Top Albums of 2010

Seeing as the Sunday CD Project has gone to pot over the Christmas period, what with bank holidays left, right and centre, I thought a good music-related post would be some of my top albums of the last 12 months. In no particular order (unless otherwise stated):

How To Destroy Angels - How To Destroy Angels

Debut EP from Trent Reznor's first outing since Nine Inch Nails went on hiatus. His wife sings but all the cool NIN synth noises are still there. On the whole, a lot more mellow than NIN, but still probably just as dark. Maybe darker. My initial reaction, if I remember correctly, was along the lines of Portishead doing industrial-influenced dubstep. Looking back, that might not be that accurate, but ah well. Worth a listen.

Moneytree - The Great Indoors, Part III

The long-awaited third and final part of the Great Indoors trilogy, and after several lineup changes and consequent changes in sound, the Southampton four-piece have had quite a journey to this point. That's not to say they've disappointed, because honestly, this EP is flipping brilliant!

The Beaux Hardts - Leisure (Deluxe Re-Issue)

The Wade-Brown brothers really knew how to make noise in the days before Dave was with Thomas Tantrum and Rob lived in Barcelona, and I was SO happy that this album got re-released (as I missed it the first time round, and was stuck with 5 or 6 demos for nostalgia's sake). The re-issue comes in hand-made packaging, and as well as the 8-track 'original' disc, there's a second CD with 17 demos and rarities. These box sets are only available on www.sotones.co.uk and I believe there are only 50 copies (I have number 1) so if you're quick you might get one. If you don't, it's on Spotify too!

Fang Island - Fang Island

Tightly-arranged guitar-based indie-rock-pop (but not in the lame way) from New Jersey. I have no idea what their songs are about, not because their lyrics are indecipherable, but because listening to this album makes me dance too much to listen to the words. Instant down-day cure; go buy!

65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway

Something of a change in direction from the intensely inaccessible (but still dead cool) post-rock of their previous album, this is basically a dance album with some clear post-rock influences. I'm pretty sure I've listened to it in the region of 20 times. Best album of the year for me.

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue

Music by Ben Folds, words by writer Nick Hornby. If you didn't know the lyrics weren't Folds', you wouldn't guess it. It's another reliably good release from the Nashville resident, but dare I say it a little too 'safe' . . . ? I didn't mean that summary to sound as scathing as it does; it is still a pretty sweet album! Plus, he's coming to London in February: YAY!

That's about all I can remember for now, so that'll have to do.

~J.R.

EDIT: I just remembered two more that I haven't bought yet!

Gungor - Beautiful Things and John Mark McMillan - The Medicine

I've put these two together because I link them quite closely: I discovered them both within a few days of each other, and both a quite folk-/blues-driven albums with similar lyrical styles and themes. I believe I have posted about The Medicine before, including a short video about one of the songs . . . ?

Sunday CD

Last week's Sunday CD hadn't arrived by Saturday afternoon, when I departed from uni, so that one will be reviewed in the new year. Today, however, I took a trip to Winchester, and bought a replacement in HMV (2 for £10). So, I bought The Usual Suspects on DVD and . . .

Baby Darling Doll Face Honey by Band Of Skulls

I'd been aware of Band Of Skulls since their earlier days – when they were known as FleeingNewYork, then just SKULLS, and were signed to Sotones, who are a super-awesome co-operative label based in Southampton – but I'd never hugely been into them and they'd faded into the back of my mind. However, I was told that they were at the Sotones Christmas party this year and that a) they rocked and b) they thought nato rocked, which is two things that made me want to give them a go.

Really cool, fuzzy bass, generally pleasing to listen to. Kind of like the White Stripes but more English and with talent (saying that, I do like the White Stripes)

~J.R.

Another difference between the US and the UK

During sports games on British television, most of the adverts are for lager and gambling websites, in my experience - which is basically the FIFA World Cup, so maybe not entirely accurate, but I am fairly sure we don't usually get adverts for websites such as this one:

http://www.iamsecond.com/

Sadly, I can't find the exact advert I saw, but you get the idea.

This was after a tied third period in an NHL game I just watched, where the Dallas Stars annoyingly beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime, and denied Chris Osgood his 400th winning game. But enough hockey stats, think about thousands of people, sitting at home on a Sunday evening (puck dropped at 5pm in Detroit), glued to their sofas, watching their team win or lose. What a prime place for an advert of that kind! Perhaps it wouldn't go down all that well in the UK, but I'd love it if someone gave it a go

~J.R.

The first syllable of Christmas

This evening, a group of four or five people from Boiler Room, which is the church I am part of in Guildford (not to be confused with the pub/live music venue Boileroom) cooked, served, and did the dishes proceeding from, a full-on, Christmas dinner with all the trimmings for my flat and the level above. There were 21 of us crammed into our kitchen (which, admittedly is quite large, but not of TARDIS proportions), and all of us had our fill of superbly cooked turkey, pigs in blankets, veggie mash, stuffing, peas, carrots, spuds and gravy. Oh, and Christmas pudding, custard and brandy cream for afters.

And we didn't pay a penny. Well, we don't have to, although we have all decided to chip in a bit and make a donation to the Boiler Room for being so awesome.

Now, why am I posting this on this blog, and not just leaving it on my Life At Uni blog? My reasoning is that I think this is EXACTLY what Jesus wanted us to do when he told the disciples to make disciples of all nations at the end of Matthew 28. Okay, so discipleship isn't being a student and having a meal cooked for you once a year, but I think the act of making a meal for someone and hanging out with them for a couple of hours (not Bible-bashing or trying to cram religion down their throats) is a truly fantastic way of showing this secularised society we live in what the Church is really about.

Before tonight, there were a couple of murmurs among a few of my flatmates that the dinner was going to be "a conversion thing" (genuine quotation - made me chuckle and grimace all at once). I was delighted when Dave Slinn (the leader of the Boiler Room Student Collective)'s mandate was "We just want to bless you and wish you a merry Christmas" and prayed the most wonderful grace I have heard in a long time:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for this food. Amen."

That was all there was to it, but I tell you, that tiny seed at the start of the evening led to multiple chats between the Boiler Room guys and the Pickard guys, one of which has resulted in my next-door neighbour and fellow Tonnie George showing an interest in coming to GBR next term.

I've written far more than I initially intended to, so I will leave it there I think, but seriously, how good is God?! I'm reminded (I'm not 100% sure why) of the passage from Romans 8 that reads 'In all things He works for the good of those who love Him.'

And with that I shall leave you.

J.R.

Two Sunday CDs

So, due to the snow, last week's Sunday CD only arrived on Monday and I hadn't had a chance to review it yet, then lo and behold, this week's arrived today! On a Wednesday! This has literally never happened before! Anyway, to business.

Last week's Sunday CD is/was:

The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010)

I'd only heard one song from this previously, coupled with a rather wonderful Chrome-based geotagged video (click here to be impressed) and liked what I heard. Reminded of the album by listening to Bishop Graham Cray's 2009-2010 music summary from Soul Survivor this year, I decided to go out on a limb and buy the whole album (it's not on Spotify, so no pre-listen for me).

As a whole the album is good. I wish I could use a stronger adjective than 'good' but I can't bring myself to do it. There are some genuinely beautiful moments (the final track is a very moody reprise of the first), and none of the songs are below average, just the album as a whole didn't live up to the hype I'd heard surrounding this band. Worth a listen though, don't get me wrong!

This week's Sunday CD is:

Mogwai - Young Team (1997)

The only concern I have about having received the Scottish post-rock 5-piece's debut today (my lecture-free work day) rather than the customary Friday evening is that I might sit in an ethereal stupor with it on constant repeat for the rest of the day. I will try to resist.

Big fat guitar sounds, haunting speech samples, dynamic ranges to shame many an orchestra. You can't do much better in the way of epic instrumental post-rock than this album. I suggest you get it, or at least listen to it . . . a lot of times.

~J.R.

Welcome to Cheapco

Poingant.

~J.R.

Soul Survivor's Christmas ezine

I wouldn't have heard about this had not Twitter pointed me in its direction. In amongst the usual over-eating commentary, and a less traditional music article containing Laura Marling (yay!) and Mr Trololo (why?), there was an article concerning an issue that has bothered me a little since I was given a book for my birthday (or possibly Christmas) by my Granny.

The book in question was the newly-released Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone for American readers). I was uncomfortable with the book straight away, which prompted my mum to read it, at which point she went on what seemed like a vendetta against anything Potter-related.

Now, while I still haven't read the books or seen the films (bar the first, which I thought was average at best), partially from a gut-/God-instinct, partially out of disinterest, I'm not sure my mum's approach of getting really worked up about it was the most productive thing in the world (although I do not question her motives).

Anywho, hear's a lady from Soul Survivor's take on it:

http://www.soulsurvivor.com/uk/imag/value.html

Apart from a couple of qualms I have (1. I wouldn't say blood sacrifice is a Biblical theme in the sense that she means; it's certainly not a New Testament theme, and I would also say it's a Wiccan theme, although my knowledge of Wicca is limited. 2. This is more petty, but the assumption in the penultimate paragraph that every reader's parents are Christians just irritates me) I think I agree with most of what the writer is saying.

As always, I'm not saying I'm right. I'm not even sure I'm 100% of what I think, but putting thoughts into text helps sort them out a bit.

Comment! Let me know your thoughts! GO WILD!

~J-Wow