LPs of 2011

1. The Antlers - Burst Apart 
2. How to Dress Well - Love Remains
3. Bright Eyes - The People’s Key
4. Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
5. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
6. I Break Horses - Hearts
7. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
8. Azari & III - Azari & III 
9. The Horrors - Skying
10. Rustie - Glass Swords 
11. Pete & the Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
12. Title Fight - Shed
13. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
14. Locussolus - Locussolus
15. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
16. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
17. Jeniferever - Silesia
18. Wilco - The Whole Love
19. Death In Vegas - Trans Love Energies
20. SBTRKT - SBTRKT

Special mention to: Other Lives - Tamer Animals, only just bought this due to other recommendations.  If I had longer with it it seems almost certain to be top 5.

LPs of the Decade

The Pitchfork beating LP of the Decade List (Don’t worry about the last 6 months!)

1. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The story in is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground (2002) 
2. Sleepy Jackson - Lovers (2003)
3. At the Drive In - Relationship of Command (2000)
4. M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005) 
5. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)
6. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001) 
7. Primal Scream - EXTRMNTR (2000)
8. Beck - Sea Change (2002) 
9. Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (2000) 
10. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
11. The Shins - Chute too Narrow (2003)
12. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed America/Jimmy Eat World (2001)
13. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) 
14. Black Mountain - Black Mountain (2005) 
15. Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Lindstrom & Prins Thomas (2005) 
16. White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
17. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (2002) 
18. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
19. Doves - The Last Broadcast (2002)
20. Death From Above 1979 – You’re a Women, I’m a Machine (2005)
21. Hope of the States - The Lost Riots (2004)
22. M. Craft - Silver & Fire (2006)
23. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City (2007)
24. Pulp - We Love Life (2001)
25. Royksopp - The Understanding (2005)

LPs 2010

Mark’s Lp’s of 2010 - Unfinished, but never going to get finished now!

1. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz. At first listen you wonder if Sufjan has totally lost the plot as the abstract electronic beats dominate.  The second listen finds the pop hooks deep in your mind.  By the third it all falls together and you mind explodes.  One of the finest lp’s I’ve ever heard.  Only Wilco’s - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has made this kind of impression in such a short time in the last 15 years.
2.  Fang Island - Fang Island.  An album of National Anthems.  Happy Mogwai (thank-you James).  Kind of joyous, happy, chanty punk.  Just a few of the ways I’ve tried to describe this lp to friends this year.  Whatever it is, nothing has put a bigger smile on my face this year.  Nothing sounds quite like Fang Island.
3. The National - High Violet.
4. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest. 
5. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner. 
6. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today.  
7. Chemical Brothers - Further.  Exactly what Tom and Ed should sound like in 2010.  A nuclear powered, psychedelic trip to places only previously attempted by My Bloody Valentine.
8. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor.  Only got on this late in the year.  A heavy cross between Bruce Springsteen and Bright Eyes.  Themed around the US Civil War and full of historical references but don’t let that take away from the musical brilliance.
9. Neil Young - Le Noise.
10. Robyn - Body Talk.
11. No Age - Everything In Between
12. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
13. Foals - Total Life Forever
14. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise
15. Caribou - Swim
16. Stornoway - Beachcomber’s Windowsill
17. Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
18. Gayngs - Relayted
19. Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
20. MGMT - Congratulations

LPs of 2009

Mark’s Lp’s of 2009 (Better late then never!)

1. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The band did good! Favourites of mine since 1999, this year they finally made their masterpiece and found the adulation they deserve. Poppy, dancey, euphoric, makes me equally happy and proud. Singles and standouts are held together by stunning Love Like a Sunset. Totally ruled Brixton Academy October. One of only two lp’s (see no. 2) this year to be truly, memorably great. Phoenix, Phoenix, Phoenix!
   
2. Royksopp – Junior. Royskopp have produced their masterpiece; starting with the playful Happy Up Here before colliding into The Girl and the Robot, featuring vocals from Robyn. Filtered, dirty, squelchy and smooth this has had my brain pulsating since the summer. This Scandinavian elite is complete when Karin Dreijer Andersson (The Knife, Fever Ray) lends a guest vocal. As far as electronic music (and crime writing) Scandinavia is producing the finest in the world right now.
   
3. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream. Blissful 80’s influenced pop from the godlike Luke Steel. This feels like the perfect next step after the Sleepy Jackson. Overblown and outrageous with three of the strongest singles of the year. Electronic, with perfect pop sensibilities, like the beach boys rung through a Cut Copy mangle. Shares with Phoenix the quality that makes it equally at home in nightclubs or on a Sunday afternoon.
   
4. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor. A welcome surprise in early December. As uplifting as Arcade Fire and as breathtaking as Fleet Foxes. Energetic, youthful, Americana, which aims to please; this band could go on to truly great things.
   
5. Dark was the Night - Various Artists. The first compilation I’ve ever included in my end of year lists. Curated by the National and including the cream of the alternative US indie scene, this is the strongest double lp I’ve ever bought. All acts are on the top of their game and the tracks are woven together perfectly, somehow never feels like a compilation. This has soundtracked my year.
   
6. Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk. Conor Oberst, Jim James, M Ward and Mike Mogis, all on one lp, in outrageously good form, what more could you possibly want?
   
7. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic. Another unexpected highlight, someone else described this as New Order playing Neil Young. Can’t describe it better myself. The guitar line at the end of bicycle is the best minute of music for years.
   
8. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport. In which the previously almost unlistenable F Buttons collided with Lord Andrew Weatherall. The product was the apocalyptical sound of a volcano spewing out beats as it rises through the ocean straight into a London basement party. Play it loud and play the entire 58 mins, this is a complete album of ideas rather than a collection of tracks.
   
9. Saint Etienne - Foxbase Beta (Richard X remix). First a compilation then a remix lp, what has happened to my list this year? One of my all time favourite bands handed over all of the masters of their debut to pop producer and DJ, Richard X (Sugababes, Kelis & Liberty X). This idea did not excite me. When I finally got around to buying it I was amazed, this really is a thing of beauty. Not better than the original, equally as good, just viewed through different shades. If you love Foxbase Alpha, you must own its new baby sibling, the children’s choir at the crescendo of Like the Swallow has to be heard to be believed.
   

10. Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers. Touted as the follow up to the Holy Bible, due to the band using Richey Edwards lyrics which he left behind when he went missing 10 years ago. In reality this is nowhere near as bleak as that masterpiece, but it is an incredible return to form. Loud, intelligent, witty, hooks galore, this is the Manics I fell in love with in 1991.
    
11. The XX - XX
    
12. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
    
13. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
    
14. The Horrors - Primary Colours
    
15. Lindstrom & Christabelle - Real Life is No Cool
    
16. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
    
17. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
    
18. Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue
    
19. Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
    
20. Jack Penate - Everything is New
    

Gigs: Neil Young at Hyde Park. Radiohead at Reading. Phoenix at Brixton. Bloc Party at Olympia. Wilco at The Forum. Spiritualized at Royal Festival Hall
Single: Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler 2010
New Acts: Broken Bells, Hurts, Joy Orbison, Free Energy,
Old Acts with exciting new lp's: Foals, Four Tet, Hot Chip, Beach House & LCD Soundsystem.
Extreme excitement for the return of Daft Punk in Tron! Movie, soundtrack & (tour?) 

LPs of 2008

Mark’s Lp’s of 2008

(The new Dad with less time to indulge himself on the computer edition!)

Gigs: Primal Scream and MC5 at the Royal Festival Hall will live long in my memory as one of the most euphoric nights of my life.  

My Bloody Valentine reformed and played the same set as 18 years ago (they were the 3^rd band I ever saw live), but were by far the live band of the year at both the Roundhouse and Bestival.  Bestival was again the festival of the year: Foals, The Count and Sinden, Let’s Wrestle, Grace Jones, Underworld, Sebastian Tellier and especially Hot Chip & The Specials were all highlights, along with my 7 month pregnant wife who not only survived but danced her way through the torrential conditions.

Neil Young graced a windswept Hop Farm with wigged out majesty.  Bruce Springsteen gave me the most unexpectedly fun night out of the year after I blagged into The Emirates stadium for a tenner.

Iron Maiden rocked better than ever at Twickenham.  After Rage Against the Machine’s mighty performance it was an uphill struggle for all the other acts, but Pete & The Pirates, Digitalism, Bloc Party, Mystery Jets and Conor Oberst were all brilliant.

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago.
Out of nowhere, Bon Iver has emerged with an LP so raw, heartbreaking and magical it it is this years unanimous best.  Written and recorded by himself in a hunting lodge in Wisconsin after the break-up of his previous band and his relationship.  The stark, cold, loneliness is all over these nine tracks, this is not just a collection of songs, but a remarkable statement of personal experience.  Wondrous.
2. M83 - Saturdays = Youth.  Forth LP from one of my favourite bands, this one needs to be listened to loud, not because it rocks, but because it contains such a tapestry of sounds, good quality headphones really do it justice.  An 80’s influence has made this their most accessible LP yet and Graveyard Girl possibly the song of the year.
3. Mystery Jets - Twenty One.  The development of the Mystery Jets has been guided this year by DJ/Producer extraordinaire Erol Alkan.  This coupling has produced a slick indie disco classic of an LP, any other band would kill to have written either Young Love or Two Doors Down, yet these two shine and are ably backed up by what is by far the funnest [sic] LP of the year.
4. Beck - Modern Guilt.  People want different things from Beck, most want the hip hop sampling sound of Odelay and when he produces anything but that, it is regarded as a disappointment.  I’d take being disappointed by Beck every year if this is what he produces.  Teaming up with like minded soul Dangermouse the pair have produced an LP of equal parts shoegaze and melancholy, which rewards repeated listens and almost matches his best LP Sea Change.
5. Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim.  Discovered after hearing her duet with the Mystery Jets, this quickly become the family favourite LP this year.  Defies her age (19!) with the maturity of the sound but somehow her age shines in the freshness of the lyrics.  Essentially a female, acoustic, folk LP with pop sensibilities, in reality an irresistible, charming masterpiece.
6. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours.  A sunshine drenched collection of bangers from the jewel to the Modualr crown.  This has been the soundtrack to the summer referencing Talking Heads to New Order, this has an eighties feel sprinkled with some noughties magic.  After their superior Fabric Live mix they shacked up with LCD Soundsystem’s Tim Goldworthy, to make their own dance floor fillers, unashamedly euphoric, indie tinged, house music.  Essential.
7. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel.  Erol Alkan’s second produced album in the top ten.  This young group are heavily influenced by club music and have seemingly thrown every different beat and rhythm they have danced to into this glorious melting pot of an LP.  A complete mess on first listen but then evolves in front of your ears to be this years most exciting and original debut.
8. Jay Reatard - Singles 06 - 07.  Lo-fi garage rock from Memphis, Tennessee, just dripping with catchy hooks and instant melodies.  Ok, it might take a little to get past his chosen monicker, but let’s forget that for now!  Bought on a bit of a whim this has proved to be my loudest favourite bedroom pogoer(!?) of the year.  At times this has the pop hooks of Blur, White Stripes or even Supergrass, this guy should really be massive.  This is more a collection of tracks (there are seventeen here, not all brilliant) than an LP, but hopefully will serve as an introduction to what will follow.
9. Primal Scream - Beautiful Future.  Their best since 2000’s XTRMNTR, but a very different LP to that sonic assault.  This has been influenced by a wide spectrum of sounds ranging from New York disco to the German Krautrock scene.  It excels with the dubbed out disco of Uptown, possibly the best track they’ve produced in recent times (dig out the David Holmes & Andy Weatherall mixes).  The LP falters with the terrible Zombie Man, but recovers with the stark Fleetwood Mac cover with Linda Thompson, this is the Scream at their heart-aching best.  Forget the more populist sound, when they do this country tinged, Memphis blues my heart is theirs.
10. Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too.  Minimal balearic techno, from the furthest most technicolour disco in the sky©.  Shades of LCD and Giorgio, in fact shades of many electronic artists impeccably pieced together by this Norwegian artist.  Works as atmospheric background music, turned up loud it will destroy a dance floor of deep house heads.  Three tracks running at over fifty minutes, this is a musical statement like no other this year.
11. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
12. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
13. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
14. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
15. David Holmes - The Holy Pictures
16. Black Mountain - In the Future
17. Spiritualized - Songs in A & E
18. Pete & The Pirates - Little Death
19. Foals - Antidotes
20. No Age - Nouns

I haven’t forgot Bloc Party - Intimacy.  It has fallen from number 1 back down to twenty something, a great experiment with some amazing tracks (Ion Square).  It just hasn’t held up as a great LP.

2009?  Mumford and Sons harmonies are beautiful and original, if they can produce an LP of similar quality then it could well be one to love.  Grammatics  have taken all year to produce their highly anticipated debut, hopefully it lives up to the gestation. I’ve loved Let’s Wrestle this year hopefully the full length debut will encapsulate their live chaos.

Little Boots and White Lies look like being pretty big, not convinced about either yet.

Can’t wait for the new LP’s from Doves, The Shins, Regina Spektor and Sufjan Stevens.

Happy Christmas and, as ever, Believe in Magic in 2009….

LPs of 2007

Mark’s Lp’s of 2007

(As made famous in Stef’s Best Man speech!)

Gig of the year: Bright Eyes at Oxford Brookes, Conor Oberst (for he is Bright Eyes) entered stage right with all the conviction of Johnny Cash in his youth and proceeded to rip the student union apart with songs both old and new. 

Daft Punk at Hyde Park is totally unfair to compare with anyone else.  Arcade Fire at London’s 500 capacity Porchester Hall the week before the lp came out was an experience everyone in attendance will cherish forever.  The communal version of Wake Up in the middle of the crowd was like the best campfire camaraderie imaginable.  Reading Festival highlights included: Bloc Party, Jimmy Eat World, UNKLE, Smashing Pumpkins, The Shins and Hadouken! (they split the crowd in half and made one side do robotics whilst the other breakdanced and then did the worm down the middle!).  Beastie Boys KO’d Brixton with a greatest hits set.  Klaxons, CSS & Sunshine Underground inspired the most stunning day glow jump around, with the youngest most passionate crowd ever seen.  Finally Prince proved to most of London just why he is one of the greatest performers’ ever.

Single of the year: LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends.  A minimal start transcends into a thrilling climax with unifying qualities New Order would be proud of.  This will blow the floor off discos for years to come.

1.             Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City.  The only band with balls enough to really tackle the problems facing Britain today.  A lad at one of my youth clubs in London came up to me and said he like Bloc Party because they were the only ones who have mentioned the London bombings, and he normally listens to R ‘n B!  Not only that, Kele spoke about how difficult it is coming out as black, gay man into a white rock scene.  In ‘The Prayer’ they have written an anthem which has unified this generation of indie kids in a way which hasn’t been achieved since Common People some twelve years previous.  The fact that musically this is how I have always wanted Bloc Party to sound, means that this is hands down the lp of the year. 

2.            Bright Eyes – Cassadaga.  The feelgood lp of the year and the one which Conor stepped back from being ‘the new Bob Dylan’ and wrote his most accessible lp yet.  Joyous and contemplative in equal measures ‘If the brakeman turns my way’ is my pick if you were giving me a Chinese burn to try and choose just one tune!

3.            Band of Horses – Cease to Begin.  Sophomore lp from these Americans on Sub Pop and the one that has made me whoop around the flat regularly since it entered the CD player.  Like a happier, upbeat My Morning Jacket, stoner prog rock never sounded this good.

4.            LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver.  This is truly an lp rather than a collection of songs, the minimal beats of Get Innocuous! expand into the best titled tune ever: North American Scum. Then the lp continues to explode from one surprise to another before concluding with New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down; an almost Sinatra esque croon which is unexpectedly the most fitting ending to this near perfect lp.

5.            Justice - †.  The first act to expand on the blueprint of the mighty Daft Punk’s Homework.  Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay incorporate soft rock and classical influences to classic French house beats to create a modern masterpiece.  On top of the music Justice have created an image and art style that complete the package perfectly.  I believe this is called a Banger!!

6.            Arcade Fire – Neon Bible.  Better than funeral?  Not as raw certainly, but still packed with the kind of emotion only Arcade Fire can achieve.  Using their new found wealth to re-record No Cars Go proved a highlight, I even loved Black Wave / Bad Vibrations despite Regine’s often knocked tones.  My Body is a Cage ended the lp with Nnia Simone like emotion which has resulted in a heart stopping live favourite.  I’m going to whisper this but I think some of the tunes are just a little too shiny and polished.

7.            Daft Punk – Alive 2007.  More a document of history that an lp.  The performance from Bercy, Paris in June of this year is the best way possible to remember the greatest live show in the world…..ever.

8.            The Kissaway Trail – The Kissaway Trail.  Singalong anthemic indie at its best.  A teenage, Norwegian, Flaming Lips meets all of Polyphonic Spree in an alley and the offspring is one to cherish!

9.            Edwyn Collins – Hone Again.  As an achievement this is the greatest lp ever.  In February 2005, Edwyn was admitted to hospital after collapsing at home. He was later diagnosed with having suffered two cerebral haemorrhages and underwent a precarious neurological operation.  His recovery has been slow and he still hasn’t recovered movement in one arm.  Anyone who saw the interview with him on Channel 4 news in September this year will have wept with the rest of the viewers.  The poignant sentiment of "One Is A Lonely Number" makes for a perfect opener, its soundtrack a wonderfully eclectic fusion of dub bass and hillbilly banjo.  The lp is a beautiful voyage of self-discovery and Edwyn attempting to re-trace his roots. A real triumph.

10.         The Shins – Wincing the Night Away.  This band are untouchable and have managed to follow up Chutes to Narrow with an lp of equal brilliance.  If you have yet to discover this band you really are missing out.

11.          Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future

12.         White Stripes – Icky Thump

13.         Gruff Rhys – Candylion

14.         Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures

15.         Radiohead – In Rainbows

16.         Black Moth Super Rainbow – Dandelion Gum

17.         Cherry Ghost – Thirsty for Romance

18.         Edgar “Jones” Jones – Getting a little help….from “the Joneses”

19.         Devandra Banhart – Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

20.        Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!

Bubbling under this year: Babyshambles – Shotters Nation (see bottom of page!), Holy Fuck – LP, Caribou – Andorra, Alela Diane – The Pirates Gospel, Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris, Beirut – The Flying Club Cup, , Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare, Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger, The Aliens – Astronomy for Dogs, You Say Party! We Say Die! – Lose All Time, Unkle – War Stories

2008?          British Sea Power a close runner up in single of the year with their new tune Atom, if this is any indication of the new lp then we’re in for a treat.  It will be no surprise to anyone if both Late of the Pier and Los Campesinos! build on this years success for their much anticipated debut lps.  And go and check out the myspaces of these four now: Black Kids, MGMT, Beggars and Clarky Cat.

‘I never ever said it was clever, I just like getting leathered’ (Peter Doherty, 2007)

LPs of 2006

Mark’s Lp’s of 2006

(Yes, sorry, this is now an annual event!)

Classic year.  So many great songs, but, single of the year goes to Peter, Bjorn & John for the life affirming Young Folks

Live Highlights:   Soulwax’s Nite Versions Live, stormed this year including a highly charged performance at Canvas...  Belle & Sebastian completely united the whole of Trafalgar Square who were really there to see Pete Doherty.  (Funnily enough, Pete had just been arrested!)….  Primal Scream continued showing the others how Rock n’ Roll should be performed live; highlight for me was the Astoria in April and at Hyde Park when I turned around and realised just what a monster ‘Country Girl’ was becoming….  Wolfmother downstairs at the Zodiac was the best gig I witnessed in Oxford this year, with the Klaxons and James Dean Bradfield also worth a mention….  Regina Spektor made the barn at Truck the most intimate venue in the world, she was stunning!...  Reading highlights included The Raconteurs, Dizzee Rascal and an emotional last performance by Hope of the States….  Attended my first Bestival which has quickly become my new favourite festival, Pet Shop Boys, M Craft, Carl Cox and Rob Da Bank ruled the roost here.  Already bought tickets for 2007, this festival rules!

Highlight of my lifetime?  DAFT PUNK AT GLOBAL GATHERING.  This was better than I thought anything could possibly be.  Musically and visually this was the most intense and joyous experience imaginable.  Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo & Thomas Bangalter receive the first ever Mark Taylor, World Hero’s of Visionary Music & Art Award!

1.              M. Craft – Silver & Fire.  Hypnotic, sparkling, warm and romantic.  This is the most simple and basic idea turned into a masterpiece.  M Craft has done what so many others have tried; he has created the perfect heart wrenching love album.  Whilst not instantly standing out as a classic it quickly gets inside you and has accompanied me like a best friend ever since it was released in May.

2.             Brakes – The Beatific Visions.  No longer a combination of people from whatever bands they used to belong.  This is now Brakes.  Images of the boys sat on rocking chairs in wooden porches, chewing tobacco whilst recording this in Nashville create the vibe which lifts this album to its level of splendor.

3.             Tiga – Sexor.  Seemingly ignored by the general public this album has been the soundtrack to the year.  Saturday nights are not the same until Tiga launches into the chorus on (Far From) Home.  Sleazy sing-a-long dirty house music at its absolute best.  A live show next year Tiga? Please!

4.             Two Gallants – What the Toll Tells. The sophomore album brings 9 tales of southern state life.  Jail, whiskey, racism, sunshine and lots of killing.  All from just two voices, guitar, drums and harmonica.  Storytelling at its best.

5.             Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Ballad of the Broken Seas.  Comparisons are rife with Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, rightly so, the combining of these two was pure genius, the angelic with the rough.  This sun-bleached classic rightly deserves every drop of praise lavished on it.

6.             The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers.  How does he do it?  Jack White must never get to rest with his wife and new daughter Scarlett (like red, gedditt!); his love for the music is never more evident than it is here.  The sound of four mates making the kind of rock n roll they grew up on.  A huge rock album which spawned some of the best singles of the year.  And if you are yet to hear it, ‘Blue Veins’ live is the unholy apocalypse!

7.             ¡Forward Russia! – Give Me a Wall.  A UK band that can rock with the best of them.  Constantly remind me of At the Drive In.  At the end of this album you feel bloodied, beaten, twisted and totally euphoric.

8.             Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental.  What a return, pop music at its best.  Big Trevor Horn productions mix with tracks here that wouldn’t be out of place in a sweaty basement club.  The Soddom & Gomorrah Show is the best tune they have done for years.  This is pop perfection and has put the biggest smile on my cheesy face all year!

9.             CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy.  ‘Tired of being sexy’ is the Portuguese translation.  Hopefully Lovefoxx can muster up just a little more to keep the infamous live shows going.  Rude, in ya face, squelching beats ignite this energetic and pulsating party album.  ‘Lets make love and listen to death from above’ yes please!

10.          Joanna Newsome – Ys.  I can’t remember the last time an album came along that challenged the norm as much as this.  Pronounced ‘ees’ it has 5 tracks ranging from seven to seventeen minutes.  This is a wide-screened vision of beauty, as Joanna’s voice and her harp meet with a full orchestra to create ambitious tales, which sound like a walk through the most enchanted of forests. 

11.           Cut Copy – FabricLive: 29

12.          Beck – The Information

13.          Wolfmother - Wolfmother

14.          Nicky Wire – I killed the Zeitgeist

15.          Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope

16.          The Sleepy Jackson – Personality (One was a spider, one was a bird)

17.          Peter, Bjorn and John – Writers Block

18.          Sufjan Stevens – Songs for Christmas

19.          Hope of the States – Left

20.         Primal Scream – Riot City Blues

I really struggled not to include any of the Lp’s listed below.  It has taken me ages adding Simple Kid then remembering I hadn’t included Brakes etc.  Anyway this year’s near misses were:

Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon, Simple Kid - 2, Giant Drag – Hearts and Unicorns, Phoenix - It’s Never been Like That, Hot Chip – The Warning, Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics, Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds, James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western, The Futureheads – News and Tributes, Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

2007?  Glastonbury is back, along with much awaited new Lp’s from the Manics and Nick Cave.  Klaxons might just go on to prove that Gravitys Rainbow wasn’t a fluke.  I’m also looking forward to hearing much more from David E  Sugar, U.S.E. (United State of Electronica), The Little Ones, Uffie, Think About Life and Cherry Ghost.

I hope 2006 was equally stunning for you.  Have a brilliant Christmas and a rockin’ 2007. 

Mark xx

LPs of 2005

Mark’s LP’s of 2005

(OK, it’s a bit egotistical of me to expect any of you to read this, but I’ve had fun compiling it anyway!  Wait a second, me egotistical!?!)

Well what an amazing year (for music anyway!).  Live highlights Primal Scream at Glasto, Arcade Fire at Reading, Saint Etienne & Annie at Koko, Magic Numbers at Truck  and the Zodiac also Brakes, Alfie and Artic Monkeys at the Zodiac. But this year has belonged to one band; gig of the year at Hammersmith Apollo, my favourite main stage festival headline performance in the world…….ever at Glasto (yes, better than the roses Reading ’96) the sexiest women in rock and the coolest goatee and cape combo ever…..

1. White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan.  In which Jack White decides to add piano and marimba to the mix and produces another Stripes classic.  Not as ROCK as Elephant, but the structure of these songs are truly awesome.  Take, Take, Take, is the bedroom sing-a-long tune of the year too!

2. Alfie – Crying at Teatime.  Britain’s most underrated band?  How can a band this amazing be ignored for so long?  (It’s too late now anyway, alfie split in October) An LP about heartbreak, devotion and redemption on the other side.  So many ideas bursting from the speakers.  Truly an album to love.

3. British Sea Power – Open Season.  A classic album about subjects no other band has surely covered.  “Oh Larsen B won’t you fall on me”  Larsen B is an iceberg, of course!  This LP has probably been my most played this year.

4. St. Etienne – Tales from Turnpike House.  The idea of a concept album always brings horror to these ears.  If one band could pull it off so well then Pete, Bob and Sarah were always going to be the ones.  This is an emotional, stunning journey through a London tower block.  Guest vocals from David Essex; Contender for song of the year in ‘Teenage Winter’; and yes Chris in Sarah’s eyes you will always be Gary Stead.  A bonus CD contains a preview of a children’s LP, Sarah helps your children to learn to count, and builds a zoo with a hairy hippo.  For the parents amongst you this makes this the most essential release of the year. 

5. Black Mountain – Black Mountain.  This is awesome.  The debut release from a Canadian 5 piece of mental care workers (no seriously).  Any self respecting rock fan needs this now.  Bluesy, mellow and heavy, with nods to the Stones, Velvets and Zepplin but coming out with something fresh as the fruit & veg at the market!!  ‘Everybody likes to claim things!’ I’m totally in love with this LP. 

6. Soulwax –  Nite Versions. What ‘Any Minute Now’ should have been?  A Soulwax LP to dance to and love in equal measures.

7. The Spinto Band – Nice and Nicely Done.  This American band has come out of nowhere.  The classic indie pop LP of the year.  Like a winning combination of The Shins, Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips, yes really that good. 

8. Magic Numbers – Magic Numbers. How can a break up album sound so damn uplifting?  Gloriously crafted pop if a little long.  ‘When I see you I see me’, the best love tune since ‘only love can break your heart’? 

9. Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger.  Talking of break up albums!  If the Numbers are moving on in a slightly lovey way then Paul Smith may be dealing with it in a slightly different way.  ‘What happens when you loose everything? You start over again’.  ‘I’m going missing for a while I’ve got nothing left to loose’.  Great loud indie pop.  A real ‘getting ready for a big night out’ album!

10. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cold Roses.  Simply beautiful.  Ryan has had a very productive year but this double LP is the pick.  Formed a band in the Cardinals that actually back up and improve his talents.  Best from Adams since Gold.  Still waiting to see the bastard live though!

11. LCD Soundsytem – LCD Soundsytem.  An album that lives up to the hype, been waiting ages for this, and it has just got better and better with more listens.  How James Murphy manages to be so cool and sing so perfectly for the music when he is evidently not cool and can’t sing really bugs me!

12. My Morning Jacket – Z.  Basically this is a 1 man band.  This year Jim James sacked his whole band and formed a new one.  Not as heavy as the last 3 albums and a lot more psychedelic and majestic.  Slowy compiling one of the best collections of work of any band in the world.  Genius.

13. Death From Above 1979 – You’re a Women, I’m a Machine.  ‘Turn it Out’ is such definition of intent for the rest of this highly charged album.  An amazing sound, which was awesomely replicated at Reading. 

14. Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.  Conor Oberst is slowly turning into a true Dylanesque spokesman for a generation.  But behind him he so has the music to back it up.  This is the pick (just) over his other more traditional release this year (although I’m ‘Wide Awake it’s Morning’ does have Emmylou finally singing with Conor).  

15. Beck – Guero.  Another great Beck album.  This one returns to a more funky/dancey feel, with a proper mash-up of sounds.  Makes you smile and dance in equal measure!  Although this year I have discovered ‘Sea Change’ and it has become etched in my heart as one of the most tenderly brilliant albums I have ever heard.

16. Brakes – Give Blood.  16 tracks, 29 minutes.  From the country tingend ‘Jackson’ to punk perfection of the 10 second ‘Cheney’.  ‘Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, stop being such a dick’.  Couldn’t have put it better myself.

16. The Rakes – Capture/Release.  The true sound of London calling.  Forget the turgid mess Hard-Fi produce, this really is the sound of the kids in the suburbs.  ‘Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)’  Sounds about right!

18. Shout Out Louds – Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.  Joyous indie pop from this Swedish group.  The kind of stuff you find yourself singing every word after only a few listens.  Shouting it out loud in fact! (I thank you!) 

19. Madonna – Confessions on a Dancefloor Les Rythmes Digitales, Thin White Duke, Jaques Lu Cont, Stuart Price,  I salute you.  A dancefloor monster.

20. Babyshambles – Down in Albion.  I’m going to get hammered by some parties for including this!  It just gets better and better with repeated listens.  Albion is stunning.  Pete’s voice is brilliant.  There are 5 or 6 hard arsed classics in here.  OK there are some dodgy minute gaps of feedback and tuning, a bizarre reggae by numbers tune with ‘The General’.  Oh and did I mention that Kate Moss is in the booklet in just a QPR shirt?

2006?

Clap your hands say yeh! Should justifiably become pretty big. 

Guillemots, will become the new Keane; fade into obscurity; or become my new favourite band (check it Made Up Love Song online if you get a chance, stunning). 

Arctic Monkeys, to become the biggest band in the UK?  Maybe putting Oasis down on the way!

Primal Scream, to release the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll album in the world ……ever.  Only to find it criminally ignored by the press and bought by 20 people!

The Mystery Jets, to be the least successful NME hyped band ever.  Hello Campag Velocet & Terris!

That’s it have a Wicked Christmas and I hope 2006 can begin to match 2005 for music.  Send me your lists (although I guess none of you have this much spare time.  Saddo!)

Mark, xxx