ROWLAND S. HOWARD – POP CRIMES
My album of the year. 10 years in the making and the follow up to one of the most important albums of all time, 8 tracks, 2 covers and all I could of hoped for.
Rest In Peace Rowland S. Howard, thank you for everything.
GROUPER - DRAGGING A DEAD DEER UP A HILL
An absolutely gorgeous piece of work. An album laced by seductive haughtings which you have no control over and give yourself to.
HTRK – MARRY ME TONIGHT
Produced by Rowland s Howard, Marry Me Tonight is a remarkable unyielding work of art, dark and romantic. A sexual nightmare.
HEALTH – GET COLOR
The follow up to their head fuck debut. Health take their controlled, apocalyptic chaos and try molding it into ‘songs’. Over these whirlwind stabs of noise, beeps, loops and beats, are some quite melodic and wistful vocals.
BAT FOR LASHES – TWO SUNS
At first, I couldn’t truly embrace Two Suns; I was still engrossed in Fur & Gold’s organic-ness, so I wasn’t ready; or expecting, such synth heavy songs, but alas, I was swept up in Natasha Khan’s lushes tour de force.
A gorgeous record filled with haunting intensity and 80’s ‘teen dream’ pop.
GIRLS - ALBUM
No tricks; dreamy pop songs stitched together with aesthetic self loathing/sweetheart/trash filled lyrics.
THE STABS – DEAD WOOD
Another magnificent Australian album, a jagged collision of jangling, muddy rhythms and a wonderful burst of piecing guitar tones that spit in your face.
BRIDEZILLA – THE FIRST DANCE
A much anticipated album from beloved
SUN O))) - MONOLITHS & DIMENSIONS
Quite possibly the closest people have come to capturing the sound of hell.
Four tracks of bowel churning hypnotic drones, which at times, drag you to moments of hope.
Sun O incorporating a brass section was a great move.
SONIC YOUTH - THE ETERNAL
A very heavily groove based Sonic Youth record, a little starved of noise, but what replaces it, are slick, ‘to cool’, melodies which collapse onto taut harmonies and celestial hooks.
I know Disc 1 doesn’t really count because it’s a mixture of both ‘The Proposition’ & ‘The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford’ soundtracks.
Disc 2 though, is a combination of selected works from documentaries Nick and Warren scored this year and a snick peek into the fourth coming film ‘The Road' soundtrack.
All these tracks will disarm you, and only leave you begging to stay in that moment forever.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILLION
The album that seemed like the entire world flipped out over. Yes, maybe it was over hyped, (can probably blame Pitchfork for that) but it is a terrific album. Sometimes I think Panda Bear isn’t from this world and is trying his best to communicate with us, which produces an incredible, mind boggling result.
PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
This came straight from the time machine, a pledge to a mid 80s sound. There are flashes of déjà vu that linger through the entire album, but in this case aren’t necessarily a bad thing.
TOM WAITS - GLITTER & DOOM TOUR
Four decades of incredible timeless songs tied together through a mixture of live performances. A special gift from Tom Waits. I do wish it was a DVD though.
Another dazzling release from Antony Hegarts.
The song ‘Another World’ is truly an incredible masterpiece, actually to fucking heavy to listen to sometimes. This record will possess the heart.
GRIZZLY BEAR - VECKATIMEST
A very special album, 12 blissful treasures make up this stunning LP. Beautifully produced, stunning harmonies and plus, Jay Z said he really liked it.
PJ HARVEY & JOHN PARISH – A WOMAN A MAN WALKED BY
A wonderful unhinged record, a collection of sprawling wild mood swings.
FEVER RAY – FEVER RAY
Tangled in gentle horrors, a mysterious & graceful debut.
ATLAS SOUNDS – LOGOS
Last year Brandon Cox & Co gave the world Deerhunter’s Microcastle and it was a gracious gift . One year later
THE XX - XX
A sparse, comedown record, nurtured by shy R&B undertones.
Whispering, duet vocals that frequently croon about sex.
DECODER RING - THEY BLIND THE STARS AND THE WILD TEAM
Engaged with breathtaking swells of hums, drones, echoes and ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ moments.
Spread out over two discs, ‘They Blind The Stars And The Wild Team’ is a magnificent
achievement by Decoder Ring.
CONVERGE – AXE TO FALL
Converge have done little wrong since 2001s ‘Jane Doe’. Eight years later, and their gruesome relentless punk is still refreshing. Adding some diverse elements to their writing techniques such as keyboards and guest vocalists.
Jacob Bannon’s furious choking dog vocals will always travel my veins with satisfaction.
YEAH YEAH YEAHS – IT’S BLITZ!
It wasn’t the record I was expecting and it took me quite awhile to come around. But now I except what ‘It’s Blitz’ is, a wonderful, light, danceable new wave album.
