Top favourite older albums (and EP) I’ve enjoyed this year1) Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
I’ve always enjoyed certain songs of theirs (like the peerless Sugar Hiccup) but none of the earlier albums had properly clicked with me. This 1990 effort got re-released this year; it’s a masterpiece. You should be hooked from the first 30 seconds of Cherry Coloured Funk or just give up.
2) De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
I was familiar with the big hits from this but I’d never spent proper time with the album. I know people slate the production on it, but it’s still massive fun, it should be listened to in proper order so you can enjoy all the interludes. I saw them in April and you could tell they just want to forget about it now, 25 years later, but they still grudgingly played a few tracks.
3) The Stooges – Fun House
I’ve owned this record for 10 years and loved it from the start, but for some reason I put it on my phone a couple of months back and I must have listened to it at least every second day since. It’s so fucking good. The opening riff from Down on the Street just gets me every time, and then you can’t skip TV Eye or the full run of Dirt (the best track on it imo). If we ever do a Top Soapy albums of all time list again, this will be pushing for a top three place in mine I reckon.
4) Burial – Rival Dealer
This came out just too late for my list last year (plus it’s an EP, not an album – TAKE NOTE STOCKY) but I was playing it pretty much continuously for the first few months of the year. It’s my favourite out of all the EPs he’s released. I struggle to make an emotional connection to some dance music if I’m not experiencing it live (unless, like most people, I’ve taken a shitload of pills) but Come Down to Us gives me the shivers every time.
5) The Zombies – Odyssey & Oracle
Time of the Season is one of those songs that’s seemingly sampled in every film about the 1960s, but I had never bothered checking the band out before I saw them at Wickerman in the summer. For a group of guys past 70 they were pretty much flawless, I loved pretty much everything they played. This album is a proper gem. It’s far from being unknown, but still one it’s easy to overlook. Thoroughly recommended.
Top gigs of the yearI saw Kate Bush this year, which was unexpected to say the least. It'll take a lot to top that. The JAMC at the Barrowland came close, mind. I also enjoyed seeing The Human League and JAMES way more than I was expecting at T in the Park
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ALBUMZ #201420) Honeyblood - HoneybloodI had got a bit bored of them by this time last year tbh. The best songs on the album had all been released as singles already, and nothing on the album really matched them. Still, great band who I expect to get even better.
19)Death From Above 1979 - The Physical WorldThey shouldn't have bothered. Why wait 10 years if you're just going to rewrite a slightly poorer version of what was (and still is) one of the stand-out albums of the last decade. It has its moments, but you know they could have done better.
18) Gruff Rhys - American InteriorIt's harsh to rank just the album this low as it's only one part of a multimedia project that you really have to see live to enjoy fully. It still has it's moments though - 100 Unread Messages is one of the best solo songs he's written. Can't wait to see what he does next.
17)Goat - CommuneIt has its moments, but there's too few big riffs and too much of those fucking whiney female backing vocalists. They need to up their game, maybe they set the bar too high with the debut.
16)Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your BusinessMorrisey at his insufferable worst is still better than most people. But that doesn't mean I'm happy he made this record. I only hope he's got it out of his system and can now return to writing songs like I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris. Srsly.
15)Battery Face - what's what stuffExperimental pysch noise rockers. Like a 50 minute version of Sister Ray. Big.
14)The Horrors – LuminousIt has its moments, but it’s a poor relation to Skying. They're in danger of becoming boring.
13)Wild Billy Childish & CMTF – Acorn ManAs Karl said, a real return to form. A couple of outstanding tracks on here.
12)Stanley Odd – A Thing Brand NewScottish hip-lop group led by MC Solareye, who raps over a live backing group. Great pop hooks, would interest people on here. Check out ‘Get Back in the Basement’.
11)PAWS – Youth Culture ForeverA pretty impressive follow-up album – it would have been easy for them to stick with their pop-punk template, but they’ve experimented a bit more and written a great break-up album.
10)The Vaselines – V for VaselinesI don't think they're going to make another record, but this is a good one to go out on. Still more fun than most bands half their age.
9)Machines in Heaven - bordersbreakdownElectro-pop genius from Glasgow. The title track is an absolute monster of a tune.
8) Fat Goth – One Hundred Per Cent SuaveThe best hard rock act in the UK, as popular forum member Hepburn will tell you. For fans of Mclusky. This record is a step up from their debut.
7) Bronto Skylift – Date With A GhoulThis is the kind of record that DFA1979 wish they could still make. Two guys – one guitar, one drumkit – and a fucking explosion of noise.
6) The Amazing Snakeheads – Amphetamine BalladsI had never heard of them until I went to one of their shows in February and was properly blown away. They were doing a monthly residency at a wee basement club in Glasgow, and it felt like one of those indie gigs that used to get hyped up the NME in 2004 – coked up kids with Strokes-haircuts going crazy down the front. I really thought that kind of thing had died. It was a bit weird, as the band are nothing like that at all. Two tough-looking Glaswegians (and a drummer) playing basic, raw punk riffs like The Cramps and giving it the big one. The album is patchy, but there’s some great moments. They're the best new live band I saw this year – give ‘Here it comes again’ a try for what they’re all about.
5) Ariel Pink – pom pomI just love him. I think a lot of people are put off his music without even hearing it – L.A. freak-type, used to be known as lo-fi –but he’s a serious talent. This is glorious Technicolor pop but with zero retro baggage. Picture Me Gone is probably my single of the year.
4) The Brian Jonestown Massacre – RevelationI really didn’t enjoy either of their previous two albums, but on the flip-side their live shows seemed to get better and better so I never wrote them off entirely. This album has restored my faith – Memory Camp is vintage BJM.
3) Deathcats – All Hail DeathcatsThey’ve played maybe six gigs outside of Scotland, so I’m not expecting anyone to have heard of them, but I reckon a lot of you would like them. They’re a garage-punk band who play tight, sub-three minute songs – all with a killer chorus. I liked the record when it first came out, but as the year has gone on I’ve come to realise it’s actually something special. Typically, the guitarist has since announced the group is on hiatus, so it’s looking like we won’t even get a follow-up. But this is worth checking out.
2. Sleaford Mods – Divide and ExitTruth be told, I think Austerity Dogs is a better album. But this is still something special. Sleaford Mods are the one ‘new’ group who I can’t believe I didn’t stumble across before this year. It’s amusing to mouth off Jason Williamson lyrics at unsuspecting people for your own amusement.
1. Young Fathers - DEADI achieved my ultimate 'I've been banging on about these cunts years before they were popular' moment this year. I've been banging on about these cunts for years. 2009 to be exact. TBH I thought their moment had passed when they got dropped from their original record label in 2011, but then they released a couple of great EPs and followed it up with this and then won the Mercury for it. It's a fantastic record, and I'm frankly stunned no one else on here has included it in their top 10s so far. Stocky, don't fail me now.
Which song is?
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