Top 10 of 2023

 

Top 10 of 2023

 

These choices below are an approximation of what I believe my most listened to albums of 2023 have been. I feel like it’s been a great year for music and that I have missed a lot.  Once again, I am not ranking these.  All of these releases helped bring me great joy throughout this past difficult year.

Bleach Lab In a Rush of Emptiness 

 

Flyying Colours You Never Know 

Fragile Animals Slow Motion Burial 

 

The Julies Always & Always

 

Lanterns on the Lake Versions of Us

 

The Popguns Popism

She’s Green Wisteria

 

Slowdive Everything is Alive

Soft Science Lines

UJU The Sun is in Our Eyes

Versions of Us

 

Lanterns on the Lake

Versions of Us

(Bella Union)

There are many contradictions in my behavior and beliefs, but one I’ve only fully realized in recent years is how I seem to have an incredibly strong sense of survival, despite often having a desire to die.  When I’ve been confronted with some pretty catastrophic health issues over the years, I fight like crazy!  When things have been touch and go, I come out gasping for air like someone who’s been under water for an extreme length of time.  Both doctors and nurses have commented on my will to live and my willingness to fight.  It’s funny to me, because they don’t see how I react at some real minor inconveniences that can and often do completely shut me down.  If I receive mail of any kind that involves forms, or when I am fumbling around too much with my hands, or wobbly on my feet, or am dropping everything I try to hold or pick up, I think to myself, how much I don’t want to keep on living.  Every time I encounter debates involving denial of facts and all reason, my response is to shut down.  I’d rather die than deal with that shit.  All of these things have become large factors in my life these days, so I am worried that my fight – my will to survive is declining.  This is why the newest Lanterns on the Lake album, Versions of Us, is so important.

Lanterns on the Lake have been a massive favorite of mine since their earliest self-released and packaged EPs, I regard their debut album,  2011’s Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, as one of the finest debuts of the 2000s, while their follow-up, 2013’s, Until the Colours Run, is an all-timer for me (2013 #1 pick - see here).  That LPs first single, “Another Tale from Another English Town” is remarkable in its cinematic beauty and quiet, yet bitter protest.

There is a positivity that runs through Versions of Us that strikes like a kick to the ass to get in gear and live!   We’re not talking about saccharine messages of hope, but a well-worn reaction earned in the face of serious darkness.  It’s striking, and I’m here for it.  I, for one, am tired of all of the negativity.  I need to turn things around and build up that life affirming resiliency again.

This sense of positivity is important, because singer Hazel Wilde is reminding us that we can all collectively and individually learn from our previous poor habits and assumptions and do better.  “The Saboteur” spells this out in a very straightforward way, in a very memorable chorus, which is heightened by Paul Gregory’s soaring guitar work: 

“Gripped to the past til our fingers bleed

Habit of a century

We’re going to turn this thing round like you wouldn’t believe.” 

The first pre-LP single, “The Likes of Us,” opens the album with a plea for positivity acceptance.  It’s like Wilde is working out her new strategy by accepting that she’s a “wreck,” but asking for all of us fellow down trodden folks to let her have this, “all of these cynics and nihilists couldn’t stop me from feeling this.”

The second single, “String Theory,” finds solace in the idea of a multiverse.  The notion that there are an infinite number of us progressing through time pleases her, knowing that at least one of those versions is having a great time.  It’s kind of funny, but there’s an urgency to this song that is incredibly infectious and hopeful, like witnessing an especially epic sunrise. 

Lanterns on the Lake, with their swelling surges of sound, have always had the ability to create spine-tingling moments that tap into hidden and unspeakable emotions that make one’s face contort to hold back the flood.  This album is no exception, and here we find them perhaps more accessible than ever before.  The previously mentioned singles are upbeat, concise, and with a driving beat from Radiohead’s Philip Selway, songs like “String Theory,” sound crucial and exciting.  Elsewhere, “Real Life” is as close to a catchy pop song that they’ve ever attempted, and it creates an especially spine tingling moment during the bridge, once Gregory’s guitar melds with Angela Chan’s searing violin.  I honestly cannot get enough of it.  “Rich Girls” is another stunner with its warm buzzing organ hum, low end bass, a stuttering beat, and the rousing chorus that absolutely soars, as Wilde clings to her goal of positivity, even if she has to fake it.

Hazel Wilde’s lyrics have always been excellent.  Here they feel more conversational than ever before.  Perhaps she’s writing these affirmations to herself, yet they come off more like an evolving conversation with an old friend.  There’s a humor and humility (“And your guru tries to help / Keeps telling me to love myself / But he can’t stand me either”) here that is familiar and trusting.

This fifth album is already one of my favorites!  Increasingly, with each album release Lanterns on the Lake unveil, there are stories about how the making of that new album almost didn’t happen, because of various issues.  They have continuously lost members through the years, yet they keep on going and remaining remarkably vital.  I am thankful that they remain steadfast and keep this amazing music coming.  Whenever I hear someone say “there’s no good music anymore,” I think of artists like this, and laugh to myself about how ridiculous that notion is.

(https://www.lanternsonthelake.com)

Lanterns on the Lake "String Theory"

Top 40 of 2013 - #5 to #1

Another great year of music comes to a close.  There are many exciting releases on the near horizon to begin 2014, so much to look forward to.  But it’s not nice to take stock and remember what made this past year so tolerable.  I've said plenty (too much) here, so now I would love to hear what kinds of music got everyone else going this past year.  Please feel free to share your picks and stories. 

5.

Kitchens of Distinction

Folly

(3 Loop)

Well, this is awkward.  One of my favorite bands from twenty plus years ago has reformed and they have left me speechless!  I now realize that I never tried to write about them back when they existed from the late 80s till about 1996.  They never easily fit with everyone they were lumped in with, even though in my world they were essentially the epitome of what I was looking for.  Patrick Fitzgerald’s lyrics were always poetic, incredibly honest, dramatic, filled with vivid imagery and layers of interpretation, and often times political – plus he was a great bass player, along the lines of New Order’s Peter Hook and especially, Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie.  Julian Swales’ guitar work was always up there with My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields as far as pure creativity and the ability to twist his strings into soaring layers of sounds that one would not generally associate with the electric guitar.  And then there’s drummer Dan Goodwin, whose unusual style was just as much of a trademark as Swales’ guitar.  His playing was always big, but also very intuitive.  It often felt as though his tempos would adjust as the intensity of their frequent song ending floods of sound would increase.  So, now, they’re back.  They’re not touring, which may be good for me, since when I saw them perform in the fall of 1992, they melted the plugs inside my ears.  The album seems to be named Folly on a lark, because none of them seem to fully realize how this has happened.  Whatever the case, this album is so damn good and so damn them, but it’s not exactly as they were.  This sounds like a fairly natural progression from their 1994 fourth album Cowboys and Aliens, as they began to slow down their gusto a bit and write a wider variety of song styles.  This album is complex.  These songs don’t have the huge hooks of some of their past songs, but they reveal themselves with repeated listens and it’s very exciting to have them back.  “Oak Tree” opens the collection with a finger picked acoustic guitar, as Fitzgerald tells us the story of two lovers growing from the first blossoms of their relationship through sickness and until death, as they music builds a backdrop that feels increasingly menacing as it progresses.  They aren’t fooling around.  Meanwhile, the drama of Swales’ guitar layers that rival a huge orchestral arrangement, act as a perfect soundtrack for Fitzgerald’s rumbling mid range bass lines and his British Romanticist poetry.  Piano opens up the tragic story that is “Photographing Rain,” which details the hanging of two gay Iranian men via a crane.  The darkness continues on “Wolves/Crows” whose rolling chain gang style beat rumbles underneath Swales’ chaotic guitar squall, as Fitzgerald sing/speaks his unleashing of bitterness and inner poison on an unsuspecting tree (“poor tree, its sap thick with my dull life’s sicknesses”).    It’s a fitting and powerful metaphor for humanity’s raping of nature, but personally it also feels like a cautionary tale to not allow anger and hatred and frustration to poison one’s own soul.  On a lighter note, the first single, “Japan to Jupiter,” finds Fitzgerald lost in nostalgia as he regales us with tales from discovering music and clubs and the promise of youth and a limitless future to a fantastic soundtrack.  The other immediately catchy song, “I Wish It Would Snow,” is a simple tale of wanting to stay at home all day and not face the daily grind – something we have all wished for since childhood all the way into the high pressure of the work life.  This beauty opens with a chiming, catchy guitar line and a lackadaisical bass crawl and a sweeping chorus that climaxes with a perfectly placed tambourine shake.  This is exactly the kind of song that has been missing for too long.  Welcome back guys.

(facebook.com/kitchensofdistinctionofficial)

4.

Veronica Falls

Waiting for Something to Happen

Five Covers Volume 2 EP

“Teenage” 7”

“Waiting for Something to Happen” 7”

“Broken Toy” 7”

(Bella Union/Slumberland)

There’s something so comforting to me about the Veronica Falls sound.  Their dry, tightly strummed guitar interplay, the ceaselessly rolling and relentless drums remind me of those great New Zealand and Aussie bands of the late 80s and into the 90s like the Bats and the Cannanes, who could write the same song over and over again, but it was such a damn good song and so well done, that it never really dawned on me.  What the Veronica Falls have that those bands didn’t (or don’t) have is vocal harmonies to die for.  These songs are so well sung and so perfectly put together that the melodies dance in your thoughts for days after each listen.  Their self-titled debut album from 2011 (my #9 pick seen here) was an invitation into their dark world of disappointment and death that somehow felt so welcome and comforting.  That album’s “Bad Feeling” (“I’ve got a bad feeling and it’s not going away”) is my daily anthem as I head into work each day, because, unfortunately, it is so fitting.  If you liked that fantastic debut, you will love this album as well.  Nothing has changed in their sound, except that have tightened some of their loose ends and found a clearer bolder production for this recording (thanks Rory Atwell!).  The result is that the rhythm section of drummer Patrick Doyle and bassist Marion Herbain are now a force to be reckoned with and lead singer,  Roxanne Clifford’s vocals, are more out front and even easier to enjoy, especially when fellow guitarist James Hoare comes in with his deep baritone.  It is stunning to think that they can just keep cranking out such beauties and there is never a dud.  Though they haven’t supplanted “Bad Feeling” with a new dread inducing work anthem, they have offered up something awfully close with “Bury Me.”  It’s not so much a suicide song, but one that identifies those feelings of reaching the point of wanting to give up and let go.  It’s been a source of understanding during a difficult year filled with health uncertainties, discouragement and feeling “adrift.”  There’s nothing more powerful than the comfort of being understood.  Similarly, “Broken Toy” strikes a chord in those us who have never felt at ease with oneself and/or have struggled or helped someone struggle closely with really challenging times.  It’s that understanding and their warm music that makes such bleak subjects so healing.  It doesn’t end with these, because these thirteen songs, starting with the sublime momentum building “Tell Me” through to the set closing goodbye note “Last Conversation,” are new classics that have me delightfully singing along with their hard lessons and rainy day misery.  The amazing 2012 pre-LP single “My Heart Beats” still hasn’t outlasted its welcome with its three minutes of tumbling perfection.  “Teenage,” likewise, gives us a tale of the breezy exuberance of young love from the fuzzy Vaseline adjusted perspective of adulthood.  Each song is an exquisite few minutes of longingly resonant music and heartfelt words sung to us in the most elegant possible harmonies.  Here’s hoping they please keep this up for as long as I continue to struggle through a never ending adolescence.

If you were lucky enough to score one of their limited edition covers EPs from a tour stop or through pre-ordering their album, then you’re in on the treat.  I missed out on the first Five Covers EP and it has become the stuff of legend.  This volume 2 is pretty good with a couple of punk rock covers (Homeblitz and the Rats), some Bob Dylan (“Love Minus Zero/No Limit”) and the amazing and fitting “Bury Me Happy” originally by the Moles and The La’s truly “Timeless Melody,” whose Lee Mavers’ would most assuredly approve (or not, since he seemed an angry man) of their lo-fi approach.  These songs were all recorded in live to tape in a flat in one take, with the vocals done in the bathroom.  There is an unlisted cover of Ween’s “What Deaner Was Talking About,” which is also surprisingly heartfelt considering the source.  A nice treat if you can find it.

The “Teenage” 7” arrived around the same time as the LP, but had been previewed late in 2012 and it is a perfect teaser for the album and one of the finest songs of the year with its gorgeous harmonies and agonizingly pitch perfect capture of lost adolescence and the reassuring conclusion that “everything’s alright.”  The b-side is a simple two minutes of acoustic based balladry with a zinger aimed at narcissism.  This is a song that, much like all of their others, is no throwaway b-side.  Its melody stays with you.  I find myself singing its chorus quite often out of the blue.  Or is it a reminder to not be so selfish.  “Is it true / nothing better to do / than talk about you?”

Meanwhile, the “Waiting for Something to Happen” 7” highlights the title track’s call to action.  It’s hard to deny such a compelling question: “What’s your excuse baby - standing in the middle waiting for something to happen?”  I like it when bands record and release songs as they go.  This B-side, “Perpetual Motion” was recorded during their US tour and finds them using some backwards loops to adorn a super short experiment.  It took me a while to have this one grow on me, but James Hoare’s bass back up vocal that sets the stage for the brief chorus is magical.

Finally, the “Broken Toy” is completely non-essential.  Yes, the A-side is excellent, so for those of you only looking for this song, it’s a place to go.  The B-side, however, is simply a demo for the great album track “If You Still Want Me,” which is okay, but nearly as impactful or very much different than the LP version.

They have a new single out digitally now, but I will address this closer once the vinyl is distributed in early 2014.

(veronicafalls.com)

3.

Underground Lovers

Weekend

(Rubber)

When I first heard the Underground Lovers’ “Promenade” off of their landmark 1992 sophomore album Leaves Me Blind, I instantly fell in love.  They somehow captured the energy and vibe and, mildly, the sound that New Order perfected on side one of their 1986 Brotherhood, and then took it to a whole other level with a Wedding Present style jam session at the end that just keeps getting louder and louder as it builds and builds and doesn’t let go until the listener has been pummeled by the onslaught.  It left me breathless and exhilarated and I was hooked.  I’ve found myself searching high and low for their albums ever since – sometimes putting together incredibly expensive mail orders direct from Australia via international money order and a sinking feeling that nothing would ever arrive, but those CDs always did and never failed to impress.  Still the remoteness and difficulty of finding their music locally has always made me dream of the brief period in 1994 when their one US distributed release Dream It Down CD (which was sandwiched by a bunch of Leaves Me Blind songs) was available everywhere and usually for super cheap!   But it had been a long time since their last album, 1999’s well titled dark and epic Cold Feeling, which saw them pretty much embracing an all electronic album (albeit in a way that 17 Seconds era Cure might have made had they gone a similar direction), and with all of their side projects like Glenn Bennie’s consistently solid GB3 project and with vocalist Vincent Giarrusso making a movie (2000’s Mallboy), I assumed the band was done.  So, not only are they back, but back with the original line-up fully intact for their seventh long-player!  This is monumental.  It’s as if no time has passed.  This is as excellent, fresh and vital as they ever were.  Many of these songs could fit easily into different eras of the band, but none of it sounds like they’re retreating to past glories and it’s simply so welcoming to hear their somehow wholly unique guitar jangle – something that I might possibly be able to describe if I were a musician, but somehow their guitar phrasing is unlike anyone else’s.   It’s also good to hear Phillipa Nihill’s vocals back into the mix for the first time since 1996’s straight forward Rushall Station, so it is perfect that she takes the lead vocal on the soft and meditative opener “Spaces.”  In fact, Nihill sings up front in three of the quieter moments.  The nicely atmospheric love song “Dream to Me,” hints at Leaves Me Blind’s wonderfully bouncy “Holiday,” while the penultimate “In Silhouette’s” mostly guitar and voice balladry finds her cutting straight past the high of a new love and realizing that she’s “gonna tear your heart out” in the end, while reminding just a little of one of my old favorites “Ways t’Burn.”  There are also some seriously loud moments here as well.  “Can for Now” opens with that bare signature guitar riff before cruising into a nice shuffle beat and a song that builds momentum and noise as it progresses (along with the handclaps and woops and hollers), while the early single “Au Pair” begins with a classy bass plucking before exploding into a straight ahead rocker.  The propulsive closing epic “The Lie That Sets You Free” with it’s backwards effected vocals comes off a little bit like a lost gem from the self titled Stone Roses album.  It’s always been the Underground Lovers’ ability to blend their “live” instruments with dance beats and technology so seamlessly that is their true signature.  The room shaking beat of “Signs of Weakness” rattles its way into one’s consciousness as its keyboard atmospherics merge with a Peter Hook-esque bass line for a trance inducing finale.  Elsewhere, we find them paying tribute to the Aussie legends The Go-Betweens on “Riding” by stealing their “Cattle and Cane” riff and referencing them at a party (“We were at a party / Rob and Grant were there / Lindy in an afro / we was dancing on the stairs”) from the old days at the “Cattle and Cane Disco.”   However, it’s while listening to “St. Germain,” that it all finally sunk in that this remarkable band is back!  This song would’ve been a favorite of mine and fit seamlessly onto almost any of their albums, and yet, here it is, over 20 years after I first fell for them, a trademark single.  This is all without mentioning my favorite song on the album, the stunning and sweeping “Haunted (Acedia),” which may simply be one of their best songs period - right up there with the bitter “Beautiful World” from 1994’s Dream It Down.  What an amazing return!  Now, if only to get them back over to the states for a tour!

(undergroundlovers.com.au)

2.

The History of Apple Pie

Out of View

“Don’t You Wanna Be Mine?” 7”

(Marshall Teller)

Sometimes I find myself starting to get wrapped up in some kind of phony critic mind set when it comes to music.  I start thinking about music that I hear with the bent ear of why something might be important in some sort of fantastical big picture, or why something might be more important than another.  It’s all pretty ridiculous.  I am a music fan and the only reason I write these silly little pieces is because I am so excited about the things I like that I want to share them with whomever may be willing to listen.  It’s true that the lyrics to the debut album from this UK quintet are not overly profound, nor is their sound extremely original, but by damn, I love this album!  It doesn’t hurt that their influences seem to be drawn from my favorite era of music – the UK/US indie scene from the late 80s to the early 90s, or more specifically the less than flatteringly coined “shoegaze” scene, nor does it hurt that they’re so freaking good at it.  This is an aggressively uplifting album.  From the opening “Tug,” which feels ready to fly off the rails at any moment – barely kept grounded by a massive low end, to the stomping beat and squalling skyward approach of the closing “Before You Reach the End,” this album is pure joy to listen to.  In many ways, it reminds me of the fresh and energetic shock to the system I received from Popsicle’s Lacquer oh so many years ago (see story here).  The twin guitar assault between Jerome Watson and Aslam Ghauri here is gritty, intuitive and unhinged – not schooled and calculated (just check out the fills during the verses of the stumbling forward momentum of the standout “Glitch”).  Jerome Watson’s solos throughout sound like he’s strumming his effected guitar with as much force and speed as possible to see who can squeeze out the most sparks and break the most strings.  Meanwhile the sweet vocals of Stephanie Min provide the dreamy elegance to counteract the stratospheric aim of the music.  The highlight songs, however, are the ones that showcase the vocal interplay between Min and bassist Kelly Lee Owens – reminding strongly of the much missed Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson from Lush.  The poptastic “See You” can only smack a huge smile across my face as those two trade ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and ‘la la las’ atop a Watson’s aggressive string shredding strums.  Each song melts into the next rarely providing a breath, as the closing feedback of “See You” immediately kicks starts the buzzing and bouncing “Mallory,” which is yet another candy coated piece of pure gold.  Perhaps the sweetest moment is for the simple comforting love song that is “You’re So Cool,” or for me, a kind comforting reminder that life is not all bad.  There indeed are occasional quiet moments of love and contentment and they should be treated with respect and given the same weight as those dark times and struggles that seem to dominate memories.  Of course, the very next song on the album, the huge and majestic “I Want More,” explores the struggle to keep it all together and to keep dreams alive.  During this year of personal struggle, this album has never failed to put a smile on my face and fill me with at least a touch of energy.  What more can someone ask from music?

The band also released a 7” single for a new song late this year, “Don’t You Wanna Be Mine?”  It’s a solid song with some nice organ pumping before the usual flood of guitars carries the song to a thrilling close.  The B-side, however, is just a remix of the A, which is a disappointment.  Word has it that they’re working on the second album already, which is fitting of their clear enthusiasm.  Can’t wait!

(thehistoryofapplepie.com)

1.

Lanterns on the Lake

Until the Colours Run

(Bella Union)

Lanterns on the Lake’s debut, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home (my 2011 #3 pick), was a misty melancholic epic.  The entire album evoked images of dreary grey skies and the cold dampness of coastal harbors.  Having grown up in such an environment, it recalled the comforts of home and the longing of escape and the need for warmth and brightness.  Much like their three early self-released EPs, Gracious Tide wormed its way into my heart and found itself to be one of my favorites of the last several years.  I listen to it over and over when the mood strikes and lose myself in its beautiful landscape.  Having said this, their follow-up has a lot to live up to.  Word has it that the recording of Until the Colours Run was not such an easy process either.  The band lost two founding members as well as struggling through a financial crisis.  Apparently, there was doubt that they would continue.  Well, I for one am thanking them personally for sticking it out, because this second album is an astonishing triumph.    The pre-LP single “Another Tale from Another English Town” immediately threw down the gauntlet that they are truly a force to be reckoned with, as its one of the best songs to come out this year.  They don’t lose their cinematic windswept beauty, they enhance it with more of a focused energy, a little added edge to the layers of instrumentation and to the lyrics, as singer Hazel Wilde sings of frustration with the direction of society, perhaps stemming from the band’s own struggles or simply witnessing the drastic cutbacks to important programs governments are making in the name of austerity: “it’s getting hard to breathe round here, to think round here / and we’ve been sold a thousand lies this year / we just wanted the  quiet life, the quiet life / but they won’t stop till they see us in the ground, till they see us in the ground.”  It’s this soft-spoken protest plainly sung inside the sweeping dynamics of the music that drives the message home that much harder.  It’s difficult not to feel the sadness and anger building inside.  Additionally, the album’s opener “Elodie” seethes on to the scene with buzzing feedback before exploding into a breathtaking dramatic wall of urgent beautiful noise.  Each verse is a quiet piano led interlude with Wilde’s plaintive vocals – though there is a restless percussive that flutters around her voice, as if the band is itching to get back to that noise.  Then the song shifts tempos about two thirds of the way in and they crank out a striking guitar solo, before things simmer down to a hush as the song concludes.  “The Buffalo Days” keeps this more direct direction upfront, as the violins build tension that only partially gets relieved in the crashing cymbals of the chorus, and then the entire song pushes itself into a massive climax that rivals some of the most dramatic moments of the much missed Delgados.  On that line of thought, “The Ghost That Sleeps in Me,” also hints at the power and variety of that band, as Wilde almost sounds like Emma Pollock as she whispers atop slow piano stammers, cellos and crackling static, but then the song shifts into a symphonic epic held together by deep pounding drums.  Meanwhile, the heart wrenching piano ballad, “Green & Gold” sticks to its simple direct unadorned approach and teaches us the “fear is just a fleeting thing,” while “love is not a fleeting thing” – reminding us that we can overcome our fears easier than we can overcome heartbreak.  When I first heard Lanterns of the Lake, after mail ordering their 2008 debut Starlight EP, I immediately liked them, but I never saw this kind of grandeur coming from those days of humble CDr’s and handwritten sleeves.  This is purely a magnificent album that grows and reveals its power and subtleties with each listen.  I urge you, if you haven’t heard them previously, to give them a chance to astound you.

(lanternsonthelake.com)

see the rest of the best here:

#40 to #36

#35 to #31

#30 to #26

#25 to #21

#20 to #16

#15 to #11

#10 to #6

Top 40 of 2011 Part IV

Here is the final installment of the Top 40 releases of 2011: The Top 10

 
I hope everyone takes a chance to share some of your favorites from this past year in the comments below!

10. We Were Promised Jetpacks
In the Pit of the Stomach
(Fatcat)
A couple of years back Ox and I went to see the Scottish lineup of The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit perform at Dante’s as part of Portland’s Music Fest NW. At that time, the second Twilight Sad CD was due to be released and they were to play some new material, so we were pretty stoked. As we walked into the crowded and appropriately burning hot club, we first headed to the bar for beer, the merch table to secure the new CDs and then to the stage. The soundtrack during this entire adventure was another band from Scotland, who despite how many times I’ve asked and had answered who they were, their name never stuck with me. All I knew is that they sounded incredible, were really intense, and their singer reminded me of golfer Lee Westwood gone insane. It wasn’t until recently that I put together their silly and apparently too difficult to remember name with a moment when I could actually seek out this four-piece’s music. They have two albums, and much like their live set, both are full of incredible intensity. This second offering, much like The Twilight Sad’s second Forget the Night Ahead, is maybe a bit too much, as there’s nary a chance to take one’s breath, aside from the closing “Pear Tree,” and the opening segment of the fantastic “Act on Impulse.” True be told though, I kind of admire the all-in fire of this music. The complex and always forward pressing drumming pushes the string shredding passes of the guitars, which act as fuel to ignite a fire into singer Adam Thompson who lays his heart on the line with commitment and searing passion. If you need feel this kind of fire burning inside, then throw on the singles “Medicine” and “Human Error,” and the surprisingly hummable “Picture of Health,” or “Sore Thumb,” and the undeniable force that is the album opener “Circles and Squares.”
(wewerepromisedjetpacks.com)

9. Veronica Falls
Veronica Falls
(Bella Union/ Slumberland)
Veronica Falls have been releasing singles now for a few years, but this is their proper debut album and it’s a welcome beginning, though a pretty dark one. We start out with “Found Love in a Graveyard” a song that seems to be about having a love affair with a ghost, while we definitely don’t want to go to “The Fountain,” or delve into “Misery” or “Bad Feeling” (another ghostly entry). That’s just side one! Some of these songs sound fairly upbeat with their nice male/ female vocal harmonies, pounding barely in control drums, and tight strumming guitars, but things are definitely not all good here in Veronica Falls. The bleakness of their words isn’t overwhelming and only adds an added depth to their brand of indie pop, which is often described in terms of the C86 explosion and a touch of the Sarah brand sound, but I hear more of Australia’s late great Cannanes here, though a bit less ramshackle and a lot more focused. “Stephen” comes off as a lost Pixies track, if maybe they had decided to strip things down a bit, instead of adding the keyboard flourishes of later albums. Veronica Falls’ sound fits the black and white pastoral cover of the album. It has a wintery feel; one that is tinged with sadness, but has a familiar comfort. Don’t miss their title song “Veronica Falls,” the fairly uplifting “Come on Over,” “Right Side of my Brain,” along with the previously mentioned tunes for a sense of their sound and let’s hope they continue to make such touching music.
(veronicafalls.com)

8. The Rifles
Freedom Run
(The Rifles/Nettwerk)
This third LP from Chingford UK’s mod-pop band The Rifles is a bit of a shock to the system. Having absolutely gone apeshit over their spiky early singles and debut No Love Lost, and enjoyed their progression to a bigger sounding act with their second album Great Escape (my 2009 # 2 pick), this new one threw me. After the first few listens, and even after hearing and loving the pre-LP single “Tangled Up in Love,” pretty much nothing sat well with me. Besides that single, at best, I felt indifference, while at worst, I was annoyed. However, this is the Rifles - this is the band that gave us “Peace and Quiet,” “Local Boy,” “Science in Violence,” and my two ultimate favorites: “When I’m Alone” and “Out in the Past.” I had to give the new material more of a chance. And, believe it or not, most of these songs started to grow on me. Their earlier work had a very punk/mod flavor (think The Clash and The Jam) and they’re blessed with huge pop sensibilities. This new work focuses more on their pop sensibilities. Really, much of this album wouldn’t sound out of place amongst work by UK pop acts from the late 60s when there was a fair amount of concept album and orchestration happening. For whatever reason, it didn’t click with me at first, even though my tastes with age have leaned more towards classic pop sounds.  Maybe it’s because of songs like “Love is a Key” and “Little Boy Blue (Human Needs)” tread in a direction that I don’t want to go. The rest of the album though, has won me over in a big way. The opening four tracks form a dazzling spectacle of chiming guitars and catchy harmonies. “Dreamer” is a builder that acts as a bridge between older Rifles and this new one (literally, as they now have a new rhythm section), while “Sweetest Thing” and its falsetto vocals climbs to sparkling heights. The other unendingly catchy number is the sing-along simplicity of  “I Get Low.” Overall, though a bit too much, but a brave step in a new direction and once one’s mind (meaning mine) is open, this proves to be a winning album that sounds classic and modern at the same time, much like Oasis did during the mid-90s with Definietly Maybe. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
(therifles.com)

7. Trembling Blue Stars
Correspondence 10” EP
(Elefant)
Okay, so I thought last year’s double CD release, Fast Trains and Telegraph Wires (last year’s # 4 pick), was to be the final statement from longtime favorites Trembling Blue Stars. However, this 10” orange vinyl EP sprang up earlier this year to treat us to one last taste from this Robert Wratten led collective. With releases like this, the farewell can go on forever as far as I’m concerned. The opener is a mix of two songs from the last album, “Outside” and one of the highlights “Half-Light,” strung together into an ambient masterpiece re-titled “The Light outside.” Up next is another short instrumental that reflects the theme of the last album, with its quiet airwave static. “Sunrise on Mars” jumps in and acts as this set’s true single. It’s a spot on example of this band’s ability to craft perfect three minute bits of stellar heartfelt pop. Side two opens with an old 80s Wire favorite: “Kidney Bingos” with help from Caesar McInulty (The Wake) on vocals with late term member Beth Arzy (ex-Aberdeen). This straightforward rendition, though welcome, offers nothing revelatory. The final two songs are the very strong though. “A Field at Dusk” is an acoustic strummer that carries the listener into a melancholic state of total reflection, while “A Spell of Songs” is a classic finger picked number with a slowly unfolding story that has marked all phases of Wratten’s storied career stretching from the Field Mice, Northern Picture Library to this band. Will he start again? I sure hope so.
(elefant.com)

6. exlovers
“Blowing Kisses” 7”
“Starlight, Starlight” mp3
(Young and Lost Club)
Enough already! exlovers need to release an album now! This is getting ridiculous. This UK five-piece has released 3 7” singles and a 10” EP since 2008 with nary a fumble throughout, but still no full length. This year started off with promise with the 7” release of “Blowing Kisses,” another short driving song on par with their excellent Stephen Street produced “You Forget So Easily” (last year’s #15 pick) from late 2009. The B-side, “Motheaten Memories” is even better with its single guitar intro that builds into an upbeat number that crashes through some soaring peaks and valleys musically. Both of these songs show an aggressiveness that much of their prior work hasn’t shown, but the ever consistent twin vocals of Peter and Laurel guide us through these songs of fractured relationships. I thought this single for sure would mean a new album in 2011, but nothing all year…until just recently on their website they’ve announced that an album is immanent and have provided a chance to download a free track: “Starlight, Starlight.” I suggest everyone take advantage of this free preview; it’s quite a treat.
(exlovers.co.uk)

5. Secret Shine
The Beginning and the End
(Shine)
Secret Shine were a Sarah band in the early to mid 90s, but they were one that mined the shoegaze world more than the fey shyness of most of their label mates. Vocally, they fit right in, but musically they were bit a more noisy. Even though I treaded those Sarah grounds quite a lot back then, I somehow overlooked them. It wasn’t until after they reformed after their original drummer Tim Morris died, that I found my way to their two EPs of very nice new material released in 2006. They followed those with a new album that harkened back to their prior 90s album in 2008 (All of the Stars), which sounds great, but sometimes lacks memorable moments – like so much of the newer shoegaze material out there. This second album in their new version is a big leap forward from that one. Along with their own signature sound, this has a feel of “Pearl”-era Chapterhouse with it’s combination of electronic atmospherics mushed together with the waves of guitars and the cooing of Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell. This set opens with a fiery “In Between” to get the adrenaline going, while “Perfect Life” eases into a nice universal groove. Other standouts include the burning back to back side two songs: “Hole in Your Heart” and “It’s Killing Me.” “Touching Nothing,” and the big beat of “Trying to Catch the End” finish the album off in dreamy Slowdive-ish fashion. My only complaint here is that the vocals don’t quite fit right in the mix productive-wise. They sound like they’re piped in from somewhere else. Maybe it’s the odd seeming use of auto-tune, but something’s amiss in the sound at times. This is a minor complaint, because the songs are strong and most-likely the most consistent and best of their recording career.
(secretshine.co.uk)

4. Dum Dum Girls
Only in Dreams
He Gets Me High EP
(Sub Pop) 
I liked the Dum Dum Girls’ first album (2010’s home recorded, mostly solo I Will Be), but it felt more like sketches of songs. There are catchy short bursts with some great melodies, but the drum machine grows a bit old throughout and there’s far too much reverb shadowing Dee Dee Penny’s vocal gifts. I wondered what their second album would sound like with a full band and more fully realized songs. The result? I absolutely have fallen head over heels for Only in Dreams! Firstly, Dee Dee’s vocals are way more upfront and forceful here, which is a plus, because she gets to showcase her cool early - Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) inflected voice. Oh, and her oohs and aahs throughout can be spine tingling, such as in the sad plea of “Heartbeat (Take It Away),” which makes me melt. The full live band proves to be a huge benefit as well, after a year of solid touring; they have formed a tight knit base and Jules adds some tasteful 60s-ish surf guitar leads that fits beautifully inside these girl group inspired songs. Everything here is recommended, but start with the endlessly refreshing “Bedroom Eyes,” the Cramps-like “Just a Creep,” “Caught in One,” and “Tears on My Pillow.” Then, turn to the epic and haunting “Coming Down” and the emotional “Hold Your Hands.” Come to think of it, this album is actually stuffed with heartbreak and sadness and loneliness and it is a beautiful and comforting way to deal with it.

The pre-LP four song EP He Gets Me High is also highly recommended. The three originals are all worthy of making the album, especially the single standout title track. Lastly, is a cover of the Smiths’ oft-covered “There is a Light that Never Goes Out,” which is a song that doesn’t need to be covered, but this is easily the best I’ve heard. The loud buzzing guitars drive this song with an urgency that most covers seem to lack and it has reinvigorated life into a song that had kind of faded from my old lexicon of favorites. Thank you!
(wearedumdumgirls.com)

3. Lanterns on the Lake
Gracious Tide, Take Me Home (2 CD)
(Bella Union)
After three stellar self-released CD EP’s, Northeastern England’s Lanterns on the Lake finally come through with a full length album. Last year’s EP feature “Lungs Quicken” (#14 pick for me for 2010) opens this 11 song set with its life affirming urgent plea. There are a few other holdovers from the original limited EP’s dating back to 2008’s Starlight EP. From that debut we find two songs that have undergone major overhauls: the heart wrenching “If I Have Been Unkind” and the now sweeping epic plea of “I Love You, Sleepyhead.” Also, appearing from their 2009 second EP Misfortunes and Minor Victories, another transformed treat finds “A Kingdom” becoming the upbeat centerpiece in this cinematic collection. If you thought those early EPs were impressive displays of subtle beauty and introspection, this album will fulfill and surpass all expectations! I’m pretty sure that the weather has changed to dark and menacing outside while I’ve listened to this beauty, as it evokes the myriad greys, dark blues, and greens of a misty coastline. The gentle guitar plucks and foggy atmosphere of the layers of strings envelop these songs with shimmering depth. Check out the autumn colors of “Blanket of Leaves,” “Not Going Back to the Harbour,” and the perfect “Tricks.”

Also, if you have the chance, find the version of this album with the “Rough Trade Bonus Disc.” Two of the songs are reprised remixes from the album, but are really the full superior versions of what made the LP. While the two new tracks are both stunners!
(lanternsonthelake.com)

2. The Wild Swans
The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years
Tracks in Snow EP
(Occultation)
Could this really be true: a third album from the Wild Swans? I hear their trademark icy keyboard atmospherics, some twinkling piano fills, pristine guitar leads and Paul Simpson’s distinctive and personable voice; it is true! Let’s see, they formed in like 1980, released their first official LP in 1988 and find their way to this: The Coldest Winter in a Hundred Years by 2011. Maybe most surprising is that these 13 tracks collect the sound, the passion and the romanticism first heard from these northern Brits back in 1982 with their legendary “Revolutionary Spirit” single and their early BBC recordings. I cannot tell you how welcome this release is! You see, as a young kid, I discovered this band through the vinyl only release of their three song Peel Session, which is stunning (a record I purchased twice due to wearing it out). That very release spawned a rebirth and led them to finally record their first album: Bringing Home the Ashes, an album that has not fared well critically over time, but one which I proudly claimed in 1988 as my favorite of that year and am not ashamed that it still holds a warm place in my heart. Yes, it has dated a bit, due to a heavy 80s production sound (drums that sound like machines, etc), but the songs are stellar. An odd second album followed two years later and was way too influenced by producer Ian Broudie, whose Lightning Seeds were splashing rainbows and candy all over the world at that time. Space Flower was mildly interesting, but turned out to be fleeting ear candy that has not been a favorite to return to. I’m not sure why I’m going through the history lesson here, though it is an interesting one – considering that the band is more of a legend or myth than an actual entity. In 2009, they shocked me by releasing a magical 10” two song single with the catchy UK referencing “English Electric Lightning,” (included here) and the wonderful short story/song “The Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years” which details the early years of the Liverpool music scene through the eyes of main Swan Paul Simpson. “Liquid Mercury” was the next peak at new material (also included here) and it shines as a prime example of their new material – a pristine classic catchy tune. Most of these songs are simple 3 minute pop nuggets, yet they jammed full of feeling and depth. The clear theme throughout is a sense of loss – and that loss being England’s fall from grace – at least in Simpson’s mind. It is probably a bit overdone, but there’s a little bit in all of us that looks back into parts of the past longingly and the supposed good times. This one will feed that desire and provides the perfect reflective soundtrack to do so. “Falling to Bits,” the opener, with its declaration “This town is falling to bits and I don’t like it/ We need a bonfire lit and I’ll ignite it” serves as a proper thesis that leads to the aforementioned songs, the heavily referenced “My Town” and the lamenting closer “The Bluebell Wood;” all of which provide examples of better times. The best songs though lie in the other tracks. I love the bursting chorus of “Chloroform,” and the tragedy of its both World War referencing lyrics, and the mournful yet comforting conversation with loved ones now passed in “Lost At Sea.” This is what I signed up for and why this CD has stayed in constant rotation throughout much of the year. I don’t know if the Wild Swans will stick around this time or disappear for another 10 years, but I recommend everyone seek this out while they’re still here. I would start with their early years 2 CD retrospective from 2003, Incandescent, but I hear that’s now out of print and selling at outrageous prices, so get this while the opportunity still exists!!

Through direct mail order from Occultation, one can also pick up the 3 song suite Tracks in Snow, which should be released as a single. All three songs are easily album worthy, if not radio single ready. “Dark Times” works as the perfect Wild Swans anthem in less than 3 minutes! Wait! No! “Disintegrating” is the perfect Wild Swans single that encapsulates their ability to capture broken hearted moments with a comforting touch. Meanwhile, the closing “Poison” is a nice little love song - also highly recommended.
(thewildswans.co.uk)

1. The Joy Formidable
The Big Roar (Box set)
(Canvasback/Atlantic)
I am in love with this band. I have to come clean. There’s no way around it. When I first ran across their impressive mix of soaring shoegaze atmospherics mixed with the grinding propulsive drive of the best post-punk, and the crazy frenetic drumming, I was hooked. Listening to this, their official debut album (though 2009’s A Balloon Called Moaning was basically an album – my #1 pick from last year!!), has made me feel like a high school kid again! They have rekindled that early spark I had when I first became a music obsessive fanatic. When I wanted to follow bands on tour, wear their t-shirts every day and litter my walls with posters and album art. The Big Roar fits that bill too! Its mix of epic barnstormers and short fast pounders, along with an unusual bent on lyrics; reminded me of the sprawling mess that I fell in love with when I first came home with The Cure’s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me in 1987, as a 16 year old. Not that they sound anything like each other, but the creative drive and willingness to go for it at all costs is what is appealing. The only downside of their debut is that four of these twelve numbers were already on last years’ EP/LP, though these are bigger sounding and “Whirring” now is a closer approximation of the unbelievable show-stopper that this gale force band is live (a must see!!!). Also, last autumn’s stunning single “I Don’t Want to See You like This” appears here as well. We’ll let this go though, since these songs needed more exposure, because they are simply that damn good. The remaining seven songs are glimpses into the shear raw power that this Welsh by way of London trio possess. The opening track “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie” is a slow building lengthy glider that spirals itself into a frenzied show stopping force! Though it’s not the easiest way to be exposed to the band, it certainly shows off where they’re about to take us. The highlights for me, besides the appearance of the double-kick drum on a handful of tracks (feeding my secret metal head needs), come with the bursting short-ish songs, such as the punky “The Magnifying Glass,” the explosive “Chapter 2,”and the cryptic “A Heavy Abacus.” I hope they don’t burn themselves out too quickly! This is amazing stuff.

The box set, if you can get your hands on one, comes with a second disc with 6 tracks from their earlier days. The highlights are the Catherine Wheel-like shredder “Greyhounds in the Slips” and the underrated 2010 single “Popinjay,” which is downright creepy. Also included are two DVDs. One disc follows the band a journey from their home base to the beach where they filmed the video for “I Don’t Want to See You like This,” (video included) as well as compiling all of their early videos for “Whirring,” “Austere,” and “Cradle.” The other disc is an up close, audience perspective view of the band in an early NYC gig. It gives one a taste of how impressive they are in person.
(thejoyformiable.com)



Here's to a new year and much much more great music and don't forget to share your choices for the best of 2011!



Links: Top 40 #'s 40-31
                      #'s 30-21
                      #'s 20-11