Top Records - May/June 2011

Well, my resolution to post at least 2 blog posts a week on here has unfortunately fallen to pieces in the last couple of months, which has saddened me greatly. There are various reasons behind that, a main one being my A-Level Exams, which are now over and done with. However, since they've been finished, the traditional summer holiday conundrum of having just TOO MUCH free time has hit me hard in the productivity balls.

Also, putting this list together was a bit of a sad experience seeing as I've been especially skint over the past few months and so my ability to buy new albums has been significantly impeded. Still, there are a few who have made it through, bringing me a lot of delight over the past couple of months. Here's what's been delighting my ear drums!

Cults by Cults

Cults popped tweely onto everybody's radar last year, yet another indie pop band citing "60s girl group vocals" as one of their main influences. It felt as if it was only a matter of time until The Shangrilas and Martha and The Vandellas lost their patience and merged together into some kind of giant Power Rangers zoid to exact some copyright vengeance on the indie pop scene, but, despite the overload of such music, Cults' self titled debut album really is delightful. Signature tracks "Oh My God" and "Go Outside" are still present (a good thing, as they're still two of the band's best songs), but there's plenty more to go round. Opener "Abducted" is arguably the best thing on there (my dad likes it!) - a rhythm that's just begging you to clap your hands, lashings of hot xylophone and one of the most kick-ass band entries I've ever heard. The constant interplay of male and female lead vocals from Brian Oblivion and Madeline Folin never ceases to be exciting. If you like your pop music catchy, sweet and edgy, this is a must this year.

The Forsaken Elm by Ghosthorse

Ghosthorse began their inevitable career as cult heroes in 2010 with the very limited release of their long gestating debut album The Shoal. The Chessington based duo proved to be the most exciting arrival to the noise music scene in quite some time, utilising an entire multimedia campaign orchestrated by member Michael Bateman, spanning across YouTube and Twitter, as well as allegations of an eventually unsuccessful endorsement of UK cereal "Nougat Pillows". However, their second album is undoubtedly a vastly more mature work, and will perhaps be the band's masterpiece. It's an album which, unlike most noise music (let's be honest) is actually highly enjoyable in many places, adding a whole array of new textures to the band's sound ("The Raft", "Butterfly House", the latter sounding a bit like the music that plays when you're in the tower in Lavender Town in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow) The duo are comfortably astride both the philosophical side of things in "Five Point Calvinism", as well as the comical side in "Fake Dad/Fraudulent Father", the latter probably the album's highlight. It sees Ashley Watkinson (traditionally the man who stays behind the synths) taking on spoken word duties, almost eclipsing the primal howls of Michael Bateman. A cult essential.

Demolished Thoughts by Thurston Moore

I have major love for Sonic Youth, and so I was exceptionally excited when I heard that frontman Thurston Moore was releasing another solo album, produced by no less than Beck! It really was call for a bit of an indiegasm. When the first track "Benediction" was made available, I fell in love instantly. Thurston ditched the discordance and harsh screeching and garbled lyrics about anything from consumerism to serial killers, and picked up an acoustic guitar to write lush, beautiful love songs. Thurston is one of the most influential guitarists of all time, and his sheer skill is displayed in the outstanding, melodic finger picking on this album (even though Thurston himself has been critical of his skill with an acoustic) The lush "Illuminine" is a highlight, and showcases Beck's production skills in the divine string section, which fades away into ambience. There are moments like "Circulation" when Thurston returns to thumping, rock and roll mode, with slightly atonal riffing, but it works perfectly somehow, backed up by sparse but strong strings. This album is a light, airy beauty, and will be perfect for long summer evenings.

Bon Iver by Bon Iver

This really is an album where I wonder what I can possibly say. I fell in love with Bon Iver the moment I saw Justin Vernon perform "Skinny Love" on Jools Holland a few years ago. Heck, the whole musical world fell in love with him upon the release of For Emma, Forever Ago. His debut was indescribably poignant, and could still go down as a modern classic. People liked to play up the whole "he recorded it alone in the woods with nothing but a Swiss Army Knife and a mandolin made from bear skulls and the strung flesh of an Elk" aspect of the album's recording, but it was, I think, perfect. So the pressure was on for his follow-up. Bon Iver is different in a huge number of ways from Justin Vernon's debut - but good grief is it still brilliant! There has been a huge departure from the lonely, solo aspect of the first album and Bon Iver has no expanded to a full band who have a near unparalleled mastery of musical texture. Opener "Perth" swells majestically, every new instrument becoming another essential layer of the track - crashing drums, ebullient brass, impassioned vocals. Texture, rather than song structure, is the focus of the album, but it never feels aimless or noodly. It's just jaw droppingly beautiful, one of those albums that takes you to a whole other place. The lyrics are a sparse, cryptic affair ("And all at once I knew I was no magnificent, strayed above the highway aisle. Jagged vacancy, think with ice, but I could see for miles, miles, miles, miles"), but gradually you decipher them and crack the melancholy and heartbreak which is the centre of the album. Stunning.

Suck It And See by Arctic Monkeys

I'll call it now, this will likely end up my top album of the year. I can't conceive of a situation which would place it outside of the Top 3. You might remember my distress and heartbreak when the crass "Brick By Brick" was the Arctic's first preview of this album, but my worries have been shown to have a foundation more insubstantial than Casper the Friendly Ghost's left nut. Suck It And See is a total dream, the most mature Arctic Monkeys record to the date. It still has "Brick By Brick" on it, but in the context of the rest of the album's articulate, evocative brilliance, I can understand its place as just a bit of fun. Alex Turner's songwriting has reached a new level of love-steeped insight and maturity, showcased perfectly in "Love Is A Laserquest" and "That's Where You're Wrong". His voice has beocme the seductive, airy croon which we've always sensed he had in him since Favourite Worst Nightmare. Lyrically, he's reached something of a perfect medium between the cryptic imagery on Humbug and his more accessible writing on the first two albums - and he's probably written some of his best lines here - "that's not a skirt girl, that's a sawn-off shotgun, and I can only hope you've got it aimed at me". That line comes from the album's title track, which is possibly the best song on here, and proves (as do many other tracks) that the Arctics are the master of THE BIG CHORUS. Also, the instrumental performances really are stunning here. Matt Helders' drumming brilliance has been evident for a very long time, but Jamie Cook's guitar playing reaches a new level here, and Andy Nicholson's nimble bass lines are incredibly important in holding the 60s influenced tracks together. I will admit, I love the Arctics with a passion. They're the band of my generation. I loved Humbug, even though many fell away upon its release. I watched with a fully acknowledged self-satisfaction as they did. The same is happening with Suck It And See, though to a lesser degree. It's sad that the world is still full of people who want an impossible repeat of the first album. But with every album, the Arctics have only ever sounded more like themselves. Suck It And See just takes them to the next, brilliant stage.

Honourable Mentions:
- Goblin by Tyler, The Creator
- Black Up by Shabazz Palaces. Still getting to grips with this.
- All Eternals Deck by The Mountain Goats. (Released in March, but took me a while to get round to. Love it all over, will be in my top albums of 2011 no doubt)
- Burst Apart by The Antlers. I don't see what all the critical adulation is for, but it's not bad.

In terms of older stuff I've been revisiting:
- The entire catalogue of The Smiths, again and again and again and again...
- Regular doses of Los Campesinos! Driving fast in a friend's car with Romance Is Boring blaring out was a beautiful moment.
- Frank Sinatra. Although Frank and his big band/jazz cohorts don't get too many mentions on my blog, they were my first love, and Ol' Blue Eyes would still give The Smiths a run for their money as my favourite artists of all time

For the future, the most anticipated release of 2011 for me now is Laura Marling's third album due out September 13th. Let's hope perfection strikes three times!

My 10 Favourite Indie/Alternative Guitarists

I'm a huge fan of lists. Reading them, writing them, passing comment on them, theorising about them. It surprises me then that it's been some time since I last posted a list on my favourite of anything. So I thought it was high time I picked one of the many lists that floats aimlessly around my head on a regular basis and put it to paper. Or the internet.

Based on my current listening habits, and discussions I often have with myself, I thought I'd share my 10 favourite indie/alternative guitarists. I don't want to get too theoretical about that title by the way. Let's waste no time defining indie and alternative - any of us with any musical sense know in our heart of hearts what we're on about. One key stipulation though is this: there is a difference between what I hold as my FAVOURITE of something and what I regard as the BEST of something. I hold strongly to the truth that, in music at least, there are objective bests. Music that is factualyl, for various reasons, better than other music. But that's a very long discussion for another day. For now, these are my favourites. The ones that tickle my current fancy. Care to share yours after?

10. Alex Turner

As frontman of Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner is most often hailed for his songwriting abilities, lyrical genius and eternally stunning vocal delivery - all of which deserve the prasie they receive of course. But behind that, people forget that that, despite the fact that band mate Jamie Cook is officially on lead guitar, Alex is the man behind all of the most beloved moments of Arcitc fretwork. The intros of "A Certain Romance" and "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", the riffs of "Teddy Picker", "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and so many more, the epic shreddery of "Brianstorm". The Arctics were rightly hailed as the best of a new generation of British guitar groups, and the Alex Turner was the one with his fingers changing history on the fretboard.

9. Nick Drake

Now, this is a bit of a cheat. Nick's one of the most famous folk musicians of all time, hardly an indie kid, but I feel he falls firmly enough in an "alternative" kind of taste, and plus, he never gets recognition for his brilliant guitar playing. Like Alex Turner, the focus with Nick is always on his song writing and lyricism, but people overlook the fact he was a stunningly gifted, nimble fingered guitarist. The sound he created with just an acoustic guitar in his hands was mindblowingly beautiful. It was so full, so rounded and always flowed with a seamless grace that, in my mind, is unrivalled amongst folk musicians. "From The Morning", "Cello Song", "Introduction" and "Time Has Told Me" are all gorgeous examples of what this man could do with a guitar. His death at 26 is one of the most tragic musical deaths in my mind, but his legacy has grown steadily over the years, and you can hear his indelible influence in the music of the new generation of folk artists like Laura Marling.

8. Albert Hammond Jr.

If you were creating a list of the 10 BEST indie guitarists, Albert would be a heavyweight contender for a top spot. Back in 2001, The Strokes' exuberant, fuzzy, fresh faced indie rock hammered life into a music scene which was rolling in its own commercialised filth, still hungover from Britpop and grunge. The garage rock simplicity of "Last Nite" set the indie world on fire and the saviours had arrived. With their debut Is This It?, an album based on the insistent riffs and solos of dear old Albert, they changed the face of any guitar rock which has emerged since. The success of any bunch of white kids with guitar in their hands since 2001 is attributable entirely to The Strokes and how, with Albert at the guitar helm, they changed the sound of indie rock. "Take It Or Leave It", "New York City Cops" and "Someday" all sound as fresh as they did 10 years ago, even if their new material doesn't quite measure up. Rarely has someone called Albert ever been this badass.

7. Stevie Jackson

This is probably a name that will illicit a few "huh?"s from a lot of people, even fans of indie music. Jackson is the lead guitarist of Belle & Sebastian, probably the only band who could ever be called "twee-pop giants". Belle & Sebastian have a love-it-or-hate-it kind of sound, but Jackson's squeaky clean, lushly reverberating guitar lines are an instrumental part. People who are familiar with Belle & Sebastian can find it easy to perceive the group as simply "the Stuart Murdoch project", just an outlet for the creative juices of their frontman. Indeed, the first few albums were just that. He is still the drivign creative force, but the band have been growing ever stronger as a unit since 1998's The Boy With The Arab Strap. Whether through his own compositions or the embellishments laid on top of Murdoch's songs, Jackson's guitar work is one of the most defining features of the band's sound. Melancholy, romantic and gorgeously retro, it just hits a sweet spot in me every time - the sublime riff of "I'm A Cuckoo" and the huge sound of the guitar on "Another Sunny Day" are my personal favourites, but his embellishments are so nuanced and integral to the sound of a classic band that picking his best moments is a difficult, difficult task. The sound he's carved for himself has been an inspiration to countless bookish, hopelessly romantic teenagers craving something sweet and clean in the world.

6. Bill Ryder Jones

Now, our Bill inhabits a similar realm to Stevie Jackson in that his guitar work in The Coral sits side by side the stunning songwriting of frontman James Skelly, being just as integral in crafting the sound of one of Britain's must under appreciated bands of the past 10 years. The band first exploded onto the scene in 2002 with the timeless "Dreaming of You", with Ryder-Jones' scratchy jangles and nifty little solo helping to truly cement the song's magic, to such an extent that his guitar work on the rest of their self titled debut gets overlooked. The sweeping clang of opener "Spanish Main" was a pretty decisive statment about how prevalent he was going to be on the album, and indeed he was. As the band came into their own psychadelic way of doing things on subsequent albums, Ryder-Jones only flourished in crafting a distinctively decorative, warm, jangly sound. Some of the places that his sound shines brightest might be "Put The Sun Back" and "Bill McCai" but, again, his guitarwork doesn't showcase itself in specific moments but in its stunning role in The Coral's overall sound. Shame he left before the band's last album, Butterfly House. I hope he's got more up his sleeve.

5. Jonny Greenwood

Jonny Greenwood is one of those guitarist who you come to describe and you just think "what words are there?" Radiohead are a band who have become so revered that it's hip on the nth level to dislike them, and to class them as one of your favourite bands is often to be regarded as someone with a fairly unadventurous taste in indie music. They're one of the few genuinely huge indie bands of the last few decades, and, whether you think that's a cause for celebration as it demonstrates some mild remnants of taste clinging on for dear life in the vacuous, post-Armageddon corridors of the general public, or a cause for woe indicating how people think all you need is some weirdo dancing like an electrocuted halibut and making strange wailing noises to be artistic, there's no denying that Jonny Greenwood and his revolutionary guitar work have been part of the beating heart of the band. The bleak screeches of "Paranoid Android" still send electric shocks up spines the world over. The scorching wails of "Just" just kick arse every time. Even though there's been an auspicious decline in the amount of obvious guitar work on Radiohead records in recent years, 2007's In Rainbows showed that Jonny hadn't lost any of his guitar finesse whilst he'd been arsing about with that ondes martinot. Even the few splashings of guitar present of most recent release The Kings of Limbs were inspired, and proved, to me at least, that one of the best things about Radiohead has always been the guitars.

4.Tom Campesinos!

Not his real name of course, Tom Campesinos! joins with the rest of his bandmates from Los Campesinos! in keeping his full name a secret, opting instead to mark himself out with a Ramones style mark of loyalty to the band. Los Campesinos! are one of my favourite bands of all time and, for a band who only released their first LP in 2008, the intense love that their fanbase feels for them is terrifying. I think they have the destiny of becoming a true cult classic band and, like many bands in that bracket, their sound is a love-it-or-hate-it affair. It's overwhelming, cacophonous and lyrically as blunt and (sometimes) uncomfortable as being beaten to death by a large, metal-alloy statue of one of your ex-lovers. Tom's guitar lines are at the heart of the band's punchy, abrasively euphoric sound, and they consistently have the kind of earworming quality which causes them to be chanted back to the band at gigs - see "Death to Los Campesinos!", "You! Me! Dancing!", "Straight In At 101" and plenty more for evidence. The band have released 3 albums in 3 years, an astonishing feat in itself, but made all the more impressive by the maturation of their sound on all fronts, including Tom's guitar work. Last year's Romance Is Boring had a stunningly unified sound, with the guitar work underpinning the albums most emotionally intense moments, notably fan favourite "The Sea is A Good Place To Think Of The Future".

3. Lee Ranaldo/Thurston Moore

It doesn't get much more alternative than this does it? I've cheated a bit here and put the two Sonic Youth heavyweights as one entry, but that's because the interplay between their guitars is so awesome and integral to Sonic Youth's sound that the pair's work is inseparable in my mind. Sonic Youth formed out of the largely pretentious no-wave/noise scene in 1980s New York, and, after trying a few other guitarists, Thurston and his girlfriend Kim Gordon met Ranaldo and were buzzing about the work he'd done with avant-rock afficionado Glenn Branca. Sonic Youth, with Ranaldo in particular, were obsessed with exploring the possibilities of SOUND, rather than just the standard notes a guitar was expected to produce. This meant that they employed heavy use of alternate tunings, which, when the band began to gain prominence as a popular rock group, was fairly off the wall. The band have always been and will continue to be explorers of the sonic world, but their music has always been grounded firmly in song writing, stemming from a love artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Thurston's fetish faves, The Carpenters. This marriage of noise and experimentation with structured and pop influenced song writing essentially birthed altnerative rock as we know it. The ripples caused by albums like Daydream Nation is untold. Whilst their have been more than a few moments where they've disappeared up their own arse, it's all been done in the name of taking guitar music to a new level. There are plenty of great guitarists in the world, but it's very rare that someone comes along and turns the guitar into something new entirely, reinventing it for a new generation. But that's exactly what Thurston and Lee did. The ultimate guitar anti-heroes.

2. Graham Coxon

Choosing between Graham and my number one was a heck of a challenge. There's just nothing I do not love about this man and what he does with the guitar. Again, as the axe man of Blur, he's one of those guitarists who can sometimes get lost in the shadow of the band's front man, Damon Albarn. Graham is, from my knowledge of guitarists, the most underrated of them all. Nearly everything that fell of his fretboard in Blur, and in most of his solo output as well, is just gold. "Beetlebum", "No Distance Left To Run", "Coffee & TV", "Tender". "SONG 2!" Genius. Sheer, unabashed, irresistible genius. Even album cuts like "Bank Holiday" or "Badhead" have this subtly magical charm about them. He never blasted out with neanderthal like solos like Noel Gallagher. He preferred the wryest, most cleverly placed bits of fretwork, which Damon Albarn described as "more like anti-solos". His solo material however has proved that he can wail with the best of them - "Spectacular", "You & I" and "Freakin' Out" all being beloved, punk influenced gems. He's even demonstrated his terrifying dexterity with an acoustic guitar on 2009 album The Spinning Top. Graham's sound has had such an influence on British indie bands in the past 10 years and, even if it hadn't, it's never anything less than a joy to listen to.

1. Johnny Marr

Well, here we are. I said at the start that I resolutely distinguish between the BEST of something and my personal FAVOURITE of something but, in this case, my favourite is also the best. There is not another man who can ever be said to have more of influence on indie guitar music. Ever. Being part of The Smiths, our Johnny is probably top of the class when it comes to putting up with the reputation of your frontman, but that never seemed to stop the two of them creating indie music as we know it. Inspired by the likes of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, Jonny engineered a trademark "jangly" sound which could soundtrack every area of The Smiths' emotionally panoramic catalogue. I very rarely agree with Noel Gallagher, but one of the few times I have was about Johnny Marr: "There's nothing he can't do with a guitar". The Smiths (well, Morrissey) possess that strange aura of being both at once romantically understated - the backbone of the indie aesthetic - and subtly flamboyant. That's as evident in Marr's guitar work as it is in Morrissey's lyrics and personality. The dexterity of the guitar parts on songs like "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side", "Ask" or "This Charming Man" is just sensational, yet never exhibitionist. "How Soon Is Now?" has one of the most cataclysmically bleak and massive riffs ever, and yet somehow, through Johnny's magic, heavenly touch, it never becomes overbearing. His sound is just so engrossing and enveloping, whilst still being technically unrivalled in modern music. Morrissey's introspective and terrifyingly clever lyrics were the beating heart of The Smiths, but Johnny Marr's guitar work was the flesh and bone that wrapped it up and gave the band form. Without The Smiths and without Johnny Marr, no-oe on this list (apart from predecessor Nick Drake and contemporaries Sonic Youth) would have ever started making the music they do. The Smiths are, like many acts on this list, a love-or-hate kind of band. I'm firmly in love but, even if you're not, there is no arguing, in any sphere of existence, theoretical or otherwise, that Johnny Marr is the greatest indie guitarist of all time. As well as my favourite.

Top Records - March/April 2011

I said the same at the start of my last review of my listening habits for 2011, but I'm utterly terrified by how fast the year is moving. It's a matter of weeks until my school life is finished, mere months until I fly the nest and head off to university. Yikes. But let's not think about that just yet!

2011, however fast it's gone for you, has continued to rack up some brilliant releases. There are some releases I've been excited about for months, others I knew nothing about when I first came to them. Here's what's been tickling my musical fancy so far this spring!

Build a Rocket Boys! by Elbow

Ever since discovering them through their last album, The Seldom Seen Kid, my heart has been fluttering in rib breaking anticipation at the thought of this album. I wrote a review of it back in March and my glowing opinion hasn't changed. It's bettered if anything. The whole album just keeps on giving. Words like "beautiful", "startling" and "gorgeous" just really don't seem to do it justice. The whole thing just aches with emotion. It feels so REAL. I think it ultimately comes down to Guy Garvey's heartbreakingly colloquial turns of phrase that make songs like "Dear Friends", "With Love", "Lippy Kids" and "Jesus is a Rochdale Girl" feel so sublimely real that it's as if he's sat across the table from you, sharing a reminiscent, teary eyed pint.

What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? by The Vaccines

The Vaccines were always going to find a mixed reception with the album. Discovered and hyped up to the nth degree by the NME, that's always enough to turn a vast amount of the music loving community against a band. However, at the end of the day, all the pretentious twits who want to occupy themselves with over analysing the relevance of guitar bands in 2011, or get hung up on their middle class backgrounds can carry on doing so. I'll be over in the corner singing along to an album where every single song is, quite simply, a cracker. I can't remember the last time I heard an album where every song was as gloriously captivating and singalongable as this. The already popular "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" and anthemic "Post Break-Up Sex" speak for themselves, but even the album cuts soar, especially my personal favourites "A Lack of Understanding" and "Norgaard". Best of all, they manage to perfectly nail catchy guitar pop without ever sounding stoopid or convoluted. Just fun and free. Death to the haters.

Belong by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

I never really got round to The Pains of Being Pure At Heart when they first emerged in 2009. However, the level of excite surrounding the announcement of this, their second album, made me determined to give it a go. My oh my! It's a strong departure from the sound of their debut, anyone could tell you that (and for some, that's enough to put them off of it) but, as far as I can see, this record is, for lack of a better word, majestic. Gleaming walls of keyboards, pounding and and drums, cataclysmic buzzing guitars - this record is huge. It really reminds me of The Cure, circa Disintegration, except with a heck of a lot less self loathing. The breakneck, euphoric energy of tracks like "Heart in Your Hearbtreak" or "Terrible Friend" make this an album to play with the windows down and the speedometer up. It's a relief really that a band can make music in 2011 that's showered in sentiment, distortion and breathy vocals but still sound as if they have some substance.

Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li

Lykke Li was another act I never really got the first time round. She always seemed like a bit of an also-ran to me, though I don't know why. Therefore, when the excitement around the release of her second album reached mouth-foaming levels, I was pretty intrigued and thought I'd give her a second chance. Well folks, it's albums like this that make me think giving acts a second chance is still worthwhile. This album is full of stunningly penned songs, primarily exploring the darker side of love. The first track I heard was the pounding "Get Some", which storms along over fat, swung drum beats which instantly reminded me of big band classic "Sing Sing Sing". In fact, a lot of this album sounds pretty retro, and I can just imagine it flowing out of a crackly wireless somewhere in the 50s - especially my personal favourite track, the ballad "Unrequited Love". Despite the sadness and melancholy that hangs over the album, Lykke Li always manages to sound effortlessly alluring and sultry - "I Follow Rivers", "Jerome" and the aforementioned "Get Some" being cases in point. This album could become a classic my friends.

Submarine by Alex Turner

Now this isn't exactly an album, but it's still featured extensively in my listening over recent weeks. Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner penned the soundtrack for the recent film Submarine (which I saw - brilliant!), directed by Richard Ayoade, who's directed several Arctic music videos in the past. I posted about my reaction the first track made available from the soundtrack a while ago, and it suffices to say that the rest of the songs didn't disappoint. The breathy and sensual "Stuck on the Puzzle" is a perfect showcase for Turner's ability to highlight the tiny little details in life which are loaded with potency, possibility and personality. The whole song is wrapped up in carefully placed layers of details and metaphor which you can pick away at and think about for hours on end. The other tracks leave Turner alone with just an acoustic guitar, and that's always been a treat over the years. His storytelling knack is as strong as ever on the enchanting "It's Hard to Get Around The Wind" and the gorgeously romantic "Hiding Tonight" perfectly captures the mood of impetuous, impossible promises made in a teenage romance. Not bad for background music eh?

Honourable Mentions
Daydreams & Nightmares by Those Dancing Days
Blue Suicide by Coma Cinema
Smoke Ring for My Halo by Kurt Vile
Tomboy by Panda Bear

There's been plenty of older stuff that's I've had on repeat as well:
- Talk Talk Talk by The Psychedelic Furs
- Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
- Paul Simon by Paul Simon
- The first 3 Kings of Leon albums. Those were the days.
- Prolific returns to the Arctic Monkeys back catalogue!
- Blonde on Blonde era Bob Dylan. Perfect for these new sunny days.
- The Carpenters. So much Carpenters. One of the best bands ever, so I was reminded!

There's plenty more stuff to come this year - the new Arctic Monkeys album springs to mind first of all. But there's plenty of unheard of stuff to be discovered. And hey, time may be moving fast in 2011, but we're not even half way yet!

Top Records - January/February 2011

Goodness gracious I can't believe it's March already. It's been an eventful couple of months. Exams, blogging, gigs, the whole of North Africa deciding it's time for a new world order. It's all been going on. But I thought I'd take this opportunity, now that a sixth (A SIXTH! That's like 16.5%!) of the year has passed, to share with you the 5 main records from this year that have been dominating my listening habits. There's plenty of tracks I've been listening to as well, and albums that I have yet to buy, but here's what I've had my hands on especially:

The King is Dead by The Decemberists


I'd never really listened to The Decemberists a great deal before this year, but I got my hands on this album through my involvement with the awesome music blog Tympanogram. This is such a lovely record. It bagged a surprise #1 spot over in America and, whilst that might partly be because it was available pretty cheap on Amazon, it is a record that you can fall in love with. It's lush, sweet, heartfelt and with a disarming charm, and sounds like a cross between REM and early Neil Young. I think that disarming charm is key and it's what keeps me listening even when I know parts of the album sound embarassingly countryfied or like a Randy Newman offcut for Pixar. Colin Meloy's voice is just so lovely and uncomplicated, and he's a pretty deft lyricist on this album - humble, honest, insightful. And he comes across as a genuinely nice guy (and not in a pathetic, "would you like some of my cous-cous", Chris Martin style way). Favourite tracks on the album have to be the fantastic stomping opener "Don't Carry It All", the beautiful acoustic ballad "January Hymn" and the anthemic penultimate track "This Is Why We Fight", which uses that good ol' reliable chord sequence.

Yuck by Yuck

I've been quite excited about Yuck and their debut for a while. With music press hype as well as brilliant material thus far, this album was set to be a big listen. And after living with it for a good few days, it hasn't disappointed. They've been the subject of endless comparisons to 90s grunge acts like Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr and even Sonic Youth - which hasn't been entirely misplaced. However, the album is a lot mellower than you might have expected. It's not a return to the stripped down nature of their gorgeous Daughter EP, but tracks like "Shook Down", "Suicide Policeman" and "Stutter" are warm, engrossing, wonky indie rock ballads in the vein of some of Pixies softer moments. Even the discordant fuzz of closer (and fan favourite) "Rubber" is something you can just blissfully lack down into. They still deliver a hell of a punch on the heavier tracks though - "Get Away" and album highlight "Georgia", I'm looking at you. Lyrically, it's honest, youthful teenage stuff which, despite the endless grunge comparisons, often comes off as hazily romantic. This album is full of texture, heart and - most importantly - fantastic songs. My favourites are "Georgia", "Get Away" and "Shook Down".

Hunger by Frankie & The Heartstrings


Well what can I say about Frankie & The Heartstrings. They are one of the most criminally happy bands in the world. Frankie Francis is one of the most outrageously camp frontmen around. I saw them live last week and they had more playful energy than any band I've seen in a good, good while. "Gingerbread men on crack" was the comparison I used that evening, I believe. And all of that has translated into an album that full of shamelessly joyful, hyperactive indie pop gems. "Hunger", "Photograph, "Possibilites", "Tender" (heck most of the album) are all irresistibly bouncy and jangly. I keep feeling as if I should find Frankie Francis' colourful and flamboyant vocals vulgar, but I just fall more in love with them every time. It's just so fun! And when things slow down and we get serious, such as the massive six minute ballad "Fragile" in the middle of the album, it's just as easy to listen to. Every song is full of killer hooks and melodies, making an album that you just can't help but shamelessly enjoy. Favourite tracks have got to be "Tender", "Photograph" and "Don't Look Surprised".

The Kings of Limbs by Radiohead

I wrote a review of Radiohead's latest album, as well as some thoughts on the way they released it, so you can see a lot of my thoughts there. I just want to say that, when I stop thinking about the experimental nature of the album, to context of it within the rest of Radiohead's work, what it means for their future and all that malarkey, I realise that I find this album so immensely enjoyable to listen to now. It's not exactly one of those "difficult" or "challenging" albums, but, as I've said, it's not as easy to fall in love with as an album like In Rainbows. But after numerous listens, I am totally in love with it. It's beautiful, nearly every twist and turn is enchanting, and I get a real sense of how the band were clearly inspired by nature in the creation of the album. Also, the strength of each song has struck me more and more with every listen. The album doesn't use conventional song structures, but that doesn't mean the tracks aren't killer examples of song writing, especially in the latter half of the album. This is now an album which I can just drift away into and feel safe and peaceful. Favourite tracks are undoubtedly "Codex", "Give Up The Ghost" and "Separator".

Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine is, again, one of those artists whom I hadn't listened to a great deal before, but whose most recent release I got into through my association with Tympanogram. Everything I had heard from him I'd loved, and I've since gone and investigated it a bit more, so know that this album is quite different from his earlier, more "classic" material - something a lot of fans have taken issue with. But I love this album. It's got so much going for it. The instrumentation and arrangements are fantastic, even if there are moments where things seem a tad cluttered and end up sounding like free jazz. The songs underneath are killer, and Sam Beam's lyrics and vocal delivery are beautiful and nuanced throughout the whole thing. There's a whole range of textures and emotions, from the frantic "Rabbit Will Run" to the much mellower "Half Moon". My favourite tracks have got to be "Godless Brother in Love", "Tree By The River" and "Walking Far From Home".

Honourable Mentions:
Zonoscope by Cut Copy
James Blake by James Blake

Also, some of the older stuff I've been revisiting have been:
- all of Radiohead's back catalogue
- Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers by The National
- The Queen Is Dead and Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
- hefty amounts of Los Campesinos!
- equally hefty amounts of Crystal Castles
- Frank Sinatra, as always
- All We Grow by S Carey

So there's a little update on my listening habits over the past two months, if you care at all. Should make for interesting reading one day, when I'm older, wiser and deafer. God bless folks - keep listening!

BBC Sound of 2011: Rest in Peace

I'm mad about "Best of..." lists, so December is really when my ship comes in. I'm not entirely sure why. I'm not generally a meticulous, obsessive compulsive kind of person, I just love ranking things in lists. You might have guessed this from my own Top 20 Tracks and Top 12 Albums of 2010 lists.

But soon after we've forgotten the beloved entries into the "Best of the Year" lists and polls we launch into the divisive realms of polls entitled things like "Ones2Watch", "Sound of the Year", "The Future of Music" etc. Some of these lists are derided the moment they're published - and nearly all of them end up being derided 12 months later.

The worst and most criminal of the bunch is the BBC "Sound of..." poll, which is about as cursed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts staffing position at Hogwarts. The poll endeavours to dictate to us the illustrious role call of artists and musicians who will come to define the coming year musically. The winners have almost invariably paled into startling mediocrity, failing to stretch beyond their respective years, and often even failing to see that year out. Key victims/culprits here would be The Bravery, Little Boots, Keane, Corinne Bailey, Rae, Mika, Adele and, most recently, Ellie sodding Goulding. The only one to really escape the curse was the first winner in 2003, 50 Cent. And look what he's become.



Aside from the "winners", the number of bands lower down the poll who fall into the category of mind numbing filler, utterly vanished from memory now, is laughable. The Twang? Sadie Ama? Ghosts? Marcos Hernandez? Audio Bullys? The Dears? The Dead 60s? The Datsuns? Tali? Gemma Fox? Joss Stone? Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong? The Rumble Strips? Just Jack? Kubb? VV Brown? Delphic? The Thrills? Care to name me a song anyone? Any of the band members? No? Heck, most of them didn't even make any kind of impression in their respective years, yet alone do enough to remain in our minds for 2010. I would like to personally point out that I said this time last year that Delphic and Ellie Goulding were gut wrenchingly mundane and would flop, and thus, I have been vindicated!

Then there's the acts who may hang around in our memories slightly more but either because of one unusually popular hit (The Ting Tings, Black Kids) OR because they've been hyped elsewhere, but end up being as anti-climactic as The Phantom Menace(The Drums, KT Tunstall, Kaiser Cheifs, Razorlight)

The acts championed by the poll are almost invariably overly radio-friendly pop acts or supermarket landfill "indie" bands who look like the kind of Topshop boys your mother would be relatively indifferent to if you brought them home. They produce one vaguely hummable hit single in their given year and then bugger off with disappointing album sales and a terminated record contract.

As well as championing bands who have all the staying power of an old woman's fart in a gale, when the poll DOES pick a quality act, they place them criminally low in the list!

2003- Yeah Yeah Yeahs only reach 3rd, Dizzee Rascal only reaches 5th.
2005- Bloc Party inexlpicably lose out to The Bravery for 1st place.
2007- Klaxons only reach 3rd- beaten my Mika and The Twang.
2008- Vampire Weekend only reach 6th and MGMT only reach 9th.
2009- Lady GaGa wasn't first. That is all you need to know.
2010- Marina and the Diamond are robbed of 1st place by Ellie Goulding (whose picture appears in the dictionary next to "underwhelming"), whose biggest contribution to 2010 has been a dreary cover of 'Your Song' in a John Lewis advert, which didn't appear until December.

This year doesn't look that great either sadly - though there are worryingly a couple of acts in there who I'm currently quite fond of, so here's hoping they'll do a Marina & The Diamonds and buck the trend. Either way. The BBC "Sound of..." poll is almost invariably a pathetic, horrendously white middle class, radio friendly advertisement for the Radio 1 January playlist.

I'm not going to compile a list of upcoming new bands that you should watch out for. Who knows what will happen, when they'll release material, whether they'll alter their sounds. I love "Best of..." lists, as I've said, but these lists predicting the rise of new stars often seen to create a touchwood situation. So here's just a few things I'm excited about from already established artists. It's been an awesome year musically, at least as far as my tastes go. What does 2011 have to offer?


- New Radiohead album at some point
- The Strokes FINALLY set to release a new album. This is make or break for possibly the most important band of the last 10 years.
- Kanye and Jay-Z releasing an EP entitled Watch The Throne. Doesn't get much bigger does it?
- System of a Down set to reunite, at least for live shows.
- Elbow set to release new album and your. After their breakthrough with the last album, this should be interesting.
- Lady GaGa has a new album ready to unleash uponm the world. Where is there left to go for her?!
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds set to record new album. Judging by Nick Cave's side project Grinderman releasing another album this year, he's still on top form.
- Pulp reforming for live shows... MUST seeeeee thiiiiiiiisssssssss...
- Blur recording new album in January...

Those are jsut a few of the should-be-amazing musical events coming up in 2011... we'll just have to wait and see...

Any tips for 2011?

My Personal Favourite 20 Songs of 2010 1

Honourable Mentions
'All of the Lights' by Kanye West
'Hollywood' by Marina & The Diamonds
'Heartbreaker' by Girls
'Romance is Boring' by Los Campesinos!
'Sea Talk' by Zola Jesus
'Giving Up The Gun' by Vampire Weekend
'A More Perfect Union' by Titus Andronicus
'If You Wanna' by The Vaccines
‘Walk in the Park’ by Beach House
‘O.N.E.’ by Yeasayer
'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains' by Arcade Fire
'Hologram' by These New Puritans
'Butterfly House' by The Coral
'Blackberry Stone' by Laura Marling
'Goodbye England, Covered In Snow' by Laura Marling
'The Calm Before the Sword' by Captain Ahab
'Summerblow' by Chief Black Cloud
'Have a Heart' by Lonely Galaxy
'The Withering Giant' by Ghosthorse

20. 'Veronica Sawyer' by Summer Camp
Summer Camp are a band to watch in 2011, and their Young EP from this year shows why. This standout track is a melancholy, slightly twee indie pop number that has one of the most addictive choruses I’ve heard all year. It’s a detailed, engrossing account of teen loneliness, bittersweet in lyric and melody. There’s a very individual sound to this song and the band as a whole, and a convenient opening in the indie pop market.



19. 'This Orient' by Foals
For me this was immediately the standout track of Foals brilliant album, and still is. I love “Spanish Sahara”, but this blows it out of the water as far as I’m concerned. A spliced, breathless info gives way to an inspired mix of guitar, bass, drums and vocals that sweeps you away into a cinematic journey of a song, with a massive chorus, boasting one of the most romantically grandiose lyrics I’ve heard “It’s your heart that gives me this Western feeling”.



18. 'Undertow' by Warpaint
When this one his the internet blogs, there was a little bit of an online orgasm. And rightly so. This song from my favourite new band of the year is captivating and alluring on absurd levels. It boasts a chorus that worms its way into your head, ingeniously hijacking a Nirvana melody, laced with sultry, slinking bass and echoing guitar lines. The gorgeous female vocals croon about ensnaring a lover, and ensnaring is certainly what this song does.



17. ‘We Want War’ by These New Puritans
Often toted as the prime example of the brilliance of my album of the year, We Want War is a sublime piece of music. It bursts open with a massive drum beat, freaky synths and terrifying bass drone. It splices epic percussion with dark, entrancing vocals. It sounds like its tital- looming, violent, aggressive, huge and brilliant.



16. 'The Wild Hunt' by The Tallest Man on Earth
The opener of my #3 album of the year, this is just a fantastically written folk song. It whisks you away in a world of evocative images, earnest vocals and warm, embracing acoustic guitar. Kristian Matsson’s voice leaps and strains upwards then drops down in pitch and delivery for brief moments to beautiful, emotional effect. It's a lyric about wonderfully carefree resignation to the inevitabilities of life, surrendering the pointless things and seizing life by it's gorgeous throat. Oh this song just overflows with life in every possible way!



15. 'Not In Love' by Crystal Castles ft. Robert Smith
This song had “BRILLIANT” written all over it from the moment the very idea was conceived. This icy synth pop song was so good that it made us all forget that a) it was a cover and b) there was a Smith-less version on Crystal Castles album. This song is massive, uplifting, emotional. It feels like your heart beating inside your chest at a moment of emotional fear and anticipation, perched delicately between euphoria and despair. Masterful.



14. 'The Oh So Protective One' by Girls
Girls made the song “Heartbreaker” available for free from their “Broken Dreams Club” EP and, again, the blogs went crazy (as did I!) But for me, this is the strongest song on the EP. Lead singer Christopher Owens somehow manages to sing and write from the point of view of a loverlorn teenage girl and make it sound tear jerkingly genuine and emotional. Musically its pure 50s guitar band, like The Shadows or something. But its superb indie guitar music, and lyrically brilliant. It makes me feel warm inside.



13. ‘I Want the World to Stop’ by Belle & Sebastian
I wrote a post on why I love Belle & Sebastian and their new album a while ago, and so it only makes sense for a track from it to make this list- but fairly so. This song is absurdly addictive, the melody genuinely intoxicating. The chord progression is just sensational, a genius piece of songwriting, and the contrast between chorus and verse inspired. Lyrically, it’s a fantastically human account of modern alienation and loneliness, yet still manages to be captivating indie pop. It’s just lovely everyone.



12. 'Alley Cats' by Hot Chip
Hot Chip’s album One Life Stand hasn’t quite made the cut across lots of end of year lists, and I can see why in part, but its full of some brilliant songs, a lot of them tender and emotional and- for me- none more so than this. Simple keyboard and drum open up the track, and Alexis Taylor’s distinctively light voice is so soft and tender that I can’t help but give myself over to it. The whole thing is comfy, warm and affectionate and just makes me think of home.



11. 'Power' by Kanye West
The first big indication that Kanye was soon going to the rule the whole damn world. This distils a lot of what his new album is about. It’s Kanye rapping about being Kanye. Its huge, ostentatious, cinematic. It’s boastful and grandiose. But lyrically it’s a masterpiece. A full West dissection. It’s a confession of his failures, his idiocy, but a slap in the face of haters and sceptics. This is the sound of triumph.



10. 'Girls' by Marina & The Diamonds
I adore Marina Diamandis. I confess, I love everything about her. Including this song. The vocal delivery is so absurdly individual and distinct, I can’t help but adore it. She just fires on all cylinders on a superbly vicious and sarcastic attack on superficial, vacuous modern girls. The lyrics are detailed and specific, yet never come across as cluttered or dated. Maybe I’m just so absurdly attracted to Marina that my judgement has been clouded. If so, I don’t care. Not when pop music this good is involved.



9. 'Tell 'Em by Sleigh Bells
One of the best riffs ever. Fact. Too soon? Maybe. Wrong? No. There is no denying the riff on this song is INSANELY awesome. And that’s just the start. MASSIVE drum beats. HUGE whirring sounds. GORGEOUS and sweet vocals that shouldn’t work against the intense heavy metal guitars and mammoth drums, but they do. And the melody is as insanely addictive as the riff. This song is twisted pop brilliance that just whacks everything up to 11 and is about nothing other than making as much brilliant noise as possible.



8. 'Rambling Man' by Laura Marling
Laura Marling cemented herself fully as one of the best (if not THE best) songwriter in the UK with her second album, and my favourite track from that album has got to this one. The melody is just so superb and the song builds and grows so much that, with its sentiments of identity and independence, it’s something ‘epic’ (though using that word doesn’t seem quite right). Brilliantly arranged, lyrically masterful and beautifully delivered. This is just a brilliant song.



7. 'The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future' by Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! are one of those bands who are able to tell entire stories and build entire, believable characters in the space of one song, and the most effecting example of that is here. An engrossing guitar line and tragic, brooding cellos draw you into a tragic tale of anorexia , bereavement and reflection. Probably my favourite song as a lyrical whole from the whole year, which is only helped by the chillingly detached vocal delivery. And it all crescendos into a sublimely noisy chorus. This song hits an emotional chord and draws me in in a way that I don’t experience very often.



6. 'I Can Change' by LCD Soundsystem
Despite the fact that it’s now used in adverts on Dave, this song has been one of the best pop songs of the year since it first appeared. It’s probably one of the best James Murphy has ever written. It uses his classic trick of repetition with subtle variation to create an addictive and engrossing piece of pop music. The melody is quite beautiful and I really can’t say enough about the chorus. That itself is an example of the repetition with a little bit of variation, and its AWESOME to belt out. Lyrically, it is spectacularly vulnerable and human, qualities people very often don’t seem to associate with James Murphy, and it contains some of my favourite lyrics of the year.



5. 'The Suburbs' by Arcade Fire
I find it difficult to believe that anyone who truly likes rock music could not love this song. The inspired mix of honky tonk piano, guitar, plodding bass and steady drums creates a disarmingly simple underpinning for a truly brilliant track. This song was a statement of intent as the opener of Arcade Fire’s sublime album. The lyrics veer from cinematic and grand in feel to beautifully specific details about learning to drive and your mother’s keys. Beautiful.



4. 'Runaway' by Kanye West
This song was how Kanye decided to announce his public return, at the MTV Awards. This song is similar in a lot of ways to “Power”, but in my opinion is the greater of the two. It sounds MASSIVE and pompous, like some imperial vessel moving onwards… imperiously. But its coupled with a melancholy chorus that is probably my favourite individual lyric of the year. Kanye wraps up his own self loathing and the loathing he feels for his critics and exorcises the two with a stupendous and actually quite amusing chorus. The whole of the new album is about what it’s like to be Kanye, and I think that this track nails that on the head as well as everything else you could possibly want in a pop song.



3. 'I Don't Have a Dick' by Captain Ahab
This track is so high on my list purely because it is genuinely unlike anything I have ever heard. Lyrically, it is hilariously, unbelievable absurd. It is the arrogant, ostentatious first person account of the mythologised Captain Ahab who spends most of the track rapping over a constantly shifting background about how he doesn’t have a dick, and what that means for him exactly. This song is overflowing with grandiosity, absurdity, EVERYTHING, in a way that Kanye or even GaGa can’t possibly hope to rival.



2. 'Trainwrecks' by Weezer
Unless you’ve bought Weezer’s most recent album, you probably won’t have heard this track. It’s not a single, at least as of yet. Lots of people have said that Weezer returned to form this year and for me the best example of that is Trainwrecks. Guys this song is just amazing. It’s a massive rock ballad. Heartwarmingly unpretentious, euphoric and rebellious, I have lost count of how many times I have belted this out in my car. It has “Season Finale” written all over it in a way DOESN’T seem crap. Lyrically its disarmingly simple, it’s honest, self aware. Rivers Cuomo’s vocal delivery is emotional, raw, varied and just bloody awesome. If you fob this off as uninspired, uninventive rock then you’ve missed the point you pretentious twat.



1. 'Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk' by The New Pornographers
I raved on Twitter a while ago about how much I love this song. Unless you read that then you probably have no sodding clue about it. This song isn’t a huge statement. It’s not a game changing pop revolution. It’s not a social diatribe. This is just a genuinely PHENOMENAL indie rock song. It has one of the best riffs I have ever heard. It’s vaguely off key, an inspired use of semitones, and thus has something I find so attractive – the twisting and warping of pop music. The melody is mind blowingly catchy. Genuinely. From the moment I heard it I haven’t been able to shake it. The chorus still just blows me away every time. It’s just amazing! I can’t tell you why, it just is. The way this song chops and changes into different repeated sections, the beautiful interplay of lead male and female vocals, the vulnerable lyrics. Good grief, this is just such a perfect song. I love it. I really love it. It has decimated every other song in my iTunes play count. It got me into this band. In years to come few will probably rave over the album, let alone this one track. Well screw them. This is my favourite song of the year, because it is just hits the mark in untold ways on every level that a song should.





So there you have it! My top songs of the year. Whaddya think folks? Hope to hear from you soon :) have a merry Christmas!

My Top 12 Albums of 2010: #12-7

So it's that time of year! I love end of year lists and have been quite excited about writing and publishing my own for a while. Now. I thoroughly belief that there is music that is objectively good and objectively bad. It does not come down to opinion. Fact. There are lots of things that go into that, but it's fact. I considered compiling a list of the objectively best albums of the year and those I personally prefer, but couldn't be bothered... so these are my favourite albums of the year, painstakingly put in rough order or preference. Though all of them are objectively very good music it would seem! And bear in mind this is only the albums that I've heard this year. There's always plenty we miss. Oh to have time to listen to them all! So I hope you enjoy, agree and disagree. Do feedback to me :)


Honourable Mentions:
'One Life Stand' by Hot Chip
'Teen Dream' by Beach House
'Plastic Beach' by Gorillaz
'The End of Irony' by Captain Ahab
'Belle & Sebastian Write About Love' by Belle & Sebastian
'Go' by Jónsi

12. 'The Family Jewels' by Marina & The Diamonds



Marina Diamandis is the best thing to happen to pop music this side of GaGa. She's clever, witty, perceptive, original and incredibly sexy - all hallmarks of a great popstar. And those qualities spill over into a phenomenally accomplished debut that is both a posing pastiche but also incredibly human. The album is basically about fame, the obsession with ("Hollywood", "Shampain", "Are You Satisfied?") and the vacuous underbelly of the commercial 21st century ("Girls", "Numb", "I Am Not A Robot"). "It's been done!" right? Maybe. But lyrically, this album is something else. Marina is so fantastically self aware - critical of fame and commercialism but fully aware of how enamoured she can be by it all. Spectacular, sparkling, seductive pop - a hard thing to come by in 2010.

11. 'I Speak Because I Can' by Laura Marling


Laura Marling is arguably a very strong contrast with Marina Diamandis, but is still endlessly deserving of a spot in my top albums. I fell in love with her and her debut, and her sophomore album is so much more than just a good second album. This album is beautifully and quiveringly personal, a beautiful memoir into the mind of a young girl becoming a woman (she's only 20!) She sings about independence ("Made by Maid", "Rambling Man"), urban alienation ("Alpha Shallows") and recounts memories of men in her life across the whole spectrum of emotional experience ("Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)", "What He Wrote", "I Speak Because I Can"). Her delivery is downbeat and subtle, beautifully vulnerable, allowing the emotion to push through with ease. The arrangements are more traditionally folky than the last album, and her guitar ability has become more accomplished and a more central part of the sound. Lyrically, she's only gotten better and is one of the most mind blowingly talented song writers. And she's hardly unattractive...

10. 'Romance is Boring' by Los Campesinos!


Los Campesinos! are a fantastic example of a band who have refined their sound through successive albums, working out what they're best at, where they excel, where they hit the mark, and then putting all of that into a fantastic record. This album is undoubtedly the best thing they've recorded, for so many reasons. A lot of it is mile a minute indie rock, and quite simply makes you want to thrash and jump around ("These Are Listed Buildings, Romance is Boring") but the band have a new grasp of texture and scale back for unbelievably earnest and tearful slower numbers ("The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future", "Who Fell Asleep In") though it all remains euphorically noisy. Frontman and songwriter Gareth has long been gestating as one of the UK's best lyricist, and that shines through in his musings about love, sex, football and religion. Gareth writes about his differences with religion in a way that is very candid and sceptical, though never outwardly biting or critical. As a Christian, I find it refreshing that a non-Christian is able to write about the church in such a way, without descending into offensive and childish Dawkins style insults. A truly accomplished record from an increasingly individual and inspiring band.

9. 'Treats' by Sleigh Bells


There's not a VAST deal to say about this album. But that's not a disadvantage. Quite the opposite. Sleigh Bells are probably the most enjoyable band of the entire year. This album has one setting- REALLY FRIGGIN' LOUD AND REALLY FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!! Lead songwriter Derek Miller takes pop music structures and melodies and bastardises them with terrifying heavy metal guitars and insurmountably huge beats ("Tell 'Em", "Infinity Guitars", "Crown on the Ground" - heck, every bloody song) and then the absurdly attractive front woman, Alexis Krauss, laces the mixture with a voice like poison bubblegum made from fire. This album is balls out, amps up, heads thrashing, bodies brawling. Hell yes.

8. 'Contra' by Vampire Weekend


It's safe to say that the indie community fell a little bit in love with Vampire Weekend when they released their debut a couple of years ago. That coupled with "A-Punk" soundtracking everything from Come Dine With Me to The Inbetweeners made me wonder how they could successfully follow it up. But they delivered. Oh yes they did. Thematically, it's not as unified as their debut, songs here based on rice drinks ("Horchata"), Joe Strummer ("Diplomat's Son") and Japanese history ("Giving Up The Gun") But that doesn't matter. Every song on this album is irresistibly melodic; the whole thing is bursting with hooks. At the same time, it's all exquisitely arranged and proves that Vampire Weekend are sublimely talented musicians. This is truly progressive pop music. Call them pretentious, preppy, whatever you will. Something tells me these guys don't care. And when the music is as upbeat, original and funky as this, I'm inclined to side with them.

7. 'Total Life Forever' by Foals


No one could quite believe it when new Foals material appeared. The shouty, prickly sounding landfill indie band of yesteryear had vanished. They'd been submerged beneath a warm tide of oceanic guitar, enveloping bass, funky drums and full, tender crooning. The transformation was sublime and the British indie world fell to its knees. This album is just brilliant to listen to. Standout, massive tracks like "Miami", "Total Life Forever" and "After Glow" are just incredibly well written indie pop songs, stamped with the intoxicating dance vibe that Foals have cracked into on this album. Then there's the magnificent beauty of "Blue Blood" and "This Orient", marked by some superbly emotional and vulnerable lyrics. The album ends in the stop-dead-in-your-tracks threesome of "Alabaster", "2 Trees" and "What Remains". This album is such an accomplishment for the band, but is also an enveloping, comforting piece of music. Sublime.

Top 10 Film Dads

We all love a great (or even not so great) father figure in a film. They can make, break and shape the picture. So here's what I think are the top 10 film dads.

Honourable Mention- The Terminator from Terminator 2: Judgement Day- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Some of you may be thinking "WHAT?!" Well, not in my real top ten, Arnie deserves a mention for Terminator 2 where the newly programmed cyborg, rigged to protect and obey young John Connor at all costs, is the one who Sarah Connor decides would make the best father for John. However, Arnie has to kill himself in order to save humanity, but he's learnt to feel emotion and gives an emotional goodbye to John in one of action cinema's most tender scenes.

10. Sonny Foufax from Big Daddy- Adam Sandler

No, he's not actually the kid's biolological father, we get it. But Sonny's stint as a father figure is what the film's about. Whilst the film was nominated for half a dozen Razzle awards, it's one of those Adam Sandler films that really, we all love. Watching him slowly learn how to be a mature and responsible adult did make for a great film.

9. Elrond from The Lord of the Rings- Hugo Weaving

In the epic scale of the War of the Ring it's easy to forget that Elrond is the father of Arya, Aragorn's elven lover. Elrond tries all he can to get Arya to go into the West rather than sacrifices her immortality to be with Aragorn, and father's everywhere can see where the man's coming from. Having lost enough friends and soldiers in the previous War of the Ring, Elrond's desire to keep his daughter safe is understandable.

8. Henry Jones from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade- Sean Connery

The original Indiana Jones trilogy is one of cinema's greatest achievements and it wouldn't quite be the same without Sean Connery's infinitely memorable appearance and Indiana's bumbling archaeologist father, Henry. A wonderful contrast to the bombastic, adventurous Indie, he provided a wonderful comic relief and a nice insight into Indiana's past- "We called the dog Indiana!"

7. Zeus from Hercules- Rip Torn

Hercules, one of the brilliant film's from the Disney Renaissance, is really carried along by all of the characters other than the title on. Hades is my favourite Disney villain and I think Zeus is possibly one of my favourite minor Disney characters. Portraying the impeteous, lightening toting cassanova of Greek mythology as a goofy dad was a stroke of Disney genius. And when Zeus bursts out of the weird rock thing the Titans lock him in and he starts pwning them, you've got to admit- he's pretty sick.

6. Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street- Johnny Depp

Having been wrongly imprisoned for 15 years in an Australian labour camp on a false charge, which was fabricated so the evil sexual predator Judge Turpin could lay hold of his wife, you could understand why Sweeney would have family issues. The musical is carried along by his smouldering desire to murder the judge and be reconciled with his long lost daughter Johanna. But with an immense amount of dramatic irony and fake blood, Todd nearly kills his daughteer, kills his wife and ends up dead himself. Happy Families.

5. Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather- Marlon Brando

Can't wait til the day of my wedding!

4. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird- Gregory Peck

Atticus is undeniably one of fiction's greatest heroes, and Peck's portayal showed us cleary Atticus' hopeless quest in the face of a despicably racist legal system. A man who never let up from teaching his children to do what was morally right, a man who never spared is children the truth, and a man who's the meanest show in town, Atticus is an incredible father figure.

3. Jack Torrence from The Shining- Jack Nicholson

Jack's slow descent into insanity culminating in a murderous pursuit of his wife and son makes for an incredible movie. Never exactly cuddly and caring, Torrence's detachment from his family is part of what makes him into the terrifying psychotic figure we see at the end of the film.

2. Mufasa from The Lion King- James Earl Jones

You still cry.

You know you still cry.

1. Darth Vader from Star Wars- David Prowse/James Earl Jones

I don't need to justify this decision.