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Allo, allo. Anybody who may have been reading this blog, I have changed the location of my posts. You can now find me at shamechamber.wordpress.com 

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Best Albums Of 2013

Hello there, apologies once again for the lack of posts and the somewhat false promises I tend to make along the lines of 'I will return with something spectacular!'. I'm afraid not this time, I've got a pretty standard music related post that by the title I'm sure you're already tutting at my dull as heck transparency. Yep, its best albums of the year! Seeing as its a couple days before the very end, I thought I may as well mock a quick one up whilst I try and forget about the annoying food poisoning I've picked up this past week (damn buffets!), I've decided to spend my time worrying about music instead of my cruel desire for cake (wah) so enjoy the below list of albums I believe to have made a cracking 2013.

10/ Drenge - Drenge

Yes the Derbyshire duo of brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless seemed to spring out of nowhere this year after a reputation for rambunctious live shows. Whilst perhaps not as staggering as their concerts tend to be (seen them twice myself, good fun both times), the record is a charming affair with plenty of mean riffs ala Gun Crazy and I Don't Want To Make Love To You and equally as impressive yet bitter lyrical displays from Eoin, in the form of People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck and I Want To Break You In Half (sample lyric "If you had a soul I'd like to meet it"). Of course monster singles Dogmeat and Bloodsports proved to get the fiercest of crowd reactions and will probably be the signature tracks for most listeners, but the rest is definitely worth a look in.

9/ Arctic Monkeys - AM

This album actually wasn't an instant love of mine this year (shock horror/don't kill me). Though I still think the full marked review made by a certain popular music publication was hilariously cringeworthy, I actually came to rather like AM, the Sheffield band's fifth album that waved goodbye to shaggy hair and jangly guitars and said hello to Sabbathy riffs and teddy boy quiffs. Opening tracks Do I Wanna Know? and R U Mine?, possibly the band's strongest start since FWN, made sure everybody got their rock'n'roll fix whilst subtle numbers Fireside, No.1 Party Anthem and I Wanna Be Yours showed Alex Turner hadn't lost his penchant for eery ballads supplying a wonderful croon as always. Whatever you think about the band, you've got to give them credit for consistently pushing the envelope.

Wanna know more? 
Have a look at Kayleigh over at Electragrrl's review on Renowned For Sound here

8/ Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

After their incredibly adored self titled debut, New Zealander Ruben Nielson's latest project Unknown Mortal Orchestra felt the need to impress. By no means a drastic change, II was further exploration into Nielson's psychedelic tendencies but perhaps with a poppier refined edge as showcased on From The Sun and The Opposite Of Afternoon. Ever dabblers of Lo-fi, the band bought fuzzy guitar, groovy bass and crackly drums create a sound that loses itself somewhere between this century and the last with Nielson's soulful vocals, as seen on So Good At Being In Trouble, adding to this timeless hubbub. The swirling glory of Faded In The Morning and the Beatles influenced stylings of Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark) show the diversity of the group proving Nielson to be New Zealand's equivalent to Australian neighbour Kevin Parker. A tour together please?

7/ Kurt Vile - Wakin' On A Pretty Daze

A somewhat unlikely star of recent years, Kurt Vile finds himself once again, looking rather awkward, in the indie spotlight. Not to say it isn't deserved, after 2011's Smoke Ring For My Halo won over thousands, this year's Wakin' On A Pretty Daze was a suitably fresh record that saw Vile taking more risks than ever before. Opening with the somewhat daunting nine and a half minute Wakin On A Pretty Day, the record gives instant good vibes as we sway along on a trip of Vile's day-to-day. Many of the songs' lyrical content saw  a rather revealing side of Vile with Shame Chamber a description of the singers dissatisfaction with his mirror image whilst Never Run Away serves as an ode to the comfort found when with his wife. However the lasting line comes from Was All Talk as Vile professes "There was a time in my life when they thought I was all talk, now I got the upper hand". The underdog turned out to be prize pooch.

6/ Phoenix - Bankrupt!

Wolfgang, Amadeus, Phoenix was a stomper of an album. Easily one of the greatest albums of the noughts, serving as quite the swan song to the decade in 2009. French wonders Phoenix knew their return would have to be delivered with a bang and Bankrupt! was a downright explosion. Singles Entertainment and Trying To Be Cool owned the year with poppier and more electronic decorations than the band had not previously dared to try. The catchiness of songs like S.O.S In Bel Air, Drakkar Noir and the super cheery Oblique City stick in your head for days with melodies so rich with hooks they'll have you humming along in no time. Elsewhere the band gave us wonderfully textured songs such as Bourgeois and title track Bankrupt! that deserve countless listens to get lost within. A triumph where many have fallen, Phoenix soar once more.

5/ Haim - Days Are Gone

The buzz surrounding Los Angeles sisterly trio Haim this time last year was at its ultimate peak, with a much anticipated debut album promised for release in Spring. The album actually didn't arrive until September and by then the buzz had only grown larger with fans lapping up available singles. Worth the wait, Days Are Gone featured some of the years best crossover music pleasing fans of rock, pop, dance and R&B. The super singles Falling, Forever and The Wire served as the opening tracks of the album, creating a definite feel of never ending hits. We weren't let down either as the record supplies the kind of never-ending hooks it puts most bands' greatest hit collections. Don't Save Me, the ultimate break-up song for an inattentive partner steals the show with its neighbours Days Are Gone and My Song 5, which both prove the sisters' diversity as they embrace the R&B stylings of heroines Destiny's Child. The debut album all pop artists dream to have.

Wanna know more? Read my review on Renowned For Sound here

4/ My Bloody Valentine - mbv

Twenty two years is an awfully long gap between albums two and three isn't it? Ok, ok in that time My Bloody Valentine suffered a 12 year break up after the fall-out of guitar guru Kevin Shields and shy singer Belinda Butcher's relationship. Regardless, 1991's Loveless is a classic album that has topped many a music lover's top albums (ever!) list. Mbv was not the Loveless Pt. 2 that many fans had wished for but in many respects that is what made it more special. With shoegaze in the public eye once more (thanks to revivalists such as The Horrors) songs such as Only Tomorrow and Who Sees You the bands trademark scuzzy wall of sound is as popular as ever. Experimentation of course was still in good display as Wonder 2 with its drum'n'bass rhythms proved a strangely pleasant surprise while the gritty buzzing of Nothing Is made it clear the band haven't gone stale with age. Middle track New You however steals the show with a funky bassline and the murmured melodies of Belinda Butcher making you thankful this band decided to come back, however long it took.

3/ Peace - In Love

B-Town, B-Town, B-Town. Yeah, I know, its the lamest scene name ever, but for those of us living in the West Midlands its a siren call to some of the best music the UK has to offer. Leaders of the pack, Peace, became the first group of the family to release an album, but thats not the only reason they won the most adoration. Their debut album In Love proved to be one of the most vital records of the year by one of the most promising new groups for years. Blending influences of Grunge, Brit-Pop, Madchester and more into one polished mish-mash songs such as the Nirvana meets Stone Roses swing of Follow Baby to the Oasis soaked ballads of Float Forever and Sugarstone. The somewhat more tropical sounds of Wraith fit nicely with the lovelorn grit of Delicious and stomper Toxic. Whilst the ten track version of the album is indeed a treat, those looking for a masterpiece can find more on the deluxe edition featuring one of the years greatest and easily underrated songs, Drain, worth the extra pennies I guarantee.

2/ Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold

Stubborn, uncompromising and often rude, Parquet Courts are more or less an interviewers nightmare. Every article to feature them this year has been met with lines such as 'four sullen faces' and 'the band members sigh'. Indeed the New York quartet do not care for interviews, music videos or even publicity shots and have confirmed themselves as the grumpiest band of 2013, but they also turned out to be one of the best with their ferocious debut album Light Up Gold. Opening track Master Of My Craft is a pacey song that rumbles and rumbles into the thundering masterpiece it is with the yelped line "Socrates died in the fucking gutter" adding a great sense of hilarity. The song's finishing moments immediately launch into next song Borrowed Time, an equally brash affair that sees singer Andrew Savage violently rasp words along to a riff straight from US indie boys' wet dreams. Furthermore songs like Yr No Stoner and Careers In Combat offer Pavement style twangy guitars hit the nail in lo fi indie rock on the head. Not so charming as people perhaps, Light Up Gold more than makes up for it.

1/ Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Six years since their last effort with a hell of a lot drama in-between (Them Crooked Vultures and Josh Homme's operating table resurrection to name but two!), Queens Of The Stone Age finally returned and by gum did they mean business. A collection of ten tracks with guests that range from past members Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan to new friends Alex Turner and er Elton John. Steeped in dark times, ...Like Clockwork is the bands broodiest record to date with Josh Homme laying his soul on the line. The delicate piano ballad The Vampyre Of Time And Memory and the twists and turns of epic tune I Appear Missing show Homme exploring new musical directions and detailing some of his recent struggles that seem to spawn from a certain heartbreak, becoming a father and of course the previously mentioned event where he died on the operating table during routine knee surgery. Left in a coma for days and unable to walk for months, it would scar any man. Of course the savage stoner rock that we all know and love from the band was not missing from the album with the rambunctious tracks If I Had A Tail and My God Is The Sun offering rollocking tunes whilst the funky Smooth Sailing continues last album Era Vulgaris' penchant for the strange and sexy. What makes ...Like Clockwork the album of the year however is how listenable it is from start to finish. Never a bore it is easily one of the most exciting albums of the decade as well as one of the band's finest in an already spotless back-catalogue. Turning his pain into others pleasure, Homme can be proud of a record that is truly part of him.

And Thats It!

There you have it, thats my top 10 I decided to talk about this year, I should mention my list was changing all year round and to avoid any regret from my own end, if theres something you think should be on the list that isn't, let me know!

Honourable Mentions:

AlunaGeorge - Body Music

Atoms For Peace - Amok

Charli XCX - True Romance

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

David Bowie - The Next Day

Disclosure - Settle

Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

James Blake - Overgrown

Kate Nash - Girl Talk

Savages - Silence Yourself

Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time

Smith Westerns - Soft Will

TOY - Join The Dots

Wavves - Afraid Of Heights

Yuck - Glow & Behold

Heavy Rotation: Wavves - Nine Is God

Short one folks, just a song I really dig that I felt like sharing. Its Wavves, a band I have always known yet for some reason, simultaneously avoided. Not with intent I should add, just haven't got to the point of buying an album.

But yeah, "why?", I hear you ask, am I only til now becoming interested in the group? Well like most of the 15-25 console owning male population of the world, I have been playing Grand Theft Auto 5 and as always, the stellar radio soundtracks of previous games have been recaptured. 

Not only do Wavves contribute a song to the game, but members Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope actually acted as radio DJs to one of the game's many stations, Vinewood Boulevard Radio. I fine job they did to, between the station's alt rock choons the duo proved to be a comical duo offering a perfectly stereotypical slacker view on proceedings.

Anyway, the song itself is Nine Is God taken from the group's most recent album; Afraid Of Heights. I'm yet to listen to the album as before now my only prolonged experience with the band was catching the closing moments of their set at Reading Fesitval this year. Ironically I meant to listen to them more after that but GTA kindly acted as a reminder for my forgetful ways.

I'm including the studio version and a rather nifty live version performed on US talk show Conan. Enjoy folks! I'll try and do something with this blog soon.

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UPDATE: BLOG REVIVAL Y'ALL

Yo yo yo! To anybody who may read this blog or comeback from time to time, you may have noticed my posts and contributions have been a bit few and far between. Well I have excuses! Kinda...

First of all, I now write reviews for a website! Since the beginning of this month I have been contributing to a music and film reviewing site Renowned For Sound. This has mainly been a collection of album and single reviews and its been going pretty cool so far. If you fancy reading any of my work you can at www.renownedforsound.com/index.php/author/huw/

Does this mean you're stopping music reviews on this blog? No! However I'm gonna shift things about a bit. Rather than write album reviews as such I think I'll continue with a few of my slightly less conventional features. Thats means Dream Streams, Delectable Discographies and New Choons will be uploaded to this blog when theres something that takes my fancy, purely because I don't get to cover everything I'd like on R4S.

So theres going to be even less posts on here than usual? Well, thats where things get a little more interesting. Rather than have the-go-slow as a stand-alone music blog, I've decided I may as well revamp it as a bit more of an all purpose blog where I can post... well... anything. This means, Films, TV, Books, News, People, Life, etc. As I'm getting older I'm starting to become one of those annoying people who wants some physical proof of the often awesome memories I keep. I've got tons of photos of me from the age of 0-11 and then theres a massive gap with very few things to fill the void which in all honesty really bums me out. So I've decided in some way I will dedicate a section of this blog to note good days, funny stories, bad jokes and general self indulgent shit for my own benefit.

Why should we care about your life? Good question! You don't have to at all, I don't expect you to. If you want music reviews just read them. I know I don't get a massive amount of traffic anyway so it shouldn't bother anyone! This isn't an effort to make a revolutionary and new site, just one that is my own that others can read.

So if everyone bears with me over the next few days/weeks/year this blog will be under construction whilst I brainstorm some ideas for things to write about. 

If there are any new bands reading, I STILL WANT TO WRITE ABOUT YOU! I love listening to new music and would love the opportunity to interview any bands who fancy some exposure. If you want to send anything to me for reviewing or talking about feel free to do so on the Contact Me page and I will vow to get on top of things as soon as possible. Ta :)

Why don't you just get a tumblr? Oh fuck off.

Mind Vomit: Reading/Leeds & The Eternal Battle of Rock vs Dance...

Hello readers, sorry it has been a while, been a bit busy settling in to a new job and having a few little adventures, one of which being my first attendance of a music festival. Yes folks, this weekend just gone I travelled down to the infamous Reading Festival to run around fields full of tents great and small (the smallest of which having my girlfriend and I lying on hard ground, missing our beds). Of course the uncomfortable nights were a minor downer on what was actually quite a brilliant weekend of music, burgers and overpriced cider! We made sure to see as many bands as we could cram in (with tickets costing £200 this year, I don't see a weekend of getting up late to watch the headliner before spending the early hours getting wasted in a bush to be getting my money's worth) and thus enjoyed a great deal of artists of all genres and varieties. 

It was when hopping from heavier rock artists to indie bands to dance acts that I realised whilst the good job organisers had done this year in fitting in a good range of different acts was commendable, audiences were far greater for the dance/hip hop/electronic groups. Of course, these artists do come from a more mainstream standing in music culture at the moment but at a festival that used to be known as  a 'heavy rock weekend', I was a little surprised. Still, I wasn't complaining, I enjoyed the difference in acts and the shift in crowd dynamics the genre hopping entailed, very much so!

The NME however see things differently. A new article featured on the publications occasionally interesting blog section entitled "Note To Half-Arsed Indie Bands: Take A Leaf Out Of Skrillex's Book" in which the writer seems to firstly blame guitar bands for not making audiences endure fits of euphoria before then stating "people are sick of standing around watching half-arsed indie boys boshing through lumpen songs with no concern for whether the audience are enjoying themselves". 

Now I know, I know, its one writer, its one opinion, but honestly I don't understand how such a fallacious bit of nonsense could be promoted quite so much by the NME, especially when the bands attacked in the article are so often promoted by the magazine. I cant vouch for Leeds Fest but I can guarantee the majority of Reading festival-goers were neither there for much more than a handful of artists or a fair representation of the music loving public. Whilst me and my girlfriend would leave our tent by 11am to catch as many bands as possible, neighbouring groups seemed happy to sit around a campfire drinking to leave late afternoon/evening time to see the more popular 'top 40' artists.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that these kind of festival goers aren't 'real fans'. Nor am I saying that theres anything wrong with getting drunk, or going to a festival to see mainstream artists. I was personally quite excited to sample a bit of every genre from System Of A Down to AlunaGeorge. Still, I do feel targeting a genre or attacking bands for the poor turnout is unnecessary and rather unfounded. 

Savages and Parquet Courts, two of the groups the blog claims were met with indifference, were two of the groups I actually found most entertaining in the weekend and the lack of manic crowds were probably more to do with several understandable factors:

• The bands were playing the Festival Republic Tent, roughly the size of a small-venue.
• The bands both have small followings with very little exposure coming from mainstream outlets.
• Many fans go to watch bands play, not to climb stage rigging/rip clothes off.
• Even the most passionate of indie fans tend to just jump around, which is what they did.
• I doubt either band intend to write a club stomper to take Ibiza by storm.

You get where I'm coming from, to compare either group to Skrillex or Chase & Status, two of the most popular electronic acts of the past few years playing on humungous capacity stages is both unfair and irrelevant. Club acts will draw club audiences, the kind that are not bothered about watching an act play but want to dance A fair portion of people who watched guitar bands were entertained and impressed, they clapped, cheered and had a good wiggle. Peace, Drenge, Tame Impala, Haim all received warm audiences as well as crossover artists like Chvrches and Phoenix. 

One of the most alarming moments of the festival for me was the rowdiness and atmosphere in the Dance tent during a DJ slot... nobody on stage. Then as Charli XCX came on, over half the crowd left. Now Charli XCX has a few stompers in her repertoire as you may know, however she has nowhere near the exposure or airplay given to acts such as the fantastic Major Lazer and Disclosure, hence nobody stuck around.

I dont want to say this writer is wrong as his point on crowds being less rowdy for indie/guitar bands is valid, but the argument that these bands are boring or need to 'up their game' is just silly. The fact is we live in a generation that currently favours a very limited number electronic pop artists and practically no big guitar bands in its charts, which is why your typical festival goer is drawn to an act like Skrillex whilst avoiding Drenge. If anyone is to blame for this its the media for its ignorance of many indie groups who never get the exposure needed to draw in a great crowd. Give the bands a break, if you want to get wasted and dance around to top 40 groups, by all means do! Who can blame you? But don't assume any band that hasn't got fleets of adoring followers aren't worthwhile. Like what you want!

RANT OVER

Have anything to say about this matter? Do you find modern guitar bands boring? Join the debate and give me a comment if you do :) See you soon readers.

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Dream Streams: AlunaGeorge/Pond/Swim Deep

Hello! Welcome to a new feature called Dream Streams, where its my aim to round up some streams of some of the best albums to have recently come out/been made available to listen to. Not sure if I'm going to carry on with conventional album reviews, simply because I don't think its a very interesting method in all honesty. Its tiresome to write sometimes and lord knows nobody reads anything lengthy unless theres a rating at the bottom (Not something I think should get in the way of an album you might enjoy). 

So yeah, I've 3 recent albums to talk briefly about and share with you today so I hope you enjoy and have a good listen if it takes your fancy!

ALUNAGEORGE - BODY MUSIC

Yes, after such unending hype AlunaGeorge finally released their debut album Body Music last monday and if you dig well crafted Electronic Pop songs, you're in for a treat. As the title suggests, this is an album for the movers and shakers of the world. Not to say you can't enjoy it in the comfort of your armchair, but if your head doesn't start bopping I'll eat my beanie. The London duo, made of childlike singer Aluna Francis and Musician/Producer George Reid, put together old favourites like stomper singles "You Know You Like It" and "Your Drums, Your Love" with excellent new r'n'b tinged material like the alluring "Just A Touch" and smooth sailing album opener "Outlines" and somewhat ferocious garage-esque choons like "Lost & Found". Its a really enjoyable album and if chart success as well as collaborations with other UK upstarts Disclosure is anything to go by, its the first of many from a certified duo of pop legends in the making. Have a listen below...



POND - HOBO ROCKET

Now as anyone who knows my musical taste will tell you, I love Tame Impala. But its spinoff/other group Pond that have always lived somewhat unfairly in the shadows of Kevin Parker's main article. Indeed, former Tame bassist Nick Allbrook's group is a much more primitive affair in terms of song writing and production but for those into good old fashioned rock records, thats not a bad thing. Anthems come in full swing on the band's (short but sweet 7 track) 5th album Hobo Rocket with latest single "Xanman" sounding like George Harrison's "Wah Wah" had he co-written it with Kevin Shields. Similarly "Giant Tortoise" shares the weird 60's psychedelia meets 90s shoegaze sound that puts guitarist (and Tame synth player) Jay Watson in the spotlight he quite deserves. Elsewhere on "O Dharma" and "Aloneaflameaflower" the band seem to share MGMT's taste in the weird and whackier side of psych rock with slow Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd-esque jams. If that sounds like your bag, give it a listen below...



SWIM DEEP - WHERE THE HEAVEN ARE WE

It would seem, despite the great groups that still pour out of the West Midlands, that the 'b-town scene' is dying. Peace and their charming debut album In Love seeing the group explode into the world of nationwide adoration was the first bullet wound to the scene and Swim Deep's debut Where The Heaven Are We may just be killing blow. The hits that gave Swim Deep their name are of course still stellar pieces of pop songwriting with optimistic synth plodders "Honey" and "The Sea" and perfect album opener "Francisco" giving off the air of feelgood vibes (I know, I said it, puke). Its still, the band's first real hit "King City" that continues to steal the show with the perfect getmeoutofthismiserabletown lyric "fuck your romance I wanna pretend, that Jenny Lee Lindberg is my girlfriend". Elsewhere the album falls perhaps a little flat. The songs aren't bad, they just could have been so so much more. Still as album closer "She Changes The Weather" finishes off, you have to commend the boys from Brum for getting this far without trying all that hard. Blast it in your lugholes below...



And thats it! Hope that was interesting or something took your fancy. If you feel like having a look at some real reviews for the AlunaGeorge and Swim Deep albums, check out my girlfriend Kayleigh's reviews on Renowned For Sound here and here, she sums them up rather perfectly.

Otherwise see you soon, feel free to write in and hope you enjoy your not so frequent (I will improve!) dose of music. Be safe :)

www.alunageorge.com
www.pondband.com
www.swim-deep.tumblr.com

New Choons: Yuck - 'Rebirth'

I know its been a month since my last post, something that I'm going to apologise for in greater depth in another post I'm working on later. Nothing to worry about, content is on its way, I just feel like this blog needs a bit of a rebirth. Speaking of rebirth, Yuck have just released the first single from their upcoming second album fittingly titled er... "Rebirth". Its a particularly poignant title for a band who have in the past year had their lead singer quit the group. Indeed Daniel Blumberg decided to focus on solo project Hebronix, a more self indulgent affair than any previous Yuck material. Listening to the album today I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't too pretentious to enjoy. Still, I was eagerly awaiting what guitarist/new singer Max Bloom had to offer as it was his songwriting on Yuck's 2011 self titled debut, showcased on Bloom's only vocal track "Operation" as well as the captivating instrumental "Rose Gives A Lilly" and 7 minute album closer "Rubber", that had truly won me over. So today, after weeks of recording and mixing in New York, the band release "Rebirth", and as the saying goes, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

If Yuck's debut record could be (lovingly) accused of being an imitation of US Indie Rock bands such as Pavement, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr, "Rebirth" would appear to display that Yuck have decided to cross back over the pond. Alas, the first thoughts of the new single I had were how it reminded me of a lot of UK shoegaze of the early 90s bringing to mind bands like My Bloody Valentine (Particularly the track "Blown A Wish"), Slowdive and The Verve's very early material. Ironic that the first record was made in the UK and the band travelled to New York to make this one! Anyway, comparisons aside "Rebirth" is an instantly enjoyable song for fans of 90s alt rock and shoegaze and is refreshingly different enough from the first album to escape any accusations of Max not moving on. "I don't want your love, I want you" Bloom sings with a dreamy voice that puts any doubts of his vocal abilities to bed. The last track Yuck revealed (though never released), "Chew" is actually a good indication that the band are choosing to go down a more psychedelic/atmospheric route. The lo fi production that characterised Yuck's earlier material is actually not too sorely missed on "Rebirth" with spiralling guitars and swirling synths elevating the song to epic new heights for the band. Hopefully the fans take to what is a well formed and enjoyably groovy song that bodes well for the upcoming album. Yuck reborn, "Rebirth" has me wanting more.

Available now, you can download "Rebirth" for free at www.yuckband.com

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