The Obligatory Best of 2007 According to Sandy - Albums part 2

So at last we come to the end - the 5 best records of 2007. Seek these out and you shall find aural pleasures beyond your wildest dreams. Listen and love...


5.Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

Overhyped by certain music publications this is nonetheless a great debut album. A mess of sounds crafted with some sublime production into a whole that somehow manages to cling to coherence by its fingernails, this is a high-pitched manic record that rattles along at a frenetic pace. Full of high pitched vocals, manic yelps and slightly out of tune harmonies this is not a purist musician's album, it's about the whole being more than just the sum of its parts. Forget the labels, don't even try to dance to it - just stick it on loud and try to work out how the hell it works. I dare you.

Key Tracks: Atlantis To Interzone, Golden Skans, Gravity's Rainbow, Two Receivers




4.Mumm-Ra - These Things Move In Threes

Just when you though nobody could make a proper British starry-eyed pop album anymore these guys create an absolute masterpiece. This albums is all about two things- tunes and enery and it as more than enough of both. Theres a sweet childlike innocence on display here - everything is full of sunshine and glee throughout with no real dark moments. Don't mistake this for a lack of depth though, the lyrics are neat and never trite and the songwriting has a real sophistication behind it. Like a well produced kids TV programme, they have made something enjoyable for kids and parents alike. This is the years perkiest album that is irresistable in tis enthusiasm. Just listen to 'Out Of The Question with a group of friends and odds are you'll all be daning around the room like a bunch of loons before even having a drink. If you are looking for an album that is fun, unadshamedly poppy and yet doesn't get boring, irritating or predictable after a few listens this is undoubtedly what you are looking for.


Key Tracks: The Sick Deal, Out Of The Question, Light Up This Room, Starlight


3. Reuben - In Nothing We Trust (Hideous)

One of my favourite bands ever returned with a third album that did not disappoint one single bit. At both the most visceral and the tenderest they have ever been this is a heavy rock album unafraid to be varied and original in it's approach. Freed of their label and going it alone Jamie, Jon and Guy take themselves to te next level, in the process creating one of the most complicated and groundbreaking rock abums in quite a while. From the brutal social commentry of 'We're All Going Home In An Ambulence' and the crazed genius of 'Deadly Lethal Ninja Assasin' via the tender acoustic duet of Good Luck and possibly the worlds first guitarless piano metalpopcore track in Agony Agatha (which shouldn't work yet somehow really really does), this is an album that runs the entire spectrum of emotion in the most innovative and varied manner full of light and shade yet still maintains an honsty and directness that only Reuben can bring. It's a monster of a record and deserves its place in the hearts and minds of every rock fan out there and quite a few others besides.

Key Tracks: Good Luck, We're All Going Home In An Ambulence, A Short History Of Nearly Everything, Deadly Lethal Ninja Assasin, Blood Bunny Larkhall



2. Frank Turner - Sleep Is For The Weak (Xtramile)

A far cry from his screams at the front of Million Dead, Frank Turner's debut album is an acoustic masterpiece. Steering clear of the trite ramblings of many a singer-songwriter this is a wonderfully direct, charismatic album with plenty of force where needed and a genuine emotion behind it. With a clever wit and brutal honesty this is possibly the most human album of the year as well. Add to that a voice with real power that sets him apart form many of his wimpier, moaning peers and songs so personal in their nature that somehow they become universal and you're left with something irresistably anthemic and individual. Its an album full of contradictions that pulls everything together into something so complete that even after almost a whole year stands out, as well as having the most defiant track of the year in the closing 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends'.

Key Tracks: Wisdom Teeth, The Ladies Of London Town, Father's Day, The Ballad Of Me And My Friends




1. The October Game - Box Of A Billion Lights (Carmandie)

Despite technically being released last year this is without a doubt the album of 2007 (I't my list and I'll break the rules if I want to...) I've reviewd this album at length elsewhere on this blog but from start to finish this is the most absurdly brilliant thing I have heard this year. From its forceful rhythms through it's serpentine guitars to it's passionate, thoughful vocals and artful lyrics this is a triumph in every respect. This album takes my breath away every time I hear it, and every time there is something more to love. Seek it out and you will find something truly rare and special

Key Tracks: Gatherers Hands, No Time For Feelings, Satellites, Serpentine and every other track on there


Honorable Mentions: Feist - The Reminder, Paramore - Riot!, Roisin Murphy - Overpowered, Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City, Yourcodenameis:Milo - They Came From The Sun


Conclusions

So what have we learned from this year then?

~ British unsigned/independent label music has some fantastic talent (making up over a third of these lists and taking both number one spots is a real achievement)
~ The Barfly is already better than the Loft was
~ Cambridge has some damn good gigs going on at all levels
~ Reuben can do no wrong
~ Bjork and Tori Amos can unfortunatly
~ Mark Ronson is turned on by horn sections. There's no other explanation for it
~ British indie has moved back about 3 steps. Everyone wants to be Oasis again dammit (see The Enemy, The Twang et al)
~ Being Northern doesn't make you automatcally cool (see above)
~ Biffy Clyro can do the mainstream - who'd have thunk it?
~ The Young Knives hit bum notes occasionally
~ Mumm-Ra ooze fun from every pore
~ The new album from the Automatic will be interesting...
~ Amy Winehouse will somehow live until the ripe old age of 89
~ Pete Doherty is still a c***

oh and 2008 is going to be great - look for our ones to watch very soon

Happy New Music y'all!

What Happens In Aldershot...

I tend not to travel too far for gigs. I don't have a car and most public transport shuts down just after 11 so quite often it's just not much of an option for me. However when I heard that Reuben were putting on a Christmas spectacular in Aldershot and Arthur were supporting I couldn't resist so my friend Adam and I made the 2 1/2 hour trek from the sussex coast.
So after a long drive in thick fog and a long wait in the carpark (missing the rush hour made so much sense before we arrived 2 hours early) playing I-Spy (I won hands down). We finally got in. Tickets were like golddust, anticipation was high and the venue was intimate and great. So far so good

First up were Extravagatron. Drafted in as last minute replacements for the original openers Audit, nobody knew what to expect. What nobody expected was a lead singer wearing only kneepads, black briefs and a luchadore's mask. I would post a picture here but I realised that would mean having a picture of a muscled, sweaty, near naked bloke in his pants on my laptop and I didn't really want to have to explain that one to my girlfriend, so you're just going to have to imagine this one. The music itself was very varied, ranging from cock-rock to jazz in neat little bursts with lyrics as filthy as the space under my 19 year old brother's bed. Never taking itself too serriously these guys are no maestros but for a bizare 30 minutes I just didn't care. Needless to say this performance was an experience, and a damn fun one at that. See them live and you won't regret it. Unless you feel the need afterwards to scour your eyes.

So onto Arthur. I've been supporting this band for a long time on CUR1350 and for good reason. Arthur have produced some of the finest indie/pop tunes I have ever heard. Youthful and exuberant somehow combining raw energy and passion in a way few bands ever havce into three minute blasts of bliss, this was my first time seeing them in the live arena and I was a little bit worried whether they would live up to my expectations. Cue one magnificent performance to put any doubts to rest within 2 tracks.
The set tonight is wholly build around their newer material, showcasing a greater complexity in their songwriting than previous EPs and it pays off superbly. Tortured Artist' is a manic uncontrollable hook twister while old favourite 'Me and the Minister' is revamped into a new twisted electro shape and seems to like it. The new material is waht stands out tonight though with a song about rocket ships impressing with its brilliant flicks between sections and one of the best vocal hooks I have heard in ages. Even after one listen it sounds like a classic. On record Hannah Shark's vocals are magnificently emotive. Live they have the ability to melt spines and break hearts at will. An most people would gladly let them. To take a crowd of rock fans and make such a good impression is a big feat especially for a band whose members are still in 6th Form college but they really won over the crowd. I've said it a million times. This band deserve it all.

Tonight is Reuben's night though. This is a band on the top of their game after the release of the superb 'In Nothing We Trust' and tonight it is their party. Blitzing through a set made up of material from accross theoir back-catalogue we were promised something special and boy was it delivered. Live debuts for the Brutal 'Crushed Under The Weight Of The Enormous Bullshit' and a passionate 'An Act of Kindness', a rocking little Beatles cover and plenty of tracks that didn't get an outing on the last tour were mixed in with the more familiar singles in a setlist that satisfied the purist and kept faith with those that have just boarded the Reuben train. Combine that with some between song banter that many stand-ups would be proud of and a real regard for the people in front of them Reuben have the crowd around their little fingers but like true gentlemen never take advantage of it. The big fireworks were saved for the end though with a starting with a voice destroying 'No One Wins The War' that threatened to bring the house down from the crowds singing alone. A rare outing for the classic 'Words From Reuben' that breaks your heart before showing you true love and fan favourite 'Everytime A Teenager Listens To Drum and Bass A Rockstar Dies gave way to the most surprising ending that could have been hoped for. 'Shambles'stopped the heart of everybody in the room with its passionate poigniancy befoer exploding in joyus desperation. Faithfulness, and dare I say it, love distilled into sonic form. I could barely speak afterwards and that wasn't just because I'd been singing so hard.

I've reviewed these guys live on this blog before and the effect was the same. A crowd so moved by music that nothing could snap them out of their trance until the band left the stage. On home ground they had nothing to prove. But they damn well did it anyway. What Happens In ALdershot doesn't just stay in Aldershot. When it's this good the experience stays with you for the rest of your life.

[Photos curtesy of the cameraphone of my good friend and chauffeur Mr Adam Pellett]

I Lost It A Little Bit...

Unlike Chiara I spent the entire summer holiday gig starved. So it was a great relief when finally last week I got to break my shameful abstinence and got myself down to Brighton for some live music. Even better, I was taking my wonderful girlfriend to her first gig. Even better, it was Reuben.

So first things first, support bands. According to everyone else there were sound problems with Enjoy Destroy that made their vocalist sound weird. However I was wearing earplugs and had no such problems. It's one of the reasons I always wear them at gigs - not only do earplugs protect your hearing (tinitus pisses me off no end) but it actually clarifies the sound by removing most of the sound that bounces around off the walls. In short everything sounds much better and you can hear the next day. Anyway, Enjoy Destroy prved themselves definately ones to listen out for. Sounding like an English Jimmy Eat World and although they're young and a little inexperienced on the stage there's some good potential there

Kill Kenada are a little disappointing. It's good streaight up rock, really well performed but they kinda failed to set me tingling. Not sure why

So onto the main event. I've seen Reuben live twice before and they are without a doubt one of my favourite bands but tonight they are on form. From start to finish for 16 songs over the space of a single hour they are utterly midblowing, delivering material from their new album 'In Nothing We Trust' as well as some older fan favourites. That soiunds like the sort of thing you hear in a lazy NME review so i'll try to put it into more detail.

Two minutes into opener Suffocation of the Soul there is an outcry. Almost every person in the crowd is singing along at what can can only be described as a climactic moment. Not just singing it, but engaging in it. Surrendering to it. All this to a short section of a seven minute song that 2 months ago nobody there had heard before.

To say this sets the tone for the evening is an understatement.

The new songs sound fantastic. ' We're All Going Home In An Ambulence', 'Agony/Agatha' and all whip the crowd into a frenzy. Despite being a small band whose new album is only a couple of months old these songs not only sound great but get a rapturous reception, even inamongst older songs ranging from live favourites 'Lights Out' and 'Everytime A Teenager Listens To Drum And Bass A Rockstar Dies', to some of the less poppy first album tracks such as 'Fall Of The Bastille'. There's even a bit of a nod to older fans with an airing of an early Reuben classic in the shape of 'Crimson'.

Yet the visceral, distorted passionate and complex rock songs Reuben have made their trademark are tempered at times beautifully by ssome starkly emotional slower numbers. 'Nobody Loves You' and In Nothing We Trust highlight 'Good Luck' with people standing enraptured, singing along to every word as if they have connected them and the feelings behind them as if they are burned into their very souls.

By the time set closer 'A Short History Of Nearly Everything' rings out I was left with the impression that this was what a gig was truly about. Not just sharing a performance or the songs, but the feelings behind them with a packed room full of people going through exactly the same things every day.

I'm biased i'll admit - I love this band with a passion as all those who know me will testify but this is the thing with Reuben. They inspire such passion in their fans that such feelings and atmosphere are possible. And this is what makes them, and this particular show so goddamned special.

Want to know more? I was lucky enough to meet the band beforehand and grab an interview with them. We also managed to tape it so watch this space for CUR1350'd very first video interview very very soon. You even get to see my face in it you lucky people!