ALBUMS
The Invisible - The Invisible:
This album was a serious contender for the Mercury Award. The whole album oozes character and is skilfully crafted. New sounds, that take influence from the last three decades of alternative and the alternative end of pop music, melded with a full on alternative guitar band. It really is a style of music I'd been looking for for ages.
Musically, the tracks range from the slightly haunting opener, In Retrograde, to the catchy pop-esque, London Girl. Lyrically the album take on love as an overriding theme. Obviously some tales are darker than others
I'm not sure exactly when in the year the album was released but I've been listening to it pretty solidly since I first heard the first note.
The XX - XX:
XX is pretty music. The guitars are layered in reverbs and delays and the drums are much in the same vein. The bass guitar leads most of the melodies. The vocals, sung or spoken at near whisper by the male a female parts, play off one another perfectly. While this is only a first album the sound is very polished. The songs mainly begin in very simple forms and then progressively build in complexity through their duration.
This is also one of the only albums released this year that really explores the idea of dynamic range. It has quiet bits... which is a pretty big shock to the system if you've been listening to pop/rock albums over the last decade or two.
Again this record has been on non-stop since I got it at around Christmas time. It's has pretty good time in reviews too. Rough Trade made it their album of the year, and I think that counts for something.
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures:
Dave Grohl, Josh Homme & John Paul Jones present their super-group... not much else to say really. With Josh Homme on vocals their sound takes on a Queens of The Stone Age vibe when they are rocking out. While that's all well and good, it's the subtlety of tone that John Paul Jones brings to the play. His bass lines are wandering, meandering and clearly off the cuff. Jones' multi-instrumentalism gives tracks like Spinning in Daffodils a new layer of beauty. Just try and find a mistimed drum hit from Grohl. Not gonna happen...
Stardeath & White Dwarfs - The Birth:
Led by the nephew of, Flaming Lips frontman, Wayne Coyne, Dennis, Stardeath are definately alternative. Their sound is inspired from psychedelia, metal, prog rock and a ton of other stuff; although clearly they are heavily influenced by uncle Wayne's Flaming Lips, and their vast stylistic canvas.
I caught them playing at Bestival at the end of the Summer, and can also highly recommend the live experience. Dennis has an excellent stage presence and the whole show is pretty spectacular.
SINGLES
Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name
This track was the Facebook campaign that stopped the X Factor winner from getting the Christmas #1 in the UK charts. It's a classic anti-establishment rock (or rap-metal) track. The fact that the campaign got so much coverage and actually worked was all the better. I was pleased that people acted out against the really crappy karaoke effort that Simon Cowell's contestant put out.
Ellie Goulding - Wish I Stayed
I picked up on this thanks to the iTunes single of the week campaign. They give away a free track every week from up and coming artists. This one was a stand out one that came out just before Christmas. Now this young artist has been tipped for big things in 2010 by the BBC and a few others. This particular track seems to be quite different from the rest of her commercial material. It's all acoustic guitars and delicately sung lyrics. Pretty special for something free.
Jay-Z - D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)
I don't normally pick up on much hip-hop/rap stuff these days but this track is just amazing. The guitar lick, the trumpet, the beat; all of it is truly inspired. The lyrics are pretty cool too.
LIVE
Blur - Hyde Park:
An all day event on a scorching summer day in London. Support started around 3pm and Blur came on just as the sun was setting. It really was a great day out, although by the time it was all over I was a bit worse for wear due to the excessive sun exposure and beer.
Bestival 2009
Three days of musical bliss on the Isle of White. If all festivals were as excellent as Bestival then I'd be in heaven. It has everything you could want from a festival. The music on show is diverse and exciting (from Kraftwerk to Krafty Kuts, from Stardeath and White Dwarfs to Sportsday Megaphone and so on). The crowd is there for the music, not for the atmosphere, which in itself creates a more appealing atmosphere because music lovers are nice people. Every year the festival has a fancy dress theme, and on at least one of the days everyone is encouraged to wear their home made efforts. It's all set up by Rob da Bank and the two years I've been, it's been hands down the best festival I've been to in the year. You could almost say it's the Best-ival... sorry.
That just about wraps up my musical experience of last year. Hope anyone who reads this might take something and buy an album or something.
In the next one I'll be on about Film. So Star Trek and Avatar...
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