My Top Albums of 2011: Number 1

Pete & The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures

Despite the fact it’s hard to fathom what the songs are about, as metaphors are buried within metaphors, P&TP’s ‘One Thousand Pictures’ is an insanely catchy, heartfelt, bittersweet pop concoction. While this may not be the most courageous or sophisticated record, it sounds innately happy yet intuitively sad as robust melodies, harmonies & euphoric choruses aplenty form perfect nuggets of pop perkiness, all urging the listener to jump around the room in a fevered frenzy.  

Pete & The Pirates - Come To The Bar

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 2

M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

The sumptuously arranged & optimistic tracks on M83’s ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ offer pure escapist music, with interludes every bit as purposeful as the main tracks. It continually strikes at the emotional pressure points of the listener, as explosive percussion, massive choirs & cathedral reverb, melancholic vocals & opaque lyrics all combine with tsunami like washes of retro synths to paint a massive & brighter world.

M83 - Midnight City

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 3

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – Everything’s Getting Older

An album that mutters defiance at & embittered acceptance of the ageing process, BW&AM’s ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ delivers tales that are one moment tender, breathless, romantic, lovelorn & lusting, then the next caustic & depraved. The twinkling melodies & pensive piano chords mix wonderfully with the dry sense of humour that often dispels the dark subject matter, engaging the listener to accept that “Birth, love & death – the only reasons to get dressed up.” 

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The Copper Top

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 4

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine

Billed as “a soundscape to the lives of an imaginary Scottish fishing village”, KC&JH’s ‘Diamond Mine’ is both gentle & desperate, capturing the longings & sorrows of everyday lives in a way that can reduce you to tears. The two artists combine to create an intimate, low-key affair, but with surprisingly affecting songs that accrue real emotional weight.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Bubble

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 5

Low – C’mon

Simplistic choral harmonies & hymn-like melodies soak fear-spiked lullabies & dreamy folk-tinged pop, as Low’s ‘C’mon’ delivers emotionally direct & immediately satisfying songs, while the band effortlessly progresses through different shades of light of the day, with tension tweaked for the listener’s maximum impact.

Low - Try To Sleep

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 6

Found – Factorycraft

With cavernous guitars, brooding basslines & floating melodies, there is a sense of mischief at play amongst the vintage pop allure of Found’s ‘Factorycraft’. It is a dark, dank, slow-burning cauldron of invention, pulling influences as disparate as Motown, electronica & romantic Indie that often unexpectedly distorts the incredibly strange with the incredibly good.  

Found - Machine Age Dancing

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 7

Erland & The Carnival – Nightingale

Against a shadowy backdrop of sinister guitars & electronics, E&TC’s ‘Nightingale’ re-imagines traditional folk tales for contemporary times, being both eerily crooned & lyrically intriguing. Inventive arrangements find common ground between psychedelia, folktronica & ancient poetry, with the results never less than intriguing & occasionally sublime.

Erland & The Carnival - So Tired In The Morning

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 8

Gruff Rhys – Hotel Shampoo

Boasting an insatiable creative wanderlust, sing-song melodies & rich production enable Gruff Rhys’ ‘Hotel Shampoo’ to feel mysterious & exotic whilst still retaining a whimsical & comforting homely feel. The casually ornate songwriting creates faintly psychedelicised, romantically wistful lounge pop of the highest order.

Gruff Rhys - Shark Ridden Waters

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 9

The Method – Dissidents & Dancers

Displaying an impenetrably solid amalgamation of influences (too many to mention) & filtered through some highly skilful production, the noisy blend of sounds that blare throughout The Method’s ‘Dissidents & Dancers’ album is akin to that of a reverberant aural splatter, as slow- paced mantras mix readily with garage-style riffs & great grooves. 

The Method - Dissidents & Dancers

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 10

The Leisure Society – Into The Murky Water

Quintessentially English fare & straddling the thriving folk-pop scene, TLS’s ‘Into The Murky Water’ resonates with autumnal melancholy, decked out with beautiful, swirling melodies, dramatic twists & a continual desire to fill your eyes, mind & ears with little shafts of sunlight, while being committed, genuine, honest & lovingly cultivated.

The Leisure Society - You Could Keep Me Talking

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 11

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Thick with references to folk tales & mysticism, & using their harmonies not merely to decorate songs, but to push them along, Fleet Foxes’ ‘Helplessness Blues’ is a thoughtful, elegant record peppered with ghostliness & references to ageing, whilst being suffused with both melancholy, sunshine & melody second to none.

Fleet Foxes - Lorelai

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 12

Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972

Recorded in a church in Reykjavik useing a groaning pipe organ to lay down the foundation for tracks, before digitally adding synth-wash & wailing shoegaze crunch to the live recordings, Time Hecker’s ‘Ravedeath, 1972’ is a dark & often claustrophobic record that lives somewhere between the digital & material realms, creating a constant push & pull between discord & beauty.

Tim Hecker - In The Fog (Parts I & II)

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 13

Blank Disco – From Zero

Combining elements of cold, mechanical techno with rhythmic, hypnotic electronica, all sprinkled with an underlayer of assorted sounds & vocal samples, Blank Disco’s (aka British producer Dan Seville) ‘From Zero’ album successfully manages to fuse melancholy with bliss, creating listenable sound-collages reminiscent of some of the chief talents on Warp.

Blank Disco - NYC

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 14

Puressence – Solid State Recital

Packed with slow-building soaring anthemic tunes, Puressence’s ‘Solid State Recital’ keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the colossal. Stunningly lustrous & powerful vocals, progressive & powerful guitars, dynamic & pounding beats all combine to create a sonic stratosphere full of the deepest valleys & mightiest peaks. 

Puressence - Swathes of Sea Made Stone

My Top Albums of 2011: Number 15

System 7 – Up

Influenced greatly by the Berlin music scene, System 7 (i.e. 70’s guitar legend Steve Hillage & partner Miquette Giraudy) deliver positive, hypnotic & dreamy ambient electronica. With Hillage’s guitar playing reminiscent of his ‘Fish Rising’ solo era, there is subtly processed weirdness throughout the album that presents a refreshing take on psychedelia in modern dance music. 

System 7 - Berimbau (feat. Yuji Katsui)

Most Underrated Bands EVER!!! #1 CLOSE LOBSTERS

I guess I'd be about 16 when I first came across (oo-er, Matron!) Close Lobsters, a band that remain close to my heart all these years later (24 and counting, where does the time go?).
The setting was Cornwall in 1988 and the annual family holiday, my last with my Mum, Dad and siblings and one on which I now somewhat shamefacedly admit I was a complete and utter tosspot; arguments here, there and everywhere, teenage tantrums and sulks, storming off and "wanting to be alone"; hell, it's almost like I was the archetypal misunderstood Indie kid, and didn't I let everyone know it!
Anyway, the music. On one of my sojourns without the family, I visited a small local record shop just off the seafront in Penzance (the name escapes me, sorry). This was in my pre-CD purchasing days (I held off that until 1994 when I finally had to admit defeat & bought my first CD, Blur's 'Girls & Boys') and the majority of my purchases were on vinyl. 
However, as I was on holiday, reliant on my Walkman and in need of some new tunes, on this occasion I purchased a cassette that looked mighty intriguing, both because of the album title and the name of the band: 'Foxheads Stalk This Land' by Close Lobsters.

OMG! Never before had I heard such wondrous jangly, chiming guitars, coupled with monster hooks; such effortlessly sharp vocals and thoroughly inscrutable lyrics; and such thoroughly sing-along-able swirling psychedelic tunesmith, indeed! 
Salvation had been found and, while I'm aware this may sound a tad melodramatic, I'm going to say it nonetheless; Close Lobsters saved my life and gave me direction (although what that direction is I've still to discover).
Sadly, as with many bands from that era, Close Lobsters never got the critical or commercial success that in my opinion they so richly deserved; although conversely, this does mean that  happily they remain one of 'my bands', a little secret that none but a myself and a select few know about.
An EP (1988's 'What Is There To Smile About?) and a second album (1989's 'Headache Rhetoric') followed, but both were largely ignored by the media and public alike, with the band calling it quits not long after.
Close Lobsters had but a brief career, but all their musical releases were brilliant; in my humble opinion, they produced some of the best music of the late-'80s U.K. Indie scene.

Close Lobsters - In Spite Of These Times

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 1

Erland & The Carnival – Erland & The Carnival

A seamless blend of 60’s garage-influenced compositions & psychedelic interpretations of traditional folk songs, Erland & The Carnival prove that modern folk music has less to do with acoustic guitars, meek dispositions, beards & woolly jumpers & more about what kind of musical tale you can spin. Orkney born frontman Erland Cooper, guitarist Simon Tong (The Verve & The Good, The Bad & The Queen) & drummer David Nock ( The Firemen, Paul McCartney’s band) treat folk history like a jumble sale to be picked from at will, with the result being both raucous & tuneful & breathing new life into a much neglected genre. Swinging from quiet seduction & folk-tinged ballads one minute to psychedelic swagger with a seedy underbelly the next, there is a definite retro feel to proceedings which is executed perfectly & manages to fall on the right side of parody. ‘E&TC’ is an accomplished & eloquent debut album, using literary and musical references to create moments that are at once familiar & unique. There are some albums that are discovered like treasure, hidden away & listened to in private. Then there are others that need to be shared with the world, played loud on the car stereo for all to hear. This is one of them.

Erland & The Carnival - Love is a Killing Thing

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 2

Paul Weller – Wake Up The Nation

A collection of ludicrously fresh-sounding, short & sharp material, ‘Wake Up The Nation’ confirms that Paul Weller is in the midst of a seriously impressive rebirth. Sounding every bit as urgent & angry as he was in his days with The Jam, the anthemic moments are brilliantly sequenced among esoteric oddities. The songs are homely & familiar, but Weller’s delivery (he made up many of the lyrics on the spot) is gloriously imperfect, lending a remarkably youthful & frankly often drunk-sounding edge to proceedings. Its relentless vigour is exhausting, but within its grimy kaleidoscope Weller strikes gold all over again with lyrical acuteness and tunes, pushing his blend of classic British Beat, Mod, Funk & R&B.

Paul Weller - Trees

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 3

The Len Price 3 – Pictures

With influences firmly rooted in the 60’s, 2010 sees The Len Price 3 (none of the band are called Len Price, although there are 3 of them) proudly play the role of keepers of the garage flame, a self-formed society preserving rock ‘n’ roll instead of birthing it. Charging headlong into everything in a meaty, big & bouncy fashion, ‘Pictures’ echoes The Who & The Kinks by merging dark themes with upbeat tunes & a healthy dose of cynicism. OK, there’s nothing new here, but if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then TLP3 succeed in honouring a rich musical heritage.

The Len Price 3 - Mr. Grey

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 4

Tony Da Gatorra vs Gruff Rhys – The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness

A ramshackle beast of an album largely informed by the tension between the pair’s differing psychedelic & cultural viewpoints, legend has us believe ‘The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness’ was recorded in 5 hours & mixed in 12. Combining Gruff Rhys’ habitual dreamy Welsh melodicism with Tony Da Gatorra’s edgy, paranoiac slice of unusually focused Brazilian garage pop, this is not always an easy album to listen to. However, the unstructured & spontaneous, rhythmic & hypnotic songs make up an undoubtedly fascinating psychedelic album.

Tony Da Gatorra vs Gruff Rhys - In a House With No Mirrors (You'll Never Get Old)

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 5

The Black Angels – Phosphene Dream

A band seemingly obsessed by drugs & the seedier side of the 60’s, The Black Angels’ third album ‘Phosphene Dream’ lightens the mood set by previous albums, with shorter & less oppressive songs hinting they’ve distilled the finer elements of their ‘Nuggets’ influences into an altogether more palatable & less drone like sound. Yes, the influences are obvious, but this album shows the band adopting a welcome fresh take on the neo-Psychedelic movement of which they're at the forefront.

The Black Angels - Bad Vibrations

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 6

Ocean Colour Scene – Saturday

The ninth studio album of a 21-year career sees Ocean Colour Scene apparently make a fresh start with only the faintest nod to the past but with no fear or regret, simply an assurance that however good it was then it’s even better now. Simon Fowler’s vocals are as soulful & mighty as ever, being both heartfelt & assured, while Steve Cradock’s guitar playing continues to prove why The Modfather has so much faith in him as his live sidekick. Big, bold & beautiful, there’s plenty of life left in this Scene.

Ocean Colour Scene - Just a Little Bit of Love

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 7

LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

Slated as the final album to be released under the LCD Soundsystem moniker (“I never intended this to be a professional band” once said head honcho James Murphy), ‘This Is Happening’ continues the stream of consciousness rants against backdrops of twitchy guitars & flanged hi-hats that the previous two albums developed. Despite often being plagued by doubts about ageing ungracefully on the dancefloor, this is a simultaneously subdued & euphoric album by a man facing the future with confidence.

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 8

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – Dark Night Of The Soul

A collaborative project that became a posthumous official release following the suicide of Mark Linkous, aka Sparklehorse, & with a cast (including Iggy ‘I’m a mix of God & monkey’ Pop, Julian Casablancas, Wayne Coyne, Jason Lytle & Gruff Rhys) reading like a fantasy pop group, ‘Dark Night Of The Soul’ is a playful yet haunted album. However, despite each collaborator bringing their own individual feel to proceedings, this essentially remains a Sparklehorse album & is a fitting epitaph to Linkous’ unique talents.

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse (feat. Wayne Coyne) - Revenge

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 9

Engineers – In Praise Of More

Combining a heady blend of shoegaze, electronica & psychedelia, coupled with the addition of remix guru & respected solo artist Ulrich Schnauss as permanent keyboard player, Engineers’ third album ‘In Praise Of More’ initially shakes the listener out of their usual dreampop slumber before reverting to previous form & heading off into something akin to a thoroughly enjoyable, colourful & eventful coma. Somewhat gentler in approach to both previous albums, Engineers nonetheless roar, buzz & scream within their multilayered atmosphere.

Engineers - What It's Worth

My Top Albums of 2010: Number 10

North Atlantic Oscillation – Grappling Hooks

Named after a fluctuating change in the atmospheric pressure differential that exists between the Icelandic Low & Azores High, North Atlantic Oscillation are a Scottish prog-pop / electro-rock trio who describe themselves as “playing instruments within a computerized wall of sound”. Zane Lowe’s album of the week upon release, NAO’s debut album ‘Grappling Hooks’ is a subtle yet powerful blend of soaring harmonies, loud guitars, dreamlike synths, heavy drums & strange effects here, there & everywhere.

North Atlantic Oscillation - Drawing Maps from Memory