Recommended Records
Olafur Arnalds - ...and they have escaped the weight of darkness
If it's not the changes of pace which draws you into the heart then it's the intensity. Each and every time I've entered the world painted by Arnalds I've found it hard to leave, to stop listening to make dinner, make a drink or do anything... Upon the release of his full-length from last year, we said: “If Dyad 1909’s accomplishments serve as any indicator, his next full-length is likely to be a definitive statement.” For Arnalds to be defined by this alone would be no shame at all though, given his career ethic to date, it's not a possibility that he'll ever settle for that. »
male bonding - Nothing Hurts
In four minutes of this record there are two tracks that together have more melodies, more moments of joy, than most bands will manage this year. 'TUFF' is a punky sprint, a cowbell rattling between fizzing bursts of riffs and croons of vocals, while 'Nothing Remains' surfs along on backing vocal ooo's and chaotic guitar lines. »
The National - High Violet
It is a wild, vivid romance that The National make their own, and on High Violet it sounds just as striking, just as wild, just as vivid as ever.»
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
If this space opera doesn’t quite make it all the way to the stars, we still get to visit some pretty extraordinary places before the phat lady sings.»
65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
We Were Exploding Anyway has rekindled the old flame.»
Anaïs Mitchell - Hadestown
Hadestown is nothing short of awe-inspiring, aligning Anaïs Mitchell with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Joanna Newsom via its sheer, brain-welting ambition.»
Bonnie Prince Billy and The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show of the World
There are ten fine new songs here, each beautiful and sorrowful, sparse and complex, sacred and profane: this is what to expect from a new record by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.»
The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter
Future generations will look back with considerable envy that we got to be around when an album that could so effectively eviscerate our expectations of what music is and can be was released by a band entering its fifth decade of existence. »
Sparrow and the Workshop - Crystals Fall
Everything on Crystals Fall is delivered with such an assured, singular vision and a palpable and completely admirable disregard for trends, fads and fashions that it's impossible not to fall in love with it. This is genuine, honest music impeccably crafted by three individuals with an obvious desire for their chosen path.»
Trans Am - Thing
Whether a heavy indulger or casual fan of electronically based music, it's hard to envisage a better record than Thing emerging from any of its sub-genres this year.»
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
After the misfire of Living With The Living this is a content, relaxed record with nothing to prove. Ted Leo is a man un-fussily playing to his strengths. »
Caribou - Swim
Even if we are in for a raft of artists making music that sloshes freely around your headphones, you’d be hard-pushed to top the elegant wonder of Swim.»
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
Erykah might have mellowed out, but the lessons from last time round have been learnt, rethought and reapplied. »
Elliott Smith - Roman Candle (reissue)
It’s more of a spring clean than a rearranging of furniture. The evocative squeaks that precede chord changes are still there, Elliott’s voice is still frayed, and the songs still threaten to rip apart. »
Jónsi - Go
Go is, at its strongest, an album of almost lung-collapsing loveliness. »
Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
There is so much to enjoy here; this is a record which reveals itself more with each listen. Whether Yeasayer end up overshadowing it in the end of year lists remains to be seen, but if that does happen, then this would be an unjust reflection of a wonderful album.»
Ikonika - Contact, Love, Want, Have
Ikonika has offered not only a vindication of her early promise but a brilliantly accomplished record as a whole.»
To Rococo Rot - Speculation
Speculation is a masterful lesson in elegance and how to blend minimalism with majesty. »
Serena Maneesh - S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor
Ignore S-M 2's cliquey aura, for it is more a facade than anything. Make your way past the defensive drone it puts up and you will be rewarded with warm, welcoming fuzz. Abyss in B-Minor isn't elitist or an acquired taste, it's just a little guarded. Put your trust in Serena Maneesh and they will reward you by making you feel powerful - nearly omnipotent - yet simultaneously sedate. »
Dark Dark Dark - Bright Bright Bright
It’s best to think of Dark Dark Dark as what the Arcade Fire’s Régine would sound like if she started a band with Regina Spektor.»
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Whatever your opinion of Laura Marling, she is an artist that attracts attention. The main aspect of Alas I Cannot Swim that entranced and summoned plaudits was the age of the artist juxtaposed with the mature poise of the lyrics and music. Recorded whilst she was but 17, its ponderings on love and all that eventually garnered a Mercury nomination and high positions in those end of year lists. You probably know this.»
Autechre - Oversteps
If you wanted to name an Autechre album as the perfect introduction to someone who doesn’t otherwise ‘get’ them then, after nine albums in 17 years, Oversteps would be the one.»
Liars - Sisterworld
They’ve soaked themselves in a new city and emerged renewed, again. So long as they never settle down, they’ll be just fine.»
The Ruby Suns - Fight Softly
The new Ruby Suns album, Fight Softly, has the airy free spirit exhibited on their two previous outings. »
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
It is rare that concept albums are such terrific fun as The Monitor, which squares up against colossal odds and overcomes them with ease.»
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
As musical collaborations go, the one embarked upon by James Mercer, mercurial singer/songwriter with highly revered Portland five-piece The Shins and Brian Burton, better known as producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse for his work with the likes of Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz and celebrated mash-up The Grey Album among others has to go down as one of the most unlikely.»
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night
They sound ready to blanket the entire world in their shadow. »
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
A stunning and ambitious piece of work; one for the ages.»
Errors - Come Down With Me
There is no inclination to pander to any preconceptions of yore and this has now, undoubtedly, made Errors the force they always threatened to be. »
Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This
To be quite honest, it’s difficult to resist the urge to pick out every song and highlight it as a focal point, because Fire Like This is so strong from start to finish. This isn’t really anything new, because Box of Secrets was similarly consistent. What is different, however, is the focus the band have found. In the past, there’s been an unfortunate tendency to take songs a chorus too far, but that doesn’t appear to be an issue any more. This is one of a few imperfections Blood Red Shoes have managed to overcome with their second album. The only problem they have now is that they haven’t really left themselves much room to improve for album three.»
armchair dancefloor 39: Mount Kimbie interview, Bobby Browser, Powell, Move D, Leon Vynehall...
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Drowned in Bristol #12
DiS Does Singles 13.05.13: Swim Deep, These New Puritans, The National
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