TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2012

Once again the year ends with the number of albums I still haven’t heard or will only get round to late into next year far outweighing those I actually did listen to. But of what I did wrap my ears around in 2012 I enjoyed albums from Allo Darlin’, Ambulances, Yusuf Azak, Andrew Bird, Blind Atlas, Boletes, Cheval Sombre, Cold Pumas, Cousins, Adrian Crowley, Devoted Friend, Eat Lights Become Lights, Fanfarlo, Goat, Ghost Carriage Phantoms, God’s Little Eskimo, Darren Hayman, Island Twins, Richard James, Jesus H Foxx, Johnny5thwheelandthecowards, Kaatskill Mountains, Lazarus and The Plane Crash, Jens Lekman, The Leg, Jack Lesser Lewis' Awkward Energy, Les Liminanas, Huw M, Moonface with Siinai, Onions, Plank!, Pulco, Race Horses, Randolph’s Leap, Sex Hands, Shearwater, Sone Institute, Standard Fare, The State Broadcasters, The Sufis, Temple Songs, The Wave Pictures and James Yorkston.

And if I allowed myself to break the self-imposed ‘Top Ten only’ straitjacket a 11-20 list would look like (alphabetically) Euros Childs, Clinic, The Douglas Firs, First Aid Kit, Golden Fable, Hooded Fang, Damien Jurado, Kiran Leonard, This Many Boyfriends and Woods.

Huge thanks for those artists and bands who shared their thoughts and reflections on 2012 namely (in order of appearance) Seamus Fogarty, Tigercats, Laura J Martin, The Douglas Firs, The Eccentronic Research Council, Mowbird, Richard James, Hooded Fang, Whistle Peak, Land Observations, Easter and Kiran Leonard.

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...

WRAPPING UP 2012 with Seamus Fogarty

As December rolls in, time to catch up with some artists who’ve made an impression on me this year, to find out what they themselves made of the last twelve months. First up the nomadic Mr Seamus Fogarty.

As a subscriber to Fence Record’s Chart Ruse EP series, I was offered the extra benefit of purchasing new label signing Seamus Fogarty’s debut LP at a modest discount. I think I only needed to listen to one of the preview tracks available to know this was a done deal (and whilst the discount was a nice ‘thank you’ hardly essential to the transaction). Seamus’s induction into the Fence Records family began with meeting James Yorkston in Kilkenny in early 2009 (as recounted in this Q&A between the two) followed by an appearance at Homegame Festival in Fife that year.

The album “God Damn You Mountain” was released in April this year and I fell almost instantly for its “wayward folky sounds formed on guitar, banjo, fiddle and cello with the added curious spaciness of analog synthesisers, laptop interventions and sea-shell percussion; a mixture the traditional and the experimental, of the DIY and accidental”. I particularly like this from The List: "This is folk music that nods towards Irish tradition but with a dreamy, mesmerising feel all of its own; echoes of Scotland and rural Americana haunting everything... while the stripped-down tracks in the middle display Fogarty’s songwriting chops, it’s the more experimental beginning and ending that really demonstrate an exciting talent".I was then lucky enough to catch Seamus three times this year – supporting James Yorkston in May then at No Direction Home in June and at Green Man in August.

Here’s his take on 2012:

What I will remember most about 2012 is...
That it was the year I released my debut album and there was a lot of sport on TV.

What should be forgotten about 2012...
Ireland's performance at Euro 2012, although I suppose it was nice to be there for a change.

The best gig I played was...
On the main stage at Green Man. It pissed rain all morning, as it tends to do at Green Man, only to stop around 5 minutes before we started to play. I was in no fit state to be playing anywhere but it was unforgettable. [A video of 'The Wind' from the day here]



The best gig I saw was...
Tricky, not the man, the question…a tie between Jonathan Richman at aforementioned Green Man Festival and Hardsparrow at Away Game on Eigg

A record from 2012 that will be still be played in 10 years time?
I'm kinda stuck in the past musically (see next question) but I reckon I'll still be listening James Yorkston's new one, “I Was A Cat From A Book”, timeless songs. And Lau's new one “Race The Loser”.

Overlooked in 2012?
I spend most of my time sat in front of my computer listening to Gregorian chant so quite out of touch with the world…I shared a few festival bills with Euros Childs this summer, he's not really overlooked but I can't believe he's not playing bigger venues, a consistently amazing songwriter.

And what can we look forward to in 2013 from Seamus Fogarty?
I've given myself until Christmas to write and record an EP, its going well, lots of Gregorian Chant. I'm also hoping to take some friends into a nice studio before the summer to record an album. And what else… I'm also doing a big UK tour with aforementioned James Yorkston and The Pictish Trail which I'm really looking forward to, that's happening in March/April time.

An EP influenced by Gregorian chant?! Can’t wait. “God Damn You Mountain” was a vinyl only (with download) physical release. If that put you off, there is a limited CD version in the Fence Shop if you’re quick. And for Londoners you can see Seamus Fogarty this week on Wednesday supporting Colorama before two dates back in Ireland with James Yorkston. Seamus Fogarty live and on record is very different propositions. Whether you get to see him live or not, you should really, really get the album.

Seamus Fogarty - By The Waterside by Fence Records

NO DIRECTION HOME 8 - 10 June 2012: Day Two

Day Two at No Direction Home started with relief - the tent was still standing after the night’s heavy winds. Then on to see Laish open the Lake Stage. The South Coast five piece politely threatened to be too genteel: witness one song ‘I'm Enraged’ about moving to Lewes “because it's only 12 min by car”. However this song and many others despite their folk whimsy trappings – beards, tweed jackets, clarinet and violin – were upbeat, rousing even beefy all powered by a hefty rhythm section. Laish could also tug at the heartstrings too - a genuinely poignant song about the singer’s relationship with his parents called ‘A Happy Accident’. It would not be the last of its kind today.


Over at the Electric Dustbowl stage then for New Zealand’s Tiny Ruins. Here Hollie Fullbrook on acoustic guitar was accompanied by double bass for a set of slow, affecting songs that didn’t sound as close to Laura Marling as the programme made out but those notes were right about the emotional depth.

Liz Green’s antique folk-jazz on the Lake Stage put a swing into the afternoon and was predictably as witty and entertaining as ever; finishing one song, tugging at her top she turned all Alan Bennett “ooh after that I’ve got a bit of a folk-sweat on”. Alongside her “inappropriate” songs of funeral watchers, midnight blues and death (“This is ‘The Quiet’. It was called ‘Death’. I was advised to change it. By The Powers That Be.”), it was great to hear four new songs. Now last year’s “O, Devotion” album took five years to realise – does this mean we don’t have to wait so long for a follow-up?

On the Electric Dustbowl, Seamus Fogarty was being asked to prove he was Irish. Does being amiable, garrulous, witty and musical, alongside that name, provide enough evidence? This was quite a different set from the solo one I saw last month supporting James Yorkston. Here he was supported on violin and vocals (Emma?) and as well as three songs from album “God Damn You Mountain” he went back to songs from his Chicago days, playing bars and working the building trade, plus some (I think) new songs. And did I say ‘talented’ as well? Entrancing.



Martin Simpson, despite better advice, I had already pigeon-holed as too trad for my tastes. But what an astonishing performance from the humble and softly spoken Yorkshireman. His lightning quick finger-pickin’ and mixture of British and American accents and styles was impressive enough but two songs were devastating. One ‘Never Any Good’ was a loving celebration of his father’s life, both his service in two World Wars and his impractical nature which meant he agreed to keep his son despite being in his fifties when he was conceived. Heart-breaking – and his father never go to hear it. One of his final songs was a Leon Rosselson cover ‘Palaces Of Gold’ about privilege and inequality. Raw, emotionally devastating and then politically incisive. That’ll teach me to write off folk music as “too trad”.

Folk of a more contemporary hue followed back in the Big Top with four-piece The Cornshed Sisters – one keyboard, three guitars and lots of soothing close harmonies and good humour. It could easily have tipped into saccharine but remained on the right side of this. Very pleasant mid-afternoon fare but I was never bowled over (I may still have been a bit over-awed by Martin Simpson).

“Can anyone play guitar?” Euros Childs asked the crowd from the Lake Stage at the end of his band’s first number. “Anyone? Only need to get through about thirteen songs. We’ll give you the nod for the chord changes”. Somehow Huw Evans of H Hawkline had missed joining the rest of the band – Sweet Baboo on bass and R Seillog on drums – for the opening number. Belatedly arriving on stage, the now-completed four-piece played a blinder.





Songs from yet-to-be-released album “Summer Special” plus last year’s “Ends” dominated this ‘something old, something new’ set (“Nothing borrowed – there’s no covers. And blue? We’ll save our sex set for the campfire”). It was impassioned, muscular and quirky with many humourous interjections plus a Gorky’s song too with ‘Poodle Rockin’ (“actually that one’s quite erotic”). Euros Childs is touring the UK this September – this time with The Wellgreen as his backing band but still unmissable.

Controversially I passed on seeing Woodpigeon (for what would be the sixth or seventh time) to see Ichi who I’d had never seen. Both the programme and the introduction at the Flying Boat Society promised ‘you’ve never seen anything like this’. Go on then, surprise me. The Japanese performer reached the stage by walking on stilts through the crowd with cymbals attached his knees playing a kazoo. What then followed cannot accurately be described or captured on video. The first song was played on a typewriter. Next one of those stilts turned out to be a two string instrument when plugged into an amplifier. It was inventive, playful, unpredictable mix of playground rhymes, primitive blues and outsider music played out on hand-made contraptions, steel-pans, inflatable devices and of course stilts. He deservedly received the loudest and warmest applause I’d heard all day.



I checked in for a few songs of the finely costumed, carnival pop of Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny on the Lake Stage before securing a front-row (well rail) place for David Thomas Broughton. Like Ichi, another unpredictable performer who I cannot do justice do with these poorly formed strings of words. What was misdirection, what was theatre, what was a confused man on stage looking for his watch?


Tonight’s show featured drones from Mark ‘Woodpigeon’ Hamilton and Rob St John but all eyes were centre stage on Mr Broughton whether lying down, kicking something over or throwing rock star moves with his lion’s mane hair (these always ended in an awkward pose). I recognized ‘One Day’ and ‘Perfect Louse’ amongst the songs but it was the combined effect of performance and music that made this uncomfortably bewitching piece one of the festival highlights. “Verging on mental illness” was the best summation offered to me.

Other Lives provided a lush backdrop for veggie enchiladas (but I still don’t get it) then on to Joe Gideon And The Shark in the Big Top. I was expecting something more raucous and initially couldn’t find anything in the duo’s electro-blues to latch on to – Gideon’s semi-sung monologues weren’t distinct or memorable and the pair (or rather I) didn’t lock into a groove. However the imagined (I think) tale of one of Ray Charles’s backing singers ‘Kathy Ray’ was both hypnotic and theatrical. Must give them some listening space.


To the Lake Stage for Gruff Rhys. I recently dismayed someone by telling them I had never really listened much to Super Furry Animals. And to continue that heresy, I haven’t really listened to Gruff Rhys’s solo output either. So this sixty minute set was my longest and most sustained exposure to the Welshman, here backed by Y Niwl plus vocalist and trumpet-player. I can now understand the devotion without necessarily sharing the unconditional adultation. A winning collision of Beatlesy psyche-pop with Welsh oddball melodicism in which the more wacky moments – arriving on stage in red rain mac and motorcycle helmet or interrupting a song about driving to give (fake) Sat Nav directions to Sherwood Forest – felt happily part of the charm.

Wooden Shjips off-shoot Moon Duo provided a disappointment after a string of successes. Performing in near darkness, the sound mix felt all wrong. Drum machine and some doomy keyboard chords dominated but the vocals and guitar were indecipherable and under-powered. Sanae Yamada’s seductive, slow swishing of her long hair from side to side never got boring but the rest of the package lacked volume, impact and the churning groove I was hoping for.

Andrew Bird appeared on stage to open his headlining set with blanket draped over his shoulders and wearing a woollen hat. Solo he looped first plucked violin strings, then his whistling before adding some elegant bowing of the violin. Pace yourself Mr B, I thought, you don’t want all your tricks out in the open so quickly. But this introduction served as overture with all those elements beautifully repeated through the 90 minute set. It took him four songs to warm up – fingers that is not figuratively – but although an elegant, classy performance it never did warm up consistently.


Mid-set the guitar-heavy pairing of ‘Eyeoneye’ and ‘Fitz and Dizzyspells’ were thrilling, ‘Effigy’ and ‘Distant Shore’ dedicated to Levon Helm were sweetly engaging with tender vocals and then ‘Give It Away’ and a Townes van Zandt cover performed “travellin’ style” around a single mic was a great, fun conclusion. But I wanted this from all the songs, all the time. Cerebrally celebratory rather than mind-blowing this was still a strong finish to an excellent day of music. No quasi-spiritual experiences yet but unpredictability and heartbreak amidst the rain.

JAMES YORKSTON @ DEAF INSTITUTE 24 May 2012

Despite the tropical weather earlier the Deaf Institute is quite cool tonight. It’s also a little sparse of audience members as Seamus Fogarty takes to the stage. It’s a shame more weren’t tempted indoors sooner because they missed a treat. I was intrigued to hear how the songs from “God Damn You Mountain” would sound live stripped of the field recordings and unusual, unidentifiable accompaniments on record. Performing seated with just unvarnished acoustic guitar and harmonica, some of songs were uncomplicated folk airs, some were toe-tapping bar-room pleasers like the non-album song from his days playing Chicago bars (“mainly Johnny Cash and Rory Gallagher covers”) and then others like final song ‘The Wind’ captured that haunting, meditative simplicity of his debut album.





He cut an amiable and garrulous figure on the bare stage, cursing himself for overlong tune-ups but also providing some sublime and seductive moments. By the end of his set the Music Hall felt much busier and it was good to see that afterwards large swathes of people were coughing up cash for a copy of that highly recommended album.

I always waiver between whether I prefer seeing James Yorkston solo or with band. I say waiver but probably come down on the side of solo. But playing "Moving Up Country" on its tenth anniversary re-release – surely this dictated a full band? (as in the upcoming shows in Edinburgh and London)? The first ten songs of tonight’s set were a chronological rendition of that 2002 album but that doesn’t do justice to the unfolding journey therein. Just with guitar and harmonica, these slowed down versions of the songs captured their raw emotions but with an added graceful immediacy. I’ve never seen or heard a more engaged audience than the early part of this set. And this was before the emotional journey spread out into the between-song chat. This included farcical tales of stained sheets in B&Bs and punching people on trains, condemnation of David Cameron (“he’s a cunt”) and then joyfully celebrating the imminent conclusion of his three year old daughter’s chemotherapy treatment. These tour tales and deeply personal moments mingled in with the witty asides of ‘Cheating The Game’ or the tense, quivering seven minutes of final album song ‘I Know My Love’.







Seamlessly the set continued – ‘Temptation’ as requested from the crowd, three new songs from this August’s new album "I Was A Cat In A Book" and two more older songs. The emotional swings of the first half of the set continued: the heart-breakingly raw ‘The Fire And The Flame’ about his daughter’s illness drew tears from the singer and left the crowd devastated (no over-statement) but was then followed by a surreal and improvised musical tirade against Bob Dylan, Status Quo and other ropey parts of his older brother’s record collection. This led into an unlikely, unplanned and none-too-serious cover of Motorhead’s ‘The Ace Of Spades’ which then fed into a beautiful rendition of ‘Someplace Simple’.

The emotional depth and range of the evening was beyond compare – from bonhomie and comic asides to raw vulnerability between just two songs was astonishing. I’ve seen James Yorkston many times before but tonight’s gig was one of the best. He’s clearly been through hell but thank God he can still laugh and joke and bawl and cry about it and share these moments. Truly entrancing.





The Set List

In Your Hands
St Patrick
Sweet Jesus
Tender To The Blues
Moving Up Country, Roaring The Gospel
Cheating The Game
I Spy Dogs
6.30 Is Just Way Too Early
Patience Song
I Know My Love
Temptation
Catch
‘Lately I’ve Found I’ve Struggled’
‘The Fire And The Flame’
‘Bob Dylan and Status Quo diss’
Ace Of Spades
Someplace Simple
Steady As She Goes

SEAMUS FOGARTY God Damn You Mountain

County Mayo-born Seamus Fogarty appears to be drawing on particular rural concerns and characters on his debut album: songs about mountains, water, the wind and apple trees plus titles featuring Dinny Phil (and his walking stick) and Rita Jack. But “God Damn You Mountain” never becomes locked to a specific place, country or even single mood - it’s a displaced record creating its own sonic landscape and Fogarty’s neutral even deadpan burr sounds closer to Fife than to Limerick. And Fence Records - headquartered in Cellardyke, Fife - is the faultless home for this release, with its wayward folky sounds formed on guitar, banjo, fiddle and cello with the added curious spaciness of analog synthesisers, laptop interventions and sea-shell percussion; a mixture the traditional and the experimental, of the DIY and accidental with a singular vision.


The elegiac ‘The Wind’ shares the same cathedral-hush baroque sparseness as Smog’s “Red Apple Falls” whereas ‘By The Waterside’, ’The Undertaker’s Daughter’ or the title track have deeper roots with echoes of traditional Irish airs or the pre-war folk-blues of the Harry Smith Anthology but with a distinctly modern crispness (Fogarty cites studio clinicians Tortoise and David Grubbs as inspirations in this interview for The Quietus). ‘By The Waterside’ and others feature some unusual/unidentifiable percussive tics and glitches (‘butter tray’ is cited as one of the instruments on the record) and the opening ‘Appletrees’ hypnotically and deliberately unfolds to the rhythm of what sounds like tightly coiled springs being stroked lovingly – but you’re never quite certain what is being stroked or by what. And at the centre of the album is the disorientating, nine minute ‘Rita Jack’s Lament', a shape-shifting collision of spoken word, finger picked guitar and musique concrète like an Alan Lomax field recording from peat-bog rural Ireland being simultaneously soundtracked by John Fahey and The Orb.

In its closing moments, ‘The Question’ provides a comically bleak and misanthropic moment: “When you’re young you think that life is shit / there must be more, this can’t be it / then the shit becomes your life / taking shelter beneath the trees whilst the rain pissed down on me / this was the question on my mind”. But “God Damn You Mountain” as a whole is an unhurried, life-affirming listen, mixing rough, earthy ruminations with a transcendental other-worldliness. Displaced, nomadic even, but a fine addition to the Fence Collective homestead.





Seamus Fogarty God Damn You Mountain [BUY]