A Dozen From 2018

For a number of reasons, my head hasn't really been in the blogging game for some time now. Having said that, over at Before the Streets Were Aired (my other place), I'm just about to sail through the 1100 consecutive daily posts mark - where did that time go? Meanwhile, here on the good ship Unthought of Though Somehow, I'm doing my best to keep the blighter afloat by joining in with the weekly Monday Long Song fun, at the very least. Where to from here? I couldn't really say right at the moment.

I can say that it's been a very good year for music though. At the end of both 2016 and 2017 I bemoaned the fact that I'd spent the previous 12 months listening to more old music than new, but I'm pleased to report that that particular trend has reversed in 2018 and I ended up with a long-list of around 40 albums to choose from for selection in this year's round-up. Tomorrow I might pull a slightly different handful of records from the shelves, but for now, for today, (in alphabetical order) here are twelve of the many LPs that rocked my world in 2018. I've included a few tunes at the end, but click on the individual links to learn/hear more.

AMOR - Sinking Into a Miracle The first of two Richard Youngs related releases on this list, both issued within the past month. The Glasgow collective follow their incendiary pair of 2017 12" singles with a stonking debut LP. Mutant disco anyone?

The Coke Dares - Fake Lake 35 superbly crafted songs, bursting with more ideas than many bands can boast in the course of an entire career.

Hen Ogledd - Mogic Experimental, sonically diverse, genre defying.

Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples  A melodic, wonky, woozy, groove fest from start to finish.

Kiki Pau - Hiisi  From melancholic pastoral loveliness to full-on poly-rhythmic wigouts and beyond, interspersed with occasional soothing birdsong interludes - what's not to love?

Kungens Män - Fuzz på Svenska  Dark, intense and, let's be honest, pretty darned noisy. Sweden's finest.

Massage - Oh Boy Do you, like me, love bands like The Feelies, The Go-Betweens & The Clean and music released on labels like Sarah Records and Flying Nun? Of course you do, in which case you'll probably love 'Oh Boy' too.

Minami Deutsch - With Dim Light  Early 1970s German inspired tuneage from Japan.

Brigid Mae Power - The Two Worlds A remarkable album that creates and inhabits its own universe. Gothic, hymn-like, confessional and fairly harrowing in places.

Regal Worm - Pig Views 21st Century prog. I've probably said enough.

Alasdair Roberts - What News Another year, another remarkable Alasdair Roberts LP. His first of solely traditional songs since 2010.

Richard Youngs - Memory Ain't No Decay Only issued last week, the 5th of Richard's eight 2018 releases I've picked up this year - and it's very possibly the best of the lot. I've already pre-ordered his next LP, due in January.

Albums Of The Year 2016 - Part 2, 1-10

So to my favourite 10 albums of 2016. In truth, some of the positions on this list (and on Part 1 here) could be interchangeable, depending on my mood - the Top 5, however, is set in stone.

10) Julia Jacklin - Don't Let the Kids Win

 An extremely strong and assured debut from this Australian singer/songwriter. Highly recommended.

 

9) Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion

The pastoral folk of Meg Baird from Espers, meets the crunching electric wig-out of Ethan Miller and Noel Von Harmonson from Comets on Fire. Like Sandy Denny jamming with a full throttle Crazy Horse.



8) Hintermass - The Apple Tree

Jon Brooks (from The Advisory Circle and Pattern Forms) and Tim Felton (from the much missed Broadcast) concoct an album that combines big dollops of pastoral loveliness with occasional splodges of gentle blippy weirdness.

7) Nick Cave - Skeleton Tree

Stark, beautiful, devastating.

   

6) David Bowie - Blackstar 

If I'm lucky enough to still be around in 20 years time and am questioned, by an as yet unborn whippersnapper, about the defining music of 2016, I'll simply whizz over to my hologramic record collection on my trusty hoverscooter and play them 'Blackstar'. And even in 2036, I've no doubt I'll still break down in tears when 'I Can't Give Everything Away' kicks in.

   

5) Community Radio - Look Now You're Cursed 

The third of four Australian acts in my Top 10. Hats off to Brian for introducing me to these guys. 'Look Now You're Cursed' is chock full of superior guitar pop. I'm running out of superlatives - listen to it and buy it here!

   

4) 75 Dollar Bill - Wood/Metal/Plastic/Rhythm/Rock 

Much like the Our Solar System album mentioned in Part 1, I can get lost in this one for hours. Swipe me, it's fantastic! Essentially a duo, 75 Dollar Bill move freely between Malian desert blues, Indian drones, Mississippi delta stomps plus all points in-between and either side. I'm delighted to see 'Wood/Metal/Plastic/Rhythm/Rock' turning up on so many end of year best-of lists - all thoroughly deserved accolades. (Sample the whole LP here)
 

3) Chook Race - Around the House 

I've been banging on about 'Around the House' for the last few months to anyone who'll listen. Even if no-one's listening, I still bang on about it. Check out this poptastic lo-fi jangle-fest for yourself (here) and you'll fall in love with it too. (Please come and tour the UK guys.)
 

(.........and there's nothing between the top two, so..... )

=1) Alasdair Roberts & James Green - Plaint of Lapwing 

Alasdair Roberts' work may be rooted in the folk tradition, but actually extends far beyond mere genre limitations. 'Plaint of Lapwing' is a collaboration with James Green of The Big Eyes Family Players and is released on Clay Pipe Music, a London based label run by illustrator Frances Castle. This album sits easily among Alasdair's finest, the warm analogue feel of the record belying the file-sharing nature of its creation. Never one to stand still, in 2016 Alasdair also contributed to 'Wild Hog', the lovely second album by The Furrow Collective and already has a new solo collection, 'Pangs', prepared for release at the end of February 2017.
 

=1) David Thomas Broughton - Crippling Lack 

When you fall under David Thomas Broughton's unique spell (as I did in 2005 with 'The Complete Guide To Insufficiency'), you're in it for the long haul. Broughton is part superb singer-songwriter, part avant-garde performance artist - his sonorous baritone, guitar and various electronic gizmos are looped, dissected and reassembled to inject sometimes spontaneous elements to each individual performance. 'Crippling Lack' is a huge undertaking for both artist and listener. Three slabs of vinyl weighing in at a hefty 100 minutes - featuring guest turns from the likes of Beth Orton, Rachael Dadd and Aidan Moffat - though crucially, not a single second is wasted. A towering work. (Check out the full album here.)

 

Albums Of The Year 2016 - Part 1, 11-20

In 2016, for the first time that I can remember, I reckon I listened to more old records than new. If you knew me, you'd know what a tough thing that is for me to admit. Is it my age or a reflection of the terrible year we've endured? I don't know. What I do know is that, judging by a few of the other year-end round-ups that I've been keeping an eye on, I've missed out on some good stuff. Rest assured though, they're all on my never-ending list - I'll get to them, eventually.

So anyway, here's the first part of my album rundown - I'll put the Top 10 up between Christmas and New Year.

20) King Creosote - Astronaut Meet Appleman

One of three albums issued by KC in 2016 (I featured a wonderful song from another of them here). Whatever the quantity, the quality never drops.

   

19) Teleman - Brilliant Sanity 

An album that revealed its charms to me gradually. I was unsure about 'Brilliant Sanity' on release. How wrong I was.

   

18) Ette - Homemade Lemonade 

A fine pop record that, for me, just pipped 'Say It All With a Kiss', by Carla's other band TeenCanteen, also released this year. I'd be very happy to see either or both bands undertake proper UK tours in 2017.
 

17) Marisa Anderson - Into the Light 

A solo album in the truest sense, with every instrument played by Anderson who describes the LP as '...an imaginary soundtrack to a science-fiction western'.
   

16) Meilyr Jones - 2013 

A rumination on a tumultuous year that saw the end of his band, Race Horses, and his personal relationship. Baroque flourishes jostle with big pop songs - and pop songs don't come much bigger than one I featured in an earlier post (here). Here's another one.

   

15) Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker? 

One of two incredibly dignified musical exits this year, though of course the other was a great deal more shocking to us all. 'You Want it Darker?' is almost unbearably poignant, showing an artist at the peak of his powers until the very end.

   

14) Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression  

The surprise of 2016. 20 years after the last Iggy record of any substance, this terrific LP came out of nowhere. A full artistic rebirth or a full stop? Time will tell.

   

 13) Kikagaku Moyo - House in the Tall Grass 

A comparatively recent arrival, discovered via a comment on a post over at Is This the Life and rarely far from my reach since then.

    

12) Ryley Walker - Golden Sings That Have Been Sung 

I found myself a little underwhelmed with this album to begin with, though something kept pulling me back to it again and again - seeing Ryley transform the songs in a live setting no doubt helped me appreciate the bigger picture. Remember the days when we gave every new LP in our collection this much time and how richly we were rewarded for our efforts?

   

 11) Our Solar System - In Time 

Brooklyn's marvellously named Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records have put out some extraordinary records this year, though none has been played to death by yours truly quite so much as 'In Time' by Stockholm's Our Solar System. Consisting of two long pieces, we're talking 'interstellar jazz-rock' here if you believe the blurb, though that description doesn't begin to do the music that this band makes any justice at all. It's the sort of album that could see you overshoot your destination should you choose to play it in the car - I know, I've done it.

 

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