It's said too often to even be notable any more that the BBC Sound Of... poll is a self-fulfilling prophecy, a marketing exercise based on which private school privileged weekenders (thank you, Simon Price) the majors want us to know about rather than any mass qualitative judgement. How odd, then, that in the wake of the prediction season the most talked about band weren't in the BBC poll's fifteen strong longlist at all.
This is, of course, the much 'discussed' Brother. Not so much a band as a lame group troll, peddling the sort of sixth rate dirge every band of either eighteen year olds or 35 year olds you ever saw opening in every grotty bar, valuable bandwidth has gone into critiquing their new-Oasis stance and the central casting nature therein, from haircuts to picking faults with everyone a willing journalist throws at them to "saviours of rock'n'roll" aphorisms. In turn, many a journalist has got riled on demand. The Quietus got someone to file 1100 words on why nobody should be writing about them and didn't appreciate the irony. Which is funny, as if any band is going to spend the next six months telling all and sundry that they don't mind if they're loved or hated as long as everyone has an opinion on them, the great get-out clause of the idea-free, it's them.
All this fallout raises two points. One is the sort of thing that any band creating a framework of cocky arrogant youth really should have seen to in this Internet age, though none of the anti-Brother pieces have picked up on yet. That being: two years ago they were called Wolf Am I and releasing an album compared to Brand New. A year before that they were called Kill The Arcade and sounded like this, that is to say accidentally inventing Kids In Glass Houses and thus would probably have been quite successful by now as they were. In a recent interview, they (as in their current guise) referred to "that American shit". Yeah. All much fun, until you realise their entire act hinges on getting people to believe that they mean it and are serious about bringing whatever commercial success British guitar music really requires, when they're gleeful bandwagon leapers who don't even bother to pick up the discarded identities that prove them to be entirely transparent. Hey, Potential Brother fans! They're openly mocking you, they are.
This, of course, is even more pointless, self-defeating words added to the Brother Mobius strip of criticism, but the reason why is in point two. See, the reason, of course, is someone has decided that it's time for a return to 'traditional rock values'. Note the prevalence suddenly given to the report that that most horrible and nebulous of theories, 'rock music', has had its worst year in fifty, but only if you count the devalued and deface singles chart, the download-friendly nature of which works against indie rock's nap hand of first week physical sales. Even that self same report undermines the headline statement in expert quote and secondary album chart of the year source. It fosters the idea that unthreatening route one guitar music has been in the doldrums since, oh, 1996. And not, say, 2007, when the Kaiser Chiefs kept prime Arcade Fire off the top of the album charts and The Enemy, Hard-Fi and Editors could still have number one LPs. It was three and a half years ago. You may remember it. And it's reflected in the way Beady Eye still seem, despite having music out, only to exist in theory, hovering above all critical faculties because OMG IT'S LIAM. Look at the excitement around the Libertines reunion until it turned out spending years keeping deliberate distance from each other hadn't made them any less scrappy, oddly enough. Look at the amount of spectacularly uncritical prose heaped upon the Vaccines, a workaday 1988 post-JAMC pub band playing What A Waster on the human face forever (and, for that matter, on the cover of all the supposedly double covered NMEs we've seen)
Rock'n'roll must come back is the cry, as much from label marketing managers targeting a particular demographic that might have dropped off a touch in the last two year as from people who make music. Nothing better proves that rock'n'roll, as a carefully choreographed sequence of sneers, quotes and pouts, is an outdated shithole and must be humanely destroyed.
Calm. Calm.
The nature of Sound Of... is often pulled up as going along with who people think will be big rather than who they think will achieve good things. That's something which to an extent is driven by who has things coming out around the polling period, as seen with the level of specialist attention already long given to Do It Like A Dude, Limit To Your Love and Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra). If you're involved in a relatively mainstream area of music criticism it's less likely you're going to have time to dig around for something entirely fresh unless someone else has handed it you on a plate, and if you did it'd likely fall victim to the nature of such a widely polled survey. Even predicting on the grounds of possible commercial success is increasingly scattershot, as Joe Lean might be able to tell you. Exactly how crossover successful is James Blake likely to be? One critic man's 'inventive use of space and sub-bass' is another chart blogging man's 'dreary and dull' (we know, we've seen one). (Tellingly, the official description on the Sound Of 2011 minisite doesn't mention his 2010 EPs at all, cutting straight to his vocal-and-piano influences.)
Self-perpetuating, then? Only insomuch as this is what naturally came to pop attention anyway, as nothing can be manipulated into attention and success without genuine support from someone, and if the major labels have a role it's in their own fondness for launching viral clips and limited edition fake indie singles at the same time when they sensed the increasing amount of press from all sides such lists attain, in an increasing game of survival of the fittest - Rough Trade's post-Duffy nu-soul-but-male hope Joe Worricker, say, has probably been put back in a cupboard for another year. Jessie J, if she's going to catch on, will catch on anyway, no matter what baubles she's garlanded with.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tracklist: The Son(s) - Radar
"The Son(s) were three men in a band, in Edinburgh. One Son went to London, and made his fortune in the movies. Another Son went to Oxford and lives in a small commune there. The last Son eventually went back to the North East of Scotland and wrote and recorded these songs." We see. When we wrote about them/him a while ago we mentioned John Martyn and Bon Iver; this new single, out on the 17th, edges away from that woodlands sound to journey down a barely lit open highway, harmonic but still intimate and in waltz time too. There's something here of a more straightforward Grizzly Bear, the Antlers or Sam Beam when he's not messing about.
Radar by The Son(s)
Radar by The Son(s)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tracklist: Bearsuit - A Train Wreck
They, whoever 'they' are again, said Bearsuit's forthcoming third album The Phantom Forest, on home of the indiepop hits Fortuna Pop!, would be more synthy and less prone to ADHD than before. Well, forty seconds into A Train Wreck everyone starts staccato shouting in the name of a chorus, and it's just like the old days. While all that in the first sentence could be said of last single Please Don't Take Him Back, this one actually sounds like a band enjoying themselves, if in a little more regulation than before, which in this case is no bad thing as it means knowing how to build up tension to the central appeal. Download for the price of an email address.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
So this is the new year: 100 reasons to look forward to 2011's musical output part II
James Blake
Much as he became known for the fascinating shapes his EPs have pulled and pushed dubstep, filtered electronics and bits of R&B through, he's talked for about as long as most have known him for his desire to record a vocal and piano album, and let's not pretend he didn't get that high in Sound Of 2011 for much other than Limit To Your Love. Released 7th February.
Jens Lekman
Although now based in Melbourne Lekman was in LA in December, during which time he played a couple of gigs showcasing a handful of new songs, one about stalking Kirsten Dunst, while wrapping up recording of the new album.
Jetplane Landing
It's been a long, long time (well, no it hasn't, Backlash Cop came out in 2007, we mean figuratively), but word of at least two members is they're working on an album with hopes to have it out by autumn.
Johnny Foreigner
"This year there's a comic coming" says their press bloke. In other news Alexei claims "in my head the whole album is pretty much finished... every time we've had a few rehearsals to do new stuff, something else has cropped up that’s taken priority. Not complaining though, the longer the songs have to mature and develop with the three of us then the better they'll be for it.." He does however also claim the band are too heavily in debt. Basically, SEND THEM MONEY.
Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
After many, many years of only playing his Pentecostal apocalyptic/demonic preacher appeals live for most of the decade since Lift To Experience split, Pearson has signed to Mute and recorded an album of epic acoustic country ballads for release some time in spring. Here's one now.
Kate Jackson
Late last March the Long Blonde opened her own Myspace account with a song, Homeward Bound, produced by Bernard Butler. It, um, wasn't very good. After that, nothing, until October when she announced she'd signed an EMI publishing deal and could get back to writing. Watch this space.
Laura Marling
Do you remember when Marling was previewing I Speak Because I can and said there was another album of her new material almost ready to go for 2010? No sign of that before year end, but rumour has it the material is still fit for purpose and will be released shortly.
Let's Buy Happiness
Plugged this very week by Coldplay, the Newcastle youths came up with one of 2010's very best debut singles in Six Wolves, a song that simultaneously evoked the Sugarcubes, Modest Mouse and the Sundays, who seem to be turning up as an influence with increasing regularity. The songs are iceberg monoliths in a sea of calm without stillness, led by Sarah Hall's skewed clarion calls. A single, Fast Fast, is due February 28th and was posted about two days ago, an album is promised for the summer.
Lord Huron
Lord Huron is Benji Schneider of LA by way of Michigan, taking his own route to the shimmering haze of the sunkissed beach vibe, letting Afropop disintegrate in the heat, bringing his folk and calypso cassettes with him to the sort of overlapping, sample friendly stew members of Animal Collective habitually inhabit.
Los Campesinos!
Not an unprolific band, but the launch of Heat Rash with new material and tour promises - one track has already surfaced - and Gareth dropping hints about writing new lyrics suggest something may be on its way.
The Lovely Eggs - Cob Dominos
Holly and David's first album together, 2009's If You Were Fruit, could only be described as 'bloody odd', veering from scuzzed out riffs and shouting to Daniel Johnston naive balladry, like a northern Moldy Peaches gone feral. The second album seems like it might be less accomodating, a track uploaded this week to their Myspace. Released 14th February.
The Loves - The Loves Love You
It's not a war, just the end of The Loves. After a decade together, a notion only held in language given nearly forty members have passed through Simon Love's bubblegum finishing school in that time, Cardiff-inaugurated 60s postmodern throwbacks The Loves are calling it a day with one final gig on 13th February at the Lexington and one last blast of ten songs, all of which are previewed below, in under half an hour. Apparently nearly called The Pains Of Being Poor Through Art, it features appearances by members of The School, Pocketbooks, Still Flyin', The Voluntary Butler Scheme and the Velvet Underground (Doug Yule, though) Released 17th January.
Low
Low recording in a deconsecrated church sounds like a fine match. That's where they've been over the autumn recording an album possibly entitled C'Mon, featuring appearances by Wilco's Nels Cline.
The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
As a couple of others in this rundown have, you'd expect the quiet hymnality of the Low Anthem to be recorded in a church. In fact, Smart Flesh was recorded in a deserted pasta sauce factory. All about the sonic space and resonance, apparently. Mixed by Bright Eyes sideman Mike Mogis, bowed saw and customised pump organ are involved. Released 21st February.
Lucky Soul
We weren't expecting it, we can't tell you anything else, but in their new year Facebook message they dropped in the line "Lucky Soul 3 will be hitting you some time in 2011".
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
As if Get Some wasn't a clue, Li's second album is said to be more direct, heavier and less accomodating, written in LA and inspired by time in the desert. The first proper single, I Follow Rivers, is below. Released 28th February.
Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers by sheenabeaston
M83
Anthony Gonzalez has moved to LA and describes his new material as "very dreamy, powerful, intense", more like Before The Dawn Heals Us than Saturdays=Youth, and longer with spoken word sections.
Maybeshewill
Floorshaking, cinematic post-rock gentry have a new single out on 7th March, Critical Distance by name, with an album planned for early summer. Not the only Leicester band worth keeping an ear out for - malevolent voodoo blues-rock'n'roll attack dogs We Three And The Death Rattle already have a John Kennedy XFM session under their belts before so much as considering putting a single out, while the barely hinged post-hardcore of Codex Leicester has also got under Kennedy's skin. Meanwhile half-Leicestrian Moscow Youth Cult have their first EP set for February.
Mechanical Bride
Lauren Doss' haunting woodland Meccano folk has been around for years, emerging as a compadre of Larrikin Love in 2006 and releasing a compilation of EPs in mid-2008 before going quiet bar a handful of supports early last year. Transgressive finally announced album plans in November and there's a 7" called Colour Of Fire listed for the end of January.
MJ Hibbett - Dinosaur Planet
Busy year for the East Midlands working man's bard, with a new one man space opera, Moon Horse, taking shape. Before that come the last few shows for his Edinburgh show of the last two years Dinosaur Planet (22nd January Autumn Store alldayer at Birmingham Victoria with Pocketbooks, Ace Bushy Striptease, KateGoes, LookiMakeMusic and Horowitz; 8th February The Old Coffee House, West London; 16th and 17th February Leicester Criterion), and above all its full cast recording, of which some of the hot studio action is accompanying.
The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
The most immediate point of interest with John Darnielle's latest hyperliterate life scripts is that a third of the album is produced by death metal figurehead Erik Rutan. Darnielle's famously a metalhead but says the album isn't like that at all and in fact sounds like, well, the Mountain Goats. Although, "If you have ever watched say a 70s occult-scare movie where one of the scenes involves a few people visiting a storefront fortune teller, getting their cards read, and then trying to feel super-hopeful about their predicted outcome when what they’re visibly actually feeling is dread, then you have a pretty decent idea of what the album is all about." Released 29th March in America.
New festivals
We're entering a year of recession, cuts and reduced propensity to spend on fripperies. So of course the already fairly saturated festival market is teeming with people wanting a toehold. Friends Of Mine has grown out of a new band night into the fields surrounding Capesthorne Hall, Siddington, fourteen miles south of Manchester, on the weekend of 21st-22nd May. The Charlatans headline, as the Charlatans are wont to do with this sort of thing, on a bill which also features the Wedding Present, Buzzcocks, A Certain Ratio, The Phantom Band, Emmy The Great, Black Lips, Dutch Uncles, Cherry Ghost, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Hatcham Social and Kong, as well as DJ sets from - and who says Manchester's music scene is too retrogressive - Mike Joyce, Stephen Morris, Douglas Hart, Martin Moscrop, Dave Haslam and, with a certain sense of inevitability, Howard Marks. Weekend tickets are £89.50, children free. Meanwhile Headstock began last year as a one day event in Newstead and Annesley Country Park in Nottinghamshire, featuring Ash, Frightened Rabbit and Field Music, and designed to regenerate villages affected by pit closures. This year they're going for the long weekend, 9th-11th September. No ticket or bill details yet. ATP know how to run these things and their latest expansion plan comes to Ally Pally this year. I'll Be Your Mirror, named after the B-side of the titular Velvets single, is a weekender on July 23rd and 24th curated and headlined by Portishead with guests including PJ Harvey, Liars, Grinderman, DOOM, Beach House, The Books, Company Flow, Swans, Anika and Factory Floor. £59 a day, £100 both.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"There will be a new Bad Seeds record next year... I've got to write one. I haven't written anything yet." Oh well, then. But we know he works to office hours and deadline dates, so who'd rule it out.
Okkervil River
There's a single out on Jagjaguwar, Mermaid, out on February 8th stateside, with an album promised later in the year.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
Produced by Flood, mixed by Alan Moulder. This is not what happens with bands who trade in unassuming indiepop fuzz wistfulness. On the evidence of Heart In Your Heartbreak not much has actually changed, which is a good think, Kip admitting it was mostly to "iron out all of our rough edges". Released 21st March.
Panda Bear - Tomboy
The next cutting from the AnCo monolith, the follow-up to Person Pitch was due out last September but a tepid response to early singles and live shows seems to have held it back. Now he's told the Wall Street Journal it's close to a final mix. Meanwhile he also let on that Animal Collective are to start writing again before the year is out.
Patrick Wolf
Formerly known as The Conqueror, possibly now known as Lupercalia, this is the second half of the double album promised back in 2008, the first half of which was the inconsistent The Bachelor, this bit of which is more upbeat and lovelorn. Katie Harkin, Thomas White, Tilda Swinton and Groove Armada are involved somehow; release in May, they say.
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Recorded in a Dorset church and, following White Chalk's piano experiments, mostly written on autoharp. But of course. It's darker, more political and engaged with war, featuring a prominent sample of Niney The Observer's roots standard Blood And Fire. NME did a track-by-track. Released 14th February.
The Pre New
Members of Earl Brutus and World Of Twist doing new songs very much in the former's style, as well as 'covering' their work live? I'd say!
Public Image Ltd
You know how Lydon said the reason he did the Anchor adverts was to finance a PiL tour? Those went so well he's been able to start working on a new album, although plans have been indefinitely put on hold since stepdaughter Ari Up died but he thinks it'll be ready this year. He's also got a coffee table book coming out, Mr Rotten’s Scrapbook, a personal treasure trove telling his life story.
Pulp reunion
So as Blur went last year, so the His'n'Hers/Different Class lineup, waggishly referred to as "the original members" in the press release, go this year. So far confirmed are Primavera, Wireless and a slot uncomfortably behind the Foo Fighters at Isle Of Wight. We don't want to make out it's connected to the fact everything but the album got good promotion for Jarvis' last solo album, but...
Radiohead
Gangway! Jonny Greenwood said in November they're approaching completion, have no idea how to release it and will follow it with the cousin of all tours.
REM - Collapse Into Now
Said by all concerned to be a return to basis REM values. Yay! Produced by Jacknife Lee. Oh. Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith and Peaches are on it. Released 7th March.
Rose Elinor Dougall
Don't hold your breath given Without Why took eighteen months soup to nuts, but it's reported she went back into the studio in December armed with the new songs she's been playing live since months before that album's release.
Standard Fare
Their year begins with Standard Fare On One Happy Island, a split 7" with the lively, playful Boston outfit on which they cover one of each other's songs and introduce an original. They've already been playing a few new songs live and in various forms, such as this one in someone's kitchen:
Slow Club
With a tour throughout May - Shepherd's Bush Empire! Man, they got big under the radar - an album is set for May, fuller figured if some of their recent live spectaculars are to be taken as gospel.
Still Corners
Even among the gang of shimmering Cocteau-heads emerging in 2010 Still Corners stand out a mile (yeah, we know they'd been around for a couple of years, we're making a stylistic point) Tessa Murray's spectral vocals float on a dreamy, very carefully made bed of reverberated, droning widescreen as much Angelo Badalamenti soundtrack as shoegazers. Sub Pop are putting out a single soon.
The Strokes
Ten years in August since Is This It. Suddenly every one of you feels that little bit older. We won't pretend we unstintingly think the fourth album will be amazing - have you heard the side projects? - but there's still a frisson upon learning recording finished in November. March, says Nikolai.
Summer Camp
This time last year Summer Camp were, as far as most of us knew, somewhere between two and seven people, perhaps Swedish, almost certainly based in London, about whom we really knew nothing than a love of John Hughes films and Super-8 memories. A year of Stool Pigeon revelations, misled chillwave appropriations and found photo back projections later, an album is set for this year with Steve Mackey producing when he's not busy and advising on new forms apparently including electro and hip hop influences.
Thomas Tantrum
"We consider this album as a fresh start" say the band, whose 2008 debut wasn't notable for a lack of pointed enthusiasm. They have a new deal, having put that album out themselves, and a single to come, but first some non-album tracks have been offloaded on a free EP.
Those Dancing Days - Daydreams & Nightmares
Different but the same is about what we can say of the second TDD record. Fuckarias is according to the band the most aggressive thing on it, but growth from the pop kids they were on In Our Space Hero Suits is what they say they're aiming to get across. Released 7th March.
Three Trapped Tigers
Abrasive electronic textures, polyrhythmic analogue IDM, electronic math-rock...whatever you call it TTT pull it off with mighty amounts of aplomb, as they should with the album they started recording this week.
Trips And Falls
It may have been one of our sleeper favourites of 2010 but the original Canadian self-release was in August 2008, so it's explicable that they'd already be underway roadtesting songs for the follow-up the label expects this year. As well established by now all Song By Toad Records output will come across our watchful eye - promised are Animal Magic Tricks, King Post Kitsch, Jesus H Foxx and especially one Matthew let on about the other day about a collaborative effort between Meursault's restless Neil Pennycook, Jamie Scott AKA The Japanese War Effort and Glaswegian Fence associate Jonnie Common.
Under Alien Skies
See previous post.
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
Writing, recording, touring UK and Europe with Archie Bronson Outfit, having a disturbing mannequin on stage. That's about the size of what the now returned to trio status TVEGC are up to, with some sort of churning menace doubtless following.
Wake The President
You're right, we did report not too long ago that the dark hearted jangly Glaswegians had split up. In fact it was just personnel changes and the Sandberg twins (and bandmates) finished their second album in mid-December.
The Wave Pictures
Just assuming that something new will come out of the David Tattersall pen in any given year is a gimme, but their third album for Moshi Moshi - an electrified one, it seems - is due some time in spring.
Wild Beasts
If something works, do it again. That's roughly the message the band have been putting out around sessions that started in October for the follow-up to Two Dancers' dark, lascivious wonders, essentially that it'll still mine the same bits of the human condition. Bit more piano and synth, though, it says here.
Wild Flag
Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney have a new band? Yes please, and you'd best be better than the Corin Tucker Band record. Mary Timony (Helium, Matador Records solo career) and Rebecca Cole (nobody you've ever heard of) are also involved; beyond that, and the detail they're opening for Bright Eyes in New York in March, is up in the air publicly.
Wire - Red Barked Tree
The twelfth album and second without founder guitarist Bruce Gilbert continues the quixotic melodic art-pop clashes that have regularly lifted the last eleven, slightly less linear than Object 47, slightly more decipherable than Send. You'll hear conscious callbacks to their prime work without ever being openly self-referencing. Have a listen. Released 10th January.
Young Knives
You remember! Tweed, bassist called House Of Lords, that one about punching someone's dad? They were much better than you remember. Hopefully they will be again, they've been in LA over the autumn recording and are aiming for April.
Much as he became known for the fascinating shapes his EPs have pulled and pushed dubstep, filtered electronics and bits of R&B through, he's talked for about as long as most have known him for his desire to record a vocal and piano album, and let's not pretend he didn't get that high in Sound Of 2011 for much other than Limit To Your Love. Released 7th February.
Jens Lekman
Although now based in Melbourne Lekman was in LA in December, during which time he played a couple of gigs showcasing a handful of new songs, one about stalking Kirsten Dunst, while wrapping up recording of the new album.
Jetplane Landing
It's been a long, long time (well, no it hasn't, Backlash Cop came out in 2007, we mean figuratively), but word of at least two members is they're working on an album with hopes to have it out by autumn.
Johnny Foreigner
"This year there's a comic coming" says their press bloke. In other news Alexei claims "in my head the whole album is pretty much finished... every time we've had a few rehearsals to do new stuff, something else has cropped up that’s taken priority. Not complaining though, the longer the songs have to mature and develop with the three of us then the better they'll be for it.." He does however also claim the band are too heavily in debt. Basically, SEND THEM MONEY.
Josh T Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
After many, many years of only playing his Pentecostal apocalyptic/demonic preacher appeals live for most of the decade since Lift To Experience split, Pearson has signed to Mute and recorded an album of epic acoustic country ballads for release some time in spring. Here's one now.
Kate Jackson
Late last March the Long Blonde opened her own Myspace account with a song, Homeward Bound, produced by Bernard Butler. It, um, wasn't very good. After that, nothing, until October when she announced she'd signed an EMI publishing deal and could get back to writing. Watch this space.
Laura Marling
Do you remember when Marling was previewing I Speak Because I can and said there was another album of her new material almost ready to go for 2010? No sign of that before year end, but rumour has it the material is still fit for purpose and will be released shortly.
Let's Buy Happiness
Plugged this very week by Coldplay, the Newcastle youths came up with one of 2010's very best debut singles in Six Wolves, a song that simultaneously evoked the Sugarcubes, Modest Mouse and the Sundays, who seem to be turning up as an influence with increasing regularity. The songs are iceberg monoliths in a sea of calm without stillness, led by Sarah Hall's skewed clarion calls. A single, Fast Fast, is due February 28th and was posted about two days ago, an album is promised for the summer.
Lord Huron
Lord Huron is Benji Schneider of LA by way of Michigan, taking his own route to the shimmering haze of the sunkissed beach vibe, letting Afropop disintegrate in the heat, bringing his folk and calypso cassettes with him to the sort of overlapping, sample friendly stew members of Animal Collective habitually inhabit.
Los Campesinos!
Not an unprolific band, but the launch of Heat Rash with new material and tour promises - one track has already surfaced - and Gareth dropping hints about writing new lyrics suggest something may be on its way.
The Lovely Eggs - Cob Dominos
Holly and David's first album together, 2009's If You Were Fruit, could only be described as 'bloody odd', veering from scuzzed out riffs and shouting to Daniel Johnston naive balladry, like a northern Moldy Peaches gone feral. The second album seems like it might be less accomodating, a track uploaded this week to their Myspace. Released 14th February.
The Loves - The Loves Love You
It's not a war, just the end of The Loves. After a decade together, a notion only held in language given nearly forty members have passed through Simon Love's bubblegum finishing school in that time, Cardiff-inaugurated 60s postmodern throwbacks The Loves are calling it a day with one final gig on 13th February at the Lexington and one last blast of ten songs, all of which are previewed below, in under half an hour. Apparently nearly called The Pains Of Being Poor Through Art, it features appearances by members of The School, Pocketbooks, Still Flyin', The Voluntary Butler Scheme and the Velvet Underground (Doug Yule, though) Released 17th January.
Low
Low recording in a deconsecrated church sounds like a fine match. That's where they've been over the autumn recording an album possibly entitled C'Mon, featuring appearances by Wilco's Nels Cline.
The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
As a couple of others in this rundown have, you'd expect the quiet hymnality of the Low Anthem to be recorded in a church. In fact, Smart Flesh was recorded in a deserted pasta sauce factory. All about the sonic space and resonance, apparently. Mixed by Bright Eyes sideman Mike Mogis, bowed saw and customised pump organ are involved. Released 21st February.
Lucky Soul
We weren't expecting it, we can't tell you anything else, but in their new year Facebook message they dropped in the line "Lucky Soul 3 will be hitting you some time in 2011".
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
As if Get Some wasn't a clue, Li's second album is said to be more direct, heavier and less accomodating, written in LA and inspired by time in the desert. The first proper single, I Follow Rivers, is below. Released 28th February.
Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers by sheenabeaston
M83
Anthony Gonzalez has moved to LA and describes his new material as "very dreamy, powerful, intense", more like Before The Dawn Heals Us than Saturdays=Youth, and longer with spoken word sections.
Maybeshewill
Floorshaking, cinematic post-rock gentry have a new single out on 7th March, Critical Distance by name, with an album planned for early summer. Not the only Leicester band worth keeping an ear out for - malevolent voodoo blues-rock'n'roll attack dogs We Three And The Death Rattle already have a John Kennedy XFM session under their belts before so much as considering putting a single out, while the barely hinged post-hardcore of Codex Leicester has also got under Kennedy's skin. Meanwhile half-Leicestrian Moscow Youth Cult have their first EP set for February.
Mechanical Bride
Lauren Doss' haunting woodland Meccano folk has been around for years, emerging as a compadre of Larrikin Love in 2006 and releasing a compilation of EPs in mid-2008 before going quiet bar a handful of supports early last year. Transgressive finally announced album plans in November and there's a 7" called Colour Of Fire listed for the end of January.
MJ Hibbett - Dinosaur Planet
Busy year for the East Midlands working man's bard, with a new one man space opera, Moon Horse, taking shape. Before that come the last few shows for his Edinburgh show of the last two years Dinosaur Planet (22nd January Autumn Store alldayer at Birmingham Victoria with Pocketbooks, Ace Bushy Striptease, KateGoes, LookiMakeMusic and Horowitz; 8th February The Old Coffee House, West London; 16th and 17th February Leicester Criterion), and above all its full cast recording, of which some of the hot studio action is accompanying.
The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
The most immediate point of interest with John Darnielle's latest hyperliterate life scripts is that a third of the album is produced by death metal figurehead Erik Rutan. Darnielle's famously a metalhead but says the album isn't like that at all and in fact sounds like, well, the Mountain Goats. Although, "If you have ever watched say a 70s occult-scare movie where one of the scenes involves a few people visiting a storefront fortune teller, getting their cards read, and then trying to feel super-hopeful about their predicted outcome when what they’re visibly actually feeling is dread, then you have a pretty decent idea of what the album is all about." Released 29th March in America.
New festivals
We're entering a year of recession, cuts and reduced propensity to spend on fripperies. So of course the already fairly saturated festival market is teeming with people wanting a toehold. Friends Of Mine has grown out of a new band night into the fields surrounding Capesthorne Hall, Siddington, fourteen miles south of Manchester, on the weekend of 21st-22nd May. The Charlatans headline, as the Charlatans are wont to do with this sort of thing, on a bill which also features the Wedding Present, Buzzcocks, A Certain Ratio, The Phantom Band, Emmy The Great, Black Lips, Dutch Uncles, Cherry Ghost, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Hatcham Social and Kong, as well as DJ sets from - and who says Manchester's music scene is too retrogressive - Mike Joyce, Stephen Morris, Douglas Hart, Martin Moscrop, Dave Haslam and, with a certain sense of inevitability, Howard Marks. Weekend tickets are £89.50, children free. Meanwhile Headstock began last year as a one day event in Newstead and Annesley Country Park in Nottinghamshire, featuring Ash, Frightened Rabbit and Field Music, and designed to regenerate villages affected by pit closures. This year they're going for the long weekend, 9th-11th September. No ticket or bill details yet. ATP know how to run these things and their latest expansion plan comes to Ally Pally this year. I'll Be Your Mirror, named after the B-side of the titular Velvets single, is a weekender on July 23rd and 24th curated and headlined by Portishead with guests including PJ Harvey, Liars, Grinderman, DOOM, Beach House, The Books, Company Flow, Swans, Anika and Factory Floor. £59 a day, £100 both.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"There will be a new Bad Seeds record next year... I've got to write one. I haven't written anything yet." Oh well, then. But we know he works to office hours and deadline dates, so who'd rule it out.
Okkervil River
There's a single out on Jagjaguwar, Mermaid, out on February 8th stateside, with an album promised later in the year.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
Produced by Flood, mixed by Alan Moulder. This is not what happens with bands who trade in unassuming indiepop fuzz wistfulness. On the evidence of Heart In Your Heartbreak not much has actually changed, which is a good think, Kip admitting it was mostly to "iron out all of our rough edges". Released 21st March.
Panda Bear - Tomboy
The next cutting from the AnCo monolith, the follow-up to Person Pitch was due out last September but a tepid response to early singles and live shows seems to have held it back. Now he's told the Wall Street Journal it's close to a final mix. Meanwhile he also let on that Animal Collective are to start writing again before the year is out.
Patrick Wolf
Formerly known as The Conqueror, possibly now known as Lupercalia, this is the second half of the double album promised back in 2008, the first half of which was the inconsistent The Bachelor, this bit of which is more upbeat and lovelorn. Katie Harkin, Thomas White, Tilda Swinton and Groove Armada are involved somehow; release in May, they say.
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Recorded in a Dorset church and, following White Chalk's piano experiments, mostly written on autoharp. But of course. It's darker, more political and engaged with war, featuring a prominent sample of Niney The Observer's roots standard Blood And Fire. NME did a track-by-track. Released 14th February.
The Pre New
Members of Earl Brutus and World Of Twist doing new songs very much in the former's style, as well as 'covering' their work live? I'd say!
Public Image Ltd
You know how Lydon said the reason he did the Anchor adverts was to finance a PiL tour? Those went so well he's been able to start working on a new album, although plans have been indefinitely put on hold since stepdaughter Ari Up died but he thinks it'll be ready this year. He's also got a coffee table book coming out, Mr Rotten’s Scrapbook, a personal treasure trove telling his life story.
Pulp reunion
So as Blur went last year, so the His'n'Hers/Different Class lineup, waggishly referred to as "the original members" in the press release, go this year. So far confirmed are Primavera, Wireless and a slot uncomfortably behind the Foo Fighters at Isle Of Wight. We don't want to make out it's connected to the fact everything but the album got good promotion for Jarvis' last solo album, but...
Radiohead
Gangway! Jonny Greenwood said in November they're approaching completion, have no idea how to release it and will follow it with the cousin of all tours.
REM - Collapse Into Now
Said by all concerned to be a return to basis REM values. Yay! Produced by Jacknife Lee. Oh. Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith and Peaches are on it. Released 7th March.
Rose Elinor Dougall
Don't hold your breath given Without Why took eighteen months soup to nuts, but it's reported she went back into the studio in December armed with the new songs she's been playing live since months before that album's release.
Standard Fare
Their year begins with Standard Fare On One Happy Island, a split 7" with the lively, playful Boston outfit on which they cover one of each other's songs and introduce an original. They've already been playing a few new songs live and in various forms, such as this one in someone's kitchen:
Slow Club
With a tour throughout May - Shepherd's Bush Empire! Man, they got big under the radar - an album is set for May, fuller figured if some of their recent live spectaculars are to be taken as gospel.
Still Corners
Even among the gang of shimmering Cocteau-heads emerging in 2010 Still Corners stand out a mile (yeah, we know they'd been around for a couple of years, we're making a stylistic point) Tessa Murray's spectral vocals float on a dreamy, very carefully made bed of reverberated, droning widescreen as much Angelo Badalamenti soundtrack as shoegazers. Sub Pop are putting out a single soon.
The Strokes
Ten years in August since Is This It. Suddenly every one of you feels that little bit older. We won't pretend we unstintingly think the fourth album will be amazing - have you heard the side projects? - but there's still a frisson upon learning recording finished in November. March, says Nikolai.
Summer Camp
This time last year Summer Camp were, as far as most of us knew, somewhere between two and seven people, perhaps Swedish, almost certainly based in London, about whom we really knew nothing than a love of John Hughes films and Super-8 memories. A year of Stool Pigeon revelations, misled chillwave appropriations and found photo back projections later, an album is set for this year with Steve Mackey producing when he's not busy and advising on new forms apparently including electro and hip hop influences.
Thomas Tantrum
"We consider this album as a fresh start" say the band, whose 2008 debut wasn't notable for a lack of pointed enthusiasm. They have a new deal, having put that album out themselves, and a single to come, but first some non-album tracks have been offloaded on a free EP.
Those Dancing Days - Daydreams & Nightmares
Different but the same is about what we can say of the second TDD record. Fuckarias is according to the band the most aggressive thing on it, but growth from the pop kids they were on In Our Space Hero Suits is what they say they're aiming to get across. Released 7th March.
Three Trapped Tigers
Abrasive electronic textures, polyrhythmic analogue IDM, electronic math-rock...whatever you call it TTT pull it off with mighty amounts of aplomb, as they should with the album they started recording this week.
Trips And Falls
It may have been one of our sleeper favourites of 2010 but the original Canadian self-release was in August 2008, so it's explicable that they'd already be underway roadtesting songs for the follow-up the label expects this year. As well established by now all Song By Toad Records output will come across our watchful eye - promised are Animal Magic Tricks, King Post Kitsch, Jesus H Foxx and especially one Matthew let on about the other day about a collaborative effort between Meursault's restless Neil Pennycook, Jamie Scott AKA The Japanese War Effort and Glaswegian Fence associate Jonnie Common.
Under Alien Skies
See previous post.
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
Writing, recording, touring UK and Europe with Archie Bronson Outfit, having a disturbing mannequin on stage. That's about the size of what the now returned to trio status TVEGC are up to, with some sort of churning menace doubtless following.
Wake The President
You're right, we did report not too long ago that the dark hearted jangly Glaswegians had split up. In fact it was just personnel changes and the Sandberg twins (and bandmates) finished their second album in mid-December.
The Wave Pictures
Just assuming that something new will come out of the David Tattersall pen in any given year is a gimme, but their third album for Moshi Moshi - an electrified one, it seems - is due some time in spring.
Wild Beasts
If something works, do it again. That's roughly the message the band have been putting out around sessions that started in October for the follow-up to Two Dancers' dark, lascivious wonders, essentially that it'll still mine the same bits of the human condition. Bit more piano and synth, though, it says here.
Wild Flag
Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney have a new band? Yes please, and you'd best be better than the Corin Tucker Band record. Mary Timony (Helium, Matador Records solo career) and Rebecca Cole (nobody you've ever heard of) are also involved; beyond that, and the detail they're opening for Bright Eyes in New York in March, is up in the air publicly.
Wire - Red Barked Tree
The twelfth album and second without founder guitarist Bruce Gilbert continues the quixotic melodic art-pop clashes that have regularly lifted the last eleven, slightly less linear than Object 47, slightly more decipherable than Send. You'll hear conscious callbacks to their prime work without ever being openly self-referencing. Have a listen. Released 10th January.
Young Knives
You remember! Tweed, bassist called House Of Lords, that one about punching someone's dad? They were much better than you remember. Hopefully they will be again, they've been in LA over the autumn recording and are aiming for April.
Tracklist: Under Alien Skies - When She Wears
When we first wrote about the Prestatyn duo last February we expressed surprise more people hadn't picked up on them. Now we're in January 2011, ditto, although they've had plentiful support from BBC Radio Wales nabob Adam Walton and appeared on Drowned In Sound's radar. As much as their surface frame of reference passes through Beach Boys to Owen Pallett to Washed Out to Animal Collective, their invention and knowledge of build and release marks them out as their own people. They've just made available for streaming a new EP, Paste. Three of its five tracks we've written about before in their demo form, all delicious in their delirious wash of harmonies, effects and beats. Of the new ones we've singled out When She Wears for its beatific nature, blissfully hovering above the hazy ground.
paste by underalienskies
paste by underalienskies
Saturday, January 08, 2011
So this is the new year: 100 reasons to look forward to 2011's musical output part I
"When did music tips for the year articles just become throw-as-much-shit-at-the-wall-as-possible deluge of bands?" - Sean Adams, Drowned In Sound editor
Simple enough concept, really, although one fraught with danger for everyone's sanity when you actually put together what this all means. One hundred things we expect or look forward to in this new year, old friends to new blood, fully aware that any one of the latter may turn up in two years' time as frontperson for a "blazing young rock'n'roll" band. And let's not overlook that it'll be the surprises we don't know about yet that provide the greater delight (though let's face it, that's usually not the case) and something need not be "tipped for big things" to be worth looking forward to the possibilities of (in other words, things that we can't get anyone to like and sell no copies). So...
A Classic Education
One of our longest held favourites, the expansive Bolognans have just finished recording their debut album in Brooklyn with one of Woods, aiming for late spring. Keep alert for more from Jonathan Clancy's own His Clancyness project too.
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao Of The Dead
The double drummer, gear wrecking Austinites' seventh album, the fastest they've ever recorded a full set, is made up of two tracks. Luckily they're split into a total of sixteen 'movements'. Bands think like this after seven albums. Oh, and each 'track' is in one tuning. Advance track Summer Of Dead Souls has little to do with such highfalutin plans, instead just getting down and space-rocking out. Released 7th February.
Art Brut
Somewhere in between his thousands of side projects Eddie Argos reconvened with the band - one likes to think he did this by ringing them up individually in the middle of the night and shouting "ready, Art Brut?" - and went back to Texas to work with Frank Black, as on Art Brut Vs Satan. Argos has claimed it'll be called Wam! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! Then he changed his mind.
Audio Antihero
The 'Specialists In Commercial Suicide' (Nosferatu D2, Benjamin Shaw) get round to a third release with Jack Hayter's Sucky Tart EP at the end of January, the start of a plan to release an EP a month this year, in Jamie Halliday "like the old Sub Pop singles club only an EP because they're better and sadly not on vinyl." Shaw, Paul Hawkins and Tobias Hayes (Meet Me In St Louis, Shoes & Socks Off)'s new project are tied down for contributions, as well as a load of people you've never heard of but some of whom were in the label's recent podcast.
The Avalanches
Yeah, we know, we know. Thing is, ten years on from Since I Left You, stories are starting to circulate - they claimed they were clearing samples in May 2009, an October 2010 date was speculated this time last year, in June Ariel Pink was rumoured to be recording vocals with them, and in November the band updated their website, after a fashion, and joined Twitter. Shall we all see together?
Ballboy
Having spent 2010 dealing with a theatre run for his co-penned play Midsummer and electronic side project Money Can’t Buy Music, Gordon McIntyre's about ready to start recording a new album including the handful of tracks he's been playing live for the last year. We reckon. Here's one.
Banjo Or Freakout - Banjo Or Freakout
Alessio Natalizia finally releases a full album that matches wracked largely acoustic balladry with playing with the space around the recording and fading up bass noises and effects to catch the the recorded songs off-guard, like Elliott Smith in a dreamcatcher. Released 21st February.
Bat For Lashes
Reported in October that Natasha was soon to go into the studio with David Kosten with a set of already written songs.
Battles
Can't imagine they're a band that work with the utmost haste, but despite Tyondai's departure they still intend to release an album this year.
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
If you've been following this, Part 1, apparently cherrypicking from everything they've approached in their career, got delayed when Adam Yauch was faced with a cancer battle; now he's in remission they've rejigged the tracks and given it the sequential title, but apparently there will still be a Part 1 at some stage, which might be the same songs in different versions. Or something. Oh, and primarily Yauch is making a short film based on Fight For Your Right.
Beth Jeans Houghton
The idiosyncratic, bewigged Geordie high priestess of odd-folk had a quiet 2010 after some early touring promise, but she reported the album mixed with producer Ben Hillier in October. Turned 21 last Sunday too.
Blessing Force
With four pages of the NME the other week the Oxford collective mostly made up of Youthmovies and Jonquil members (and a self-proclaimed collective, like all the best collectives) aren't exactly a secret, but this could be the year a whole gang of them break out. Jonquil themselves should be more active, Hugo Manuel has his own post-chillwave (WE WENT THERE) Chad Valley, then there's the warped electro R&B of Andrew Mears' Pet Moon, Trophy Wife's pulsing odd-pop, Fixers' arena-sized psychedelia, Solid Gold Dragons' math-synth (more about them later in the week) and our favourites, the looped vocals and pastoral strings of Rhosyn.
Bob Mould - See A Little Light: The Trail Of Rage And Melody
Not an album - Bob Mould albums are far too busy these days to invest much hope into at this distance - but an autobiography, co-written by the great Michael 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' Azerrad. Mould has had a life, as much outside music as within Husker Du, Sugar and a cornucopea of solo records, and hasn't told a lot about it in public as yet. Currently scheduled for 15th June, which is two weeks after the year's other tempting memoir Post Everything: Outsider Rock And Roll, the second volume of the Luke Haines story.
Bon Iver
Nobody seems to really know - apart from him, presumably - but odds are something emerging this year in whatever form Justin and band now take after.
Brainlove Records
We had to get a word in with our longtime online running mate John Brainlove, who told us that on the slate at the moment are an album on April 4th by the abstract kalimba-powered etherealism of Chicago's Bastardgeist, a We Aeronauts EP, a 7" collection of Stairs To Korea singles, including the forthcoming Guy Fawkes, a new 7" from Mat Riviere and a single, The Unknown Unknown, and tour from Napoleon IIIrd in March.
Breton
The south-east London collective, involving all sorts of film-making and multimedia sidelines, have just released their third EP on the label that put out James Blake's first record. Counter Balance EP is one of those fascinating art-beat curios you get occasionally, all dubstep low frequency basslines, hip hop and math rhythms, found samples, submerged electronica and strident London bloke vocals, and suggests they're finding their own little niche in a crowded market. They're reported/rumoured to be working with These New Puritans and, good lord, Tom Vek.
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
They described single Living Is So Easy as "a mixture of Serge Gainsbourg, Ralf and Florian era Kraftwerk, Lee Scratch Perry and a sprinkle of Stock, Aitken & Waterman." No pressure, then. In fact it does take a greater sweep of their influences, from Krautrock to slowcore to the 'Cold War Pixies' of their early days. Hear for yourselves. Released 10th January.
Cat Power
2010 was an oddly Chan Marshall-less year, all the more so because of talk that straight after her last covers album Jukebox in 2008 she had another written and ready to go; in fact she described some of the material in a 2006 Spin interview. She's playing some Australian dates this month backed by Judah Bauer (Blues Explosion) and Jim White (Dirty Three), with a Hollywood date in early February.
The Chapman Family - Burn Your Town
The current holders of the tag of band keeping us waiting the most for their debut album, but the red-raw Teesside indie-noiseniks were studio bound in the autumn with Andy Falkous' producer of choice Richard Jackson. A couple of European sources are listing a 7th March release date.
Chapter 24
Not, it seems, the first band to name themselves after the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn track, but for now the only one worth bothering with. Originally from Corby, now based in London like they all are, they have the nodding terms relationship with linear rhythms of the Raincoats, a healthy knowledge of sci-fi effect laden rock'n'roll, notes of art rock and tropical punk and a captivating frontwoman with a Siouxsie on Ritalin presence.
Clock Opera
Guy Connelly calls what he does 'chop pop', cutting and pasting fragments of instrument noises and found sounds into mechanically building and pulsing precision avant-pop, electronics with emotion. He's toured with Marina & The Diamonds, for whom he also produced an acclaimed remix, and recorded the album with Graeme Stewart, who engineered Kid A, Amnesiac and In Rainbows and co-produced Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack.
Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings
Lo-fi fuzzy guitar pop bursting with melody and indistinct of vocal. Yeah, hugely original these days, we know. Still, like Wavves at his best Cleveland teenager Dylan Baldi has the chops and a sense of how to construct things in growth spurts that puts it a step beyond most of those who turn on and DIY out. Released 24th January.
Comet Gain
Features members of Comet Gain. The impetuous, dreaming, occasionally shambolic indiepop ever-presents (except at Indietracks) have been recording for most of 2010 variously with Edwyn Collins, Ryan Jarman, Alasdair from The Clientele and undisclosed members of Shrag. David Christian Feck describes it as (spelling and punctuation artist's own) "a little bit rock n rol a little bit boo-hoo... i can almost listen to this Lp without puking my heart out,is that good?"
Copy Haho
For a moment we thought Stonehaven's finest had gone the way of all flesh, given their unbound promise and heavy support tour routine had gone quiet since the Bred For Skills And Magic EP in March 2009. However they were merely biding their time, recording in Glasgow's celebrated Chem19 studio in September.
Cults
2010: the official year of the cagily mysterious retro-leaning duo. Cults are a couple originally from San Diego, now based in New York, who got here basically on the back of first track Go Outside, both cutesy (glockenspiel-driven melody, Madeline Follin's voice) and haunting (Jim Jones sample, hazy atmospheric) at the same time. They really don't have a lot of songs still, but they've been signed to Columbia and are recording with Vampire Weekend/Sleigh Bells engineer Shane Stoneback for May release.
Dananananaykroyd
Second album declared finished on 22nd December on Twitter, having been in LA for a couple of months with Ross Robinson. John Baillie Jnr, who apparently is merely second singer rather than second drummer too these days, reckons there's more of a Krautrock influence.
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Much is being made about this being the Decemberists' Out Of Time, a reconnection with songs rather that concept suites, aided by Peter Buck's guest presence. It's also a connection with American roots music, Gillian Welch guesting on more downhome countrified fare, bolstered itself by Gillian Welch guesting. Colin Meloy's archaic language dictionary is however still in evidence. Try it out. Released 17th January.
Dirty Projectors
For sonically adventurous perfectionists Dave Longstreth and co do work quickly, and whispers are of a new album some time this year.
Dog Is Dead
Nottingham's restlessly jolting "skate kids and aspiring thespians" have big plans ahead following a 2010 which saw two spectacularly good singles and some airtime during BBC2's Glastonbury coverage. Their next single River Jordan is out at the end of February, coinciding with... oh god! Oh Jesus Christ no! They're going to be on Skins!
Echo Lake
Brought to you by No Pain In Pop (Banjo Or Freakout, HEALTH, Veronica Falls, Gentle Friendly), the London band are part of The New Haziness (go on, NME, you can have that one). A lo-fi, jarring, stand-up drumming rhythm take on dreampop floatiness, but gauzed in shoegaze noise and psychedelic while tethered to reverb and melody nonetheless.
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
So what now, post-Mercury, post-fame, post-arenas, post-One Day Like This? Guy promises an album neither specifically pitched at the huge spaces nor at deliberately turning away from mass consumption. Returning home and tackling the change in priorities is his big theme. Released 7th March.
Emmy The Great
Having gone the PledgeMusic route to recording her second album, currently comfortably over three times her original target, most of the record, possibly called Virtue, is nearly mixed and should be out in early spring. Apparently there's songs about dinosaurs. Here's a track she recently performed for Hong Kong radio.
Emmy The Great - Exit Night (Live) by thisisellie
Esben & The Witch – Violet Cries
Are Matador's first UK signings in six years small-g or capital-G gothic? Not in the Fields Of The Nephilim sense, but the disquieting dark fog of a Dead Can Dance/This Mortal Coil type, something wicked permanently this way coming, and certainly not the sort of band that get nominated for best newcomer Q awards, as they did. And yes, Rachel Davies does sound quite a bit like Florence Welch, but that makes it seem all the more jarring. Released 31st January.
The Fall
The dalliance with Domino over already and Mark E having failed to change the band for the third studio album in a row - is that a record, does anyone know? - they were already back in a Manchester studio in autumn.
The Flaming Lips
No new album as such yet, but Wayne Coyne revealed plans to Rolling Stone regarding releasing a new song every month, starting at the end of January. That said he's not sure how yet: "The dilemma is whether we're going to release it on vinyl, cereal boxes or some of it on toys that we make". Something playable would be nice.
Fleet Foxes
Now here's a band with a lot to live up to on a second album. Recording was announced as finished in September... and then rescinded in October, Robin Pecknold claiming it still had some way to go. In fact they re-recorded three songs, tweaked others and have April or May pencilled in. Inspired by Roy Harper, apparently.
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
In something of a natural match, Edwyn Collins has been recording F&TH at his West Heath Yard studio, and if anyone's going to appreciate their slightly rickety classic indie... Released 21st February, with a not all that changed re-recording of Hunger out a week before.
Franz Ferdinand
They didn't play any new songs at their surprise Bowlie II appearance and Alex has said he'll be keeping schtum about predicting anything soundwise in the public forum, so this is more of a long shot.
Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing
Cut-up lyrics delivered deadpan, moody motorik, rumbling electronic tones and pulses - yeah, it's pretty much plain sailing for their fourth album, the theme this time loosely being other people making your moves for you. Released 17th January.
Future Of The Left
Keeping going due to what Falco self-diagnoses as "a mental compulsion which is akin to a dangerous undiagnosed psychiatric disease", as mentioned the other day there are three demos in the wild from the rejigged band, only one of which has explicitly been ruled out from their third album, and Falco reported studio hi-jinks in November. No label yet, as far as we know, after a split from 4AD at the start of 2010. Actual mooted song titles: Home Taping Is Killing Susan, destroywhitchurch.com, Confucius Say Get A Real Fucking Problem.
Gang Of Four - Content
Hard to think they were still releasing new material in 1995, into the teeth of a Britpop that wouldn't care for another half decade, isn't it? This is their first set of new material since then. Just Jon King's angry vocalising and Andy Gill's wall of guitar scree these days, still skewering and fat-free, still trying to find their place in a commerce world. Released 24th January.
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
The melange of styles Ian Parton slams together are still pretty much untouched by other human hands, so little tweaking really needed doing on this third record of cassette (or, to quote one track title, Back Like 8-Track) warehouse pep rallies. Seems to be more J-pop touches to balance out the mid-west schoolyard chants this time, evened out by guest vocals from Bethany Best Coast and Satomi Deerhoof. Released 31st January.
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
Going on the first single, co-producer Andy Votel is bringing the mittel-European tropicalia to bear for Gruff's third solo album. Rhys plays most of the instruments himself, El Perro Del Mar pops by for a duet and this video... doesn't really explain it. Released 14th February.
Guillemots
Keep this Thursday free as there's a countdown going on on their official site until them with the promise of news at the end, after Fyfe reported mastering completed in November. Best to hope the MOR balladry that blighted Red has been siphoned off by his solo album?
Half Man Half Biscuit
Highlight of any year, a new HMHB album. They did a Marc Riley session of new songs in August, meaning something must be imminent - in fact in the accompanying interview Nigel said they might have had it out by the end of the year, but still no conclusive news. This was the highlight of that set:
Half Man Half Biscuit - Tommy Walsh’s Eco House by barrygruff
Honour Before Glory
Whiskas what used to be in ¡Forward Russia!'s solo project, ekeing out cracked dreamy atmospherics and wracked emotions somewhere between M83 and those sprawling Canadian collectives. Whiskas tells us he hopes to put out a single "very soon" and while the album is recorded but not yet mixed "I want to make the releases a bit special". Keep an eye on his new site.
The Indelicates - David Koresh Superstar
"Recorded in London and Austin with a full complement of pedal steel guitars, musical saws and percussive guns, the new record is a concept album telling the story of the Waco siege in a bitter cocktail of rebel country, luau, disco and rock opera... David Koresh Superstar delves into the murky, abusive world of religious extremism, government excess, bad sex and insane logic; rewriting the greatest story ever told on the assumption that the persecuted messiah is definitively mistaken about his divinity."
Internet Forever
James Rutledge, who's produced acclaimed remixes for everyone as well as making his own experimental electronic music as Pedro, is a curious choice on paper to translate the noise-twee trio into album form, something they look like completing next month. They say: "So far, we have afrobeat guitar, saxophone drones, party blowers. MEDIUM TO HIGH FIDELITY."
Islet
Together Celebrate This Place and Wimmy would have made one of the standout forward-thinking albums of 2010 but for their unwillingness to show their full hand too early. Still, Mark has said there will be a full-length next, and all being well and nobody gets injured by falling off the stage or being hit by flying drumsticks or whatever their live show will continue to be a peculiar wonder.
Simple enough concept, really, although one fraught with danger for everyone's sanity when you actually put together what this all means. One hundred things we expect or look forward to in this new year, old friends to new blood, fully aware that any one of the latter may turn up in two years' time as frontperson for a "blazing young rock'n'roll" band. And let's not overlook that it'll be the surprises we don't know about yet that provide the greater delight (though let's face it, that's usually not the case) and something need not be "tipped for big things" to be worth looking forward to the possibilities of (in other words, things that we can't get anyone to like and sell no copies). So...
A Classic Education
One of our longest held favourites, the expansive Bolognans have just finished recording their debut album in Brooklyn with one of Woods, aiming for late spring. Keep alert for more from Jonathan Clancy's own His Clancyness project too.
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Tao Of The Dead
The double drummer, gear wrecking Austinites' seventh album, the fastest they've ever recorded a full set, is made up of two tracks. Luckily they're split into a total of sixteen 'movements'. Bands think like this after seven albums. Oh, and each 'track' is in one tuning. Advance track Summer Of Dead Souls has little to do with such highfalutin plans, instead just getting down and space-rocking out. Released 7th February.
Art Brut
Somewhere in between his thousands of side projects Eddie Argos reconvened with the band - one likes to think he did this by ringing them up individually in the middle of the night and shouting "ready, Art Brut?" - and went back to Texas to work with Frank Black, as on Art Brut Vs Satan. Argos has claimed it'll be called Wam! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! Then he changed his mind.
Audio Antihero
The 'Specialists In Commercial Suicide' (Nosferatu D2, Benjamin Shaw) get round to a third release with Jack Hayter's Sucky Tart EP at the end of January, the start of a plan to release an EP a month this year, in Jamie Halliday "like the old Sub Pop singles club only an EP because they're better and sadly not on vinyl." Shaw, Paul Hawkins and Tobias Hayes (Meet Me In St Louis, Shoes & Socks Off)'s new project are tied down for contributions, as well as a load of people you've never heard of but some of whom were in the label's recent podcast.
The Avalanches
Yeah, we know, we know. Thing is, ten years on from Since I Left You, stories are starting to circulate - they claimed they were clearing samples in May 2009, an October 2010 date was speculated this time last year, in June Ariel Pink was rumoured to be recording vocals with them, and in November the band updated their website, after a fashion, and joined Twitter. Shall we all see together?
Ballboy
Having spent 2010 dealing with a theatre run for his co-penned play Midsummer and electronic side project Money Can’t Buy Music, Gordon McIntyre's about ready to start recording a new album including the handful of tracks he's been playing live for the last year. We reckon. Here's one.
Banjo Or Freakout - Banjo Or Freakout
Alessio Natalizia finally releases a full album that matches wracked largely acoustic balladry with playing with the space around the recording and fading up bass noises and effects to catch the the recorded songs off-guard, like Elliott Smith in a dreamcatcher. Released 21st February.
Bat For Lashes
Reported in October that Natasha was soon to go into the studio with David Kosten with a set of already written songs.
Battles
Can't imagine they're a band that work with the utmost haste, but despite Tyondai's departure they still intend to release an album this year.
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2
If you've been following this, Part 1, apparently cherrypicking from everything they've approached in their career, got delayed when Adam Yauch was faced with a cancer battle; now he's in remission they've rejigged the tracks and given it the sequential title, but apparently there will still be a Part 1 at some stage, which might be the same songs in different versions. Or something. Oh, and primarily Yauch is making a short film based on Fight For Your Right.
Beth Jeans Houghton
The idiosyncratic, bewigged Geordie high priestess of odd-folk had a quiet 2010 after some early touring promise, but she reported the album mixed with producer Ben Hillier in October. Turned 21 last Sunday too.
Blessing Force
With four pages of the NME the other week the Oxford collective mostly made up of Youthmovies and Jonquil members (and a self-proclaimed collective, like all the best collectives) aren't exactly a secret, but this could be the year a whole gang of them break out. Jonquil themselves should be more active, Hugo Manuel has his own post-chillwave (WE WENT THERE) Chad Valley, then there's the warped electro R&B of Andrew Mears' Pet Moon, Trophy Wife's pulsing odd-pop, Fixers' arena-sized psychedelia, Solid Gold Dragons' math-synth (more about them later in the week) and our favourites, the looped vocals and pastoral strings of Rhosyn.
Bob Mould - See A Little Light: The Trail Of Rage And Melody
Not an album - Bob Mould albums are far too busy these days to invest much hope into at this distance - but an autobiography, co-written by the great Michael 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' Azerrad. Mould has had a life, as much outside music as within Husker Du, Sugar and a cornucopea of solo records, and hasn't told a lot about it in public as yet. Currently scheduled for 15th June, which is two weeks after the year's other tempting memoir Post Everything: Outsider Rock And Roll, the second volume of the Luke Haines story.
Bon Iver
Nobody seems to really know - apart from him, presumably - but odds are something emerging this year in whatever form Justin and band now take after.
Brainlove Records
We had to get a word in with our longtime online running mate John Brainlove, who told us that on the slate at the moment are an album on April 4th by the abstract kalimba-powered etherealism of Chicago's Bastardgeist, a We Aeronauts EP, a 7" collection of Stairs To Korea singles, including the forthcoming Guy Fawkes, a new 7" from Mat Riviere and a single, The Unknown Unknown, and tour from Napoleon IIIrd in March.
Breton
The south-east London collective, involving all sorts of film-making and multimedia sidelines, have just released their third EP on the label that put out James Blake's first record. Counter Balance EP is one of those fascinating art-beat curios you get occasionally, all dubstep low frequency basslines, hip hop and math rhythms, found samples, submerged electronica and strident London bloke vocals, and suggests they're finding their own little niche in a crowded market. They're reported/rumoured to be working with These New Puritans and, good lord, Tom Vek.
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
They described single Living Is So Easy as "a mixture of Serge Gainsbourg, Ralf and Florian era Kraftwerk, Lee Scratch Perry and a sprinkle of Stock, Aitken & Waterman." No pressure, then. In fact it does take a greater sweep of their influences, from Krautrock to slowcore to the 'Cold War Pixies' of their early days. Hear for yourselves. Released 10th January.
Cat Power
2010 was an oddly Chan Marshall-less year, all the more so because of talk that straight after her last covers album Jukebox in 2008 she had another written and ready to go; in fact she described some of the material in a 2006 Spin interview. She's playing some Australian dates this month backed by Judah Bauer (Blues Explosion) and Jim White (Dirty Three), with a Hollywood date in early February.
The Chapman Family - Burn Your Town
The current holders of the tag of band keeping us waiting the most for their debut album, but the red-raw Teesside indie-noiseniks were studio bound in the autumn with Andy Falkous' producer of choice Richard Jackson. A couple of European sources are listing a 7th March release date.
Chapter 24
Not, it seems, the first band to name themselves after the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn track, but for now the only one worth bothering with. Originally from Corby, now based in London like they all are, they have the nodding terms relationship with linear rhythms of the Raincoats, a healthy knowledge of sci-fi effect laden rock'n'roll, notes of art rock and tropical punk and a captivating frontwoman with a Siouxsie on Ritalin presence.
Clock Opera
Guy Connelly calls what he does 'chop pop', cutting and pasting fragments of instrument noises and found sounds into mechanically building and pulsing precision avant-pop, electronics with emotion. He's toured with Marina & The Diamonds, for whom he also produced an acclaimed remix, and recorded the album with Graeme Stewart, who engineered Kid A, Amnesiac and In Rainbows and co-produced Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack.
Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings
Lo-fi fuzzy guitar pop bursting with melody and indistinct of vocal. Yeah, hugely original these days, we know. Still, like Wavves at his best Cleveland teenager Dylan Baldi has the chops and a sense of how to construct things in growth spurts that puts it a step beyond most of those who turn on and DIY out. Released 24th January.
Comet Gain
Features members of Comet Gain. The impetuous, dreaming, occasionally shambolic indiepop ever-presents (except at Indietracks) have been recording for most of 2010 variously with Edwyn Collins, Ryan Jarman, Alasdair from The Clientele and undisclosed members of Shrag. David Christian Feck describes it as (spelling and punctuation artist's own) "a little bit rock n rol a little bit boo-hoo... i can almost listen to this Lp without puking my heart out,is that good?"
Copy Haho
For a moment we thought Stonehaven's finest had gone the way of all flesh, given their unbound promise and heavy support tour routine had gone quiet since the Bred For Skills And Magic EP in March 2009. However they were merely biding their time, recording in Glasgow's celebrated Chem19 studio in September.
Cults
2010: the official year of the cagily mysterious retro-leaning duo. Cults are a couple originally from San Diego, now based in New York, who got here basically on the back of first track Go Outside, both cutesy (glockenspiel-driven melody, Madeline Follin's voice) and haunting (Jim Jones sample, hazy atmospheric) at the same time. They really don't have a lot of songs still, but they've been signed to Columbia and are recording with Vampire Weekend/Sleigh Bells engineer Shane Stoneback for May release.
Dananananaykroyd
Second album declared finished on 22nd December on Twitter, having been in LA for a couple of months with Ross Robinson. John Baillie Jnr, who apparently is merely second singer rather than second drummer too these days, reckons there's more of a Krautrock influence.
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Much is being made about this being the Decemberists' Out Of Time, a reconnection with songs rather that concept suites, aided by Peter Buck's guest presence. It's also a connection with American roots music, Gillian Welch guesting on more downhome countrified fare, bolstered itself by Gillian Welch guesting. Colin Meloy's archaic language dictionary is however still in evidence. Try it out. Released 17th January.
Dirty Projectors
For sonically adventurous perfectionists Dave Longstreth and co do work quickly, and whispers are of a new album some time this year.
Dog Is Dead
Nottingham's restlessly jolting "skate kids and aspiring thespians" have big plans ahead following a 2010 which saw two spectacularly good singles and some airtime during BBC2's Glastonbury coverage. Their next single River Jordan is out at the end of February, coinciding with... oh god! Oh Jesus Christ no! They're going to be on Skins!
Echo Lake
Brought to you by No Pain In Pop (Banjo Or Freakout, HEALTH, Veronica Falls, Gentle Friendly), the London band are part of The New Haziness (go on, NME, you can have that one). A lo-fi, jarring, stand-up drumming rhythm take on dreampop floatiness, but gauzed in shoegaze noise and psychedelic while tethered to reverb and melody nonetheless.
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
So what now, post-Mercury, post-fame, post-arenas, post-One Day Like This? Guy promises an album neither specifically pitched at the huge spaces nor at deliberately turning away from mass consumption. Returning home and tackling the change in priorities is his big theme. Released 7th March.
Emmy The Great
Having gone the PledgeMusic route to recording her second album, currently comfortably over three times her original target, most of the record, possibly called Virtue, is nearly mixed and should be out in early spring. Apparently there's songs about dinosaurs. Here's a track she recently performed for Hong Kong radio.
Emmy The Great - Exit Night (Live) by thisisellie
Esben & The Witch – Violet Cries
Are Matador's first UK signings in six years small-g or capital-G gothic? Not in the Fields Of The Nephilim sense, but the disquieting dark fog of a Dead Can Dance/This Mortal Coil type, something wicked permanently this way coming, and certainly not the sort of band that get nominated for best newcomer Q awards, as they did. And yes, Rachel Davies does sound quite a bit like Florence Welch, but that makes it seem all the more jarring. Released 31st January.
The Fall
The dalliance with Domino over already and Mark E having failed to change the band for the third studio album in a row - is that a record, does anyone know? - they were already back in a Manchester studio in autumn.
The Flaming Lips
No new album as such yet, but Wayne Coyne revealed plans to Rolling Stone regarding releasing a new song every month, starting at the end of January. That said he's not sure how yet: "The dilemma is whether we're going to release it on vinyl, cereal boxes or some of it on toys that we make". Something playable would be nice.
Fleet Foxes
Now here's a band with a lot to live up to on a second album. Recording was announced as finished in September... and then rescinded in October, Robin Pecknold claiming it still had some way to go. In fact they re-recorded three songs, tweaked others and have April or May pencilled in. Inspired by Roy Harper, apparently.
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
In something of a natural match, Edwyn Collins has been recording F&TH at his West Heath Yard studio, and if anyone's going to appreciate their slightly rickety classic indie... Released 21st February, with a not all that changed re-recording of Hunger out a week before.
Franz Ferdinand
They didn't play any new songs at their surprise Bowlie II appearance and Alex has said he'll be keeping schtum about predicting anything soundwise in the public forum, so this is more of a long shot.
Fujiya & Miyagi - Ventriloquizzing
Cut-up lyrics delivered deadpan, moody motorik, rumbling electronic tones and pulses - yeah, it's pretty much plain sailing for their fourth album, the theme this time loosely being other people making your moves for you. Released 17th January.
Future Of The Left
Keeping going due to what Falco self-diagnoses as "a mental compulsion which is akin to a dangerous undiagnosed psychiatric disease", as mentioned the other day there are three demos in the wild from the rejigged band, only one of which has explicitly been ruled out from their third album, and Falco reported studio hi-jinks in November. No label yet, as far as we know, after a split from 4AD at the start of 2010. Actual mooted song titles: Home Taping Is Killing Susan, destroywhitchurch.com, Confucius Say Get A Real Fucking Problem.
Gang Of Four - Content
Hard to think they were still releasing new material in 1995, into the teeth of a Britpop that wouldn't care for another half decade, isn't it? This is their first set of new material since then. Just Jon King's angry vocalising and Andy Gill's wall of guitar scree these days, still skewering and fat-free, still trying to find their place in a commerce world. Released 24th January.
The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
The melange of styles Ian Parton slams together are still pretty much untouched by other human hands, so little tweaking really needed doing on this third record of cassette (or, to quote one track title, Back Like 8-Track) warehouse pep rallies. Seems to be more J-pop touches to balance out the mid-west schoolyard chants this time, evened out by guest vocals from Bethany Best Coast and Satomi Deerhoof. Released 31st January.
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
Going on the first single, co-producer Andy Votel is bringing the mittel-European tropicalia to bear for Gruff's third solo album. Rhys plays most of the instruments himself, El Perro Del Mar pops by for a duet and this video... doesn't really explain it. Released 14th February.
Guillemots
Keep this Thursday free as there's a countdown going on on their official site until them with the promise of news at the end, after Fyfe reported mastering completed in November. Best to hope the MOR balladry that blighted Red has been siphoned off by his solo album?
Half Man Half Biscuit
Highlight of any year, a new HMHB album. They did a Marc Riley session of new songs in August, meaning something must be imminent - in fact in the accompanying interview Nigel said they might have had it out by the end of the year, but still no conclusive news. This was the highlight of that set:
Half Man Half Biscuit - Tommy Walsh’s Eco House by barrygruff
Honour Before Glory
Whiskas what used to be in ¡Forward Russia!'s solo project, ekeing out cracked dreamy atmospherics and wracked emotions somewhere between M83 and those sprawling Canadian collectives. Whiskas tells us he hopes to put out a single "very soon" and while the album is recorded but not yet mixed "I want to make the releases a bit special". Keep an eye on his new site.
The Indelicates - David Koresh Superstar
"Recorded in London and Austin with a full complement of pedal steel guitars, musical saws and percussive guns, the new record is a concept album telling the story of the Waco siege in a bitter cocktail of rebel country, luau, disco and rock opera... David Koresh Superstar delves into the murky, abusive world of religious extremism, government excess, bad sex and insane logic; rewriting the greatest story ever told on the assumption that the persecuted messiah is definitively mistaken about his divinity."
Internet Forever
James Rutledge, who's produced acclaimed remixes for everyone as well as making his own experimental electronic music as Pedro, is a curious choice on paper to translate the noise-twee trio into album form, something they look like completing next month. They say: "So far, we have afrobeat guitar, saxophone drones, party blowers. MEDIUM TO HIGH FIDELITY."
Islet
Together Celebrate This Place and Wimmy would have made one of the standout forward-thinking albums of 2010 but for their unwillingness to show their full hand too early. Still, Mark has said there will be a full-length next, and all being well and nobody gets injured by falling off the stage or being hit by flying drumsticks or whatever their live show will continue to be a peculiar wonder.
Tracklist: Future Of The Left - I Am The Least Of Your Problems
A downloadable demo, one of three held on the site in question, this we suppose marks phase two of FotL, Kelson Matthais and his wandering bass head packed off to Truckers Of Husk, in coming ex-Million Dead bassist Julia Ruzicka and guitarist and sometime international middle distance athlete Jimmy Watkins. An album is coming soon, from which this track, while fuller and slightly Queen-like for one moment, suggests it's coruscating, jackhammer, cynically wry business as unusual.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Nature boy
We were going to put this in Tracklist, but not only are new things moving too fast to find room for it but the video was released in July. We may have only found out about it over new year, but for a new music label it'd be taking the piss a bit. It's Otley's most idiosyncratic, David Thomas Broughton, who put his loop pedals into storage that same month and went travelling across Asia, unknown date of return, not only denying us his remarkable avant-live show but leaving behind an unreleased album titled Outbreeding. No word on whether that will ever find a home, but we do have a new song, Nature, and corresponding video. The presence of a rhythm section may necessarily dilute the seat of the pants ride of its live incarnation, but that richest of Yorkshire baritones and most end-of-the-bar self-flagellation remain.
Tracklist: Let's Buy Happiness - Fast Fast
And for her next trick, Sarah Hall will be Emiliana Torrini. How a Tyneside teenager ended up with clipped Scandinavian-sounding vowels is one of the great imponderables of the current scene. What isn't is the ongoing greatness of her band. Fresh from being plugged on Coldplay's website (yeah, we know) this is the the most Sundays-indebted thing they've done so far, slightly more lively than we've heard here with the tribal drumming and playful meter while still allowing guitars to chime around before the whirling confusion of the resolution. Their next gig is at the Hoxton Macbeth on the 27th.
Let's Buy Happiness - Fast Fast by Jonathan Six07 Press
Let's Buy Happiness - Fast Fast by Jonathan Six07 Press
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Their year in lists (part two)
Further last.fm play count radio charts of the year 2010, except these are of a less pleb-pleasing bent.
6 Music
1 Vampire Weekend 583
2 Arcade Fire 451
3 Foals 427
4 David Bowie 337
5 The Chemical Brothers 332
6 Kings of Leon 330
7 Jimi Hendrix 325
7 Manic Street Preachers 325
7 Yeasayer 325
10 The National 319
11 Laura Marling 315
12 MGMT 313
13 The Futureheads 304
14 The xx 302
15 Beach House 301
15 Delphic 301
17 Hot Chip 291
18 Mumford & Sons 289
19 Radiohead 278
20 The Rolling Stones 262
21 School of Seven Bells 253
22 Gorillaz 247
23 The Cure 245
24 The Clash 243
24 Villagers 243
26 The Beatles 241
27 The Drums 239
28 Underworld 237
28 Chapel Club 237
30 The Charlatans 236
31 The Smiths 233
32 LCD Soundsystem 230
33 Belle and Sebastian 229
34 Florence + the Machine 228
35 Muse 227
36 The Black Keys 220
37 The Coral 218
38 Mystery Jets 216
39 Pulp 215
40 Groove Armada 212
40 R.E.M. 212
42 The Who 210
43 Blur 208
43 Paul Weller 208
45 Primal Scream 204
46 Band of Horses 202
47 Crystal Castles 199
48 Goldfrapp 198
49 M.I.A. 194
49 Everything Everything 194
David Bowie that high in the year people noticed he hasn't been out much? Hendrix at least got an album of scrapings from the studio bin, Valleys Of Neptune, the radio play for which helped it to the heady UK heights of number 21.
1 Foals – Spanish Sahara 154
2 Hot Chip – One Life Stand 139
3 Vampire Weekend – White Sky 138
4 Gruff Rhys – Shark Ridden Waters 134
5 Yeasayer – O.N.E. 127
6 Vampire Weekend – Holiday 125
6 Arcade Fire – We Used to Wait 125
8 Crystal Castles – Not In Love 122
9 Groove Armada – Paper Romance 121
9 The Chemical Brothers – Swoon 121
11 Gorillaz / Bobby Womack / Mos Def – Stylo 120
12 Yeasayer – Madder Red 117
12 Chapel Club – All the Eastern Girls 117
14 Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love 116
14 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 116
16 The xx – Crystalised 115
17 Jónsi – Go Do 113
17 Black Mountain – The Hair Song 113
17 Warpaint – Undertow 113
20 Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill 110
21 Laura Marling – Darkness Descends 109
21 M.I.A. – It Takes a Muscle 109
23 Delphic – Counterpoint 108
23 MGMT – It's Working 108
23 The Vaccines – Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) 108
26 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 107
26 Vampire Weekend – Giving Up the Gun 107
26 Vampire Weekend – Run 107
26 Best Coast – Boyfriend 107
30 The Jim Jones Revue – Shoot First 105
31 Delphic – Halcyon 103
32 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 102
33 The xx – VCR 101
33 Beach House – Norway 101
33 Band of Horses – Compliments 101
33 The Coral – 1000 Years 101
33 Grinderman – Worm Tamer 101
33 Jenny and Johnny – Big Wave 101
39 Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Little Girl 100
39 The Black Keys – Next Girl 100
39 Bombay Bicycle Club – Rinse Me Down 100
39 Arcade Fire – Ready to Start 100
43 The Chemical Brothers – Another World 99
43 Aeroplane – Superstar 99
43 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 99
46 Darwin Deez – Radar Detector 98
46 The Black Keys – Tighten Up 98
46 Underworld – Scribble 98
49 Villagers – That Day 97
49 Mystery Jets – Dreaming of Another World 97
49 Lykke Li – Get Some 97
A surprising list for at least one person we know, who couldn't turn the station on without hearing Grinderman. Unless the Beeb forgot to tag it. Big showings for Gruff Rhys and Crystal Castles there given the tracks in question (we're assuming the latter is the Robert Smith vocal version because, well, Robert Smith, 6 Music) only came out in mid-October. Black Mountain? Who'd have known.
1Xtra
1 Rihanna 746
2 Alicia Keys 687
3 Tinie Tempah 651
4 Plan B 593
5 Kanye West 530
6 Jason Derülo 484
7 Drake 469
8 Tinchy Stryder 416
9 Young Money 414
10 Ne-Yo 406
11 Black Eyed Peas 403
12 Dennis Ferrer 371
13 N-Dubz 357
14 Iyaz 343
15 Giggs 337
16 Donae'o 321
17 nas / damian marley 319
17 Gyptian / Nicki Minaj 319
19 Major Lazer 318
20 Jay-Z 317
21 Chiddy Bang 316
22 JLS 313
23 Roll Deep 311
24 Vybz Kartel / Popcaan / Gaza Slim 310
25 Eminem 308
26 Mary J. Blige 300
27 Kelis 286
28 Usher / Will.I.Am 282
29 Chipmunk 271
30 Smiler 266
31 Ill Blue / Shanique 264
32 Ludacris 255
33 Beyoncé 247
33 McLean 247
35 Skepta 244
35 Mavado 244
37 Big Boi 238
38 Timbaland / Justin Timberlake 233
39 50 Cent 231
40 Taio Cruz 227
41 Dizzee Rascal 224
42 Drake / T.I. / Swizz Beatz 223
43 Nicki Minaj 211
44 Cee Lo Green 210
45 Willow Smith 205
46 Jay Sean / Sean Paul / Lil Jon 199
47 Kelly Rowland 189
48 Katy B / Benga 184
49 Diddy / Dirty Money / T.I. 179
50 Devlin 175
1 Dennis Ferrer – Hey Hey 348
2 nas / damian marley – As We Enter 319
3 Major Lazer – Pon De Floor 318
3 Gyptian / Nicki Minaj – Hold Yuh (Remix) 318
5 Tinie Tempah – Pass Out 317
6 Vybz Kartel / Popcaan / Gaza Slim – Clarks 310
7 Usher / Will.I.Am – OMG 282
8 Young Money – BedRock 268
9 Rihanna – Rude Boy 267
10 Smiler – Enza 265
11 Ill Blue / Shanique – Say Yes 264
12 Giggs – Look What The Cat Dragged In 249
13 Big Boi – Shutterbug 234
14 Timbaland / Justin Timberlake – Carry Out 233
15 Drake / T.I. / Swizz Beatz – Fancy 223
16 50 Cent – Do You Think About Me 213
17 Kelis – Acapella 212
18 Ludacris – How Low 208
18 Kanye West – Power 208
20 Plan B – She Said 205
20 Willow Smith – Whip My Hair 205
22 Jay Sean / Sean Paul / Lil Jon – Do You Remember 199
23 Roll Deep – Good Times (Ill Blu Remix) 197
24 Skepta – Bad Boy 192
25 Mary J. Blige – I Am 190
26 Jay-Z – On to the Next One 189
27 Drake – Find Your Love 185
28 Katy B / Benga – Katy On A Mission 184
29 Drake – Over 183
30 Chiddy Bang – Chiddy Bang 182
31 Iyaz – Replay 181
32 Diddy / Dirty Money / T.I. – Hello Good Morning 179
33 Ne-Yo – One In A Million 173
34 Giggs / B.O.B – Don't Go There 172
35 Alicia Keys – Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart 168
35 Tinie Tempah – Frisky 168
37 50 Cent / Ne-Yo – Baby By Me 166
38 McLean – My Name 165
39 Professor Green / Lily Allen – Just Be Good To Green 163
40 Wretch 32 / L – Traktor 162
41 Jason Derülo – In My Head 161
41 B.O.B / Bruno Mars / Big Boi – Nothin' On You (Remix) 161
43 Rihanna / Young Jeezy – Hard 154
44 Eminem – Love The Way You Lie 152
45 Usher / Pitbull – DJ Got Us Falling In Love 151
46 Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down 149
47 Kanye West – Runaway 145
48 Timbaland / So Shy / Nelly Furtado – Morning After Dark 143
48 Loick Essien – Love Drunk 143
50 Lloyd Banks / Juelz Santana – Beamer, Benz Or Bentley 142
We've scooted through this because of our pale indie kid nature, but what on earth is that number one? Actually it hit the heights of number 55 but was a summer smash that takes it top of an odd list that includes the none more bloggish Major Lazer and dancehall Londoner Vybz Kartel's Clarks, which as previously remarked upon is actually about Clark's Shoes.
NME Radio
1 Oasis 1,208
2 Blur 1,177
3 Kings of Leon 1,139
4 U2 1,086
5 The Cure 1,020
6 Radiohead 981
7 Muse 975
8 R.E.M. 907
9 The Smiths 893
10 Arcade Fire 829
11 Vampire Weekend 809
12 Manic Street Preachers 805
13 Nirvana 785
13 The xx 785
15 Kasabian 776
16 David Bowie 751
17 Gorillaz 745
18 Darwin Deez 711
19 Depeche Mode 699
20 The Rolling Stones 690
21 Red Hot Chili Peppers 684
22 The Killers 679
23 The Jam 659
24 Doves 642
25 The Stone Roses 632
26 Yeasayer 629
27 Biffy Clyro 627
28 Groove Armada 620
29 Arctic Monkeys 613
30 Foo Fighters 610
31 Florence + the Machine 608
32 The Drums 600
33 The Clash 598
34 Bombay Bicycle Club 595
35 Coldplay 587
36 Chapel Club 583
37 MGMT 563
38 Hot Chip 560
39 We Are Scientists 547
40 Foals 545
41 Green Day 538
42 Supergrass 516
43 Miike Snow 507
44 Delphic 506
45 Primal Scream 493
46 Egyptian Hip Hop 476
47 New Order 464
48 The Verve 463
49 Editors 456
50 Beck 452
Oasis and Blur! It's a posthumous win double. If this makes NME look like the Heart FM of indie, though...
1 The xx – VCR 416
2 Vampire Weekend – Giving Up the Gun 361
3 White Rabbits – Percussion Gun 337
4 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs 288
5 Yeasayer – Madder Red 268
6 Crocodiles – Sleep Forever 262
7 Blur – Fool's Day 249
8 The Ropes – Love Is a Chain Store 238
9 Hot Chip – One Life Stand 231
10 Egyptian Hip Hop – Moon Crooner 223
11 Carl Bar̢t РRun With The Boys 221
12 Darwin Deez – Bed Space 220
13 Darwin Deez – Constellations 219
13 Chapel Club – O Maybe I 219
15 The Kissaway Trail – Beat Your Heartbeat 215
16 The Wombats – Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) 214
17 We Are Scientists – I Don't Bite 209
17 Arcade Fire – Ready to Start 209
19 Kele – Tenderoni 207
20 Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk 205
20 Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks 205
22 Groove Armada – History 204
22 I Am Arrows – Hurricane 204
22 Zola Jesus – Poor Animal 204
25 Faithless – Not Going Home 200
26 Marina & the Diamonds – Shampain 199
26 Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller 199
26 The Ting Tings – Hands (Radio Edit) 199
29 Foals – Spanish Sahara 198
29 Miles Kane – Inhaler 198
31 The Vaccines – Wreckin' Bar 196
32 Band of Horses – Factory 195
33 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 194
34 Delphic – Doubt 190
34 The Courteeners – You Over Did It Doll 190
34 Stone Temple Pilots – Between the Lines 190
34 Kings of Leon – Pyro 190
38 The Radio Dept. – Heaven's on Fire 189
38 Clare Maguire – Ain't Nobody 189
40 Surfer Blood – Twin Peaks 188
41 Hurts – Stay 187
42 James Yuill – On Your Own 186
43 Broken Bells – October 185
43 Crookers – Remedy 185
45 Hot Chip – Alley Cats 184
45 The Drums – Me And The Moon 184
45 The National – Anyone's Ghost 184
48 MGMT – It's Working 183
48 Everything Everything – MY KZ, UR BF 183
48 Villagers – That Day 183
...then you'd have to wonder about a list that includes Crocodiles and The Ropes in its airplay year's top ten, compared to whom White Rabbits and Egyptian Hip Hop, by the basis that you're likely to have heard of them, are Coldplay and U2. Imagine also a radio station that gives heavy headway to Britpop and then puts Zola Jesus on heavy rotation.
6 Music
1 Vampire Weekend 583
2 Arcade Fire 451
3 Foals 427
4 David Bowie 337
5 The Chemical Brothers 332
6 Kings of Leon 330
7 Jimi Hendrix 325
7 Manic Street Preachers 325
7 Yeasayer 325
10 The National 319
11 Laura Marling 315
12 MGMT 313
13 The Futureheads 304
14 The xx 302
15 Beach House 301
15 Delphic 301
17 Hot Chip 291
18 Mumford & Sons 289
19 Radiohead 278
20 The Rolling Stones 262
21 School of Seven Bells 253
22 Gorillaz 247
23 The Cure 245
24 The Clash 243
24 Villagers 243
26 The Beatles 241
27 The Drums 239
28 Underworld 237
28 Chapel Club 237
30 The Charlatans 236
31 The Smiths 233
32 LCD Soundsystem 230
33 Belle and Sebastian 229
34 Florence + the Machine 228
35 Muse 227
36 The Black Keys 220
37 The Coral 218
38 Mystery Jets 216
39 Pulp 215
40 Groove Armada 212
40 R.E.M. 212
42 The Who 210
43 Blur 208
43 Paul Weller 208
45 Primal Scream 204
46 Band of Horses 202
47 Crystal Castles 199
48 Goldfrapp 198
49 M.I.A. 194
49 Everything Everything 194
David Bowie that high in the year people noticed he hasn't been out much? Hendrix at least got an album of scrapings from the studio bin, Valleys Of Neptune, the radio play for which helped it to the heady UK heights of number 21.
1 Foals – Spanish Sahara 154
2 Hot Chip – One Life Stand 139
3 Vampire Weekend – White Sky 138
4 Gruff Rhys – Shark Ridden Waters 134
5 Yeasayer – O.N.E. 127
6 Vampire Weekend – Holiday 125
6 Arcade Fire – We Used to Wait 125
8 Crystal Castles – Not In Love 122
9 Groove Armada – Paper Romance 121
9 The Chemical Brothers – Swoon 121
11 Gorillaz / Bobby Womack / Mos Def – Stylo 120
12 Yeasayer – Madder Red 117
12 Chapel Club – All the Eastern Girls 117
14 Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love 116
14 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 116
16 The xx – Crystalised 115
17 Jónsi – Go Do 113
17 Black Mountain – The Hair Song 113
17 Warpaint – Undertow 113
20 Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill 110
21 Laura Marling – Darkness Descends 109
21 M.I.A. – It Takes a Muscle 109
23 Delphic – Counterpoint 108
23 MGMT – It's Working 108
23 The Vaccines – Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) 108
26 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 107
26 Vampire Weekend – Giving Up the Gun 107
26 Vampire Weekend – Run 107
26 Best Coast – Boyfriend 107
30 The Jim Jones Revue – Shoot First 105
31 Delphic – Halcyon 103
32 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 102
33 The xx – VCR 101
33 Beach House – Norway 101
33 Band of Horses – Compliments 101
33 The Coral – 1000 Years 101
33 Grinderman – Worm Tamer 101
33 Jenny and Johnny – Big Wave 101
39 Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Little Girl 100
39 The Black Keys – Next Girl 100
39 Bombay Bicycle Club – Rinse Me Down 100
39 Arcade Fire – Ready to Start 100
43 The Chemical Brothers – Another World 99
43 Aeroplane – Superstar 99
43 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 99
46 Darwin Deez – Radar Detector 98
46 The Black Keys – Tighten Up 98
46 Underworld – Scribble 98
49 Villagers – That Day 97
49 Mystery Jets – Dreaming of Another World 97
49 Lykke Li – Get Some 97
A surprising list for at least one person we know, who couldn't turn the station on without hearing Grinderman. Unless the Beeb forgot to tag it. Big showings for Gruff Rhys and Crystal Castles there given the tracks in question (we're assuming the latter is the Robert Smith vocal version because, well, Robert Smith, 6 Music) only came out in mid-October. Black Mountain? Who'd have known.
1Xtra
1 Rihanna 746
2 Alicia Keys 687
3 Tinie Tempah 651
4 Plan B 593
5 Kanye West 530
6 Jason Derülo 484
7 Drake 469
8 Tinchy Stryder 416
9 Young Money 414
10 Ne-Yo 406
11 Black Eyed Peas 403
12 Dennis Ferrer 371
13 N-Dubz 357
14 Iyaz 343
15 Giggs 337
16 Donae'o 321
17 nas / damian marley 319
17 Gyptian / Nicki Minaj 319
19 Major Lazer 318
20 Jay-Z 317
21 Chiddy Bang 316
22 JLS 313
23 Roll Deep 311
24 Vybz Kartel / Popcaan / Gaza Slim 310
25 Eminem 308
26 Mary J. Blige 300
27 Kelis 286
28 Usher / Will.I.Am 282
29 Chipmunk 271
30 Smiler 266
31 Ill Blue / Shanique 264
32 Ludacris 255
33 Beyoncé 247
33 McLean 247
35 Skepta 244
35 Mavado 244
37 Big Boi 238
38 Timbaland / Justin Timberlake 233
39 50 Cent 231
40 Taio Cruz 227
41 Dizzee Rascal 224
42 Drake / T.I. / Swizz Beatz 223
43 Nicki Minaj 211
44 Cee Lo Green 210
45 Willow Smith 205
46 Jay Sean / Sean Paul / Lil Jon 199
47 Kelly Rowland 189
48 Katy B / Benga 184
49 Diddy / Dirty Money / T.I. 179
50 Devlin 175
1 Dennis Ferrer – Hey Hey 348
2 nas / damian marley – As We Enter 319
3 Major Lazer – Pon De Floor 318
3 Gyptian / Nicki Minaj – Hold Yuh (Remix) 318
5 Tinie Tempah – Pass Out 317
6 Vybz Kartel / Popcaan / Gaza Slim – Clarks 310
7 Usher / Will.I.Am – OMG 282
8 Young Money – BedRock 268
9 Rihanna – Rude Boy 267
10 Smiler – Enza 265
11 Ill Blue / Shanique – Say Yes 264
12 Giggs – Look What The Cat Dragged In 249
13 Big Boi – Shutterbug 234
14 Timbaland / Justin Timberlake – Carry Out 233
15 Drake / T.I. / Swizz Beatz – Fancy 223
16 50 Cent – Do You Think About Me 213
17 Kelis – Acapella 212
18 Ludacris – How Low 208
18 Kanye West – Power 208
20 Plan B – She Said 205
20 Willow Smith – Whip My Hair 205
22 Jay Sean / Sean Paul / Lil Jon – Do You Remember 199
23 Roll Deep – Good Times (Ill Blu Remix) 197
24 Skepta – Bad Boy 192
25 Mary J. Blige – I Am 190
26 Jay-Z – On to the Next One 189
27 Drake – Find Your Love 185
28 Katy B / Benga – Katy On A Mission 184
29 Drake – Over 183
30 Chiddy Bang – Chiddy Bang 182
31 Iyaz – Replay 181
32 Diddy / Dirty Money / T.I. – Hello Good Morning 179
33 Ne-Yo – One In A Million 173
34 Giggs / B.O.B – Don't Go There 172
35 Alicia Keys – Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart 168
35 Tinie Tempah – Frisky 168
37 50 Cent / Ne-Yo – Baby By Me 166
38 McLean – My Name 165
39 Professor Green / Lily Allen – Just Be Good To Green 163
40 Wretch 32 / L – Traktor 162
41 Jason Derülo – In My Head 161
41 B.O.B / Bruno Mars / Big Boi – Nothin' On You (Remix) 161
43 Rihanna / Young Jeezy – Hard 154
44 Eminem – Love The Way You Lie 152
45 Usher / Pitbull – DJ Got Us Falling In Love 151
46 Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down 149
47 Kanye West – Runaway 145
48 Timbaland / So Shy / Nelly Furtado – Morning After Dark 143
48 Loick Essien – Love Drunk 143
50 Lloyd Banks / Juelz Santana – Beamer, Benz Or Bentley 142
We've scooted through this because of our pale indie kid nature, but what on earth is that number one? Actually it hit the heights of number 55 but was a summer smash that takes it top of an odd list that includes the none more bloggish Major Lazer and dancehall Londoner Vybz Kartel's Clarks, which as previously remarked upon is actually about Clark's Shoes.
NME Radio
1 Oasis 1,208
2 Blur 1,177
3 Kings of Leon 1,139
4 U2 1,086
5 The Cure 1,020
6 Radiohead 981
7 Muse 975
8 R.E.M. 907
9 The Smiths 893
10 Arcade Fire 829
11 Vampire Weekend 809
12 Manic Street Preachers 805
13 Nirvana 785
13 The xx 785
15 Kasabian 776
16 David Bowie 751
17 Gorillaz 745
18 Darwin Deez 711
19 Depeche Mode 699
20 The Rolling Stones 690
21 Red Hot Chili Peppers 684
22 The Killers 679
23 The Jam 659
24 Doves 642
25 The Stone Roses 632
26 Yeasayer 629
27 Biffy Clyro 627
28 Groove Armada 620
29 Arctic Monkeys 613
30 Foo Fighters 610
31 Florence + the Machine 608
32 The Drums 600
33 The Clash 598
34 Bombay Bicycle Club 595
35 Coldplay 587
36 Chapel Club 583
37 MGMT 563
38 Hot Chip 560
39 We Are Scientists 547
40 Foals 545
41 Green Day 538
42 Supergrass 516
43 Miike Snow 507
44 Delphic 506
45 Primal Scream 493
46 Egyptian Hip Hop 476
47 New Order 464
48 The Verve 463
49 Editors 456
50 Beck 452
Oasis and Blur! It's a posthumous win double. If this makes NME look like the Heart FM of indie, though...
1 The xx – VCR 416
2 Vampire Weekend – Giving Up the Gun 361
3 White Rabbits – Percussion Gun 337
4 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs 288
5 Yeasayer – Madder Red 268
6 Crocodiles – Sleep Forever 262
7 Blur – Fool's Day 249
8 The Ropes – Love Is a Chain Store 238
9 Hot Chip – One Life Stand 231
10 Egyptian Hip Hop – Moon Crooner 223
11 Carl Bar̢t РRun With The Boys 221
12 Darwin Deez – Bed Space 220
13 Darwin Deez – Constellations 219
13 Chapel Club – O Maybe I 219
15 The Kissaway Trail – Beat Your Heartbeat 215
16 The Wombats – Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) 214
17 We Are Scientists – I Don't Bite 209
17 Arcade Fire – Ready to Start 209
19 Kele – Tenderoni 207
20 Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk 205
20 Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks 205
22 Groove Armada – History 204
22 I Am Arrows – Hurricane 204
22 Zola Jesus – Poor Animal 204
25 Faithless – Not Going Home 200
26 Marina & the Diamonds – Shampain 199
26 Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller 199
26 The Ting Tings – Hands (Radio Edit) 199
29 Foals – Spanish Sahara 198
29 Miles Kane – Inhaler 198
31 The Vaccines – Wreckin' Bar 196
32 Band of Horses – Factory 195
33 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 194
34 Delphic – Doubt 190
34 The Courteeners – You Over Did It Doll 190
34 Stone Temple Pilots – Between the Lines 190
34 Kings of Leon – Pyro 190
38 The Radio Dept. – Heaven's on Fire 189
38 Clare Maguire – Ain't Nobody 189
40 Surfer Blood – Twin Peaks 188
41 Hurts – Stay 187
42 James Yuill – On Your Own 186
43 Broken Bells – October 185
43 Crookers – Remedy 185
45 Hot Chip – Alley Cats 184
45 The Drums – Me And The Moon 184
45 The National – Anyone's Ghost 184
48 MGMT – It's Working 183
48 Everything Everything – MY KZ, UR BF 183
48 Villagers – That Day 183
...then you'd have to wonder about a list that includes Crocodiles and The Ropes in its airplay year's top ten, compared to whom White Rabbits and Egyptian Hip Hop, by the basis that you're likely to have heard of them, are Coldplay and U2. Imagine also a radio station that gives heavy headway to Britpop and then puts Zola Jesus on heavy rotation.
Tracklist: Einar Stray - Chiaroscuro
You know occasionally you stumble across something that so inhabits its own time and space it seems completely rootless even if you can see where the influences come from? Einar Stray is a young Norwegian, also a member of Moddi, who over the eight minutes of the title track from his debut solo album (out February 7th) lays out a sonic spectrum that takes its lead from the icy soundscapes of a Sigur Ros, lays on sobbing strings not far from Owen Pallett under a series of steadily intensifying crashing waves that break into ripples of beatific beauty. There's plenty of instrumentation, from subtle horns to clattering drums sounding like they're pawing at the steel bars of a cage, but it never overwhelms, taking its time to layer everything into drifting passages before exploding into action painting fireworks. Imagine if the album was all this good.
Einar Stray - Chiaroscuro by spoontrain
Einar Stray - Chiaroscuro by spoontrain
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Their year in lists (part one)
All year, for want of something better to fill weekdays with, we've been keeping track of the last.fm stats thrown up by leading national radio stations. Now we've got to the end of the year, let's take the proper temperature of pop broadcasting in 2010 with their twelve year artist and track figures to near enough the end of 31st December.
Radio 1
1 Tinie Tempah 672
2 Plan B 669
3 Biffy Clyro 610
4 Rihanna 603
5 Vampire Weekend 568
6 Pendulum 537
7 Mumford & Sons 534
8 Ellie Goulding 527
9 Muse 505
10 Florence + the Machine 494
11 Marina & the Diamonds 466
12 30 Seconds to Mars 465
13 You Me At Six 456
14 Paramore 449
15 Example 444
16 Jason Derülo 435
17 Kings of Leon 416
18 Pixie Lott 405
19 JLS 404
19 Katy Perry 404
21 Lady Gaga 388
22 Eminem 386
23 Black Eyed Peas 373
24 Scouting for Girls 356
25 The Saturdays 343
26 Paolo Nutini 337
26 The xx 337
28 Lostprophets 332
29 Kasabian 329
29 Cheryl Cole 329
31 Professor Green 328
32 Roll Deep 313
33 Eliza Doolittle 311
34 The Pretty Reckless 305
35 All Time Low 298
36 Ke$ha 286
37 Owl City 283
38 The Wombats 280
39 Swedish House Mafia 272
40 3OH!3 271
41 Dizzee Rascal 265
41 N-Dubz 265
43 Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP 262
44 Mark Ronson & The Business Intl 259
45 My Chemical Romance 256
46 Inna 254
47 Cee Lo Green 251
48 Take That 250
49 Alicia Keys 244
50 The Script 243
You do underestimate how big Vampire Weekend are to the youth, don't you? The emergence of Tinie Tempah seems to be being used as a stick to beat BBC Sound Of... with as he wasn't in the fifteen strong shortlist last year, but there was no reason he should have been - he'd had a couple of small scale EPs out and while 1Xtra had been supporting his cause he'd only been signed in October 2009. Not realising months in advance that he was going to breeze through the UK urban-as-pop fire door that others had kicked open and overtake the lot of them isn't lack of knowledge, it's lack of time travelling capability.
1 Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – We No Speak Americano 259
2 Tinie Tempah – Pass Out 251
3 Gramophonedzie – Why Don't You 237
4 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 227
5 Owl City – Fireflies 221
6 The xx – Islands 219
6 Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed 219
8 Marina & the Diamonds – Hollywood 212
9 Pendulum – Watercolour 207
10 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 206
11 You Me At Six – Underdog 195
12 Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over 194
12 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 194
14 You Me At Six – Liquid Confidence 191
14 Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand 191
16 Katy B – Katy On A Mission 190
17 Professor Green – I Need You Tonight 188
18 Example – Kickstarts 185
19 Kids In Glass Houses – Matters At All 180
20 Eliza Doolittle – Pack Up 178
21 The Wombats – Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) 176
22 Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk 175
23 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 173
24 Biffy Clyro – Bubbles 172
24 Plan B – Stay Too Long 172
26 Eminem – Love The Way You Lie 163
27 Muse – Resistance 162
28 Labrinth – Let The Sun Shine 161
29 Cee Lo Green – Forget You 160
30 Plan B – She Said 159
30 Tinie Tempah – Frisky 159
30 Taio Cruz – Dynamite 159
33 Inna – Hot 158
33 Diana Vickers – Once 158
33 Roll Deep – Good Times 158
36 Dizzee Rascal – Dirtee Disco 157
37 The Pretty Reckless – Make Me Wanna Die 155
38 Magnetic Man – I Need Air 150
39 All Time Low – Weightless 148
39 All Time Low – Lost In Stereo 148
41 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 146
41 Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults 146
41 Rihanna – Only Girl (In The World) 146
44 Far East Movement – Like A G6 144
44 Katy Perry – Teenage Dream 144
46 3OH!3 – Don't Trust Me 143
47 Black Eyed Peas – Rock That Body 141
47 Chase & Status – Let You Go 141
49 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 139
50 Vampire Weekend – Cousins 137
What a very odd list. Two of the top six are from albums released in 2009 (and let's face it, you'd have got long odds on the xx being that much daytime material this time last year), and two of the top three are dance tracks that sample jazz records and sound like novelties in doing so. This is where dance pop lies in 2010. And all pop, for that matter. Note, by the way, that there's three Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP tracks they've played other than the single.
Radio 2
1 The Beatles 513
2 Amy Macdonald 398
3 Take That 347
4 Kylie Minogue 346
5 Bruce Springsteen 342
6 Michael Bublé 337
7 The Rolling Stones 334
8 Scouting for Girls 330
9 David Bowie 309
10 KT Tunstall 278
11 Robbie Williams 274
12 Elvis Presley 273
13 Lissie 270
14 Stevie Wonder 267
15 ABBA 263
16 Scissor Sisters 257
17 Queen 256
17 Fleetwood Mac 256
19 Madonna 254
19 Michael Jackson 254
21 Rumer 247
22 Paolo Nutini 244
23 Elton John 236
24 Paloma Faith 233
25 Fyfe Dangerfield 228
26 Coldplay 223
27 Eliza Doolittle 220
28 Cee Lo Green 215
29 Rod Stewart 210
30 Lady Antebellum 201
30 Owl City 201
32 James Blunt 196
33 Electric Light Orchestra 195
34 The Beach Boys 194
35 Pet Shop Boys 188
36 Goldfrapp 187
37 Neil Diamond 185
38 Harper Simon 184
39 Blondie 183
39 Sheryl Crow 183
39 Brandon Flowers 183
42 a-ha 180
43 Mika 176
43 Katie Melua 176
45 Rox 171
46 U2 169
47 Bee Gees 168
47 Nell Bryden 168
49 Oasis 167
49 Gabriella Cilmi 167
See, that's why the iTunes campaign was so prevalent. Given that amount of support, more than the more obvious likes of Rumer, you have to wonder how successful Lissie has been.
1 Amy Macdonald – This Pretty Face 143
2 Scissor Sisters – Fire With Fire 142
3 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 134
4 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 132
5 Michael Bubl̩ РHollywood 131
6 Scouting for Girls – Famous 129
7 Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down 128
8 Train – Hey, Soul Sister 127
8 Katie Melua – The Flood 127
10 Eliza Doolittle – Pack Up 124
11 Rumer – Slow 122
12 James Blunt – Stay the Night 121
12 Take That – The Flood 121
14 Goldfrapp – Rocket 118
14 The Hoosiers – Choices 118
16 Owl City – Fireflies 116
17 Tone Damli – Butterflies 114
17 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 114
17 Kylie Minogue – All The Lovers 114
20 Katy Perry – California Gurls 113
21 Lissie – When I'm Alone 112
22 Little Big Town – Fine Line 111
23 Rick Astley – Lights Out 110
24 Amy Macdonald – Don't Tell Me That It's Over 109
25 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 108
25 Cee Lo Green – Forget You 108
25 Manic Street Preachers / Ian Mcculloch – Some Kind Of Nothingness 108
28 Eli "Paperboy" Reed – Come And Get It 107
29 Biffy Clyro – Many Of Horror (Where We Collide) 103
30 Lady Gaga – Alejandro 102
30 KT Tunstall – Fade Like A Shadow 102
32 Sheryl Crow – Summer Day 98
33 Rumer – Aretha 97
33 I Am Arrows – Green Grass 97
33 Cee Lo Green – It's OK 97
36 Mika – Blame It On The Girls 96
37 Fyfe Dangerfield – She Needs Me 95
38 Lady Antebellum – I Run To You 93
38 Caro Emerald – Riviera Life 93
38 KT Tunstall – (Still A) Weirdo 93
41 Boyzone – Love Is A Hurricane 92
42 Joshua Radin – I'd Rather Be With You 90
43 Paloma Faith – Upside Down 89
43 Robbie Williams – Morning Sun 89
45 OneRepublic – All The Right Moves 88
45 Diane Birch – Valentino 88
45 Jamiroquai – Blue Skies 88
48 Lady Antebellum – Need You Now 87
48 Paul Weller – No Tears To Cry 87
50 Corinne Bailey Rae – Paris Nights/New York Mornings 86
Imagine a station that played so much Scouting For Girls all year. Amy Macdonald is evidently some sort of new Eddi Reader. Brandon Flowers' name turns up a lot in these rundowns, strange for someone whose solo work seems to have deliberately passed most people by. Quite a few supposed crossover hits that didn't happen here - Corinne Bailey Rae's much vaunted return doesn't seem to have amounted to much, Mercury nomination notwithstanding.
Absolute
1 Oasis 1,248
2 Kings of Leon 1,226
3 U2 1,146
4 Florence + the Machine 1,134
5 Mumford & Sons 1,080
6 Coldplay 1,069
7 R.E.M. 1,035
8 Snow Patrol 1,027
9 Muse 1,020
10 Paolo Nutini 966
11 Queen 951
12 Manic Street Preachers 934
13 Stereophonics 930
14 The Beatles 839
14 Biffy Clyro 839
16 David Bowie 827
17 The Rolling Stones 818
18 Bon Jovi 813
19 The Killers 807
20 Blur 805
21 Green Day 741
22 Bruce Springsteen 733
23 Red Hot Chili Peppers 703
24 Keane 685
25 Brandon Flowers 683
26 The Police 679
27 Amy Macdonald 650
28 INXS 626
29 30 Seconds to Mars 608
30 The Script 590
31 Kaiser Chiefs 561
32 Travis 530
33 Paul Weller 521
34 The Jam 518
35 Foo Fighters 501
36 AC/DC 495
37 James 488
38 The Cure 484
39 Blondie 483
40 Train 471
41 Razorlight 468
42 Guns N' Roses 451
43 Nirvana 450
43 Kasabian 450
45 Madness 444
46 Scouting for Girls 440
47 Lily Allen 431
48 The Who 427
49 Nickelback 424
50 Simple Minds 418
Oasis. A band that don't exist any more, and still that hold over that demographic. We know we've just covered the Beatles' hold on Radio 2, but at least they have a story and a cultural and critical importance. Oasis are a band who as far as their posthumous notices go could have split in 1996 without denting anything. And when did INXS become that worthy of revitalisation for the ages?
1 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 668
2 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 575
3 Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over 520
4 Muse – Uprising 402
4 Train – Hey, Soul Sister 402
6 Paolo Nutini – Candy 394
7 Owl City – Fireflies 387
8 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 374
9 Snow Patrol – Just Say Yes 372
10 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 348
11 The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition 345
12 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 344
13 The Script – For The First Time 330
14 Biffy Clyro – Bubbles 310
15 Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire 304
16 Amy Macdonald – Don't Tell Me That It's Over 303
17 Journey – Don't Stop Believin' 297
18 30 Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge 276
19 Keane – Stop For A Minute 271
20 Joshua Radin – I'd Rather Be With You 262
21 Biffy Clyro – Many Of Horror (When We Collide) 259
22 Florence + the Machine – You've Got The Love 258
23 Kings of Leon – Use Somebody 250
24 30 Seconds to Mars – Kings and Queens 247
25 Fyfe Dangerfield – She's Always A Woman 244
26 Kasabian – Fire 243
27 Lissie – When I'm Alone 218
28 Elbow – One Day Like This 216
29 Paramore – The Only Exception 209
30 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 207
31 Kings of Leon – Pyro 204
32 Florence + the Machine – Cosmic Love 191
33 Hurts – Wonderful Life 180
34 Muse – Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever) 179
35 Muse – Resistance 176
35 KT Tunstall – (Still A) Weirdo 176
37 AC/DC – Rock and Roll Train 168
38 Lily Allen – The Fear 165
39 Marina & the Diamonds – Hollywood 164
40 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 161
40 Paul Weller – No Tears To Cry 161
42 The Killers – Mr. Brightside 160
43 Coldplay – Viva la Vida 158
44 The Wombats – Tokyo 153
45 AC/DC – Highway to Hell 152
46 MGMT – Kids 148
46 The xx – Islands 148
48 Lily Allen – Not Fair 147
48 Robert Plant – Angel Dance 147
50 I Am Kloot – Northern Skies 144
Only comment necessary: Four songs released in 2009 are among Absolute's eleven most played songs (technically six, but two were reissued).
Specialist radio tomorrow.
Radio 1
1 Tinie Tempah 672
2 Plan B 669
3 Biffy Clyro 610
4 Rihanna 603
5 Vampire Weekend 568
6 Pendulum 537
7 Mumford & Sons 534
8 Ellie Goulding 527
9 Muse 505
10 Florence + the Machine 494
11 Marina & the Diamonds 466
12 30 Seconds to Mars 465
13 You Me At Six 456
14 Paramore 449
15 Example 444
16 Jason Derülo 435
17 Kings of Leon 416
18 Pixie Lott 405
19 JLS 404
19 Katy Perry 404
21 Lady Gaga 388
22 Eminem 386
23 Black Eyed Peas 373
24 Scouting for Girls 356
25 The Saturdays 343
26 Paolo Nutini 337
26 The xx 337
28 Lostprophets 332
29 Kasabian 329
29 Cheryl Cole 329
31 Professor Green 328
32 Roll Deep 313
33 Eliza Doolittle 311
34 The Pretty Reckless 305
35 All Time Low 298
36 Ke$ha 286
37 Owl City 283
38 The Wombats 280
39 Swedish House Mafia 272
40 3OH!3 271
41 Dizzee Rascal 265
41 N-Dubz 265
43 Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP 262
44 Mark Ronson & The Business Intl 259
45 My Chemical Romance 256
46 Inna 254
47 Cee Lo Green 251
48 Take That 250
49 Alicia Keys 244
50 The Script 243
You do underestimate how big Vampire Weekend are to the youth, don't you? The emergence of Tinie Tempah seems to be being used as a stick to beat BBC Sound Of... with as he wasn't in the fifteen strong shortlist last year, but there was no reason he should have been - he'd had a couple of small scale EPs out and while 1Xtra had been supporting his cause he'd only been signed in October 2009. Not realising months in advance that he was going to breeze through the UK urban-as-pop fire door that others had kicked open and overtake the lot of them isn't lack of knowledge, it's lack of time travelling capability.
1 Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP – We No Speak Americano 259
2 Tinie Tempah – Pass Out 251
3 Gramophonedzie – Why Don't You 237
4 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 227
5 Owl City – Fireflies 221
6 The xx – Islands 219
6 Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed 219
8 Marina & the Diamonds – Hollywood 212
9 Pendulum – Watercolour 207
10 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 206
11 You Me At Six – Underdog 195
12 Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over 194
12 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 194
14 You Me At Six – Liquid Confidence 191
14 Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand 191
16 Katy B – Katy On A Mission 190
17 Professor Green – I Need You Tonight 188
18 Example – Kickstarts 185
19 Kids In Glass Houses – Matters At All 180
20 Eliza Doolittle – Pack Up 178
21 The Wombats – Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) 176
22 Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk 175
23 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 173
24 Biffy Clyro – Bubbles 172
24 Plan B – Stay Too Long 172
26 Eminem – Love The Way You Lie 163
27 Muse – Resistance 162
28 Labrinth – Let The Sun Shine 161
29 Cee Lo Green – Forget You 160
30 Plan B – She Said 159
30 Tinie Tempah – Frisky 159
30 Taio Cruz – Dynamite 159
33 Inna – Hot 158
33 Diana Vickers – Once 158
33 Roll Deep – Good Times 158
36 Dizzee Rascal – Dirtee Disco 157
37 The Pretty Reckless – Make Me Wanna Die 155
38 Magnetic Man – I Need Air 150
39 All Time Low – Weightless 148
39 All Time Low – Lost In Stereo 148
41 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 146
41 Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults 146
41 Rihanna – Only Girl (In The World) 146
44 Far East Movement – Like A G6 144
44 Katy Perry – Teenage Dream 144
46 3OH!3 – Don't Trust Me 143
47 Black Eyed Peas – Rock That Body 141
47 Chase & Status – Let You Go 141
49 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 139
50 Vampire Weekend – Cousins 137
What a very odd list. Two of the top six are from albums released in 2009 (and let's face it, you'd have got long odds on the xx being that much daytime material this time last year), and two of the top three are dance tracks that sample jazz records and sound like novelties in doing so. This is where dance pop lies in 2010. And all pop, for that matter. Note, by the way, that there's three Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP tracks they've played other than the single.
Radio 2
1 The Beatles 513
2 Amy Macdonald 398
3 Take That 347
4 Kylie Minogue 346
5 Bruce Springsteen 342
6 Michael Bublé 337
7 The Rolling Stones 334
8 Scouting for Girls 330
9 David Bowie 309
10 KT Tunstall 278
11 Robbie Williams 274
12 Elvis Presley 273
13 Lissie 270
14 Stevie Wonder 267
15 ABBA 263
16 Scissor Sisters 257
17 Queen 256
17 Fleetwood Mac 256
19 Madonna 254
19 Michael Jackson 254
21 Rumer 247
22 Paolo Nutini 244
23 Elton John 236
24 Paloma Faith 233
25 Fyfe Dangerfield 228
26 Coldplay 223
27 Eliza Doolittle 220
28 Cee Lo Green 215
29 Rod Stewart 210
30 Lady Antebellum 201
30 Owl City 201
32 James Blunt 196
33 Electric Light Orchestra 195
34 The Beach Boys 194
35 Pet Shop Boys 188
36 Goldfrapp 187
37 Neil Diamond 185
38 Harper Simon 184
39 Blondie 183
39 Sheryl Crow 183
39 Brandon Flowers 183
42 a-ha 180
43 Mika 176
43 Katie Melua 176
45 Rox 171
46 U2 169
47 Bee Gees 168
47 Nell Bryden 168
49 Oasis 167
49 Gabriella Cilmi 167
See, that's why the iTunes campaign was so prevalent. Given that amount of support, more than the more obvious likes of Rumer, you have to wonder how successful Lissie has been.
1 Amy Macdonald – This Pretty Face 143
2 Scissor Sisters – Fire With Fire 142
3 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 134
4 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 132
5 Michael Bubl̩ РHollywood 131
6 Scouting for Girls – Famous 129
7 Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down 128
8 Train – Hey, Soul Sister 127
8 Katie Melua – The Flood 127
10 Eliza Doolittle – Pack Up 124
11 Rumer – Slow 122
12 James Blunt – Stay the Night 121
12 Take That – The Flood 121
14 Goldfrapp – Rocket 118
14 The Hoosiers – Choices 118
16 Owl City – Fireflies 116
17 Tone Damli – Butterflies 114
17 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 114
17 Kylie Minogue – All The Lovers 114
20 Katy Perry – California Gurls 113
21 Lissie – When I'm Alone 112
22 Little Big Town – Fine Line 111
23 Rick Astley – Lights Out 110
24 Amy Macdonald – Don't Tell Me That It's Over 109
25 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 108
25 Cee Lo Green – Forget You 108
25 Manic Street Preachers / Ian Mcculloch – Some Kind Of Nothingness 108
28 Eli "Paperboy" Reed – Come And Get It 107
29 Biffy Clyro – Many Of Horror (Where We Collide) 103
30 Lady Gaga – Alejandro 102
30 KT Tunstall – Fade Like A Shadow 102
32 Sheryl Crow – Summer Day 98
33 Rumer – Aretha 97
33 I Am Arrows – Green Grass 97
33 Cee Lo Green – It's OK 97
36 Mika – Blame It On The Girls 96
37 Fyfe Dangerfield – She Needs Me 95
38 Lady Antebellum – I Run To You 93
38 Caro Emerald – Riviera Life 93
38 KT Tunstall – (Still A) Weirdo 93
41 Boyzone – Love Is A Hurricane 92
42 Joshua Radin – I'd Rather Be With You 90
43 Paloma Faith – Upside Down 89
43 Robbie Williams – Morning Sun 89
45 OneRepublic – All The Right Moves 88
45 Diane Birch – Valentino 88
45 Jamiroquai – Blue Skies 88
48 Lady Antebellum – Need You Now 87
48 Paul Weller – No Tears To Cry 87
50 Corinne Bailey Rae – Paris Nights/New York Mornings 86
Imagine a station that played so much Scouting For Girls all year. Amy Macdonald is evidently some sort of new Eddi Reader. Brandon Flowers' name turns up a lot in these rundowns, strange for someone whose solo work seems to have deliberately passed most people by. Quite a few supposed crossover hits that didn't happen here - Corinne Bailey Rae's much vaunted return doesn't seem to have amounted to much, Mercury nomination notwithstanding.
Absolute
1 Oasis 1,248
2 Kings of Leon 1,226
3 U2 1,146
4 Florence + the Machine 1,134
5 Mumford & Sons 1,080
6 Coldplay 1,069
7 R.E.M. 1,035
8 Snow Patrol 1,027
9 Muse 1,020
10 Paolo Nutini 966
11 Queen 951
12 Manic Street Preachers 934
13 Stereophonics 930
14 The Beatles 839
14 Biffy Clyro 839
16 David Bowie 827
17 The Rolling Stones 818
18 Bon Jovi 813
19 The Killers 807
20 Blur 805
21 Green Day 741
22 Bruce Springsteen 733
23 Red Hot Chili Peppers 703
24 Keane 685
25 Brandon Flowers 683
26 The Police 679
27 Amy Macdonald 650
28 INXS 626
29 30 Seconds to Mars 608
30 The Script 590
31 Kaiser Chiefs 561
32 Travis 530
33 Paul Weller 521
34 The Jam 518
35 Foo Fighters 501
36 AC/DC 495
37 James 488
38 The Cure 484
39 Blondie 483
40 Train 471
41 Razorlight 468
42 Guns N' Roses 451
43 Nirvana 450
43 Kasabian 450
45 Madness 444
46 Scouting for Girls 440
47 Lily Allen 431
48 The Who 427
49 Nickelback 424
50 Simple Minds 418
Oasis. A band that don't exist any more, and still that hold over that demographic. We know we've just covered the Beatles' hold on Radio 2, but at least they have a story and a cultural and critical importance. Oasis are a band who as far as their posthumous notices go could have split in 1996 without denting anything. And when did INXS become that worthy of revitalisation for the ages?
1 Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone 668
2 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 575
3 Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over 520
4 Muse – Uprising 402
4 Train – Hey, Soul Sister 402
6 Paolo Nutini – Candy 394
7 Owl City – Fireflies 387
8 Paolo Nutini – 10/10 374
9 Snow Patrol – Just Say Yes 372
10 Manic Street Preachers – (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love 348
11 The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition 345
12 Scouting for Girls – This Ain't A Love Song 344
13 The Script – For The First Time 330
14 Biffy Clyro – Bubbles 310
15 Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire 304
16 Amy Macdonald – Don't Tell Me That It's Over 303
17 Journey – Don't Stop Believin' 297
18 30 Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge 276
19 Keane – Stop For A Minute 271
20 Joshua Radin – I'd Rather Be With You 262
21 Biffy Clyro – Many Of Horror (When We Collide) 259
22 Florence + the Machine – You've Got The Love 258
23 Kings of Leon – Use Somebody 250
24 30 Seconds to Mars – Kings and Queens 247
25 Fyfe Dangerfield – She's Always A Woman 244
26 Kasabian – Fire 243
27 Lissie – When I'm Alone 218
28 Elbow – One Day Like This 216
29 Paramore – The Only Exception 209
30 Kings of Leon – Radioactive 207
31 Kings of Leon – Pyro 204
32 Florence + the Machine – Cosmic Love 191
33 Hurts – Wonderful Life 180
34 Muse – Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever) 179
35 Muse – Resistance 176
35 KT Tunstall – (Still A) Weirdo 176
37 AC/DC – Rock and Roll Train 168
38 Lily Allen – The Fear 165
39 Marina & the Diamonds – Hollywood 164
40 Mumford & Sons – The Cave 161
40 Paul Weller – No Tears To Cry 161
42 The Killers – Mr. Brightside 160
43 Coldplay – Viva la Vida 158
44 The Wombats – Tokyo 153
45 AC/DC – Highway to Hell 152
46 MGMT – Kids 148
46 The xx – Islands 148
48 Lily Allen – Not Fair 147
48 Robert Plant – Angel Dance 147
50 I Am Kloot – Northern Skies 144
Only comment necessary: Four songs released in 2009 are among Absolute's eleven most played songs (technically six, but two were reissued).
Specialist radio tomorrow.
Tracklist: Summer Fiction - Chandeliers
There's not been a lot of outright baroque in current US indie recently, something to invoke the mythical golden age of Brian Wilson's summer studio fun and trying not to think too hard about everything else weighing you down. Philadephia's Billy Ricchini, who is Summer Fiction, understands that intuitively, which is how he's come to write and record a song that in its quasi-harpsichord melody and lightness of retrospective touch sounds like Beulah covering Belle & Sebastian's Jonathan David. It's an upbeat pop song about downbeat femme fatale motives. A full album is available from Bandcamp for $8, about £5.50 (this track is the free download), and is worth your time.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Tracklist: Elephant - Ants
Starting off with a track we have listed back in the days of Playlist Additions, but as it's out properly through Memphis Industries on the 17th January it won't hurt to plug it again. Sharing some submerged summer balm with the more hyped Cults, the liberal delay effects and... is that a squeezebox? Anyway, while it sounds as much like it'd be at home on one of those Swedish cottage industry indies, it's also sinister in cagey intent and carries a depth of feeling which makes it surprising, as much to the singer by this token, that they should be sounding as close as they do to enjoying themselves. Think a less gingham Au Revoir Simone or fellow London-based duo Summer Camp deprived of Fleetwood Mac CDs and John Hughes DVDs.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Back to work
A changing of the calendar brings with it a time to start afresh. No, not in the 'put to rest' sense, though don't think that didn't cross our minds once or twice when we put another thousand words into the blogosphere to be met by apparent stony facedness. Anyway.
We've always posted about new and current music and the best tracks of that type, but often at several days' remove. So in place of the Myspace links and Playlist Additions and all that, what we're going to inaugurate tomorrow is Tracklist - a first thing daily post of a single track you ought to know about and why. Not that there'll be a lot of direct downloads if any at all, but think of it as a reaction to those mp3 blogs that hoy up anything they get with just a couple of sentences copied off the press release that tell you nothing about why you should care. Brand new bands or latest albums from established names, it'll all grist to the mill.
That doesn't mean we'll scrimp all that much on the usual mess of other stuff, that'll just fit round it, but consider Tracklist a quick stop guide to something to work through your day by that works in parallel to all that rot. This weekend, for instance, a full ton of reasons why you should look forward to 2011's myriad delights. Are you with us?
We've always posted about new and current music and the best tracks of that type, but often at several days' remove. So in place of the Myspace links and Playlist Additions and all that, what we're going to inaugurate tomorrow is Tracklist - a first thing daily post of a single track you ought to know about and why. Not that there'll be a lot of direct downloads if any at all, but think of it as a reaction to those mp3 blogs that hoy up anything they get with just a couple of sentences copied off the press release that tell you nothing about why you should care. Brand new bands or latest albums from established names, it'll all grist to the mill.
That doesn't mean we'll scrimp all that much on the usual mess of other stuff, that'll just fit round it, but consider Tracklist a quick stop guide to something to work through your day by that works in parallel to all that rot. This weekend, for instance, a full ton of reasons why you should look forward to 2011's myriad delights. Are you with us?
Saturday, January 01, 2011
UK Blogger Albums Of 2010 Poll Results
As our final act of commemorating a year just gone, let's reduce the cultural innovation of music making to a competitive sideshow that acts as the natural opposite to individuality and free untained opinion. For the sixth time, we took a master list of a number of UK music blogs and their volunteered (or filched) lists of best albums of the year just gone to see what the people made of the longform music presented to them in 2010. Because we had a record number of participants, a good number more than sixty, for the first time we've extended the master list to a top 75. All shall have prizes.
Thanking everyone who responded/counted, this year's particular roll of honour, then: 17 Seconds, Addict Music, Amusia, And Everyone's A DJ, Another Form Of Relief, The Auditorium, Aye Tunes, Both Bars On, Breaking More Waves, The Daily Growl, Dots & Dashes, Drunken Werewolf, Eaten By Monsters, Echoes And Dust, Faded Glamour, Flying With Anna, Folly Of Youth, Getintothis, God Is In The TV, ireallylovemusic, In League With Paton, It's Getting Boring By The Sea (RIP), Just Music That I Like, Just Played, mapsadaisical, Mostly Armless, Music Fans Mic, Music From A Green Window, Music Liberation, Muso's Guide, Nu Rave Brain Wave, Odd Box, Parallax View, Peenko, The Pigeon Post, The Pop Cop, Popjustice, The Popscener, Ragged Glories, The Recommender, seven sevens, Song By Toad, Sonic Masala, The Sound Of The Overground, This Must Be Pop, Tonight We Dance Tomorrow We Cry, Useless Chamber, The Von Pip Musical Express, We Are Not A Rock Band, We Write Lists.
Formalities over, on to the list of lists:
75 MASSIVE ATTACK - Heligoland
74 TRASH KIT - Trash Kit
73 THE CORAL - Butterfly House
72 HER NAME IS CALLA - The Quiet Lamb
71 SHE & HIM - Volume II
70 THE STRANGE DEATH OF LIBERAL ENGLAND - Drown Your Heart Again
69 THE SOFT PACK - The Soft Pack
68 SWANS - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
67 WILD NOTHING - Gemini
66 LIARS - Sisterworld
65 RM HUBBERT - First & Last
64 PLAN B - The Defamation Of Strickland Banks
63 RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu
62 FIRST AID KIT - The Big Black And The Blue
61 RICHARD SKELTON - Landings
60 SHRAG - Life! Death! Prizes!
59 BROKEN RECORDS - Let Me Come Home
58 FUTURE ISLANDS - In Evening Air
57 THE BLACK KEYS - Brothers
56 FANG ISLAND - Fang Island
55 SMOKE FAIRIES - Through Low Light And Trees
54 MARINA & THE DIAMONDS - The Family Jewels
53 THE INDELICATES - Songs For Swinging Lovers
52 THE PHANTOM BAND - The Wants
51 THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT - St. Thomas
50 GOLD PANDA - Lucky Shiner
49 MIDLAKE - The Courage Of Others
48 OWEN PALLETT - Heartland
47 TEETH OF THE SEA - Your Mercury
46 MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Postcards From A Young Man
45 JONSI - Go
44 STANDARD FARE - The Noyelle Beat
43 BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB - Flaws
42 MUSIC GO MUSIC - Expressions
41 SAM AMIDON - I See The Sign
40 CRYSTAL CASTLES - Crystal Castles (II)
39 ZOLA JESUS - Stridulum II
38 JANELLE MONAE - The ArchAndroid
37 GORILLAZ - Plastic Beach
36 PERFUME GENIUS - Learning
35 VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Contra
34 SUFJAN STEVENS - The Age Of Adz
33 FRIGHTENED RABBIT - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
32 STEVE MASON - Boys Outside
31 ADMIRAL FALLOW - Boots Met My Face
30 EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - Man Alive
29 WARPAINT - The Fool
28 HURTS - Happiness
27 GIL SCOTT HERON - I'm New Here
26 ANAIS MITCHELL - Hadestown
25 FOUR TET - There Is Love In You
24 BEST COAST - Crazy For You
23 DEERHUNTER - Halcyon Digest
22 ROBYN - Body Talk
21 JOHN GRANT - Queen Of Denmark
20 DEFTONES - Diamond Eyes
Video: Diamond Eyes
19 AVI BUFFALO - Avi Buffalo
Video: What's In It For?
18 FLYING LOTUS - Cosmogramma
Video: MmmHmm
17 MEURSAULT - All Creatures Will Make Merry
Video: Crank Resolutions (live)
16 ALLO DARLIN' - Allo Darlin'
Video: Dreaming
15 KID CANAVERAL - Shouting At Wildlife
Video: You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night (live)
14 THESE NEW PURITANS - Hidden
Video: We Want War
13 YEASAYER - Odd Blood
Video: Ambling Alp
12 CAITLIN ROSE - Own Side Now
Video: Shanghai Cigarettes
11 JOANNA NEWSOM - Have One On Me
Video: Good Intentions Paving Company (live)
10 LOS CAMPESINOS! - Romance Is Boring
Wrongly-tagged-as-twee emotionally spawling octet go home from the dancefloor to lash out at themselves in the guise of doing so at the world
Video: The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
9 KANYE WEST - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Byword for arrogance makes $3m album in seclusion with A-Z of A-list guests...and it's an eclectic, epic grandiose statement of new intent. Who knew?
Video: Runaway
8 SLEIGH BELLS - Treats
Distorted, metallic electro beats and noise-pop guitars collide, on full churn but finding vocal calm in the middle of the maelstrom
Video: Infinity Guitars
7 FOALS - Total Life Forever
Math be damned, they now want to give pop a new experimental mainframe, finding emotion and taking more care of the little bits in between the angularity
Video: Spanish Sahara
6 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - This Is Happening
James Murphy's last stand sees him write valediction and desperation as two sides of the same coin, backed by art-rock electronic questing
Video: I Can Change (live)
5 BEACH HOUSE - Teen Dream
Drowsy, drifting detailed dreampop, to which Alex brings guitars that slither and soar and Victoria brings a newly enigmatised husky vocal topping
Video: Walk In The Park (live)
4 CARIBOU - Swim
Dan Snaith mines the heart of dark, intelligent electro-dance, both restless and tranquil while leavened with bounce and mesmeric optimism
Video: Odessa
3 LAURA MARLING - I Speak Because I Can
Nu-folk's cause celebre develops spectacularly, earthier of voice and arrangement, more tenderly probing into love, heartbreak and the emotional pull
Video: Rambling Man
2 ARCADE FIRE - The Suburbs
In which Win and co look back to where they came from, reconnecting in a musically more variable attempt to observe, fear and find they don't belong any more
Video: Ready To Start
1 THE NATIONAL - High Violet
After two years of last-poll-counted close finishes a winning album that fairly sprinted clear of the pack from the off, so much so The Suburbs would have needed ten unanswered first place finishes to depose it by the end of poll counting. An emotionally, poetically meaningful evocation of all the dark heartland opening up and leverage of personal anxieties the band have strived for.
Video: Bloodbuzz Ohio
Thanking everyone who responded/counted, this year's particular roll of honour, then: 17 Seconds, Addict Music, Amusia, And Everyone's A DJ, Another Form Of Relief, The Auditorium, Aye Tunes, Both Bars On, Breaking More Waves, The Daily Growl, Dots & Dashes, Drunken Werewolf, Eaten By Monsters, Echoes And Dust, Faded Glamour, Flying With Anna, Folly Of Youth, Getintothis, God Is In The TV, ireallylovemusic, In League With Paton, It's Getting Boring By The Sea (RIP), Just Music That I Like, Just Played, mapsadaisical, Mostly Armless, Music Fans Mic, Music From A Green Window, Music Liberation, Muso's Guide, Nu Rave Brain Wave, Odd Box, Parallax View, Peenko, The Pigeon Post, The Pop Cop, Popjustice, The Popscener, Ragged Glories, The Recommender, seven sevens, Song By Toad, Sonic Masala, The Sound Of The Overground, This Must Be Pop, Tonight We Dance Tomorrow We Cry, Useless Chamber, The Von Pip Musical Express, We Are Not A Rock Band, We Write Lists.
Formalities over, on to the list of lists:
75 MASSIVE ATTACK - Heligoland
74 TRASH KIT - Trash Kit
73 THE CORAL - Butterfly House
72 HER NAME IS CALLA - The Quiet Lamb
71 SHE & HIM - Volume II
70 THE STRANGE DEATH OF LIBERAL ENGLAND - Drown Your Heart Again
69 THE SOFT PACK - The Soft Pack
68 SWANS - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
67 WILD NOTHING - Gemini
66 LIARS - Sisterworld
65 RM HUBBERT - First & Last
64 PLAN B - The Defamation Of Strickland Banks
63 RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu
62 FIRST AID KIT - The Big Black And The Blue
61 RICHARD SKELTON - Landings
60 SHRAG - Life! Death! Prizes!
59 BROKEN RECORDS - Let Me Come Home
58 FUTURE ISLANDS - In Evening Air
57 THE BLACK KEYS - Brothers
56 FANG ISLAND - Fang Island
55 SMOKE FAIRIES - Through Low Light And Trees
54 MARINA & THE DIAMONDS - The Family Jewels
53 THE INDELICATES - Songs For Swinging Lovers
52 THE PHANTOM BAND - The Wants
51 THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT - St. Thomas
50 GOLD PANDA - Lucky Shiner
49 MIDLAKE - The Courage Of Others
48 OWEN PALLETT - Heartland
47 TEETH OF THE SEA - Your Mercury
46 MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Postcards From A Young Man
45 JONSI - Go
44 STANDARD FARE - The Noyelle Beat
43 BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB - Flaws
42 MUSIC GO MUSIC - Expressions
41 SAM AMIDON - I See The Sign
40 CRYSTAL CASTLES - Crystal Castles (II)
39 ZOLA JESUS - Stridulum II
38 JANELLE MONAE - The ArchAndroid
37 GORILLAZ - Plastic Beach
36 PERFUME GENIUS - Learning
35 VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Contra
34 SUFJAN STEVENS - The Age Of Adz
33 FRIGHTENED RABBIT - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
32 STEVE MASON - Boys Outside
31 ADMIRAL FALLOW - Boots Met My Face
30 EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - Man Alive
29 WARPAINT - The Fool
28 HURTS - Happiness
27 GIL SCOTT HERON - I'm New Here
26 ANAIS MITCHELL - Hadestown
25 FOUR TET - There Is Love In You
24 BEST COAST - Crazy For You
23 DEERHUNTER - Halcyon Digest
22 ROBYN - Body Talk
21 JOHN GRANT - Queen Of Denmark
20 DEFTONES - Diamond Eyes
Video: Diamond Eyes
19 AVI BUFFALO - Avi Buffalo
Video: What's In It For?
18 FLYING LOTUS - Cosmogramma
Video: MmmHmm
17 MEURSAULT - All Creatures Will Make Merry
Video: Crank Resolutions (live)
16 ALLO DARLIN' - Allo Darlin'
Video: Dreaming
15 KID CANAVERAL - Shouting At Wildlife
Video: You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night (live)
14 THESE NEW PURITANS - Hidden
Video: We Want War
13 YEASAYER - Odd Blood
Video: Ambling Alp
12 CAITLIN ROSE - Own Side Now
Video: Shanghai Cigarettes
11 JOANNA NEWSOM - Have One On Me
Video: Good Intentions Paving Company (live)
10 LOS CAMPESINOS! - Romance Is Boring
Wrongly-tagged-as-twee emotionally spawling octet go home from the dancefloor to lash out at themselves in the guise of doing so at the world
Video: The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
9 KANYE WEST - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Byword for arrogance makes $3m album in seclusion with A-Z of A-list guests...and it's an eclectic, epic grandiose statement of new intent. Who knew?
Video: Runaway
8 SLEIGH BELLS - Treats
Distorted, metallic electro beats and noise-pop guitars collide, on full churn but finding vocal calm in the middle of the maelstrom
Video: Infinity Guitars
7 FOALS - Total Life Forever
Math be damned, they now want to give pop a new experimental mainframe, finding emotion and taking more care of the little bits in between the angularity
Video: Spanish Sahara
6 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - This Is Happening
James Murphy's last stand sees him write valediction and desperation as two sides of the same coin, backed by art-rock electronic questing
Video: I Can Change (live)
5 BEACH HOUSE - Teen Dream
Drowsy, drifting detailed dreampop, to which Alex brings guitars that slither and soar and Victoria brings a newly enigmatised husky vocal topping
Video: Walk In The Park (live)
4 CARIBOU - Swim
Dan Snaith mines the heart of dark, intelligent electro-dance, both restless and tranquil while leavened with bounce and mesmeric optimism
Video: Odessa
3 LAURA MARLING - I Speak Because I Can
Nu-folk's cause celebre develops spectacularly, earthier of voice and arrangement, more tenderly probing into love, heartbreak and the emotional pull
Video: Rambling Man
2 ARCADE FIRE - The Suburbs
In which Win and co look back to where they came from, reconnecting in a musically more variable attempt to observe, fear and find they don't belong any more
Video: Ready To Start
1 THE NATIONAL - High Violet
After two years of last-poll-counted close finishes a winning album that fairly sprinted clear of the pack from the off, so much so The Suburbs would have needed ten unanswered first place finishes to depose it by the end of poll counting. An emotionally, poetically meaningful evocation of all the dark heartland opening up and leverage of personal anxieties the band have strived for.
Video: Bloodbuzz Ohio
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