10. Chromatics -
Closer to Grey
I’m not sure
whether Closer to Grey is the fifth, sixth, or seventh Chromatics album. Or
something else entirely. It rather depends on whether or not you count
re-released drumless versions of past work, and whether or not you count the
apparently completed but still unreleased Dear Tommy, a much hyped, long
shelved, full-length project from a couple of years back. Such are the
mercurial and mysterious ways of arch-perfectionist and key Chromatic, Johnny
Jewel. But whatever album number it is, Closer to Grey is the first Chromatics
outing I’ve picked up since 2012’s excellent Kill For Love album, and the most
important thing in all of this is that it ticks all the right boxes for long
suffering fans. Or, at least, this fan. Those boxes include Chromatics’ commitment
to a dreamy shoegaze aesthetic, Jewel’s devotion to creating widescreen
cinematic imagery, and a much loved predilection for oddball covers - in the
case of Closer to Grey, that means a reimagining of tunes like ‘The Sound of
Silence’ (Simon & Garfunkel) and ‘On The Wall’ (The Jesus and Mary Chain).
I do have a few reservations over the durability of Ruth Radelet’s voice across
multiple listens. On one hand her vocal is light of touch and weightless, while
on the other, it has a tendency to come across as a little thin and a tad too
bland. What works well in isolation, on individual tracks, can be less engaging
over the full course of the album’s journey. But that’s a minor quibble, and
Closer to Grey comfortably makes the cut for this year’s 10.
9. Beat Rhythm
Fashion - Tenterhook
2019 gave us the
chance to reconsider the too often overlooked legacy of early 80s Wellington
post-punkers BRF. There was a short national tour and, most unexpectedly, a
brand new album. Just like those autumn gigs, Tenterhook felt intimate,
personal, and heartfelt. A very welcome return, even if it does turn out to be
a temporary one. R.I.P. Dan Birch. My full review is here.
8. Mercury Rev - Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited
Speaking of the
scarcely anticipated, I really didn’t expect this one to feature on any
year-end list when I downloaded it early in the year. Curiosity led me to it,
mainly because I’d seen a few Bobbie Gentry TV “specials” when I was growing up,
and I knew a little bit about Mercury Rev already. As the title informs us,
it’s Mercury Rev’s take on the 1968 Bobbie Gentry release The Delta Sweete,
with an alt-country meets modern day Americana crossover spin. Guest vocalists
include luminaries such as Nora Jones, Hope Sandoval, Vashti Bunyan, Phoebe
Bridgers, Beth Orton, and Lucinda Williams. Although Gentry’s best known track,
the chart-topping ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ didn’t actually feature on the 1968
original, Mercury Rev include it here, and Williams’ interpretation of it is
one of the best (of many) versions I’ve heard. On the surface, Bobbie Gentry’s
The Delta Sweete Revisited was an easy listening affair, and it got a lot of
workplace airtime as a result, especially across the first six months of 2019,
but scratch below that surface a little and you’ll find Gentry’s themes were
often anything but easy listening. A revelation.
7. The Specials -
Encore
More Tales of the
Unexpected. Anyone noticing a theme here? New work from a band that first
emerged some 40 years ago. A blend of just about everything you could possibly
want from the three remaining Specials (plus friends) ... ska, funk, straight pop,
social commentary, and political activism. My full review is here.
6. Pitch Black -
Third Light
I’m not sure what
more I can say about my love for Pitch Black. I’ve written so much about the
duo’s music already - on this blog and for NZ Musician (here) - that it
almost feels indulgent and a touch fanatical to offer more words. Given the
lengthy gap between 2007’s excellent Rude Mechanicals and 2016’s equally great
Filtered Senses, official album number six (excluding a plethora of fantastic
remix releases), Third Light, arrived a lot earlier than many of us had
anticipated. All of the usual Pitch Black touchstones are present and accounted
for; dubby techno drenched in atmospheric electronic wizardry and bassy
production genius, but if there is a slight departure on Third Light it’s that
this work feels a little more chilled out and ambient than any past release.
‘One Ton Skank’, ‘Artificial Intolerance’, ‘A Doubtful Sound’, and the title
track itself are all up there with the best work Pitch Black has done.
5. Minuit Machine -
Infrarouge
Infrarogue ticked
so many boxes for me … a little bit retro, a little bit synthpop, and large
helpings of the melodramatic dark stuff. Something close to perfect, and I
couldn’t get enough of and Helene De Thoury and Amandine Stioui’s unique take
on the complexities of modern life. My full review is here.
4. Nick Cave &
The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
Nick Cave has
always skirted around the periphery of a lot of music styles and genres I’ve
been into over the years, but I’ve never really considered myself a fan. I
liked the obvious Murder Ballads-era stuff, and I’ve enjoyed some of his other
work over the years, but he’s never really been high on my radar whenever new
music has been released. I picked up a copy of Ghosteen just because it was
there, and I’d read a lot of mostly positive social media commentary about it. To
say that death is the primary theme of Ghosteen would be an understatement, and
that’s hardly surprising given Cave’s personal journey and the still obviously
raw tragic loss of a teenage son. Words about Jesus, ghosts, the king of rock n
roll, stars, horses, and (even) the three bears have never before sounded so
vital and fresh. And what a terrific voice that man has … “I’m just waiting now
for my time to come, I’m just waiting now for my place in the sun, and I’m just
waiting now, for peace to come ...”
3. Antipole - Radial
Glare
Antipole topped
this list in 2018 with Perspectives, and Karl Morten Dahl returned this year
with yet another fine post-punk album in the form of Radial Glare. The
retro-fuelled music of Antipole is intoxicating in every way and there’s not a
single moment on Radial Glare where I’m not fully engaged. Quite possibly the
best thing to come out of Norway since a youthful baby-faced assassin Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer started terrifying Premier League defences and banging them in
for fun at Manchester United in the mid to late 90s. My full review is here.
2. The National -
I Am Easy To Find
I think I must
have read or heard just about every criticism possible over the past half dozen
years or so when it comes to The National ... you know how it goes: “boring, bland,
colour by numbers, white-bread boomer rock” that trades on the reputation of a
couple of fine early albums made by the band. Music made by middle aged white
men for a fanbase not too far removed from that precise demographic. I’ve heard
it all, and yep, critics are entitled to those opinions, whatever their
starting point. But they’ll never convince me that’s all there is to it, and
every National album across that same period has, to one degree or another, had
plenty going for it. Which probably makes me a fan. I certainly fit the
aforementioned notional demographic. Unashamedly so. In fact, I Am Easy To Find
is the third of three post-2013 National albums to make this blog’s year-end
list, and I’d go so far as to suggest it’s the band’s best full-length work
since 2010’s High Violet. A fastidiously crafted set of tunes that took me on a
warm and familiar journey with each and every listen. The addition of female
voices (including choral elements) was a major point of difference from past
work, although Matt Berninger’s compelling and emotionally charged baritone
remains a highlight, particularly on standout tunes like ‘Oblivions’, ‘The Pull
of You’, ‘Hey Rosey’, ‘Light Years’, and ‘Not in Kansas’. With so much going on
across its near seven-minute trip, the latter track was something close to the
blog’s song of the year ... if there was such a thing (don’t encourage me).
1. VA/On-U Sound -
Pay It All Back Volume 7
Oh no! A
compilation album! … how can that be? It breaks just about every unwritten rule
of year-end reflecting to list a various artist/compilation label sampler as
your blog’s album of the year. But who really cares about rules that aren’t
written down? This was outstanding. Every bit worthy of the long wait. 23 years
after the last release in the renowned Pay It All Back series, Volume 7
exceeded my own expectations in every way. All hail the production virtuosity
of the dub master himself, Adrian Sherwood. My full review is here.
Close, but no funny
cigar (another ten):
There’s no room on
this list for one of my favourite bands, Iceland’s Of Monsters And Men, who
released Fever Dream. Each of the band’s two previous albums have featured on
this list in past years, but Fever Dream was a disappointment for me, with OMAM
having abandoned the mystical and magical in favour of a far more generic
stadium-ready sound.
Had Dead Little
Penny’s Urge Surfing been released earlier in the year it probably would have
made the cut because right now, as at mid-December, it feels like a real grower.
Certainly, it’s one of the best local albums of the year in that dark
shoegaze-y vibe I love so much.
The Radio Dept’s
2019 “album” I Don’t Need Love, I’ve Got My Band is decent, and I’m a fan of
Sweden’s finest, but it’s not really a “new” album, merely a compilation of
past work, clumping together two previously released EPs from 2003 and 2005.
Worth a listen if The Radio Dept is new to you.
I listened to
Ladytron’s self-titled return a fair bit, and loved a lot of it, but it just
fell short on account of it not really breaking any new ground. New Ladytron,
just like old Ladytron, which, most years, is not a bad thing to be.
Angel Olsen’s All
Mirrors is another of those albums that would just as likely have featured more
prominently here had it been released earlier in the year. I probably haven’t
listened to it enough (yet) but I suspect it’ll be well represented on year-end
lists elsewhere. Olsen is one to watch.
Underworld’s Drift
series was an ambitious undertaking. I downloaded a job-lot 40-track version
which clocks in at nearly six hours. There’s some truly great stuff in there,
but that’s a hell of a casual listening exercise, and Drift wasn’t really an
album in any traditional sense of the word.
The Raconteurs’
Help Us Stranger was a throwback to a far simpler time. A time when classic
rock dinosaurs roamed and ruled. Help Us Stranger showcases Jack White and
Brendan Benson’s love of all things 1970s, and it was mostly an enjoyable
listening experience. The odd cringeworthy moment excepted.
Prince is no
longer with us, but his musical legacy lives on. Originals is a collection of
Prince performing songs he wrote for other artists, or at least, those he allowed
other artists to release. It cements his status as not only one of his
generation’s most underrated songsmiths, but one of the greatest vocalists of
the past 40 years.
Foals released two
albums in 2019. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 & 2. Released
months apart. The earlier release is probably the one to savour, if only for
the way it veers into an unlikely synthpop realm, but both are worthwhile efforts
and I’m surprised Foals aren’t gaining a lot more commercial traction.
Finally, in terms
of albums, Marvin Gaye’s You’re The Man was an interesting release. Recorded between
1969 and 1972, it was originally intended as a follow-up to Gaye’s acclaimed
What’s Going On (1971) but was shelved by Motown and remained unreleased until
early 2019. I’m a little unclear about whether it was Motown boss Berry Gordy
or Gaye himself who pulled its initial release but the fact is, despite some of
the content being a little patchy, fans of Gaye, or classic soul, will find a
lot to love on You’re The Man.
Which brings me
nicely to reissue of the year: I just can’t go past the 25th
anniversary deluxe release of R.E.M.’s Monster (1994). The original album, a
remix of the original, a bunch of unreleased demos (mostly instrumentals), and
live versions from its era. Monster has always been regarded as something of a
black sheep within the band’s canon, but this reissue - especially the remixed
album and even some of the unreleased work - brings into clear focus just how
good the music of R.E.M. was during the band’s pomp.
EP of the year:
Contenders by Contenders. Punk rock out of Hamilton. Everything about this
release is short and sharp. Must be played loud, preferably with copious
amounts of beer at the ready. A shout out too for the young Wellington electronic
artist Miromiro, who released two fine synthwave-y EPs during the year, Toucan
and Andreev Bay. I was a big fan also, of Kool Aid’s Family Portrait EP.
Gig of the year:
Blam Blam Blam at St Peter’s Hall, Paekakariki. No question. I waited 38 years
to see the reformed band play live after seeing a much more youthful version as
a youngster myself back in 1981. It’s hard to go past bucket list events like
that.
In a similar vein,
Beat Rhythm Fashion at Meow was quite special too. Other locals who rocked my
world included The Beths at San Fran and Miss June at Meow. Of the international
artists who visited these shores, Gang of Four at San Fran was surprisingly
good, and a less well attended set at the same venue by the Dub Pistols got my
2019 gig-going year off to a flyer. Herbie Hancock in Wellington was the
biggest “name” I saw live, but that particular night was less enjoyable for me,
for a number of reasons that I simply don’t have room to expand upon here …
I’ve kept you long
enough. Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting everythingsgonegreen in 2019. Wishing you
merry festivities and happy holidays. Play safe, and don’t get arrested.
