Guest Post: Johnny Feeney’s Albums of 2015 So Far

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The ever knowledgeable Johnny Feeney returns to the blog once again, to share an eclectic selection of his favourite records from the year so far.

Always insightful and interesting, his guest posts always add an extra flavour the blog and I for one look forward to reading them – surely I’m not alone?

A huge thanks to Johnny as always, and on that note, I’ll leave you in his very capable hands.

10. Stealing Sheep – ‘Not Real’

The second album from Liverpool’s Stealing Sheep is awash with quirky, catchy psych-folk/pop songs with a habit of having disconcerting false endings to continually keep you on your toes while listening.

09. Slaves – ‘Are You Satisfied?’

While there’s no shortage of two-piece rock bands around at the moment, Slaves’ debut album delivers enough memorable tunes with primitive, meaty hooks and thundering drums to stand out from the crowd.

08. Thee Oh Sees – ‘Mutilator Defeated At Last’

With only 9 songs and 33 minutes long, San Francisco’s ultra-prolific Thee Oh Sees’ ninth album in seven years is a brilliant, brief blast of fuzzy, distorted psych/garage rock.

07. Viet Cong – ‘Viet Cong’

The Canadian drone-rockers’ self-titled debut album is hypnotic, repetitive and bleak but absolutely compelling. Expect stuttering, industrial beats and mazing guitars.

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BarryGruff’s Albums of the Year 2014

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So, it’s that time of year again, yeah, it’s favourite albums of the year time. Loads of great music this year, some old faces and plenty of new ones too but for those of you who care, here are my 25 albums of 2014. Enjoy!

25. Second Storey – ‘Double Divide’

24. Beach Day – ‘Native Echoes’

23. Globelamp – ‘Star Dust’

22. Sex Hands – ‘Pleh’

21. The #1s – ‘The #1s’

20. Attaque – ‘ON LY YOU’

19. Shit Robot – ‘We Got Love’

18. Mowbird – ‘Islander’

17. Oh Boland/Me & My Dog – ‘Delphi’

16. Jamie T – ‘Carry on the Grudge’

15. Pharoahe Monch – ‘PTSD’

Following on from his 2011’s W.A.R, comes fourth solo LP, PTSD (aka Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), a loose-concept album which sees Pharoahe Monch speaking as a weary independent warrior against the industry machine and dealing with the struggle of the black male experience in America. It’s dense, raw and sometimes painfully raw, as he relives harrowing memories of his struggle with addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts. It’s all draped with his familiar top-notch storytelling, cavernous vocabulary, thought-provoking rhymes, precise delivery and thought-provoking metaphors, placing him right up top of the current hip-hop pile.

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Albums Roundup: By The Sea, Second Storey & The #1s

 

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Back again with a few more albums that have been keeping me occupied over the past while.

Second Storey – ‘Double Divide’

Formerly going by the name Al Tourettes, London-based Alec Storey began life as Second Storey in 2013 with his Margosa Heights EP. Released but a few weeks ago, his debut LP, Double Divide, is a revelation. Both rich and complex in equal measure, it is steeped in electronic experimentation. Double Divide is a hybrid of styles and influences, shifting from a dreamy ambient side, while others clearly leaning towards the dancefloor, and back again. It success lies in finding a balance, a sweet one at that, between atmospheric soundscapes and ones more at home at a hedonistic club. An album of contrasts, it’s in its infectious, often unusual rhythms too, that binds the entire LP together. A finely crafted debut and an absolutely thrilling listening experience from start to finish.

By The Sea – ‘Endless Days, Crystal Sky’

With their second LP, we find By The Sea sounding bigger and fuller than ever before, as they expanded and refined their wistful yet driven psych-pop undulations. ‘Endless Days, Crystal Sky’ is a magnificent collection of melodic guitar pop songs, illuminated by drifting, dreamlike atmospherics, jangling guitars and bubbly bass. This is an album which should sit proudly with many of the greatest records to emerge from the banks of the Mersey. While the influences are worm well, the understated and shimmering synth work adds a more modern veneer to this retro fitted piece of dreamy indie-pop. This scintillating dreamy indie-pop is sometimes propulsive while punctuated by world-weary vocals, imbued with an aching sense of melancholy, creating a great sense of both depth and warmth. While unquestionably excellent, By The Sea’s debut managed a cult success, released back in August, the Wirral 5-piece’s follow-up deserves far greater acclaim and attention.

The #1s – The #1s

This foursome have been knocking around Dublin for a couple of years now, as The #1s and their various other groups like Cheap Freaks, the Pacifics, and Cian Nugent & the Cosmos. Their seasoned status shines through spectacularly on their self-titled debut, a short and snappy blend of racy punk, power-pop and lo-fi that owes a certain debt to Northern punk bands of the mid-to-late ’70s, like Rudi, The Outcasts and The Undertones. The #1s wear their influences well and openers, ‘I Wish I Was Lonely’, ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Heartsmash’, leave you in no doubt that were headed to a bouncy punk scene from 35 years ago. Frantic and fast paced, it’s all over before you know it, in under 20 minutes in fact but no sooner has it finished and you’ll be hitting play once again. Combing all the finest ingredients, it’s bratty and fun, raw yet tender and simultaneously sugary sweet and sour, they’ve come up trumps with a master class in power-pop punk, and a thrilling debut.

 

 

Guest Post: Johnny Feeney Picks 3 Albums – [St Vincent, Real Estate & Eagulls]

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The ever knowledgeable (and the guy largely responsible for the relocated and revamped site) Johnny Feeney frequently pops up on the blog to share some albums which are catching his eye. So here are three albums have caught his attention, thanks as ever to Johnny and with that I leave you in his very capable hands.

St Vincent – ‘St Vincent’

Now on her fourth solo studio album, Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, returns with a collection of tight, muscular, finely wrought art-rock/pop songs brimming with intent. Clark has never seemingly been short of musical ideas but her songwriting here seems to have gone up a level or two since her previous solo album, 2011’s Strange Mercy. Perhaps her collaboration with David Byrne on 2012’s Love This Giant has given her renewed confidence to dare to be bolder. Whatever it was, it has certainly worked.

‘Huey Newton’ explodes from a slightly plodding mid-tempo number into a stomping rocker with Clark’s riotous, squelching guitars and snarling vocals. ‘Digital Witness’ is the album centrepiece – a blast of skronking horns, funk guitars and an incredibly catchy chorus. There is also some great electro-rock in the form of the menacing ‘Bring Me Your Loves’ and the dreamy ‘Psychopath’. Another gem from the consistently excellent Clark.

Real Estate – ‘Atlas’

New Jersey indie rockers Real Estate returned earlier this year with their third album ‘Atlas’, not veering too far from the style of their earlier work. Their trademark breezy, multi-layered guitars and woozy lyrics are prevalent throughout with meandering guitar solos making for seriously easy listening. The instrumental ‘April’s Song’ is spellbinding while the jangling ‘Crime’ is an album highlight.

Lyrically it’s a little bit darker in places than normal, but even the melancholic nostalgia of ‘Past Lives’ (“I can not come back to this neighbourhood, Without feeling my own age”) or ‘Crime’ (“Toss and turn all night, don’t know how to make it right, crippling anxiety”) is accompanied by such gorgeous, weaving guitars it’s hard to feel glum. Real Estate have always been a summertime band and this is truly a summertime album – a perfect backdrop to barbecue and a beer in the sunshine, but a great album in its own right.

Eagulls – ‘Eagulls’

Eagulls, the five-piece post-punk band from Leeds, certainly know how to make a racket. On their self-titled debut album the songs are loaded with anger as vocalist George Mitchell rages and Tom Kelly’s bass pulsates relentlessly. Thankfully, amid all the clatter, it’s quickly discernible that they also have an ear for a quality tune. It’s a welcome change of pace from the middle of the road indie rock bands that are getting all the radio play. They may be from the same town, but Kaiser Chiefs these are not.

It might take a few listens to untangle the layers of guitar, bass and vocals but it’s certainly worth the effort. The effervescent ‘Yellow Eyes’ gallops along breathlessly. ‘Tough Luck’ sizzles with its mazy guitars and infectious hooks. There are also elements of shoegaze and psychedelic rock on here – ‘Possessed’ channels My Bloody Valentine, while ‘Soulless Youth’ wouldn’t sound out of place played by Primary Colours-era the Horrors. Refreshingly exhilarating.