Meatraffle

A small handful of 2015 albums found their way into my collection during the second half of December, too late for me to make an impartial judgement vis-a-vis their inclusion in my year end round-up. One of those albums was 'HiFi Classics' by Meatraffle, which, given a little more time to absorb it, would've made my 2015 top 20 without question. For starters, how can you fail to love a band who's line-up includes among its membership; Fats McCourt, Tingle Lungfish, Zsa Zsa Sapien and Cloudy Truffles? The genre descriptors that the band give their music are equally inventive, if not especially helpful; Trapdoor Jazz anyone? Speed Waltz? Or perhaps a little Erroneous Funk?

To give you at least some idea of what we're actually dealing with here, a few of the reference points that came to mind as I began to immerse myself in 'HiFi Classics' were; 'The Return of the Giant Slits', 'Bon Chic Bon Genre' by Campag Velocet, 'Pigeonhole' by New Fast Automatic Daffodils and 'Accept the Signal' by Regular Fries. Chuck that lot into a blender and you'll be heading in the vague direction of the uniquely wonky, cock-eyed view of pop that is Meatraffle's.

'Aurora' and 'The Horseshoe' are currently on particularly heavy rotation round these parts. If you like these, I urge you to check out 'HiFi Classics' in full here. It's a blinder.

Albums of the Year 2015 - 1 to 5

And so to my favourite five albums of 2015. There'll be no tremendous surprises here for anyone who has cast a beady eye over this blog in the past 12 months. Here we go (in reverse order, natch....).

5) Daniel Knox - Daniel Knox

Daniel's songs can bring a smile to your lips one minute and cause a shiver to run down your spine the next. The power of his voice will rock you back on your heels before melting your heart. It's extraordinary stuff.

4) Trembling Bells - The Sovereign Self

When I listen to Trembling Bells, I find myself concocting make-believe musical genres in an attempt to pin down their general wonderfulness. Last time I posted about them (here) I hit on 'Psych-Folk-Kraut-Rock', though I'm currently favouring 'Medieval-Wyrd-Noir'. Feel free to disregard my waffle, except this next bit...'The Sovereign Self' is an astounding LP.

3) Alasdair Roberts - Alasdair Roberts

I'm sure that everyone has a select clutch of artists about whom they find it incredibly difficult to remain objective. Alasdair Roberts is one such artist for me. This fantastic LP was released on Drag City in January and was followed later in the year by an EP as a member of The Furrow Collective, then in the Autumn with another, self-distributed, solo LP, 'Missed Flights and Fist Fights'. There may very well be more 2015 recordings out there that I still need to track down, such is Alasdair's restlessly creative nature. I have a ticket to see him in concert again in March, expect further gushing superlatives to come your way shortly thereafter.

2) Lonelady - Hinterland

'Hinterland' has been so deeply embedded in my noggin this year, that for a while I completely disregarded it from my 2015 review, being convinced that it must have actually been issued in 2014. It's a terrific album, released a full five years after its predecessor 'Nerve Up'. Let's hope we don't have to wait quite so long for the next one.

1) Rozi Plain - Friend

Rozi Plain contributed substantially to This is the Kit's excellent 'Bashed Out' and also to 'We Resonate' by Rachael Dadd, a fine LP that reached my 2014 long-list. In spite of this, 'Friend', the third album Rozi has released under her own name, inhabits a unique sonic world, sounding quite unlike anything else I've heard, while simultaneously remaining resolutely warm and accessible. An absolute delight and highly recommended.

Albums of the Year 2015 - 6 to 10

Here we are at the end of another year. Where did it go? A big thank you to everyone who stopped by my little corner of the internet over the past 12 months. Particular thanks go to all my blogging chums who continue to inspire me every single day. I'll leave you with numbers 6 to 10 in the countdown of my favourite albums of 2015. Top 5 tomorrow!

A Happy New Year to you and those you love. Let's do it all again in 2016. 

6) This is the Kit - Bashed Out

7) Low - Ones & Sixes

8) The Apartments - No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal

9) The Staves - If I Was

10) The Charlatans - Modern Nature

Albums of the Year 2015 - 11 to 15

11) Dungen – Allas Sak

12) Sexwitch - Sexwitch

13) Sleaford Mods - Key Markets

14) C Duncan - Architect

15) Songhoy Blues - Music in Exile

Albums of the Year 2015 - 16 to 20

Mrs S had a bad case of the dreaded lurgy for a couple of weeks in the run-up to Christmas, though thankfully felt a lot better come the big day. Now, somewhat inevitably, I can feel myself going quickly downhill with similar symptoms. Joints are aching, throat is sore and my brain is even more cloudy and befuddled than usual. So I'll be keeping my spiel to a minimum over the next 4 days as I unveil my favourite 20 albums of the year. Most of these artists have put in an appearance on the blog at some point, some more than once. Any that haven't will no doubt feature in greater depth in due course. I've included a tune with each entry, though not necessarily my absolute favourite, as I've tried not to duplicate any previous postings. Here's the first batch....

16) Bill Wells & Friends - Nursery Rhymes

17) Four Tet - Morning/Evening

18) Ryley Walker - Primrose Green

19) Colleen - Captain of None

20) Föllakzoid - III

The Tracks Of My Year

I'm currently trying to hammer out a list of my favourite 10 albums of the year and as time wears on, I realise that it's a task I should've started a lot sooner. So while I'm mulling it over for the millionth time, here are 5 of my favourite individual tunes of 2015.

5. Drinks - Hermits on Holiday. When I posted this in May, blogging chum Swiss Adam memorably described it as 'weirdo lo-fi shit, in a good way'. Couldn't have put it better myself.

4. Lonelady - Hinterland. The scratchy post-punk-funk of Lonelady (think Gang of Four meet A Certain Ration) was pretty much the soundtrack to my year. One of my live highlights too.

3. Birds of Hell - Hometown Rage. This haunting lo-fi snapshot of Pete Murdoch's childhood concludes with a genuinely moving snatch of a 78rpm recording of his late Grandmother's voice, echoing down the years.

2. Daniel Knox - Blue Car. Singer, songwriter, part-time movie projectionist and Instagram artist extraordinaire, Daniel Knox played locally in March. Standing a couple of feet away from him as he sang the stunning 'Blue Car' was an absolute 2015 highlight.

1. This Is the Kit - Silver John. The lyrics are a gentle musing on the end of life as we know it, but in spite of the heavy subject matter, 'Silver John' is like a thick warm coat on a bitterly cold winter evening.

Reissues Of The Year - Richard Dawson

I have an ongoing and ever-growing list of artists who I'd quite like to see live. I also have a much shorter list of artists who I'm utterly desperate to see live. At the very top of this second list, surrounded by asterisks and underlined several times, are two words. Richard Dawson. I featured a handful of Richard's tunes in a post earlier in the year (here), a period when his profile was growing rapidly, but much of his back catalogue was nigh on impossible to track down. A couple of weeks ago, Weird World Records went some way to rectifying this deplorable state of affairs, when they reissued 2011's 'The Magic Bridge' and 2013's devilishly tricky to find, 'The Glass Trunk'. If you want to dip your toe, try 'The Magic Bridge', but both are just jawdroppingly great. With nothing more than his voice and a battered guitar, Richard Dawson can reduce you, sobbing, to your knees one minute and virtually pummel you into submission the next. It's extraordinary music made by an extraordinary man.

Here's 'Wooden Bag' from 'The Magic Bridge' and 'A Parents Address To His Firstborn Son On The Day Of His Birth' from 'The Glass Trunk'. I've also included an absorbing new 20 minute documentary, made during Richard's 2015 tour. Watch it and perhaps you'll appreciate why I'm so very anxious to see this man in concert.