Let’s not concern ourselves with how’s the weather, nice see you. No formalities and preambling. Here’s a playlist:

Spotted Dick 18 July 2010

Sleigh Bells- ‘Crown on the Ground’

I’m not sure who crashed who’s party on this. It was either the divas in high heels and nice dresses shaking their hips and drinking white wine before going out on the town, or it was the metal heads getting all pungent and hairy with their slabs of distorted guitar. It’s a really tough one to call. The results, though, are fucking fantastic.

The Drums- ‘Let’s Go Surfing’

This song is quite possibly the only tune which The Drums possess, but with it’s breathy vocals, whistling interludes and carefree chorus, it’s quite a tune.

M.I.A- ‘Bucky Done Gun’

M.I.A’s new album, MAYA, is a beauty to behold with it’s flitting between WOBWOBWOB chainsaw sound effect dubstep and Lady Gaga style unfiltered pop moments. Unfortunately, it can’t be tasted on Spotify as of yet. So here’s an oldy.

Gayngs- ‘Cry’

Rarely have late night smoking sessions turned into such fruitful endeavours. You can practically feel the seismic shifts inside of your whole being, you get the sense of a huge, game changing realisation even if you haven’t actually had one.

Holy Fuck- ‘Stilettos’

Holy Fuck’s new album is, once again, a masterclass in experiemental post-rock and this song is a perfect example of life affirming such instumental, semi-noise albums can be.  The band at times reign in the concentration for very controlled interludes, but then at other points really let rip and seemingly let the music carry them with little freewill.

Lady Chann- ‘Sticky Situation’

Amazingly dirty dancehall dub which I bet will turn into a massive crossover hit. What’s that? Loads of white people with flat peaked caps and trigger fingers in the air, singing along in Jamaican accents. Why not?

Mount Kimbie- ‘Serged’

Their debut album, ‘Crooks and Lovers’, will be ‘dropped’ any minute and can be streamed various places online. It promises to be something very special. With atmospherics to give Burial the shivers (ok, perhaps not quite) all mixed up with spooky cut ‘n’ paste vocal samples and the odd bleep to propell in forward motion, this a duo which is intruiging as it is exciting.

Local Natives- ‘Airplane’

Despite the occasionally clunky lyrics, this is a very nice song indeed isn’t it?

Snoop Dogg- ‘What’s My Name?’

Glastonbury, Wireless, Manchester and various other places: Snoop’s invasion of the UK is a much welcomed one, hands thrown in the air, spliffs sparked left, right and centre and good times all around. Thank fuck they gave him back his visa.

LCD Sound System- ‘Get Innocuous! (Soulwax remix)’

James Murphy has said he’s to put a lid on all things LCD related. This news is a painful pill to swallow. On the flip side, however, Murphy Murph has also said that in doing so he hopes he will be able to work on certain collaborations such as with Soulwax. Now, if this here song is just the result of Soulwax merely remixing LCD, imagine the results if they worked together on a fully blown co-lab. The mind races and the mouth waters. Just get the fuck on with it.

Wet your pants, it’s Glastonbury soon

It’s nearly that time again when a healthy portion of the British population decamps to a big farm in Pilton for a few days and everyone who doesn’t crosses their fingers for rain. When the BBC and the Guardian tend to forget anything else is going on in the world. When bona fide dreams are made, chemical excesses reached and body clocks pulverized.

It’s Glastonbury soon, logic suggests it is likely to be very, very good and so here’s a playlist of stuff what is going on at the festival.

Wet your pants, it’s Glastonbury soon

Dot to Dot Festival 2010, Nottingham

You know the score: lots of bands, lots of venues, one city, one wristband, chaos ensues and so on. Let me tell you this though: Nottingham was one of the first to initiate the now very popular phenomenon of the one day city festival. Just think about that when you’re queueing for you Gaymers in Camden next year next to some fucking trilby wearing div with a Libertines fetish so hard he’s forgotten it’s not 2004. Yeah…

On to the infinitely more important and interesting matter of music then. One of the first band’s of the day is South London’s Fiction in the Bodega Social. The room is packed but that’s not to say it’s gonna be easy. At first, the sharp, contorting pop of Fiction raised a few middle aged eyebrows accompanied by little exasperated mutterings of  “Fucking Lundon…innit?”. However, before long the crowd really began to warm to the band. With the Eno meets Byrne vocals, the stomping and simplistic drum patterns and the jagged guitar parts, Fiction somehow make you twitch nervously yet manage to smear a silly grin across your face. Excellent way to start the day and if you were to have a flutter on which of this year’s Dot to Dot bands will do the old ‘Played small venue at the festival. Got massive by the time of next years festival. Used by the organisers to promote/show off’ (ala Klaxons, The XX, Wild Beasts), you could do worse than choosing Fiction.

Next the hunt for good music and not-actually-that-cheap-booze-considering-it’s-a-student-union-in-Nottingham leads us to see Small Black upstairs at Trent Uni. The place is awash with pretty happy people and Small Black accompany the good vibes with aplomb. The New Yorkers fill a space somehow between Beach House and Washed Out (both of whom are relative heavy weights on the day’s bill) and they might have been expected to provide us with some fashionable shoe-gaze pop whilst averting their trendy stares blankly towards the floor. Do they oblige in this? Do they bollocks. Good natured Dad dancing, uplifting beats and something far more substantial than of-the-moment-dream-pop is what Small Black give the good folk of Nottingham, resulting in one of the surprise successes of the day.

After a ridiculous wait for a burger at Spanky Van Dykes causes me to fucking miss Washed Out (the burger is alright, it’s a bit dry and a few more chips wouldn’t hurt anyone) , Rock City and Wild Beasts beckon. Last time they played Dot to Dot, Wild Beasts had just released their debut album and entered Rescue Rooms barely noticed. Back in 2008 they slightly embarrassed themselves by getting all falsetto in the faces of about five people. Not to mention embarrassing myself since I dragged a number of people there with talk of it “being a big one”. Great things come to those who wait though, and tonight Wild Beasts are the greatest band of the festival. Utterly enchanting and mesmerising at times as much as they are lighthearted and fun at others, this is a band riding triumphantly to the peak of their game and showing little signs of stopping.

After some serious patio raving, a missed Beach House set and palms beaten almost raw from pounding out the rythms of ‘Idioteque’ on the tables of Rescue Rooms, it’s time for Los Campesinos! in the main Trent Uni room. There’s quite a turn out here for the band but, unfortunately, it’s not something they can capitalise on. This can’t quite be described as a lacklustre performance, but more one implying exhaustion and possible burnout. They try to rouse themselves and the crowd, bless em, but aside from the perpetually fun ‘You! Me! Dancing!’, there seems little sustenance to the frameworks of their songs.

Down in the Rock City Basement now are the newest and brightest of Nottingham’s sons, Dog is Dead. This youthful five piece have recieved much fostering by the organisers of Dot to Dot, but the large and enthusiastic crowd is testament that their 9.30pm slot is far from unjustified. Their spikey but uplifting melodies are perfect for a festival and you can practically see a thousand teen hearts swelling and breaking around the room. Dog is Dead soar together and contort individually, displaying a musical understanding of one another which is genuinely amazing. There’s no question about it: This is a great band going places.

From here it gets a little hazy. JakWob in Rock City did a hell of a lot of basic, thudding dubstep and Zane Lowe after him probably provided a good mix of things. Not really sure about that one. Casiokidsended the festivities in apt fashion with their set in the early hours at Stealth providing a greatly unfocused, wobbly knees up.

Once again, Dot to Dot is a success and the great folk of Nottingham show little sign of tiring of the bank holiday staple. Long may it continue.

This is some of the music I’ve been grabbing at like a chubby fingered kid at the pic ‘n’ mix stand:

I’m late to the Fool’s Gold party, but fuck it; being late, being fashionable- it still means something in this mixed up world right? Anyway, this is a great collective who are really quite impressive purveyors of the sacred art of having slightly intellectualised, but  no less pleasurable, fun.

Fool’s Gold are part of the increasingly popular school of bands who do not create music drawn exclusively from a vacuum of the western world and (for all the success of Vampire Weekend, El Guincho, Beirut et el) they actually manage to make something rather original of their tropical, worldly influences. Fool’s Gold create uplifting, interesting music to stimulate the mind as much as ardent dancing feet, and when Luke Top’s rich, phlegmy Hebrew vocals enters each song, there’s really something worth getting excited about.

Fool’s Gold- ‘Nadine’

http://www.myspace.com/foolsgold

Coming over all light headed and summery at the start, George Fitzgerald’s ‘Don’t You’ builds until it is, eventually overcome with the dark, dull thud of the bassline and the shrouding, reverberating waves of synth. Keeping himself in the good company of Joy Orbison and his label Doldrums, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Fitzgerald is already showing signs of mastering the ways of finely tuned, subtle, loving and soulful dance music which echoes a sort of nostalgia whilst very much pushing things forward.

George Fitzgerald- ‘Don’t You’

http://www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic

Being caught in two minds isn’t often a good thing. Missing opportunities, looking like an idiot, breaking down: these things can happen to you when you dilly dally, undecided on the perimeter of some fast approaching important decision. However, when, on ‘Bang Bang Cherry’, Hook and The Twin don’t seem to be able to decide whether to internally implode in a fit of crippling anxiety or just dance like Ian Curtis being tasered, it ends in some unusually fantastic results.

Hook and the Twin- ‘Bang Bang Cherry’

http://www.myspace.com/hookandthetwin

There’s something immensely interesting and magnetic about ‘Fire Dream’ by Patten, especially in the way the song is constructed. The minimal beat is surrounded by hazy streams of fuzz while the blurred, indecipherable vocals wrap themselves perfectly around the wobbly, forlorn bass. The pumping dread of isolation in this song is both produced and defused by its encompassing nature- like being in a room full of hedonistic pleasure seekers and feeling alone yet an integral part of the masses.

Patten- ‘Fire Dream’ (c90 Demo)

http://www.myspace.com/pattensongs

Xiu Xiu/The Luminaire/26.02.10

Although The Luminaire is probably too small to meet the demands for tonight’s show, which sold out months in advance, its aesthetics reflect the ethos of both the band and tonight’s promoter, Upset The Rhythm, they’re both here for your entertainment but they take what they do very seriously. This is epitomized in the sign saying ‘Please be quiet. If you talk during the bands we will tell you to shut up.’ Anyone who thinks this is a little harsh should probably not bother with Xiu Xiu. Both on record and on stage this band are an intense experience where every tiny sound that makes up their songs is worthy of your attention. A perfect example of this tonight is during one song when the backing beat is so loud that not only can you feel it in your chest but it delicately shakes the various symbols stood around Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo which, deliberate or not, just sounds incredible.

While up to now I might be making this pair sound too serious for their own good and its worth noting that this wondrously avant guard project does have its ‘hits’ and several of the songs tonight do get some dancing out of the crowd and even though the debut of the title track from their new album Dear God, I Hate Myself it sounded like it had the potential to be once it becomes better known.

Xiu Xiu have the respect of peers and critics alike and while they can sell out a room this size while barely lifting a finger they will never be one of those bands that really ‘breaks through’ and its probably them who least of all want that. The venues will get slightly bigger but it will always be an enlightened minority who find it fascinating to watch this seemingly shy and unassuming pair smash their fist into keyboards while palying music through a DS.

You can and should buy their new record Dear God, I Hate Myself now. Also, here is their website which is kept up to date with their various musings. Below is a song that will be up for a week for your sampling pleasure.

Xiu Xiu-Boy Soprano

Also, to the girl behind me who had clearly taken about twenty seven pills and smelt worse than my housemate who doesn’t wash it was nice that you insisted on apologising to me every single time you barged into me but if it is absolutely necessary to be that fucked could you just go to Fabric or some other soulless pit next time?

Wild Beasts- Koko, Camden- 4/03/2010

Girls. Boys. Drinking. Love. Fighting. Crying over that lost love again. Shocking me like an electric eel. Turning me on with your electric feel. I’m not saying the current crop of bands aren’t up to much, but these are maybe some of the common themes which they like to sing about that ties them loosely together. It would be hard to put Wild Beasts, the best-and probably only- thing of note to come out of the Lake District, in that category though. With the charm of an eccentric intellectual uncle who checked his sanity out years ago, Wild Beasts casually sing of such things as extra-sensory perception, flaccid cocks and Freudian slips.

It’s not just the preposterous pomp of the lyrical themes that elevate Wild Beasts a considerable height above the peers of course. It’s also in an endless number of other things; from the ridiculous voice of Hayden Thorpe- sometimes genuinely touching but sometimes even more genuinely disturbing; from the different instruments which know each other so intimately; and from the perfect balance of accessibility and complete oddball quirks.

Tonight, in the old theatre style setting of Camden’s Koko, the sense of genuine excitement could not be more intense as the band walk onto the stage. ‘The Funpowder Plot’ is the perfect opener; twisting and revealing itself gently as some sort of mission statement that, with all the booty calls and majestic guitars, tonight’s show is going to be as deep as it is flamboyant.

After comfortably taking the reigns as lead singer for a good couple of songs, it’s not until the dark ‘Two Dancers’ that sees Thorpe make way for Tom Fleming to take his place before the microphone. Striding in a quietly assured and infinitely manlier manner, Fleming begins to sing his low, captivating baritone. ‘Two Dancers’, with its direct references to ‘His dancing cock/ down by his knees’, could almost be kind of funny if it wasn’t so totally fucking disarming. Here we have a man singing in dark detail about gang rape to a room full of mesmerised people. A fucking Noah and The Whale gig this aint.

It’s not all morbidly fascinating stuff though, and far from it. ‘Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants’, for example, sees the band take their big old brains and use them for the power of ludicrous fun, and ‘All The King’s Men’- incidentally having some the best backing vocals ever committed to tape- swings back and forth in giddy enjoyment with its overlapping of pristine, shimmering guitars and stylish vocal style.

As the band finish their set having put in a good shift, to use their northern work ethic sensibilities, it seems as if they’ve only been on for about a quarter of an hour. Time flies though Coming back on for an encore, they play the two typically grandiose closers of both their albums; ‘Empty Nest’ and ‘Cheerio Chaps Cheerio Goodbye’. The latter couldn’t be more perfect. Almost like a nice summary of the gig that preceded it, the song flirts for a while with Thorpe’s countertenor voice and the cheeky guitar strums toying with the crowd before breaking out into an all singing, all dancing, gloriously uplifting climax. And then it’s all sadly over, confirming, if there was any need for conformation, that Wild Beasts are a truly Special Band. Perhaps, the most special in the country.

Owen Pallett, Lightspeed Champion/ Union Chapel/ 25.01.10

Tonight is a big night for Domino. As well as These New Puritans giving their new album it’s first live outing while backed by an orchestra somewhere in Shepherd’s Bush, two of their solo artists who are releasing sophomore and debut albums for the label this year are here at Union Chapel. Lightspeed Champion and Owen Pallett are two who, while being worlds apart, somehow still manage to stay in the same postcode in terms of style. Unlike Owen, Devonte Hynes is still playing behind his Lightspeed Champion moniker, and considering what a huge departure this style is from his previous project Test Icicles where he assumed the character of Dev Metal suggests that there are many other musical faces to the performer. That’s not to say that he doesn’t throw himself into the character he’s playing tonight as his aesthetics compliment how his music sounds and is performed. From his performance, which was announced just hours before the show, he’d have you believe that his status as an indie hipster is just a creation of some far off press department as his charm comes across as a pleasing accidental bi-product of his performance. In between songs he is polite, slightly shy and completely without any air of pretension. His performances are heartfelt and sincere with the keyboard sounding particularly powerful throughout the chapel.

When Dev finishes he is met with a hug from Owen which seems to also be a very public and very enthusiastic embrace of the headliner’s new relationship with Domino and himself as a performer no longer playing through Final Fantasy but stamping his own name firmly on his solo work. As usual he sets up his own equipment on stage, walks off and returns to a rapturous applause from the sold out venue. Perhaps less unusual is the fact he’s joined by another musician who adds everything from guitar to the occasional whistle giving the songs a full and more complete sound. Especially those from the new record ‘Heartland’ (which Owen assures us is not a concept album) which is much more ambitious in going beyond his signature looped violin, which is by no means less impressive when used this evening showing his innate skill and precision timing. The two musicians have a good humored rapport with each other and Pallett seems very at home speaking to the audience, even managing to come back from a mistake turning it into a funny little anecdote, the mark of a good performer. By the end of the night it seem very fitting that the last venue he did a solo show as Final Fantasy is where he plays his first as Owen Pallett, the former filled with mysterious light shows while tonight seems more open and simple like the man himself. Final Fantasy is dead, long live Owen Pallett.

Lightspeed Champion-Myspace

Lightspeed Champion-No Surprise (live on BBC 6 Music)

Owen Pallett-Myspace

Owen Pallett-No Cars Go (Arcade Fire Cover)

Final Fantasy-Learn To Keep Your Mouth Shut, Owen Pallet

Although now quite comfortably (actually, is anyone comfortable during The Great Freeze of 2010?) into the next decade, it’s still cool to talk about the last decade of music. And if it’s not cool, then hopefully we get away with being so uncool that we’re actually quite cool. And if that doesn’t happen, then I don’t want to be cool anyway. Where am I? Yes. Albums of the decade. The latest one is written by Morgan Meaker and her choice is Fur and Gold by Bat For Lashes. What follows are her lovely thoughts and words on said album:

FUR AND GOLD – BAT FOR LASHES
As soon I was asked to write about what I thought was the best album of the decade I immediately recalled my current obsession, Bat for Lashes, and her debut album “Fur and Gold”. (Although, as this was released in 2007 I should probably admit to this obsession being slightly more permanent…)
Throughout this album Natasha Kahn’s voice radiates this amazing, etheral, dream like quality that makes me want to cover myself in glitter, put on a cape and dance around the room clapping my hands in time to the unfaltering drum beat that features in “Trophy”, a track which in my personal opinion, is the best of the album.
The eclectic instrumentation really sets this album apart. Within the extensive soundscape can be found pianos, harpsicords, violins, violas, drum machines and hand claps as well as other unusual percussive tools. On top of her refreshing choice of sounds, the originality of her lyrics also define this album as brilliant. Inspired by fairytales and uncertainty it reveals within Kahn an impressive imagination and individuality. Despite the obvious undertones of Bjork and Kate Bush I feel that this is an album which really did something different, a rare occurence for the noughties, a decade which appears to have been dominated by guitar heavy indie as well as generic pop music, loved only by 13 year old girls and the charts.

Another late one here, which I’d like to point out is through no fault of out very prompt guest writer but because I ate so much over the festive period my lap was too round to balance a laptop on. Dom Gourlay, who pens for sites like drownedinsound and contactmusic has been a great help and inspiration to the cock team over our few short years and we’re very pleased to finally be displaying some of his work. So without further ado I’d like to present his top ten records of the decade.

Lists. Dontcha just love ‘em? Come December its that time of year where everyone starts putting together their “Best Ofs”, “Worst Ofs”, “Should Ofs”…you know the drill. Except this time its slightly different as we’re less than a month away from reaching the end of another decade. Indeed its frightening to think that Millennium eve when every pub up and down the land charged extortionate entry prices for a pint of warm lager was ten years ago.

Its also been a fantastic decade for music; too good to be true in many cases. When the good people of Its Not For The Cock… asked me to write a piece on my ten favourite albums of the decade that will forever be known as “the noughties” my initial reaction was “piece of piss”. Then of course the hard work begins, such as trying to cull the final contenders down from an initial shortlist of 150 for starters. “Where are King Adora?” a lonesome voice asks. Apologies are in the post. It may also surprise some that many of this decade’s biggest sellers such as Radiohead, Muse, Oasis, The White Stripes, The Strokes and The Libertines have no place here either. In fact, with the exception of Matt Bellamy and co.’s ‘Origin Of Symmetry’, none of the aforementioned artists even made that top-heavy shortlist, so without further ado, let’s kick off that Top 10 in reverse order, starting with….

10. THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE – See This Through And Leave (Morning Records, 2002). Although initially noticed because of their outrageous mullets haircuts and tight-fitting clothes (this was 2002 don’t forget), their growing reputation was already in overdrive courtesy of several low-key seven-inch releases and a blistering live show that saw them blow the likes of Embrace, My Vitriol and (yes folks, BELIEVE) Muse sky high during six heady months prior to the release of ‘See This Through And Leave’, their debut album. An eclectic mix of noise-rock, pop, beats and abstract electronica, it even spawned the odd hit single or two in ‘Film Maker’ and ‘Who Needs Enemies?’. Sadly, it would also represent the pinnacle of their career as the over-produced follow-up ‘Kick Up The Fire And Let The Flames Break Loose’ failed to ignite their status to the level of many of the peers they’d effortlessly usurped in those early days.

9. BLOC PARTY – Silent Alarm (Wichita, 2005). It’s strange what a difference five years can make. Turn the clock back to December 2004 and this London four-piece were the most eagerly awaited show about to hit town. ‘Silent Alarm”s preceding singles ‘She’s Hearing Voices’, ‘Banquet’ and ‘Helicopter’ only told a small part of the story. The rest was to be unveiled just a few months later in the shape of this Paul Epworth-produced masterpiece that while obviously taking inspiration from many past orators such as Gang Of Four and Wire, also sounded like the freshest, most inspiring slice of post-punk fuelled rock unleashed in years. That it influenced a host of copycats was no fault of its creators; that they subsequently fell into the trap of believing their own hype and released increasingly substandard records ever since sadly is…

8. THE TWILIGHT SAD – Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat, 2007). Who would have thought that a little village on the outskirts of Glasgow would be the birthplace and inspiration for one of the most dynamic and devastatingly impacted records of the decade? Kilsyth-based four-piece The Twilight Sad were something of an unknown quantity outside their hometown, until a demo of theirs found its way onto Channel 4 Teletext’s ‘Planet Sound’ some two years prior to ‘Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters’ release. Even then, with most of the country’s labels’ fixations split between finding a successor to The Libertines or their post-punk angular take on Bloc Party, The Twilight Sad found themselves largely ignored except for ambitious south coast indie Fat Cat. Although only comprising nine songs in total of which two are mere interludes, ‘Fourteen Autumns…’ sheer intensity sets it apart from anything released under the post-rock/folk banner either before or after, James Graham’s unsettling brogue still sounding as menacing today on the likes of ‘Cold Days From The Birdhouse’ and ‘And She Would Darken The Memory’ as it did back then.

7. AT THE DRIVE-IN – Relationship Of Command (Grand Royal, 2000). For many, the Leeds Festival of 2000 will be remembered as the year Daphne & Celeste found themselves engulfed in a halo of piss and vitriol while Oasis appeared to be in meltdown having just released arguably their worst record to date and seemingly fallen apart onstage during their headline slot. To me, however, that year was my first experience of a term that called itself “emo”; my first encounter with a genuine cross-pollination of all things punk, metal and acerbic college rock. The hyperactive performance from one Cedric Bixler still goes down in legend, but their own hiatus culminating in eventual disintegration ensured their legendary status was created, and ‘Relationship Of Command’, their third and final album, was as fine a parting shot of an epitaph any band could need.

6. PORTISHEAD – Third (Island, 2008). Who says reunions and reformations should be kept away from the recording studio? The Bristol-based trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley may not have written or worked together in eleven years but no one would have noticed as ‘Third’, their (obviously) third studio album outdid both of its predecessors in the most accomplished of fashions. Whereas other notable artists from a similar era (hello The Verve) failed miserably in trying to continue from where they’d last left off, Portishead simply set about achieving what they’d always done best, mapping out the future via a plethora of musical creations that sounded like no others on earth. Take the album’s lead single ‘Machine Gun’ for example. Its almost complete reliance on abrasive, repetitive percussion beats assisted by nothing more than Gibbons’ strained, harrowing vocal stands out as one of the decade’s most defining musical moments. Roll on 2019 for the follow-up I guess…

5. WILD BEASTS – Two Dancers (Domino, 2009). It would be wrong to suggest standards have deteriorated over the course of the decade, and ‘Two Dancers’ by Kendal-cum-Leeds quartet is a perfect example. Recorded over a three-week period at the beginning of the year, ‘Two Dancers’ combined a perfect blend of eccentric, ambiguous and ultimately inventive pop music that not only reinforced pop music as a credible option once more, but also surely acts as a standard bearer well into the next decade.

4. A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – A Place To Bury Strangers (Killer Pimp, 2007). The term “noise rock” often found itself mis-interpreted by those more akin to associate it with pretentious and unlistenable symphonies mostly constructed up the anal passages of their creators. However, this self-produced beauty was coming from a different stratosphere entirely. A Place To Bury Strangers’ main driving force Oliver Ackermann had spent most of the previous decade as one-quarter of ubiquitous shoegazers Skywave, but having recently developed his own successful effects pedal sideline ‘Death By Audio’, it was time to engage some of those products amidst his other main passion, making music. What makes this record so unbelievably authentic is that it was initially little more than a collection of demos recorded over a three-year period dispatched around several labels in the hope of a reaction. That Killer Pimp immediately offered to put the songs out as the band’s debut album speaks volumes, a facet Ackermann and his band know all about. Quite possibly the most astounding shoegaze-tinged record since ‘Loveless’. Yes, that good.

3. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (Domino, 2006). The legacy of the Arctic Monkeys exploits on Libertines forums and MySpace will be talked about for many a year. The fact many promoters had them booked to play – yours truly included – and then duly cancel on the back of an unexpected wave of unprecedented success also leaves a less charming taste lingering in the mouth, yet at the same time, who in their right minds could begrudge them the plaudits deservedly received for ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’, their initial record-breaking foray into album territory. Mixing Alex Turner’s tales of everyday Sheffield life and its assorted characters with a simple but effective musical backdrop that spawned a million tenth-rate imitators nationwide, the Arctic Monkeys place in rock’n'roll’s historical archives was signed, sealed and delivered in one glorious, forty-one minutes encompassing instant.

2. THE ARCADE FIRE – Funeral (Rough Trade, 2005). “Blame Canada!” sang the cast of Southpark at the tail end of the previous decade, no doubt in jest, but one can imagine to the disdain of those North Americans lambasted by Trey Parker and Marc Shamain. One can imagine Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, the husband and wife centrepiece behind The Arcade Fire spitting fury at their television set in anger. The band itself may have only been formed in the early stages of the noughties but already the potential was evident by way of their first eponymous EP, released a year before ‘Funeral’. That their groundbreaking debut album would actually be inspired by several tragedies occurring in the everyday lives of its band members was even more remarkable, particularly as the general musical vibe was of a decidedly upbeat nature. Since the release of ‘Funeral’, many lesser artists have tried and failed to replicate its untouchable demeanour and unwavering spirit. As for the band themselves, ‘Funeral”s 2007 follow-up ‘Neon Bible’ was almost as inspiring in its own way, and having spent almost the entire period since on the road, a third album is pencilled in for 2010. Will it encapsulate this? I’d like to think so but very much doubt it.

1. INTERPOL – Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador, 2002). Released on the 19th August 2002 – a week before my birthday – my girlfriend bought me the best surprise present of the decade; a ticket to go and see Interpol support The Tyde at Nottingham’s Social. Having driven her mad about this band from New York whose EP had landed on my doorstep a few weeks earlier, it was the proverbial next step to go and see them in the flesh if the opportunity ever arose. Thirty minutes later, I’d purchased pretty much the entire merchandise stand, ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’, their inaugural long player included, and ever since rarely a day has gone by without its eleven pieces of elegant beauty featuring at some point. A rarity among records from any generation in that it doesn’t contain one single bad track, from the assured perfection of ‘Untitled’ and the way each instrument effortlessly enters the fray to the pulsating climax of ‘Leif Erikson’, ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ isn’t just the best record these ears have become accustomed to this past decade, its undoubtedly one of the greatest collections ever made.

Through the magic of internet and science here’s this list as a nice spotify playlist missing a track from Arcade Fire’s Funeral which you should have heard anyway. But if you haven’t, please have a go on Haiti (Live).

]]> http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2010/01/05/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-albums-of-the-decade-9/feed/ 0 http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2010/01/03/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-album-of-the-decade-8/ http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/2010/01/03/its-not-for-the-cock-its-for-album-of-the-decade-8/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:01:11 +0000 Gavin Williams http://www.itsnotforthecock.co.uk/?p=1311

Despite having now turned over to another decade, I don’t think talking about the best albums of the last decade is any less relevant. Here is the latest post in our awe inspiring, earth shattering, truly ground breaking series of posts by guest writers. The album: Panic Prevention. The wonky toothed hero: Jamie T. The writer: Martin Willis.

Right from the off you can tell that Jamie T’s debut album, Panic Prevention, is going to be different; before breaking into the wonderfully raw ‘Brand New Bass Guitar’, Jamie Alexander Treays sets out his gameplan. As he shouts “fucking croissants” in a mock-French accent, Jamie T lodges tongue firmly into cheek, and carries this on throughout the album with dry English humour prevailing, even at the most serious moments. This humour combines with the influences that doubtlessly played their part in the album’s creation (Billy Bragg, Dizzee Rascal, The Libertines, The Clash) to create an album that is quintessentially English. Treays is also one of very few lyricists currently plying their trade in this country that can hold their head up alongside Alex Turner, providing Great British wit that the Great British public (of a certain age, at least) can relate to.

Panic Prevention, while addressing issues both serious and frivolous, is always fun. At times it is raucous and unflinching (‘Operation’, ‘Pacemaker’), and at times moving; songs such as ‘Dry Off Your Cheeks’, ‘Ike and Tina’ and ‘Alicia Quays’ endeavour and succeed in providing both the cloud and the silver lining. Another of these serious notes, ‘Sheila’, alongside the fantastically entertaining ‘If You Got the Money’, show Treays’ ability to write great pop songs, while you can almost hear Mike Skinner cursing Treays in ‘So Lonely was the Ballad’ and ‘Calm Down Dearest’, poignant, thoughtful and, as ever, funny songs that take The Streets’ best moments and respectfully dash off over the horizon with them. Panic Prevention’s best moments, however, come when Jamie ditches his support band and goes it alone; ‘Brand New Bass Guitar’ and ‘Back in the Game’ are unrefined but never scrappy, and provide ample evidence of Treays’ abilities, both as lyricist and entertainer.