albums of the year (more ramblings... part 5)

(more) albums of the year... part 5: in case you missed it, I'm sharing my favourite records of 2020 (main post here) this week. Seven albums a day across the week, in release order. Enjoy!

IDLES - Ultra Mono (store / Spotify)

Their last record - very much a breakthrough record for the band - was in my top five in 2018. I didn't connect with this one quite so much but still really enjoyed it. Listening to Model Village while travelling through my own village on a bus to work is a really vivid memory of my first proper listen. As always, on the surface it feels full of angst, but dig deeper and you'll find endless important discussions taking place, rather poetically, in the lyrics. Alongside powerful instrumentation, of course. I can only imagine how keen they are to get back to the stage to share this record with audiences - their live show is certainly something to behold. Favourites alongside Model Village for me are Grounds, Kill Them With Kindness and Carcinogenic. 

Tempesst - Must Be A Dream (store / Spotify)

It's been a while coming, having listened to Tempesst since 2016, and this year finally brought us their debut album. Worth the wait! As I wrote in late September... "as the days (and night, and, well, all of the time) start to suddenly get chilly, a record which appears audibly sun-drenched is exactly what we need, right?" It's so well put together - the combination of brilliant lyrics, their 60s influences, psychedelic tendencies, and those harmonies! With A Woman, Age of the Bored and Walk on the Water are favourites here. More thoughts in my write-up of the album here.

Dawes - Good Luck With Whatever (buy/stream)

Well, there's absolutely no surprise that Dawes make it onto my AOTY list, is there?! I adore pretty much everything they do and love this, their seventh (!) studio album. Taylor Goldsmith is without a doubt one of the best songwriters (and guitarists, while we're here) of our generation. They're one of the best and this is a dream of a record, and not one that I'd expected this year! While I couldn't watch them live (timezones, boo!) Taylor's livestreams with his wife Mandy Moore through the first lockdown were such a treat. Favourites here Who Do You Think You're Talking To, St. Augustine At Night and the title track, Good Luck With Whatever. Damn, I really love Dawes. I hope you will too... 

Deep Sea Diver - Impossible Weight (buy/stream)

This was one of those magical discoveries - I had never even heard of this artist (despite a couple of previous records) when I found a track from the new album in the blog's inbox. It was the title track of this record, which I really enjoyed at the time, shouted about it a bit online and moved on. Once the record was released I decided to give it a listen and loved it so much that I've revisited it a few times since. I really really dig it. Eyes Are Red (Don't Be Afraid), Lightning Bolts and Lights Out are favourites but the title track, featuring Sharon Van Etten, remains one of my favourite tracks of the year. Such a brill record!

Laura Fell - Safe From Me (Bandcamp)

A new artist sent through by my favourite PR company, but not only that, Paddy from Stay Loose was releasing the record on his own label, a new project for his blog Balloon Machine. The first release on Balloon Machine Records, a momentous occasion and an exciting milestone. I had high hopes from the first single and they were certainly reached. A unique vocal, superb songwriting and masterful delivery make for a really worthy spot on any AOTY list. Bone of Contention, Cold and Every Time remain favourites!

Ed The Dog - Untitled.crashed.crashed.crashed (buy/stream)

I don't think that I've listened to Ed's previous record, but how could anybody not like a record with tracks like Thank You Buddy and Everybody, I Love You on it? I adored it on first listen, but found my favourite track right at the end in the form of I'm Gonna Change That. The exact track that I needed to hear towards the end of the year, passing into a new year, feeling desperate for some kind of change. I'm glad that I'm far too slow with AOTY plans to get my list out as early as many others do, otherwise it would be missing last minute records like this! 

Maggie Rogers - Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011-2016 (buy/stream)

An even more last minute addition to the list comes from last year's AOTY artist, queen Maggie Rogers. I LOVE Maggie so much, and I am so desperate for new music. While this isn't quite *new* a lot of it is unheard, and I've been loving it. Having been quickly thrown into the spotlight with last year's record and the events that preceded it, Maggie spoke of wanting to get out her archive material before moving on to new music. It's an archive record, split into four parts, with tracks from two independent records and a couple of other projects Maggie was part of before the current iteration of her career came about. Laid out in reverse chronological order, you hear her getting younger. It's a really lovely collection of tracks - even better if you have time to listen to the version with commentary here. Love opening track Celadon & Gold and James is a lovely tune too.

Thanks for reading/listening!

My albums of the year!

I'm already looking ahead to albums from the likes of Maggie Rogers, Indoor Pets and Busted next year, but first, it's time to reflect on some of the wonderful music that I've been enjoying this year with a round-up of my favourite albums to be released in 2018. It's taken a lot of thinking (you hardly need me to tell you it's been a brilliant year for new music!) but I've whittled it down to a top five, which I'll follow up with some more albums I've really been loving this year. 

1. Rae Morris - Someone Out There

If you've seen my posts during the year, it's probably not all that surprising that Rae has secured the top spot and deservedly so. I've pretty much spent the entire year telling anyone who will listen that I completely adore this record, and seeing Rae perform twice towards the end of the year cemented my love for these tracks. At the time of release, lyrics on many of the tracks were incredibly relatable, meaning that I connected with the album in a way I'd never really experienced before. This is a very special album for me. Picking a favourite track is almost impossible as I genuinely love every second, but if I had to choose, it'd be Dip My Toe. 

2. Novo Amor - Birthplace

Until this year (to my shame) I hadn't even heard of Novo Amor before, but instantly fell for his beautiful falsetto vocals when I saw the Birthplace video over Summer. The video is a cinematic masterpiece in its own right, highlighting the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans. Finding that he had a page on his website detailing ways in which his album campaign and upcoming tour were going to be sustainable, I knew I'd stumbled across an artist I'd likely fall in love with, and I was right. The album may only be 33 minutes long, but those are 33 of the most stunning minutes of music I've heard this year and I absolutely can not wait to catch him headlining my favourite festival Bushstock next year! Favourite track: Repeat Until Death.

3. Mumford & Sons - Delta

Probably my most highly anticipated album of the year, my favourite chaps Mumford & Sons did not disappoint with Delta, their fourth studio album, though they did make us wait until November, and snuck into the top five at the last minute! The album has had a mixed reception from critics and fans alike, but I find that part of the joy of music is that it's totally subjective, and I personally love the record. The band themselves have expressed the belief that it's their best record yet, and I'm inclined to agree with them (but don't tell Sigh No More that... it'll always be a classic album for me!) Favourite track: Wild Heart.

4. Cosmo Sheldrake - The Much Much How How & I

I started listening to Cosmo at the end of last year, just in time for his debut record in April this year and he is absolutely one of my favourite recent musical discoveries. Cosmo is one of the most intelligent and fiercely creative people to grace my earphones this year, and his album is a collection of tracks that are bonkers and magical in equal measure. I love it. Birthday Suit sounds as if it has been taken directly from the soundtrack of an old Disney film, Wriggle provided one of my favourite remixes of the year from Mr. Jukes (listen to that here) and Come Along is one of my favourite standalone tracks of the year. But my absolute favourite on the record (currently) has to be the last tune, Hocking, it's five minutes of instrumental bliss (and simultaneous craziness.)

5. Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance

I'd challenge anyone who has listened to the Idles album this year to claim that it isn't one of their albums of the year. And to anyone that hasn't: listen to it, pronto, and add it to your list. I'm guilty of at first labelling the band and album as angry rock music, but delving deeper (and reading interviews such as this one with the BBC) has shown me that there is a lot more to this Bristol band than I initially realised. It's an incredibly socially conscious record, exploring issues such as Brexit and toxic masculinity, as well as real losses that singer Joe has endured in recent years. The album takes these negative subjects and turns them on their head, providing songs that celebrate difference and are full of hope and unity. Idles are the band I didn't know I needed in 2018. Favourite track: Danny Nedelko.

So that's my top five albums this year! There have been so many more that I have absolutely loved in 2018, so here's a list of some more (in release order) that I wholeheartedly recommend you checking out.

Django Django - Marble Skies
The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
MGMT - Little Dark Age
Superorganism - Superorganism
Gengahr - Where Wildness Grows
Ady Suleiman - Memories
The Magic Gang - The Magic Gang
The Vaccines - Combat Sports
Christof van der Ven - Empty Handed
Peace - Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll
Ben Howard - Noonday Dream
Ghost - Prequelle
Boy Azooga - 1, 2, Kung Fu!
Dawes - Passwords
Panic! At The Disco - Pray For The Wicked
Florence & The Machine - High As Hope
Evergreen - Overseas
Dizzy - Baby Teeth
Jungle - For Ever
Low Island - Low Island & Friends 17-18