THE BEST OF 2013

THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONTENDERS……

(WARNING: contains ALBUMS of DEATH, WAR, DEVASTATION AND HORROR)

You know it’s a thankless task. I mean here’s another list of bands you may not have heard. But although we’ve only just met, I feel you have a keen sense of musical taste. So let’s put some platters on the player…..

Our first time for a The Local Natives gig was in February at The Wedgewood Rooms, and their album Hummingbirds is rightly a contender for album of the year. Having two expressive lead vocalists gives them a head start, with strong melodies, allowing the album to build throughout these ten faultless tracks, from the glorious subtle melodies of ‘You and I’ and ‘Bowery’ to the drum-driven behemoth that is ‘Wooly Mammoth’. Think Fleet Foxes meet Grandaddy.

The same month Josephine played at Pie and Vinyl performing songs from Portrait, her auspicious debut album. Artistically, she is so comfortable with her writing and performing styles, playing way beyond what you might expect. More importantly she has a stunning vocal range and on the album, has a band not reliant on backline sequencing. She covers a vast musical territory, from the soul of ‘Original Love’, the folky ‘What A Day’, the infectious ‘A Freak A’, to the Radio 2 friendly title track. Her voice seemingly tackles any genre effortlessly, which surprisingly all gels beautifully. Definitely an album to savor.

Veering back into the rock sphere, I was late to the game with MeWithoutYou, and this where we stretch the 2013 thing. When I find a group that has already released 4 albums, I feel a bit cheated. Last year’s Ten Stories is a magnificent beast of an album, insistent riffs and loquacious storytelling with a unique vocal. ‘Grist for The Malady Mill’ sets the template for the album’s storyline involving the trial of an elephant for causing a train wreck in 1878. Yep, you probably read that right! If I also mention that these guys are committed Christians, I can almost hear the rush for the bar. But miss out on these guys at your peril. Also recommend is their video for ‘The Fox, Crow and Cookie’ from the 2009 It’s All Crazy album to check out how unique they are. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fRFMkFbH8I].  Of a similar religious persuasion is the excellent band Gungor whose album I Am Mountain is a real genre-hopper. But hey, one radically musical religious bunch at a time now.

Another new-to-me group in 2013 was The Moulettes,who have been treading the boards for several years now. But their second album, last years The Bear’s Revenge melds folk, rock, oboes and tales of devastation in equal amounts. Vocalist, cellist & writer Hannah Miller takes us on a musical rampage, abetted by the manic violin of Georgina Leach, now departed from the group. November’s gig in Southampton saw them up to full strength, often sounding sweet and menacing within the same song, ‘Sing Unto Me’ showing as much light as ‘Some Who You Love’ emits portentousness. Think The Unthanks but more unhinged!

More than highly recommended is Radical Face’s Roots and Branches trilogy. The Branches album was released this year and continues Ben Cooper’s sagas of murder, betrayal and suicide, which provided a great show when touring in Bristol this autumn. His lo-fi and found analogue recordings have created a template for all his albums since the impeccable Ghost in 2007. Along with his penchant for intriguingly self-deprecating lyrics, songs like ‘Holy Branches’ and ‘Reminders’ (I’m either honest or an optimist/but never both at the same time) manage to drag you into this less than perfect world. If, like me, you were hooked on his Welcome Home, which was purloined for the Nikon advert, this should just be the album for you.

So to the best of the rest releases this year, which must include Nick Cave’s endlessly fascinating Push The Sky Away, and Neko Case’s The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, the retro power pop of The Electric Soft Parade’s surprisingly endearing Idiots, not forgetting Bowie’s welcome return to form on The Next Day. More obscurely, this year marked the return of Canada’s finest pop meisters, The Heavy Blinkers and their 5^th glorious album, Health. Both Sam Baker and The Deep Dark Woods played glorious sets at The Railway in Winchester in 2013 and their albums Say Grace and Jubilee, respectively, are well worth the investment.

Finally, New Yorker’sThe Wiyos appeared at the Chichester Inn in October, and I got lucky to hear their last album, the award-winning Twist, prior to the gig. It’s a fascinating surreal tale based on The Wizard Of Oz fable, where they manage an angular break out from their thirties styled good time music and Boardwalk Empire-era blues, by adding some psychedelic sweetness and harmonies to the mix. Overall, this is the unexpected surprise of the year and more fun and ecstatic than a shedload of Coldplays or Mumfords.

Good hunting in 2014.

‘ Still hooked on vinyl and the low rumble’.