Albums
Before I list my albums, I must point out that, due to reasons of personal bias, I’ve excluded three albums: (Fiery Furnaces: Bitter Tea, Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped and Thom Yorke: The Eraser) as it’d be unfair to compare the other stuff to my favourite band that no-one’s heard of, my favourite band ever and the solo album of the singer from my favourite current band… Anyway, let’s get the stuff reviewed shall we?
Be your own Pet: Be your own Pet
Noisy, shouty, punky and, er, young-y.
Beck: The Information
Odelay-esque, but with the added bonus of a cover that comes with stickers, so you can make your own unique artwork. Is this helping the fans become creative/show their support, or just laziness on the part of Mr. Hansen?
Cansei de ser Sexy: Cansei de ser Sexy (a. k. a. CSS: CSS)
Fit Brazilian women (one of whom has the appropriate name “Lovefoxxx”!) do NY disco-rock. I wish they would “make love and listen to Death from Above”…
The Fallout Trust: In case of the Flood
No, not a homage to New Orleans, but slightly dramatic indie-pop, with a very nice looking keyboardist…
Flaming Lips: At War with the Mystics
Typical Flaming Lips – weird psychadelia.
Futureheads: News & Tributes
Not as up-front/immediate as their debut, as it takes longer to get into it. It’s still as good though, but a pity their record label dropped them. It happened to BRMC, before coming back with “Howl” so don’t let it get you down!
Hot Chip: The Warning
Slightly nerdy indie-dance electro-pop from the mean streets of Putney! Local band!
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: Ballad of the Broken Seas
Her who was in Belle & Sebastian with him who was in the Screaming Trees get together and go all folky.
Jeniferever: Choose a Bright Morning
A lot more blessed-out than their live performances (see below), but just as good!
Junior Boys: So this is Goodbye
Canadian electro-pop.
The Knife: Silent Shout
Weird Swedish brother-and-sister duo does even weirder electro/synth stuff. This is possibly why it’s my album of the year. One question: how can you share your mothers’ health?
Larrikin Love: The Freedom Spark
Skiffle, folk and punk mixed together somewhere around the western part of Greater London…
Liars: Drum’s not Dead
So are the tunes! Only kidding, I like albums that consist of stuff which verges on the unlistenable – I’m the sort of person who raves about Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, which probably explains a few things…
Mission of Burma: The Obliterati
New York’s punk/funk veterans go even noisy than before! Yay!
Mystery Jets: Making Dens
Like Larrikin love, but with less folk and more pop. What is it with the area around the western Thames?
Oneida: Happy New Year
Weird US band do an album that appears to be based upon English Mediaeval folk music… but with punky guitars…
Polysics: Now is the Time
Mad Japanese band – a mixture of electro, rock and metal! Fantastic live as well (see below).
The Rapture: Pieces of the People we Love
I didn’t like their debut as they just annoyed me; however, they’ve more than made up for it on this one! Think Radio 4 (when they were good), without the politics, or !!! less the cowbell. “Gotta get myself into it” and they did!
The Secret Machines: Ten Silver Drops
Less shoe-gazing than their debut, more prog.
The Sleepy Jackson: Personality. One was a Spider. One was a Bird
The new Brian Wilson? Well, he’s as mad as him, and his music’s just as orchestral, so who knows?
Spank Rock: Yoyoyoyoyo
If you can’t tell from the title, it’s a hip-hop album! Not NWA-style “Pop a cap in yo’ ass, mutha’fucka”, more party hip-hop.
The Sunshine Underground: Raise the Alarm
Named after a Chemical Brothers’ song (from their Surrender album, if you’re interested), but they don’t sound like them. They’re more indie/dance-rock; think Bloc Party less the politics.
The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth
Are they the forgotten men of New York? Not when they make albums like this!
TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
I guess the best way to describe this lot is “Shoe-gazing barbershop quartet”…
The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club: The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club
They’re right when they say “Ban the Gin” – it’s the devil’s drink… well, OK, it comes second to a Flamin’ Houman (Brandy, Tequila and Tabasco sauce!)
Yo la Tengo: I am not Afraid of you and will Beat your Ass
Appalling title, but great music! Feedback, ballads and hard rock amongst others. They’re Sonic Youth-esque, but not as good (but I guess that’s unfair, as few/if anyone is).
Young Knives: Voices of Animals and Men
Like a punky, nerdier British Sea Power… they could only be British!
Gigs
!!!: Islington
Pronounced “Chk-chk-chk”. They’re one of many New York disco-punk bands that have been noticed in the past few years, but the gig was more like a late-80s/early 90s rave! Gig of the year.
Bonkersfest: Camberwell Green
Free mid-summer festival. From what I remember, it was a boiling hot Saturday and there was a lot of free-jazz – yay! – and just general noise. I hope they have another one next year.
The Fallout Trust: Islington
See their album review.
Jeniferever: Kilburn and Kingston
A Swedish band who are a mixture of Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine. They look like a bunch of physics students, but make a wall of sound! I was so impressed that I saw them twice in under a month and bought their album on top of their performances.
Polysics: Islington
They’re fantastic, but they had the misfortune of having the gig during the spell in the mid-summer when we had the record temperatures, which kinda spoiled it. Also the venue doesn’t have air-conditioning and the venue refused to leave the doors open!
The Stills: Shoreditch
Canadians do miserable mid-80s English indie-band – think Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, but with a bit more of an upbeat side.
Transglobal Underground: Old Street
Davide at Nether World dragged me along to it, as they’re his mates, and I’m glad he did! A mixture of house/rave music and what gets termed “World music”, i.e. that which isn’t based on a rip-off of Chuck Berry riffs. On the down side, due to a lack of public transport in central London (!), I had to walk from the gig venue all the way to Vauxhall station in order to get the bus, instead of getting a bus from Liverpool St to Vauxhall, as was planned… bah!
Yo la Tengo: Kentish Town
2½ hr, including 3 encores, of feedback, indie-pop, piano ballads, and various other types of music.
Also various other obscure bands – so obscure, that I can’t remember their names! – in places in central London and the weekly Thursday gig night in Wimbledon.
UPDATE: See Obsolete for his list, which has a lot more detail than my list....
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