Today we reveal more of our favourite albums of 2019 - from eight to five.
Our list so far :
20 : Nev Cottee - River's Edge
19 : Emily Capell - Combat Frock
18 : Mano McLaughlin - Then Lightning
17 : Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel
16 : Molly Sarle - Karaoke Angel
15 : Patio - Essentials
14 : The Blinders - Live At The Ritz
13 : Slow Riot - G.A.D.
12 : Summer Cannibals - Just Can't Say No
11 : Dave Fidler - Songs From Aurora
10 : The Slow Readers Club - Live At The Apollo
9 : The Twilight Sad - It Won/t Be Like This All The Time
Average Sex’s Hey Boy just about fits the criteria for inclusion as an album, it’s more a collection of two EPs they’ve released - Ice Cream and Melodie - plus three other tracks that came out during 2019 that was sold via their Bandcamp and at gigs. It’s full of songs with crazy lyrics courtesy of Laetitia who sings about slashing tyres, drunken one night stands, licking faces of unrequited crushes with a joy and abandon that it’s impossible not to warm to while the band let loose with frenetic tunes that focus on excitement rather than perfection and are more magical for it.
Average Sex are on Facebook and Twitter.
Guesswork is a gorgeous amalgamation of the synth sounds Lloyd has experimented with on recent records and a more traditional songwriting approach that will delight fans of his work with The Commotions and his early solo albums, against all of which this stands up to including his outstanding self-titled debut that still ranks amongst our favourite records of all time. The first three songs all clock in over six minutes, but never outstay their welcome as they wrap around you and Lloyd’s reassuring voice, richer and more affecting than it’s sounded for a long time, works its magic. Whilst his live shows are focusing on his substantial back catalogue, he’s produced a record that demands the same level of attention.
Déjà Vega’s debut album was a long time coming due to record label issues that delayed its release for over a year to the point that they’ve been in the studio to record its follow-up for 2020 already. Finally released via Manchester’s Sister 9 label on limited edition vinyl that followed the pattern of their recent shows here and selling out very quickly, the album captures as much of the band’s furious live energy as it possible on the medium of wax - featuring old favourites The Test, Pentagrams, Chasing and Mr Powder as well as showing their more experimental side on Vor Gazen and The Ballad Of Alfred Hitchcock.
Our review concluded : "Déjà Vega is a spectacular capture of a band that has forged its reputation in hot sweaty small rooms and distills all the vital elements of that into fifty minutes. Like all great bands they've already moved on playing live, half their sets comprising of music written since this album was completed (and subsequently delayed by record label issues), but it's an unquestionable triumph for a band with an almost religious sense of purpose and complete certainty in their own identity and documents their first phase to perfection."
Déjà Vega are on Facebook and Twitter.
2019 has been a big year for Ist Ist, starting with the release of their Everything Is Different Now EP, a sold out Independent Venue Week show at Hebden Bridge Trades and finishing with a huge support slot at Alexandra Palace with Embrace and a festival performance in Portugal as well as recording their debut album. Sessions saw them go into the studio and record live versions of their sold-out Spinning Rooms and Everything Is Different Now EPs rather than lazily repress them - and across the nine tracks they show just how much they’ve progressed as a band as they prepare for their debut album in 2020.
Our review concluded : "For now, Sessions feels like a debut album though in many senses in the same way that Dung 4 felt like Inspiral Carpets' debut. It's a line in the sand over phase three of Ist Ist (the first being the days of opening slots on bills to a handful of people with sonic assaults like Brutalize, Left For Dead and Rats, the second being that run of five singles - White Swan, Night's Arm, Silence, Strangers and Right Before Your Eyes - that took them to headlining Gorilla, The Ritz and Head For The Hills festival) as they seek to move onwards and upwards with the excitement of making their first record. It's as an essential document of the band as all their previous limited edition releases."
Ist Ist are on Facebook and Twitter.
The Sessions EP is available from their shop
________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment