dale

We always need overblown pop stars who make massive videos and do massive tours.

That being said, I just do not get her at all. I've seen her live, I've seen most of her videos, I've listened to the lion's share of her recorded output... I'm either too old or too cynical, but it does nothing for me.

I just hear Ace Of Base and Madonna and Marilyn Manson, and I loved two of them the first time around.

Flamebaiting, sir, surely? ;)

Seriously in love with this album. I am a huge, huge fan of Devotion and worried how they would follow it. They didn't retread the same ground but further cemented what it means to be Beach House.

'Used To Be' and 'Norway' are my joints.

... but she just went up in my estimation for bigging up mewithoutYou. <3

... looks like Dominic Howard from Muse in the main photo.

I am at least at four times the average male in terms of CD collection already. Catch me if you can, student scumbags.

Please stop people like Spotify from using my IP address to prevent me from accessing their service.

Amen

Seriously, I had access for a week then they got wise to the fact that I was, to paraphrase Sting, an Englishman in Chicago. Bastards.

And if this album is as good as ATNTIIO, I'll be ordering it bright and early tomorrow.

is fucking awesome.

Not least because it features Andy.

That was SDRE minus Dan, so really, it's just that they haven't been in a four piece line-up with Dan and Nate since Diary. Other than that.

This is good news, though.

BURN.

I got my copy in the post yesterday, 4,000 miles away from where it was made. I've only had two listens so far (unless you count having five of the songs on various singles) and I am in love.

I was a fan of Colour Of Fire back in the day, so Owen was the main reason I checked them out, but they are as tight as fook. You're right to call out the rhythm section, and the appearance of cello on so many songs isn't gimmicky as it's used in so many interesting ways.

This album is going to be hailed as a classic when I'm older and beardier, I just know it.

Maybe if the packaging is swish enough, I'll indulge. But I own *every* The Bends and OK Computer-era CD single, plus a selection of vinyl, EPs, etc. There aren't (m)any songs I don't own somewhere else.

... more people to realise how fucking awesome they are.

Only a few songs in, but as one of those songs was a gorgeous reworking of 'Cello Song' by Nick Cave, I'm sold.

If you get this on eMusic, be warned. At least in the US version of the site, there are two versions. One of them is missing a song on the first disc.

These guys are freaking great. I can't believe I missed the buzz.

Finelines was fantastic, between that and the first Hell Is For Heroes album, I can't think of anything by such a relatively little known band that I love so much.

The people have spoken, and they didn't talk shit!

The Great Escape was clearly the work of a band caught on the hop by sudden success. While there were some great songs on there (especially 'He Thought Of Cars' and 'The Universal'), it mostly fell back on the matey, Mockney bollocks of novelty single 'Parklife'.

Blur and 13, on the other hand, were a massive leap forward.

I didn't include Bon Iver as it came out in 2007 over here.

Just 8? There've been so many great albums this year! I am going to defy your rules and go for 10.

Devotion by Beach House
Field Manual by Chris Walla
In Ear Park by Department Of Eagles
The Hollow Of Morning by Gemma Hayes
Some Racing, Some Stopping by Headlights
Trading Water For Air by James Yiull
Volume One by She & Him
Starf**ker by Starf**ker
Oceans Will Rise by The Stills
Elephant Shell by Tokyo Police Club

This means I had to leave out excellent albums by Brett Anderson, Crystal Castles, Guns N' Roses, Lykke Li, M83, Mercury Rev, Nada Surf, REM and The Weepies. DAMN YOU.

To the Buymobile!

It's the best album on that list. And the whole list. Even though it came out in 2007 here so I don't even count it in my Top 10 of the year.

... for the Grammatics album like crazy.

'D.I.L.E.M.M.A.' is easily one of the best songs this year.

Fucking great, kinda like Stars in a way.

'Market Girl' kills.

Especially Sean and KP and Gen and Raz and "Dark Mavis"; not to mention the late, great Rachelle.

Gemma Hayes, She & Him and Tokyo Police Club are the only other albums I've loved as much this year.

Especially Fall Out Boy and... not Papa Roach, the other one nobody gives a shit about anymore... Alien Ant Farm, that's it.

Let's hook up!

In this here Golden Age Of Web 2.0, it's not just about the opinion itself, but ratifying it against the opinions of others.

Metacritic does a great job of trying to level out opinions and reach a consensus among the extremes, but it still lacks that human judgement. "X journalist hated this, he also hated these ten other things that I hated, therefore I am inclined to agree with him."

If someone cracks the DNA for personal taste, I'll be impressed, but we are getting there.

I get a fancy-looking 404 when I try to add my name to the list of people who own an album:

http://drownedinsound.com/releases/owners/13693

Poor SWells.

2008 is a fucking great year for music. So far this year, I have acquired...

- Keep Telling Myself It's Alright by Ashes Divide
- Devotion by Beach House
- You Cross My Path by The Charlatans
- Field Manual by Chris Walla
- Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows
- Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles
- Keeper's by Deastro
- Narrow Stairs by Death Cab For Cutie
- SooL by Ellen Allien
- Flight Of The Conchords by Flight Of The Conchords
- Shade Side Sunny Side by For Against
- The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit
- In Field & Town by Hayden
- Some Racing, Some Stopping by Headlights
- Here's To Being Here by Jason Collett
- The Jealous Girlfriends by The Jealous Girlfriends
- Boo! Human by Joan Of Arc
- Saturdays = Youth by M83
- Lucky by Nada Surf
- Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails
- The Slip by Nine Inch Nails
- Mercy by Ours
- Third by Portishead
- Accelerate by REM
- Volume One by She & Him
- Walk It Off by Tapes 'N' Tapes
- Hideaway by The Weepies

... and I have albums by Martha Wainwright, Wolf Parade, Gemma Hayes and a few others on the way.

I hear way more Sonic Youth in early Blonde Redhead. The last couple have shed that though.

I always thought it was de rigeur in the metal world to have a cricket bat-toting Ian Faith type to do your dirty work.

No 18" Stonehenges for Metallica it seems.

But I like the suggestion that they are no longer a sub-"Snowplay"-type act with this album. I may give it a listen.

I once saw Grant and Som from My Vitriol at the same gig. Tiny little fuckers the both of them.

... in thinking it's amusing that there's a 300x250 ad for a "Which SATC girl are you?" quiz on this article?

In a fit of nostalgia, I Googled Colour Of Fire last night and ended up arriving at the Grammatics' site.

Good to see Owen's still making music, especially when it's as fucking ace as this. Especially loving 'Polar Swelling'.

... I heard lots of recycled sounds from his older material. Nothing really grabbed me, although the last three tracks are a marked improvement over the rest of it.

She & Him have no competition from the sounds of things - Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward are victorious in the actress/hip music type tag team stakes.

... but it sounds like fucking Phil Collins.

Let Go is one of my favourite albums ever, but I don't really see it as emo.

Everything released by Maritime to everything released by The Promise Ring.

There, I said it. Davey's voice and lyrics are infinitely better on his more recent stuff.

They've ALWAYS been this sarcastic!

He was wandering around the cosmopolitan city of Colchester and was verbally abused for being a goth.

But then, he was wearing the traditional goth attire of white skinny jeans and a t-shirt.

This is one of those albums that works best as a complete suite... perfect for post-pub comedowns or getting engrossed in a really good book.

The competition for my favourite album of 2008 is almost over already.

I think she's handled this entire thing with class.

Cate, Marion, Ellen and Diablo/Brook were all gorgeous. And have more talent in their little fingers than the entire staff of AOL, Us and Yahoo combined.

What you describe with the message board idiots isn't just isolated to music - there was a similar article written about geekier things:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_17/109-OMG-Girlz-Don-t-Exist-on-teh-Intarweb-1

In terms of your situation, it's not just that listeners and the reviewing media pigeonhole female artists, the mechanisms for distributing music (the labels, radio stations, and so forth) do too. Rather than giving an opportunity to an artist who does something different, they're much more likely to stuff someone into the mould of someone who's already broken some ground, stamping out anything resembling individuality.

I *think* people are wising up to that and using the internet to find artists - male and female - who aren't just the umpteenth clone of whatever's popular. I hope people are wising up.

Having listened to your music as a result of reading this piece, I am very happy to find that you are not the next Lily Allen or Kate Nash (you reminded me more of Sarah Nixey from Black Box Recorder).

... when I saw The Wombats listed on the release schedule, I thought it was a new CD of music from Mike Batt, trading as The Wombles.