2012

2012 is almost over, and, with the world about to end, I thought it was time I told you all what music I've liked this year, so we can all die happy and content. These are the albums that have soundtracked my year. They have moved me – some have picked me up, some have dragged me down, some have literally made me move – but all have played their part in my year in some way. As always, personal opinion this, music is subjective that, blah blah blah. Feedback is welcome as long as it's good.

1. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
2. Grimes – Visions
3. Poliça – Give You the Ghost
4. The Maccabees – Given to the Wild
5. Jack White – Blunderbuss
6. Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man
7. Richard Hawley – Standing at the Sky’s Edge
8. Jessie Ware – Devotion
9. Beach House – Bloom
10. The xx – Coexist

Honorable mentions to:

Chromatics – Kill for Love
Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
Crystal Castles – III
DIIV – Oshin
Egyptian Hip Hop – Good Don’t Sleep
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
Friends – Manifest!
Iamamiwhoami – Kin
Japandroids – Celebration Rock
John Talabot – Fin
Kindness – World, You Need a Change of Mind
Lower Dens – Nootropics
Lucy Rose – Like I Used To
The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know
Toy – Toy
Tribes – Baby

And, because 'tis the season of giving, here is a Spotify playlist of (most of) the songs I have particularly enjoyed this year. If you don't like at least some of it I will eat my hat*.



I've also seen some great live music this year, with highlights including Radiohead's amazing gig in October, finally seeing The Horrors in May, finally seeing Jack White front and centre in July, and Echo and the Bunnymen at Moseley Folk in August, not to mention some amazing support acts, with Daughter, Toy, First Aid Kit and Caribou springing to mind. 

Here's to next year, which promises to be another great year for music, including my first Glastonbury festival!

*I don't own any hats so therefore will not keep this promise

Cocteau Twins - Sugar Hiccup

Having vaguely been aware of Cocteau Twins, in particular Liz Fraser for her work with Massive Attack and Craig Armstrong, for a while, I finally gave them a listen recently, and one song in particular grabbed me and has dominated my listening ever since. Despite its lack of lyrical content, whenever I listen to Sugar Hiccup I find myself transported somewhere else, with its dreamy, ethereal swirling guitars and heavenly vocals soothing and drenching my ears in loveliness. Like all good things, it’s addictive, and I’ll admit that several times I have played this song on repeat for up to and over an hour. The definition of dream pop, this truly mesmerising piece of music is instantly one of my favourite songs.

Tame Impala - Elephant

Tame Impala are a band I’ve heard mentioned a lot over the last couple of years, and heard songs by, but never really nailed down much about them, until recently. It may just be a coincidence, but their new Beatles-esque album Lonerism has coincided with my own in-depth discovery of the fab four. Obviously I knew who The Beatles were and knew their singles, but only recently have I taken the time to discover their albums, and I’m glad I did.

Anyway, every review of Lonerism can’t help but make comparisons with The Beatles because singer Kevin Parker’s voice is so similar to that of John Lennon, admittedly not a bad person to sound like. Add  that to the psychedelic rock sound that he has developed with the band, and the video, and you may just forget just who you’re listening to. This song was the first single from the album released back in July. Enjoy.
 

Anticipating an austere autumn

As the frankly pathetic summer we’ve had nears its equally pathetic end, it isn’t all bad news. The lack of sun has meant a lack of (or need for) distinctly summery releases. But, an autumn of falling leaves, dark evenings and, if it’s possible, even more rain will soon provide an appropriately bleak background for the most anticipated releases of the coming months.

Whether it’s just my taste or not, it seems to be the autumn of the delicate and heart-breaking female vocalist. And I love nothing more than a pretty voice singing something miserable.

The xx have unveiled the first two songs from their long awaited second album, set to be released on 10 September. Angels, the album opener, is a typically sparse affair, built solely around Romy Madley Croft’s beautiful vocals. It’s a brave move by the band to release such a subtle song as their first new music in three years, especially with the mainstream success their debut went on to have after its Mercury win. But it has certainly rekindled my love for them.



Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes also returns, with her third album The Haunted Man released on 15 October. She debuted much of the album at a one off gig in July, and a fan-recorded video of one song went particularly viral. Lucky for us that song, Laura, became the album’s first single. A piano ballad in the same vein as Sad Eyes and The Bat’s Mouth from her debut, it is a devastating piece of music, with Natasha’s lyrics offering support to a friend lost in today’s celebrity culture. Hopes are high for the album after her two near-perfect releases to date.



Last but not least, an artist that I have written a lot about on this blog over the last year has released a new song, as their debut album draws ever nearer.

Daughter, a three piece led by vocalist Elena Tonra, have to date released two stunning EPs and embarked on several tours supporting artists such as Ben Howard and Benjamin Francis Leftwich. This week they announced the release of Smother, a new song that has been recorded at Abbey Road in the sessions for their album, alongside their first US tour and largest UK headline show to date. Smother itself is another affecting number of atmospheric guitars and melancholy lyrics. Released on 1 October, it will hopefully be soon followed by an album.

Autoheart - The Sailor Song

My 60th, and current, Jam is The Sailor Song, which has a rather strange history. Originally released as the debut single of The Gadsdens in 2009, it received rave reviews, being championed by Q, The Guardian and The Telegraph, as well as airplay on Radio 2 and 6 Music. In 2011, having released no further music, The Gadsdens became Autoheart, and still the wait for more music as blindingly beautiful as this song goes on. I heard this recently through its ongoing exposure on 6 Music, and it has quickly cemented itself as one of my favourite songs. While half of me is thankful for such a song, the other half desperately longs for more from this clearly talented band. Still, it won't be easy to top this.



*UPDATE

After posting a link to this blog on Twitter yesterday, I received the following lovely response from Autoheart, and it's good news, with an album completed and on the way soon. The guys were even nice enough to give me a RT :)

Tanlines – Brothers

Another band off Brooklyn’s seemingly never-ending cool band production belt, Tanlines
are Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm, and they fit into the synth pop bracket, as most of my favourite new music does these days. Named after the studio it was recorded in, this song’s crashing waves of synths, pulsing bass and thumping percussion provide a blissful background for the brilliantly downcast vocal. And the video showcases the multi-instrumentalism behind this talented new band. See an interactive version of the video, allowing you to move the camera, here.

Craft Spells – Your Tomb

This perfectly short slice of retro indie pop comes from California four-piece Craft Spells. The entwining twinkly synths and lo-fi guitars contrasting with the brilliantly unassuming and distant vocals create a sound that I find compelling. It has a similar 80s feeling that bands such as The Drums, Wild Nothing and Crystal Stilts have been channelling to great success. From the album Idle Labour, released this time last year, I may have missed the boat somewhat, but it's better late than never.

Beach House - Myth

This song, the first to be released from Beach House's forthcoming fourth album Bloom,
is an early contender for song of the year for me. I’m not ashamed to admit that during
a particularly bad day, not long after I first heard this about a month ago, I put this song
on and ended up listening to it about ten times back to back. The fact it makes me feel something different each time I listen makes it extraordinary, it's a chameleon of a song,
at times uplifting, at times perfect to wallow to. I hope it works its wonders for you too.

Grimes - Oblivion

This song from quirky Canadian Claire Boucher, aka Grimes is taken from her excellent album Visions. I love the contrast of her beautifully incomprehensible vocal melodies with the electronic beats and droning synths in this song. The video is strangely great too, with the odd juxtaposition of her electronica and a sports arena working well. I like the haphazard nature of the video too, with confused and drunk people  interrupting, giving
strange looks and even getting involved, and the fact no one seems to know who she is.