So is this the end? Possibly. I am going to take a six month break from Folly Of Youth. And then see if I miss it so much I rush back to its cosy embrace. Or if I stay lost in the wilderness.
So not knowing which way this will go, let’s get ready to say our goodbyes after 672 posts. Just in case.
So was that what the last six years have been about? The tally of posts? The 400+ videos from gigs? Or the 36 hours of monthly mixtapes featuring bands playing Manchester? Or about somehow – still not sure how – becoming a Hype Machine listed blog or being a finalist for the Manchester Blog Awards in 2010? Was that what it was about really?
Hell no. It’s been about... seeing Clinic play in Beatles wigs; taking a Larsen B Antarctic coastal shelf cake to Tan Hill Inn for British Sea Power; going to the last ever Broken Family Band gig with a cake for them too; shaking Cate Le Bon’s hand; returning home with the pineapple from a Brakes gig; a Will Sheff re-tweet; buying the only copy of the Brown Brogues Duck Bills cassette; not seeing The Besnard Lakes in a dark and smoke filled upstairs room of a pub; hearing Withered Hand’s “Good News” for the first time; playing Trwbador, Emperor Zero and Free Swim on Cloud Sounds; seeing the first Manchester gig by Eagleowl; being part of a post-gig bar-room set from Jens Lekman for about 25 people; marvelling (twice) at a seven foot giant panda play bass guitar; and many, many more moments like this.
So a heart-felt thanks to all the artists, record labels, promoters, gig venues and festivals who have created those moments. It's been a blast. I'll still be buying your music and your tickets. Just not writing about it.
And let’s finish as I started by misquoting Hefner (I know, the wasted days).
If you liked this blog, start one of your own.
Be kind to small businesses.
Buy more Sweet Baboo, Withered Hand, Gintis, Mowbird, Benjamin Shaw, H. Hawkline, Cate Le Bon, Dan Hayward’s New Hawks, The Indelicates, Free Swim, The Doomed Bird Of Providence, Windmill, The Douglas Firs and Dad Rocks records . To name but a few.
And I particularly need you all to get behind the much-anticpated debut albums from Brown Brogues (January) and Trwbador (March). Because I won’t be here to remind you.
TTFN.
So following that excellent wrapping up of the year, here is my Top Ten albums of the year. Yes it’s subjective. Yes it’s a rum bunch which at first glance appears wilfully random with no connection or shared stylistic approach between them. But – to my ears anyway – they are all formed by a distinctive and original voice (even when indebted to forebears) which delivers consistently – no weak links - across the full length of the album. You may disagree with this or with entries on the list. But hey that’s the fun of lists.
TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2012
10. JULIA HOLTER Ekstasis [BUY]
The second album from LA multi-instrumentalist and composer is a beguiling dream-world of layered electronically processed and natural sounds and voice; coolly arty but gorgeously accessible.
9. LAND OBSERVATIONS Roman Roads IV-XI [BUY]
Minimal motorik instrumentals about the Roman highways that criss-cross ancient Britain and Europe from ex-Appliance man James Brooks. Again (visual and musical) artiness and accessibility go hand in hand.
8. WHISTLE PEAK Half Asleep Upon Echo Falls [BUY]
A happy-sad electro-folk shuffle from Louisville, Kentucky. An excellent set of “children’s songs by grown men” to luxuriate in.
7. THE ECCENTRONIC RESEARCH COUNCIL 1612 Underture [BUY]
“Practical Electronics enthusiasts from Sheffield, make spooked out spoken word LP with Maxine Peake.” Understatement for the underture to the story of the Pendle Witches then and now and a side-swipe at contemporary society, shallow politicians and Jeremy Kyle.
6. TIGERCATS Isle Of Dogs [BUY]
A joyous, edgy and infectious declaration-of-independence that touches on Talking Heads, Hefner and Los Campesinos. Music that makes you want to be a teenager again indeed.
5. LAURA J MARTIN The Hangman Tree [BUY]
Can I use (someone else’s) phrase again? “Liverpudlian flute-wrangler” goes on magical excursions – from deserts to Morecombe Bay to Japan – switching from child-like (but never infantile) innocence to breathy sultriness. Heart wrangled.
4. COLD SPECKS I Predict A Graceful Expulsion [BUY]
Gospel-flavoured folk-noir from Al Spx and her Anglo-Canadian collective that is subtle but stirring, underplayed but over-powering. I cried when I saw them live (big softie).
3. SEAMUS FOGARTY God Damn You Mountain [BUY]
The James Yorkston-endorsed and Fence Records-signed nomad from County Mayo delivers rough, earthy ruminations with a transcendental other-worldliness. Wayward folky sounds on guitar, banjo, fiddle and cello with the added curious spaciness of analog synthesisers, laptop interventions and sea-shell percussion.
2. EASTER Innocence Man [BUY]
Crumpsall pipe-dreams, heavy US alt-rock hooks and riffs and experimental post-rock meet for an "immense, brooding and ruggedly beautiful journey, as monumental and carefully hewn as the carvings at Mount Rushmore or the implacable Victorian brickwork of Strangeways prison".
1. CATE LE BON CYRK[BUY]
"“Cyrk” is an album inspired by the Isle of Eigg, recorded in Cardiff, named after the Polish word for ‘circus’ but sounding like none of those places. It is at once grounded and otherworldly, cryptic and cool but curiously compelling and warm-hearted. Each listen pulls you deeper in, revealing more but telling you less. At the beginning of the last decade ‘New Weird America’ was coined to describe outer limits folk music looking at the world askance but rooted in heritage, myth and elemental forces. Welsh psychedelic music has been on a parallel course for many decades and hasn’t needed a short-hand description. Whatever the Welsh version is called, with this record Cate Le Bon proves she is at the forefront of the contemporary wave of that movement".
I was fairly certain when I wrote that in April that this record would be one of my top five of the year. By early November it beat Easter in my affections to secure top billing. But the SCANDALOUS omission of this record (and many others above) from record shop, magazine and website end-of-year lists shocked me.
Yes this is my list, it’s personal and wilful and random but surely by any objective standards “CYRK” should be lauded as an eerie creative triumph? How could it be overlooked?? I started this blog to record - for myself - what I liked and why; and if anyone read it and wanted to listen too that would be a bonus. All the above records from 2012 are truly important to me but also all in different ways are under-appreciated in this cruel, inattentive world. I recommend them all to you. Maybe more than just listening, together we can over-turn the under-appreciation that hangs too heavily around them? Over to you...
Tomorrow is the end of the world accordingly to the Mayans. So who better to answer some questions about 2012 than Kiran Leonard who has just released the 24 minute “The End Times” partly inspired by hearing of this predicted catastrophe aged 10. If the apocalypse does arrive tomorrow, it may not just be the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who will feel justified.
When I wrote about Kiran Leonard’s "Bowler Hat Soup" back in March, I commented amongst other things on his attention-span, mainly due to the restless stylistic zig-zagging and multiple time signatures deployed on the album. Having now corresponded with Kiran (via last.fm), as well as a restless intelligent mind fizzying with ideas and sounds, I now see this is also matched with an acute sense of detail and control. So not only did he respond almost instantly, he was adamant that the punctuation, grammar and use of case in all his answers was exactly how he intended it, had been thoroughly checked and should not be changed.
So here are the unedited thoughts of a pre-apocalypse Kiran Leonard on his 2012 (and if we all do survive tomorrow he’ll be washing dishes in an Italian restaurant in Delph, where we are welcome to join him and, apparently, “the penne markotte is very tasty”).
What I will remember most about 2012 is... this year was the first time a group of people started following what i was making rather than just my friends... i started PERFORMING and got in touch with a LABEL or two... it's been a very unassuming and minute crescendo but it's been satisfying
What should be forgotten about 2012... don't forget anything and preach awareness + pleasure above all
The best gig I played was... I PLAYED the CAREFULLY PLANNED FESTIVAL in october at the SOUP KITCHEN... it is a lovely venue... the first song we did was a grotesque punk version of WILD WALKS where my guitar was a quarter-tone out with everything else so i just beat the shit out of my strings so it could sound brutal and all the dissonances would no longer be discernible over the wall of noise... i yelled my face off like a phantom howler dog to the moon... everyone in the crowd was smiling but none of them came very close.... our saxophonist went on walkabout.... the band i play with were really encouraging and loud... it was the closest thing to a punk show we as a band, had ever done... we were under-rehearsed and nervous (at least i was)... we sounded terrible but it looked and felt brilliant
The best gig I saw was... AT THE DRIVE-IN at leeds fest this year... surrounded by people who'd grown up with their music, all screaming the words to the songs... it was exhilarating...
it didn't even matter that OMAR wasn't into it because we were all aware that it wasn't 1998 anymore... chanbara was PHENOMENAL...
A record from 2012 that will be still be played in 10 years time? DEATH GRIPS' THE MONEY STORE. one of the most incredible records of all time and i do not say that lightly... every lyric is poetic, scarring and fantastic...
they are the defining band of this decade, no question... nobody can reach their level or do what they're doing... i am a proud owner of their complete discography of 46 tracks (as far as i know.. anyone reading who has more hit me up somewhere... on my last.fm or something). they'll play this record till the end of civilization, never mind in 10 years time
And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Kiran Leonard? in 2013, besides the vinyl pressing of the record i put out this year BOWLER HAT SOUP, i am planning a return to ELECTRONIC BEAT MUSIC and NOISY MUSIC. i will probably record approx. 4-5 HOURS of new material in 2013, with the intention of releasing every minute (though i may not succeed in releasing it all within the same year). though i will try to release the follow-up to bowler hat soup GRAPEFRUIT this year... and a beat album... there may also be a couple SPLITS in the making, more work for CASSETTE, lots of VISUAL media, small TOURS around the uk and parts of europe, LIVE albums, OUTTAKE comps.... BUSY YEAR HOPEFULLY. i'm looking forward to it. i think it will move faster than 2-0-1-2 did
Hearing "Bowler Hat Soup" for the first time and seeing Kiran Leonard play live were two of the unforgettable moments of this year for me – that and getting over his age and just concentrating on what a talent he is. 2013 certainly looks intriguingly busy. Hopefully it will mean he’ll be able to spend less of his time as a dishwasher. "Bowler Hat Soup" will be re-issued physically by Hand Of Glory.
If you cast your mind back to May on these pages, Thomas Long was talking about the “more rocked up” mark 2 version of Easter that had created the album “Innocence Man” and was on the cusp of releasing it. Come the autumn, with the album out of the traps and the band touring, there was another line-up change for the band and some internal re-shuffling of roles (Mark 2.1?). Although a quarter different in personnel, this version of the band was still damn sharp in delivering those towering songs from “Innocence Man”.
I thought the record an “extraordinary listen: an immense, brooding and ruggedly beautiful journey, as monumental and carefully hewn as the carvings at Mount Rushmore or the implacable Victorian brickwork of Strangeways prison”. Americana UK said “Easter have produced a pretty remarkable feat with "Innocence Man". Its six tracks, some stretching out over six or even eight minutes, are both expansive and intense. There is a delicate balancing act of discordant riffs against powerhouse drumming and intimate, articulate and half hidden singing... Easter are noise alchemists shaping discord and painful feedback into sound sculptures of disconnection and confusion. For the most part it sounds suitably splendid”. I have to disagree – I think it all sounds splendid.
Thomas Long here looks back on the last twelve months of releases and re-births.
What I will remember most about 2012 is... Getting the album out this year was the big one. It took us a while so to finally have it out and get some good reviews, airplay and people getting into it has been great. But almost as important has been getting the new line-up together, it's feeling really good at the moment cos we can now get out and tour, which we weren't really able to do before. We just did a string of UK dates in November and it was a big buzz.
What should be forgotten about 2012... Like I say the line-up change has worked out well but it's always a bit of a drag sorting it out, it's almost like starting afresh, it could crumble, but thankfully it hasn't.
The best gig we played was... The album launch gig at Kraak was awesome - it was packed. But our gig in Edinburgh with Broken Records probably tops it. It was the last night of the tour, great crowd and the new line-up was really firing.
The best gig I saw was... Best gig for me was Radiohead at the MEN [Arena], it was just immense, epic set, great choice of tracks, a real fan's set. Made me realise how great they are as I'd overlooked them a little bit over the last few years.
A record from 2012 that will still be played in 10 years time? EL-P “Cancer 4 Cure” is great, really intense, paranoid as ever, and great production. Think he's still one of the few people pushing things in hip-hop. Live he was immense too, played the full album. Only just bought Swans “The Seer” but that's great, lot to get yr teeth into but I think it'll definitely be remembered.
Overlooked in 2012? Easter “Innocence Man”? Ha!
And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Easter? Hopefully have a seven inch out in the spring, and we're working on a proper UK tour for around that time as well. Then it'll be down to work on the second album which we’re building up tracks for at the moment. There might just be something else in the pipeline too but I don't want to jinx it.
I agree about “Innocence Man” being overlooked. Some enthusiastic reviews and praise from online sites and record shops, plays on 6Music and Xfm but it didn’t get the recognition it should have done in the monthlies or major music websites. If that was their loss, make sure it’s not yours too: “Innocence Man” is one of this year's, if not ANY year's, essential purchases.
In Summer 2011, I became entranced by the “Roman Roads” EP from Land Observations, a trio of minimal motorik instrumentals created out of layered guitar. Although it was hinted this was from a forthcoming album inspired by the major Roman roads that criss-crossed Britain & Europe, I didn’t hold out much hope as Land Observations aka James Brooks, previously one-third of post-rock minimalists Appliance, had concentrated on an artistic career since the dissolution of his previous group in 2003. And nine years on his visual arts practice and interest in cartography and mapping seemed to dominate.
But then in September came the release of the eight track album “Roman Roads IV-XI” on Mute, his old label with Appliance. What I said about the EP in July 2011 still holds true for the album: “although there is repetition to their meticulous construction, rather than those sturdy (and perpendicular) feats of Roman engineering, these songs make me think more of the natural world in those times, of green fields, chalk horses, untamed hedgerows and empty skies: more pagan joy than imperialist perfection”. And this was echoed by The Quietus: “recorded in Berlin, the eight tracks here pay easy homage to their European forebears, but are unmistakably British in their overall sound and feel, nodding melodically to the traditional folk music of these isles, and existing at a slower pace, on a smaller scale, than the cross-continental constructions of Kraftwerk and company”. The EP is excellent but “Roman Roads IV-XI” goes further and not just in length – a more confident and complete investigation of these themes, musical and geographic.
Continuing the Wrapping Up series, Land Observations’ James Brooks casts a glance back on 2012:
What I will remember most about 2012 is... Well, in musical terms I enjoyed the continuing renaissance of vinyl.... Along with another year cementing the fact that interesting music can still cut through and have an impact... In life - East London flourished and Fender brought out a new Jaguar guitar.
What should be forgotten about 2012... Musically.... mmm, it feels negative to mention names... In everyday life, that the government and universities made some terrible decisions for education, (or maybe that would be a bad idea to forget)
The best gig I played was... I think in Kreuzberg, Berlin for the enthusiasm and attention towards the performance. The album tracks are getting broader and it all seemed to grow at this show...
The best gig I saw was... I enjoyed seeing the Matthew Bourne in Glasgow. Some days you are more receptive to watching a performance after you play and that was one.
A record from 2012 that will be still be played in 10 years time? (Obviously taking Land Observations out of the equation...) I enjoyed the Lightships record in a 70s album kind of way.
Overlooked in 2012? The Kranky record label in Chicago, stills seems consistent, but perhaps doesn't get the attention it deserves.
And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Land Observations? Well, I've started demoing the next record already and plan to record it in a very unique place... So it would be nice to think I could have that out by late next year on Mute.
Plus there are some extra tracks from last year's Berlin recording session, so it would be great for them to see the light of day. Then Enraptured are re-issuing the 3 track “Roman Roads” EP. So, all in all, it should be a fruitful year...
For more from James Brooks including how Land Observations became a musical project and his subsequent return to Mute Records, there’s an excellent interview on The Quietus from September. My main recommendation however is a swift purchase of “Roman Roads IV-XI”.
“Whistle Peak is pop music in disguise” says Karate Body Records, label and home of the Louisville, Kentucky band. And indeed it is difficult to pigeonhole these electro-folk “children’s stories told by grown men”. Writing about the album in February, I cited Panda Bear, Beirut, Joe Henry, Eels and Tuung as various reference points on different tracks. Americana UK’s take was: “if the Folk Implosion had imploded they’d sound like ‘Land to Land’, but don’t think that these are inward looking indie fan-boy songs. Yes, ‘Sleepy Pants’ does sound like the Flaming Lips in restrained mood but ‘Play the Ghost’ contains some of the same DNA that makes Gnarls Barkley – notably the combination of dance music, soulful vocals and a leftfield sensibility.”
Maybe best to say the five-piece just sound like themselves? Either way I was wowed by “Half Asleep Upon Echo Falls” calling it a “buoyant and luxuriant experience: eleven tracks of melancholy-tinged Vaudevillian alt-pop floating on banjos, xylophone and egg-shaker with washes of electronic flutter and mechanical scrape that soothes and surprises”. Here three of the band - Billy Petot, Michael Snowden, Jeremy Irvin – shared their thoughts on the last twelve months:
What we will remember most about 2012 is...
Billy: I had a baby this year. And UK winning the NCAA was pretty awesome. I'm really proud of the album, of course.
Michael: I also had a baby, which is pretty unforgettable. Watching the record gain traction and making a bunch of new friends while working to promote it has also been great. No matter where things go from here, 2012 will always stand out in my mind as a watershed year for the group.
Jeremy: My lady and I got engaged in Zion National Park, in Utah. One of the most exciting moments of my life, set to the most amazing scenery I've ever witnessed. Let's not forget our single, "Wings Won't Behave," jumping to over 50k listens, practically overnight...
What should be forgotten about 2012...
Billy: Mitt Romney
Michael: Who's that?
Jeremy: Paul Ryan, who, by comparison, made Romney look like a Saint.
The best gig we played was...
Billy: Our album release show at Zanzabar in our hometown, Louisville. And we had a good time at Radio Radio in Indianapolis, though we could have played better.
Michael: Our show with The Cave Singers last Spring was really enjoyable. We played well, the Cave Singers killed, and the crowd was fantastic. Good times.
Jeremy: Record Store Day, at Please & Thank You, here in Louisville, KY. Due to capacity constraints, we were asked to perform a 'stripped down' version of our set, which resulted in what I believe Billy dubbed "acoustelectronic." 80's synthesizers and drum machines paired with acoustic instruments. It came very naturally for us, and if we could ever make it across that grand pond, I believe this would be an efficient way for us to tour Europe. There's a video of "Big & Bright" from that evening, it's floating around the Internet somewhere; check it out.
The best gig I saw was...
Michael: Just saw Lindsey Buckingham play solo earlier this week. Incredible.
Jeremy: Damien Jurado performed here in Louisville, as part of our own WFPK's "Live Lunch" series. These shows are always free, and the station really opens its arms to a wide range of artists. This was definitely my favorite show of 2012.
A record from 2012 that will be still be played in 10 years time?
Billy: I am pretty sure I'll be listening to Bro Stephen's "Baptist Girls" for that long.
Jeremy: "Arrow" by Heartless Bastards.
Overlooked in 2012?
Michael: Big Fresh's “Moneychasers”, without a doubt. It's a solid album from one of Kentucky's most underrated bands.
Jeremy: “Red Parole” by Seluah. Label mates, and fellow Louisvillians, these guys kill it at their live shows.
And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Whistle Peak?
Michael: One thing you won't be seeing is more babies. Just new music... my vote is for the melancholic dance album of the decade.
Jeremy: An album FOR babies, BY babies. Or at least for baby-making practice sessions.
Before 2012 I really only knew Louisville, Kentucky as the birth place of Will Oldham. Now thanks to Karate Body Records and the name-checks above, I have a whole new world of Louisvillians to explore. And in Whistle Peak an excellent new favourite band who stand apart from any clumsy musical references. “Half Asleep Upon Echo Falls” does have worldwide distribution but if you have difficulty tracking it down Karate Body ship internationally (including the teal-coloured vinyl!).
Hooded Fang’s debut UK release “Tosta Mista” is named after a grilled Portuguese sandwich snack. Apparently. But it’s best not to take the tongue-in-cheek, cartoon villain world of the Toronto outfit at face value – even from a band whose (Canadian only) debut EP was called “EP” and their debut album “Album”. Are they are a collective or just a vehicle for chief Fang Daniel Lee? Can these ridiculously infectious beat-pop tunes really constitute a break-up album? Does a 22 minutes and only seven proper tracks make an album? And what’s with the masked Mexican wrestlers?
What is undeniable, except to a few po-faced reviewers, is the effect of the record on the listener: “evocative of summer sunshine and parties on the beach – clean, bright indie pop mixed with ’60s garage and a whiff of Tiki kitsch” said Loud and Quiet. “A record that screams “FUN” across its breezy 22-minute running time... but rather than it sounding like an experiment in kitsch or all surface and no feeling, it really does sound like it’s written from the heart” said The Line Of Best Fit. My take back in March was “listening to this record is like opening a sealed time-capsule from 1968... but rather than diminishing returns retro-nostalgia, “Tosta Mista” feels like a genuine re-tread of garage rock year zero and Lenny Kaye’s “Nuggets” collection. Hooded Fang manage to capture – not recreate - the sense of possibility, experimentation and fun of that era brilliantly... half the length of most albums but twice the psyche-pop fun”.
Here Daniel Lee reflects on the last twelve months for Hooded Fang:
What I will remember most about 2012 is... The birth of the internet. It came in the form of a 7-billion armed porn monster where ideas are everything and money disappears.
The best gig we played was... Brussels, London, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Berlin, the moon.
The best gig I saw was... Ariel Pink at Constellation, the surf band in Manchester (shit I forget their name). [that would be The Bell Peppers?]
A record from 2012 that will be still be played in 10 years time? Slim Twig "A Hound At The Hem", Ariel Pink "Mature Themes".
Overlooked in 2012? Probably everything good.
And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Hooded Fang? New record, stupid costumes, purchasing of ponies, holograms, digital fictional live players, extra heads, extra head.
Hooded Fang toured the UK in May with Howler, having to bump a show for Underachievers Please Try Harder at The Castle until the autumn. Sadly I missed both chances to see the band live but let’s hope a return visit to accompany new album “Gravez” is on the cards.
