2012/2013 Crossover

I thought with it being a new year and all this'd be a great time to do a nice end of year review of how last year was for music and for the band, as well as looking ahead to what the next year holds both for the band and in terms of new releases and bands to watch. (right-click and 'save target as' for mp3)

2012

Last year for the band was a little tough, line-up changes, cancelled shows and a forever delayed EP seemed to be the list of never ending woe that nearly all new young bands experience when starting out. But towards the latter half of the year with a new drummer in tow, new songs, a new drive to make the most of the coming year and now under the wing of a mentoring scheme by MAS records has given us a lot to be grinning about. And to top off the year nicely, our return to live performances after far too long - see here

As for music in general, it was a solid year, nothing amazing, a few good albums and some duff ones but on the whole nothing to sniff too much at. Here's some of my highlights and low points of the musical year:

My Top 5 Albums of 2012

1) Sharon Van Etten - Tramp - (review soon)

The third album from the American singer-songwriter and by far her boldest and most assured yet finding her worldwide acclaim. The album is somewhat of an acquired taste, with stripped-down soul-bearing honesty teetering on the edge blandness musically. Its a kind of genius that isn't immediately obvious, but its there. 

Sharon Van Etten - Serpents (mp3) - The lead single from the album.

2) Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

The début album from the local boys from Leeds, something different, interesting and most importantly, very, very good. Worthy winner of the Mercury Prize, lets hope they don't suffer from its curse and we never hear from them again...

Alt-J - Fitzpleasure (mp3) - wob wob wob

3) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

Post-rock masters return with this stunning epic and also my first listen to GYBE (as they shall hence be know) but very very impressive. Its grand, sweeping, dynamically brilliant and a marvel of music and archetypal of the genre.

BYBE - Mladic (mp3) - the 20 minute opener, you're best listening to the whole album though, its not really an album for picking tracks.


4) Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (III)

I must admit a bit of a change of heart here, after what was one of my favourite albums of all time (CC II) I expected more of the same, especially after 'Plague' was announced. It was different and has taken a lot of time to appreciate fully, but in retrospect it is a much grittier and mature sound, but still brilliant.

Crystal Castles - Insulin (mp3) - Massive, glitchy and destructive.

5) Tall Ships - Everything Touching

I reviewed this album a short while ago and was mightily impressed and is only one of two débuts in my top 5. To see the review in full see here

Tall Ships - Gallop (mp3) - The lead single from the album and a thumper of a tune.






Honourable mention: Plan B - Ill Manors: A brilliant protest album accompanying a gritty and visceral début film from Ben Drew. Its brilliant to see musicians airing the issues that people see around them with the new found voice and stage they have been given - BBC 1XTRA Interview

Track Of The Year: Grimes - Genesis (mp3): Bloody brilliant ethereal indie synth pop.

Worst Album of the Year: Mumford & Sons - Babel: Shite.

2013

For a new band a new year is always a good time to think 'fresh start'. Not for us, its pretty much business as usual in order to get our EP out (we're sure it'll happen one day..). We've only come to the conclusion that it can only get better, more gigs, more songs, more people.

New albums to look out for in 2013

Next year looks to be a good year for music, with some big names releasing new material. Here are some of my anticipated releases:

Foals - Holy Fire: Third album from Foals and it sounds great so far, only three songs are out in the public domain but they are sounding very promising. Check out 'My Number (Live On Jools Holland)'

Atoms For Peace - Amok: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich, Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Flea and REM's Joey Waronker release their début effort. Atoms For Peace - Default

Hurts - Exile: Hurts return with a follow-up to last years 'Happiness'. They say it will be darker than the first which is exciting and worrying at the same time. I really love a band that takes them selves too seriously, and Hurts do just that.

The National - TBC: My favourite band have a new album coming out this may, the live songs previewed from 'All Tomorrows Parties' event sound brilliant. I for one cannot wait.

Empire Of The Sun - TBC: A dodgy wait after 2008's breathtaking 'Walking on a Dream' left many wondering if there would ever be a follow-up. Thankfully everything seems to be on track for the next album to be released this year.

New bands to look out for in 2013

As ever, new bands are breaking and exiting a lot of people and as ever NME calls it a 'music revolution'... indeed. Anyway, here are the bands getting me exited this year, 'viva la revolution':

1) Chvrches: Ignoring the groovy 'V' and 'U' switch, Chvrches are a exciting new Glaswegian indie synth-pop trio that sound somewhere between 'M83' and 'Little Boots'. They also found their way in at 5th on BBC's 'Sound Of 2013' poll, in which better acts were in the long-list than short-list, odd. Chvrches - The Mother That We Share (mp3)

2) Palma Violets: NME's bitch at the moment but that does not stop them being one of the most exciting new bands around with a belter of a track that unsurprisingly won NME's track of the year: Palma Violets - Best of Friends (mp3)

3) Savages: Punk rock that's a throwback to Siouxsie and the Banshees and the brilliant music scene of the time. Nostalgia has always been a big plus points for some bands and this all-female group certainly have it. Savages - Husbands (mp3)

Mason.