Tracks of the Year 2014

It's always a struggle to pick my favourite tracks at the end of the year. What criteria should I use - tracks from my favourite albums? Songs that remind me of good times. This year I've kept it nice and simple - you could subtitle this list as "Songs that I have to turn up when I hear them on the radio". It's as easy as that. Consequently it's quite a mixed bag in terms of styles and genres, but they're all tracks that have had me reaching for the volume button this year. I've sorted the top 10 in order, and give you the next 20 randomly just so you've got some stuff to go and seek out.

1. Caribou - 'Can't Do Without You (Extended Mix)'. When the original version of this song came out there was one single thing wrong with it; it felt a few minutes too short. Three weeks later this version appeared and it was perfect. This is the track that's had me reaching for the rewind button most often this year.

2. Flying Lotus - 'Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar)'. Pretty much encapsulates FlyLo's magnum opus album 'You're Dead' in 4 minutes - jazzy piano, frantic bass from Thundercat, and spot-on flow from Mr Lamar. 

3. Kendrick Lamar - 'i'. While we're talking about Kendrick, here's his comeback single which points to the fact that his next album will be immense. One of those classic hip-hop uses of a sample - The Isley Brothers song is exactly the right track used in exactly the right way

4. Jack White - 'Lazaretto'. Almost the perfect Jack White song - a great fuzzed-up riff, a brilliant solo, a change of pace, even the violin gets a chance to let rip. A classic that he'll be playing for years to come.



5. Jenny Lewis - 'She's Not Me'. Really I've got no idea why I love this song so much, it's not normally my sort of thing. I've come to the conclusion that everything in it is just done so well I can't help but love it. Great production, great lyrics, a great hook, a catchy, sing-able chorus and proper old-school guitar solos in the middle and at the end.



6. Johnny Marr - 'Easy Money'. The most effortlessly simple and effective indie pop song you'll hear all year. More reminiscent of Marr's stuff with Electronic than The Smiths with a melody that most professional songwriters would kill for.



7. Little Dragon - 'Klapp Klapp'. Another catchy and upbeat tune, and one that moved the Swedisg band up a league or two in 2014. Totally infectious.



8. Maxïmo Park - 'Leave This Island'. A change in style for Paul Smith & the boys (which sadly wasn't repeated on the rest of the album), I love the moody electronic feel to this, which goes well with the dark lyrics.



9. Jessie Ware - 'Tough Love'. I'm pretty sure my love of this track is entirely due to the fact that it reminds me of 'Raspberry Beret' by Prince every time I hear it. But I don't care, it's a great song.



10. Hot Chip vs William Onyeabor - 'Atomic Bomb'. My favourite track from my second-favourite purchase on Record Store Day this year (the LCD Soundsystem boxset wins of course). This is a brilliant reinterpretation of the song, with a gentle reggae bassline and a hypnotic groove.



The next 20 are in no particular order, but I guarantee you that they're all worth a listen.

Röyksopp - 'Skulls'. Their new album is like a cross between Justice and Jean-Michel Jarre (which is obviously a good thing).

Hudson Mohawke - 'Chimes'. You know, the one off the Apple Macbook advert.

Daedelus - 'Onward'. A hauntingly moving track, from his album about the 1853-56 Crimean War (!).

Francis Lung - 'A Selfish Man'. A brilliant warts and all account of leaving his former band Wu Lyf.

Warpaint - 'Love Is To Die'. Featuring the most surprising key change this year, it really catches you off-guard (in a good way).

Hamilton Leithauser - '11 O'Clock Friday Night'. Great production, and I love the way it builds over the percussive backing.

The Wytches - 'Wire Frame Mattress'. A brilliantly disturbed slice of garage-psyche-rock.

Metronomy - 'Love Letters (Soulwax Remix)'. Great track, even better remix which, with the way the girls' vocals are brought to the fore, reminds me of the Human League.

Jane Weaver - 'Argent'. From her excellent album 'The Silver Globe', here the Liverpudlian lass makes French-sounding Krautrock!

Elbow - 'Fly Boy Blue / Lunette'. A great return to form from Elbow, the 'Lunette' part of this track features some of Guy Garvey's best ever lyrics.

The War on Drugs - 'Red Eyes'. Classic mature guitar-rock that sounds more than a bit like Bryan Adams.

Jungle - Busy Earnin'. In a year which featured an over-abundance of white-boy soul, this track stood out for me above the rest.

Sylvan Esso - 'Hey Mami'. Like one of those old-fashioned round songs they used to make you sing in the school choir, updated for the 21st century.

Mogwai - 'Remurdered'. Proper pounding  classic Mogwai.

St. Vincent - 'Digital Witness'. Working with David Byrne has clearly had an effect on Annie Clarke, and this track kick-started her startling re-birth.

New Build - 'The Sunlight'. Evokes the spirit of every great Balearic blissed-out moment.

Redinho - 'Playing With Fire'. Sleazy electro-funk with Zapp-style vocals.

Wild Beasts - 'Wanderlust'. "Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck." Perfect.

Young Fathers - 'LOW'. One of the best tracks from one of the best albums of the year.
https://soundcloud.com/bigdadasound/young-fathers-low
Son Lux - 'Easy (Switch Screens)(feat. Lorde). One of my favourite tracks from last year gets a re-boot with one of the ladies of the year.



When I get the chance I'll do a podcast of them all in an order that makes sense for listening and post it on Mixcloud and here (and maybe even give it away if I don't get caught). Enjoy!

PS Just so you know, I very nearly put 'Shake It Out' by Taylor Swift and 'I'm Not The Only One' by Sam Smith in this list...

Track of the Day: 'Hunger of the Pine' by Alt-J

The first track from the new album 'This Is All Yours' is starts with a solitary keyboard with a Wild Beasts feel to it, but soon develops into something more recognisably Alt-J. The usual percussive flourishes appear, along with what sounds like a clarinet and some sampled brass. It's not a radical departure, more an evolution, but one which tees up the new album nicely.



PS apparently that's Miley Cyrus you can hear as the sampled female voice. I bet none of you saw that coming!

Record Store Day 2014 - A Tale of Two Cities

The annual vinyl fest that is Record Store Day presented me with a conundrum this year - a new record shop opened up fairly locally a couple of months ago; should I go to that and support the local trader or make my usual trip to London. I had to weigh up the fact that there would be less people in the queue at Southend against the knowledge that they would would have a smaller selection than Rough Trade East in Shoreditch. The solution? Go to both of course!

The alarm was duly set for 4:45 am (!) and I got to Rough Trade just after 6, seconds after my Crocuh End-dwelling shopping companion. A quick tally down the queue showed that there were already about 100 people ahead of us at that ungodly hour. Fortunately MJC had brought a flask of strong java to keep us going. Doors opened bang on 8 am, with the usual well-managed queue meaning that we were inside just after 8:30. The friendly chat while we'd waited had discovered that both I and the guy in front of me were after the LCD Soundsystem box set - he was in the shop ahead of me and kindly grabbed 2 off the shelf, handing me one before I'd even spotted where they were (people who like records are, as a rule, nice people aren't they?). Although some of the rarest stuff had already gone (I missed out on Liars and Damon Albarn) pretty much everything else I wanted was still there. I worked out the total, gulped, put a few of the non-essential items back (standard practice on RSD) but was happy with my final selection.

The Rails of the first leg of their trans-Atlantic journey, London 19/4/14

Although the live music at Rough Trade usually starts later in the day, we got a chance to see The Rails as they were on at 9:30, which was an early-morning treat. The early start was to allow them to play, in true Phil Collins Live Aid style, on both sides of the Atlantic in one day - after their appearance at Rough Trade East they were heading for a flight to New York, where they'll be on at Rough Trade NYC tonight.

Live set watched, I headed round to Liverpool Street Station for the train back to Southend, hopped on and from where I'm currently writing this. Here's a list of what I bought in London:

1. LCD Soundsystem - The Long Goodbye (5 x vinyl lp boxset)
2. William Onyeabor - What?! (2 x 12")
3. Gil Scott-Heron - Nothing New (lp)
4. Various - XFM X-posure Sessions (lp)
5. Clint Mansell - In The Wall OST (brown and red splatter vinyl lp)
6. The Wedding Present - EP4 (clear vinyl 10" - in Welsh!)
7. The Notwist - Run Run Run (double groove 12")
8. Temples / Jagwar Ma - split 12" picture disc
9. The The - Giant (12")
10. Various - The Space Project (6 x 7" boxset)
11. Public Service Broadcasting - Elfstedentocht (white vinyl 7")
12. Villagers - Occupy Your Mind (clear vinyl 7")

An hour later and I'm off the train and walking down Southend High Street to my second store of the day. A much smaller affair than Rough Trade obviously, but it was nice to have a chat with the staff (although I always feel a bit self-conscious looking through the racks when the staff are right bedside you). Luckily they had a couple of bits that I couldn't get in London so it was worth the visit - I grabbed these three:

1. Liars - Mess On A Mission (clear vinyl 12" with wool inside it)
2. Django Django - Porpoise Song (grey vinyl 7")
3. Africa Express - Maison Des Jeunes (double blue vinyl lp)

My purchases for 2014

Record Store Day 2013

Another year, another unfeasibly early train ride into London to visit the vinyl Mecca that is Rough Trade East (having first had to scrape the ice off the car, despite the fact that it's April). The queue was definitely longer at 6.30 than it was last year, meaning that we didn't get straight in at 8 o'clock, but our hands were in reach of the record racks by about 8.25, and they weren't letting too many people in at once so it was pretty calm inside. Unfortunately a couple of things I wanted had already gone (the Mercury Rev album and the Brian Eno x Nicolas Jaar x Grizzly Bear 12") but I got pretty much everything else I wanted (see the list below for my successful purchases).

Emerging from Rough Trade about 9.45 I headed down to Mother Gallery for the Secret 7s sale, not to buy anything but just to see what was around. There was another queue to get in and quite a lot had gone by the time I was in, but it seemed like a fun event to raises money for Art Against Knives.

A spot of brunch followed, and then I returned to Rough Trade (where I'm sat writing this) to watch some of the music. So far I've seen sets from Daniel Avery and then Sam Willis (Walls), and I'll be watching Public Service Broadcasting before I head home. I'll stick some pictures onto this post later but in the meantime here's a list of what I got:

1. Pulp x Soulwax - After You 12"
2. Ghostpoet - Meltdown 10"
3. Moon Duo - Circles Remixed 12"album
4. Primal Scream - I Want You 12"
5. Toy x The Horrors - Motoring / Moving Further Away 12"
6. Sinkane - Jeepers Creepers 12"
7. Beak> - 0898 / Welcome To The Machine 10"
8. The Wedding Present - 4 Lieder EP 10"
9. Factory Records - Communications vol. 2 10"
10. Elliott Smith - Either/Or 7"
11. Public Service Broadcasting - Signal 30 7"
12. Paul Weller - Flame Out 7"
13. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Animal X picture 7"
14. Moby & Mark Lanegan - The Lonely Night 7"
15. The Twilight Sad / Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - split 7"
16. Mogwai / Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - split 7"

Here's some pictures of the day:

RSD13 - the queue at Rough Trade 6.30am (part 1)

RSD13 - the queue at Rough Trade 6.30am (part 2)

Daniel Avery DJ'ing amongst the foliage

Sam Willis (Walls)

Public Service Broadcasting