Intro by Gareth O’Malley
So, Euro 2012 concluded recently. They say football is a funny old game, and in a way, the same can be said of music. From a personal standpoint, I have found music both easier and much harder to handle this year. There has been a mind-boggling amount of good stuff this year; so much, in fact, that it makes this time last year seem like a mere warm-up. In fact, I’m not sure I’m 100% comfortable signing off on my list of albums (below, along with a smattering of our staff) but well, that’s the price one pays for being inundated with music on an almost-daily basis. The year is a game of two halves, so to speak. Things could look completely different in December, and that’s the most fun part. Without further ado, here’s what made our list. Enj(((o)))y!
Boylan, Eoin // Albums
- The Pirate Ship Quartet – Rope For No-Hopers: “Deep, brooding wonderfulness from a post-rock act that continues to push the boundaries.”
- Alpha Male Tea Party – S/T: “The soundtrack to the messiest after-party you’ll ever have.”
- Pocket Billiards – Last Chance to Dance: “Raucous, catchy and instantly loveable ska/punk from Belfast.”
- Melvins – The Bulls and the Bees: “Classic Melvins effort, pleasing fans and newbies alike. Plus it’s FREE!”
- Seven Nines and Tens – Habitat 67: “Pelican, Neurosis, ISIS and Explosions In The Sky shoved into a pot to make the best post-metal stew I’ve tasted in years”
- Pocket Billiards/Axis Of/Bomb City 7/Chewing On TinFoil (Mandela Hall, Belfast)
- Russian Circles/Deafheaven (Speakeasy Bar, Belfast)
- Alarmist/EatenByBears/ Kasper Rosa (Masons Venue, Derry)
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Coppack, Martyn // Albums
1. Cate Le Bon – CYRK: “Really can’t get enough of this album. Channeling VU and Nico through a weird psychedelic welsh backdrop, it gnaws at your insides whilst providing melodies which soar over the Brecon beacons.”
2. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball: “Ultra-populist choice for an E&D contributor but you can’t say you didn’t see it coming. Bruce once again proves that he is a man of the people with an album which mixes rock, gospel, folk and hip hop to create yet another album in a career of highpoints.”
3. Howlin’ Rain – The Russian Wilds: “Yes, it’s pure, unadulterated classic rock… but played with such panache, and so much fun.”
4. Mark Lanegan – Blues Funeral: “A dark rollercoaster ride into the mind of Mark Lanegan… with added disco.”
5. Dare Dukes – Thugs and China Dolls: “A raucous and heartfelt journey into a myriad of strange characters; only in America could this be made.”
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Cousins, Katy // Albums
1. The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know: “Cold, dark and twisted; just the way I like them.”
2. The Bronze Medal – Self-Titled EP: “A band that floored me from their first track. Show Me Land is the stand out.”
3. Apologies, I Have None – London: “Pretty much said it all in my review for the site. It’s loud and desperate, in a good way.”
4. Cold Specks – I Predict a Graceful Expulsion: “Absolutely stunning voice. The type of folk gospel that goes straight to the tear ducts.”
5. Japandroids – Celebration Rock: “Big, energetic; fun, fun, fun.”
Gigs
1. Brand New / The Xcerts (Camden Roundhouse, London): “Best. Gig. Ever.”
2. The Twilight Sad (Cargo, London): “People danced! At a Twilight Sad gig!”
3. Apologies, I Have None / Crazy Arm / Sam Russo (The Old Blue Last, London): “Three of the best, sweating and screaming. Ace.”
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Guzda, Dave // Albums
1. If These Trees Could Talk – Red Forest
2. Rumour Cubes – The Narrow State
3. Alcest – Les Voyages de l’Âme
4. Flies are Spies from Hell – Nerves Still Beating
5. Blood Red Shoes – In Time to Voices
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Jaap, Angela // Albums
1. Capitals – Jealousy/Sinking Ships EP
2. The Plimptons – Be Expected
3. Tiny Little Houses – Poisoned Dart
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Morey, Geoff // Albums
1. Unsane – Wreck
2. The Men – Open Your Heart
3. Off! – Off!
4. Future of the Left – The Plot Against Common Sense
5. Mount Carmel – Real Women
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Gigs
1. The Dillinger Escape Plan
2. Jamie Parisio
3. James Yorkston
4. Afghan Whigs
5. The Oh Sees
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Murray, Jake // Albums
1. Black Moth – The Killing Jar : “1st place has to go to the group who in one day, with one single, became my favourite new band of the year. Black Moth emerged with their debut album, from the pits of Leeds, ready to grab the world by the balls. The songs are catchy, the production is excellent, they rocked it live and the t-shrits are awesome. Not that all of that is a factor in a record, but nonetheless… I was converted very quickly. The highest recommendation for this; keep your eye on these guys!”
2. Melvins – The Bulls and the Bees: “Riffs, riffs, riffs and two big fucking drumkits. These guys were really fantastic at ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror a few weeks back and I personally find this record an excellent translation of their massive, tank-like live-sound.”
3. The Flaming Lips – The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends: “Originally released as a string of eps, this has been assembled to create some sort of super collaborative mega record. Featuring everyone from Lightning Bolt to Neon Indian to, erm, Yoko Ono, this record boasts some of the weirder moments in Flaming Lips’ ever warped existence.”
4. Crippled Black Phoenix – (Mankind) The Crafty Ape: “Big fan of The Wall? CBP have gone all Floyd with their latest release. Get Down and Live With It is an excellent song for punching the air like a dork.”
5. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra – The West Will Rise Again EP: “Lovely to hear these guys return with such form. Full of the usual thunderstorm string ensemble, doom guitars and, of course, Efrim Menuck’s mental drunk-slur vocals.”
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O’Malley, Gareth // Albums
1. General Fiasco – Unfaithfully Yours: “One of the best pop-rock albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. From front to back, this album consists of nothing but absolutely golden songs. It puts everything else the band have done so far firmly in the shade, is a phenomenal step up and deserves to make them a big deal.”
2. The Cast of Cheers – Family: “Here’s a band who got to where they are today mostly on word-of-mouth. Their debut album was released for free, and was amazingly well-received in Ireland. The new record takes the sound of the debut, refines it and mixes huge hooks into their accomplished math-rock sound. It is superb.”
3. Clock Opera – Ways to Forget: “The best debut album of the year so far, it manages to be impossibly uplifting and astonishingly profound at the same time. The band tackle big questions in their lyrics but let the songs speak for themselves. It took them three years to get around to releasing this, but it was so worth the wait.”
4. We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships: “Dysfunctional families, a brace of devastating suicides and broken relationships inspire the most hard-hitting album I’ve heard since The Antlers’ Hospice, which produces a similar kind of catharsis, only with the lo-fi approach swapped for a big, gutsy rock sound. Painfully personal, yet also universal and completely thrilling.”
5. Meursault – Something For the Weakened: “Scottish lo-fi/electro-pop project expands to a full band with brilliant results. Its title suggests that it won’t be an easy listen, and there is an unflinchingly honest approach taken to the lyrics on this album, but at its core it is wonderfully intimate and affecting.
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Gigs
1. Cursive/Kevin Devine (Academy 2, Dublin): “In support of I Am Gemini, and with the best support act I’ve seen in a number of years, Cursive make their long-awaited return to Ireland and bring the house down, playing a set that thrills fans both old and new.”
2. Bombay Bicycle Club/Dog Is Dead/The Darcys (Olympia Theatre, Dublin): “BBC prove once and for all that they can cut it in the big leagues, playing a euphoric, lengthy set to a packed house and going down a storm. Dog Is Dead signal their intentions with a powerful live show that will no doubt bring them back for a headlining gig later in the year.”
3. The Maccabees/We Cut Corners (The Academy, Dublin): “Just as most recent album ‘Given to the Wild’ found them broadening their horizons and producing their most impressive work yet, so too did their live performance to a sold-out Saturday night crowd see them take giant steps toward even greater things.”
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Potts, Gilbert // Albums
1. Ne Obliscaris – Portal of I: “Exceptional melodic/symphonic metal with great counterpoint of harsh and clean vocals and violin.”
2. Rumour Cubes – The Narrow State: “All songs are great, but The Gove Curve and Triptych are exceptional.”
3. You Slut! – Medium Bastard: “Great mindgames.”
4. Flies are Spies from Hell – Nerves Still Beating: “Approaches the limits of how diverse the individual songs of a perfectly whole post-rock record can be.”
5. Alcest – Les Voyages de l’Âme: “Errr, it’s an Alcest record.”
Gigs (+1)
1. Sans Vox – Tangled Thoughts of Leaving/Mushroom Giant/Xenograft/Anna Salen/Bear the Mammoth/ Jarek (Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne)
2. Laura/Meniscus/This is Your Captain Speaking/Lunaire (Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne)
3. Death Cab for Cutie, Dappled Cities (The Palace, Melbourne)
4. Sleepmakeswaves (Evelyn Hotel – Best Overall Set)
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Salter, Dan // Albums
1. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster – Exegesis
2. What the Blood Revealed – Harbour of Devils
3. Shearwater – Animal Joy
4. The Narrows – The Eve of Invasion
5. Rumour Cubes – The Narrow State
Gigs
1. Shearwater
2. You Slut!/Alright the Captain/Three Colours
3. Clock Opera
4. Rumour Cubes
5. LaFaro/Etiquette
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Scott, Kevin // Albums
1. We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships
2. Human Don’t Be Angry – S/T
3. North Atlantic Oscillation – Fog Electric
4. Doldrums – Egypt
5. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
