Time to sum up another year, in what seems to be becoming an increasingly traditional form - a “Best of” list. Here’s my assesment of 2007 in music.
This one has provoked extensive pondering. I grabbed it from the pending emusic.com queue a little while ago. While I do possess a fair few Frank Black (a.k.a. Black Francis ) albums, it’s probably not even half way to being the complete set, as he’s a prolific fellow. Similarly, whilst I would cheerfully profess myself a fan, I do struggle to understand quite how I differentiate for quality between them. They all seem to be fairly similar works, but occasionally I just seem to like one of them a lot more than the others.
So this album has all the essential qualities you expect, punky rock and roll, chunky guitars, well recorded, often with a very live and direct to tape feel, brisk tempo, memorable melody, balances of dissonance and harmony, and of course those entirely distinctive vocals, unmistakable as much for the words themselves, as the vocal delivery, (a convoluted phrase I must apologise for, but “singing” doesn’t quite seem to cover it).
I’m not quite sure where the magic happens, or how I’d measure it, but Bluefinger unexpectedly showed up, towards the end of the year, and I love it. It’s energising, catchy, loose-sounding enough to communicate a sense of spontaneity, but crafted to still reward concentrated listening, catchy, and just bursting with life and enthusiasm.
In reviews, much significance has been made out of this being a ‘Black Francis’ release, signifying some sort of return to Pixies -style sounds and form. I’m not sure I hear that, but I’m still making it album of the year.
I’m clearly rather obsessed with TNP , as even a casual study of at my last.fm charts would indicate (and the situation worsens if you consider A.C. Newman , Destroyer and Neko tracks played as ancillary contributions), but these are my irrelevant music awards, and why are you reading this anyway?
I have to give them best artist as a cop-out, as I could quite honestly have just awarded them every category, which would have made for a tragic and duller post.
They released ‘Challengers’ this year, perhaps their strongest album, even without considering the fun of the multi-disc download-able box-set and trimmings that made up the ‘Executive Edition’ . they issued a super Xmas single/EP , and having them respond to my perfectly timed request for ‘From Blown Speakers’ as an encore, (at a a venue just a short trek down the road from my house) easily ranks as one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had at a live show.
They’re less easily pigeonholed into the “Discovery” category, but this year was the first time I saw them play live (three times, no less), which maybe fits, if you squint at it right.
So they’re unquestionably Best Artist, which can be read as a euphemism for ‘Best Everything’, if you like.
I only happened into this , because of the recommendations of my friend, the often right, Tony Lazarus. It’s a cracking single, which manages to sound like a whole set of other things (to my ears, at least echoes of Arcade Fire, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Tom Club, and even It Bites ) all at once, while still carrying a memorable tune, with a flavour all it’s own.
The album “All Hour Cymbals” is strong, and worth your time, but this single is the stand-out track and a good encapsulation of the band. I think they’re on their way to bigger things.
A far cry from Spiritualized. Samples, loops and programmed percussion, backed with frantic 12 string guitar hammering from Spring Heel Jack , and layers of delay and electric guitar feedback from Spaceman , all held together by the jaw-slackeningly exciting, dynamic drum work of Mark Sanders .
This sort of music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I find it wonderfully exciting to watch something so spontaneous and surprising being created before me in the moment. To me, the live presentation is such an essential part of this work, and that’s really why I’m giving it my favourite gig nomination. Extra points awarded for being seated, a civilised touch I’m increasingly fond of in my old age, and for Spaceman’s twinkly silver shoes; teamed with jeans and plain button-down shirt, this is a look which confidently projects ‘rock star’.
I had a struggle for a while with this final category, deliberating over two artists to choose for this one. They’re linked by a certain amount of personal coincidence, I discovered both of them playing as support for another act I wanted to see, they both presented themselves as solo guitar/vocalists over loop effects, and they both turned out to be more memorable than the main act.
Phosphorescent , I saw as the warm up act for a disappointing Akron/Family at the Croft , with an acoustic guitar + sound-hole pickup and some great songs, including an effective Bee Gees cover ( via Nina Simone ). Particularly memorable use of the loop pedal over the vocal mic for some very spooky effects. I picked up a recent album , and it’s an enjoyable piece, sitting nicely somewhere in the range of freak-folk with the bias more towards folk than freak, which is where I find the sweet spot to be.
I’m going to nominate the other act as the actual imaginary award recipient though. St Vincent , whom I watched performing her show (with a heavy cold), as a guest warm up for The National at the Anson rooms, with vocals, electric guitar, some keyboards, again operated through loops and samplers on the spot. She’s an original, and impressive guitarist , with a strong vocal range, and an experimental and diverse approach to song-writing on the debut album , which I was impressed enough to purchase on the spot. Apparently St Vincent also tour as a full band, which is something I shall have to endeavour to see for myself, the next time they tour the UK.