2011′s Top Ten LPs (My Two Cents)
09 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Articles Tags: best of 2011, Foreign Slippers, Jim Kroft, Jookabox, Lykke Li, Mother Mother, Peggy Sue, personal favourites, Rebekka Karijord, The Dø, The Leisure Society
I read an amusing tweet earlier – Any Decent Music, the Scottish music review aggregator site, announced that “those laggards at TLOBF have finally completed their best albums list, so the Best Of The Best Ofs is now wrapped up”. That’s ADM’s epic undertaking which aggregates “best of 2011″ lists and has produced a top 50 from them. Of all the contributing publications TLOBF took the longest to get their list up, which I think says something about how seriously the editorial team took the exercise. Of course, the whole affair shows just how many publications want a look-in at the best albums game: to the music criticism world, they’re what this time of year is about.
At the same time, having an opinion is what us music writers do, and here’s my hat thrown into the ring. I make no claim that I’ve heard hundreds of records in 2011, and certainly I’ve heard a fraction of even the big ones – but this is my list of personal favourites, the records which have made the biggest impact on me and the ones which I’ll forever connect with the developments the year has brought into my own life. As usual, there’s not a lot of crossover with the lists ADM aggregated, but hopefully a few underheard gems which could do for you what they did for me. More
Review: The Dø – Both Ways Open Jaws
19 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Record Reviews Tags: A Mouthful, Both Ways Open Jaws, Dan Levy, Olivia Merilahti, Review, The 405, The Dø, Village Green
Artist: The Dø
Title: Both Ways Open Jaws
Label: Village Green
Review @ The 405
Score: 9/10
While Helsinki-born singer Olivia Merilahti and Paris multi-instrumentalist Dan Levy could so easily have sought to repeat their success with more of the same, they made the braver choice. Still as hooked on new and exciting sounds as before but also full of determination to make the best possible music, The Dø have spectacularly surpassed themselves with Both Ways Open Jaws – indeed, they have produced one of the most inventive, accomplished and engaging albums of the year.
Ready, Steady, Still Going: An Interview with Shonen Knife
18 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Interviews Tags: Interview, Naoko Yamano, Osaka Ramones, Shonen Knife, The 405, The Ramones
Now here’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around every day. Japan’s premier all-girl punk-pop noisemakers Shonen Knife are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and they’re doing so by releasing an album of Ramones covers. Osaka Ramones has got to be one of the most plain fun records put out by anyone all year and I was lucky enough to have Shonen Knife frontwoman Naoko Yamano answer a few of my questions about the project.
Interview: “Not the Beginning of the End” For Laura Veirs
09 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Interviews Tags: Children's music, Interview, July Flame, Laura Veirs, PopMatters, Raven Marching Band, Tumble Bee
Laura Veirs’ song “July Flame” is one of my favourite things of the last few years – there’s something about that vocal and the atmosphere it creates that is incredible. When its parent album proved to be a real critical success for the Oregon-based singer-songwriter, she didn’t choose to simply do the same thing all over again: instead, Veirs has just released an album of songs intended for children. A while back I gave her a call and asked all about the background and recording of Tumble Bee, which has earned some glowing reviews over the last couple of weeks. My interview is now up over at PopMatters.
Review: Jonathan Coulton – Artificial Heart
09 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Record Reviews Tags: Artificial Heart, Jocoserious, Jonathan Coulton, PopMatters, Portal, Review, Still Alive
Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Title: Artficial Heart
Label: Jocoserious
Review @ PopMatters
Score: 7/10
A few years ago after a show in Seattle, singer-songwriter and former computer programmer Jonathan Coulton was approached by two developers from multi-billion dollar videogame empire Valve Corporation. Agreeing to work with them on their new project, Coulton wrote “Still Alive”, the song which closed Valve’s 2007 puzzle game Portal. Featuring the vocals of a deranged artificial intelligence played by opera singer-turned-voice actress Ellen McLain, the piece drew on Coulton’s experience with geek culture and added millions of gamers to his expanding audience. Given the break of a lifetime, what is a self-described “internet superstar” to do next?
Unsung Heroes #2: Daughter
04 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Articles Tags: Daughter, Elena Tonra, His Young Heart, The Wild Youth, Unsung Heroes
Unsung Heroes is the new semi-regular feature on Wordcore in which I extoll the virtues of an artist I just don’t think gets listened to or recognised enough. This time around I bend the rules to introduce a badly-kept secret: the bruised and powerful “folk” sounds of Daughter.
Some clever soul on Twitter the other week commented that next time they had the chance, they’d ask someone what it was like to be a man in a band. It’s a wry joke but one with a real point behind it – in 2011, the incredible emerging artists seem much more often to be women (or bands heavily involving women) than men. Without wanting to conscript Unsung Heroes into the sex war, that tweet is on my mind as I choose to highlight this particular artist. More
[Video] The Dø – “Too Insistent”
04 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Audio/Video Tags: Both Ways Open Jaws, Dan Levy, Olivia Merilahti, The 405, The Dø, Too Insistent
Released in France back in March where it reached #14 in the chart, Both Ways Open Jaws is the second album by experimental pop duo The Dø. I’m lucky enough to be reviewing the record on its forthcoming UK release, and an early favourite is this incredible track “Too Insistent”.
Review: Manic Street Preachers – National Treasures
02 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Record Reviews Tags: Columbia, Manic Street Preachers, National Treasures, Review, TLOBF
Artist: Manic Street Preachers
Title: National Treasures
Label: Columbia
Review @ The Line of Best Fit
Score: N/A
For a band that claimed they would never write a love song, Manic Street Preachers have inspired some strong emotions. For a band that also claimed they would record one album and break up, they have been doing so for 25 years, being met variously with adoration, derision, acclaim and scepticism. Having formed in South Wales in 1986 as four idealistic upstarts, the Manics became three elder statesmen of British rock, a cult force with international recognition and an uncommonly devoted fanbase.
Review: Shonen Knife – Osaka Ramones
02 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Record Reviews Tags: Good Charamel, Osaka Ramones, Review, Shonen Knife, The 405, The Ramones
Artist: Shonen Knife
Title: Osaka Ramones
Label: Good Charamel
Review @ The 405
Score: 9/10
Our often deep-seated cynicism about cover albums isn’t without justification. Routinely deployed by creatively exhausted bands to fulfil contractual obligations in the absence of new material, tribute records can be a dispiriting prospect. Then of course there’s the prospect of Japan’s premier punk outfit raiding the back catalogue of the Ramones…
Read the rest of the review at the 405
My interview with Naoko Yamano of Shonen Knife is coming soon
Live: Ley Lines Festival, Oxford, 15/10/11
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Live Reviews Tags: Alt J, Bullingdon Arms, Catherine AD, Ley Lines, O2 Academy Oxford, Oxford, Review, Theme Park, TLOBF
Ley Lines is a new festival which comes with a reassuring sense of ambition and renewal. Moving from venue to venue in Oxford’s cultural hub, it feels like things are on the up; drawing bands from around the country to a varied set of venues, this is surely the most exciting new live event the region has seen in some time.
An event I’d been excited about for some time, the inaugural Ley Lines urban festival in Oxford two weeks back was a great thing to cover. Featuring photos from Stevie Denyer, my TLOBF review includes thoughts on the likes of Jamie Woon, Catherine A.D. (pictured), and much-hyped acts Alt J and Theme Park.
