The Best (and Worst?) of 2016 (part 1)

Wow. What a year that was. Very possibly the worst year in popular music history, and politically... Oh just don't get me started. Yep, 2016 was fucking shite. It was but a week old when we had a new Bowie album, and things, briefly, seemed great. Then, two days later, the great man took one last flight on the great spaceship to the sky. And from that moment on, it all went downhill.

Look, I'm not going to get all maudlin here, but let's face it, we're all pretty fucking miserable right now, yeah? And scared out of our minds too, I'm sure. I had hoped there would be plenty of silver linings to write about here, but sadly, it's been pretty hard finding them. For me, 2016 will not go down as a vintage year. 2015 was waaaay better. When I look at some of the records I was really excited about hearing - The Joy Formidable, Pixies, Primal Scream, The Kills, PJ Harvey - I feel a little let down. I mean that Primal Scream album was just fucking terrible, really really unforgivably bad. The Kills record seemed devoid of tunes, and the others weren't awful but below the standards I had hoped.

Every year, I compile songs from my favourite albums of the preceding 12 months. I originally made double-CDs and gave them to people (before I realised most of them never gave a shit and didn't listen to them). In recent years I've made it entirely digital which meant I could expand the number of tracks I use from 40 to 50, and in the case of last year, to 60. This year, however, I struggled to get beyond 40, my worst tally this decade. Despite this though, there were rays of sunshine...

SAVAGES - 'Adore Life'
The second album by Savages just blew everything else to pieces. It still does. Record of the year by a country mile. Record of the decade, even. Shit - one of the records of my life. And no, I'm not overdoing it! Simply sensational in every single respect.

• Evil - Savages (from 'Adore Life')

ARBOR LABOR UNION - 'I Hear you'
Here's a band I had never heard of before Badger and SWC introduced them on JC's site, and for that I shall always be indebted to them. My best new band discovery of the year by far; a stupendous album, and this track in particular never fails to cheer me up and put a huge grin on my face.

• Mr. Birdsong - Arbor Labor Union (from 'I Hear You')

THE CORAL - 'Distance Inbetween'
Also one of my favourite records of the year was the startlingly-good comeback album by The Coral. I've always loved The Coral, but 'Distance Inbetween' totally surpassed any expectations I had for it. Surprise of the year, undoubtedly.

• White Bird - The Coral (from 'Distance Inbetween')

DAVID BOWIE - 'Blackstar'
Of course, we have to give this one a mention. Not actually one of my top 3 Bowie albums to be honest, but there's no denying it is an extraordinary piece of work, especially the title track. And my god, what a concept. Who else but Bowie could ever write a record about death, release it on his birthday and then die within 48 hours? A prophecy if ever there was one.



When you consider how ill he was, it's nothing short of a miracle that video even exists. Bowie: making the people of Earth's jaws drop right to the end. Oh, and stay tuned for a special week of posts starting next Sunday. That's all I'm revealing for now...

MINOR VICTORIES - 'Minor Victories'
Supergroups can be rather hit and miss, but for me, Minor Victories are a definite hit. Featuring members of Slowdive, Editors and Mogwai, this lot made a sensational dreamy debut, and in Scattered Ashes, one of the songs of the year too. I hope it wasn't just a one-off.

(I posted Scattered Ashes a couple weeks ago, so here's another track from the album instead.)

• Breaking My Light - Minor Victories (from 'Minor Victories')

A few more faves on Wednesday...

World Tour

l-r: Yokozuna, Mexrrissey, Arbor Labor Union

Week 9 - North America (pt. 1)

So what exactly is "North America"? Depending on who you talk to, it could comprise of different nations and/or regions. What isn't in doubt is that the USA and Canada are definitely part of North America, but the rest of it? Commonly, Mexico is included in the definition, as is Greenland, Bermuda and French island province of St. Pierre & Miquelon. Sometimes the Caribbean is included, including Cuba and Puerto Rico, plus the countries of Central America.

Whatever. The geo-political aspect of it isn't my concern - I'm here for the music. This is probably one of the richest regions for pop music in the entire universe, so it's not going to be terribly difficult to find good stuff, particularly in the States and Canada. However, we're starting off in Mexico. Leaving Guatamala City, we can drive it, bus it or fly it. Hmm, bus could be fun. It'll take a while and we'll have to change en route, but hopefully it's worth the hassle.

Now Mexican music is not all about acoustic guitars and trumpets played by moustachioed hombres in big hats you know. You'll know that, of course, from Monday's post about an unforgettable Le Butcherettes gig I recently attended in Cardiff. There are plenty of other really good noise merchants in the country. Yokozuna, for instance, play crunching post-hardcore riffs with extra HEAVY on the side. Hailing from the capital Mexico City, the duo has released three albums and two EPs so far, and are named after the former American wrestler Rodney Agatupu Anoaʻi who adopted the ring name Yokozuna.

Interestingly, there's another band called Yokozuna based in London who also play loud, noisy sounds not unlike this lot. Don't confuse the two. My guess is the London band don't speak Spanish quite as well.

Prometéa is taken from (the Mexican) Yokozuna's third album 'Quiero Venganza' released in 2013. It's a blinder, a bit like Royal Blood with bigger balls and shoutier voices. Both very good things. The video's a lot of fun, too.

• Prometéa - Yokozuna (from 'Quiero Venganza')

Before we leave Mexico, I have another little treat from the capital for you. Now, we all know our favourite old misery guts, Mr Stephen Patrick Morrissey, has a fondness for Mexico, and Mexico, in return, adores him. So it comes as little surprise that we should find a Morrissey tribute band here. Mexrrissey sound unlike other Morrissey tributes though. They embrace the more traditional Mexican sounds as they recreate Salford's favourite son's hits. They recently released their debut album, a mix of studio and live interpretations of the great man's work. Here's a couple of examples of what they do. The video for the first one was filmed at Salford Lads Club. How's that for authenticity!?



This one is live at a London bus stop. Yes, really...

• Cada Dia Es Domingo - Mexrrissey (from 'No Manchester')

Onwards, and into the USA. After that mammoth bus journey, I'm wimping out and hopping on a plane. Where are we headed? New York, the home of Punk? California, home of the Beach Boys? Maybe Detroit, home of Motown? Or even Seatlle, home of grunge. Nope, nope, nope and nope. Not this time. A plane from Mexico City takes us over the Gulf of Mexico to the Georgia capital Atlanta. From there it's a short bus ride to Athens, home of one of the most important bands of my life - R.E.M. Also, of course, The B-52s, Pylon and Arbor Labor Union. Arbor who?

Earlier in the year, SWC and Badger contributed a series of articles to JC's place called 'The £20 Challenge'. Quite, quite brilliant it was too, as is everything that pair puts together. Anyway, in one particular episode, Badger recounts how SWC gave him a memory stick with lots of music on it. One of the albums included was the debut from Arbor Labor Union, and he posted its opening track Mr. Birdsong. Well, to say I was blown away would be an understatement.

This album, entitled 'I Hear You', has become one of my Top 5 records of the year so far, and one I turn to when I need a bit of a lift. Think 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi'-era R.E.M. crossed with Talking Heads and The Hold Steady with a touch of The Fall and the Blue Aeroplanes thrown in. You likey the soundy? If you didn't get the hint from Badger's piece back in June, then please, for the sake of humanity, do so now. Here's a couple of songs from it.

• Radiant Mountain Road - Arbor Labor Union (from 'I Hear You')

Next week we go further North. Like, MUCH further North. Bring yer woolies...