Niedziela 16 Paź 2011, 17:56

Yeah yeah, we got 2 months to go - but no one releases anything decent in December right? So we're pretty much there.

Not put much thought into this list yet - will update laters with revisions, additions, etc…

Anyways, am writing this because I dug out this monster;

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Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun
Can I put my hand up and admit I never bought the first LP? Can I? Thanks. It's on the list of stuff to buy. But I am pretty sure it's not better than this one. Black Sun is science fiction future dub bass music, it fucking swaggers man, which a lot of other kode9 releases seem to be missing. Dirty Beats ahoy.

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Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony / The Hilton
Really impressed with this LP (with free CD of other album) which is washes of synths and electronica last done this well on last year's Emeralds LP. My LP got lost on the walls somewhere - need to dig this out as i fucking loved the first few listens.

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Panda Bear - Tomboy
Pretty sure a number of end of years will show strong for this, and a whole bunch of haters will shout out too. It's a different beast from Person Pitch, much shorter poppier songs, if poppier is the right word, kinda fucked up sounding beach boys, with samples of hurling rubbing shoulders with sweet laid back harmonies. Not sure there's any stand out amazing track or album centrepiece (so no 'Comfy in Nautica' moment basically) but there's a lot of love. Made me dig out the old Miracle Fortress CD Five Roses which did the whole hipster beach boys shtick a bit before (I think).

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Africa Hitech - 93 Million Miles
Out in the streetsin the streets in the streets. Out in the streets in the streets in the streets. You have all heard the remix right? the VIP one? It. Is. Large.
this whole album is stella beats, arse (ass? (booty?)) shaking riddims for the best car stereos and coolest clubs. Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek should be damn proud and give us another joint effort next year. Else there'll be words.

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James Blake - James Blake
Viz comic had a catchphrase, slogan, call to arms if you will; "it's not as good as it used to be"… which many heads dismiss James Blake with. I dismissed him as a trendy-haircut-hoxton-cunt type. Which I since discovered was hella unfair (…well jury *might* be out…) and I really dig this album. Most criticisms against it seem to be that it contains songs and isn't CMYK or some other older "cooler" experimental dub stuff.
Is it too far fetched to claim that mixing that old sound with gospel, pop and ballads was actually the left field thing to do? Well, yes it is. But it's one argument. Not everything needs to be underground, difficult and not 2for£10 in HMV. This is still clever, moving, deep and very very good indeed. I still say that PJ Harvey was lucky to win the Mercury Music Prize but then I haven't heard her album so am in no position to make such baseless claims.

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Bass Clef - inner space break free
I do love Bass Clef. Said somewhere before that this felt like a companion album to Zomby's Where Were U in 92, OK it's not as good but it does feel like a re-imagining of someone else's childhood dance/rave (mis)adventures. And best of all it comes on a fucking cassette via the Magic & dreams Blog - you get a free download too, just in case yr tape deck is dead or never was.

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How to Dress Well - Love Remains
Yeah it was sort of released last year - but Triangle released in January too I think - and that's when I bought it - classic haunting RnB which probably has a genre named after it now.
Let me check.
Ha! indie justin timberlake - that'll do.

more to come no doubt…

Oh - tracks (not albums) can be found here; welove2011…