Not content with packing the bill with some of the finest local talent, we’re delighted to announce that Broken Records frontman Jamie Sutherland has joined the line-up of The Tidal Wave of Indifference Presents on February 25.
Taking time out from writing a new album, Jamie will kick things off with a short solo set of new songs and old, setting the scene nicely for the rest of the night.
With Sebastian Dangerfield, Edinburgh School for the Deaf and PAWS also on the bill you’d be batshit crazy to miss this one.
Tickets are available now from Avalanche Records and Brown Paper Tickets. Might we suggest that now might be a good time to get one to avoid the feeling of crushing disappointment that would come with missing out?
Last month we highlighted that some of the UK’s top blogs (and ourselves) had come together to dream up an alternative to the BBC’s increasingly poor ‘Sound of…’ lists. Auntie’s 2012 selection is looking particularly dire so we were happy to wade in with our views about who folk should be listening to this coming year.
And, hooray! One of our five picks (French Wives) has made the top five along with a host of other interesting acts all of whom we’ve heard of and all of whom we like the sound of. So forget Azalia Banks and the other imagination-free picks that the BBC and its panel of ‘experts’ have come up with, here are five acts that could define your 2012.
1. Friends
2. Theme Park
3. Beth Jeans Houghton
4. French Wives
5. Daughter
The Beth Jeans Houghton album, due later this month, is sounding great and the French Wives album is expected in March. With excellent albums from Errors, the Twilight Sad and Field Music also out shortly, 2012 is already looking pretty exciting.
And that can mean only one thing – the BAMS (Blogs and Music Sites Scotland) are back. The unofficial guild/club/clique voted High Violet by the National as our album of the year in 2010 and I* was delighted to be a part of voting once again. The top ten – in reverse order – was as follows:
10= PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
10= The Moth and the Mirror – Honestly, This World
10= FOUND – factorycraft
7= The Son(s) – The Son(s)
7= Conquering Animal Sound – Kammerspiel
5. King Creosote and John Hopkins – Diamond Mine
4= Mike Nisbet – Vagrant
4= Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. Adam Stafford – Build a Harbour Immediately
1. Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat – Everything’s Getting Older
Now then. Bearing in mind that each blogger only had three picks, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll note that my top three is nowhere to be seen. Metronomy is lurking just outside the top ten and Ringo Deathstarr are considerably further down – no great surprise to see a slightly obscure US fuzz-pop three-piece making little impact in a Scottish poll.
What is a surprises me is that it looks suspiciously like – from the breakdown of voting – is that the The Tidal Wave of Indifference is the only site to have voted for Mogwai’s superb latest. EH???
The winner’s something of a surprise too. I have the Wells/Moffat album but am less than blown away by it. It’s had a few listens and I’ll certainly come back to it but it’s not album of the year for me. But who are we to argue? Naebody, especially when it comes to actual factual science of a poll which has again been put together by blogging ledge Lloyd ‘Peenko‘ Meredith so big thanks to the friendly fella from the west for taking the time to do it all again.
Lloyd also managed to catch a word with this year’s winners and the full interview is below.
Congratulations Bill and Aidan, you are this years’ winners of the Scottish BAMS award, how do you feel? Does this rate as a career highlight then?
Aidan: I think it might be the first award I’ve ever been presented with, with the exception of the joint 4th Year English Prize at Falkirk High in 1989, so it’s very exciting indeed. Not sure about a career highlight – that accolade is always reserved for the work itself, and Everything’s Getting Older is certainly one of my favourites, yes.
Bill: Feels good – though when it dawned on me, obviously quite some time ago, that awards are only ever decided upon by other people, not by some almighty, all knowing, arbiter of taste and quality looking down from the clouds, I thought it always best to never get too excited about any of them coming my way, not that there’s been much occasion to, right enough.
How did you end up collaborating together in the first place?
Aidan: Bill says we found ourselves at the same table in a pub and I immediately asked him to play on some Arab Strap songs. I have no recollection of this at all, but at the time I was very much in love with his Also In White album so I’ve no reason to doubt him. After he played on the Monday At The Hug And Pint album, we did one song together and then took years to book a studio to do some more. We always seemed to have other things to do, but I’m glad we waited because I can’t imagine the album any other way. It would’ve had an entirely different theme and tone if we’d finished it in 2005, and I really don’t think it would have been as good from my side.
Bill: Indeed this is what happened – I was very surprised and flattered actually because although I was a huge Arab Strap fan, and though we were all from Falkirk, or, more likely, because, it never occurred to me that we’d ever all be in a studio together, so it did, for me at least, even at the time, feel like quite an occasion, and looking back, even more so now.
"Yay! Go us!"
I am guessing that you’ve spent a lot of time in each others’ pockets this year; has this bonded your love for each other, or are you sick of the sight of each other?
Aidan: We haven’t really spent that much time together at all, to be honest. We haven’t done a lot of touring, although what we did do was quite hard work. There’s more gigs being planned for next year, so hopefully we’ll have more to do, but it’s not as though we’re a young rock band out on the road and in the NME every week, there’s not a lot of fuss or constant attention to deal with; there’s been a minimum of upheaval, thankfully.
Bill: Yeh, sorry, you’re guessing wrong.
If the love is still there, are there any plans to work together again in the future?
Aidan: We’ve just started talking about our second album now, so it will happen but we’re not sure when. Certainly not next year, we’ve both got a couple of albums each planned for 2012, so we might try and have it ready for 2013. There’s no rush though, it’ll be ready when it’s ready; the last thing i want to do is dive into it and force it out, that’s why a lot of second albums these days are a bit shit. Bands and labels are desperate to hold onto any momentum and profile a new band has, but we’re lucky in that respect because we’re not really a new, young band; we’ve both been making records for ages and there’s no pressure on us at all. So 2014 at the earliest!
Bill: Just to add that I’m really looking forward to this, the musical ideas for first album were pretty much all on one cdr I gave Aidan ages ago, then the EP happened pretty quickly this year so, personally, I’m more hopeful for the 2013 result but, whatever and whenever, it’ll be great to get working together in the studio again.
Seeing as we are on the subject of albums of the year, what have been your personal favourites of 2012?
Aidan: I would’ve said Slow Club’s Paradise a couple of weeks ago (which I still love) but it’s been pipped at the post by the last-minute release of Josh T. Pearson’s limited live LP, The King Is Dead, which I think is far superior to his studio album. There’s been a lot of very good music this year though, but my memory can never work when it’s put on the spot, sorry!
Bill: I look at these end of year lists and realize I haven’t heard so many of these records, so it feels like a very uninformed opinion. The last time I was asked I said the re – release of Annette Peacock’s ‘I’m The One’ which is truly one of the greatest records ever made. However after writing that I realized that “That’s Reality’ by Yumbo, which is Koji Shibuya’s (bass player in Maher Shalal Hash Baz) Pop masterpiece, came out in Japan in early 2011.
If the above list seems to be lacking in links, I’m writing this in a rush and don’t have the time to link everything just now but I’ll come back to it. Most are linked at the bottom of the page though!!
Finally, as Christmas is approaching I’d like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone that’s read the Tidal Wave of Indifference in 2011. There genuinely seems to be more and more each week, which is a lovely feeling on top of this being a big year generally. My first gig in September was a roaring success, I’ve done a stack more writing for Radar and my inane witterings have even popped up on scotsman.com and theskinny.co.uk and I’ve even done a bit of DJing and some radio presenting for Freshair (with hopefully a bit more to come in 2012).
The site will be back with more album reviews, band features and random bullshit in the middle of January. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s some Christmas cheer…
* Grammar pedants like Last Year’s Girl will note that I’m writing this in the first person as it’s a more personal post.
Much of our feelings about this album relate to a tear-stained performance at Homegame in Anstruther back in May, but even if we hadn’t been there, we’d still be saying this is a concise but impeccably realised piece of work that rightfully saw Kenny Anderson achieve long-deserved widespread recognition for his work.
4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Rightly acclaimed as Peej’s finest work in ten years, she became the first artist to walk away with the Mercury a second time which, whatever you think about awards love-ins, is hugely impressive. This is every bit the rival to her first win (Stories From the City, Stories From Sea), or indeed anything else she’s done.
3. Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
They just get better and better don’t they? The Scottish lords of post rock don’t do bad albums but this may yet be their finest hour – and we’re sure we said that about 2008’s the Hawk is Howling. AND it includes a song called George Square Thatcher Death Party. ‘Nuff said.
2. Ringo Deathstarr – Color Trip
Best band name ever? Almost certainly, but they got the tunes to match too. With Color Trip, the Texan three-piece have created a fuzz-pop classic that doesn’t give anything on quality control over its eleven tracks.
1. Metronomy – The English Riviera
A wondrous piece of experimental pop that we had overlooked until its appearance in the Mercury nominations. Joe Mount and co hadn’t really done it for us previously, but this was an upbeat, funky paean to the south Devon coastline. We’re delighted to name this album of the year for 2011.
Annie Clark is now a VERY BIG DEAL. This hotly anticipated follow-up to 2009’s acclaimed Actor (in turn a successor to the wonderful Marry Me) did not disappoint, capturing both the reflective tone of her earlier work and the pumped up tunes on Actor. Oh, and did we mention we were in love with her?
9. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien
That’s what 2011 needed – some scuzzed up guitar distortion. With J Mascis distracted by his acoustic solo project, a hole needed filling and this Staten Island foursome were just the band to do it. This trumped 2009’s worthy debut Why There Are Mountains, making them one of the most exciting bands in US guitar pop.
8. The Son(s) – The Sons(s)
We tipped the Son(s) for Radar at the end of last year and were delighted to see them, or let’s face it, ‘him’ produce the goods with a lovely little record. Breathless melodies and subtle psychedelia.
7. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
It mattered not that we’d heard versions of no fewer than four of these songs on 2009’s mini album A Balloon Called Moaning. Re-recorded versions and eight new tunes made for a noisy, raucous album full of huge guitars and thunderous drums.
6. Star Wheel Press – The Life Cycle of a Falling Bird
And to think were it not for a chance meeting with a dapper, ginger-bearded musician in the most inauspicious place (Edinburgh’s unsavoury stag party magnet the Three Sisters pub) we may never have come across this album that helped define our year. This album of fifteen well crafted folk melodies was taken from Aberfeldy to Edinburgh for our first gig back in September and it’s still a mainstay on the Tidal Wave stereo.
We expected this to be higher in all honesty. While there was much to admire about the Icelandic Queen’s latest album, it didn’t hit the heights of 2007’s Volta. We’re not that fussed about the apps, games and ‘sound manipulation’ aspects of the release either, being musical traditionalists and all that. But still, it IS Bjork and there was still heart and invention in spades.
14. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Yes, we know this got utterly pummelled in some quarters, and not just by those who can’t let go of Creep and The Bends. Cold and emotionless to some, innovative to others, but to us it was mostly a continuation of a musical output that has never been less than fascinating since the aforementioned Bends album.
13. Joan As Police Woman – The Deep Field
Joan Wasser gave us some big, big sounds with her third album proper. An ambitious piece of work, it had the emotional insight of a women now in her forties coated in imaginative, soulful arrangements. Her finest album so far.
12. Rob St. John – Weald
We reviewed this VERY recently, so it’s very much fresh in our heads. Dark and bleak but beautifully realised, this is the perfect album for the cold winter nights ahead. St. John is a massively exciting talent.
11. Remember Remember – The Quickening
Think of post rock in Scotland and until recently thoughts will sure have began and ended with Mogwai. That time is surely at an end with the advent of Graeme Ronald’s second album as Remember Remember, now with a full band in tow. A different beast to Braithwaite’s mob, this sat closer to Japan’s Mono, stylistically with many of the guitars played acoustically, lush orchestration throughout and the ‘loud bits’ almost erased. Tremendous stuff.
Zach Condon’s music hadn’t overly interested us before, but overwhelmingly positive reviews drove us towards The Rip Tide and it seems the wider world of critics got this one right. Less reliant on ‘world music’ than previous efforts, Condon’s voice could breathe in amongst relatively simply arranged – and rather good – songs.
19. FOUND – factorycraft
This felt like the year that FOUND ‘broke’, so to speak. High profile shows, tons of good press and ten great songs packaged up as factorycraft meant they had a great 2011. We also saw them live a lot and they were never less than superb. And we haven’t even mentioned chocolate records yet…
18. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
The mere thought of double albums rightfully turn many listeners in quivering wrecks, and as much as we love Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez’ synth-y shoegaze, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was approached with some nervousness. Arguably, two discs and 22 songs was too much, but unlike some epic efforts there wasn’t a lot of chaff here with pounding 80s-influenced tunes like Reunion and Midnight City more than making up for such profligacy.
17. Edinburgh School for the Deaf – New Youth Bible
Sometimes it feels like an album has been made just for you and when a band crafts ten songs of beautiful melodies and sweet vocals coated in huge distorted guitars, the Tidal Wave of Indifference is going to lay claim to it pretty quickly. New Youth Bible is one such record and it’s fucking excellent. And we’ve got them signed up to our next gig in February too, hooray!
16. The Moth and the Mirror – Honestly, This World
We never thought we’d see this happen, what with band members being involved elsewhere (mainly Admiral Fallow and Frightened Rabbit), but this was one record we were definitely happy to see emerge with its propulsive percussion and big guitar sounds. A landmark release too, for Olive Grove, one of our favourite labels which suggests exciting times to come.
So this is it. The REALLY good stuff. Without further ado…
25. Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls
There’s always one, and by ‘one’ we mean ‘one album that we only come across in late November that makes a late run for our countdown’. Enter Veronica Falls, formed from the ashes of the Royal We, among others, coming on like an undead Ronettes. Both spooky and lovely.
24. Conquering Animal Sound – Kammerspiel
The haunted vocals of Anneke Kampman soundtracked much of the early part of our year. Backed by the twitching, looped beats of Jamie Scott, Kammerspiel was both experimental and accessible.
23. Vessels – Helioscope
Post-rock with a twist this, in that – shock – there’s vocals scattered throughout. The Leeds five-piece sounded rhythmic and ominous and despite having been around for a few years now, moved squarely into the ‘ones to watch’ category this year.
22. The Twilight Singers – Dynamite Steps
Twilight Singers albums are always welcome, but we’re going to stick our necks out and suggest this might be their best yet. Consistently great all the way through unlike some patchy previous efforts, Greg Dulli is still one of the finest American artists out there.
21 Battles – Gloss Drop
We’ve been waiting four years for them to follow up Mirrored and with last year’s news that Tyrondai Braxton had buggered off, we were worried that album number two may never appear. Never fear, though, guest vocalists like Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino and – bizarrely – Gary Numan filled in the blanks rather well. Hooray!
Yes, it’s that time of year again – absolute heaven for list writers as we try to assemble our favourite albums of the year into a single, ordered list.
We’ve gone for 50 this time rather than 25, although last year we did name our ‘next 25′ (unordered) as well as a further ten that we’d hoped to have listened to more.
We’ve not done that this time, although we appreciate the futily/ridiculousness of a single man assembling no fewer than 50 pieces of listening pleasure into an order of preference; also the fact that if it had been a different day and different mood, the make-up of this list could have been radically different. But sod it.
Here’s a blast through 50-26 with audiovisual context for all these great albums. The next five days will cover 25-1 with a bit more on why the Tidal Wave of Indifference thinks they’re so good. Here we go….
50. The Douglas Firs – Happy As a Windless Flag
A fine effort from the Edinburgh act, exemplified by key songs I Will Kill Again and The Shadow Line.
49. The Phoenix Foundation – Buffalo
Who said Kiwis couldn’t do dreamy indie?
48. Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Perhaps not their best, but their always interesting and epic.
47. Friendly Fires – Pala
A decent fist of following up 2008′s debut. Simple pop songs crammed with hooks.
46. The Antlers – Burst Apart
Again, not in the same league as their amazing debut Hospice, but we’ve a lot of time for Peter Silberman and his squad.
45. Driver Drive Faster – Open House
Polytechnic weren’t great but their key figures regrouped for this lovely slab of indie pop, championed by Marc Riley
44. The Field – Looping State of Mind
Mind-warping German shoegaze techno. Nice.
43. Sparrow and the Workshop – Spitting Daggers
Increased momentum from Jill O’Sullivan and co. Every bit as good as their brace of mini-albums from the past few years.
42. The Kills – Blood Pressures
Their best yet? Unlike Jack White, Alison Mosshart hasn’t let the distraction of the Dead Weather get to her.
41. Bibio – Mind Bokeh
Good stuff this, a freaky eclectic album that defied all genres.
40. Dutch Uncles – Cadenza
A more than reasonable attempt at XTC-aping wonk-pop from a young Manchester troupe.
39. United Fruit – Fault Lines
Scotland does Fugazi/Trail of Dead noise. And does it damn well.
38. The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts
A return to form after a lengthy absence with help from Bethany Best Coast.
37. Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys
They’ll never recapture the magic of Asleep in the Back but it was a darned sight better than their dreary 2008 Mercury winner.
36. Mazes – A Thousand Heys
Joyous, scuzzy indie pop that does exactly what it says on the tin.
35. And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – The Tao of the Dead
A fresh line-up and fresh ambition from the Texans. Big rock songs and proggy madness.
34. Wye Oak – Civilian
Built mainly on two songs – Holy Holy and Dog’s Eyes – what songs they were.
33. Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
Former pop ingenue took on Jonsí-esque levels of lunacy and created a stunning record of massive tunes.
32. Come on Gang! – Strike a Match
Already much-missed Edinburgh indie-pop three-piece’s first – and last – album.
31. Trips and Falls – People Have to Be Told
Tongue-in-cheek pop from Song, by Toad’s American imports.
30. Adam Stafford – Build A Harbour Immediately
Very much a slow burner. We were unconvinced after his album launch but repeated listens saw this shoot up in our opinion and we’re now converts to his live show too.
29. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo
Sleepy, stoned stuff from the prolific singer-songwriter.
28. Kate Bush – Fifty Words for Snow
Utterly, utterly baffling. Stephen Fry naming (oh yes) fifty words for snow, a song about shagging a snowman and a rare occasion where an Elton John guest appearance enhances, rather than ruins, a song.
27. The Horrors – Skying
The NME still love them, and this is some rare common ground for ourseleves and the increasingly childish music weekly. Where shoegaze meets garage meets dream pop.
26. Low – C’mon
Probably their best album in three years, this was short, sharp and bloody great.
So, there are two albums worth highlighting that don’t really fit into the ‘artist album’ category that we’d like to talk about before we reach the main event of our top fifty countdown tomorrow. There’s no order here, these are both just excellent albums.
The Fruit Tree Foundation
Idlewild’s Rod Jones has been behind this project to raise awareness of mental health issues for a few years now and while this was “technically” out last year, the physical release only came out in early 2011 so it definitely counts. And it’s all for a great cause, so we’re not going to pass up an opportunity to mention it. James Graham (Twilight Sad), Scottish Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit), Jill O’Sullivan (Sparrow and the Workshop), Emma Pollock and James Yorkston all featured prominently and with artwork by Aiden Moffat, what are you waiting for. Buy it HERE, tightwads.
Jonnie Common Presents Deskjob
A unique piece of work where island electro popster reworked a number of songs by other Scottish artists such as eagleowl, Panda Su, Meursault, Conquering Animal Sound and more. We suppose it’s a remix album of sorts but most tracks are merely subtle rearrangements of existing material with Common’s little flourishes a unifying theme. All told, it’s lovely stuff. Don’t believe us? The album is previewed below.
