2009 - MY TOP RECORDS

There have been a few times upon my travels in mid-music conversation that people have been rather cynical towards me. I like to read the music press you see. I don't necessarily agree with all the articles and reviews, I don't necessarily adore the bands featured in the pages of these magazines and I don't necessarily believe that what is printed on these sheets is gospel. I'm not an idiot. The words in these publications simply reflect the opinion of the writer of that particular piece, sometimes I think they're right, sometimes I think they're wrong, but despite what some people may think, I'll be damned if those analogies sway my vote, and with that in mind, here is MY top ten records of the year - individually picked and curiously sourced, how very NME of me...

1. Animal Collective - Post Meriweather Pavilion


This record hit the Internet at the time i started blogging. Hypem literally convulsed on impact at the copious blogs that commented on the visionary state of Animal Collectives eighth studio output. Flutters of Beach Boys pop under the multi-coloured Whirlpool of LSD doused sounds that cascaded the peaks of 'My Girls' and 'Summertime Clothes' revel in euphoria as this astral record proves to be introspective of where music is heading.

I don't think that anyone expected this Baltimore trio to produce something so radically quixotic and wishfully prophetic. An avant-garde attempt that's both well orchestrated, cutting edge and years ahead of its time.




2. The Feliece Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock.


Buddies with Bright Eyes lover boy, Conor Oberst, The Feliece Brothers were birthed from the lulls and pits of a dustbowl town with very few escape routes. Suffocated by small town living and a debt of heritage to settle, The Feliece Brothers would do anything they can not to live the life that was waiting from them. Busking on the New York subway and swinging to 1920's waltz's, the three brothers and two friends take tradition very seriously, well in the folk respect that is, and it seems to be paying off.


3. Jamie T - Kings And Queens


The Wimbledon wordsmith and street dwelling ragamuffin duo that is Jamie T and Ben Bones have become something of a well refined pairing. After their chart-heavy debut that saw the likes of 'If You've Got The Money' and 'Shelia' creep into our hearts, (personally I think 'So Lonely Was The Ballad' topped the album off, but hey ho) we've become adorned by his ruff-around-the-edges scowls and ill-pronounced near-rap slurs. It was something of an eponymous effort that was bridges crossed and genre-based walls crushed under the speedway spitting of a humble curb-side music fanatic.

The second coming was titled 'Kings And Queens'. I've got to say, I think it precedes the first with fists raised high and lyrical diversity a-plenty. Richly woven melodies and scrappy vocals, cathcy hooks and pop-top harmonies, delicate acoustic pickings and scuffed-up punk-punches, Treay's second album marks a significant point in both 2009 and his very long future.



4. The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love


The sheer beaming scope of this debut by two MDMA-taking, booze gargling new-wave romantic dreamers fought the hype and came out triumphant. All the way from commercial pop-gold 'Domino's' to the funk-driven electro-beat on 'Tonight', this album transcends what is now considered to be popular music. Who'd have thought that digi-pop and wavering shoegaze would take the radio by its well polished horns?


5. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin


I got a lot more into my folk this year. I've spent years listening to Dylan and the like, but after becoming quite obsessed with Uncut magazine I was made aware of The Low Anthem and their eclipsing versatility. Atmospheric and dainty folk pennings, 'Ghost Who Write History Books...', gruff and rustic Tom Waits-like growls, 'The Horizon is a Beltway' and KOL inspired rootin' tootin' country-rock blasts, 'Champion Angel'.

This record should predictably be unbalanced. The direction and level of eclecticity ranges from delicate twinkles of acoustic plucking to foot stompin' scouring electric wailing - a real gem.



6. Exlovers - You Forget So Easily E.P


The Exlovers are a late comer in my albums of the year, and it's not quite an album. I've only been listening to their debut studio e.p for a couple of months but already it's served me well. Candied boy-girl harmonies melodically waver over a static Pains Of Being Pure At Heart guitars with a back canvas of unpredictable uplifting hooks as the seemingly dark corners of their songs engluf with hopeful light as twilight shines through the cracks of their rusticity.

Sweet and yet alarmingly stern, it's like the Moldy Peaches grew up in the smokey alleys of noughties London listening to Teenage Fan Club on a diet of broken hearts and swifting love affairs.


7. Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below


This dangly haired, tie-dye wearing multi-troupe created something of a modern hippie classic with their debut output. It effortlessly sounds like a vintage Laurel Canyon creation, laced with jangles and and colourful twinkles beneath the hazey cloud of pot-smoke that stalks it like a hemp-clad pilgrimage. Layered harmonies, wishful tender hearts and uplifting atmospheric swoons, this was a surprise record for me, but one that wholesomely demonstrated a love affair with the past, confirming that what's been and gone is never actually forgotten.


8. Jim Jones Revue - Jim Jones Revue


This is rock and roll at its highest degree. Gritty and breathtaking, filthy and near-frightful, JJR's first full length album sounds like Chuck Berry raised by Joe Strummer on speed and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Doused in distortion, it's pretty much the most thrilling thing you'll hear this year.

These guys are born fucking entertainers, grasping every performance by it's unsuspecting throat they will rip, tear and screw everything until your jaw drags past the feet of everyone in the god damn room. 'Hey Hey Hey' doesn't know how to slow down while 'Another Daze' riots like a protest of punks through tunnels of patriotism. The best thing to come out of London in a long time.



9. Them:Youth


This west London band haven't actually released an album but they deserve some credibility for their innovation. Crafting demos that melt the melodies of Doves and the incendiary blast of Sprititualized, their primarily an indie-dance outfit but with a distinctly brit-rock back bone that's strong enough to width stand a tirade of criticism but subtle enough not to become a cliche. 'Halo' is one of this years best songs, 'Stardust' could be the new 'Wonderwall' in terms of nobility and brilliance and 'Get Home Safely' shows how lyrical simplicity doesn't have to mean dull and lacklustre - with its bellowing backdrop of full frontal ethereal echoes, it's hard to deny the forward thinking of this amazing new band. They're a hotly tipped act for 2010, one that could fundamentally change the face of British indie.


10. Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - Outer South


Conor Oberst has been churning out acoustic indie pennings since the tender age of 13. He's the mastermind behind Saddle Creek records and his Bright Eyes band literally had the indie world on tender hooks and they created brilliant record after brilliant record.

To say Oberst is an intelligent chap could be a little understated. His hear-on-sleeve lyrics and open depression makes him one of the worlds greatest song writers.

This is Oberst second album with the Mystic Valley Band and it's just as good as the first. A bit more of an up-tempo rousing country-folk jig, packed with passion and yet more perfectly-penned lyrical amazement, Obersts voice is at its best and his song writing takes a less eerie and solemn turn making this a more electric-fuelled hoedown that dribbles with husk, intellect and awareness as Oberst lets his Mystic Valley cohorts take the vocals for a handful of songs.



And that is that.