounded like an instant classic. Fingers crossed for that one to be released soon.

Elsewhere, Oceansize continued to prove themselves one of the best live bands around, blending sledgehammer heaviness with delicate melody and even giant singalong moments. At the other end of the scale, Joanna Newsom's performance in the classical setting of Birmingham's Symphony Hall was a rare treat.

Wilco continue to be a thrilling live prospect, layering their folk-rock in layers of noise and thrilling guitar work from Nels Cline. I was also lucky enough to see frontman Jeff Tweedy play a spine-tingling solo set in the beautiful Union Chapel in London, baring the quality of his songs completely to a rapt audience.

Arcade Fire gave a brilliant performance in Birmingham's horrid, cavernous LG Arena, relying on little more than raw energy and a feeling of us-against-them community. There's not much better than 15,000 people shouting the melody of Wake Up at the top of their lungs.

Gigs of the Year



1. Thom Yorke - Cambridge Corn Exchange
2. Oceansize - Birmingham Academy
3. Wilco - Royal Festival Hall London / Jeff Tweedy - Islington Union Chapel
4. Arcade Fire - LG Arena Birmingham
5. Joanna Newsom - Birmingham Symphony Hall


2011?

I'm very much looking forward to new records from Mogwai, Laura Marling, Rival Schools, Iron and Wine (whose new single Walking Far From Home has stolen in last minute to take Song of the Year), and Young Legionnaire. The latter in particular sounds very exciting, featuring yourcodenameis:milo frontman Paul Mullen getting back to what he does best with some scuzzy, riff heavy rock.

The possibility of new music from Wilco, Radiohead and The Invisible are all also filling me with anticipation for next year. So here's hoping they don't keep us waiting too long.

Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home

Sam Beam’s last album as Iron & Wine, 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog, marked him out as much more than just a folk singer with a guitar. That album wrapped abstract, epic lyrics around a varied musical backdrop that took in elements of Americana, R’n’B and even reggae to elevate their rustic feel to something greater. But on this first cut from new LP Kiss Each Other Clean, Beam has truly excelled himself.

You can listen to this song a couple of ways. Firstly you can be caught up by the swirling, synth-heavy carpet of sound that Beam lays his words on, with elements of dub reggae, ghostly harmonies and a climax that sends the listener into a blissful, weightless state. Or you can be stunned by the images Beam conjures with his lyrics – “I saw blood and a bit of it was mine, I saw children in a river, but their lips were still dry, lips were still dry”.

However you choose to listen to this track, its hard not to be utterly blown away by the quality of Beam’s writing, each verse (there are no choruses) sounding like a mantra being beamed down from on high. I have a sneaky suspicion that Kiss Each Other Clean is going to be one of the albums of 2011.

Dan Mangan - Nice Nice, Very Nice

Canadian Dan Mangan released this record last year in his homeland, and now finds himself spreading his wings across the pond. Signed to Arts & Crafts, the label home to Feist and her Broken Social Scene buddies, Mangan shares some key features with these crafters of high quality skewed pop. Throw in Mangan’s weathered, lived-in voice and you have a strong combination of chest-beating passion and fun, energetic songwriting.

Opener Road Regrets does what it says on its title’s tin really, but is none the worse for it as it mixes stories of tour van life with pining for people at home. Sold adds some southern-fried country feel to proceedings, with some train-track drums and some cool jazzy bass which has a faintly Gallic feel to it. Et Les Mots Croises may have a Gallic name, but is altogether more downtrodden in mood, showing a good contrast to Mangan’s writing.

Penultimate track Basket shares this feel, but ramps up the intensity in its second half, Mangan spitting his words out in a vitriolic stream of consciousness before ending with a pleading whisper. It’s a brilliantly performed song that, despite occasionally clunky lyric, stands as a great example of the power that one bloke and a guitar still hold. Robots has a great woozy, sea shanty feel to it that culminates in a ridiculous but fun singalong of “Robots need love too, they want to be loved by you”.

This album is all about contrasts – between the serious and daft, passionate and light hearted. With that in mind, I reckon Mangan could find a perfect gap in the singer-songwriter arena somewhere between Frank Turner and Villagers.

Weezer - Pinkerton Reissue

Given the fairly steady decline in the quality of their recorded output since 2001’s Green Album, most Weezer fans probably flip a coin between their debut Blue album and Pinkerton to decide on their favourite Weezer record. Pinkerton is clearly a landmark record in the band’s career – following the multi-platinum success of their debut was always going to be difficult and the album’s comparative commercial failure sent the band into a long hiatus. Frontman Rivers Cuomo even grew to hate the record, probably due to the initial reaction of record buyers and critics.

It seems his feelings to the album have cooled a lot however, as the band are embarking on a tour playing both Pinkerton and its predecessor in full. Listening to these songs, it’s striking how ageless they sound, laden with hooks and punkish drive. The only real obvious difference between this record and the Blue album is the darker feel of the lyrics – but even then songs like The Good Life and El Scorcho are still full of dumb teenage jokes and cringeworthy stories of doomed relationships.

This reissue tacks on 25 more tracks, a mix of unreleased tracks, B-sides, live tracks and acoustic versions. The unreleased material follows the darker feel of the record itself, I Swear It’s True is a frustrated riff heavy sludge, You Wont Get With Me Tonight a garage-punk thrasher topped with a Cuomo vocal that manages to sound desperate despite fending off a girl’s advances. Long Time Sunshine is a plodding piano led track, notable only for the use of the Why Bother chorus in its bizarre vocal harmony coda. Best is saved for last however, with the lengthy Tragic Girl, which contains more twists and turns in its arrangement than most of the other non-album material here.

Most of the acoustic tracks sound like they were recorded in front of an enthusiastic and possibly drunk group of teenagers, yelping with delight as the band belt out the “I’m dumb, she’s a lesbian” refrain of Pink Triangle. The stripped down feel really illuminates the quality of Cuomo’s writing, showing how tightly worked his melodies and arrangements are, even with the daft harmonies and vocal noises of El Scorcho. Three live tracks are taken from the band’s set at the 1996 Reading Festival, presented in all their muddy glory. Why Bother is particularly energetic, and the 5th (!) version of Pink Triangle on the reissue is probably the best. But here lies my gripe with this reissue.

Why are there so many versions of the same songs on here? As well as 5 Pink Triangle versions, there are 3 live recordings of El Scorcho and 3 acoustic versions of The Good Life, which really aren’t all that different. It’s a bit of a cliché to say that these reissues are for purists, but I cant imagine there are many Weezer fans out there desperate to hear so many near identical versions of songs they’ve known and loved for nearly 15 years now. As great an album as Pinkerton is, this reissue is let down a little by repetition.

Stornoway, Foxes - Birmingham Institute - November 2010

This was my first visit to the old Sanctuary venue since HMV bought it out and rebranded it as the Institute, and they appear to have done their best to spruce things up a bit. Trouble is, the downstairs room for tonight’s gig has had two bars added almost right in front of the stage, meaning the place is so cramped trying to get from one side of the venue to the other led to unintentionally violating the people you moved past. Also, there are TV screens above the stage with the venue name on them – WHY?!? We’re already in their venue, must they continue their ceaseless advertising?

Opening band Foxes! were given a good reception from the crowd, who were taken in by the numerous interesting tangents laid through their songs. Their set was packed with energetic, upbeat tunes shot through with sweet boy/girl harmony and shards of electronics. Their closing song in particular was a multi-part epic which verged on prog – but about as far away from the awful prog your old man listens to.
They also deserve special mention for crowbarring the line “my dog got anal cancer” into a bright, joyful pop song.

Stornoway are clearly a band on the cusp of something big – despite technical problems causing them to be late on stage, the crowd seem entirely unfussed at having to wait. Every track from their debut record “Beachcomber’s Windowsill” is met with cheers and big singalongs, and the crowd seem universally delighted to see their heroes.

The band’s violinist kicks off proceedings with a dramatic looped introduction, and the rest of the band hit the stage to a huge reception. Aswell as their violinist, the live band includes a trumpet player and all six thump away at various percussion instruments, and all their tunes are driven along by their energetic, inventive rhythm section. They aren’t helped by a stodgy sound mix, but these elements add decoration to what are fairly workmanlike songs.

The band also show some eccentric touches – throwing a load of spoons on the floor, sawing a block of wood for no apparent audible reason and even switching on a TV during a song. That said, frontman Brian Briggs brings the crowd to a rapt silence during the solo “November Song” with a strong vocal over delicate acoustic guitar. They also show they are capable of noisy urgency with “On The Rocks”, easily the song of the night, building from edgy, nervous guitar to a thrillingly powerful climax.

It seems that now is the time to catch them on their current tour – its unlikely that you’ll get to see them in venues this sort of size again.

Photos by Mark Salmon - http://www.mrksalmon.co.uk/

Motorifik - Secret Things

Phil Kay, mainman for Mancunian experimentalists Working For A Nuclear Free City, is obviously not content with releasing one album of restlessly inventive electronic pop in a year. Teaming up with French songwriter Idrisse Khelfi, Kay quickly follows up WFANFC’s Jojo Burger Tempest record with this new side project.

Kay has cited a strange reference point as being an influence on this album – Nas’ Illmatic, a staple of mid 90’s rap that Kay claims he was “struck by how concise it was. It forced me to cut our album down to its essence – a sort of twisted cinematic pop record.”

While there isn’t any obvious gritty hip-hop influence here, Kay hits the nail on the head with his description of Motorifik’s sound. Like fellow Mancs Engineers, Motorifik deal in big, towering melody and melancholy. But what separates this album is the contrast between moodiness and sudden about turns in style and atmosphere. This is most obvious on the short instrumental A Vision, which is 100 seconds of surfy guitar and energetic beats that breaks up the more expansive tracks nicely.

The Cause is irresistible power-pop , sounding not unlike Doves’ Black and White Town, with a Motown rhythm section and some excellent movie score string melodies. Opener Secret Things is driven by urgent guitar and big, wall of sound percussion straight from the Spector school of production. Another “interlude” track, Nameless Colour, is reminiscent of Radiohead’s Faust Arp, but with a much more optimistic feel to Kay’s vocal, while penultimate track Sleep Forever has a lush summery feel which contrasts nicely with the chorus lyric – “I wish I could, wish I could sleep forever.”

These songs are more direct than those of Kay’s day job band, but nothing is lost – in fact, this brevity helps the quality of the songs shine through throughout this record. Here’s hoping Kay and Khelfi find more time away from their main projects to work together – it’s a partnership that bears some very interesting fruit indeed.

Surf City - Kudos

When did surfing get so lazy? Back in the 50s and 60s, surf music was all about riotous energy and simple, memorable upbeat tunes from people like Dick Dale and the Surfaris. Now though, it seems surfers are more content listening to hazy, repetitive records drenched in reverb and weed smoke, probably spending more time lying horizontally on their boards than trying to actually catch a wave on them. It seems modern surf bands have spent more time listening to Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine than The Beach Boys.

These influences are pretty obvious throughout this record from New Zealanders Surf City, as almost every track is coated in a bleary, fuzzed up production and laid on top of persistent motorik beats. The guitars are pushed front and centre, but leave no real room for any of frontman Davin Stoddard’s vocal melodies to shine through. One of the few that stick is on the lengthy Icy Lakes, but mainly that’s because the guitars repeat the chorus line over and over for much of the song’s 7 minutes.

The mellower tracks, such as Yakuza Park fare slightly better, the blissed out dreaminess of the production suiting the more relaxed tempos used here. It would be interesting to see how strong these songs are if they were stripped back, peeling off the layers and layers of effects and reverb might reveal some interesting ideas. Penultimate track CIA shows the band can add a bit of gonzo punk energy, but it comes a little too late to save this disappointing effort. Wanna go surfing? Nah, think I’ll leave it thanks, sounds a bit dull.

1/5

Amiina - Puzzle

The cover of Amiina’s debut album, 2007’s Kurr, gave journos everywhere a perfect metaphor for their music. The sleeve shows the four members of the band sat with needles, knitting a giant scarf, much in the way their music weaved together gently, creating a soothing, warming feeling for the listener. Having spent much of the last decade as Sigur Ros’ string section, the inevitable comparisons are going to be made. But, having added a drummer and “electronic artist” to the band, Amiina are clearly trying to step out from the shadow of their fellow countrymen.

From the opening digital twinkles of Ásinn, it’s clear that while much has changed about Amiina’s musical texture, the feeling their music creates is much the same. I saw the band play as both string section and support act to Sigur Ros on the tour around 5 years ago, and the four girls played around a huge table laden with all sorts of instruments – wine glasses, glockenspiels, toy pianos, laptops and even a musical saw. Many of those elements have been retained, but the addition of further electronic layers and live drums have anchored the band’s weightless melodies.

Another first is the use of English lyrics, as on the free download taster track Over and Again, and on the gorgeous What Are We Waiting For? The latter weaves a simple folksy melody over glockenspiel and delicate strings, before some urgent, drumming pushes the whole thing skyward. Title track Púsl (In Icelandic!) is more of a slow burner, gradually unfurling over 6 minutes with a glitchy carpet of electronics building around lush, interweaving melody.

But one really interesting point occurs on the albums’ other lengthy instrumental, Sicsak. The tune features an undercurrent of tension, even menace that we haven’t heard from Amiina before. It sounds not unlike something from Portishead’s Third album, and you can easily close your eyes and imagine Beth Gibbons’ withered, witchy vocals over the top of the eerie atmospherics Amiina create. It’s closing minutes are especially thrilling, as the drums again push the piece to a conclusion that could almost be described as heavy.

This album really deserves to see Amiina get more recognition, and one hopes the constant Sigur comparisons may one day escape them. They show enough variety between the light and shade on this to do so.

4.5/5

Engineers - In Praise Of More

Engineers had a promising career stalled somewhat by record label problems – their first self-titled LP was released in 2004 around the same time bands like Doves and Elbow were taking big steps in earnest, orchestral rock. But Engineers were unable to keep any momentum in their career going, not releasing second album Three Fact Fader until July last year.

So it’s no surprise to see that album followed hot on its heels by new record In Praise Of More. Surprisingly the band have also gone through line up changes over this short period, most notably in the shape of German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss joining the band on keyboards.

Engineers have always operated towards the more laid back end of the spectrum, often having the dreaded “shoegaze” term thrown at them. In fact staring at your feet is probably the least appropriate position to listen to this album – lying down staring at the stars would suit tunes like the lush Las Vega and stately instrumental Nach Hause much better.

It’s rare that the band shift above anything other than mid tempo, and when they do add a bit of momentum the tunes still feel hazy and horizontal, as on surefire single Press Rewind with its solid hook and fuzzed up bass. Schnauss makes his presence most felt on tunes like To An Evergreen, adding layers of electronics and some lazily euphoric synths.

This is a diverting, interesting record, unlikely to see the band radically change their status as a cult concern. Given the energy levels displayed by the band’s music, they’re probably not that fussed by that.

3.5/5

Joanna Newsom - Symphony Hall Birmingham September 2010

t’s hard to imagine Joanna Newsom as being immodest, but halfway through 'Good Intentions Paving Co.' she sings the line “Right here at the top of my game” and, on the basis of tonight’s performance, you’d be hard pushed to disagree with her. For an hour and a half she casts a spell over the ornate and stuffy surroundings of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall with her twisting, complex but consistently beautiful songwriting.

Newsom is a good fit for this kind of venue, given the (for want of a better word) classical features of her music. It’s hard to classify tunes like 'Have One On Me' or the stunning 'Emily' as songs – these are pieces, performed by stunningly talented musicians to an audience in rapt silence throughout.

The reduced arrangements are spread between percussion, two string players, trombone and a variety of exotic guitars and are meticulously realised. On record, Newsom’s songs are swathed in vast everything-and-the-kitchen-sink arrangements, especially those on 2006’s 'Ys' album. Here, Newsom is often left with either her harp or piano and that keening, mannered yet strangely angelic voice. The other musicians dive gracefully in and out of the songs, especially on encore 'Baby Birch', it’s stately and choral opening shattered by shards of electric guitar.

The set leans heavily on Newsom’s recent triple disc megalith of an album 'Have One On Me', and the songs performed tonight belie some new influences to Newsom’s sound. Album opener 'Easy' lays a Kate Bush style vocal melody over a deceptively jazzy beat, while 'Good Intentions Paving Co.' could in lesser hands be turned into a full on country hoedown. Here the opening driving rhythm is broken by a lush, mellow middle section, before climbing back through the gears into a neat, improvised trombone-led breakdown.

As Newsom leaves the stage, a wide-eyed childish grin on her face, she gives the impression of being genuinely thrilled at the standing ovation she deservedly receives. It’s incredibly refreshing to see someone making highbrow music seem so down to earth and excited at the thrill of performing.