onsdag 4 Dec 2013, 14:03
Music:
My 30 favourite albums of 2013:
“I have only two emotions, careful fear and dead devotion. I can't get the balance right…”
I know I say this every year, but 2013 has been gluttonous. I don't just say that from a punters perspective, but seemingly from the musicians too. Album lengths have increased, and in some cases quality control seems to be on the slide. That's not to say that an LP should be a specific length, or that long records are a bad thing, they are absolutely not, but 2013 has been a hotbed of self indulgence. From pre arranged 'single of the year'™ chart bothering Daft Punk, to returning super-Swedes The Knife, the long player in 2013 felt like a very very long player (VVLP). Arcade Fire's Reflektor almost managed to disguise their A-Level lyrics by adding a whole almost-good second CD to their epic album. It's as if CD2 is designed to make you forget that you had just heard “I've never really ever met a normal person (like you), How do you do?”. There have been interesting VVLP's from Dirty Beaches, The Knife (to some extent – could write an essay on the Knife this year!), Nils Frahm, James Holden, not to mention Cass McCombs and Kurt Vile. Even Zomby filled out his double album with 38 minutes of air horn.
It's fitting that Jon Hopkins Immunity is bang on 60 minutes. Its a perfectly paced album that takes you on a metaphorical electronic journey, from the banging techno monster Open Eye Signal, to its title track Immunity, the stunningly beautiful piano led album closer. It's an unhurried but focused record, that can transform from floor-filler to gorgeously haunting so organically. Its an album I have gone back to time and time again this year, and it exemplifies where my musical tastebuds are veering. With every glitch, bleep and crunch its matched in elegance, detail and beauty.
But back to gluttony for a moment, and 2013 has seen me continue to consume an unhealthy amount of music. There has been a wealth of great records throughout the last 12 months, and I have tried to devour it all, even with the arrival of Rufus, the ATP loving baby. This list could have been a UK Top 40 style count down, and that would have still missed a few excellent albums. This 30 means no room for the surprisingly excellent Vampire Weekend (sorry Ginny), the reliably consistent (Marnie Stern/Thee Oh Sees/Low), the untested (Miles/Tropics of Cancer), or even The Knife's cluster-cuss of a record. It is however a surprise to say how much of a surprise the surprisingly surprising National album is. I'm always going to look forward to a new National album, but after the underwhelmingly safe ATP setlist, (which lead to not loving High Violet as much as I initially did) I wasn't as groin-grabbingly excited for TWFM as I normally would be. At first I thought I was right to not be too excited, it seemed like TWFM would continue their REM trajectory into the MOR. How wrong I turned out to be, as TWFM is pure grower. Over the months it continues to call me back, and although there are a few clunky Berninger lyrics, tracks like Sea of Love, This is the Last Time and Pink Rabbits more than make up for it. Yo La Tengo's Fade has been with me for the last 12 months, and I love it. It's their shortest record for a long old time, and doesn't lose any of the YLT charm by not ending on an 18 minute epic! Deceptively simple, fuzzy and relaxed record by one of my absolute favourites.
2013 marks the year I finally realised how brilliant BoC are (see top tracks), Bill Callahan made me want to say 'Beer' and 'Thank You', and Sigur Ros took me by surprise. Tim Hecker continues to deliver and develop, Monomania would be a lot higher than ninth if it wasn't for the final two disappointing tracks, Nonny favourites Hookworms delivered with their debut LP, as did Factory Floor, finally. Forest Swords inadvertently soundtracked Rufus' first few weeks, uncontrollably bobbing his head along to the beats and grooves. Moderat delivered addictive electronica, and Oneohtrix tried to cram six ideas into each track on R Plus Seven, an album that continues to unexpectedly grow on me despite my initial uncertainties. Traams became my new favourite band, with their excellent krautrock grooves and catchy fuzz, plus they are brilliant live too! The Field, Holden, Darkside & Four Tet all got me dancing in their unique ways, Gold Panda delivered more of the same awesome. Dustin Wong released a somewhat disappointing solo album, but his collaboration with Takako Minekawa is whimsically charming and has a childlike sense of wonder and innocence, it's something I can't wait to enjoy with Rufus when he is a few months older. F/LOR delivers whilst I wait for new NLF3 material, m b v would have been a lot higher a few months ago, but I haven't found myself returning as often as I thought I might. Its an excellent return, that ticks all the boxes you would want/expect MBV to hit. I had considered Julia Holter's third a disappointment until I saw her live, where the album finally clicked into place. Mark McGuire's Along the Way gets an official release next year, so I will hold off on that until 2014, a year that already promises a lot, with the new Liars album my most anticipated, after their amazing beat heavy gig at the Haunt this year! Bring it on…
1. Jon Hopkins - Immunity (Domino)
2. The National - Trouble Will Find Me (4AD)
3. Yo La Tengo - Fade (Matador)
4. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow’s Harvest (Warp)
5. Bill Callahan - Dream River (Drag City)
6. Sigur Ros - Kveikur (XL)
7. Moderat - II (Monkeytown)
8. Tim Hecker - Virgins (Kranky)
9. Deerhunter - Monomania (4AD)
10. Forest Swords - Engravings (Tri-Angle)
11. Hookworms - Pear Mystic (Gringo)
12. Fuck Buttons - Slow Focus (ATP)
13. Oheohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven (Warp)
14. Factory Floor - Factory Floor (DFA)
15. Nils Frahm - Spaces (Erased Tapes)
16. Grouper - The Man Who Died in His Boat (Kranky)
17. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away (Bad Seeds ltd)
18. Traams - Grin (Fat Cat)
19. The Field - Cupid’s Head (Kompakt)
20. Takako Minekawa & Dustin Wong - Tropical Circle (Thrill Jockey)
21. Gold Panda - Half of Where You Live (Notown)
22. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (What’s Your Rupture?)
23. Atoms For Peace - AMOK (XL)
24. Holden - The Inheritors (Border Community)
25. Darkside - Psychic (Matador)
26. F/LOR - Blackflakes (Prohibited)
27. My Bloody Valentine - m b v (self released)
28. Four Tet - Beautiful Rewind (Text)
29. Julia Holter - Loud City Song (Domino)
30. Mountains - Centralia (Thrill Jockey)
Special Mention: Los Campesinos! - No Blues (Turnstile); Vision Fortune - Mas Fiestas con el Grupo Vision Fortune (Faux Discx); The Haxan Cloak - Excavation (Tri-Angle); Suuns - Images Du Futur (Secretly Canadian); Moonface - Julia with Blue Jeans On (Jagjaguwar)
My Ten Favourite EPs/Other Releases of 2013:
Initially when Burial, sorry, Four Tet, released 0181 in January all I could think of was the catchy phone number tune from Live and Kicking. Once I stopping humming 811 81 81 and listened, all thoughts of Andi Peters and Emma Forbes had vanished. A compilation of recordings by Hebden between 1997 and 2001, it has fast become my favourite release of his to date. It effortlessly mixes and merges so many different ideas, sounds and genres (ugh) so freely and creatively, from guitars to beats to jazz and so on. It makes me wonder how much gold must be sitting on old hard drives hiding in his studio! Regardless of what 0181 is categorised as, its up there with Hopkins as one of my favourite releases this year. TPHB inevitably and justifiably signed to the fucking awesome Blood and Biscuits label this year, and put out an EP of tracks that have continually blown me away live for the last two years. It's great to have these tracks on record, and they more than hold their own recorded. Built To Spill's RSD re-release of their Live album was a welcome and wallet destroying must! It features their incredible 20+ minute cover of Cortez The Killer, and an amalgamation of some of my absolute favourite BTS tracks. If you still don't love BTS after hearing it, then you're gay for Moleman (and no one's gay for Moleman). Grizzly Bear made virtually every other band in existence cry by putting out some B sides and demos from Shields (SBAO2012) that are far superior to around 98% of all other working bands. Shame on you other bands. Traams cassette only Ladders makes me want to raid my Dads loft for one of many (many) old players, Hannes Rasmus gets my shoulders dancing, my overwhelming love of Phil Elverum continues with his excellent Mount Eerie live album, Motion Sickness continues her fine run of form, and Mark McGuire self released more awesome. His already 'out there' Along The Way LP will feature very highly when its physically released next year.
1. Four Tet - 0181 (Text)
2. The Physics House Band - Horizons / Rapture (Blood & Biscuits)
3. Built To Spill - Live (Warner Bros for RSD 2013)
4. Mogwai - Les Revenants (Rock Action)
5. Grizzly Bear - B Sides (Warp)
6. Traams - Ladders (Fat Cat)
7. Hannes Rasmus - Analog ist Besser (Notown)
8. Mount Eerie - Live in Bloomington, September 30th, 2011 (P.W Elverum & Sun)
9. Motion Sickness of Time Travel - The Perennials (Boomkat)
10. Mark McGuire - Tidings III (Self Released)
Special Mention: Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs (Dead Oceans)
Top 15 Tracks:
2013 marks the year I finally understood just how influential, and more importantly, brilliant, BoC are. A band that are often referenced by or compared to musicians that I love, yet one that I never really investigated or gave the time too. Theirs was the most interesting and successful of all of 2013's big comebacks. It's an outstanding record that gets better as it goes, and its on the final side where it stands head and shoulders above other similar electronic music. That 4th side opens with New Seeds, a track that starts menacing and builds to something breathtaking, with a simple piano sample that gets me every time. It's a track that truly takes off! Mark McGuire released The Instinct soon after his departure from Emeralds, which soon led to their unfortunate and overly pompous split (“Perhaps with time our sphere of influence will be better understood”). Its a beast of a song based around a track of his from 2010, which builds brilliantly and eventually soars in McGuire's usual epic way. Ohm is pure YLT awesomeness, and like Away Towards, Brennisteinn and Golden Arrow is a killer opening album track. Pink Rabbits is devastating, its great to hear Teratology recorded, as its always been an incredible live track, and Milk feels like the centrepiece on the Moderat album. I selfishly picked a standout track from both Traams LP and EP, Will Calls wouldn't feel out of place as a lead track from a future Grizzly Bear LP, and The Red Wing is all chord changes, distortion and beats, and its Fuck Buttons at their most awesome.
1. Boards Of Canada - New Seeds
2. Mark McGuire - The Instinct (Extended 12" Version)
3. Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal / Immunity
4. Yo La Tengo - Ohm
5. The National - Pink Rabbits
6. Hookworms - Away Towards
7. The Physics House Band - Teratology
8. Moderat - Milk
9. Nils Frahm - Says
10. Grizzly Bear - Will Calls (Marfa Demo)
11. Darkside - Golden Arrow
12. Sigur Ros - Brennisteinn
13. Traams - Ladders / Head Roll
14. Gold Panda - We Work Nights
15. Fuck Buttons - The Red Wing
Special Mention: Moonface - November 2011; Takako Minekawa & Dustin Wong - Party on a Floating Cake
Top 10 Gigs:
RIP ATP. Oh so it was written in the (camber) sand. 2013 marked the first (and last) time I went to two All Tomorrow's Parties in one year (although I wish it was three), my absolute favourite music festival. Despite some appalling front line and logistical choices from the ATP team over the past few years, when festival time came it never disappointed. The Deerhunter curated weekend was one of the best of my eight. Despite awesome sets from Tortoise and Les Savy Fav, and the presence of Rufus at his first ATP, End of an Era 1 was one of the weakest of my eight, but still remained an amazing weekend. Deerhunter's line up was interesting, eclectic and fun, but I had to go just to see them perform Cryptograms in its entirety. Each night they were outstanding, but the first, with Fluorescent Grey as the encore, was unbelievable. I'm sure ATP will no doubt return in 2017 with Start of an Era, but I will miss it so much til then. Liars previewed material from their highly anticipated new album at the Haunt, and it blew me away. Yo La Tengo supported themselves, with their acoustic then electric sets at the Del La Warr. I have always loved the way YLT can go from playing an epic track like Blue Line Swinger into something beautiful like Tears Are In Your Eyes, so, for me, this separation of their most extreme sounds isn't the ideal way to see them. As an uber fan though this didn't matter too much, and just meant we got two extended sets for the price of one! The ending of Ohm into Pass The Hatchet was mindblowingly good. Haxan Cloak was one of my most physical and terrifying live musical experiences ever. Odd choice to close my last ever ATP, but he delivered there too. It was at the Concorde gig that he really blew me away, he made Fuck Buttons (who he was supporting) seem tame. Along with Tim Hecker, that gig came only weeks after Rufus joined the world, and both blew my frazzled mind. It was great to see Mount Eerie in a church, playing tracks from last years superb albums alongside some classics. In joint tenth, Julia Holter was charming and lovely , enhanced by the cabaret style seating at the Komedia, and Sigur Ros made me realise that the Brighton Centre isn't as bad a venue as I thought!
1. Deerhunter performing Cryptograms + Fluorescent Grey and Microcastle @ ATP Deerhunter
2. Liars @ The Haunt
3. Tortoise @ ATP End of an Era
4. Yo La Tengo @ De La Warr
5. Les Savy Fav @ ATP End of an Era
6. Haxan Cloak @ Concorde 2
7. Mount Eerie @ St Giles in the Fields
8. Dan Deacon @ ATP Deerhunter
9. Tim Hecker @ St Mary’s Church
10. Sigur Ros @ Brighton Centre
10. Julia Holter @ Komedia
Film
My Top 20 Films of 2013:
It could appear that 2013's cinematic output may have lacked a certain consistent quality. Critics seemed overly generous with their reviews, with solid films like Mud and The Place Beyond the Pines being lavished with generous praise and stars! Although what 2013 lacked in classic vintage* it more than made up for with it's eclectic range of very interesting and diverse films.
Now, using my seemingly pointless *asterisk*, let me negate that last paragraph somewhat by using my best Larry David/Jerry Seinfeld “having said that”, by contradicting myself. There were two (four at a push) films this year that, for me, deserve the lavish praise, hyperbole, and relentless praise that seems so freely offered to Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper. Don Hertzfeldt's animated 60 minute feature It's Such a Beautiful Day is a masterpiece. There. Hyperbole out the way, but it fucking is. The film is made up of three shorts combined to tell the story of Bill, a hugely inquisitive and unwell stick man. The film has drawn comparisons with The Tree Of Life, David Lynch and Charlie Kaufman. These somewhat easy comparisons are fairly accurate in that, like those mentioned, its an often indescribable film that covers more ideas than most filmmakers do in their whole careers. In 60 minutes. Its an existential film about memory (the loss and creation of), and the way in which we see the world. Its lyrical and poetic without ever alienating the viewer. Funny and sad in equal measure, and almost as obsessed by the contradictions of everyday life as the inside of my mind is. The film seems to have had a profound effect on the people I have shown it to. its a truly unforgettable film, and for me, although not for all, an uplifting experience.
Another unforgettable cinematic experience was The Act of Killing, the haunting and harrowing documentary in which Indonesian death squad members re-enact the murders they committed nearly 40 years ago, and in which they seem so proud. It dabbles in the surreal with the reconstructions, using different genres for different killings, with musicals being a bizarre sequence, and the gangster genre the most devastating. It is at times a gut-wrenching watch, but with the films within the film, it allow the perpetrators of these crimes to attempt to showboat their often unspeakable crimes, revealing their psychological mechanics, and how they can attempt to distance themselves from the brutality they committed. Its not an easy watch, but it is truly mind-blowing cinema, and Oppenheimer continues the traditions set up by Herzog (an exec producer on this) superbly.
Stories We Tell is another extraordinary documentary, in which director Sarah Polley explores truth and the unreliability of memory though her own families experiences. If I can grow up to be half the man Michael Polley is I will be delighted. Having only recently got round to watching Blue Is The Warmest Colour, and it not having a huge amount of time to worm its way into my mind, I still feel that The Great Beauty was unfortunate not to have picked up the Palme D'or at this years Cannes. It's a wonderfully cinematic film, Sorrentino's best yet. It's a beautifully sad, stunningly shot film, with a fantastic wit and style. My man crush on Noah Baumbach continues with his charming and thoroughly enjoyable Francis Ha, and Richard Ayoade continues his incredibly confident directorial career with the excellent The Double. His films seem to show him to be incredibly cine-literate, yet maintain his own unique voice and style.
All hail the Big Scream! Picturehouse cinemas weekly parents and babies screenings have kept my viewing figures in the respectable mid 40's this year. The first film we saw with Rufus was Upstream Colour, we have also enjoyed Gravity, Like Father Like Son with the little guy (amongst others). I really enjoyed Upstream Colour, and found it to be a visceral treat, something I look forward to re-investing in.
Computer Chess's surprising elements took me by, um, surprise. Pleasantly. I was really impressed by the leap Bujalski has made from his interesting first two features, to the fairly mediocre and forgettable Beeswax, to this. I'm really intrigued to see where he goes next. Blue… was the tender, passionate, honest tale I was expecting, a beautifully told love story, that I wish I could have seen before all the hoopla, on set stories, and Julie Maroh's thoughts. Adèle Exarchopoulos gives the performance of a lifetime as, um, Adèle (named as such so Kechiche could film her, seemingly, all the time), portraying her transition from high school to adulthood superbly. Maybe its the somewhat simple story or misplaced scenes, for example their drink towards the end, but it didn't leave me as floored as it has many others. Gravity was breathtaking, in both 3D and 2D, an incredibly enjoyable ride that let itself down slightly with some poor dialogue (red shoe) and an annoying frog (I really hate that frog). I was impressed by Mungui's follow up to 4 Months…, Alexander Payne re-found his personal touch and June Squibb excelled in Nebraska, I was thoroughly entertained by Star Trek (Damn it man!), and wished Tarantino hadn't ruined his almost great film with himself. Spring Breakers edges in ahead of Malick's occasionally excellent disappointment due to James Franco's brilliant “Look at my sheeyit” speech, in Harmony Korine's somewhat tedious Spring Breakers.
This list is down five films from 2013, and I could have easily padded it out with decent films like No, Lore, Something in the Air, Alpha Papa or Captain Phillips. As solid and enjoyable as these films where, they seemed to epitomise my feelings towards the majority of this years cinematic output, which is enjoyable yet unspectacular. At times it has been spectacular (see #1-4), and at others it has been disappointing (The beyond boringly awful Man Of Steel, The Counsellor or Trance spring to mind). Also, I have not seen many of this years festival films, so 2014 is shaping up nicely. I am very much looking forward to 12 Years a Slave, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Muppets Most Wanted, Norte the End of History and Ida, amongst many others, and hope something can come along and surprise me like the It's Such a Beautiful Day has done this year. Maybe Charlie Kaufman's animated short Anomalisa could do the job?
1. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt)
2. The Act of Killing - Directors Cut (Joshua Oppenheimer)
3. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley)
4. The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino)
5. Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
6. The Double (Richard Ayoade)
7. Upstream Colour (Shane Carruth)
8. Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski)
9. Blue is the Warmest Colour (Abdellatif Kechiche)
10. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow)
11. Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)
12. Beyond The Hills (Cristian Mungiu)
13. Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
14. Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
15. A Story of Children and Film (Mark Cousins)
16. Star Trek: Into Darkness (J.J. Abrams)
17. Like Father Like Son (Hirokazu Koreeda)
18. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)
19. A Field in England (Ben Wheatley)
20. Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine)
Special Mention: To The Wonder (Terrence Malick)
Disclaimer: I Wish (#11) & Post Tenebras Lux (#22) featured in my 2012 list. I have not yet seen The Selfish Giant (shocking, I know), Gimme The Loot, Like Someone in Love, Behind the Candelabra, Leviathan & Silence, all of which I intend to at some point, especially The Selfish Giant!