Albums Of 2009: 25-11

As 2009 draws to a close I'm going to spend this week doing the obligatory 'Best Of' polls (I know, whatever next? Tipping Ellie Goulding for success? Well, wait till Wednesday). Today is the day of the albums, the first 15 here with the top 10 to follow later on in the day.

11. Sky Larkin- 'The Golden Spike'
12. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart- 'The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart'
13. Girls- 'Album'
14. La Roux- 'La Roux'
15. Bat For Lashes- 'Two Suns'
16. Future Of The Left- 'Travels With Myself and Another'
17. Patrick Wolf- 'The Bachelor'
18. Metric- 'Fantasies'
19. Franz Ferdinand- 'Tonight'
20. The Dead Weather- 'Horehound'
21. Grizzly Bear- 'Veckatimest'
22. Passion Pit- 'Manners'
23. Bombay Bicycle Club- 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
24. Fever Ray- 'Fever Ray'
25. The Answering Machine- 'Another City, Another Sorry'

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June: Blog Highlights

June will forever be remembered for one event, an occasion so monumental it will go down in the history books and be remembered for ever more. A once great and succesful figure but one that had fallen on tempestuous and difficult times in recent years tragically released this as their new away kit.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop also passed away.

In blog-land these things all happened.

I had a few chats with Maximo Park, Dizzee Rascal, Beth Ditto, Marina and The Diamonds and Florence and The Machine.

Blur came back and tore Rough Trade East a new one. Watch it here.

Bloc Party and The XX debuted new singles. One is a lot better than the other but Bloc Party try hard bless them.

Crocodiles introduced themselves to the world.

Pains of Being Pure At Heart put in a set of two halves in London.

T-Pain jumped the bling shark with his new Big Ass Chain.

And I made my first effort in beoming the next Scott Mills by appearing on Radio 1's Steve Lamacq show talking about Lost Knives.

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart @Cargo 10/06/09

Gigwise

2009 is officially the year of the eighties revival. In the pop charts it's all electro pop (La Roux, Little Boots) and Madonna style schlock (Lady GaGa) whilst in the alternative camp we're having a full scale revival of shoegaze/ C86 courtesy of The Horrors and various American acts such as Crystal Stilts, School of Seven Bells and tonight's headliners The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

On record The Pains... are reminiscent of acts such as The Shop Assistants and The Pastels, indie pop with a fey, almost twee, sensibility. So it's a surprise when they take to the stage tonight and songs such as 'Young Adult Friction' take on a more aggressive and jagged approach, the introduction of a touring guitarist to the fray certainly lifts the live experience to a higher degree of intensity than the bands self titled debut album. Similarly unexpected is the limited role keyboard player and vocalist Peggy Wang plays. Throughout the bands recorded output her honeyed vocals drip from every hook but tonight she is reserved and quiet, sitting anonymously behind her Brooklyn bangs. This however gives Kip Berman free rein to attack the songs with a refreshing sense of vim and vigour. Playing much of their catchier material in the opening section they rattle through 'This Love Is Fucking Right', 'Come Saturday' and 'Everything With You' in the blink of an eye. The second half of the performance is a more elongated and patience testing affair. Playing a slew of mid paced songs is all well and good but a better balanced setlist might have seen the gig ebb and flow nicely rather than feeling like hitting the sand after coming down a hill on rollerskates. This imbalance is easily remedied however and The Pains... mix of material hints at the prospects of a wonderful show when small things like that are ironed out- another six months touring will be an important learning curve for the band.

It might be nostalgic and anyone who remembers the original roster of acts on Postcard Records may well scoff at tonight's show but to people just discovering the treats of twenty years ago The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are a vital and romantic part of the present whilst simultaneously opening doors to the past.

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May: Blog Highlights

May, what a month! Don't know why, just seems to be the right thing to say. I can't remember much of it as all I do is sit in a room waiting for The Daily What to get updated. However I do remember Britain's Got Talent sending Susan Boyle crazy whilst simultaneously celebrating an obese Greek boy riverdancing and some quite funny football goings on (see above). Elsewhere I went to a couple of 'festivals' (No mud= not proper right?), interviewed some cool people and reviewed pretty much every album going. If you're still reading this then thank you, the blog is getting record hits every day and I have some very exciting plans in the pipeline that should see everything get bigger and sleeker, wider and brighter. Until July friends.... xx

Live @ Leeds review ft. Pulled Apart By Horses

Patrick Wolf man-crush

Questions with The XX and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Demi Lovato loves Danananaykroyd??!

Liverpool Sound City reviewed

Are Kasabian shit? Or not?

Finally- like music videos? Wish they were compiled in a big tower? Course you do. Well pop over to Boring by the sea's official video site (Boring by the TV?) currently featuring videos from Mika Miko, Phoenix, Metric, Maximo Park, Lissy Trullie and Kings Of Leon.

http://boringbythesea.tumblr.com/

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Questions with... The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

First album you ever bought?
Kip: "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot
Alex: Megadeth, "Symphony of Destruction"
Peggy: "Like a Prayer" by Madonna


Last album you bought?
Kip: Roxy Music "Avalon"
Alex: Bill Callahan "Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle"

First gig you went to?
Kip: It was probably a local pop punk show...
Alex: Mine was definitely also a local punk/ska/hardcore show. My first SHOW-show was beastie boys and tribe called quest at madison sq. garden. biz markie came out and sang "bennie and the jets." it was amazing.
Peggy: Suzanne Vega. She played at the college my dad works at.

Favourite venue to watch a band?
Kip: Cake Shop
Alex: Bowery Ballroom
Peggy: Cake Shop

Band member with the worst habits?
Kip: It's probably me. I often sleep fully clothed.
Alex: Kurt likes to habitually flick my ears. Not sure if that qualifies.
Peggy: Hmm, I don't feel like any of us have annoying habits really.

What single thing would improve life in a band?
Kip: NO COMMENT
Alex: NO COMMENT
Peggy: A personal trainer.

Whose career do you most admire?
Kip: Meg Ryan
Alex: Shaquille O'Neal
Peggy: St. Francis

Favourite new band?
Kip: Zaza
Alex: Girls
Peggy: So Cow

Favourite band on your label?
Kip: Crystal Stilts (present), Rocketship (past)
Alex: caUSE co-MOTION!
Peggy: Black Tambourine.

....... is underrated.
Kip: The Manhattan Love Suicides
Alex: Benoit Pioulard
Peggy: Friday Night Lights (the TV show)

....... is overrated.
Kip: Us
Alex: Tracy Mcgrady
Peggy: Lord of the Rings


The best and worst things about being in a band are?
Kip: Honestly, everything is positive. Getting to travel with your best friends and play music-- nothing could be possibly better.
Alex: Best is moments like smiling at your good friends next to you on stage as some kids crowdsurf right in front of you. Worst is... maybe ringing ears after band practice?
Peggy: Best is playing shows, meeting awesome people, getting to go to places I would never go otherwise. Worst is...feeling self-conscious sometimes about being in the spotlight.

As a teenager the posters on your bedroom wall were of....
Kip: Well, I had a Belle and Sebastian Tigermilk poster and a Suede "Sci Fi Lullabies" poster i really liked.
Alex: Random comic book heroes my brother put up, flyers from local punk shows and some Sports Illustrated for Kids foldouts (Elway? Why?)
Peggy: I had a Sonic Youth "experimental trash and no star" poster, a Lemonheads poster, a Pauly Shore poster, and a Blue Meanies poster (I had no idea who the Blue Meanies were, I just liked their name).

...... makes us laugh.
Kip: Peep Show
Alex: Tim & Eric
Peggy: A good pun.

City you would most like to visit?
Kip: Glasgow
Alex: Tokyo
Peggy: Berlin.

The last great thing we saw online was...
Kip: Susan Boyle
Alex: Everything on gifparty.com
Peggy: Really angry cat - http://www.buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/really-angry-cat

Beatles or Rolling Stones?
Kip: Orange Juice
Peggy: Never got into either, quite frankly.

Prince or Michael Jackson?
Kip: Prince. When I was six i always tried to get my mom to put makeup and bandanas on me so i could pretend to be Prince. Also, Purple Rain is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Peggy: That's a hard one. The 6-year-old version of me says Michael Jackson. But I think now I'd go with Prince.

The Pains... self titled debut album is available via a unique Stereogum/ Amazon hook up for the bargain price of $2.99 (I don't know current conversion rates, it's maybe £50 LOL, Britain is weak) but yeah BARGAIN OF THE DAY PEOPLE.

Amazon link.

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Young Adult Friction

is the best song on the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart album.

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2009's Quarterly Review: January- March

2009 has been around for three months now so it's about time for a review of the first quarter of the year. For a Spotify playlist of all the music mentioned here please click this link. Let's start with the established acts-

Big Hitters

Franz Ferdinand revealed their dance floor inspired third album 'Tonight:' in January to mixed reaction. Personally I like it, it's classic arch posing and enticing lyrics combine well with the sleek, syncopated beats to make a great, contemporary disco record. It seems Franz Ferdinand have reached a glass ceiling in their career however (appearing on Ant'n'Decs TV show, Ipod adverts) which is perhaps a sign 'Tonight:' has not reached it's desired sales targets. I would hate to see a clever and evocative rock band slip down this trite and degrading ladder. Lily Allen released her second album 'It's Not Me, It's You' in February. For all the talk of her big mouth and paparazzi hounded ways Allen is a pretty good pop star, she flits between genres and styles with a confidence which belies her experience. 'The Fear' is a great electro-pop song whilst 'It's Not You' takes country'n'Western and drags it into the modern day with a bang. She'll never be great but Lily Allen is worth a million Lady GaGa's. Finally White Lies; odd that a debut album should rank alongside Franz and Allen but 'To Lose My Life' hit number one when it was released and has seen the ex-Fear Of Flying boys fast-tracked to stardom. I slated it at the time and the lyrics still make me cringe but I think by the time festival season comes around White Lies will be one of the success stories.

Returns/ Side Projects

The Rakes gave a pleasant surprise with their fine third effort 'Klang!' in March. Whilst not quite the itchy frustration of their debut 'Capture/ Release' it holds a raft of potential singles and is nearly enough to erase all memories of their woeful second effort. Similarly, Morrissey released 'Years Of Refusal' a striking and punchy collection of songs far removed from the wet Morriconi produced 'Ringleader Of The Tormentors'. Taking the melodic wonder of The Sleepy Jackson and marrying it with the beats of Pnau was always going to make for interesting listening, the fact it has brought the high-concept magic of Empire Of The Sun could enrapture even the most open of minds. A truly other worldly but effortlessly commercial album of mystic Elton John style pop anthems their 'Walking On A Dream' is almost as impressive as the pairs outfits. Speaking of collaborations N.A.S.A and the Dark Was The Night compilation rounded up pretty much every influential musician around from Karen O, David Byrne and MIA (With N.A.S.A) to Feist, The National and Yesayer (From Dark Was The Night). Both albums are patchy but when they're good they are very good. Finally, Fever Ray, a.k.a Karin Dreijjer of The Knife unleashed the epic and gloomy self titled album that could well sweep the board in album of the year polls.

New Kids

Blog bitches Telepathe and Wavves both released uber-fashionable and occasionally brilliant records in 'Dance Mother' and 'Wavves' respectively. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released an astoundingly wonderful self-titled album which brims with romantic possibility and child like wonder. Crystal Stilts are doing a similarly interesting C86 thing on 'Alight Of The Night' but don't have the same pretty qualities as their Brooklyn counterparts The Pains Of.... just yet. The Joy Formidable's free mini-album 'A Balloon Called Moaning' contains as many epic moments as White Lies but has presumably sold a millionth as many copies: no justice. Awesome Pals Sky Larkin, Copy Haho and Favours For Sailors all released brilliant first efforts with a special mention going to Sky Larkin's Golden Spike album which is a strong contender for my favourite of the year so far. Elsewhere, Titus Andronicus and Grammatics both made striking and brave first efforts that whilst not stuck on repeat here have to be recommended and admired.

So with three months down and nine to go my album of the year list currently sits like this-

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart- 'S/T'
   
2. Franz Ferdinand- 'Tonight:'
   
3. Sky Larkin- 'The Golden Spike.
   

However having already heard much of April and May's treats this will be all change by the next quarterly review. New records from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Horors, The Maccabees, Metric, Dananananaykroyd, Bat For Lashes and Golden Silvers are all due and sounding fantastic with three in particualr being stellar. Maximo Park, Gallows, Passion Pit and Jarvis Cocker are all due to release in May and then June is ram-packed with albums from (deep breath) Florence and The Machine, Little Boots, The Dead Weather, Jamie T, Jack Penate, Patrick Wolf and Regina Spektor.

It must be said, 2009 is shaping up very nicely indeed.

To see the best singles of the first 3 months click here

To get a comprehensive Spotify playlist of this first three months then click here.

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Introducing... The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Along with the likes of the great Vivian Girls and not so great Crystal Stilts it seems The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are leading something of a C86 resurgance at the moment. These feedback- fuzz heavy bands with a keen ear for a melody are appearing daily from New York and dragging attention away from the hipster psychadelia and preppy indie that the city did so well in 2008.

TPOBP@H (who claim a name Gareth Campesinos will be kicking himself for not thinking of first) are one of the finest exponents of this shoegazey, jangle pop around. Their self titled debut album has been gaining rave reviews and their innocent naievety sounds so refreshing in a time awash with processed beats, electro revivals and cold dead synths.

The Brooklyn foursome orbit around the lead duo of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang, their vocals combining amidst a wall of de-tuned guitars to create a sound just the right side of twee. I say combining but the two rarerly harmonise together, instead playing as if they are in seperate bands, unaware of one another. This aloofness makes songs like 'Young Adult Friction' and 'Stay Alive' that bit more enticing.

The Pains... have already toured with The wedding Present and drawn comparisons to The Marychain and The Pastels putting them in a great position as a new band for old people and an entrance to a whole cavalcade of great music young people are just waiting to discover.

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