Sunday, December 31, 2023

My Favourite Albums of 2023

This time only 4 years between posts... it's getting better!  This year I didn't listen to as much new music as I normally do.  The kids getting control of the music while driving, podcasts (although a lot of them are music related!) and an album of the week group that got me listening to all sorts of interesting, but old music. 

Having said that, I did enjoy some new music this year and I am sharing my top 5 albums this year. I was lucky enough to see 2 of these artists live this year with another one from the list coming early in 2024.

boygenius - the record

First full length release after their 2018 EP from the group formed by Julien Baker,  Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.  Really good album from begining to end, but for me they are strongest when they meld their music styles together on songs like Not Strong Enough and Cool About It. Lucky enough to have seen them live.  I hope they continue releasing music as a group alongside their solo projects



Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We 

If you have been following Mitski since the early days, you might not have expected an album like this one.  Sonically speaking it is as far away from the noisy guitar and angst music from her early material, but no less engaging. I have been lucky enough to have seen her twice live during her last 2 tours.  Can't wait for next year's gig. 

The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We on Spotify

Peter Gabriel - i/o

First album of original material in 22 years.  Released a track a month during the whole year and when we finally got the album, three different mixes to enjoy. Best one for me is the In-side mix when listening on headphones and Dark-side mix anywhere else. Well worth the wait. Lucky enough to have seen him during the i/o tour. His voice stills sounds as amazing as always after all this years!


In-side mix (Atmos) available in Apple Music or Amazon 

Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

I jumped on the Sufjan Stevens bandwagon late.  This is a well produced album full of raw emotions.  I don't know much about Sufjan's music, but this album is worth diving into, and I am hoping I can spend more time with his music in 2024. 

Javelin on Spotify

Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex

The latest album from the Porcupine Tree frontman, but this is nothing like PT.  Genre spanning album with touches of electronica, jazz, pop and even som prog rock, this is very difficult to describe but worth an in depth listen.







Other albums worth checking out are Laufey's Bewitched, Meshell Ndegeocello's The Omnichord Real Book and Cat Power's Sings Dylan. 

As always, I love a good pop tune.  My favourite tracks of the year are:

Not Strong Enough - boygenius
Cocoon - Holly Humberstone
No Caffeine - Marika Hackman (from her upcoming 2024 album)

I hope the next instalment is not 4 years in the future!

Thursday, January 2, 2020

My favourite albums of 2019

It has been a while since I sat to write one of these blog posts, 7 years to be precise. A lot has changed in the way we listen to music, in the way I listen to music. I don’t even remember when was the last time a bought a physical copy of an album.

This year, while I listened to a lot more music than in the previous years, I didn’t listen to as many albums as I would have when I used to write these posts more regularly. My “listening” attention is being pulled between albums, streaming services, podcasts and why not, reading.  Thankfully I can listen to some podcasts while I play the “occasional” game of Two Dots.

Looks like I have settled on a process to discover music that seems to be working. I listen to a couple of podcasts that recommend new music, then I listen to a few songs and albums from there on Spotify, and I let Spotify suggest more. Finally, what I truly want to listen to, gets added to my iTunes library for repeated listens.

There are a handful of albums that made me sit down and listen, sharing in no particular order:

Better Oblivion Community Center

Phoebe Bridgers was one of my favourite artists of the last few years (including boygenius).  She teams up with Conor Oberst for a fantastic folk-rock album.  I hope it's not their last one!

Better Oblivion Community Centre on Spotify








Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe


At only 24 years of age, her music sounds a lot more mature than that. I love the sound of her guitar and I hope this is the signal of many more good things to come.

Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe on Spotify









Marika Hackman ‎– Any Human Friend

Don't know how Marika Hackman has flown under my radar for so long.  This is probably the album that I listened to the most. This is a strange one for me, I identify a lot with the melodies, but not so much with the words.  The album tells the life of a twenty-something living in a big city... I am not that anymore.  For younger people, it probably has a different meaning, for me it's all about the pop melodies.

Marika Hackman ‎– Any Human Friend on Spotify


FINNEAS ‎– Blood Harmony

Finneas O'Connell is the lesser know of the O'Connell siblings, but I would say, the creative force behind her sister Billie Eilish.  This EP is a small collection of finely crafted pop songs.  For me "I Don't Miss You at All" is contender for the song of the year

FINNEAS ‎– Blood Harmony on Spotify







No-Man ‎– Love You To Bits

I am not going to try to describe this one, from the "Art-Rock" duo of  Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson. Pop Matters describes it as their Disco White Whale and most other reviews are in prog rock sites, well, you will just have to try it for yourselves.

No-Man ‎– Love You To Bits on Spotify






Other notable releases for me, include Big Thief's 2 albums, Angel Olsen's All Mirrors, Clairo's debut (Alewife is another contender for song of the year!) and Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow

Enjoy, and share your music!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

My Favourite Albums of 2012

Another year has gone by, and although I didn't get enough time to blog about music, I was able to listen to a lot of new stuff, primarily thanks to iTunes Match and Spotify, that make music more accessible even for when I only had a few minutes to listen here and there.

The list this year seems a bit more mainstream than other years, not sure what it actually says about my music tastes, in saying that, the first entry in the list is not your typical pop record...

5. Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion

This is a collaboration between Mikael Åkerfeldt, best known for his work in Prog Metal Band Opeth and Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree, No Man, etc. Despite their background, this is not a metal or prog album.  Although very difficult to label, this can possible be best described as experimental or avant garde.  One thing is very definite, it has a very eerie feel to it and at times a bit disturbing.  The video for Drag Ropes will help you understand what I mean by this.

Storm Corrosion is difficult to get into, but once you do, it is rewarding.  Interesting orchestral soundscapes and excellent musicianship make this album a rare gem.

4. Field Music - Plumb

Plumb is the 4th instalment from the Brewis brothers from Sunderland.  This one was very anticipated and it certainly didn't disappoint.  Contrary to previous albums by Field Music, this was full of very short songs which was viewed negatively by some critics who said the album lacked the cohesion of previous work by the band.  I have to say that I particularly liked that.  Short musical ideas, direct and to the point.  Having said that the musical themes spread through the whole album and come back again and again giving this album a structure that perhaps escaped in the first few listens.  I think this was the album I listened to the most in the first few months of the year.

3. Julie Feeney - Clocks

I may have mentioned Julie once or twice before here. Her second album 'Pages', featured as one of my favourite albums back in 2009.  Clocks is the long awaited difficult third album for Julie.  It was crowd funded through irish website FundIt and self produced by Julie in a very busy year that saw her have a 10-night run at the Irish Arts Center in New York and 10 choral concerts around Ireland the that finished the week before the official album launch shows in Galway and Dublin in early December.

Clocks has won multiple accolades here in Ireland, and it is for good reasons.  It is full of fantastic melodies and complex arrangements yet its simplicity is beautiful.  I was lucky enough to see one of her 10 choral concerts back in November where the songs took a different life when sung accompanied by a choir.  Stand out tracks for me are Galway Boy and Every Inch a Woman.  I haven't had time to listen to this one again and again, I have a feeling that this album would have ranked higher if I had given it a few more listens.

2. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do


Or simply referred to as 'The Idler Wheel...', it is the long awaited 4th album from Fiona Apple.  It only took 7 years to be released and it was worth the wait.

This is another difficult album to get into.  Demanding, but it is definitely worth the effort as you come out on the other side feeling that you have experienced something that was carefully crafted and pull together but at the same time is full of the volatility and anxiety that have made Fiona Apple so successful since she first appeared back in 1996.

1. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

I discovered Sharon Van Etten back in April through an eMusic article about women singer songwriters. I quickly fell in love with her music and this album in particular.  I can listen to te melodies over and over again and I have often finished listening to the album only to start it again and again.

I find the combination of the melodies, her voice and the simplicity of the music beautiful.  Give Out and Serpents are contenders for my song of the year.

I was delighted when a little later in the year, this album broke and was much talked about in the media.  I think everybody should go and listen to Sharon Van Etten!

Other Stuff

Other albums that deserve a mention include The Temper Trap by The Temper Trap, Coexist by The XX, An Awesome Wave by alt-j, Shields by Grizzly Bear,  Jack White's Blunderbuss and the Debut album of Django Django, to name a few.

As for the best Irish Albums, you can find an extensive list on swear I'm not Paul, although he is missing Clock's there!  For me stand out ones here Kingdom by Heathers and Family by The Cast of Cheers.

As for the song of the year, for me it was Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men.

Next year, I will look forward to the new Villagers album as well as new songs from Birth of Youth.

Hopefully I will get  chance to listen and write more about music.  But if not, see you here next year for another eclectic collection of music.





Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

This is it!

Here it is... It looks like the wait is nearing the end... Could this be the cover for the long awaited 4th album?

Published on Fiona Apple's Facebook page earlier today...


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Fiona Apple's new album is coming

It looks like the 7 year wait for Fiona Apple's new album is finally close to the end. June, if the blogging guesses are to be trusted.

Meanwhile, we have to make do with the fantastic title:

"The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do."

By the way, haven't had a chance to write up a review of Field Music's latest album Plumb. It is fantastic, don't let those reviews saying that the short songs don't work out you off,  specially those who always tag artist with long prog like songs as too up their own arses. Who understands these people!

Meanwhile, I will leave you with this link to the review of Plumb in State Magazine. Anybody that can use the word aubergine in an album review, deserves to be re blogged. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012

New Field Music album on the way

Just received a notification that the new Field Music album Plumb is available for preorder in iTunes. The release date is set for February 12th. Should be worth listening!