i didn't want to get out of bed this morning
Top 10 Albums of 2009
8. The Yeah Yous - Looking Through You (LB)
I do like a bit of jaunty pop music. The Yeah Yous are a duo from London and their debut single Fifteen Minutes crept into the top Forty in the summer of 2009.
They haven’t really been plugged by their label and their terrific follow-up single Getting Up With You didn’t secure much airplay which is a crying shame. I wouldn’t say they sound like The Feeling, but they are two bands who make broadly the same type of records – classy, quality pop with huge anthemic, singalong choruses that don’t fail to put a smile on your face.
I actually think this pair could end up being pretty successful if they get the break that the quality of Looking Through You deserves. Let’s hope so.
Listen to: Getting Up With You
8. Imogen Heap - Ellipse (bedshaped)
A lovely, dreamy-feeling album, nicely produced and perfect late night listening material. Packed to the brim with some bizarre sounds and a wonderfully eclectic mix of percussion and noises that gel together so well, each listen if this album gives a fresh appeal. You keep hearing new things...."Oh, that's Soooo Sergeant Pepper....", "It's clunky, it's got some kind of Russian flavour....", "Wow, where did those strings come from....?", that sort of thing.
Whilst the music itself is pleasing to the ear, especially when it begins to experiment with itself, it really is down to the beautiful tones in Imogen's voice that makes this collection of songs so much more enjoyable. And it's even more wonderful when the producers chop, spin, sample, overdub, flaunt and emulate her voice within the songs, perfectly exampled in Earth. Genius!
Even people who say, "Imogen Heap....Nah, don't know her stuff" will know her without realizing. Her songs are often used in those American TV shows like The OC, One Tree Hill, ER, True Blood, et al. Usually at some very dramatic point, and probably involving a flashback....in slow motion.
I think this is her most accomplished album to date, and that even includes the stuff she recorded and released as Frou Frou. Wonderful as that was! Unfortunately, it's about as commercial and radio friendly as Terence Trent D'arby's second album, proper. This probably means that although she will receive fabulous critical acclaim for this album (she already has) and will most likely win some music awards (she will), her musical status quo will remain unchanged.
Best song 2-1, without a doubt. Strings, clever mixing and Imogen's gorgeous, smokey and seductive tones build and build in this song. It's a wonderful mixture of Kate Bush, Bjork, Sia, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos all in one. Layer upon layer of experimentation with instruments, sounds, and vocal techniques, building into what is quite simply an outstanding song. Note perfect vocals twisting and teasing the story.
Amazing!
Listen to: 2-1
8. Maximo Park - Quicken The Heart (Swisslet)
Not as immediate as A Certain Trigger and not as intimate as Our Earthly Pleasures, Quicken The Heart initially left me cold and took a few months to work its way into my affections.
More of the same, I thought, diminishing returns…. Surely there’s only so much quirky, spiky, north-east accented indie a man can take? Was Paul Smith’s schtick finally starting to wear as thin as we presume his hair is underneath those hats of his?
I could probably have lived without the tired cartography/sex metaphor in Let’s Get Clinical, but the rest of it is pretty good, from the siren that underpins opening track Wraithlike, through the curiously chorus-less The Kids Are Sick Again and on through A Cloud of Mystery, Roller Disco Dreams…. All the way through to the end of the album. Maybe it is more of the same, but Maximo Park’s quirky charms haven’t worn too thin yet and it’s been on my car stereo unchanged for months now.
Key Track: A Cloud of Mystery
8. The Yeah Yous - Looking Through You (LB)
I do like a bit of jaunty pop music. The Yeah Yous are a duo from London and their debut single Fifteen Minutes crept into the top Forty in the summer of 2009.They haven’t really been plugged by their label and their terrific follow-up single Getting Up With You didn’t secure much airplay which is a crying shame. I wouldn’t say they sound like The Feeling, but they are two bands who make broadly the same type of records – classy, quality pop with huge anthemic, singalong choruses that don’t fail to put a smile on your face.
I actually think this pair could end up being pretty successful if they get the break that the quality of Looking Through You deserves. Let’s hope so.
Listen to: Getting Up With You
8. Imogen Heap - Ellipse (bedshaped)
A lovely, dreamy-feeling album, nicely produced and perfect late night listening material. Packed to the brim with some bizarre sounds and a wonderfully eclectic mix of percussion and noises that gel together so well, each listen if this album gives a fresh appeal. You keep hearing new things...."Oh, that's Soooo Sergeant Pepper....", "It's clunky, it's got some kind of Russian flavour....", "Wow, where did those strings come from....?", that sort of thing.Whilst the music itself is pleasing to the ear, especially when it begins to experiment with itself, it really is down to the beautiful tones in Imogen's voice that makes this collection of songs so much more enjoyable. And it's even more wonderful when the producers chop, spin, sample, overdub, flaunt and emulate her voice within the songs, perfectly exampled in Earth. Genius!
Even people who say, "Imogen Heap....Nah, don't know her stuff" will know her without realizing. Her songs are often used in those American TV shows like The OC, One Tree Hill, ER, True Blood, et al. Usually at some very dramatic point, and probably involving a flashback....in slow motion.
I think this is her most accomplished album to date, and that even includes the stuff she recorded and released as Frou Frou. Wonderful as that was! Unfortunately, it's about as commercial and radio friendly as Terence Trent D'arby's second album, proper. This probably means that although she will receive fabulous critical acclaim for this album (she already has) and will most likely win some music awards (she will), her musical status quo will remain unchanged.
Best song 2-1, without a doubt. Strings, clever mixing and Imogen's gorgeous, smokey and seductive tones build and build in this song. It's a wonderful mixture of Kate Bush, Bjork, Sia, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos all in one. Layer upon layer of experimentation with instruments, sounds, and vocal techniques, building into what is quite simply an outstanding song. Note perfect vocals twisting and teasing the story.
Amazing!
Listen to: 2-1
8. Maximo Park - Quicken The Heart (Swisslet)
Not as immediate as A Certain Trigger and not as intimate as Our Earthly Pleasures, Quicken The Heart initially left me cold and took a few months to work its way into my affections.More of the same, I thought, diminishing returns…. Surely there’s only so much quirky, spiky, north-east accented indie a man can take? Was Paul Smith’s schtick finally starting to wear as thin as we presume his hair is underneath those hats of his?
I could probably have lived without the tired cartography/sex metaphor in Let’s Get Clinical, but the rest of it is pretty good, from the siren that underpins opening track Wraithlike, through the curiously chorus-less The Kids Are Sick Again and on through A Cloud of Mystery, Roller Disco Dreams…. All the way through to the end of the album. Maybe it is more of the same, but Maximo Park’s quirky charms haven’t worn too thin yet and it’s been on my car stereo unchanged for months now.
Key Track: A Cloud of Mystery
delivered by LB at 5:10 AM
1 Discussions:
I listened to Ellipse on Spotify yesterday, out of interest. Bits of it I found myself really liking, but some of it really didn't appeal to me at all. I am going to give it another go, though, so thanks for the pointer.
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