albums of the year (more ramblings... part 1)

Hope you've all had a lovely few days celebrating (or not) Christmas! Before resuming *proper* posting for the new year, I'm back at it with some follow-ups to my albums of the year feature last week (read that here) where, in addition to a top five, I shared 35 records I've loved this year. I'm planning to share 7 records a day across the next few days, all in release order - each one of them is brill and I hope you enjoy! 

The Big Moon - Walking Like We Do (buy/stream)

Way back in January this year, this was the first record to be released that I'd been looking forward to, so it's been a favourite for a while, and listening recently I was reminded how brilliant it is! Your Light is one of the best pop songs of the year in my opinion... so good!! Barcelona and Why are also faves. Love their harmonies, and the fried chicken lyric in Dog Eat Dog ("round here they say it's dog eat dog but / it's more like pigeon eat fried chicken on the street") is GENIUS. They also deserve an AOTY mention for the fact their album release coincided with the moon being reaaaaal big. Clever.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong (buy/stream)

Probably the coolest advance stream that I've ever had and absolutely HAS to be on this list! Listening to this on my commute before it was released made me feel very cool. Following their previous record in 2014 this was long awaited and it could so easily have fallen a little flat, but it is completely glorious - there isn't a note or lyric out of place. Favourite tracks include Is It Real, Racing Stripes and the title track Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. Seeing them live last year was a treat. Huge soft spot for Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) below - the tongue-in-cheek video touching on their return. Also - I love their recent Live at Brixton album! Read my write-up of Everything Else... here.

Gengahr - Sanctuary (buy/stream)

I think this might be the only album that I've bought in a physical record store this year... since our HMV closed we don't have stores locally, and while I've bought a bunch of LPs from Banquet and Resident online through the year, I bought this one on a day out back in Feb. So I guess it holds a special place for being the only things that I've dug out in the vinyl racks this year - with quite a lot of glee at finding it! It's a quality follow up to Where Wildness Grows which I adore. So many favourite tracks - Heavenly Maybe, Atlas Please and Icarus are certainly up there.

Brooke Bentham - Everyday Nothing (store / Spotify)

This is Brooke's debut album and it's superb. One of those artists whose tracks I get sent to review, realise that I've enjoyed all of the singles, give the record a try and... woah. Love it. I struggled to pick between this and Sunday Self, the acoustic version of the record that Brooke brought out a few months later. Fave tracks include Control and All My Friends Are Drunk. This is for the Fenne Lily, Phoebe Bridgers, Marika Hackman etc fans (which you all should be...) 

Franc Moody - Dream In Colour (buy/stream)

The award for the funkiest record on the AOTY list goes to.... damn. SO funky. I loved seeing them open for Friendly Fires a couple of years back, loved the EP they brought out at the time and was eagerly awaiting their debut record. I listened back to this recently on a bus journey but would advise listening somewhere where you're able to dance like nobody is watching. Get me to a live Franc Moody set soon, please, world. Favourite tracks include Skin on Skin, She's Too Good For Me, and the title track, Dream In Colour. So much to love here.

Halloweens - Morning Kiss at the Acropolis (Bandcamp)

A side project of The Vaccines' frontman Justin Young and keys player Timothy Lanham (that's T Truman, to you and I) Halloweens have been the gift that just keeps on giving in 2020. Right from the first single, Hannah You're Amazing, in late 2019, I was hooked. Things have just got better and better ever since, and their debut record is a dream. They also released the Maserati Anxiety Designed EP recently, somehow finding time amidst making the new Vaccines record (!!!) and Timothy working on his solo project. A lot of love for the productivity when they keeps releasing such cracking tunes as these. Favourite tunes include My Baby Looks Good With Another, Lady and Ur Kinda Man. 

NNAMDÏ - BRAT (buy/stream)

I was first put onto this record by this year's AOTY... winner (?! is that a thing) White Tail Falls, when he recommended a few records that were circulating his earphones in our interview earlier in the year - on NNAMDÏ's BRAT he shared that it was blowing my mind. I wanted in on the action and took myself for a listen... which I think turned into two or three consecutive listens. Written, recorded and performed by Nnamdï himself, the record belies genre categorisation. There's a bit of everything going on. Styles which on paper, probably shouldn't work together, and that I might not usually choose to listen to, but I love this. It's OK, Really Don't and Perfect In My Mind are highlights for me - but it is best appreciated as the full piece of work. 

Thanks if you've made it this far - I'll be back to share the next seven records tomorrow!! Happy listening... 

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Skin On Skin'

You may have guessed by now that I'm quite a fan of Franc Moody. Since catching their support set at a Friendly Fires show a couple of years back I've been really enjoying their releases - their Dance Moves EP was a musical highlight of 2018, while She's Too Good For Me was one of my favourite tracks of 2019. They're most certainly incapable of releasing a track that isn't filled with infectious dance vibes and a whole lot of funk. So. Much. Funk. The time is finally upon us! With the release of brand new single Skin on Skin the band have just announced that their debut album Dream In Colour is due for release on 28th Feb. You can pre-order the album on vinyl via Rough Trade here.

Franc Moody head on their next UK & Ireland tour at the end of February for a couple of weeks before touring around Europe - tickets/dates here.

26th Feb: Button Factory, Dublin
28th: Stereo, Glasgow
29th: YES, Manchester
2nd March: Fleece, Bristol
3rd: Concorde 2, Brighton
4th: Bodega, Nottingham
5th: O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
7th: Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Bad Sounds - 'Escaping from a Violent Time Vol.1'

I'm making a bit of an effort to check out more EPs this year, and I'm very much enjoying the brand new one from Bristol five-piece Bad Sounds. It's pretty ace. The EP comes as the first instalment of a trilogy of releases, this one written and recorded underground in a former prison cell in central Bristol, close to the band's home of Bath. With the aim of creating a true representation of where they're currently at as a band, the EP was produced by frontmen and brothers Callum and Ewan themselves - "we wanted [the EP] to feel more visceral, and of this moment." 

The band's first major release since their debut record Get Better in 2018, the EP features recent singles Sympathetic Vibrations (love love love that one) and Breathe, alongside the new single Permanent. On the new track, the band state that "it's primarily about acceptance - learning how to accept your own shortcomings, and your own personality. Sometimes I feel like I just mirror the people around me in social situations, and started to worry that I didn't even really have a personality of my own." They add that "with Permanent we tried to imagine how it would be to be one of those lucky people who appear to be themselves regardless of the situation, and learn to be proud of who we are. It's good to celebrate who we are every now and then... unless you're a dickhead!"

The band are heading out for some shows in the UK in May, tickets available here.

1st May: Deaf Institute, Manchester

12th: Lafayette, London

13th: The Fleece, Bristol

Follow Bad Sounds - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Terra Firma'

Since seeing them opening up for Friendly Fires last year I've had a big soft spot for Franc Moody. In the vein of experimental Cosmo Sheldrake, a read of their bio tells you "listen to their songs and you'll hear salt shakers and mugs, dripping radiators, the sound of someone zipping their flies, and their own family playing strings." This collection of sounds comes together with an array of instruments to make something really unique, with a whole lot of funk at the heart of it. Latest track Terra Firma arrives alongside their biggest tour dates yet, as they'll be heading around the UK and Europe across February and March, with a show at London's O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on 5th March. Dates are here.

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Dream In Colour'

All of my synth dreams came true last week with new Low Island, BE GOOD and Franc Moody tracks all being released. The latter followed up a recent announcement of some European tour dates in October with their second single of the year, Dream In Colour. I fell in love with the band when they opened for Friendly Fires last year and they've yet to disappoint, and I'm loving this one. I can see it going down very well live!

For those of us in the UK, you can catch the band opening for Parcels (a bit of a dream line-up!) at Somerset House on 18th July - tickets here. Very very tempted by this one!

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'She's Too Good For Me'

"She could have had anyone that she damn wanted, but sadly she got me [...] you've finally realised that you're too good for me, and the saddest thing of all, is that I can't help but agree." 

Franc Moody are back with new single She's Too Good For Me, delivering heartbreaking lyrics like those above and blending them with their gloriously funky vibes. I'm not entirely sure whether to laugh or cry to this one - but for the moment it's filling me with a lot of joy. If you like what you're hearing, listen to their Dance Moves EP (easily one of the best EPs I heard last year. Those bass solos!!!!)

If you want to catch the band live (and honestly - why wouldn't you?!) be sure to grab tickets to their upcoming UK tour. Full dates as follows: Bodega, Nottingham (10th April); Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds (11th); The Workman's Club, Dublin (13th); Gorilla, Manchester (16th); Heaven, London (17th); The Haunt, Brighton (19th) & Thekla, Bristol (20th).

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Evergreen - 'Foreigner' (Franc Moody remix)

How to improve one of my favourite tracks from this year's Evergreen record Overseas, you ask? Let Franc Moody loose on it. The London group have remixed The Foreigner and it makes for one of the best tracks I've heard all year. Up there with the best remix I've heard this year, alongside the Everything Everything reworking of Rae Morris album title track Someone Out There. If you like what you're hearing below, I implore you to listen to both Overseas (listen out for other favourites Gemini and Bloom) and the Franc Moody EP Dance Moves which is the ultimate bop from start to finish.

Follow Evergreen online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Franc Moody online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Franc Moody - 'Dopamine (Live)'

Franc Moody are one of my favourite live discoveries of the year. They supported at, coincidentally, one of my favourite gigs of the year, when Friendly Fires returned to the live stage with a show at O2 Academy Brixton back in April. As Friendly Fires have been a huge favourite of mine for years I had very high expectations for the show, and really loved their support set and was particularly impressed with just how well they fit alongside Friendly Fires. Support act choosing done very well. I've since been enjoying their Dance Moves EP a lot, and they've just shared a live video for the track Dopamine, which features one of the funkiest bass lines I've heard all year. Check out the video below, and if you want to catch them live, they're headlining London's Heaven on 17th April, tickets here.

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Night Flight'

With less than two weeks until their tour of the UK & Ireland kicks off, Franc Moody have released brand new tune Night Flight. It's all kinds of glorious. I fell for the band pretty quickly once I caught them opening for Friendly Fires earlier in the year - their Dance Moves EP is a triumph, it's full of funk and almost irresistible to dance to and this single follows in the foundations of the EP. Get listening...

If you like what you're hearing, you can catch Franc Moody live this month in: Headrow House, Leeds (12th October); Village Underground, London (16th); Deaf Institute, Manchester (17th); Exchange, Bristol (18th); Patterns, Brighton (19th) & The Grand Social, Dublin (20th). London is sold out, but there are tickets for the rest of the shows here!

Follow Franc Moody online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Dance Moves' EP

A lot of the time, support acts can be tedious (particularly at shows where you are very much there to see the headline act), becoming almost a necessarily evil to make it through, after which you'll be rewarded with the artist you came to see. Sometimes however - it clicks. This was the case at the Friendly Fires show last week, where the incredibly fun five-piece Franc Moody opened proceedings, and with whom I pretty much fell in love with on the spot.

They (whether intentionally or not) timed the release of their eight track EP Dance Moves perfectly with the show so I went along having listened to it a couple of times and knew I was in for a treat, and loved their set. Their music fit perfectly with the theme of the night, being completely funky (those bass lines!) and them all being infectiously positive and happy to be performing to such a big crowd. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for future gigs from these guys, as I'm loving the EP, favourites at the moment include Pheromones and title track Dance Moves, but it's all great! Listen below - or for the full eight track EP, check it out on Spotify.

Follow Franc Moody online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.