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 Whistle Peak

“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!).