My Top Ten Albums Of 2020

So, 2020 then? A year where nobody was having fun, apart from members of the government at the expense of people’s lives but let’s keep this light, yeah? Despite the troubles, the pandemic had an amazing soundtrack to it. There were so many hours spent cleaning the house to these artists and without gigs that’s as rock n’ roll as things got in my life. Here are my top 10 albums of the year and firstly, my playlist of the year:

10: LIELA MOSS -WHO THE POWER

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“There was always abandon, there was always deception”

The Duke Spirit singer changed direction with immense effect as she used her husky tones for eighties synth tinged doom anthems in place of the bluesy rock. It takes a few listens to fully access the landscapes she has conjured up. Deep bass and heavy drums add to an overall mood of sorrow. That’s not to say there aren’t catchy moments, opener Turn Your Back Around is sublime and Atoms At Me is a relentless anthem. Just don’t think I Think We’re Alone now style eighties.

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9: IDLES – ULTRA MONO

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“Fuck you, I’m a lover”

The Bristol snowflakes continue to be an avalanche. IDLES wear their punk principles on their chest but slay with kindness. Mostly. “Not a single thing has ever been mended / by you standing there and saying you’re offended” Joe growls on the viscous Grounds, Model Village is a fun tirade against small town mentality and The Lover is a gloriously self-indulgent rant against the band’s critics. Nobody is safe from the bands glare, even themselves. While it’s fair to say their verses are getting a bit samey, the musicianship has developed further. Their future is bright but they’re the kind of band that will purposefully fuck it up. Enjoy them while you can.

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8:BUGEYE – READY STEADY BANG

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“Electric fever sensation!”

Bugeye are exactly what 2020 needed. A pop punk disco band that’ll shake off your worries. With their ragged guitars and tinkly keyboards they could just easily be sent from 1995 to come save us. You’ll hear Elastica and you’ll hear Sonic The Hedgehog (yes, Sonic the Hedgehog) but Bugeye’s ability to write an earworm is all their own. Ready Steady Bang is so fun that it could ignite a Britpop revival all of it’s own. Every song is a banger.

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7: THE BLINDERS – FANTASIES OF A STAY AT HOME PSYCHOPATH

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“I am a gentle man of considerable charm and violence”

The Blinders developed their sound with album number two. They got darker, dirtier and grimier but not in the Stormzy sense. A lot of these songs sound as if they were written with the next series of Peaky Blinders in mind. They would and probably will fit into Small Heath perfectly, especially the opening Something Wicked This Way Comes which is only missing a Nick Cave vocal. Mule Track kicks likes one and Forty Days And Forty Nights charges along with all the energy of Arthur Shelby on his way to the drug dealer. Whatever The Blinders plan to to next, it’ll be interesting for sure. Perhaps the Call The Midwife soundtrack?

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6: DREAM NAILS – DREAM NAILS

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“One day we’ll make you pay”

This debut album flies by with ambition and ferocity not often heard. In just 25 minutes Dream Nails fight through issues such as toxic masculinity, sexual abuse, transgender politics and the suckiness of capitalism. To name just some. While there’s justified anger in the likes of Payback, a rage Against The Maschine style assault on the senses and the closer Kiss My Fist (“do you want us your screen / do you want to hear us scream”) there is also a lot of fun at play. Swimming Pool, a pisstake of fifies rock n’ roll being a prime example.

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5: DOVES – THE UNIVERSAL WANT

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“I feel your presence pressing on a nerve”

No band should return with this much splendor after such a hiatus. After eleven years Doves returned to a world very different from 2009. Not just because there’s a pandemic on but because the music industry is unrecognisable from eleven years ago. Yet, with their brand of soothing and soulful anthems Doves just slotted right back in. They felt just like home. Yes, the general formula remains but they’ve excelled themselves with what could be their strongest collection yet. The swirling and atmospheric For Tomorrow might even excel The Cedar Room. It is THAT good. Cycle of Hurt pangs with huge regrets as a beautiful guitar melody floats around it reassuringly. Like a comfort blanket to help with all the hurt. That’s Doves in 2020. WE didn’t just welcome them back, they welcomed us in..

4: FALSE HEADS – IT’S ALL THERE BUT YOU’RE DREAMING

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“The loser leaves in a body bag”

Post punk and grunge combine with exhilarating results. The London trio’s debut is a brash, confident take and injected an energy into a 2020 where EVERYTHING took longer (shopping, working, crying etc). Rabbit Hole is cavalcade of riffs piled on existential angst. Wrap Up is a filthy dirge with added screeching solos. Ink makes it’s mark with an infectious chorus. Fall Around has an almost ditty like quality as they proclaim the Queen to be dead. A riotous album, the kind that some claim aren’t being made nowadays. They are, it’s just not enough people are listening.

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3: JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD – EVEN IN EXILE

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“Bondaged citizens make the best revolutions”

A concept album from the Manics frontman (with lyrics by Patrick Jones) about the Chilean musician, poet and activist Victor Jara. Even In Exile could easily have been a Manic Street Preachers album, in fact let’s just say it’s their official thirteenth album instead of Resistance Is Futile! Bradfield’s voice bring more gravitas to an already huge life story and it is done with affection and compassion. Recalling Jara’s music with a cover of La Partida, his political stance with the solemn There’ll Come A War and his family life on Without Knowing The End (Joans’s Song) – “I lived, I danced, I loved and I fought / This life I had to defend”. Thirty Thousand Milk Bottles is a celebratory stomp despite the subject at hand. Bradfield’s voice sound incredible but it’s worth noting his exceptional guitar work too. Here he does things unheard in the Manics. A resounding musical and political achievement in 2020 and we didn’t get much of the latter did we?

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2: THE BIG MOON – WALKING LIKE WE DO

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“Days like this I forget my darkness”

Walking Like We do is literally a bright light shining in the dark sky so The Big Moon have never been so aptly named. As far as we know they haven’t flashed their bums at anyone anyway. Their second album is like laying down in a silk sheet of musical beauty. Is that a thing IKEA sell? These are lovingly crafted songs, not just in the hooks and melodies but in the lyrical attention to detail. The guitars have been toned down for a more synth based collection but that is not to their detriment. It’s Easy Then has a choir like chant of a chorus and Waves is a relationship breakdown put to a lullaby, Holy Roller has a darker edge involving porno sites and red wine (“I’m gonna start a religion / Something to keep my hands busy”). Barcelona might be the stand out in a packed field of quality. It’s a song about a friend leaving for Spain. The lyrics of “I’m at the party wondering if it’s alright / For me to toast her future and drink heavy for mine” sum up the album succinctly -melancholia and joy together in harmony. And oh, what harmonies.

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1: BLACK FOXXES – BLACK FOXXES

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“THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO GO OUTSIDE!”

Triumph from the jaws of defeat and yet, in the best possible way, it still sounds like adversity. Black Foxxes looked to be over after the three piece lost a bassist and a drummer. Frontman Mark Holley surveyed the ruins and built from the ground. New band members came in and with album number three Black Foxxes have never sounded so vital. Musically there is a spring in their step as they push boundaries. Holley’s words however, are adrift from the new positivity. I Am builds from stark beginnings, an insular anthem howling “I AM ALONE!” before it kicks in and immediately drifts back into the abyss at the end. Sister song Badlands ups the ante, twisting the knife into a self-hate rage fest that pounds and pounds for eight minutes. Each second the guitars feel heavier and the tension more unbearable. The shouted refrain of “Now is not the time to go outside, now is not the time to go outside!” couldn’t be more 2020, In fact, as a mood board of the year just lay these nine songs out. The ambient Panic softly lulls you into a false sense of security before having an electronic meltdown. Swim is fucking glorious. Discordant strums mixed with soothing harmonies that surges into incredible soloing. Pacific is a brass led stunner, Think Morcheeba – until it breaks into a fit that sounds like Nirvana falling down the stairs. The Diving Bell is the final punch to the gut. A nine minute monster that cheekily claims “We can do better” You don’t think they can and then that heavy as fuck moment changes the mood. Black Foxxes will leave you exhilarated and overwhelmed. You’ll love every moment. Stay inside and play loud.

My Top 20 Albums Of 2018

What a year it’s been. Yes, politically its been an utter shit show but musically my ears were treated to some amazing stuff that helped ease the pain. Or add to it in some cases (but then I enjoy that too because I’m a sicko). I really do think the quality this year has been really special and any of my top 5 are worthy of the number one spot, so much so I thought of putting them all in first place but that’s fence sitting of biblical preportions and I’m not religious. What am talking about? Anyway, here’s the list..

 

20: Doe – Grow Into It

A jangly yet punchy second offering from the London trio. It thrives of its indie sensibilities and with plenty of discordant guitars and catchy tunes is a lot of fun.

 

19: Liela Moss – My Name Is Safe In Your Mouth

This debut solo album from The Duke Spirit singer is far removed from the band’s bluesy rock n roll roots. The compositions are soulful and spacey. Its perfect for a listen by candlelight as you lay your head to bed. Let it wash over you.

 

18: Skating Polly – The Make It All Show

Grunge music it’s ok to love. There are still some abrasive moments (‘Camelot’ and ‘They’re Cheap (I’m Free)’ spring to mind) but The Make It All Show has a sense of maturity that runs throughout.

 

17: Spring King – A Better Life 

The Manchester based garage band threw away the keys to their lock up when they split late in the year. It’s sad news because A Better Life soundtracks anxiety with a blitz of frenetic energy. ‘Animal’ might just be the most rocking track of 2018

 

16: Black Foxxes – Reiði

Anyone who has heard Mark Holley’s guttural howl in a live setting knows the power that Black Foxxes thrive on. Sonically, album number two is an even more intense experience than ‘I’m Not Well’. The guitars sound like they’re closing in on you. The livelier moments are a joy, literally in the case of ‘Joy’ and ‘Manic In Me’ but there’s so much more in their canon. This is a sprawling, emotive epic.

 

15: Goat Girl – Goat Girl 

Off kilter and quirky ramblings in a nineteen track debut album (there are some pointless but thankfully short instrumentals). This is a sprawling mess of wonky anthems with plenty of subversive storytelling such as ‘Creep’ which is about one of those pervy guys we’ve all seen on a train. Sometimes harsh and sometimes pretty, it’s like Pink Floyd had an illicit affair with Throwing Muses and this is their baby.

 

14: Shame – Songs Of Praise

If you’re expecting Harry Secombe to make an appearance then you’ll be disappointed, maybe even offended. There are no chiors or prayers but there is blasphemy. Charlie Steen sometimes stops singing because “my voice ain’t the best you’ve heard” and speaks long bizarre diatribes (‘The Lick’). Punk that has a weirdly calm nature.

 

13: Juanita Stein – Until The Lights Fade

Her second album in twelve months from the Howling Bells singer and she has improved on her impressive debut. In places ‘Until The Lights Fade’ is country music put through a sexy instagram filter. It’s confident, melodic and lush. Juanita’s subtle vocals let the songs speak for themselves.

 

12: Slaves – Acts Of Fear And Love

In some ways it feels like a return to basics after the mad extremities of ‘Take Control’. This feels similar to their debut without reaching its highs. Being Slaves though, its still a riot of raucous thrashing about and tongue in cheek lyrics. Maybe if there were more than nine sings it’d be placed higher but either way, Slaves haven’t got a dud song in them.

 

11: She Makes War – Brace For Impact

Melodic, chaotic, grungy and light. ‘Brace For Impact’ is a mass of contradictions full of soul searching. ‘London Bites’ is full of suspense before a killer kick in. ‘Devastate Me’ is the greatest song Courtney Love never wrote. The softer moments are packed with pathos too, such as the lilting ‘Strong Enough’. A fourth album that enhances Laura Kidd’s reputation further.

 

10: Manic Street Preachers – Resistance Is Futile

After the biggest gap between albums in their history, the Manics returned with a pop sensibility. Does it feel like a backward step after ‘Futurology’? Yes. Is it a bad album? No .Even when you take into account they’ve incorporated the bloody millennial whoop into a couple of songs, most notably on the boring ‘Hold Me Like A Heaven’. There are plenty of great moments of course. ‘Liverpool Revisited’ is a lush love note to the city. ‘A Song For The Sadness’ takes the band’s melonchonic DNA to extremes. ”Brokem Algorithms’ could have been embarrassing considering it recalls ‘Generation Terrorists’ while slagging off the internet. Peak Manics? Nah, but it’s still better than most of the stuff out there. Thirteen albums in and refleshingly they still want to try new things.

 

9: Colour Me Wednesday – Counting Pennies In The Afterlife

The political stance of their 2013 debut takes a back seat and in comes a poppier, slightly noisier and more confident sounding band. Jennifer Doveton’s lush voice excels like never before over a summery soundtrack. ‘Boyfriend’s Car’ is all harmonies and uplifting chorus and perfect for a sun drenched road trip. ‘Exposure’ and ‘Take What You Want (And Then Leave)’ are both mellow slices of beautifulness. I think that’s a word. ‘Disown’ might be the highlight as clattering drums make way for a chorus of “I cringe at the memory of you”. While the lack of politics is missed by me personally, ‘Counting Pennies In The Afterlife’ is a band enjoying itself and they need much more time out of the shade.

 

8: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures

Yes, BRMC are still going. Now that news has filtered through.. ‘Wrong Creatures’ is full of dusky brooding beasts. It’s easy to imagine it soundtracking a retro Netflix drama about serial killers. Lots of lighting of cigarettes and loading of guns could easily be done to ‘Spook’. Nothing is done too quickly here and that’s not to the detriment of the songs at all. It rolls along in its own sweet, morbid time. ‘Ninth Configuration’ and ”Question Of Faith’ are dirty sounding epics with staggering choruses. Whatever happened to their rock n’ roll? It got dark, man. Very dark.

 

7:  Kate Nash – Yesterday Was Forever

An album that probably fell under the radar to all but the most hardcore Kate Nash fans. Released early in the year to little fanfare or promotion, Kate’s first album in five years is ironically her poppiest work to date. There’s a mash up of different styles and the catchiness never relents. Things work best when she’s sdopting her own identity like on ‘Musical Theatre’ and ”California Poppies’. ‘Life In Pink’ is the closest thing to the Girl Talk era by far but with an added eighties power pop chorus. The closing ‘To The Music I Belong’ should be the ‘Thank You For The Music’ of our generation with its affecting soft piano and grand, hypnotic chorus. Kate Nash had released another underrated gem.

 

6: The Fratellis – In Your Own Sweet Time

In a year filled with Brexit and Donald Trump nonsense, respite came in the form of The Fratellis. They brought the party to 2018. In Your Own Sweet Time is a record out of its time. It leans heavily on rock n’ roll history to produce a modern pop classic. These are slinky, funky and flirty classics that will never escape your head once heard. Dismiss your cynicism and dance like no one is watching.

 

5: Reigning Days – Eclipse

A Devon trio doing the work of Muse while they’re holidaying it up in the stadiums of the world. Eclipse may sound like a mainstream rock revorein many ways but nothing feels cynical and there’s a hard edge at the core. For every pummeling riff and shrieking vocal there is unabashed melidim brilliance. inhaler, My Sweet Love and Renegade are full on assaults but there Reigning Days are tunesmiths who would be bothering the charts in a parallel universe that sadly we’ll never live in. Play loud, jump about and enjoy the fuck out of this record.

 

4: The Joy Formidable – AAARTH

A madcap, inventive return for the Welsh trio that is in turns rocking and bizarre in equal measure. ‘Y Bluen Eira’ is punk disco escapism. ‘Go Loving’ is an unpredictable wall of noise. ‘Cicada (Land On Your Back)’ is all medieval chanting and heavy power chords. The quiter moment surprise too. ‘Absence’ is a chilling piano ballad that flows with sheer beauty. Ambitious beyond words, The Joy Formidable have given us their best album yet. Embrace the madness.

 

3: Screaming Females – All At Once

“My life is a glass house, impossible to get out” warns Marissa Paternoster in the venemous opening track but musically their seventh album sounds liberated . ”All At Once’ is an electrifying collection of precise pop songs with hard edged riffs and plenty of soloing. There are unexpected key and tempo changes but they just add to the excitement. ”Black Moon’ is Black Sabbath but a Black Sabbath where bats are safe. ”Chamber For Sleep (Part One)’ skips about like a lost child at an indie disco. A special mention must go out to the stunning ‘Bird In Space’, for it is a flighty (yup) and soaring (yup) piece of understated beauty.  A truly special album that could just as easily soundtrack bright summer days as it could cold winter nights.

 

2: Estrons – You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough

You’d be hard pushed to find a debut album with fiercer intent than this. Even the title has a confident swagger to it’s words. Self-belief runs through Estrons’ veins but it’s not arrogance. ‘Lilac’ opens with chugging bass and crashing feedback and the attitude never diminishes. ‘Body’ is an explosion of sexual energy and ‘Camera’ is a slow burning classic that almost collapses in on itself with the chorus and screeching solo that follows. Singer Tali’s voice battles with an unrelentingly powerful rythym section and everybody wins. This is a powerful opening statement, a pop punk classic in the making. You say this album shouldn’t be this high, I say you’re very wrong.

 

1: Idles – Joy As An Act Of Resistance

The step up from last year’s debut is an astonishing one. It’s records like this that prove albums aren’t going to die any time soon. JAAAOR feels like a complete work, not just songs chucked together, many times they fizzle and crack into eachother. The title sums it up, even through the anger and fully charged attacks there is a joy at play, helped of course by some hilariously oblique wordplay. The colossal   ‘Colossus’ (they have a better way with the pen than me) menacingly stalks you from afar before sticking needles in the back of your neck as it’s hairs stand on end. It then breaks into a FIDLAR style coda. ‘Never Fight A Man With A Perm’ bemoans toxic masculinity in the only way they know how – “You’re not a man, you’re a gland. You’re one big neck with sausage hands”. ”Samaritans’ covers the same topic with class “I’m a real boy, boy and I cry”. Danny Nedelko is the best pro immigration song The Vaccines forgot to write – “He’s made of bones, he’s made of blood, he’s made of flesh, he’s made of love. He’s made of you, he’s made of me, UNITY!”  The album could be in a gallery as contemporary work of art about the state of our culture. It’s angry, loud as fuck and it’s an uncomfortable pleasure from the off. There is one harrowing moment that hurts. In ‘June’ the line “Babies’s shoes for sale, never worn” is fucking heartbreaking, especially when you later find out it has a place in harsh reality. Mostly though you can shout things like “I’M SCUM!” and “FUCK TV!” while trashing you living room or a nearby Conservative club if you’re out and about. This is a masterpiece. Guitar music isn’t dead. Spread the news.

 

My Top 10 Albums Of 2016

10: Catfish And The Bottlemen The Ride

“To every ex I didn’t treat right / To every Monday I called in sick / To every argument I let slide”

At the start of the year I kept seeing the name Catfish And The Bottlemen. On Twitter. On Facebook. On ‘You might like’ suggestions on youtube but other than having a ridiculous name I knew nothing about them and never thought to venture into knowing more about them. Mainly because they had a ridiculous name. A friend then said they liked them and we soon saw them at Radio 1’s Big Weekend and they impressed greatly. Over the next few months I got to know the album very well on said friend’s car stereo. I became a bit of a unwitting convert to Botfish And The Cattleprods (or whatever they’re called).

There are all the elements of nineties Brit rock going: Sneering vocals, basic song structures and most importantly – catchy as fuck. There’s certainly a strong Oasis vibe too. These songs of being unemployed, getting drunk and having arguments with girlfriends are set to be soundtrack of a new generation the same way Oasis were mine. Yes, I’m old thanks for noticing.

 

9: The Duke Spirit KIN

“There you go into the light and break this heart of mine”

The very definition of a slow burner. It took me quite  a few listens to fully get how stunning a record this is. For KIN, the wonderful clattering, dirty sounding rock and roll of The Duke Spirit has been refined into an atmospheric wall of beautiful noise. Chiming guitars take over from full charged riffs. Leila Moss is still prowling your speakers, her husky voice as powerful as ever but the intent is less one of attack and more of contemplation.

Wounded Wing manages to sounds both world weary and optimistic. ‘100 Horses Run sparkles with pure beauty. These are tunes which will subtly enter your consciousness without you even realising. There is still plenty of bite in the stormers too. Side By Side is a brooding, unrelenting juggernaut of bashing drums with a killer chorus.

A different Duke Spirit maybe but this one as still as vital as ever. Get lost in KIN and you won’t want to come back in a hurry. Sometimes the things we have to work at understanding are the most rewarding.

 

8:: She Makes War Direction Of Travel

“We throw insults, the world throws stones”

She Makes war (AKA Laura Kid has lived up to the name of her third long player. It is Goth, grunge, poppy and electronic .Guitars, synths, strings and ukuleles combine to form a rich tapestry of masterful angst. It does indeed have many directions and an plethora of ideas but it is not a garbled mess. It’s focused, mature and incredibly beautiful.

Cold Shoulder is a dirty (in both senses) sounding rant at a lover: “What’s coming for me, ex-girlfriend or STD? / Don’t call me baby”. Then we have In Cold Blood which feels like it was recorded in a darkly lit room with Laura loitering around the corner holding a knife. The downbeat Alone still has a knack of making a chorus that says “We’re always all alone” sound kind of unifying.

Things take  a melodic turn with the lovely Paper Thin, a duet with Tanya Donelly which has an almost fairy tale quality to it. Stargazing is a light, floating string laden piece of epicness. The tune sounds positive despite the lyrics being less so. 5000 Miles is a club banger.. if that club is for introverts only. Mark Chadwick of The Levellers also pops up for a folky duet in ‘Time To Be Unkind’

On another note, Direction Of Travel would win the album cover of the year award. If I could be arsed to do one.

 

7: Muncie Girls From Caplan to Belsize

” For the next few years you can laugh and joke about your next victim / But when you’re all grown up and your daughter cries you’ll be sorry you did this”

Any band who references Sylvia Plath for their album title is more than OK by me. Fronted by the annoyingly multi talented Lande Hekt (singer, guitarist, drummer in a few bands) Muncie Girls have been part of the Exeter scene for a while now and it’s great to finally hear the songs on record.

From Caplan To Belsize is rammed full of what should be punk pop classics with more hooks than coat hanger fetishist cloakroom but there’s much more at play here. The brilliant lyricism which confront issues such as rape culture (Respect) and battling with anxiety (Social Side). The fact that a song called ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It‘ perversely manages to be a euphoric singalong sums it up. OI! OI! Balloon also needs a shout out for being a tune of stadium sized proportions. It’s loud, bouncy and pretty much over before you’ve even had time to google what a ‘Muncie’ is.

 

6: Emma Pollock In Search Of Harperfield

” To never repeat / Is ambition sweet / These days that last longer / These days feel like weeks”

Emma Pollock fronted one of my favourite ever bands, lo fi pop noise makers The Delgados. They disbanded too soon like most of my favourite bands do. Her voice has always been like honey to me, imagine Sophie Ellis-Bextor with a strong Scottish lilt. This is ABSOLUTELY fine with me.

In Search Of Harperfield, her third solo album has a deep strong sense of reminiscing about a youth gone, the title itself refers to her parents home but there’s no rose tinted glasses being worn here for it is plaintive without being self absorbed, the sadness lifted by beautiful, catchy arrangements. Cannot Keep A Secret is a brilliantly dizzy waltz of an opener and is followed up by the punchier Don’t Make me Wait, shot through with punchy strings. Alabaster is a subtle synth death march (“Bring me the head of happiness dead”). The softly vengeful Clemency purrs “I will clip your wings whilst sleeping / If you venture home again / And I will cut your legs from under you / If you so much as say her name”. With poetry slaying like this, words win over power any day.

A record that drips with raw emotion and life affirming melodies. It doesn’t come with a huge fanfare, or even a small one for that matter. The music does the talking and I for one, am all ears.

 

5: Savages Adore Life

“Is it human to adore life?..”

Savages have stretched their short sharp slabs of military punk and contorted them into something a bit different which makes album number two an evolution from the debut. The bass as ever is at the forefront but the guitar playing and sound is at an extra level. Poetic in its heaviness, graceful in the solos and still sounding nasty as fuck, most notably on Surrender and T.I.W.Y.G. Jehnny Beth’s vocals are fierce, giving the songs an even further dimension of intensity.

There’s more feedback, more reverb, more breakdowns, more build ups, more gaps to let the sense of unease in. Adore ebbs and flows, narcissistically holding off the kick in almost as a form of punishment.

It’s almost a concept album on relationships but don’t worry, they’ve not turned all Adele on us. This is all about the darker side of love (“I’m not gonna hurt you/ ‘Cause I’m flirting with you”) and sexuality (“When I take a man or a woman / They’re both the same / They’re both human”) It’s the same but different. It’s Savages still being Savage and thank badness for that.

 

4: Black Foxxes I’m Not Well

“Just another empty face in this hollow resort”

There was me thinking i was pretty up to date on the local Exeter music scene but.. no. Black Foxxes didn’t enter my world until late in the year when someone told me about them playing in town. I didn’t go. I’m sure they must have played Exeter a few times but I guess lots of bands have the words ‘black’ and ‘foxes’ (albeit spelt correctly) in their title so maybe nothing stood out initially. Who knows. Better late than never I suppose.

I’m Not Well feels like grunge updated. Sort of like Pearl Jam if they had ever been good or rocked. Actually not like Pearl Jam at all then. Forget that. For a debut, the talent on offer is very special and it is also rare for a first outing to be so wonderfully produced. It’s heavy and clear as day. The use of screeching feedback and noise mid songs are a highlight. Mark Holley’s vocal’s sound fragile one second and like Smaug the dragon in an angry showdown with hobbits the next.

So the tune then, oh the tunes. Not exactly what you could describe as easy listening, the songs are shot through with lots of pain and anxiety. Some are instantly catchy and some you may have to break through the shredded guitars and anguish to grasp. Hearts are very much on sleeves, their blood and guts very much on the floor and all for our listening displeasure. It may not a joyous noise but what a fucking brilliant noise..

 

3: Honeyblood Babes Never Die

“HEY, HEY, IT’S JUST A LITTLE HEARTBREAK”

This is Honeyblood’s lo-fi grunge gone a full screen, cineamatic technicolour. Clearly not a band to rest on their laurels, Stina and Cat have raised the bar even higher with a collection of what might constitute as heavy, twisted power ballads (Sea Hearts and Walking At Midnight in particular). Sister Wolf is a dancey slice of sinister fun as is Love Is A Disease with an added kick from “new bassist” Seb. Tour in-joke. Don’t ask.

The heavier moments growl with menace, especially the chugging riffs of Justine, Misery Queen which melodically switches between bitter and sweet.Gangs sounds like Howling Bells on a really bad day. It’s a compliment, honestly. As for Ready For The Magic, it simply kicks arse. The title track too is a raucous feminist anthem about sticking together.

It’s an album which shows a broader range and a vision that truly marks Honeyblood as ones to watch (if there was any doubt before). Babes Never Die conjures up images of dark spirits in a gloomy woodland and a very brightly lit future in the trees.

 

2: Slaves Take Control

“Abide by the rules that were set by the fools”

In a year when we’ve heard the literally meaningless slogan “take back control” spouted again and again by career politicians it’s nice that Slaves have taken back taking control from them. Sort of. Clearly a prolific band, this follows very quickly on from last year’s debut which must mean the quality suffers, right? No chance.

It starts in a fit of rage with the a Mikey flatmate offending Spit It Out, that is all spiky riffs and shouting and they keep hammering at your senses. Consumed Or Be Consumed is a tirade on .. well consumerism with snarling riffs and rapping. It’s like the Beastie Boys let loose on the streets of Laaandan. Money, class and the elite play strongly on their minds. Rich man berates a rich man. Or a man called Richard Man. Maybe. Lies is a heavy blues take on the theme: “Hollow eyes / suits and Ties / power comes at a price / one mans hell / another’s paradise”. It continues “Stopping signs of life in the factory of death / in the shadow of the city, we’ve got nothing left”. As ever with Slaves, the messages are well meaning and (mostly) serious but the soundtrack is so heavy and loud that you don’t have to have a social conscience to have fun. Though please do have one because that would make you weird otherwise. It sweeps you along on pure adrenaline and bravado. It’s all magnificent. Unless you’re a hi-hat. In which case you’re fucked. The People That You Meet is a unique tale of bumping into local characters around town: “I walked into a sex shop / the lady had a beard”.

Then they go and surprise us in the second half. Steer Clear is a low key eighties indie ode to road safety (“Please don’t kill yourself behind that steering wheel”). Cold Hard Floor is an atmospheric dirge driven by deep bass and pained yelping. STD’s/PHD’s is a gloriously moody, chiming club floor filler.. or club floor emptier depending on your opinion. Though “TV meals / self destruction / know how it feels don’t you?” hardly screams Pete Tong. Though society has all gone Pete Tong and Slaves are supplying the best possible soundtrack to our end of days. They might just save the best for last – Same Again is viscous and it’s drum / riff breakdown towards the end is the stuff of dreams. This is not more of the same from Slaves. The best second albums take the work of a debut and adds new twists. Slaves have so much energy, fury and imagination they are already at the top of their game. Wherever they go from here will be noisy, fun and life affirming. If they aren’t headlining Reading by their third album then the world is more wrong than even Slaves think it is.

 

1: The Tuts Update Your Brain

“I can’t cry off my eyeliner flicks for anyone”

A case of faith rewarded, belief justified. When your own personal hype for a band is exceeded it’s not just rare, it’s frankly miraculous. The energy of the band’s personalities and live show has been compressed into twelve soundbites that implode at every opportunity.

It is an album that is extremely fun, deeply serious and very loud. Through indie, punk, ska, pop and rap they take on the media, sexism, politics and to be honest, the whole wide world. It’s confidence is staggering, it walks the walk, talks the talk and has the courage to back up its conviction.

Back in September I gave Update Your Brain 9/10 for much the same reason the judges on Strictly don’t dish out tens in the first week. Put simply, this is only album number one and there are still even greater things to follow. Just wait until you see their next dance.

This is my original review of ‘Update Your Brain’. It has slightly more words.