Hi again,
Four more of my personal favourite's from 2012 coming right your way.
Tame Impala- 'Lonerism':
Well they provided what was definitely my live performance of the year, an absolutely packed out Sheffield Leadmill witnessed the Southern Hemisphere's finest rock performance for generations (maybe). For those who haven't come across them, Tame Impala are an Austrlian trio fronted by introverted genuis Kevin Parker, a man of many projects but few which can live up to the sheer strength of Tame Impala. 'Lonerism' is a total enigma from start to finish, but it is safe to say there's not a bad tune on it. Opener 'Be Above It', comes in with a whisper but goes out with an absolute racket and is followed by two melodies of the highest quality, in 'Endors Toi' and 'Apocalypse Dreams'. But the tunes don't falter. Lead single 'Elephant' was bizarrely used in an advert for 'Made In Chelsea' and may have even sparked a slight facial twitch from the cast of dopey posh clowns who make up the show. It is another to be considered in the singles of the year and is reflective of a new far more electronic direction from Parker and Co. which I for one will heavily encourage. The entire album is themed around the fact that basically when Kevin Parker was a kid he didn't really have any friends and spent most of his time in his basement alone and probably wanking. It's this socially introverted outlook which appears to have brought the best out of Tame Impala and placed them at number 1 in NME's top 50 albums of the year (although who in truth actually reads that shite). Topping 2010 debut and cult classic 'Innerspeaker' was always going to be a tough task but 'Lonerism' has achieved it with relative ease.
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Daphni- 'JIAOLONG':
If TEED managed to bring dance to a mainstream UK audience, Daphni was simply making a project that he could enjoy, and yet has almost inadvertently managed to produce one of the best electronic albums of the year. For those who haven't come across Daphni before, he is the moniker of DJ Daniel Snaith who has been operating under the far more recognisable guise of Caribou over the past few years. A change of name brought with it a change in direction. In interview, Snaith discussed how, as Caribou, he was incredibly careful over each song, spending hours mixing until he had reached what he believed to be perfection. With 'JIAOLONG' the opposite is true, as each song was pretty much recorded in one and this brave new approach gives the album a far more raw erratic feel than previous Caribou records have managed to achieve (although I'm not in any way looking to slander Caribou who I believe is equally as good). 'Ye Ye' is testament to this, a volatile track atop a simply-looped vocal sample which is demonstrative of what Daphni's aiming to achieve, it then slides listlessly into 'Light', a song dominated by a flute of all instruments but one which works an absolute treat. Album highlight for me is opener 'Yes, I Know', slightly more musically and vocally complex than the others but one which nonetheless has the ability to stick in the head for days. Whatever crazy new name and therefore direction Snaith's got in store for us in 2013, equalling this record is going to be a tough task.
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Of Monsters and Men- 'My Head is an Animal':
Music from Scandinavia has always had a strange impact upon UK culture. Forty years ago there was ABBA but more recently we've seen cult recognition of bands such as Sigur Ros and The Hives. Of Monsters and Men could well see themselves placed in this bracket in the not-too-distant future and with its delicate soulful melodies and the intricate interchangeing vocals of dual lead singers Nanna and Raggi, 'My Head is An Animal' may go down as a Scandinavian classic. Opener 'Dirty Paws' basically outlines the direction the entire album will take ( the second line of the song being the title for the LP). A quiet acoustic riff to start leads to catchy chorus and an inevitable crescendo in the final minute with lots of 'la-la-las'. However this element of repetitiveness is no issue, Oasis operated on the 'if it aint broke don't fix it' line for the entirety of their careers and that seemed to work out pretty well. 'Little Talks' is an absolute treat, being the first single I heard off the album after coming across a Bombay Bicycle Club re-work which doesn't really do it justice. Other highlights include 'Mountain Sound', 'Your Bones' and personal favourite 'Yellow Light', the latter drawing heavy comparisons with Arcade Fire which can only really be a good thing. However what I find really special about this album is the peaceful glow which washes over the listener when taken as a whole rather than song by song, separating it from other rivals in the 'alternative-epic' category. I anticipate similar high-quality records in the years to come.
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Ben Howard- The Burgh Island EP:
Thought I'd end with South Devon's favorite folk singer. This isn't technically an album but Ben Howard's always worth reviewing and to be honest it's a fantastic piece of music. After the popularity of 'Every Kingdom' (quite possibly my album of 2011), Howard quickly though to himself, 'Well I'm popular now so I can stop singing about love and woods and shit' and he picked up an electric guitar. 'The Burgh Island' is the result. The entire record is basically as dark as Howard could possibly make it but with a few deft touches which bring its technical appeal to the forefront, my two favourite moments being the rip-roaring solo in 'Oats in the Water' and Monica Heldal's guest vocals on the title track, the only one to be released as a single. If the EP is any indicator of whichever direction Ben Howard will choose to take on his next full-length, his 12 year old female fans may take issue with it but I have no problem whatsoever, long live doing whatever the fuck you want.
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So that's my two cents on the music that's really grabbed my attention over the past year, Why not tweet your opinions to me (@goldbart1) or leave a comment on the blog. Back to normal next week.
Many many many thanks for reading,
Max
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