Top ten 2009 - Local Natives, Gorilla Manor

When a new band emerges, there’s always a tendency to define their music with those that have come before. The intense harmonies and vibrant, summery beats of Local Natives’ debut have drawn comparisons with Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend and other buzz bands of the past two years. All are valid, but what differentiates this Californian five-piece from the others is the feeling of collectiveness that exudes from Gorilla Manor.

The album is named after the house they shared together in Orange County and the result is a group of gifted young musicians who are clearly comfortable with each other’s musicianship. There’s a natural camaraderie to these songs, but the simple percussive extras and harmonious wails add personal moments throughout, giving Local Natives a vibrancy and uniqueness that so many of their peers lack. Yes, it’s poppy. Yes, it’s a summertime album. But from time to time it helps to feel rejuvenated.

What to listen out for.
Wide Eyes, Sun Hands, Cubism

When to listen to it.
Lying in hammock with a beer and some sunshine

Will we hear them again?
Local Natives’ stated intention is to avoid being a buzz band. Their acclaim from appearances at Austin’s South by South West festival earlier this year lifted them dangerously close to that status, however. They would do well to remain low-key for a while and build up a critical following before backing up Gorilla Manor with another of its ilk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuljnrCfBNw

Top ten 2009 - The Mummers, Tale to Tell

Once you hear this album, it comes as little surprise to find out that it was recorded in a tree house studio near Brighton, where 20 or so musicians spent two years climbing a ladder to access the equipment that would immortalise their expanse of orchestral contraptions. The subsequent abundance of sounds conjures up images of a travelling troupe holding court in front of whoever would listen. It’s not a coincidence, then, that they were christened The Mummers by their two lynchpins – vocalist Raissa Khan-Panni and musician Mark Horwood.

Tale to Tell’s orchestral nonsense creates a carnival atmosphere, with Khan-Panni’s sumptuous vocals and lyrical daydreams keeping this album melodic and approachable. It’s a bold, eclectic and vibrant romp that avoids alienating its audience. Expect to be transported to a world of make believe, but in a way that keeps you grounded. It’s good, eccentric fun.

What to listen out for.
March of the Dawn, Tale to Tell, Teardropsfall

When to listen to it.
Without wanting to mocks its brilliance, this should be the arrival music for any fancy dress party.

Will we hear them again?
Sadly, the treehouse studio that was home to this album also saw Horwood hang himself in September this year. I hope Khan-Panni manages to return to a studio, but her history as a musician seems to be an ill-fated one, and Horwood's untimely death will no doubt make it hard for her to come back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UMMu_KBRy8

Top ten 2009 - Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Bill Callahan has one of the most distinctive voices in folk. Even if you don’t know the name, the chances are his bare, almost banal, vocals will sound familiar. Nearly 20 years after he released his first album as Smog, Callahan maintains the individuality that has brought him so much success, even having done away with his former moniker for his two latest releases.

It’s as though Callahan’s found honesty in his song writing. When you listen to this album, you feel like he’s taking you by the hand and walking you through his past as he pauses to reflect. His rhymes remain impossible, his music is still eccentric, but somehow it’s more accessible than ever. These imperfections continue to define Callahan and make everything he does exquisite.

What to listen out for.
Jim Cain, Eid Ma Clack Shaw, Rococo Zephyr

When to listen to it.
Maybe over an intimate dinner.

Will we hear them again?
Callahan has song writing in his blood. I imagine he can’t go a day without putting a lyric to a melody. We’ve had 20 years of his work, and I expect we’ll have 20 more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTmzYfzuidw

Music industry supports global emissions deal

Excuse this brief interlude to the Top Ten 2009 campaign, but I think it's important. I hope you do too.

It appears I spoke too soon in a previous post. The music industry has formed a united front in calling for a deal on emissions out of the Copenhagen Summit. I wish I could share their optimism that a meaningful deal can be struck in the next fortnight, but I guess I'm an old-fashioned cynic when it comes to international cooperation.

What the release does show, however, is a distinct commitment on the part of the music industry to reduce its impact. The 100 signatures on this release feature some influential names - a sure sign that there are people willing to bring us great music at a lower carbon price.

As fans, our commuting to and from gigs has the biggest climate impact of all (as proven by Best Foot Forward's analysis of Radiohead's 2007 tour). I think it's important to bear that in mind.

Top ten 2009 - Soulsavers, Broken

The more I listen to this album, the more I’m touched by the intricacies that make it a classic: the relentless lead guitars played by someone who just doesn’t know when to say enough is enough; the understated vocal support from Red Ghost that tempers the emotion of lead vocalist Mark Lanegan; or the subtle clinking of ice cubes as two of rock's finest share a microphone over a whiskey.

I’ve already given this album its dues (see Where Have I Been?), so let’s move on. The end of the year is nigh.

What to listen out for.
Unbalanced Pieces, Some Misunderstanding, Praying Ground

When to listen to it.
After a break-up. This will guide you through all the necessary highs and lows and eventually leave you rejoicing.

Will we hear them again?
Undoubtedly. Soulsavers have a strong cult following and their third album will have done enough moments to pique the interests of the mainstream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRomQF_eBuk

Top ten 2009 - Wild Beasts, Two Dancers

There’s a danger with a band like Wild Beasts that they could be overwhelmed by the novelty factor; that vocals like Hayden Thorpe’s could tip them the wrong side of burlesque. With their previous album, Limbo, Panto, there was a risk the Leeds four-piece was entering an inescapable world of farce, doomed to forever accompany The Tiger Lillies on their indefinite world tours (not that that would be a bad thing for anyone).

But with Two Dancers Wild Beasts have successfully fused melodic pop and indie flair. The vocals feel more restrained this time around, but still give the band an edge – something original to differentiate them from the swarming NME brigade. This is a serious rock album, but deliciously laced with a touch of the absurd.

What to listen out for.
The Fun Powder Plot, All the King’s Men, This is our Lot

When to listen to it.
During morning ablutions – it wakes you, lifts you and gives you a great chance to wail in the shower

Will we hear them again?
Wild Beasts have had time to develop. They’ve been nursed through the difficult first years of their career by the country’s finest music pundits and have come out as a mature, accomplished band. They’ve got a sound that is instantly recognisable and easily lovable. There’ll be many more like Two Dancers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxh5zMbNAo

Top ten 2009 - The xx, XX

Every so often, an album comes along that speaks to you in a way only the most intimate of lovers knows how. With every note, every beat, every lyric, you feel you’ve been engulfed by some higher being.

The xx is nothing more than a simple London four piece. They might have been educated in the same hallowed halls that spawned luminaries such as Burial, Hot Chip and Four Tet, but with this intricate debut they’ve discovered among themselves a formula that is as comforting, wholesome and pure as it is fresh, fragile and free. For me, the only problem is that it doesn’t go for long enough.

What to listen out for.
Shelter, Basic Space, Night Time

When to listen to it.
Whenever you get the chance, but maybe at 4am with plenty of candles and a group of close friends setting the world to rights

Will we hear them again?
They’ve entered a difficult place – a lot of people adore them early in their career. You almost wish they had a few failures before they landed this big one.

They've backed up their debut with a remix of You've Got the Love by fellow Londoner Florence and the Machine. While popular, I think it smacks of a band in danger of losing their originality to this city's love of compered club nights and faux dub step. I think they need to stay true to what's pure to them. To be here in a year, The xx need to reproduce the passion that engulfed them in recording this album. They simply need to love the music again as much as they loved these 11 tracks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pib8eYDSFEI

Top ten albums of 2009

What makes a great album? Surely something innovative. Definitely an element of class. Without doubt a little piece of personality.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder and I would never try to impose myself upon anyone. But for those who are interested, I begin today my top ten from 2009. They come in no particular order, but I guess you can assume the passion I have for each by the desire I have to write about them.

Tell me what you think.

Guilty pleasures

If 2008 signalled the resurgence of folk, surely 2009 will be handed to the flamboyant world of indie girl pop. With the likes of Bat for Lashes releasing her second album, Florence and the Machine dazzling with her first, Little Boots walking all over the charts and La Roux, Lady Gaga and Ladyhawke filling venues generally reserved for the trendiest of indies, the UK's music scene has been well and truly taken over.

Each makes a concerted effort to distance herself from their pop star peers with an elaborate outfit and a crafty beat. But the fact remains that their albums are topping the charts. There's every chance that you're listening to the same music as a 14-year-old girl. Sometimes you just can't help but put some metal on straight after indulging yourself.

I find it helps to embrace it. Find the ones that you relate to and mock those you don't. Bat for Lashes will always have a place in my heart and I've not been able to avoid the freight train that Florence has come riding in on.

Now I'm opening myself up to Ellie Goulding. She seems to have an edginess that could have seen her fronting a rock band a la Karen O in another life. Maybe something will reveal itself at Cargo on 1st December, maybe I'll be forced to explain myself here in six months. But I listen to enough heavy stuff to confortably stomach the embarrassment. Come with me on this...

Two voices better than one?

When Gomez burst onto the scene in 1998, a defining part of their resounding debut, Bring it On, was the multiple vocalists. It differentiated them from the others. Each of the three lead vocalists was strong enough to carry a song solo, but together they truly shone. It was certainly not a new formula, but they carried it out perfectly and it has served them successfully through their career ever since that emphatic debut.

It’s also a formula that’s becoming less popular and harder to pull off. Not so with The xx. Sure, the male/female combination is an easy win. Nonetheless, Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft have produced a precious double act. Individually, their voices lull you into a deep, ponderous dream. Combined, the speakers exude palpable energy. Perhaps the fact that they’re apparently best friends helps, because they also seem to know when to rein each other in. Sim’s muted harmonies harness Croft’s anguish without robbing her of her moment. Equally, when Sim needs a lift, Croft answers with measured intensity.

Like Bring It On 11 years ago, there’s a lot to love about this eponymous debut, but nothing more so than the exquisite tones trembling through the microphones.

Rockers vs the planet

I’m not one for mixing business and pleasure, but in my world they’ve crossed paths. A few weeks ago environmentalists launched an assault on U2. They lambasted the band’s latest world tour as extravagant and hypocritical – rather an accurate argument given the cloak of Developing World Ambassador that Bono has donned.

But why’s it taken the green-fingered brigade so long to point at our rock gods? For two decades we’ve been on the back of the world’s multinationals, laying into them at the first sniff of excess – and how they deserved it. But the whole time bands have travelled round the world in private jets and gas-guzzling limos, with entourages to rival Obama, and it's all slipped under the radar. We’ve always forgiven our rock stars because they give us something irreplaceable; something that gives our lives meaning and inspiration. Scolding them would be as unbearable as spanking our children for smiling. Unfortunately, the urgency of climate change has taken over. Our rock stars are no longer forgivable.

U2 say they’ll offset the carbon emissions generated by their tour (ie they’ll give money to others who reduce emissions elsewhere by investing in things like renewable energy). But they don’t tell us how they figure it all out. Are we to simply trust they’ll get it right?

Take, take, take
It’s typical Bono. As the voice of poverty relief, the only philosophy he espoused was giving something back to the countries and the people from whom it had been taken. He never considered that it shouldn’t have been taken from them in the first place. Here he is again, milking the planet and thinking that throwing some money at it will fix everything. It’s not good enough.

Fortunately, there are more astute people to look up to. Radiohead were the first band to acknowledge this issue. Make no mistake, they had to. Thom Yorke threw himself into environmental campaigning and became the voice of Friends of the Earth and if they had have taken off on yet another world tour without contemplating the impact, Bono’s status of music’s biggest villain would have become untenable. So in 2007 Radiohead got some professionals to scrutinise how they tour, and suggest tips on doing it better.

The results may have been simple – hold gigs in central locations so fans can get there on public transport, ship rather than fly equipment around the world, have a stage and lighting rig in each continent, use energy-efficient lighting, among others – but it was the first time anyone had owned up to the responsibility. These changes are now part and parcel of their tours, and everyone is better off because of it.

Unfortunately, a collective movement from the world’s rockers has been about as forthcoming as a Stone Roses reunion. But with the greens now raging at the likes of U2, surely it’s only a matter of time.

Where have I been?

There’s only so much you can do. You can read all the music periodicals. You can download free MP3s suggested at LastFM. You can join album clubs. Sometimes bands just slip through the net. I’ve come late to more great musicians than I’d care to admit, but I’ve always made up for lost time.

I heard my first Tindersticks album in 2006 – 14 years after their debut. The Hungry Saw blew me away. I immediately set out to piece together the back catalogue of a band that was more in tune with my emotions than my own inner monologue. It was a lot, and 14 years of my life seem irretrievably gone.

Nick Cave is another. I always knew he was there, but I never knew why. And then Abattoir Blues was put in front of me and it all came together. I fiercely examined the history books and tracked down my lost heritage, immersing myself in some of music’s most audacious lyrics and seemingly impossible melodies.

A musical saviour
And now there’s Soulsavers. It’s funny how some bands capture their sound and mood in their name so effortlessly, when others get it so hopelessly wrong. Listening to Broken, Soulsavers’ latest offering, I genuinely feel like my spirit has been retrieved from an abyss.

This is a superb album. Mark Lanegan’s gruff vocals create a mood dark and foreboding. An extravagant use of minor chords raises inexplicable emotions. The lyrics leave you contemplative and brooding. Yet somehow you walk away from it feeling uplifted. It might have something to do with the pervasive, gospel-esque backing vocals throughout.

This time I’m not as out of the loop as I have been: they’ve only been going since 2003 and their back catalogue comprises two other albums. Nonetheless, that’s six years of my life that could have been a whole lot more special. The Relentless Garage next week will bring it to life. In the meantime, I’ve got some catching up to do. And I can’t wait.

What friends are for

I played bass in a band when I was 17. I thought we rocked. Our drummer was a natural, his smooth beats having been crafted through 14 years of love for the skins. Our guitarist was classically trained and had moved to the electric only when he was comfortable the former had been mastered. It showed. Our front man was so suited to the role his lyrics dripped a mournfulness matched only by the fragility of his emotions at such a tender age.

Meanwhile, I was desperately trying to instil myself as manager so that when they all realised my single-note bass lines weren’t up to scratch, I’d still have a role to cling onto.

Our pals were encouraging, but you could always tell when compliments had to fight their way past clenched teeth and more often than not they came coupled with a set of wandering eyes. As a result, you’ll rarely hear me give an opinion free of constructive criticism. Even if I don’t necessarily believe it, I find it’s a more honest response than to let your friends continue trotting merrily down their Yellow Brick Road.

Sometimes, though, you can’t help but gush. And what a pleasure when that happens.

The first was our guitarist all those years ago. Recording with Memoria, he virtually created a genre, producing an acoustic metal album so accomplished it’s hard to explain why the band aren’t already lauded alongside the metal greats.

And now we’re blessed with Neon Highwire. Their tunes come at you at breakneck speed and leave you wondering if their self-description of “nihilistic deeply distorted bass driven house” is sufficiently intense. They’re playing Friday night and next Monday at 93 Feet East. Do yourselves a favour.

There’s only one thing better than loving good music, and that’s associating with the visionaries that produce it.

http://www.memoria.com.au/
www.myspace.com/neonhighwire

Why don't venues matter anymore?

I grew up in a city desperately short of good music venues. When a musician of any worth came to town, they would pack as many people as they could into the local entertainment centre, put on a show - two if their name had any stature - and catch the next plane out. Watching videos of Faith No More at the Brixton Academy and Radiohead at the Astoria in my youth helped me escape, as I dreamt of the day I'd finally be able to watch bands I loved in an atmosphere that complemented their music.

When I came here ten years ago, that was the first thing I did. Granted, my introduction to Brixton was during an early Coldplay gig, but forgive me, I was young. Nonetheless, the ornate interior, the sloping floor and the decent acoustics had me hooked. I've spent countless nights indulging myself at the Academy since, not least a few months ago when Faith No More returned to their spiritual UK home.

And there are other great places to see music in London. Until it was taken from us the Astoria was grimy enough to make you think you were are hardened rocker. Shepherds Bush Empire can put on a show, the surrounds of Somerset House make it a treat for a week every summer and the acoustics of the Royal Festival Hall are enough to bring joy to the most tonedeaf eardrums. I'm sure there are others out there that I can't wait to experience.

So why is it that so many decent acts show such disregard for where they bring their fans? To me, the venue is second only to the setlist. Yet the number of times a great show has been beaten lifeless by an appalling venue astounds me.

The past year is not short of examples: Sigur Ros have a majestic sound that they chose to lose to the hollow, cavernous roof of Alexandra Palace; Antony Heggarty's voice requires an intimacy and delicateness rarely found outside concert halls, yet he and his Johnsons sat us in the sterile concrete walls of Hammersmith Apollo; the moody soundscapes of Stuart Staples and Tindersticks would be best embraced by a lavish theatre, but we were forced to feel like second-rate festival-goers as their headline show made use of a vacant slot in a lifeless tent in Hyde Park. I won't even begin to talk about arenas.

We're so lucky to live in a city with the wealth of fantastic live music venues that London has. I for one would appreciate it if the bands we love would pay a little more attention to it.