Another year down and here I am again giving you (but mainly me) a rundown of my top tracks, albums, gigs and sets. I thought last year I went a bit over the top but clearly that was fairly modest in comparison to this year’s effort. I spent most of my Christmas putting together my thoughts and musing over my favourite moments of 2009, and here is the result.

For those who do read it, I hope you get something out of it. Cheers.

Top ten gigs of the year

I attended a lot of good gigs this year, many more than last year. There were some I just had to leave off too, most notably 65 Days of Static at Reading Festival in August – they smashed it.

10. Efterklang & The Britten Symphonia @ Leeds Academy

This should be so much higher on the list but, in truth, it left me a little disappointed. I was so enraptured by this band a couple of years ago, but now their beauty isn’t as affecting as it was then. This gig was amazing, and the rendition of Illuminate sent an ineffable shiver down my spine (as I knew it would) but there were times when the music dragged, and I couldn’t have listened to much more by the time it was all through. This was however only Parades on show, and I much prefer their debut – Tripper.

 9. Peter Broderick  @ Union Chapel, London

 On Valentines day I was privileged enough to see Peter Broderick adorn the Union Chapel with his unique and diverse collection of electro/acoustic compositions. He switched from instrument to instrument, whilst looping layer over layer. He had immaculate control over his live construction, and has clearly mastered pretty much every instrument under the sun – even things that aren’t supposed be instruments. But he can write songs too, and these shone through even despite his technical wizardry.

 8. Mogwai @ Field Day

 Aaah Mogwai. One of the most important bands of my lifetime. Their most recent album wasn’t all that great and in some ways I think that lowered my expectations of the gig. How wrong I was to ever doubt them. I was dragged right to the front and so the full force of there iconic post rock textures hit me full in the (albeit very inebriated) face. New Paths To Helicon pt II was absolutely exquisite as was 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong. It was an unexpectedly stunning performance from a band who may well be running out of ideas on record, but who will always be capable of producing a thrilling live set.

 7. Friendly Fires @ Glastonbury

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in front of the Other Stage at Glastonbury, there is nothing I would have wanted to hear more than an exuberant Friendly Fires playing to field of festival goers in typically high spirits. This was the first time I had seen them and they were brilliant. Hearing Jump In The Pool and Strobe projected with such energy and enthusiasm to a crowd bouncing away to every beat was something else. You are left in awe when a band can whip up an atmosphere like this. Also major kudos to the front man Ed Macfarlane – he’s got some moves!

 6. Bon Iver @ Glastonbury

 Bon Iver produced one of the albums of last year, and in a live setting I wasn’t really expecting much more than a stool, a man, and a guitar. However with a full band backing nearly all of the tracks and extending many of the compositions; adding even more colour and emotion to songs already brimming with both, they became different beings altogether. It was special. 

 5. Radiohead @ Reading Festival

 I saw Radiohead for the first time over 14 months before I saw them Headline on the final night of Reading, yet it was still essentially the same tour. The fact that I got to once again hear some of the best songs ever committed to record perhaps overshadowed my rekindled yearning to see them in a more intimate space (or at least a space devoid of prepubescent teens or people who are there ‘just cos it’s Radiohead’). However, I simply cant complain. Yet another amazing set, yet another engrossing performance. Yes, they are still the best band in the world.

 4. Sunn o))) @ Koko, London

 I have only ever listened to Sun o)))) on record a couple of times in passing, and that was years ago – probably whilst stoned in a bedroom – so Its fair to say that I simply wasn’t prepared for the extraordinary sonic barrage that was about to abuse every single one of my senses. At first I didn’t quite know how to react, and it took a good ten to fifteen minutes before I began to take in and appreciate what was going on. Hearing chant-like vocals from a man under a cloak, barely made out in a large room full of dense fog, was as mesmerising as it was unnerving. Add to that the wall of noise coming from the guitar played by the other monk like enigma stage right, and you have one hell of a live experience – one that I willl never forget. Sunn o)))) really perform, and suddenly the experimental noise genre of this vein made a lot more sense – this is how it should be seen and heard. 

 3. Dananananaykroyd @ Hoxton Bar & Grill, London

 I have seen this band twice this year and in any other year this probably would have been gig of the year. Dananananaykroyd imbued their feverishly energetic music to a room packed full of captivated onlookers in a way that few bands can manage. It struck me how Blood Brothers-esque their stage presence was, the frantic jagged movements of the guitarists and vocalists was infectious, and I was left in awe at how tight they all were, especially when the drummer was joined by the vocalist on the second kit. Amazing scenes. As my companion for the evening rightly pointed out – this is when all you want to do is be in a band.

 2. Grzzly Bear & The London Symphony Orchestra @ Barbican, London 

Arguably the most beautiful stage set up I have ever seen, in one of the nicest venues in which I have ever watched a gig. It was the second time in a week that I visited the Barbican, and it topped the first time by a mile. Grizzly Bears’ music seemed to make perfect sense with the live orchestra that accompanied them, the wash of reverb on the vocals made for an ethereal narrative over a symphony (literally) of colour everywhere else. It’s hard to believe the Canadian quartet is still in their early twenties; the maturity of their compositions, as well as their performance, was well beyond their years. This was simply one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

 1. Blur @ Glastonbury

….But not as good as this one. The reason that this tops the list over Grizzly Bear is because I won’t ever experience a live performance in a setting like this again – certainly not from Blur. It’s the kind of gig that puts you off seeing a band again because you know it won’t be anywhere near as good. Having not played properly for a number of years, I was all the more gob-smacked at how unbelievably tight they were as a band, and especially impressed with Alex James’s bass playing, which was incredible – technically it was verging on virtuoso. Add to this the setting: The Pyramid Stage on the last night of Glastonbury; what must have been at least a 60 to 70 thousand strong crowd lapping up every second, a whole host of classic tracks; Tender, Bettlebum and of course Song 2, which was one of the most powerful expositions of a song I have ever born witness to in a live setting, and you have an incredible performance – to rival that of any you are ever likely to see. I’m sure if you were to ask Damon Albarn in ten years what was his most memorable live show with the band, he would say Glastonbury ’09. If I was him, I definitely would.

Top 3 Dj sets

 I may have been to a lot of gigs but I didn’t attend anywhere near enough club nights this year. The good ones though, were some of the best I’ve ever had.

Butane @ Fabric, London

 I haven’t been to Fabric as much as I should have in the last twelve months, but if there was one set that stood out it would be Butane tearing off the roof in Room 2 in July. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands at just the right time of night – just before things get messy. Pounding techno didn’t sound as good as this all year long.

 Ricardo Villalobos/Zip @ Panorama Bar (Berghain), Berlin

 What could possibly be more befitting of my first trip to the most infamous club in the world? A set from arguably the best DJ and producer of the last decade, that’s what. It may have been two o’clock in the afternoon but it could have been two in the morning. The club itself was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry; a hedonistic, understated dream world (one could conceive of it being nightmarish under certain conditions). Villalobos was of course on typically brilliant form, playing house and techno of a breed yet to be identified, let alone known.

 Gulliame & The Coutu Dumonts @ Watergate, Berlin

…And no, it is no coincidence that two of the top three DJ sets were both experienced in Berlin. The atmosphere inside Watergate was arguably even better than at the Berghain, and the two hours of Guillame was masterful. A live set that included live percussion played to absolute perfection, whilst his distinctively organic grooves kept the crowd in a frenzy throughout. The club and the people couldn’t have been more conducive, but this aside, Guillame was sensational.

Top 5 electronic Tracks

 This really isn’t to be studied too hard. As usual of the thousands of tracks released this year I expect I’ve probably listened to about 50 tops. These are my favourites, though I’ve probably forgotten quite a few too..

 5. Agoria – Solarized Different

 A tune that was brought to my attention by Mr Seth Troxler in a recent mix. It’s LCD Soundsystem-esque piano riff is gorgeous, while the vocals take the emphasis away from the beat entirely – the musicality is what makes the track.

 4. Lusine – Two Dots (Pezner remix) Ghostly International

 I couldn’t not put this in. It opens my latest mix (Hour 7) and I am still a big fan. I love the fact that it is beatless for the most part, whilst when the kick is introduced it is soft and surprisingly understated. The vocal sampling is brilliantly clinical, an amazing sound.

 3. Luciano – Celestial Cadenza

 A sumptuous Latin choral sample laid over a typically organic and intricate groove, it shouldn’t work – but the result is stunning.

2. Guy Gerber – The Hollywood In You Supplement Facts

 As I will note in the my albums list, this is just the tune I would love to able to say I’d produced. A simple thumping beat with an almost cosmic bassline, enveloped in a wash of ambience – a combination that will get me every time.

 1. Ryan Davis – Zodiac (Somfay mix) Archipel

An arrestingly beautiful remix by Somfay on what is probably my favourite record label out there, Archipel. This was my only electronic ‘loved track’ on Last FM all year long, and with good reason.

Top 25 albums

 So, here is the rundown of my top 25 albums of the year. Instead of just doing a top ten like I did last year I ended up putting together a list of all the albums that I have enjoyed listening to (around 30 or so) rounded down to 25, and ranked them. Simple. The way I have ranked them is primarily down to my love for them from a musical perspective. This is clearly how one would initially get into an album, but I can’t ignore the fact that love by association is a factor. Nothing beats a bit of ‘stalgia.

 Obviously I haven’t been able to listen to every album that has been released, that would be ridiculous, and there are actually a few albums that I haven’t got round to listening to that may well have made the list had I done so. Albums such as the new Isis album, new Converge, Sunn o)))), etc. Hopefully I will get around to listening to them soon.

 Conversely there are also albums that have made a lot of lists that have not made mine. Animal Collective for example – I can understand the appeal; their complex electro-organic sound is quite amazing, but it’s tough to get into. Also, they are simply horrible live; a mess, in fact, from what I’ve seen. Then there’s Fever Ray; one half of what was The Knife. This is just dull, and it’s difficult not to make comparisons to Karin Andersson’s erstwhile incarnation, because that vocal is so recognisable, but this really is tedious. If I had never heard her before then I may have liked it. 

25. Early Day Miners – The Treatment (Secretly Canadian)

 The capacity of my beloved IPod is relatively small (which I like) but Offshore by Early Day Miners is one of those albums that I will always have on it, because it’s brilliant. The Treatment is the follow up and it’s definitely a change of scene, there are a couple of really nice tracks – The Surface of Things is gorgeous, but unfortunately not symptomatic of the album as a whole. Not nearly as good as I’d hoped.

 24. Mirko Loco – Seventy-Nine (Cadenza)

 I wasn’t sure what to expect with this album but I was struck by how pleasantly un-Cadenza it was. At times wonderfully deep, Le Monologue d’Orfeu is a favourite and tracks like Sidonia and Astral Vacuum break up the album really well (something that definitely needs to be done more). 

 23. Tristeza – Fate Unfolds (Better Looking)

 One of my favourite bands, Tristeza have recently released their latest album and they have produced yet another well rounded instrumental exploration that never really challenges but, as usual pleases. I like the more live feeling to Fate Unfolds but overall it’s certainly not as good as A Colores, and lacks the variation and diversity of previous albums.  

 22. Ekca Liena – Pathless (Self released)

 My third proper foray of the year (either live or on record) into experimental drone/noise/ambient music – whatever you wish to call it – has been with Daniel Mackenzie aka Ekca Liena. His diverse collection of composition ranges in texture from soaring pedal point strings to industrial sized wind tunnels. The plethora of colour makes for interesting listening and accentuates the moments of real beauty, of which there are several. 

 21. Blue Roses – Blue Roses (XL)

 A solo debut worthy of note, Laura Groves, aka Blue Roses, has given us an angelic vocal performance over her own piano, strings and choral compositions. It does at times seem a bit too  much to take in, but the talent is undeniable and when everything comes together it is glorious.

 20. Here We Go Magic – Here We Go Magic (Western Vinyl)

 This album is unique to this list because I have decided to ignore the fact that I a) don’t really like/get half of the tracks on the record and b) it doesn’t seem as though any thought was put into its running order. It completely baffles me. Anyway. This is not Luke Temple’s first effort as Here We Go Magic, but it is change of scene. The high points are his psychedelic organic grooves; which have a distinctly Paul Simon/Beach Boys feel to them (see Panda Bear, for the more contemporary comparison), and they are enchanting. Tunnelvision is another song of the year contender – if all of the tracks were composed in this vein it would be a stunning collection. 

 19. Guy Gerber – My Invisible Romance (Supplement Facts)

 I have only just begun to listen to this release but golly, it’s good. It’s fairly simple structurally, with a basic combination of driving tech-housey beats and some wonderful flits of melody and ambience higher up in the mix. The Hollywood In You is certainly one of my tunes of the year – exactly the sort of track that I would love to put my own name to.

 18. Grammatics – Grammatics (Dance To The Radio)

 Another great band from Leeds: what’s with that? This actually could easily be a lot higher in the list as I went through a period of really loving this album, but it got forgotten and when I went back to it, I wasn’t as nearly as enamoured as before. There’s great raw energy and the vocals from Owen Brinley are varied and in many ways quite unorthodox, yet he ties in the rhythmic and dynamic range of the band beautifully. D.I.L.E.M.M.A and Cruel Tricks of the Light (acoustic track of the year?) are personal favourites.

 17. Ben Klock – One (Ostgut Ton)

 This pulsating techno debut from Ben Klock is up there with the best electronic albums of the year. The industrial warmth of One is awesome; looping and repetitive hooks and stabs aplenty, he has put together an album that is more than just the sum of its parts. I‘m also a big fan of the brevity of his tracks – this is how a techno LP should be. Bravo.

 16. Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms (Secret City)

 Another album that fails to captivate me quite as much now as it did when first heard. However, its virtues are still many. Watson’s vocals are delicate and plaintive, and the songs themselves at times beautiful, but perhaps just not quite memorable enough. Still, Man Like You is undoubtedly one of my favourite songs of the year. 

 15. Vitalic – Flashmob (PIAS)

 Although I haven’t listened to this album quite as much as I should have, it deserves serious recognition, if not for any other reason that Pascal Arbez has managed to remain completely unique in his field. Then again, perhaps I should just never have been concerned that he may venture away and be influenced by the changing scene around him. Not as many standout tunes as his debut, OK Cowboy, but the sound that only he can create is still as engrossing as ever, and that alone deserves a high-five.

 14. Moderat – Moderat (BPitch Control)

 I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Moderat. Apparat is easily one of my favourite producers of the last few years and I will never grow tired of his 2007 album Walls, which  would probably have been at the top of this list had I done it back then. On the other hand I am still fairly ignorant of Modeselektor bar the odd belter or two (Black Block springs to mind), so I really wasn’t sure how the amalgamation of the two would sound. This is great though, tracks like Rusty Nails and particularly Porc #1 and Porc #2 have Apparat written all over them whilst the opener, New Error, and Nr. 22 have that dirtier more beat-driven sound that Modeselektor clearly brings to the party. It’s not an album that flows perfectly, and it seems more a collection of ideas between two artists trying things out, but there are some great moments.   

 Further, the ‘most maddening song ending of the year’ award goes to Porc #2 for that simple perfect cadence that ends it and completely deflates me every time I hear it. It’s such a great track save for this bizarrely unimaginative ending.

 13. Mirah – (a)spera (K)

 I love Mirah like I love Laura Veirs, Gregory & The Hawk, even Blue Roses. Her songs have all manner of colour and texture and her vocal lines are charming, There is an air of Joanna Newsome here too; at times eerily delivered vocals over plucked strings – Shells being the prime example.  I have a major soft spot for female singer songwriters, and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn has quickly found her way into my ever-growing list of good ‘uns.

 12. My Latest Novel – Deaths And Entrances (Bella Union)

 It wouldn’t be a completely tenuous comparison to liken them to Snow Patrol, but My Latest Novel go far deeper; there are points where they are almost Arcade Fire-esque in their sound, it is large and impressive (the start of Man Against The Argument, for example), but one feels they have their feet firmly on the ground. Dragonhide and I Declare a Ceasefire are two wonderful tracks towards the end, displaying the range of instrumentation, harmony and vocal texture that is typical of the album as a whole. Lovely Stuff.

 11, Temper Trap – Conditions (Liberation Music/Glassnote)  

 If number 5 on this list was the soundtrack to my summer, then this would surely be a close second. Having seen them perform at Glastonbury and at Field Day my liking for them only grew stronger and stronger. Their pop-rock style has made for some of the most memorable riffs and vocal hooks of the year, and, in Sweet Disposition they have written one of the most successful tracks of the past twelve months – clear evidence of how one good song can propel you into the popular music market. And they’re Australian. Bonza.  .

 10. Pausal – Pausal EP (Highpoint Lowlife)

This is an EP I have only been listening to for the last couple of months or so, yet it’s one that I am totally enthralled with. Four tracks of around ten minutes each that are little more than a toneful drone. In a scene by which I am otherwise fairly unmoved (on record at least), it is ‘noise’ of this sort that I am particularly taken by.

 It’s hard to ignore the positive functionality of this record, for it has on many occasions provided me with the most appropriate of aural backdrops in the face of an imposing silence – it is perfect. Yet it is still easy to enjoy even when the main focus of your attention is on the music itself.  There is something to be said for the fact that this immensely pleasant music is, by default, more timeless than ‘proper’ composition. It has no hook, no melody, little sense of modulation (bar phrasing that waxes and wanes gently and easily), it is, by its very nature devoid of anything that might put an expiry date on it. If you like it in the first instance it would be tough to find any reason to feel otherwise no matter how many times you listen to it. This is music that transcends mood and the fickle mind.

 I have barely scratched the surface as far as this genre is concerned, and I am still in two minds about its validity; the one thing that strikes me when I hear certain artists is whether or not pretty much anyone could have created these sonic textures without so much as a click of a button and a bit of knob twiddling. However, these feelings aside, it is records like this that I take note of.  

 9. Japandroids – Post Nothing (Unfamiliar)

For me this band do not stand out for their compositional techniques, their musical ability or their production on record. They don’t need to; their music seems totally driven by the knowledge that their songs could soon be the soundtrack to some angsty teen’s memorable first date, or two friends’ life affirming road trip across America. Simply put, the feel good nature of this album is palpable – association is surely one of its greatest weapons.

 Nevertheless, the inoffensively fuzzy guitars and cacophonous drums drive along at the perfect speed, making you want to jump around wildly with the broadest of smiles on your face. The brace of Crazy/Forever followed by Sovereignty is a high point. In the former a more plaintive and understated vocal bisects arguably the riff of the album – you can just see the heads banging along in unison in true CKY fashion. The latter bounds out of the blocks with the same energy as the band so effortlessly imbue throughout the record, and is probably the track of the album – ‘…and I don’t give a fuck, cos I’m alone with you tonight.’ – A line that couldn’t sum the album’s implied ethos more succinctly.

 Japandroids have created something that is completely carefree, there is no pretension here, yet their music is so powerful, so endearing, and for many a listener, probably deeply emotional. It’s hard to believe a duo can invoke such a rich tapestry of feeling within such a kitsch, simplistic set-up.

 8. The Most Serene Republic – …And The Everlasting Universe (Arts & Crafts)

If one was to have look at my listening charts on Last fm, you would be forgiven for thinking that I am rather fond of The Most Serene Republic, in the last year I have listened to this band more than any other – at least three times as many plays as most of the artists that even come close. I am therefore glad to at least have an excuse to write about them so as to finally commit in words how I feel about their music.

 Needless to say I was anticipating their third full length release more then anyone else’s this year. My hope was that they would manage to consolidate the many moments of genius in their previous works – mainly their 2006 EP Phages and their previous release Population – with a more rounded collection of tracks that represented coherence and song structure rather than the sometimes tenuous stitching together of ideas within a five or six minute period. In truth, they haven’t really managed to do this, though they have given it a good go.

 The first thing immediately noticeable in And The Everlasting Universe is the production, which, due to the band employing ex Broken Social Scene producer Dave Newfeld, does seem a lot more mature. He has brought out the quieter, more serene (ahem) moments in the tracks whilst managing not to propel the more grandiose into something too hectic and condensed with instrumentation, a tall order given that there are seven hugely talented musicians in the band. But the compositions on this album seem more appropriately stripped down, there is more room to breath and take in what’s going on, whereas in Population this wasn’t always the case.

 Paul Thompson (Pitchfork) is of the view that the vocals are still too insignificant, and that for a ‘vocal pop’ record (I can’t honestly say that I would consider this album as such) they should be stronger and more prevalent. I don’t particularly agree with this, and as the reviewer later remarks, the record is ‘more compelling in its clatter than its crooning’. Well that’s fine then, because to me the crooning is simply a constituent of the clatter, and in many songs the combination is wonderful. The delicate vocals on All of One is Another ‘that rise and soar above the bedding with an equally impressive piano part that fits perfectly along side it are a prime example of this. Equally the first minute and a half of No One Likes A Nihilist is one of the most perfect 90 seconds I have heard this year; a modest (by their standards) piano riff that develops into a vocal verse and then explodes – but not aggressively or abruptly -  with a wash of reverberous vocal from Emma Ditchburn. This is the band on their most moving and compelling form yet.

 What I’m not all that enamoured with is the inclusion of the five minute instrumental-orchestral track Patternicity in the middle of the record. This is comparable to A mix of sun and cloud on the previous record, except far less jovial. Where the latter could be used as a soundtrack to someone’s calamitous day at the office, Patternicity is a more austere classical foray. I don’t doubt for a second that the band’s musical ability is probably higher than most – indeed the majority of the band have been trained to classical standard – but I don’t believe that amongst an album of songs there should be a reminder to themselves and the rest of the world of there capabilities. Why punctuate an album with a seemingly meaningless five minutes of self indulgence? To me it makes no sense. Go away and record an EP of music like this, don’t just stick in a track to prove a point. Maybe I’ve got this all wrong, but this is my perception. It also disrupts the flow of the album, or more to the point, ensures that there really never can be one. For more personal (perhaps snobbish) reasons I am also quite averse to the song Don’t Hold Back, Feel A Little Longer - a song with very little virtue beyond a nice vocal from Ditchburn towards the end, but which otherwise contains the most repellent ascending synth line you’ve ever heard, something I hoped the band would never think to conceive. This is definitely pop, and far too insincere for me. Combine this with a frantic (although very impressive) drum beat and you have something that I just plain don’t like, which is of course a great shame.

 When TMSR get it right, they are wonderful; the reason I listen to them so regularly and with such frequency is that they are capable of creating, in my view, moments of absolute musical perfection (which really is no exaggeration) and do so on all of their records bar perhaps their debut. However these are still only moments and there isn’t one song that is completely faultless. I hope one day they will release an album where their ideas and passages flow perfectly into one another, not only section by section in each song, but song by song in an album as whole. They are still, in my view, a band of ideas – albeit compelling and intricate ones. Someone has recently written on their last fm profile that the band ‘lacks direction in most of their songs [but that] maybe that’s what makes them so good’ and perhaps this is true, though I suspect it is what lets them down, as opposed to what makes them so good.

 There are still passages of music in their songs that I cant get my head around, the rhythms, melodies and harmonies – both vocal and instrumental – are mind bendingly good, yet all too often only for a fleeting moment, and its the amalgamation of these ideas that is lacking. The brilliant 2006 EP Phages was written whilst on the road in a matter of weeks, and in some ways it is clearly the most cohesive collection. The songs are songs, they are not patched together, they work as a whole more successfully than almost all of the songs elsewhere in their catalogue. And the Ever Expanding Universe, on the other hand, was written over the course of a year. So maybe they are just over thinking, over analysing. Perhaps the secret is brevity, and the key is to capture a moment and consolidate it straight away, without waiting and then having to piece a multitude of ideas into one piece – retrospectively. (I can think of another band whom this might also apply.) I do believe the next album will be their last chance to prove what they are capable of, because if they can’t manage it then, they probably never will. 

 7. Caspian – Tertia (The Mylene Sheath) 

Another year gone, another standout post rock record (though it should be noted that I have listened to very few ). Last year it was the Leeds based band Vessels with their debut. This year it is a band from Massachusetts called Caspian of whom I had very little prior knowledge, and to whom I certainly hadn’t listened with any modicum of attention.  Tertia is their second full length release and has been one of my most listened to albums of the year. They have managed to capture heavy post rock akin to the likes of Isis and Cult of Luna while still maintaining the more delicate air of glacial texture symptomatic of bands like Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai. This is where they have been triumphant. That is not to say that this record is anything particularly groundbreaking, innovative or progressive within the context of the post-rock genre, because really, it isn’t.

 Aidan Williamson (Strangeglue) likens the formula for writing post rock to the baking of a sponge cake. ‘It’s a simple enough recipe, made from a basic set of ingredients; you don’t have to worry about anything fancy. Problem is, anyone with a small amount of experience should be able to make a decent enough sponge cake.’  And he is right, I should know – I can barely play the guitar and bass but I can write a post rock song without too many tears. So what is there to be said about Tertia other than that I have just really enjoyed listening to it over the last few months? Well I think there are many virtues in this record, and as I implied in my opening gambit, I have not heard a record recently that has had so many of the (albeit limited) elements of the post rock spectrum within it.

 Whilst it is a typically formulaic first two tracks – Mie being an edgy, tensile opener with a soft piano that breaks out of white noise in to La Cerva, which rolls along with power and a typical wall of noise on guitar along side – there is still something less orthodox in the tracks that follow. The opening of the third track – Ghosts of the Garden City features a gorgeous glockenspiel in brilliant syncopation with a drum beat that bursts out of its initially filtered shell after a minute or so. These are the moments that define this album. The track is soon joined by a predictable shredded guitar line ascending and descending over established theme, but it’s this central theme that is so captivating; the guitars that envelop around it only accentuate this. The glock makes a return in the middle of the song, this time shadowed by the guitar as well, and the contrast of such power with such delicacy is a treat. There are other highlights; Malacoda, with a middle section of gorgeous guitar harmonies that work back up to a climax of typical post rock proportions towards the end, and Congrescense, a much more considered, polite piece, with a very amiable evolving melody on the guitar that doest feel the need to resort to the usual thunderous climax at the end.

 In all, this album is wonderful. It moves well, and has a lot to say for itself. It rarely takes you by surprise, but has moments when you are genuinely taken by its power and, at the same time its elegance. I have happily listened to it all the way through with out feeling the need to skip a single track.

 6. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Warp)

Grizzly Bear are still somewhat of an enigma to me. In Veckatimest they have put together an album of supreme musicianship and composition that I have yet to fully get my head around. Not that the songs are too intricate or complex for my small brain to comprehend, but that simply they write music on a different level to most.  I’m fairly sure, however, that I was elevated to this level at The Barbican on Halloween when I saw them perform the whole of their third studio album with an orchestra. I was totally blown away by it. Everything made sense in that setting; it was as if the songs were written just for that moment, and I was to receive them on a plate with the appropriate bottle of wine (I suspect a red) to go with it.

 Grizzly Bear do not write orthodox Indie-Rock songs. No; they have created something far more developed. It takes until well into All We Ask before I am completely immersed in the orchestral landscapes that the band create – seemingly with such ease. One could not simply listen to a song on the album and be completely taken by them straight away. A song feels like a part of a greater whole, like having one piece of a jigsaw puzzle, Essentially you are none the wiser until you have completed the puzzle – though that’s not to say that you don’t have at least a flavour.

 After several plays of the album in full, you really begin to understand the power of the band’s music, and it is masterful. The instrumentation and the evolving melodies on vocals, guitar, and even piano in the brilliant finisher Foreground – which ends with a short but exquisite choral burst that couldn’t be a more appropriate end to the album – have been thought out, pondered and executed exactly. The production, with masses of reverb adorned on most of the parts, is perfectly measured and only enhances the chamber-like sound of the music that the band have concocted.  When they really let loose it is exquisite; the climax of While You Wait For The Others, a personal favourite, is like a sudden release that was simmering away for the whole song. Fine For Now is another highlight, a perfect matrimony of harmony in the vocals and an impeccable drum pattern carry a song that is more like a movement than anything resembling structural orthodoxy. But then again the same could be said of the majority of the tracks in this record, for individually, they are at first unremarkable, but as a whole – and as long as one is wiling to put some time and effort into listening  - it is exceptional.

 5. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glassnote/Loyaute)

At number five in my list is Drowned In Sound’s number one. The sextuplet from Versaille provided me with the album to my summer and, even if I ignore the fact that a healthy portion of the reason the album makes it so high in my list is pure nostalgia, there is still enough to extol about a record that has captured the hearts of many a music fan, both muso and everyman alike. Furthermore, in Love Like A Sunset  they have written the song of the year, a near enough eight minute epic which is at the heart of the album, Without meaning to sound over the top; this really is an extraordinary track. But if you want an even more heartfelt eulogy than my inexperienced words could articulate (highly likely), read what the editor of the aforementioned website had to say about it in the finale to the rundown of the top fifty albums of the year, as he is clearly every bit as smitten by it as I am. 

The number of hit tracks on this record is staggering, Lizstomania, 1901, Lasso… They are all perfect examples of indie-electro-synth-pop-rock (all are applicable) at its most devastatingly catchy. Lizstomania is an opening track that typifies everything that is brilliant about this album, the production is spot on, the beat is danceable, and the melody effortlessly affecting. From there we are fed another of the album’s highlights – 1901. Opening with the most perfectly rounded synth that wouldn’t be out of place in a track by Phoenix’s Parisian compatriots, Justice. This is joined by a subtle guitar lick and upbeat drums that actuate the song with an infectious bounce.  The vocals are measured, and, with the slight inflections at the end of many of his phrases, Thomas Mars manages to invoke passion and honesty with his rhetoric.

After the equally compelling Fences, we come to the middle of the album, and the centrepiece: Love Like a Sunset. There is often a song like this in an album, a song that isn’t too far removed from anything else heard but that stretches the formula into something altogether more grandiose, a song that gives you a moment to ponder whilst you take in a powerful and emotive centerpiece that binds the album together. On Oracular Spectacular (MGMT) this would of course be Of Moons Birds and Monsters – one of my favourite tracks of 2008 – whilst perhaps slightly more tenuously, the aptly named Country on Walking On A Dream (Empire of The Sun) – in any case these two albums are of a similar ilk to WAP. Love Like a Sunset is comfortably the most accomplished of the three. Its brooding synth bass dominates the mix, driving plucky guitars under a constantly swelling wall of ambient synth and percussion. Eventually it gives way to a moment of blissful catharsis; an acoustic cadence that repeats over and over with a vocal that you never thought would come but that brings a shiver to the spine when it does. As it tails off in to the distance you are left feeling happy that that it didn’t climax with an eruption of noise that the first five minutes may have suggested – and herein lies its beauty, because you are still ready to hear more of what preceded it – and in Lasso you get exactly that and with just as much enjoyment as before. In truth, the second half of the album isn’t quite as impressive as the first, but it is still eminently pleasing and, if it were, this album would be breaking into the top three in this list. 

It is true to say that if I didn’t have such great summer to associate with these songs then perhaps I wouldn’t be writing about them so effusively at this moment. But still, it is testament to them that I felt compelled to keep listening to them continuously back then, without a hint of irony, because they genuinely did affect me, and I loved them for who they were at the time, not just for what they remind me of now. Nevertheless, this album truly was the sound of summer.

4. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead (Fat Cat)

This is an album in which my initial views and opinion did not reflect my more considered thoughts that followed after further listens. I think this was largely due to my perception of the band based on their first and only release.  I regard the band’s debut – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters – as marginally  superior; it is a record carefully constructed, and crucially, delicately recorded, with every effort made to draw out the subtle nuances in dynamic and sonic texture that I believe the band create effortlessly on record (if not in the only live setting that I have seen them.)

Forget The Night Ahead is unquestionably a more varied collection of songs, On the face of it it is much more, in the most literal sense, dynamic. The songs have a more standard air of composition to them than the pieces on their debut. The epic walls of noise created there have been balanced out with melody and a dynamic virtue in the follow up that proves the band have strived to create something different, maybe even more accessible, proving that they are capable of something more than just the post-indie-rock drone on show on Fourteen Autumns… (a bloody good drone, mind).

The opener – Reflection of the Television – starts out with powerful drums and a baseline that is counterpointed with a single chord strummed on the guitar and punctuating brilliantly against its backdrop, this exemplifies the distinction between this record with its predecessor. The guitar makes way for the vocals which are noticeably more dominant in the mix than on anything on Fourteen Autumns… and the song ends with a climax that is loud and powerful, as if it were ready to burst out of the song from the outset. In the Final track, a personal favourite, the first minute and a half of piano and feedback, a seemingly serene moment or two, suddenly explodes into pounding guitars and drums more reminiscent of something verging on heavy rock. This is the difference. You simply don’t hear this on the debut, this is something you can take away with you immediately, you are not drawn in and invited into the music as you might have been before  – you are handed it and hit hard. 

For me the production of the two albums really speaks volumes about how they can be perceived. The producer is the same on both records, so perhaps it’s due to the man at the desk at the recording stage that this album is much more matter of fact, it does not have the same intriguing sound as the debut. It is much crisper; there is definition of each layer, as the blend of instrumentation does not quite come together in the same way. However, I am perfectly willing to admit that this is not necessarily a pitfall, and actually it is down to my own taste that I prefer the overall sound created on Fourteen Autumns… Because it is not the case that I do not think this record is anything other than excellent.  From an objective point of view, what this record lacks in depth of production, it makes up for with great tracks. Their debut is produced perfectly to complement the repetitive, evolving guitar and drum lines, lines that suck you in and take you somewhere, but the tracks on this album offer you something immediate and impressive, and ultimately very satisfying.

3. Dananananaykroyd – Hey Everyone! (Best Before)  

Dananananaykroyd have probably been my band of 2009. A brilliant debut full length album coupled with two exhilarating live shows, one in particular at Hoxton Bar and Grill in April which was unquestionably one of the top gigs of the year. Their music is fun, upbeat, bouncy and thoroughly engaging, and they propel this on stage with such endearing aggression . 

Having already had their EP Sissy Hits for a good while before finally listening to their full length debut, I was very much looking forward to hearing new songs and re-workings of some of the tracks from this EP. The tantalising taster of Infinity Milk, which is the last track on the EP and consists purely of short build up and a riff that, despite appearing to be of fairly generic construction, is actually one of the most memorable riffs in recent years and was enough alone to get me more and more excited as the release of Hey Everyone! edged ever closer.  I wasn’t disappointed.

It actually took me a few listens to get used to the sound of the record, At first I was rather blasé about the production, stating on forums that I felt it had failed to capture the attitude and raw energy captured so well on Sissy Hits, My being so used to hearing the raw sounds of the EP was undoubtedly the reason for this. However, having gotten used the production, I was soon of the opinion that it had not only captured the band’s energy perfectly, but that it was a testament to the recording and production that this energy was captured so brilliantly. It is a larger, more impressive being on record, it is huge without being cluttered, and how on earth you manage to record two drum kits so successfully without completely saturating the mix with percussion is anyone’s guess.  It should be said that my experience of Dananananaykroyd in a live setting has unquestionably influenced my view of the album – how otherwise could I be so impressed with the albums successful encapsulation of the band’s energy? Rob Webb (Drowned in Sound) remarks that this is in fact a ‘professional faux pas’ and that “Dolling out post-gig marks would rocket the album in question into epoch-defining territory”, one suspects. Well it’s hard to argue with that. Lucky I am not in his position reviewing on a reputable music magazine.

The band’s style is certainly not orthodox. Webb suggests that you might find them crossing a bridge between Indie-Rock and Heavy Rock, which I would have to agree with, whilst on Last FM someone has tagged them as ‘Fight-Pop’ which curiously also seems quite appropriate. In any case they have fused great riffs with poppy beats and playfully aggressive vocals in just about every song, though there are always points where one aspect may stand out above the rest. Black Wax, one of the bands single releases, is as upbeat as it gets to start with, but towards the end you are shown how effortlessly they can transform a song into an aggressive guitar driven climax, and the recapitulation of the original riff delicately played out to finish is proof that they are writing their brains as well as their hearts. For me The Greater Than Symbol And The Hash is the high point, a song once again exemplifying the band’s knack of constructing something progressive yet still utilising popular devices. The song evolves from a rhythmical swinging riff to a finale with guitars perhaps more akin to heavy rock, even metal, yet still it is projected with the same uplifting, playful manner of the music that got the song to this point. This track was probably the most enjoyable song to watch live this year, by any band, and so my extolling of it is a fairly simple exercise. I hope they can follow up Hey Everyone! with an equally enjoyable sophomore, it may be a tall order.

2. Reverie Sound Revue – Revere Sound Revue (Boompa Records)

What I can’t understand about this album is why there is barely any recognition of its existence, even given the ever increasing expanse of the blogosphere in recent times. OK, so I’m not surprised that there isn’t a review on Drowned In Sound – a music magazine I frequent regularly, if not just to amuse myself at the inane drivel uttered by the forum regulars, but not on Pitchfork either? That is certainly the more reputable for its music reviews, and, I thought, more all-encompassing for the artistic demographic it represents.  I have not seen a single ‘album of the year’ chart with this in it, is this due to it being considered just an average album? Or perhaps it is because the band themselves have gone about  completing their first proper full length under the radar of anyone that would care to listen. Surly not.

Lisa Lobsinger, the singer and frontwoman of Reverie Sound Revue, may well only be known for her role as touring singer for Broken Social Scene in the absence of Feist, Milian, Haines et al, but her notoriety ought to be greater after this release. Her voice is haunting and ethereal, and in her band’s self-titled release she has enveloped herself in a combination of beautifully melodious guitar, and a beat that is modest but at times fast and energetic.  This is music to get lost in, it will probably not surprise you, and it is certainly nothing groundbreaking, but it is gloriously enchanting. I’ve made no bones about my love for a good female vocalist, and Lobsinger is no exception. Whether it be the jazzy opener An Anniversary Away, or the quieter, more delicate Prelude to a Debut, in which ascending arpeggios in the guitar line evoke moments of complete serenity, Lobsinger is utterly captivating, with a voice that seems perfectly befitting of the music underneath.

This album is probably the easiest to listen to in the whole of this list, which is testament to its simple yet effective formula, because really my second favourite album of the year is nothing remarkable, it is catchy, poppy and exceptionally pleasing to the ear, so it is just a great shame that the band have made it quite clear that they will not be touring any time soon. Booo!

1. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers (Domino Records)

So, to number one. I had no knowledge of Wild Beasts before I heard their sophomore release: Two Dancers, and I have yet to listen properly to their debut. However, even if I had – and formed an opinion – it would surely have little or no negative bearing on the impact that this record has had on me.  In short,  the bespoke vocal combination of the band’s singers; Hayden Thorpe and, as was previously not the case, bassist Tom Fleming, together with the shimmering guitars and exquisitely measured drums is something to behold. It may be a relatively simple formula from the outset,  but it is executed with such style and panache that you may wonder if actually this is a sound you are rather unfamiliar with on first listen, but as a result, one that you all the more willing to entertain.

The soaring falsetto of Thorpe is a defining feature of this album (as I’m sure it was on the band’s debut) yet it’s fair to say that even without it the music alone would be worthy of recognition. But it is not only sonically but lyrically that am gripped by Two Dancers. Given my ‘vocals only represent another instrument to me so actual lyrical content means very little’ attitude that I am simply unable to shirk (it was the way I was brought up) – even when they are clearly integral to a record’s mantra, it’s testament to them that they are just too unusual not to take notice of. “This is a booty call, my boot my boot my boot my boot up your arsehole, This is a freudian slip, My slipper my slipper my slipper my slipper in your bits” your ear does a double take when you realise what Thorpe is singing. And if you thought it was all being delivered in a light hearted tone, sentiment such as “Any rival who goes for our girls will be left thumb-sucking in terror and bereft of all coffin bearers” from the brilliant Hooting And Howling will dispel that immediately. I have rarely come across such original lyrics, and nothing comes close to this in my top twenty-five.

Among the songs on this album, there are a few real gems. High up in contention for track of the year is This Is Our Lot, a swinging percussive beat with the most fantastically glistening guitar that seems to contradict the jaggedly funk-esque drums and bass underneath, yet at the same time combines with them effortlessly. I’ve still to work out whether that is the bell of the hi-hat or the bell of the ride but it is the most perfect use of either that I have ever heard. The song has a groove to it that is second to none. And, of course, vocals that keep you enthralled all the while.

It’s the way that you are so intrigued by the sound of Wild Beasts. Their song writing, both structurally and lyrically, is somewhat out of the ordinary, yet at the end of the day is still just a standard four-piece lineup. I feel completely comfortable in an otherwise unsettling landscape of falsetto vocals and disturbing lyrics that are projected playfully and, it has to be said, with more than a hint of tongue and cheek. Perhaps it is the backbone of instrumentation, beautifully put together and, especially in the case of the drums (though I would say this) played absolutely and exactly, that reassures you that what you hear in the music is as rewarding as the vocals are enigmatic.

It’s a great looking lineup with ultimate legend and top mixer The Pushamann as well as Danny Raper and of course Sir Terry to top the bill.. what more could you want??

So; Hour Seven. In some ways I have been working on this mix since the start of august (oh how time flies) and there are a few tracks (the opener for example) that have been in place for months, but I’ve been working in the rest of the selection slowly since then and in fact the Peter Kruder track (what a tune) was bought and inserted on the day of the mix. Just shows you how quickly you can adapt even if you have tried to consider, over time, how best to construct a mix.

I personally think this is my favourite and best mix so far. It’s notable for its lack of the more organic (bongo tastic) percussive tracks that i went through a period of loving, and has more techno and tech-housy influences. It does slightly throw up an issue of identity, but frankly I think i am still too much of an amateur to worry about that quite yet.

Download

Lusine – Two Dots (Pezzner remix) // Ghostly International

Matt Brown – Sauvente // Einmaleins Musik

dOP – Stock Option // Circus Company

Kabale Und Liebe – Una Y Nada // 100% Pure

Shonky – Carnage // Freak N Chic

Oxia – Sun Step // 8Bit

Rodriguez Jr – Kids of Hula // Leena Music

Peter Kruder – Law of Return // Innervisions

Gorge, Dubnitzky – Smile In My // Brise Records

Boris Horel – How Do I Look Like // Eklo

Ellen Allien – Lover // Bpitch Control

Ellen Allien & Apparat – Jet (Ben Klock remix) // Bpitch Control

Next months Nature Or Nurture includes a rather special guest who goes by the name of Moodymanc, who’s name I have not heard before though apparently he carries some weight in the electronic world and judging by the labels attatched to his name which i certainly have heard of, i will have to assume that this is the case. I hope the turnout will be better than it has been for the previous two months (it has to be better than last weeks when i was playing to err.. nobody) and so every effort will be made to get people down.. By the looks of it i may be playing for a bit longer too.. Hope to see you all there for sure..

Its been a while since I have successfully recorded anything approaching decent on the wheels of steel (mostly plastic) but I finally managed to put something together. The first four tracks have worked together better than any other i have played in a mix, though i didn’t really anticipate that being the case at all. The vibe is very upbeat throughout and this is only compounded by the fact that the tempo up there at around 133bpm. Again this was not intentional but as the beat of ‘Kings Child’ doesn’t come in for a good minute or so, there was no initial conception of how fast it would be. I actually think it adds to the live nature of the mix which is something i wanted to achieve. It’s not completely polished, and it didn’t get a bout of compression from Cool Edit either, but I’m really enjoying it at the moment and it represents exactly where I am right now with regards to my output

There is one feature of this mix which I would like to talk about. Overlaying ‘Sunken’ over the rhythmic pounding of ‘Dope Slingin’ Vibe’ was, in my opinion a good call  Any reticence was down to my being labelled as a ‘copy cat’ but I thought you know what?  it sounds so nice and ultimately – in the end – I chose the tracks so, why shouldn’t I? I have been thoroughly enjoying the 2005 release ‘Et In Arcadia Ego’ by The Village Orchestra in recent weeks and i have thought often that a soaring, uplifting and graceful track such as ‘Sunken’ should be laid over a beat to drive it along and accentuate the feeling of the track. I am fully aware, of course, that Luciano (copied cat) was probably thinking along the same lines when he discovered that using M83′s ‘In Church’ over many a percussive beat would create a magical moment in a mix and in a club. If you hear the mix you’ll probably agree having listened to my track selection that I am fond of not only the man but also his organic up beat tunes, so it’s no coincidence BUT it’s not, in – my mind anyway – out of the question that i would have thought to do it myself – first. But of course, i didn’t. Ultimately i did it because it sounds great, i really love the track and it takes the mix somewhere different. You may judge for yourselves.

Hour 6
Download

Wareika – King’s Child // Motivbank

Reboot – El Loco // White

Butch – Bengal Tiger // Bouq Records

Julien Chaptal – Mamdaye // Remote Area

Mirco Violi – Breaking Rocks // Hypercolour

Dance Disorder – My Time (Radio Slave’s Rekids Tribe Mix) // Eskimo

Michel Cleis – Tribute // White

Invisible Planets – Dope Slingin’ Vibe (Brother’s Vibe remix) // Fresh Fish

The Village Orchestra – Sunken // Highpoint Lowlife

Mirco Violi – Tzar // Bloop Portugal

Mendo – Everybody I Got Him – 2009 mix // Clarisse Records

In the meantime i shall re-post my most recent entry – Hour 6 – just to get things going again..

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