BEST MUSIC OF 2016
I've bought less new music this past year, as other things have taken priority, but my interest hasn't waned. I still listen out for new acts, and still read the music press, although i find a smaller amount of music really grabs me these days. Some of the albums i'm going to review here are ones that i had for Christmas (some vinyl, some cd), but thanks to Youtube i've been familiar with tracks from them for a while, although nothing beats owning them and playing them in their entirety! So my personal favourites from this year, in no particular order:
Madness - Can't Touch Us Now.
4 years after their last album, and one member down (Cathal Smyth aka Chas Smash) Madness are no longer seen as "the nutty boys", but elder statesmen of pop. They may not be writing massive hit singles as they did in their 80's heyday, but they have finely honed their songcraft. Taking their key influences of Motown, Ska, Ian Dury, Ray Davies, soul, and music hall, and turning them into something that is recognisably Madness, most of this album is a worthy addition to the back catalogue. The jaunty pop of "Mr Apples" and the title track, the Ian Dury-channelling "Herbert", and the spaghetti western ska of "Grandslam" are vintage Madness: the soulful noir tribute to Amy Winehouse "Blackbird" - Suggs recalling an encounter with the late singer one rainy night in London, not long before her untimely passing - is a real highlight, switching from hushed spoken word verses and a gospel choir-backed chorus. There is more soulful pop in "You Are My Everything", "Soul Denying", and "Don't Leave The Past Behind You". The jazzy character study of "Pam The Hawk" written by Suggs about a well known homeless woman, Soho Pam, who spent her money made from begging on the fruit machines (there's an article on her on Wikipedia here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soho_Pam#See_also ). The album ends with an unusual song, Whistling In The Dark, that sounds like Tom Waits playing music hall on the soundtrack to a Tim Burton movie. Out of 16 tracks, only a couple sound like they would have been better off kept for b-sides, which for a band who've been around for nearly 50 years is not bad going!
David Bowie - Blackstar.
One of the great legends of music, Bowie passed away from liver cancer on 10 January, just two days after his 69th birthday, on which he dropped his final album. An impenetrable, beguiling work, that only really made sense after his death - fans and critics were falling over themselves to point out the hidden clues in the lyrics and artwork that supposedly pointed to his illness and inevitable passing -, it is one of his great artistic statements. He was known as the chameleon of pop for his restless image and genre-switching, especially in the 70's, so when he stepped away from the arena of rock and hired a NY jazz band to play on this album it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. The music incorporates freeform jazz, electronica, drum and bass, experimental rock and hip hop. The near-ten minute long title track goes through mood swings and time signature changes. "Tis A Pity She Was A Whore" and "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime") had both been re-recorded from their previously released versions to be even more extreme sounding. "Girl Loves Me" runs along on dramatic strings and skittering rhythms. "Lazarus" has an art-rock bent to it, The plaintive "Dollar Days" is one of the more contemporary sounding tracks on here, with softly strummed guitar and tinkling piano. The lyrics seem to point to his mortality and have been taken as a message to his fans - "Look up here, i'm in heaven", "I'm dying to/too" - and it's hard to listen to the album without reading something into it. I had this album on vinyl for Christmas, so i'm still discovering different nuances to it upon each listen.
Suede - Night Thoughts.
One of the chief architects of what the music press dubbed "Britpop", their career petered out in the early noughties with the dismal A New Morning album. So when they reformed a few years back to play their classic earlier albums, no one was expecting new material, let alone anything good. 2013's Bloodsports was a surprising return to form, the band equalling their mid-90's sound, but what they did next was a step up. Night Thoughts - a very Suede title - was a darker, mature collection of songs, still recognisably them but with reflective and regretful tone. Ushered in on a melancholy sweep of strings, the album deals with themes of life, love, death, despair, taking the bands signature sound and expanding it into widescreen noir. "When You Are Young", "I Don't Know How To Reach You", "No Tomorrow", "What I'm Trying To Tell You": songs that look back at the past in a brooding manner, but with one eye on the future, trying not to repeat the same mistakes. "Outsiders" was an anthem for the misfits in the same vein as earlier songs like "Trash". An epic work.
Pixies - Head Carrier.
The cult alternative rockers reformed over a decade ago to much surprise and delight, having split in 1993 after 5 albums of quirky grunge-influencing indie rock, and after playing the nostalgia circuit, finally released a new album - well, a collection of three EPs - in 2014, the disappointing Indie Cindy, so hopes weren't high for this release. Thankfully, the band are back on form, and Frank Blacks' scream is in fine fettle! All the key elements are here: wonky guitars, quietLOUDquiet dynamics, chugging rhythm guitars, biblical-inspired lyrics - the title track and the raging "Baal's Back" - indie disco moshers ("Classic Masher", "Talent", "Oona"), the Kim Deal moment - new bassist Paz Lenchantins' "All I Think About Now", and the manic desert punk of "Um Chagga Lagga", all calling to mind the past glories of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle.
Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos.
I'm not one for listening to rap or hip hop, certainly not garage/grime/etc, but after hearing London poet/rapper/spoken word artist Kate Tempest on 6music, and subsequently reading an insightful interview in Q, i delved a little deeper and discovered what might be the best album of 2016. Tempest writes about politics, enviromental concerns, social problems, and the state of the world today, but this is no hectoring protest album: it's far more clever than that. A long form poem and concept album - backed by skittering beats and spectral synth jabs, the music supporting but never getting in the way - set around seven neighbours on a London street, all disconnected, all unaware of one another, and all awake at the same time: 4:18 am. One by one, Tempest gives us a window into their lives: lost, lonely, disconnected, disenfranchised, confused, afraid, struggling to get by, all wondering what the point of it all is. This is all done through the prism of social upheaval, low wages, enviromental problems, and an increasingly divisive world where greed and indifference are threatening our existence. A world where people ignore the bigger problems because "there's 2-for-1 drinks", flings on Tinder. Kate argues that we are all lost, "the bored of it all generation/the product of product placement", where rampant consumerism and social media rule our lives, alienating us from one another while the world descends into chaos around us. But it is also a plea to change that, to love and care more, to stand up and take notice of what is around us. "The myth of the individual has left us lost, disconnected and pitiful", "massacres massacres massacres NEW SHOES", "nobody notices/well some of them notice/you can tell by the emoji they posted". The way that she channels all these social ills and world problems through the seven characters, all awake at 4:18 am, all dealing with their ghosts and demons, is a stroke of genius that lends a very human touch to the whole album. Beginning with Picture A Vacuum, where Tempest describes the Sun and our Earth from space, "peace/or at least, the absence of fear", before zooming in on London, on all the emotional chaos, all the people scrambling to get ahead, she leads us through our seven perfect strangers in their flats, "new flats/old flats/luxury bespoke flats/and is this a joke? flats", and all the while, a storm is brewing outside, a storm that will change things forever, one that, by the end, forces the characters out into the night, seeing each other for the first time, all connected by this catastrophe that is about to unfold. I could go into more detail, but that would be to miss the point: to truly understand this work of art, you need to switch off from everything, headphones on, or - as i do - have a long hot bath, shut your eyes, and listen. You won't regret it.
There have also been decent releases from James, whose Girl At The End Of The World album was only kept off the top spot by the wailing, mawkish balladeering of Adele. Their most successful year since the 90's, and a great record full of their trademark stirring, anthemic and occasionally dance-inflected indie sound. "To My Surprise", "Nothing But Love", and the title track are highlights.
Jamie T returned with Trick, a return to his eclectic punk/English hip hop/indie sound, equal parts The Clash, The Streets, Billy Bragg and Arctic Monkeys, resulting in a cracking record.
No doubt a few more decent albums and acts have passed me by, but as it stands these are my favourites so far! Any comments or suggestions welcome.
David Bowie - Blackstar.
One of the great legends of music, Bowie passed away from liver cancer on 10 January, just two days after his 69th birthday, on which he dropped his final album. An impenetrable, beguiling work, that only really made sense after his death - fans and critics were falling over themselves to point out the hidden clues in the lyrics and artwork that supposedly pointed to his illness and inevitable passing -, it is one of his great artistic statements. He was known as the chameleon of pop for his restless image and genre-switching, especially in the 70's, so when he stepped away from the arena of rock and hired a NY jazz band to play on this album it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. The music incorporates freeform jazz, electronica, drum and bass, experimental rock and hip hop. The near-ten minute long title track goes through mood swings and time signature changes. "Tis A Pity She Was A Whore" and "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime") had both been re-recorded from their previously released versions to be even more extreme sounding. "Girl Loves Me" runs along on dramatic strings and skittering rhythms. "Lazarus" has an art-rock bent to it, The plaintive "Dollar Days" is one of the more contemporary sounding tracks on here, with softly strummed guitar and tinkling piano. The lyrics seem to point to his mortality and have been taken as a message to his fans - "Look up here, i'm in heaven", "I'm dying to/too" - and it's hard to listen to the album without reading something into it. I had this album on vinyl for Christmas, so i'm still discovering different nuances to it upon each listen.
Suede - Night Thoughts.
One of the chief architects of what the music press dubbed "Britpop", their career petered out in the early noughties with the dismal A New Morning album. So when they reformed a few years back to play their classic earlier albums, no one was expecting new material, let alone anything good. 2013's Bloodsports was a surprising return to form, the band equalling their mid-90's sound, but what they did next was a step up. Night Thoughts - a very Suede title - was a darker, mature collection of songs, still recognisably them but with reflective and regretful tone. Ushered in on a melancholy sweep of strings, the album deals with themes of life, love, death, despair, taking the bands signature sound and expanding it into widescreen noir. "When You Are Young", "I Don't Know How To Reach You", "No Tomorrow", "What I'm Trying To Tell You": songs that look back at the past in a brooding manner, but with one eye on the future, trying not to repeat the same mistakes. "Outsiders" was an anthem for the misfits in the same vein as earlier songs like "Trash". An epic work.
Pixies - Head Carrier.
The cult alternative rockers reformed over a decade ago to much surprise and delight, having split in 1993 after 5 albums of quirky grunge-influencing indie rock, and after playing the nostalgia circuit, finally released a new album - well, a collection of three EPs - in 2014, the disappointing Indie Cindy, so hopes weren't high for this release. Thankfully, the band are back on form, and Frank Blacks' scream is in fine fettle! All the key elements are here: wonky guitars, quietLOUDquiet dynamics, chugging rhythm guitars, biblical-inspired lyrics - the title track and the raging "Baal's Back" - indie disco moshers ("Classic Masher", "Talent", "Oona"), the Kim Deal moment - new bassist Paz Lenchantins' "All I Think About Now", and the manic desert punk of "Um Chagga Lagga", all calling to mind the past glories of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle.
Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos.
I'm not one for listening to rap or hip hop, certainly not garage/grime/etc, but after hearing London poet/rapper/spoken word artist Kate Tempest on 6music, and subsequently reading an insightful interview in Q, i delved a little deeper and discovered what might be the best album of 2016. Tempest writes about politics, enviromental concerns, social problems, and the state of the world today, but this is no hectoring protest album: it's far more clever than that. A long form poem and concept album - backed by skittering beats and spectral synth jabs, the music supporting but never getting in the way - set around seven neighbours on a London street, all disconnected, all unaware of one another, and all awake at the same time: 4:18 am. One by one, Tempest gives us a window into their lives: lost, lonely, disconnected, disenfranchised, confused, afraid, struggling to get by, all wondering what the point of it all is. This is all done through the prism of social upheaval, low wages, enviromental problems, and an increasingly divisive world where greed and indifference are threatening our existence. A world where people ignore the bigger problems because "there's 2-for-1 drinks", flings on Tinder. Kate argues that we are all lost, "the bored of it all generation/the product of product placement", where rampant consumerism and social media rule our lives, alienating us from one another while the world descends into chaos around us. But it is also a plea to change that, to love and care more, to stand up and take notice of what is around us. "The myth of the individual has left us lost, disconnected and pitiful", "massacres massacres massacres NEW SHOES", "nobody notices/well some of them notice/you can tell by the emoji they posted". The way that she channels all these social ills and world problems through the seven characters, all awake at 4:18 am, all dealing with their ghosts and demons, is a stroke of genius that lends a very human touch to the whole album. Beginning with Picture A Vacuum, where Tempest describes the Sun and our Earth from space, "peace/or at least, the absence of fear", before zooming in on London, on all the emotional chaos, all the people scrambling to get ahead, she leads us through our seven perfect strangers in their flats, "new flats/old flats/luxury bespoke flats/and is this a joke? flats", and all the while, a storm is brewing outside, a storm that will change things forever, one that, by the end, forces the characters out into the night, seeing each other for the first time, all connected by this catastrophe that is about to unfold. I could go into more detail, but that would be to miss the point: to truly understand this work of art, you need to switch off from everything, headphones on, or - as i do - have a long hot bath, shut your eyes, and listen. You won't regret it.
No doubt a few more decent albums and acts have passed me by, but as it stands these are my favourites so far! Any comments or suggestions welcome.
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