Song of the Year:
"The Last Living Rose" - PJ Harvey
I just got into this amazing record at the end of the year, and it's been a long time since I've had an album I've wanted to listen to as much as this one. So much has already been written about the majesty and tragedy contained here -- and how Polly Jean has laid claim to the 'war album' -- in the same sense Hemingway can claim the war novel. This is a grown-up, mature record about war and its effect on society -- and it's at once horrific and beautiful. Every song on this album is a work of art but it's the quiet dignity of this one that grabbed me right away. Plus, the greatest opening lyric in a good long while. Oh and every song on the record has a video equally as beautiful as this one. Let England Shake truly deserves the high praise it's gotten this year.
It's difficult to put anything else on this list, which should give you some idea about how I feel about PJ Harvey's Let England Shake. But I realize I have to keep going (in no particular order)...
"Amor Fati" - Washed Out
I'm a sucker for a chord progression that sounds like the 80s. And the repetitive D-A-E-B of this tune by Perry, Georgia's Ernest Greene does the trick quite nicely. Slap on a good dancy beat and some airy (dare I say washed out?) vocals and I'm hooked.
This is a great track from earlier in the year from Philadelphia's own Kurt Vile. The guitar work is terrific and the world-weary vocals are a perfect compliment.
"Hex Girlfriend" - Neon Indian
Alan Paloma does it again. I really liked Era Extrana. It's hooky and accessible and all in all a lot of fun. Might have been my second favorite album of the year (but clearly lacked the depth of Let England Shake.) Still, Neon Indian is emerging as a very reliable hitmaker for the chillwave crowd.
"M83" - Midnight City
Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez may have had the most ubiquitous song of the year with this it-came-from-the-80s smash. The synths are great -- and, gulp, so is the saxophone (and fadeout) that ends the jam. In a year that really failed to deliver anything new, it's the throwback sound of chillwave acts like these guys, Neon Indian and Washed Out that the year may be best remembered for.
"Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue" - Fujiya and Miyagi
I can't enjoy a sax solo for too long, so I figure this menacing tune by this Brighton band should be next on the list. You can certainly hear the sound of the Krautrock bands in their work, but on this particular track, the most obvious touchstone might be Marilyn Manson.
"A Million Miles" - Alexander
Another standout record for me this year. Alexander Ebert of Edwin Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros fame put out his solo debut, a folky, foot-stomping good time that does its best to take you back to the late 60s.
"Desert Raven" - Jonathan Wilson
Fast-forward a few years to the early 70s sound of the Laurel Canyon scene with this gentle piece of FM gold. The trouble with retro is that it's not that Jonathan Wilson is doing anything here that we haven't heard before, he's just doing something we haven't heard in a few decades better than it was done the first time around.
"Calyer" - Beach Fossils
And now back to the 80s. Maybe the early 80s sound of REM when they were still good -- full of jangle and unintelligible lyrics. Add a dash of early New Order by playing the guitar riffs over the verses and you've nailed oh, I don't know, 1982?
"As the Crow Flies" - The Advisory Circle
My biggest discovery this year -- thanks to Simon Reynolds (and my brother!) -- is the weird music of Britain's Ghost Box record label. The genre is Library Music or Hauntology -- all instrumental, with analog synths trying to recreate the sound of the imaginary worlds of old British science fiction. The best artist on the label is Belbury Poly - the alias of label co-founder Jim Jupp. (I highly recommend 2005's "Caermon"). But this year's release by The Advisory Circle was some of the first Ghost Box stuff I heard -- so I list it here to represent a big chunk of my listening this year.
"Santa Fe" - Beirut
My father is the biggest fan of Beirut that I know. No joke. Plus my father-in-law just moved to Santa Fe, so there you go. Zach Condon has been putting out Balkan brass band records for years -- and this is by far his poppiest and most accessible effort to date. And that's not a bad thing.
"Mona Lisa" - Atlas Sound
Bradford Cox always seems to make my list - whether it be for Deerhunter or his solo work as Atlas Sound.
"Top Bunk" - Gauntlet Hair
This Denver duo is frequently labeled Shoegaze revivalists -- but the swagger of this track suggests something more 80s -- maybe Gene Loves Jezebel?
"Michael Jackson" - Das Racist
OK. I'll fully admit this isn't the best DR track I've ever heard. But I listened to older Das Racist this year about as much as any other individual artist, so I felt they warranted inclusion on my list with a track from this year's release.
"Street Halo" - Burial
Dark, mysterious dubstep from electronic musician William Bevan of London.
"Replica" - Oneohtrix Point Never
More haunted sound. Notice how the sad, Erik Satie style piano riff keeps repeating, yet never sounds exactly the same. And that video!
Interesting. I am unaware of MOST of these choices...but I am enjoying listening to them. Be on the lookout for my weak list, and Jim's (he gave me to post.)
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