There are many albums of the year lists around at the moment. I would suggest the definitive one will be the BAMS as awarded by
Peenko who takes the temperature of many of the nation’s music bloggers every November before awarding the winners their BAMS trophy. I’ve already given him my top five, and you can hear me talk favourite albums on the most recent podcast, so as with last year I thought I would concentrate on my favourites tracks here, some of which are from great albums, some not. I’ve upped the list from five to ten as it was just too much effort not to.
So here are, in no particular order, the tracks of my year.
I’m going to start with a song which also has my favourite video of the year, among some stiff competition. What can I say, I’m a sucker for dance. This is Intervention by the wonderful Cancel The Astronauts:
One of our recent podcasts saw Eugene Twist playing and blethering. Eugene released the terrific album The Boy Who Had Everything this year, but my favourite track of his was Bohemian Hotline, which he gave us as an extra treat later in the year, and here it is:
I didn’t get Malcolm Middleton’s super group Human Don’t Be Angry at first, but as soon as I gave the charms of the self-titled album a proper listen I was hooked, and this is the gateway track. This is 1985:
Most of this is a fairly mellow list, but I love a bit of loud and the album that best provided that for me was Cokefloat by PAWS. I hear a surf punk classic that reminds me of the mighty Husker Du. From the album this is Miss American Bookworm:
To slow things down this is a track from another podcast guest who visited earlier this year. His name is Arran Arctic and his latest album Like Lovers is heartbreaking electro folk, for want of a better term. As a taster this is Covers:
Olympic Swimmers released in No Flags Will Fly and it was played round our way all through the summer months. Listening back to it now it still holds up as one of the best albums this year. This is the opening track Father Said and it’s another track to transport you elsewhere:
Often a song comes along, worms its way into your ears and makes a happy home. That was the case with Kitty the Lion’s Duck which is catchier than a dose of (joke removed due to matters of seasonal taste and goodwill to all). I just can’t get it out of my head:
I had to have a Paul Buchanan track in this list and I won’t have to explain why. From the simply gorgeous Mid Air this is the title track. I’m surprising no one when I admit this was my album of the year, in case you are interested:
Another beautiful piece of music that I was made aware of made it all the way from Warsaw. It came from the heart, mind and hands of Neil Milton who released a double EP called Skies/Seas, and this is what I was moved to say when I reviewed it; ‘It is so beautiful to my ears that I almost don’t want to share it for fear that others won’t think as highly of this music as I do.’ Over the top? You decide. This is Skies:
Finally, my favourite album of the last couple of months, from one of my favourite singers, is Jo Mango’s Murmuration, and I was convinced from hearing the first track. It’s called The Black Sun, it’s gorgeous, this is it, and until next year, that’s your lot: