And some more...

TV On The Radio – Dear Science

Dave Sitek may have built himself a reputation as producer du jour for the likes of Foals and Scarlett Johansson; with TV On The Radio’s third long player he showed that he’s been holding back the best ideas for the day job. An album of staggering proportions that proves their position as the mostly likely band to take over Radiohead’s crown. 

Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night

2008 was the year when Kings Of Leon upped their game. A career defining Glastonbury headline performance was followed by the release of their forth album. Still maintaining the perfect balance between indie cool and mainstream acceptability 

Kanye West – 808’s & Heartbreak

When used by hip hop retards, such as T-Pain, the AutoTune effect can be as annoying as being stuck in a lift with Timmy Mallet. But when coupled with Kane’s lyrics concerning the death of his mother and the end of his relationship, it adds a haunting stark quality. His previous albums have always lacked consistency but with this Mr. West delivered what his ego always promised. 

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

If you’d told me last year that one of the best albums of the year would sound like The Strokes covering Paul Simon, I probably would have laughed harder than when I saw that guy throwing shoes at Dubya. An instant classic.

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

Unless you were in hibernation this year you couldn’t have missed MGMT. Arguably the album didn’t reach the standards that Time To Pretend set, but for that song alone they deserve some (more) praise. 

Deerhunter – Microcastle / Weird Era Continued.

Bradford Cox returns to his day job after the subdued, but still impressive, Atlas Sound album. This may just have established Cox as US Indie’s brightest star. 

 

Lightspeed Champion – Falling Off The Lavender Bridge 

When word got out that Dev Hynes, the former Test-Icicle, had decamped to Nebraska to make an album of acoustic folk, few believed he would deliver anything to this standard. A perfect account of a young mans descent into the pitfalls of becoming a young adult. 

Some Other Albums I've Enjoyed...

Mystery Jets – Twenty-One

Erol Alkan again cements his genius by producing the Eel Pie Island resident’s second album. While their debut had its moments, it was a cluttered affair; it was clear that these upstarts were different, but they didn’t have the songs to match the hype. Twenty-One still shows that the band still have their eccentricities but this time, more importantly, they’ve learned how to write a pop song. 

Santogold – Santogold

Santi White’s former job as an A&R for Epic Records clearly gave her a head start in music. Her debut album is a great collection of songs. While Switch and Diplo’s involvement hinted at a MIA clone, her eclectic style shone through.  

Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair

While a disco revival has been bubbling under for a while, H&LA propelled the sound firmly into the mainstream. While much has been said about Anthony Heggarty’s haunting vocals, the real attraction here is Andy Butler & Tim Goldsworthy’s glittering production. 

Disjokke – Staying In

Hailing from the same ‘Oslo disco’ scene that gave us Prins Thomas and LindstrÆm, Disjokke’s album was always going to embrace the calmer side of dance music. This album shows that dance music can be listened to on a night in, without it being your over used copy of Moon Safari. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Album Of The Year...

While I generally loathe list's, thanks mostly to magazines and their constant reliance on them for content, I always think it's good to take stock of what music has been released throughout the year. So with this my friends I have decided to choose my favorite album of the year. This year it was pretty easy; while there have been several albums I've loved this year, the above one in particular sticks out.

In the wake of the Klaxons success last year, A&R men desperately searched for new indie bands who played keyboards whilst decked in neon outfits. When Bathroom Gurgle appeared on Moshi Moshi, back in late 2007, it was clear that the Castle Donington four piece weren’t going to be another Trash Fashion.  But with Fantasy Black Channel, Late Of The Pier exceeded expectations.

Under the guide of producer Erol Alkan, Late Of The Pier have crafted a thrilling debut: a schizophrenic behemoth that shows what happens when four young men with ADD fuel themselves with MDMA.   

The influence’s shine through clearly; Sam Eastgate’s vocal delivery dips between Gary Numan & David Byrne and Focker sounds like Muse if they were stuck in a lift with Boys Noize. These are just a few examples of a wealth of music that’s been digested and re-imagined by this band and that’s what makes them so exciting. In a day and age where we still have idiots like The Enemy aping The Jam, this year Late Of The Pier showed us music can and will continue to be exciting. A fact that’s clearly not lost on the band; the title The Enemy Are The Future originated when the band, who were supporting the Coventry hobbits, found a flyer displaying said manifesto.

Fantasy Black Channel is musical Play Doh; taking techno, rock and pop and blending them seamlessly. Like the Klaxons, Late Of The Pier have shaken off the shackles of “Nu Rave” and proven themselves to be a exciting and intelligent modern pop band.

Great email

Had this in work today after a pretty bizzare phone call... I've blocked out my companies name as I don't want the marketing team coming across my blog. I work at a popular "music recognition service" for mobile phones. People often try to pitch ways to improve our service, mostly to try and make themslelves money. This has to be my favourite so far:

Hello Jonathan, following our phone conversation this morning, here is what id like to do. My name is Ovidiu Deer , im from Romania, i live in london since 97, im a DJ, ive worked in the music business all my life, hence using s****m services very often. id like it if we could do something, work together to bring s****m over to Romania too, and i know its gonna work, as Romania , has become HUGE , in music and clubbing business in the past 10 years, i can easily say its better in clubbing then the UK, WAY BETTER, and people, are a lot into music, and because most music over there its foreign, (american+engish and others) they dont know names and stuff, and when i went back there for holidays and told them about this service, they were so surpised but sad they couldnt use it over there, i was thinkin to open myself a simillar service, but have no idea how to do it, thats been troubleing me for years now, i can guarantee its gonna work more over in romania than here in uk. , especially the romanians always RUN after something new, IT WILL WORK. I have loads of contacts in the music businees over there, radios, tv ( music channels) i got my sister, shes a layer, in bucharest (capital city), and she knows loads of people high up in high places, actors, musicians, sports people, from football to K1, i could say, so we got good contacts . i was thinkin like a franchise or something, but we can do anyway ud like . and/or, id like to work (aswell) for S****m in all, as i got a very good knowledge of PC , and music of course, and have loads of time , free time that is, i only work like 2 nights a week, so im free most of the time, and spend my time in front of the computer anyway, so i was thinking ,i could use this time to make some extra money, there are loads more to say, hard to think right now, BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE, WORKING WITH OR FOR S****M, I CAN BRING POSITIVE BENEFITS FOR THE COMPANY. I even run my own transylvanian night in london, where i have around 150 to 200 people every saturday, where i play romanian and usual chart music plus some underground too, im into ALL sorts of music styles, from film music, opera to drum n bass , house garage...etc, u name it .I used to work on radio here in the uk, ive been offered to do it again, and thats another plus for s****m if i do it again,so let me know if we could work together, i guarantee and i wanna take s****m to different "LANDS" DIFFERENT AREAS, AND IT CAN ONLY BE GOOD FOR YOU. Thank you for taking the time to listen and to read this, hope to hear from you soon.Have a lovely day. Ovidiu Deer ( aka Dj Freddy D) PS. here is my website, with what i do for the romanian and eastern european comunity here in the uk.

I for one am pretty intrigued by the transylvanian night....