One of the last social things I did before lockdown was the 6 Music Festival (and an excellent non-festival Jehnny Beth concert that is probably the musical highlight of my year so far). I’ve been trying to do more live music (combined with cycling adventures) and this sort of event really works for me as it takes me to a different city and builds in enough time to properly explore.
Obviously more adventures of this type are not possible now, but over the last week I’ve been participating in Tim Burgess’ Twitter listening parties where people all listen to the same record at the same time, and the people who made the record in the first place commentate. I’ve never consumed music in quite this way before, but I now think it’s something I’d like to continue doing after lockdown. I’ve rediscovered some old music that required hunting down CDs and MP3 backups, connected with people who share my love of some of my current favourites, and generally added a bit of structure to my evenings.
This is my calendar for this week. I’ve been off work so I’ve had a lot of free time, but even next week I think I’ll tune in for a few as well as nothing actually eats into work time.
My new social life
I know this is making things easier for a lot of people, and also that this is introducing people to new music that they can buy, and thus support the artists who are really struggling right now without the revenue from gigs. It’s a good thing, and I’m glad I’m part of it.
I realised this week that I have a single blog post for all my other Album of the year lists, and would probably regret doing 2019 in sections at some point. This blog post addresses this issue, and also has undergone some light editing to preserve the narrative.
I’ve been compiling a list of my favourite records of each year for a decade or more. This year I’ve listened to music slightly differently; with monthly Spotify playlists on shuffle during train journeys and walks, but otherwise by putting a record on my record player and listening to the songs in the order they were sequenced. These are my top 10, starting with something that came out during a surprisingly warm February.
Ex:Re – Ex:Re
Ex:Re is the solo project of Elena Tonra (from Daughter), and this record is touched by heartbreak, but also by the realisation that you sometimes need to pick the pieces of other people out of your skin before you can start to heal. It’s sparse and beautiful, and one of the most emotionally raw collections of songs I’ve heard this year.
The Twilight Sad – It Won/t Be Like This All the Time
The second selection from my list of my favourite records from 2019 takes me back to the very start of the year.
Anyone who has known me for a while will know that The Twilight Sad are one of my favourite bands, and that their music often soundtracks the winter months for me. This year they delivered an excellent new record in January, which got me in the right head space for a couple of weeks of sub-zero cycling and an extremely challenging month at work (but it’s good to get the worst month out of the way at the start of the year, right?).
Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising
Part 3 of my list of my favourite records from 2019.
At this point I realise there are very few cheery records on this year’s list. This one is probably the most uplifting musically, although lyrically it deals with climate change, and the growing sense that if we don’t do something to avert the climate catastrophe then it doesn’t really matter what else we do because we are underwater. This one is a grower, and nothing like what I usually listen to, but it’s one I keep coming back to.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
I said previously that there are very few cheery records on this list, and this one doesn’t help. It is however one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard (this year or any other year), and it’s a million miles away from where Nick Cave started all those years ago (check out Release the Bats by The Birthday Party for something a lot angrier). This reminds me of one of those books where you just have to read it all in one go. Partly to find out what happened and partly because it deserves your full attention until you have consumed it completely. I would be surprised if there is an album of the year list that doesn’t include this record; it really is that good.
Kate Tempest – The Book of Traps & Lessons
This is a record that definitely needs to be listened to in the order it is sequenced. It’s also probably my favourite record by an artist who is responsible for at least one of my favourite records already (2016’s Let Them Eat Chaos). Kate Tempest is a writer who also performs, and The Book of Traps & Lessons is a single long poem put to music that demands to be listened to in one go. The music is much sparser than anything she has done before, but it allows the words to take centre stage as they should do. This record has probably provoked the most extreme emotional reaction of anything I’ve listened to this year, and I suspect I’ll listen to it for many years to come.
Belle & Sebastian – Days of the Bagnold Summer
This next record takes me back to September. I spent about half of September in Japan, and as a result couldn’t buy this record until it had been out a couple of weeks. It was my soundtrack to that trip though (thanks to Spotify), and also to the desolate weather and subsequent mood crash that followed my return to the UK. Many people will know that Belle & Sebastian are one of my favourite bands, and this record serves as a great introduction to them, from the re-recordings of two old favourites to the newer songs that may themselves become old favourites in the years to come. They managed to provide at least two of my favourite songs of last year (Cornflakes and Best Friend) and in This Letter and Safety Valve they have added two more songs that just seemed to perfectly sum up how I was feeling at the time I first listened to them. They have made better records, but for now this one will do nicely.
The Delines – The Imperial
My seventh record of the year is from January, when 2019 was only a few days old. I loved the soulful gin-soaked vibe of the first Delines record (Colfax), and this one picks up very much where the last one left off. It’s very much an album of stories, with clear narratives, believable characters (with names – which reminds me a bit of The Hold Steady), and songs that sound like they could have been written at any time since the early 70s. This isn’t a fashionable record, and I suspect it won’t be in many end of year lists, but it’s one that is well worth giving a chance to if you are interested in well-written songs performed to perfection.
Cigarettes After Sex – Cry
My 8th record of the year is much newer than most of the rest, but definitely deserves a place on this list. The first Cigarettes After Sex record was on my list in 2017, and I was wondering what direction they would go in next. The answer is very much that they are going in exactly the same direction, but are much closer to getting there. It’s very much still all about crooning falsetto, shimmering guitars, and lyrics that don’t look like anything special when written down, but which still manage to blend perfectly with the music; but if anything there are even more great songs this time around. This record sound-tracked most of November and December for me, and if the year started in November it would easily be my record of the year.
Durand Jones & The Indications – American Love Call
This is a record that I got as part of my Rough Trade Club membership, and I don’t think I would have given it a chance otherwise. From the cover I had it pegged as retro American soul, and while that’s not too far off the mark there is something about this record that transcends genre and just transports me to America in the sunshine instead (not bad considering I’ve only ever been to America in December). Both vocalists can really sing, there isn’t a bad song on the record, and it has very quickly become the record I put on if I just want to feel better about myself and the world for a little while.
William Doyle – Your Wilderness Revisited
For my 10th selection I’m going to pick something that I’ve only owned for a few days, but which I’ve loved since the first time I’ve heard it. William Doyle used to record as East India Youth, but this record is very different than anything that has gone before, and swaps electronic music for something more organic and breathable. It still does a fair bit of genre-switching, but is on the whole a collection of excellent songs with clever and thoughtful lyrics. Words are important to me, and these words are perfect.
The Best of the Rest
There is more though (there always is), and there are some records that I’ve really enjoyed but I don’t really have anything to say about. These are the rest:
She Makes War – And Peace
DIIV – Deceiver
Lost Crowns – Every Night Something Happens
Fontaines DC – Dogrel
Pip Blom – Boat
Mark Kozelek and Petra Haden – Joey Always Smiled
Sudan Archives – Athena
FKA Twigs – Magdalene
Maps – Colours. Reflect. Time. loss.
The National – I Am Easy to Find
Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
Viagra Boys – Street Worms
Big Thief – UFOF
Big Thief – Two Hands
Richard Dawson 2020
Kim Gordon – No Home Record
Pixies – Beneath The Eyrie
The Comet is Coming – Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery
I’ve posted writeups of 10 records I really loved this year on Facebook and in a couple of previous blog posts (part 1 and part 2). There is more though (there always is), and there are some records that I’ve really enjoyed but I don’t really have anything to say about. This is the full list:
Ex:Re – Ex:Re
The Twilight Sad – It Won/t Be Like This All the Time
Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
Kate Tempest – The Book of Traps & Lessons
Belle & Sebastian – Days of the Bagnold Summer
The Delines – The Imperial
Cigarettes After Sex – Cry
Durand Jones & The Indications – American Love Call
William Doyle – Your Wilderness Revisited
She Makes War – And Peace
DIIV – Deceiver
Lost Crowns – Every Night Something Happens
Fontaines DC – Dogrel
Pip Blom – Boat
Mark Kozelek and Petra Haden – Joey Always Smiled
Sudan Archives – Athena
FKA Twigs – Magdalene
Maps – Colours. Reflect. Time. loss.
The National – I Am Easy to Find
Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
Viagra Boys – Street Worms
Big Thief – UFOF
Big Thief – Two Hands
Richard Dawson 2020
Kim Gordon – No Home Record
Pixies – Beneath The Eyrie
The Comet is Coming – Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery
I’ve been compiling a list of my favourite records of each year for a decade or more. This year I’ve listened to music slightly differently; with monthly Spotify playlists on shuffle during train journeys and walks, but otherwise by putting a record on my record player and listening to the songs in the order they were sequenced. This is the second half of the list (the first half can be found here).
Belle & Sebastian – Days of the Bagnold Summer
Part 6 of my review of music from 2019 takes me back to September. I spent about half of September in Japan, and as a result couldn’t buy this record until it had been out a couple of weeks. It was my soundtrack to that trip though (thanks to Spotify), and also to the desolate weather and subsequent mood crash that followed my return to the UK. Many people will know that Belle & Sebastian are one of my favourite bands, and this record serves as a great introduction to them, from the re-recordings of two old favourites to the newer songs that may themselves become old favourites in the years to come. They managed to provide at least two of my favourite songs of last year (Cornflakes and Best Friend) and in This Letter and Safety Valve they have added two more songs that just seemed to perfectly sum up how I was feeling at the time I first listened to them. They have made better records, but for now this one will do nicely.
The Delines – The Imperial
My seventh record of the year is from January, when 2019 was only a few days old. I loved the soulful gin-soaked vibe of the first Delines record (Colfax), and this one picks up very much where the last one left off. It’s very much an album of stories, with clear narratives, believable characters (with names – which reminds me a bit of The Hold Steady), and songs that sound like they could have been written at any time since the early 70s. This isn’t a fashionable record, and I suspect it won’t be in many end of year lists, but it’s one that is well worth giving a chance to if you are interested in well-written songs performed to perfection.
Cigarettes After Sex – Cry
My 8th record of the year is much newer than most of the rest, but definitely deserves a place on this list. The first Cigarettes After Sex record was on my list in 2017, and I was wondering what direction they would go in next. The answer is very much that they are going in exactly the same direction, but are much closer to getting there. It’s very much still all about crooning falsetto, shimmering guitars, and lyrics that don’t look like anything special when written down, but which still manage to blend perfectly with the music; but if anything there are even more great songs this time around. This record sound-tracked most of November and December for me, and if the year started in November it would easily be my record of the year.
Durand Jones & The Indications – American Love Call
This is a record that I got as part of my Rough Trade Club membership, and I don’t think I would have given it a chance otherwise. From the cover I had it pegged as retro American soul, and while that’s not too far off the mark there is something about this record that transcends genre and just transports me to America in the sunshine instead (not bad considering I’ve only ever been to America in December). Both vocalists can really sing, there isn’t a bad song on the record, and it has very quickly become the record I put on if I just want to feel better about myself and the world for a little while.
William Doyle – Your Wilderness Revisited
For my 10th selection I’m going to pick something that I’ve only owned for a few days, but which I’ve loved since the first time I’ve heard it. William Doyle used to record as East India Youth, but this record is very different than anything that has gone before, and swaps electronic music for something more organic and breathable. It still does a fair bit of genre-switching, but is on the whole a collection of excellent songs with clever and thoughtful lyrics. Words are important to me, and these words are perfect.
I’ve been compiling a list of my favourite records of each year for a decade or more. This year I’ve listened to music slightly differently; with monthly Spotify playlists on shuffle during train journeys and walks, but otherwise by putting a record on my record player and listening to the songs in the order they were sequenced. I’ll share a few of my favourites over the next few days just in case anyone is looking for new music to get them through the Christmas period, starting with something that came out during a surprisingly warm February.
Ex:Re – Ex:Re
Ex:Re is the solo project of Elena Tonra (from Daughter), and this record is touched by heartbreak, but also by the realisation that you sometimes need to pick the pieces of other people out of your skin before you can start to heal. It’s sparse and beautiful, and one of the most emotionally raw collections of songs I’ve heard this year.
The Twilight Sad – It Won/t Be Like This All the Time
Anyone who has known me for a while will know that The Twilight Sad are one of my favourite bands, and that their music often soundtracks the winter months for me. This year they delivered an excellent new record in January, which got me in the right head space for a couple of weeks of sub-zero cycling and an extremely challenging month at work (but it’s good to get the worst month out of the way at the start of the year, right?).
Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising
At this point I realise there are very few cheery records on this year’s list. This one is probably the most uplifting musically, although lyrically it deals with climate change, and the growing sense that if we don’t do something to avert the climate catastrophe then it doesn’t really matter what else we do because we are underwater. This one is a grower, and nothing like what I usually listen to, but it’s one I keep coming back to.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
I said yesterday that there are very few cheery records on this list, and this one doesn’t help. It is however one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard (this year or any other year), and it’s a million miles away from where Nick Cave started all those years ago (check out Release the Bats by The Birthday Party for something a lot angrier). This reminds me of one of those books where you just have to read it all in one go. Partly to find out what happened and partly because it deserves your full attention until you have consumed it completely. I would be surprised if there is an album of the year list that doesn’t include this record; it really is that good.
Kate Tempest – The Book of Traps & Lessons
This is a record that definitely needs to be listened to in the order it is sequenced. It’s also probably my favourite record by an artist who is responsible for at least one of my favourite records already (2016’s Let Them Eat Chaos). Kate Tempest is a writer who also performs, and The Book of Traps & Lessons is a single long poem put to music that demands to be listened to in one go. The music is much sparser than anything she has done before, but it allows the words to take centre stage as they should do. This record has probably provoked the most extreme emotional reaction of anything I’ve listened to this year, and I suspect I’ll listen to it for many years to come.
It’s national album day, and as is traditional I’ve spent today playing some records that mean a lot to me, and also some that are new. This is today’s selection.
Richard Dawson – 2020 (2019)
Kim Gordon – No Home Record (2019)
Big Thief – Two Hands (2019)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen (2019)
Black Francis/Frank Black – Frank Black Francis (2004)
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Big Thief – Capacity (2017)
DIIV – Deceiver (2019)
Belle & Sebastian – Days of the Bagnold Summer (2019)
Kate Tempest – The Book of Traps and Lessons (2019)
Nick Drake – Bryter Layter (1970)
Julian Cope – Skellington 3 (2018)
Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1971)
It’s all different than last year but there is a lot on that list that I wish I’d had the time to play today.
2018 has been a strange year in so many ways. I always said that I would try and buy less music this year, and instead, spend more time with the music I did buy. This has very much happened, but there is also very little on this list that wasn’t chosen by someone else (either as part of the Rough Trade club, or as a birthday/Christmas gift). That said, I love all of these records, and I think they represent an accurate summary of my journey through 2018.
Shame – Songs of Praise
Nils Frahm – All Melody
Belle & Sebastian – How to Solve our Human Problems
The Shacks – Haze
Daniel Blumberg – Minus
LUMP – LUMP
Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth
Father John Misty – God’s Favourite Customer
Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing
Bodega – Endless Scroll
Melody’s Echo Chamber – Bon Voyage
She Makes War – Brace for Impact
IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance.
Adrianne Lenker – abyskiss
Paul Smith – Diagrams
John Grant – Love is Magic
Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright (volume 1)
It’s National Album day today, and I’ve spent the day listening to a few old and new favourites (with a short break to walk the dog once the rain stopped). This is what I ended up listening to:
The Cure – Faith (1981)
Father John Misty – God’s Favourite Customer (2018)
British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)
Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band – Adios Senor Pussycat (2017)
The Wedding Present – George Best 30 (2017)
The Auteurs – After Murder Park (1996)
Hope Sandoval – Until the Hunter (2016)
Adrianne Lenker – Abysskiss (2018)
IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018)
The National – Sleep Well Beast (2017)
She Makes War – Brace for Impact (2018)
Felt – The Pictorial Jackson Review (1988)
The House of Love – The House of Love (1988)
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
I’ve been to a couple of very enjoyable concerts this year (Belle & Sebastian and She Makes War) and I’d very much like to go to more now the nights are drawing in and spending evenings outside is less appealing. I thought it was worth listing things I was interested in, just in case I know anyone who might want to come along.
All of these are in Birmingham, and I in no way intend to go to all of them (but some would be nice).
This afternoon I cycled to the post office in Erdington town centre to collect my Rough Trade Club record of the month, which was the eponymous debut by LUMP (Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay). I don’t really have a bag that is ideal for both cycling and carrying vinyl (recommendations welcome), but despite a slightly unbalanced cycle home (I did a food shop too, so added weight and bulk to the already oddly shaped bag that seemed to want to end up on my hip rather than my back) it did remind me very much of the many times I cycled to record shops when I was younger, and how much more of an occasion it makes getting hold of new music that the straightforward but soulless downloading or streaming that is largely how most of us consume music in the iTunes and Spotify age.
It’s a good record too. Short, but well worth a listen. In fact, everything Rough Trade have sent me over the last six months has really hit the spot, and has represented well over 50% of music I’ve bought this year so far. Yes, that’s 6 records – not 60 as would be the case in previous years. I’ve made a playlist (on Spotify, of course), just in case there is anyone reading this who might want to dive into some new music.
