Flynndie Reviews #52: Top 10 albums of 2014

Written 6th December 2014

Top 10 Albums of 2014

 

So as the jingle of Christmas Bells is nigh on the horizon the start of December also signals the close of 2014 and that time of the year where I try and put together some sort of list of my favourite albums from the past 12 months.  It has to be said 2014 really has been a ‘Cracker’ for fans of Indie and Alternative music and I’ve found myself really enjoying a lot of new records this year from both old and new bands and this has probably been the most difficult in the four years I’ve been doing these reviews to rank this year’s albums, so needless to say any records in this year’s top ten I would highly recommend if you previously missed them.

So put on your dancing shoes and pack your air guitars as we head out on tour and check out 10 of the top albums from 2014.

#10. Reverend and the Makers – ThirtyTwo (Released 24th February)

February saw the release of the fourth album from Sheffield’s own Reverend and the Makers with their latest record ‘ThirtyTwo’.  The album picks-up well from their previous album ‘@Reverend_Makers’ with a more upbeat feel and vibe from the lively, suggestive innuendo opener ‘Detonator’, to some more chilled-out Dance (‘I-Spy’) while ‘The Devil’s Radio’ and ‘Different Trains’ are laced with witty lyrics from The Reverend himself, Jon McLure, before the album closes with solid single ‘The Only One’ followed by a hard, banging dance tune ‘Your Girl’.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Detonator’, ‘I Spy, ‘The Only One’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Your Girl’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJcilSxXbo   

#9. Maxïmo Park – Too Much Information (Released 3rd February)

February also saw the return of Newcastle’s energetic, Indie pop-pickers Maxïmo Park with their fifth record ‘Too Much Information’.  Possibly the band’s most diverse album to-date ‘Too Much Information’ saw the band return with their familiar, frantic guitar tracks (‘Give, Get, Take’, ‘Her Name was Audrey’), to subtle, lo-fi electronica (‘Brain Cells’), the jangly 'Lydia, the ink will never dry', a gentle sprinkling of soft, tender moments (‘Leave this Island’, ‘My Bloody Mind’) also thrown in with some playful, groovy numbers (‘Drinking Martinis’, ‘Midnight on the Hill’) which in all saw another fine album added to Maxïmo Park’s back-catalogue.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Give, Get, Take’, ‘Brain Cells’, ‘My Bloody Mind’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Lydia, the ink will never dry’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P3SWta0-xw

#8. Nick Mulvey – First Mind (Released 12th May)

If you’re a fan of laid-back, stripped-down acoustic tracks then ‘First Mind’ the debut record from Nick Mulvey is recommended listening.  A beautifully crafted album, laced with charm ‘First Mind’ demonstrates Nick’s vast range of styles while armed with an acoustic guitar featuring charming, gentle pop ballads (‘Fever to the Form’ and the wonderful ‘Meet Me There’), to the tropically sounding ‘Juramidam’ and intricately picked guitar rhythms on ‘Curcurucu’ and ‘Venus’, this is truly a beautiful debut album from a genuinely talented guitarist.
 

Recommended Tracks: ‘Juramidam’, ‘Fever to the Form’, ‘Curcurucu’ 

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Meet Me There’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHqsz81L_jI

#7. Royal Blood – Royal Blood (Released 25th August)

Back in March I was lucky enough to go and see this year’s NME Tour and second on the bill that night was this Brighton duo Royal Blood.  I didn’t know what to expect from this two-piece at the time but after watching them that night, they reminded me a little of another famous two-piece the ‘White Stripes’ but more so I was also impressed with their intense, heavy-rock sound also reminding me somewhat of early sounding Muse and Led Zeppelin.  The band’s eponymous debut album didn’t disappoint either and despite its short running-time of 33 minutes, its more than enough for the band’s large sounding, heavy-bluesy rock to deliver a short-sharp, ferocious kick to the balls and still leave you wanting more, with headline tours for the band now selling out within a matter of minutes.

Recommended Songs: ‘Out of the Black’, ‘Come On Over’, ‘Blood Hands’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Little Monster’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ere2Mstl8ww

#6. Nine Black Alps – Candy for the Clowns (Released 21st April)

If it’s hard, industrialist rock you are looking for then ‘Candy for the Clowns’ by Manchester’s Nine Black Alps might just be the album for you.  Opening with full-on, no-nonsense rock ‘Novokaine’ to the coasting guitar sounds of ‘Blackout’ and the edgy cool, swaggering ‘Supermarket Clothes’ before industrialist live favourite ‘Patti’.  While midway through the record is the standout track for me featuring some bitter sweet rock on ‘Morning After’.  The band dabble with American college-rock on ‘Take Me Underground’ while the deluxe version of the album closes with a couple of raw acoustic numbers ‘You Don’t Need Me’ and ‘Power Failure'.  ‘Candy for the Clowns’ sees Nine Black Alps deliver another solid, underground guitar album with well-written tracks.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Novokaine’, ‘Supermarket Clothes’, ‘Patti’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Morning After’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMbC1DgSzrw   

#5. The Rifles – None the Wiser (Released 27th January)

For ‘None the Wiser’ to only be in 5th-place in this list shows some of the quality albums it has been up against this year, as for me this album saw The Rifles really back on top-form.  Returning with some brillantly, fun and catchy mod-rock tracks with openers ‘Minute Mile’ and ‘Heebie Jeebies’, it was perhaps an early indication the band were returning more to their sound of debut album ‘No Love Lost’.  However ‘None the Wiser’ also showcased the band’s sound maturing with the dreamy, acoustic sounds of ‘You Win Some’ and the assured number ‘The Hardest Place to Find Me’ before finishing with epic closer ‘Under and Over’ and this album set the bar high immediately from the start of 2014.

Recommended Songs: ‘Minute Mile’, ‘Heebie Jeebies’, ‘You Win Some’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Go Lucky’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZTkWuBOzNU

#4. Interpol – El Pintor (Released 8th September)

September saw the return of one of New York’s finest Interpol with their 5th studio album ‘El Pintor’, Spanish for ‘The Painter’ but also doubling as an anagram of the band’s name.  Released 4-years after their eponymous fourth album, for me ‘El Pintor’ saw Interpol back on top form.  Building with a tender guitar-riff and Paul Bank’s distinct vocals ‘All the Rage Back Home’ is a great opener which slowly builds into a full crescendo of a solid guitar track.  The band are noted for their post-punk, brooding guitar sound with intricate guitar riffs found here on ‘Same Town, New Story’ and there are further fine examples here with ‘My Desire’ and standout number ‘My Blue Supreme’.  ‘Anywhere’ and ‘Ancient Ways’ finds the band hitting back with some great full-on guitar rock, and brooding album closer ‘Twice As Hard’ is one of my favourite closing Interpol tracks since ‘Leif Erikson’ from debut album ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’.

Recommended Tracks: ‘All the Rage Back Home’, ‘Anywhere’, ‘My Blue Supreme’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Same Town, New Story’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZf6OU28e8A

#3. Howler – World of Joy (Released 24th March)

Early Spring saw the return of young Minneapolis upstarts Howler with their second album ‘World of Joy’.   Lead-singer Jordan Gatesmith described this album’s sound as “supposed to be almost like a jukebox at some sloppy bar in Minneapolis” and that really hits the nail on the head with this record.  From the Thin Lizzy sounding opener ‘Al’s Corral’ making a great start to the album, we hear the band sounding like The Ramones on ‘Drip’ and capturing a raw, garage-rock sound with a number of tracks such as ‘Yacht Boys’ and the fun guitar-rock of ‘Louise’.  For me it’s the jangly guitar sounds of ‘Don’t Wanna’ and ‘The itch that creeps through my skull’ that are the standout tracks of this record surely influenced by The Smiths and this second album really saw Howler mature and show a diverse range of tracks they can create on this brilliant record which I’ve had on constant repeat throughout 2014.

Recommended Tracks: ‘Al’s Corral’, ‘Don’t Wanna’, ‘Louise’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘The itch that creeps through my skull’ (live) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQIdb70SelA 

#2. Catfish and the Bottlemen – The Balcony (Released 15th September)

With their full-on explosive, rock ‘n’ roll sound ‘The Balcony’ was the excellent debut album from Catfish and the Bottlemen.  Four young, cocky but fun lads originally hailing from Llandudno, Wales these boys have spent a good number of years dedicated to live touring and honing their explosive rock sound.  With thoughtful opener ‘Homesick’ setting the pace, this quickly gets build on with the excellent track ‘Kathleen’ which I previously described in my review of this album as “Indie-Rock tracks go this is nigh-on fucking perfection”.  ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Pacifer’ further demonstrate the fun, cool, loud rock sounds of this band with infectious guitar riffs and rhythms and lead-singer Van McCann’s distinct, crisp vocals throughout.  The hits continue with further incredibly tight rock tracks ‘Business’ and the up-tempo ‘26’ before closing with the brilliantly cool live favourites ‘Sidewinder’ and ‘Tyrants’. The Balcony features 11 easy-listening but incredibly well-written and exciting rock tracks that will surely see Catfish and the Bottlemen go onto much bigger things. 

Recommended Songs: ‘Homesick’, ‘Cocoon’, ‘Pacifier’, ‘Sidewinder’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘Kathleen’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrrcVxnjJO8 
  

#1. The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave (Released 27th October)

Returning with their fourth album this year were the distinctly Scottish band The Twilight Sad with the incredibly, beautifully crafted ‘Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave’ and finds itself in the #1 spot on my albums of the year list.  Returning with ‘There’s a girl in the corner’ this saw the band retain their brooding, edgy guitar sound while ‘Last January’ featured a more upbeat yet haunting guitar rhythm with the beautifully crafted tales lead-singer James Graham masterly paints on this album.  A dark, thoughtful yet tender and gentle record throughout laced with charming, hauntingly sounding fairy-tales (‘Pills I Swallow’) we also have an agonisingly beautiful standout track with ‘It Never Was the Same’.  This is yet another finely crafted, edgy, haunting record by The Twilight Sad and is one of the standout albums of 2014 for me.

Recommended Tracks: ‘There’s A Girl in the Corner’, ‘Last January’, ‘Pills I Swallow’

Personal Favourite Track: ‘It Never was the Same’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEMA2DYe2zk

 
So that covers some of my favourite albums of 2014. Many thanks for taking the time to read and if you have any recommendations of records for me to check out as well, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section below or send them across on Twitter.

Here’s to more Alternative, Indie and Rock music in 2015!

Flynny

Flynndie Reviews #49: Interpol - 'El Pintor'

Written 28th August 2014:

Interpol – El Pintor

The Band: Paul Banks (lead vocals/guitar), Dan Kessler (lead guitar/vocals), Sam Fogarino (drums)

Well early September sees the long-awaited return of New York City descendants and sharp suit-wearing Interpol with their fifth studio album ‘El Pintor’ a suspicious-looking album title which translates from Spanish as ‘The Painter’.  The album is released on the 8th September but the band are currently streaming the album early via the NPR Music website below, so go check it out:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=341629732&m=341705409

The band have built a core, dedicated following with their edgy, atmospheric and distinctive post-punk sound over the past ten years building up from their incredible debut album ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ (see Flynndie Reviews #15 for more on that, the only record that has previously been given a perfect 10 on this blog) to their latest release, 2010’s eponymously titled ‘Interpol’.  Sandwiched in-between was their very solid second album ‘Antics’ released in 2004 with well-known hits ‘Evil’ and ‘Slow Hands’, followed by 2007’s ‘Our Love To Admire’.  So with four fine records under the belts from the band from The Big Apple, the big question is then how does ‘El Pintor’ shape up?

El Pintor

1. All the Rage Back Home

2. My Desire
3. Anywhere
4. Same Town, New Story
5. My Blue Supreme
6. Everything Is Wrong
7. Breaker 1
8. Ancient Ways
9. Tidal Wave
10. Twice as Hard

Recently previewed on live tours earlier this year ‘All the Rage Back Home’ gets ‘El Pintor’ up and running with tingling slide-guitar notes from Dan Kessler teasing away while backed with Paul’s softly-sung vocals, before the track kicks into full-flow after about 45-seconds “She said you don’t need time/Be tame you won’t need your mate inside/My faith won’t lie” and the track continues to build before reaching it’s full-stride before the track-title’s chorus “I keep falling maybe half the time/And it’s all the rage back home/All the rage back home”.  It’s a track that coasts and flows effortlessly and gets the record off to a fine start.  Launching with trademark, angular guitars ‘My Desire’ is more of a steady burner of a track, featuring duelling, shimmering guitars between Paul and Dan accompanied by a steady drum-rhythm from Sam with angst lyrics to be found here “In my desire, I’m a frustrated man/Some of us ask for peace, do what we can”.  This is a more familiar haunting, atmospheric type of track that the band are also well known for.

‘Anywhere’ is a good example of Interpol on fine-form.  With an incredibly catching guitar-riff from Dan pumping at its heart, further driven by thumping bass and percussion through its veins before reaching a large crescendo of a chorus “The ocean…I could go anywhere/I could go anywhere/So free/It’s my nature to want/I could go anywhere.”  ‘Same Town, New Story’ eases the pace of the album again, with another trademark Kessler melancholic guitar-riff laying the foundations for this eerie, haunting track, a style of sound not too dissimilar to that found on some of the tracks on their eponymous fourth album ‘Interpol’.  With opening and subtle backing synths ‘My Blue Supreme’ is another soft, gentle and thoughtful Interpol track which continues its progression with synths being entwined by nice gentle guitar riffs, while midway through the record ‘Everything Is Wrong’ is an initially bass-driven track, perhaps harking back more to Interpol’s earlier sound from their first two albums, slowly building with soft vocals from Paul and his American accent coming through particularly stronger here on a catchy chorus featuring the track-title repeated.

• Interpol headlined the NME Tour back in March

‘Breaker 1’ features a very jaggered-sounding guitar at it’s opening, with an echo effect used on Paul’s voice initially “Come back/Come back without warning/Come back/Come back Breaker 1” with this effect interspersed between the main verses of the track which see the band in a comfortable groove here and still on good form.  Previously given early previews online (see the link at the bottom of this review) ‘Ancient Ways’ is a no-nonsense rocky track, high-tempo with snarling guitars and fierce percussion and a strong chorus “The city feeds us all like babes/And we’ve taken a bow” before Paul emphasizes “At the station!”  It’s a very instant track, with a strong dance-vibe behind it, for the album.  ‘Tidal Wave’ is initially driven by synths and percussion before backing guitars and sees Paul using a high-pitched voice on vocals here, it’s another deeply flowing and floating track before we have album closer ‘Twice As Hard’ with Dan creating a real shimmering sound as the main melody of the track here and near spoken vocals from Paul, and this track has a somewhat familiar feel as an album closer to the track ‘Leif Erikson’ also the closing track from the band’s debut album ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ while Paul sings repeatedly over the chorus “Your twice as hard/Twice as hard”.
    

So overall ‘El Pintor’ in my opinion sees Interpol maintain their fine, edgy, raw and moody post-punk sound with another album packed with songs that each have charm, character and a story behind them.  There are certainly some Interpol tracks here that really show what the band are all about with their core-sound, in particular early tracks ‘All the Rage Back Home’ and ‘Anywhere’ are two examples of instantly catchy Interpol tracks.  Throw in some more subtle, slow-burning yet real thought-provoking tracks such as ‘My Desire’, ‘Breaker 1’ and ‘Tidal Wave’ and a couple of highlights midway through the album with 'Same Town, New Story' and the epic 'My Blue Supreme' and this record really covers the full experience of what you would hope to expect from an Interpol record and one that perhaps finds the band rediscovering their sound and roots from earlier Interpol albums yet not neglecting the charm of their two more recent albums.  I was lucky enough to catch the band on the NME Tour earlier this year and felt at the time that the new material showed real potential and I feel that ‘El Pintor’ doesn’t disappoint and delivers another solid album from the New York three-piece so I’m going to give this record a strong 8 out of 10 and would also suggest if you’re not too familiar with Interpol’s sound, this album would actually be a good starting point to get into them with.

Oh and hopefully by now you will have noticed that the suspicious-looking album title ‘El Pintor’ also doubles as an anagram of a certain New York band…

All the Rage Back Home

Flynny

Track 1 – ‘All the Rage Back Home’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u6DvRyyKGU

Track 9 - ‘Ancient Ways’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni9bLpflDCY

Band website:

http://www.interpolnyc.com

Flynndie Reviews - Blog #15 Classic Album: Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Written 21st July 2011:


Classic Album: Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Year of Release: 2002



The Band: Paul Banks (Lead Vocals, guitar), Dan Kessler (lead guitar, backing vocals), Carlos D (bass), Sam Fogarino (drums)



So today's classic album, comes from another band that hails from New York, which at-the-time of the album’s release was possibly at the centre of the Indie music map after The Strokes came, conquered and re-juvenated the guitar garage-rock scene in 2001 with their debut album 'Is This It?' (which I may also do a classic review for at some point). Following closely in their footsteps in 2002 was this debut effort from Interpol and with the band hailing from the same city, they were already early anticipated comparisons to The Strokes, but if the truth be told this album is a whole different animal completely to 'Is This It?' which hopefully this review will highlight, but I will draw at least one striking similarity with the aforementioned band in the conclusion of this review.
Turn on the Bright Lights

1. Untitled
2. Obstacle 1
3. NYC
4. PDA
5. Say Hello to the Angels
6. Hands Away
7. Obstacle 2
8. Stella was a diver and she was always down
9. Roland
10. The New
11. Leif Erikson

So 'Untitled' gets 'Turn on the Bright Lights' off to a steady start with its tingling-like guitar riff, slowly becoming accompanied by bass player at the time Carlos D (great name huh?!), who has previously left the band, rhythmic bass line joins and this is certainly not the last time we get this steadily built-up combination of guitars and bass on this album, before lead-singer and guitarist Paul Bank's haunting-like voice first surfaces on the album about 90 seconds into it. It's a slow-pace of an opening track but the steadily built layered sound of guitars and bass indicate that we're only getting warmed-up here. Second track 'Obstacle 1' confirms this assumption with sharp-angular guitars between Paul and lead guitarist Dan Kessler both battling hard for the listener’s attention and the pace of the album instantly picks up while still continuing with the dark and menacing themes set throughout this record. We're next then slowed-down again by 'NYC' with its haunting guitar-riff throughout and Paul's Goth-like vocals, but this is actually a complement to the track, as this is real 'hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck' stuff already and only by the third track of the album! The track continues as we hear Paul's bleak and honest views of that, at the time and possibly still, famous musical Capital in The States and how he had become disillusioned by it after spending so many years growing up there.


'PDA' again moves the album up a few gears with another fast, frenetic guitar-driven track to catch the listener’s attention. Paul’s lyrics hint at a tongue-in-cheek poke of a person’s possible relationship with a psychiatrist with lines such as “You’re so cute when you’re sedated” and “We have 200 couches when you can sleep tight, sleep right”. If the album has not hit top-gear by the end of this track we’re certainly start speeding towards it with 'Say Hello to the Angels'. The track starts with guitars steadily building for the opening 45 seconds or so before another one of Carlos D's, now famed, and perfectly timed bass-playing rhythms carries the track to a whole new-level. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album especially when Paul is effortlessly reeling of lyrics "On silent parts, the parts that birds love, I know there is such a place..."


'Hands Away' really slows the tempo of the album down again, after the last rollercoaster of a track. Another track on the album that is really built up steadily with guitar riffs and bass, Paul's vocals are kept quite minimal on this track and it almost stands as an instrumental track for the record, but to dismiss it for just simply being an instrumental would be a mistake by the listener in my opinion. Next we have 'Obstacle 2', a bit more of a slowed down affair than its earlier relation ‘Obstacle 1’. Paul’s vocals in particular are very much more distinct on this track than any other previously.


As Paul next announces "This next one is called 'Stella was a diver and she was always down', a song-title which I'll let the listener decide it's unglamorous way-of-life meaning behind. This for me is simply the stand-out track on an album which has already featured some big-hitting guitar tracks on it.  Again another track laced with moody, tingling guitar rhythms and a thunderous, military-like drumming rhythm throughout by drummer Sam Fogarino, this track has a real epic, yet at the same time almost-tragic-like feel to it, yet it seems to surprisingly merge both elements so well. I don't think I'm doing this track justice with my comments here, but you'll see what I mean when you hear it and I’ll say that I think most listeners will be gripped from start to finish throughout upon first hearing it.  With a sharp-edgy riff opening it ‘Roland’ launches into a frantic, pogoing effort with a nice distant-like affect used here on Paul’s vocals to complement it.


‘The New’ starts off with a simplistic guitar opening and just steadily plods along inoffensively to the listener. It builds to a nice melodic chorus and flows comfortably for the first two verses before the now familiar darker-tone of this album takes over in the more complex-side of the second half of this track, with a savage guitar riff becoming exposed throughout this part of it. Album closer ‘Leif Erikson’ is but of course another slowed-down, dark and moody affair, yet this really sums up the sound and mood that the band clearly set out to achieve with this debut record and although that may sound like a negative approach for an album, I really believe this is a record you should give several listens too, to fully appreciate it’s true charms and hidden-depths.


So in summary of re-visiting an album that is now coming up to 10-years old how do I still rate it? I'll be honest and admit that I've only recently got into Interpol myself over the last few years or so and I think if I did buy the album at its time of release (something I really wish I had done now to be honest!) I think I may have overlooked it at somewhat at the time, especially in the shadow of The Strokes back then, and possibly given this album a still respectable 8 Obstacles out of 10 back in 2002.


However, as I bought this album afresh with no major expectations at the time and was thinking "Yeah I'll give this a spin and see what Interpol are like then…." I soon found myself coming back to this record time and time again on a regular basis and quickly found myself hooked on its dark-brooding songs interspersed with fast-archaic guitar tracks. I had at last found another new obsession with a band from New York! I really still believe this album holds up strong even today and I’m even going to award it an unprecedented 10 'Stella’s' out of 10 for a listen by even today's guitar-record standards. For me this is an album that simply stands up and won't let itself be ignored! It even gets better with each subsequent listen thereafter, with a quick listen again this morning re-confirming this for me.


While I commented in my 2nd paragraph that this album followed shortly in the footsteps of The Strokes and was a very different sounding album to 'Is This It?', the one striking similarity that I think that makes both band's comparable, apart from both hailing from New York, is that they have both successfully defined a guitar sound and made it their own with their debut albums and then subsequently followed their debut albums up with another 3 great albums each. This is without question for me an album fans of bands like The Smiths, possibly Oasis, even The Cure and of course The Strokes must have in their record collection! You may find, like me, you'll soon develop an (un)healthy obsession for the band and will be inclined to pick up their subsequent follow-up albums 'Antics', 'Our Love to Admire' and the recently released eponymously titled 'Interpol' all of which I would also recommend, but for me this debut effort is still the definitive Interpol record!


Turning on the Bright Lights
Flynny



Track 2 - Obstacle 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkBAUqp6NKg



Track 5 - 'Say Hello to the Angels' (Live at Brixton Academy 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zcalNxLIhM



Track 8 - 'Stella was a diver and she was always down' (Live in 2002)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh3hQEG_sH0