Welcome to our review of the year. I personally think we’ve had another cracking year for music. I would also say that my tastes have broadened quite considerably in 2011, which can only be a good thing. I’ve never been a huge fan of re-edits and remixes, but there was certainly a glut of quality releases in this area. You’ll be hearing plenty of them in our end of year radio show.
I’ve compiled a list of 20 albums that have floated my boat this year. It’s very hard to pick a favourite or put them in any kind of rank order. Some, however, warrant special mention. Metronomy’s ‘The English Riviera’ was my grower of the year, without doubt. I’d read about it before i’d heard it, which is not always a good thing. I thought I would hate it, but lo and behold, what I found is an old-fashioned, classic English pop record.. Bringing touches of West Coast vibes to the South Coast of the UK, with hints of everyone from New Order to Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan, this record is a perfectly nuanced rumination on the British summertime. It was definitely my soundtrack to the long, hot summer we were lucky enough to get. It boasted a trio of bona fide perfect pop singles in ‘The Bay’, ‘The Look’ and ‘Everything Goes My Way’. It was also my wife and kids favourite record of the year, which probably why it will always remind us of driving coast to coast across the south of France over the summer.
Wild Beasts’ ‘Smother’ arrived fairly hot on the heels of the excellent ‘Two Dancers’ and refined its predecessor’s template. These songs were subtler, roomier and a little colder. No bad thing. Fleet Foxes’ second album, ‘Helplessness Blues’ carried so much fantastic songwriting, skyscraping harmonies and creativity, to be one of those albums that I just could not stop listening to for months on end. Definitely the record that touched me the most on a personal level.
Worthy mentions must also go to acts that exist on the margins of commercial success, worshipped by few, and appreciated by even fewer. So, Amor De Dias, Colorama, John Stammers, The High Llamas and Mountaineer can be guaranteed not to show up on Pitchfork’s end of year list. The albums they made this year are stunning records: inventive, melodic, touching and perhaps most importantly, lovingly crafted.The US indie scene continued to provide some brilliant records: Girls‘ vast epic, Real Estate‘s jangle-some beauty and White Denim‘s sheer creativity.
I didn’t go to a vast number of gigs this year, but the ones that stick out are The High Llamas, John Grant, both at the incomparable Gateshead Sage 2, Wild Beasts at Gateshead Old Town Hall, Amor De Dias performing a spellbinding show at the Scandinavian Church in Liverpool and Colorama and John Stammers in Salford. It would be churlish for me not to mention our own gig, The Seekmagic Sunday at The Social with Amor De Dias, John Stammers and The Superimposers. I hope those of who who came along felt the same spirit of camaraderie and enthusiasm as I did. A massive thank you to all our friends old and new who came along and made the evening such a success. It was one of the best nights of my life. We’re looking forward to the sequel in 2012. Watch this space.
I really appreciate all the feedback from our mixes, and more recently the radio show. I do feel completely out of my depth when I listen to other mixes, though! Psychemagik’s ‘Celestial Love‘ and ‘Sunrise‘, both issued out of the Test pressing stable are quite simply, works of art, and by far the most creative mixes I’ve heard this year. Honourable mentions also go to Salad Sound System’s ‘Great British Salad‘, Moonboots’ ‘Falling Leaves‘ and Graeme Fisher’s ‘Ibiza 76ish pt 2‘ – all fantastic listens and well worth a download…
It’s been a fantastic year for this here blog! Having a guest slot on Sean Rowley’s BBC Radio show was a fantastic experience, selecting tunes for my personal musical mentor! Our foray into putting on events went well, if not with a little stress! The thing that sticks out to me about the blog is the sheer number of kindred spirits we have hooked up with in 2011. So a big thank you to: Test Pressing, Caught By The River, Harvest Sun, Eighty Six, Carwyn Ellis & Colorama, John Stammers, Miles Copeland, Dan Solo and Shawn Lee, Sean Rowley, Balearic Social, Get Me Home In Time For Tea, Alasdair & Lupe, Jack Sellen and Salad Sound System, Purple Radio. And also huge thanks to our loyal band of friends who have supported us all the way with unshakeable faith – Pete and Jo, Dave and Loz, Gra, Big G, Dan, and all at Shacknet, and to magic seekers everywhere…
Albums of 2011 – In no particular order…
Girls – ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost’
Real Estate – ‘Days’
Amor De Dias – ‘Street Of The Love Of Days’
John Stammers – ‘John Stammers’
Mountaineer – ‘The Real McQueen’
Bon Iver – ‘Bon Iver’
White Denim – ‘Last Days Of Summer’
King Creosote and Jon Hopkins – ‘Diamond Mine’
Fleet Foxes – ‘Helplessness Blues’
Wild Beasts – ‘Smother’
Jonathan Wilson – ‘Gentle Spirit’
Colorama – ‘Llyfr Lliwio’
Gruff Rhys – ‘Hotel Shampoo’
Metronomy – ‘The English Riviera’
Wilco – ‘The Whole Love’
Bill Ryder Jones – ‘If’
Kurt Vile – ‘Smoke Ring For My Halo’
The High Llamas – ‘Talahomi Way’
Vetiver – ‘The Errant Charm’
Josh Rouse & The Long Vacation – ‘Josh Rouse & The Long Vacations’
The Stepkids – ‘The Stepkids’
