Albums of the Year - 2022

 So then, 2022 - how was it for you? Musically it was great for me - new bands, American superstars, more live acts than I've ever seen in one year before. Here's my pick of the best of the year, I hope you find something new to listen to.

1. Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There

BC,NR take the top spot on my list for the second year running. Full of gut-wrenching, heart-breaking lyrics and musical surprises, this was (almost) the sound of a band hitting their peak. The departure of Isaac before the album was even released may have knocked them back for a while, but it makes a lot of these songs seem even more poignant now. And having seen a recent show at Bush Hall I can confidently say that the band are forging ahead with a new direction, and might even make it to the top of next year's list!

2. caroline - caroline

A record that almost defies description from an 8-piece band who are astonishing to watch live, where they usually play in the round. It's almost like a folk version of Mogwai - there are quiet bits, loud bits, bits that sound like instruments are falling over, and a man shouting in the background, but it all combines to produce an incredibly emotive and moving album. Lyrics are repeated so that they become mantras, while unusual instruments help you drift to another dimension. I can't wait to hear more from them in 2023.

3. Beyonce - Renaissance

At this point in her career Bey could probably put out any old shit and people would buy it. So we should be grateful that instead of that she's given us 'Renaissance', a glorious album that manages to celebrate black culture and the history of black dance music with some incredible production and some properly banging tunes. This is undoubtedly the album I've played the most this year, although I've so far baulked at paying the exorbitant price for the vinyl.

4. Jockstrap - I Love You Jennifer B

They may have possibly the worst band name in existence, but Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye have made what may be the most intriguing album of the year. Every time I listen to this record I hear something new and it sounds like the songs are going in a different direction, they seem to inhabit multiple genres at once, and everything seems to be slightly on the edge of a precipice. When you consider that Georgia is also a member of Black Country, New Road then you have to conclude that she's one of the most talented musicians in the UK at the moment. 

5. deathcrash - Return

This London-based fourpiece display influences of Mogwai and Slint, albeit in a slightly gentler fashion (singer Tiernan Banks apparently wanted to call this album 'Rejected Slint Demos' but was overruled). They're music is intense but not in your face, and brings an occasional lightness of touch to the quiet/loud/quiet genre. They're a force to reckon with live too, and have already recorded their second full-length album, which will be released early next year. Guitarist Matthew Weinberger also released his own, very different, solo album this year under the name Satan Club, which is worth checking out if you're a fan of instrumental acoustic folk.

6. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

They don't call him King Kenny for nothing. This is a pretty faultless album (remove 'We Cry Together' and it would be perfect) from the rap artist of his generation, one on which Kendrick continues to confront the issues of the day, taking on cancel culture and white privilege through his own personal lens. He marked the album with one of the most talked-about Glastonbury performances of all time and an outstanding tour which cemented his position at the top of the tree.

7. Working Men's Club - Fear Fear

An album that solidifies Syd's vision for the band and shows how he's developing as a songwriter. The lyrics, written through the Covid pandemic, are extremely dark and sometimes painfully honest, but are counterbalanced by uplifting and pounding electronic melodies. It still sounds a lot like some of the bands I loved in the 80s, but Syd's view of the world is beginning to make WMC stand out as an act to watch out for in their own right.

8. Kae Tempest - The Line Is A Curve

On first listen this album didn't grab me as much as I thought it would. But as the year went on, and over the course of the 4 times I saw them live this year, Kae's album began to hit hard and deep. The lyrics are as good as ever, and although the inclusion of featured guests was initially a surprise, in most cases they enhance the songs, especially Grian from Fontaines DC (I'd love for him and Kae to make a whole joint album together).  'Salt Coast' is probably me favourite track off the album, a brilliantly poetic description of Britain and the people who inhabit it.

9. Yard Act - The Overload

The first album I bought this year, way back at the start of January when it was engaged in a chart battle with Years & Years. Since then both the album and the band have become bigger and more widely know, but have remained refreshingly down to earth. From re-recording '100% Endurance' with Elton John to being nominated for the Mercury Prize, James and the gang have continued to work their arses off for our entertainment. I'm not sure how/if they'll be able to develop their sound further, but they've certainly made the most of their time in the spotlight this year.

10. Bob Vylan - Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life

On the back of this album are printed the words 'If you can't afford this product, feel free to steal it'. It's a great indicator  of the ethos of this band who are, for me, the most properly 'punk' act in the UK today. On this, their second album, they've developed their musical style to me more diverse, but kept the hard-hitting lyrics about wealth-based inequality, racism and privilege. They self-financed and released this album, getting it into the top 20, and then went on to perform on the BBC's Glastonbury coverage and win both a MOBO award and a Kerrang! award, surely the first act to ever achieve that double whammy.

Fifteen more worth listening to:

• Jack White - Fear of the Dawn
• Wu-Lu - Loggerhead
• Loyle Carner - Hugo
• Black Midi - Hellfire
• Cassels - A Gut Feeling
• Hot Chip - Freakout/Release
• Pusha T - It's Almost Dry
• Gabe Gurnsey - Diablo
• Oliver Sim - Hideous Bastard
• Bodega - Broken Equipment
• Daniel Avery - Ultra Truth
• Scalping - Void
• The Lounge Society - Tired of Liberty
• Bambara - Love On My Mind
• Courting - Guitar Music

Albums of the Year - 2021

 It's been another year of mostly sitting indoors, although I did make it to a couple of festivals and quite a few gigs which was a relief after 2020. I also seem to have bought more vinyl this year than ever before, which made selecting a Top Ten a very difficult process. I made it to the end though, so here are my favourite albums of the year, along with another chunk that are worth investigating and might have made the top on a different day.

1. Black Country, New Road - For The First Time

Pretty much nailed on to be near the top of my list since the day it was announced, this short but brilliant album served as a document of the formative part of BC,NR's career. Despite the niggling omission of fan favourites 'Snow Globes' and 'Basketball Shoes', which will be remedied on album 2 next year, the 6 tracks here showcase a band which is really unlike any other (although they've already inspired a few imitators). It's not just the tunes either, the lyrics are great too and cover subjects as broad as love, science, depression and Kanye West. Having already started to evolve musically I hope this is a band that stays together for the next few decades.

2. Black Midi - Cavalcade

Although BC,NR just crept to the top of my arbitrary selection, this album by Black Midi is really equally as good. It's consistently inventive, not just over the course of the album but often during the course of individual songs. The musicianship is phenomenal and live they have become a unstoppable tour de force. I never expected to love a jazz-prog-psych-genre-busting album so much.

3. For Those I Love - For Those I Love

It's hard to believe that an album about by death and grief can be as uplifting as this record is. But David Balfe's homage to his friend Paul Curran manages to touch you deeply and make you smile in equal measure as he talks is way through the stories of their wayward youth together. A judicious use of samples helps to provide a warm familiarity to the songs so that after a few listens you feel like you new Paul yourself in some small way. 

4. Fred Again - Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)

The sound of lockdown 2020. With songs constructed from conversations with friends, producer Fred Gibson's debut album touches on the emotion and isolation each of us has probably suffered from at some point since Covid first took hold. It's an open and honest look at how we feel today and finishes with a touch of optimism via a snatch of Bon Iver.

5. Hannah Peel - Fir Wave

Nominated, perhaps surprisingly, for this year's Mercury Prize, Peel's excellent album uses music by Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop as a starting point to create some sublime electronica. The record somehow manages to evoke atmospheric landscapes and the wonders of nature while at the same time having one foot on the dancefloor. Electronic album of the year for sure.

6. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

Produced by Inflo (the genius behind Sault) this record is the sound of Little Simz exploring her public persona and contrasting it with her private perception of herself. The big, orchestral arrangements on a number of tracks help to give the album real gravitas, although this is in part counterbalanced by the annoying interludes (which 9 times out of 10 spoil rap records). That niggle aside, this is an assured and powerful album which will no doubt gain her even more recognition.

7. Dave - We're All Alone In This Together

Could Dave match the impact of his first album? After just one listen to this record the answer was a resounding yes. It's ambitious and powerful in its subject matter, covering both Dave's life in the UK and his heritage. There's a host of interesting collaborators, including James Blake, who help give the album a broader feel than his debut, but despite the input of others you sense that this is exactly what Dave wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

8. Squid - Bright Green Field

An unpredictable and innovative album that moves in a number of different directions, sometimes all at the same time. The songs evolve, ebb and flow and any track is likely to feature trumpet, screaming, guitars, jazz riffs, often when you least expect it. There's a real skill in making something that sounds like it's teetering on the brink of falling apart, and Squid have already mastered it. 

9. Ross From Friends - Tread

For his second album Essex born Felix Weatherall a.k.a Ross From Friends created his own recording program that allowed tracks to automatically record and catalogue themselves and he was creating them, leaving him free to plough on with the actual artistic process. The result is a warm and evocative electronic / dance album which almost has the feel of house music performed by a live band. I can't wait to hear this one at a festival.

10. IDLES - Crawler

After the disappointment of last year's 'Ultra Mono' album i was worried that IDLES' time might have passed. Those worries melted away as soon as the opening track 'MTT 420 RR' started up. There are songs on this record that take the band in directions I never thought they'd go, and even the more IDLES-y tracks have more breadth and depth than on previous albums.

16 more to check out:

• Damon Albarn - The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows
• Daniel Avery - Together In Static
• Blank Mass - In Ferneaux
• MG Boulter - Clifftown
• Geese - Projector
• Lande Hekt - Going to Hell
• Iceage - Seek Shelter
• Joy Orbison - Still Slipping Vol. 1
• Koreless - Agor
• Lice - Wasteland: What Ails Our People Is Clear
• Modern Nature - Island of Noise
• Public Service Broadcasting - Bright Magic
• Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure
• Shame - Drunk Tank Pink
• UNKLE - Ronin 1
• W.H. Lung - Vanities

Where did all the good band names go?

OK, so music's been around a long time, and there have always been poor band names. The Beatles, for example, is a pun that soon wears pretty thin if you stop to think about it, and which many people didn't even realise was a pun and just put down to bad spelling. And The The would never make it as a band name today since it's pretty un-Googleable (see also A, and more recently following a telecoms merger, Everything Everything. But surely there must be some good names still to be had? Apparently not, if the selection of bands I've listed below are anything to go by. All of these acts are playing South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas this year, a festival which is (or was until it was hijacked by the mass corporate hordes from Samsung to Doritos) designed to showcase up and coming new acts.If I was there this year I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be setting foot in front of any stage where this bunch of misnamed muppets were playing.

1. Perfect Pussy. Scientifically proven to be the shittest band name ever thought up.
2. The Front Bottoms. Mildly amusing, once, if you're a 13 year-old boy.
3. Big Tits. See description for number 2.
4. Cool Piss. Piss is not cool, either literally or metaphorically.
5. Great Good Fine OK. Make your mind up, which one is it?
6. Kraak & Smaak. It's not big and it's not clever.
7. Diarrhea Planet. Apart from being a terrible name, that's not even how you spell it.
8. DJ Hella Yella. I could've had a whole list devoted to DJ names, but this is the pick of the bunch.
9. Ynfynyt Scroll. How are you even supposed to pronounce that? If it's Infinity then spell it like that dumbass.
10. bEEdEEgEE. Lower case / Upper case nonsense.

Track of the Day: 'You Wish You Were Red' by Trailer Trash Tracys

From their debut album 'Ester', which is out on Monday. If you order it from Rough Trade Shops here you get a bonus 6-track cd as well. I reckon it sounds like a hybrid of Beach House, David Lynch and Cat's Eyes - what do you think?

Wear your old band T-shirt day

Today is the 4th annual 'wear your old band T-short day', as dreamt up by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6music. It raises the interestting question of why we buy band t-shirts at all - a souvenir of a great gig? As a way of identifying yourself as part of a tribe? Just because a particular image caught your eye? And do you always buy them from the official merch stall or, like a certain friend of mine, from the hawkers outside - half the price & guaranteed to shrink/fade/fall apart the first time you wash it?

My own all-time favourite band t-shirt has to be the British Sea Power 'Heron Addict' one - it was a souvenir from a great gig, but also I love the pun, and you don't get many t-shirts with birds on the front. Sadly this, like many of my classic band t-shirts (the Radiohead 'South Park' one is another good example) are extremely 'snug' (to put it mildly) and hence don't fit over my maturing frame.

Nevermind though,as there are plenty that do still fit, so today I'm sporting an 11-year old Manic Street Preachers special from V2002. Photographic evidence can be found above and below, I particularly like the quote on the back from Thomas Grunfeld - 'The point is always the same'.

I'm not sure if this has gone global yet, but it should do, so grab yourselves an old t-shirt from the back of the drawer and join in the fun!