2014 - Musically, incubated bliss
The SLY and Unseen came to my attention in the spring, and listening to their Improbable cdr was a truly intense experience. All Facts Dream, the standout track, is one of those you can immerse yourself in over years. One that doesn't come around very often. I've had a pretty isolated year, all told, and, generally speaking, the more experimental, less polished acts have gotten my attention.
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| (Note, the freebie from Mark Fry who gave away a collection with his wonderful South Wind Clear Sky LP that contained the remarkable Aeroplanes. Undoubtedly, one of the songs of the year.) |
For Horsebeach, LP of the year. (See my gig praise in an August post on this blog.) Aficionado Recordings, who've released several winners this year, also deserve high praise for their new bag and already pencilling in some more golden cuts next year, besides affiliating themselves with the LP of the year. Bed Boxroom Rebels Records have put out a retro seven by the Watchmakers that have some spiky sixties styled moments and the mighty Winds, but Yosoy's Talk was the killer tune from them the label. It could've come straight out of Berlin with its glacial pop brilliance. Er, hold on, it did.
Menage A' Trois put out the wonderful Pride cassette that's both a knowing nod to the eighties and catchy in a nineties sense of the word, with its high ambition. Covering UB40 on their debut says it all about this band. Cassettes from Australia's Not Not Fun have been of an especially high quality. Legendary Heart's Aerial View with its beautifully spatial title track, and Delicate Features' The Passenger, whose wonderfully constructed Transparent Shadows track, has been label highlights. Only eclipsed by Eleventeen Eston's much feted Delta Horizon, which all but nails the perfect summer pop sound. A masterpiece from start to finish.
Not to be outdone, Sui Zhen's cassette action in the form of Body Language also rocked. Obviously, the cassette of the year goes to A.r.t Wilson's Overworld. A stunning odyssey of sound, picked up by Basso and given a lovely pink wax vinyl pressing. A masterpiece in this and any year. Another great year for Laura Groves hit its ceiling with Freedom of the Floor, the standout tune from her collaboration with Bullion under the monicker Nautic. Mondo records also put out 2 well received winners this year, as did Fools and Fables, both putting the sand beneath my feet and definitely 2 labels to keep your eyes peeled for. Similarly, Wolf Muller has made some incredible music too, which luckily I don't have to mention in any more detail as it's blown up big.
Possibly the high point of my listening pleasure was unpacking and playing the Woven Entity CD. Some very sparse, organic and experimental jazz that snakes around your head for weeks. A little brittle, but no less engaging, was Risakuru by Longstone. A complex 2 part twelve that is in part a modern ambient jazz opus and in part earth installation art-work. Again, intensity has been my buzzword. Along with a plethora of dynamite long players (see my Juno chart on previous post), these songs have supported me through a trying year. Hoping for more music of similar calibre in 2015. However, the EU changes to VAT, lead me to suspect it won't be so. Dealing with bands directly and buying physical music off them has been easy in the past, but now, encouraging them to the pressing plant is going to prove harder with costs rising. That said, I'm not turning into Farage as I expect common sense will prevail and business will resume as normal in the not too distant. Waiting is half the fun, which is why not all the music mentioned here was recorded this year.
