Post by steve on Dec 31, 2016 14:37:36 GMT 1
Yes, it's "list season". Often accompanied by tirades of "list fails without...blah blah.."
But I thought it'd be nice to know what your top 5 albums of the year (10 just got too difficult) were & a bit about why.
Here are my picks in no particular order (except the last one which is galaxies ahead of anything I heard this year).
Adore Life: Savages
An album all about love. But not that saccharin coated, Celine Dion version of love. This is the visceral, sweaty roller coaster of a train wreck love can turn into.
If it’s hooks you want, don’t look here. This is a brutal rant that is still (in places) romantic. But romantic on its own terms.
Stand out track: T.I.W.Y.G
Kin: The Duke Spirit
After a 4 year absence, Leila Moss & co not so much “pop up” again, but rather swoop in as if on the wings of some humungous bird of prey.
Production by former Cocteau Simon Raymonde has resulted in something that’s the sonic equivalent of those 23 Envelope sleeve designs of yesteryear. Right from the off it takes no prisoners. truly captivating.
Stand out track: Blue & Yellow Light
Everything & Nothing : Hammock
I discovered this lot by accident, thanks to the radio. The name of the band is exactly what I imagine lying in on a warm day while listening to this album.
Nothing on this album is what I would call “pacy” & when I heard Clarity on the radio one day I knew I had to hear more. There are more layers here than you’d find in a large onion & a lot of the soundscapes would totally fit in on Disintegration & Wish. I think our Bob would like this
Stand out track: Grassy Blue
Minor Victories: Minor Victories
Back in May I was listening to Lauren Laverne (as usual) on the radio & not particularly aware of who Minor Victories even were or that they were in session.
But, oh my word! I was after. I’ll be honest here. I cannot abide Mogwai one bit. The Editors are …well…meh & Slowdive have their moments, but sadly not many of them. Throw in the word “supergroup” & I usually look for something interesting to do. Like de-scaling the kettle.
This album has surprised me immensely. It sounds (thankfully) like none of the above. It’s something else. Breathy songs like Cogs, the almost tribal For You Always & the total sleaze fest that is Give Up The Ghost will hold you still until the very last note fades into the ether.
But one track (that was played on the session immaculately) is without question essential listening
Stand out track: The Thief
Before The Dawn: The K Fellowship
Mere words will never get within light years of being able to do this justice. While not technically “new”, both material-wise & being a 2 year old concert, it was a new album & one that simply cannot be excluded.
The arrangements are thunderous from the get go as Lily sets pulses racing when Kate hits the stage for the first time in what felt like forever & boy oh boy, was it special!
Brief flits from The Red Shoes to Aerial & Hounds Of Love ramp Act I up to a truly epic 8 minute version of King Of The Mountain. Worth the price of the collection alone.
Act II reprises the Ninth Wave in its entirety where Under Ice & Waking The Witch take on a much more terrifying tone than I remember from the album bringing in some extremely clever additional dialogue from the rescue crew & is one of those pieces that won’t let you leave the armchair until well after it’s finished.
Concluding with Act III Ms Bush & co deliver a definitive Sky Of Honey that includes all the conversations & sharing jokes with the gleefully chirping birds & a slightly less controversial (albeit grumpier) painter. The sequence oozes class in spades, taking you to a sun-dappled meadow with just the outdoors for companionship.
Capping the third act with the delight that is Among Angels & an earth shattering Cloudbusting you really don’t want this to ever end.
“What about a blu ray?”, I hear you cry. In all honesty, with audio this graphic, you really don’t need a director dragging you around places he or she wants to take you. The audio lets you go where the heck you want. In a heartbeat.
There is literally nothing anyone could fault with this album. The arrangements are sublime, the band is tighter than Jon Bon Jovi’s old spandex strides & then there’s “that” voice sweeping you up into some sort of cloud city effortlessly. No hint of pretension, all sincere emotion. A true great.
Throw into the mix the fact that the mastering & production has mercifully not resorted to compressing the dynamic range into oblivion & you have what I consider the best album of the year. If not, the decade. Buy it. You’ll thank me for it
Stand out track: All of them but King Of The Mountain is unmissable.
!! the only video available is this one !!
Interested to know what floated your boat this year
But I thought it'd be nice to know what your top 5 albums of the year (10 just got too difficult) were & a bit about why.
Here are my picks in no particular order (except the last one which is galaxies ahead of anything I heard this year).
Adore Life: Savages
An album all about love. But not that saccharin coated, Celine Dion version of love. This is the visceral, sweaty roller coaster of a train wreck love can turn into.
If it’s hooks you want, don’t look here. This is a brutal rant that is still (in places) romantic. But romantic on its own terms.
Stand out track: T.I.W.Y.G
Kin: The Duke Spirit
After a 4 year absence, Leila Moss & co not so much “pop up” again, but rather swoop in as if on the wings of some humungous bird of prey.
Production by former Cocteau Simon Raymonde has resulted in something that’s the sonic equivalent of those 23 Envelope sleeve designs of yesteryear. Right from the off it takes no prisoners. truly captivating.
Stand out track: Blue & Yellow Light
Everything & Nothing : Hammock
I discovered this lot by accident, thanks to the radio. The name of the band is exactly what I imagine lying in on a warm day while listening to this album.
Nothing on this album is what I would call “pacy” & when I heard Clarity on the radio one day I knew I had to hear more. There are more layers here than you’d find in a large onion & a lot of the soundscapes would totally fit in on Disintegration & Wish. I think our Bob would like this
Stand out track: Grassy Blue
Minor Victories: Minor Victories
Back in May I was listening to Lauren Laverne (as usual) on the radio & not particularly aware of who Minor Victories even were or that they were in session.
But, oh my word! I was after. I’ll be honest here. I cannot abide Mogwai one bit. The Editors are …well…meh & Slowdive have their moments, but sadly not many of them. Throw in the word “supergroup” & I usually look for something interesting to do. Like de-scaling the kettle.
This album has surprised me immensely. It sounds (thankfully) like none of the above. It’s something else. Breathy songs like Cogs, the almost tribal For You Always & the total sleaze fest that is Give Up The Ghost will hold you still until the very last note fades into the ether.
But one track (that was played on the session immaculately) is without question essential listening
Stand out track: The Thief
Before The Dawn: The K Fellowship
Mere words will never get within light years of being able to do this justice. While not technically “new”, both material-wise & being a 2 year old concert, it was a new album & one that simply cannot be excluded.
The arrangements are thunderous from the get go as Lily sets pulses racing when Kate hits the stage for the first time in what felt like forever & boy oh boy, was it special!
Brief flits from The Red Shoes to Aerial & Hounds Of Love ramp Act I up to a truly epic 8 minute version of King Of The Mountain. Worth the price of the collection alone.
Act II reprises the Ninth Wave in its entirety where Under Ice & Waking The Witch take on a much more terrifying tone than I remember from the album bringing in some extremely clever additional dialogue from the rescue crew & is one of those pieces that won’t let you leave the armchair until well after it’s finished.
Concluding with Act III Ms Bush & co deliver a definitive Sky Of Honey that includes all the conversations & sharing jokes with the gleefully chirping birds & a slightly less controversial (albeit grumpier) painter. The sequence oozes class in spades, taking you to a sun-dappled meadow with just the outdoors for companionship.
Capping the third act with the delight that is Among Angels & an earth shattering Cloudbusting you really don’t want this to ever end.
“What about a blu ray?”, I hear you cry. In all honesty, with audio this graphic, you really don’t need a director dragging you around places he or she wants to take you. The audio lets you go where the heck you want. In a heartbeat.
There is literally nothing anyone could fault with this album. The arrangements are sublime, the band is tighter than Jon Bon Jovi’s old spandex strides & then there’s “that” voice sweeping you up into some sort of cloud city effortlessly. No hint of pretension, all sincere emotion. A true great.
Throw into the mix the fact that the mastering & production has mercifully not resorted to compressing the dynamic range into oblivion & you have what I consider the best album of the year. If not, the decade. Buy it. You’ll thank me for it
Stand out track: All of them but King Of The Mountain is unmissable.
!! the only video available is this one !!
Interested to know what floated your boat this year
