A rundown of my own music highlights of 2011. All comments, suggestions and harumphing to [email protected]
BEST ALBUM
The Horrors – Skying
THE KEY TRACK = Moving Further Away by The Horrors
Album number three from the Southend band. Followed up on 2009’s critically acclaimed Primary Colours.
Signed to XL Records, home to The XX, The Vaccines and of course multi million selling Adele, The Horrors have been given the time and space to develop and experiment. Skying is the sound of a band having fun and creating freely. The Ziggy Stardust and Suede influences are still there but The Horrors spaced out shoegazing rock is much more than the sum of its influences.
Skying spans genres with glee, ‘I Can See Through You’ is a ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ for the 2010s, ‘Endless Blue’ lulls you into the summer haze of Cafe Del Mer at sundown before pummelling you with crashing guitars and drowning you in white noise.
But all this is just to set the tone for the records big moment, the 8 minutes and 39 seconds of the epic ‘Moving Further Away’ waves of synth line repetition give way to walls of guitar riffs led by a driving drumbeat, it even has some seagulls on the breakdown. A classic indie epic right up there with LCD’s All My Friends or The Roses’ Resurrection, yes its that good! Hazy, swirling, brilliant music.
BEST irish ALBUM
The Minutes – Marcata
KEY TRACK = Black Keys by The Minutes
The band recorded this debut album is a blistering 21 hour session over three days in New York’s Marcata studios and have since lost no time in establishing themselves as a potent live force that ply their trade with bloody minded urgency. Taking influences from the primal elements of electric blues and the rock‘n’roll rebellion of Chuck Berry and Keith Richards and the energy of New York Dolls and created the rampant garage rock monster that is ‘Marcata’. Named after the studio where it was recorded Marcata is ballsy and brilliant, take it on a roadtrip and play it loud.
BEST Single
Rolling in the Deep (Jamie XX Remix) – Adele
Jamie Smith of indie band The XX took Adele’s blues/gospel disco tune, stripped it bare adding handclaps and sparse synth sounds. With Adele’s vocal leading the way Jaimie XX forged a mix that married old-style gospel to a dubstep beat that smashed it on the dancefloor.
BEST gig
Villagers (Live at the Big Top, Limerick)
In September at the Big Top, Villagers played their last Irish gig for, “a long time”’ according to Conor J O’Brien as he sets about writing the follow up album to the Mercury nominated ‘Becoming a Jackal’. Throughout the show, O’Brien and band were “in the zone” played every note with delicasy, re-created every subtelty and brought the music of Villagers to new levels. An astounding performance to sign off on two years of touring in support of ‘Becoming a Jackal’.
James Blake (Electric Picnic)
James Blake brought his sparse and dubstep influenced debut album to life on the main stage at Electric Picnic this year. Many were dubious about the decision, including myself, to schedule this show on an outdoor stage during the day when the the music leant itself to intimate, dark spaces. But as the huge growling bass sounds shook everyone in the arena and the sun was setting gloriously, washing the sky with colours, Blake’s rendition of ‘Limit to your love’ became 2011’s perfect music moment.
