Best Albums: 2013

Neko Case: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You
Neko recorded an album so good, she couldn't stop naming it.

Foxygen: We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

Spirited reinvention? Enthusiastic homage? Mimicry? Who cares? This is the best album of its kind since The Dandy Warhols' Thirteen Tales of Urban Bohemia.

 

James Blake: Overgrown
Intricate and expansive, James Blake wins the fight against the 'difficult' second album!

Forest Swords: Engravings
Get ready for smokey aural adventure.

Savages: Silence Yourself
Punk manifesto never sounded so good.

Bill Callahan: Dream River
Callahan's latest music reduction: boil everything down to its essence, hit record.

Pusha T: My Name is My Name
Don't accuse Pusha of being a coke-rapper. His songs are about 'dealing coke'- not dealing coke. This album is ridikalus good.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Push the Sky Away

The Bad Seeds natural sense of menace gets put on a slow spin cycle with atmospheric samples.

Kanye West: Yeezus
What kind of maniac releases an album that is so rabidly anti-commerical, just when everyone was loving him again? The best kind of maniac.

Queens of the Stone Age: ...Like Clockwork
QOTSA return with one of the strongest albums of their career. Thrilling, powerful and often very funny.

The National: Trouble Will Find Me
On the surface it seems like 'just another' great National album, but on closer inspection it reveals itself to be one of their best - finding the band looser, funnier and more at ease than ever. If it ends up being the band's swansong, it would a fine finish. 

My Bloody Valentine: MBV
Over 20 years after Loveless, My Bloody Valentine still sound like My Bloody Valentine. Which is the same as saying nobody else sounds like My Bloody Valentine.

Kurt Vile: Waking on a Pretty Daze
The most comforting album of the year- put it on with your first cup of coffee on a Saturday morning, see what I mean.

Jon Hopkins: Immunity
An electronic masterwork.

 
Lady Lamb The Beekeeper: Ripely Pine 
Wonderfully bold, wonderfully weird.

Paul McCartney: New
He was always the most talented one.

 

Janelle Monae: The Electric Lady
Janelle Monae continues her hugely ambitious Android saga with The Electric Lady, an amalgamation of R&B, rock, pop, hip-hop styles and influences that combines in a shouldn't-be-so-successful way.

Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
A loose concept album with more flashes of brilliance than most.
Sprawling, exacting, expensive-sounding.

The Drones: I See Seaweed
The caustic strength of this record actually sounds like will corrode your speakers.

Arcade Fire: Reflektor
They probably didn't want everyone thinking they didn't know how to have a good time.

DARKSIDE: Psychic
Can an album be simultaneously moody and upbeat? DARKSIDE managed it.

Future of the Left: How To Stop Your Brain in an Accident
Full disclosure: I donated some meagre funds towards the recording of this album, so I'm happy to accept any credit towards its greatness.

Best Tracks: 2013

BEST OF THE BEST:
Landslide- Kirin J Callinan

Raw, vulnerable and utterly electrifying.

Higgs Boson Blues- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

A swirling, propulsive epic in the style that the Bad Seeds do best. God, the devil, Miley Cyrus and human evolution swirling together towards our shared apocalypse.

You Are the Apple- Lady Lamb The Beekeeper
Even after listening to this song for the best part of a year, I'm always surprised by its remarkable twists and turns.

Immunity-Jon Hopkins

The most sublime piece of music released this year.

Retrograde- James Blake
Fragility and triumph combine in the centrepiece of Blake's wonderful album Overgrown.

Giorgio by Moroder and Get Lucky- Daft Punk
The first, because it's 9 minutes of pure, adoring homage and the latter because despite the fact it's been played everywhere for months, it's still the funnest, coolest song released this year.

THE BEST:

Step-Vampire Weekend

Sly, clever and hilarious.

Seedling- Clulow Forester
The centrepiece from this Sydney duo's EP is sprawling, grand and adventurous gem.

 

Smooth Sailing- Queens of the Stone Age
One of many highlights on QOTSA's latest album, this stomping tune is also one of the funniest.

She Will- Savages
This is the sound of a fire starting.

Love is Lost (Hello Steve Reich mix)- David Bowie remixed by James Murphy 
James Murphy does his usual remix thing of stretching the barest elements of an original track out to 10 minutes, adding a bunch of electro fuzz and a new backbeat, thus turning the song into something bigger and better.

Parenthesis- Tricky

With one of the best uses of a sample this year, this track was a highlight from Tricky's return to form album False Idols.

Tiger Tank- Speedy Ortiz
The spirit of 90s lo-fi is alive and well and embodied in Speedy Ortiz. 

I Saw Her Face- The Men
Crazy Horse style love song from the hardest working.... men.... in rock (sorry).

Like The Morning Dew- Laura Mvula
Glorious in its fluctuations between maximum and minimal, this song actually feels like it's going to snatch your breath away.

Full of Fire- The Knife
The most aggressively contrarian single of the year is also one of the most thrilling.

Walk Us Uptown- Elvis Costello & The Roots
The effortless swagger of the effortlessly cool. (I wish the rest of the album was as good as this track).

People of the Sticks- Besnard Lakes
No one does epic aural vistas quite like Besnard Lakes.

Blood on the Leaves- Kanye West
Kanye gets a lot of crap, but the man's pretty much a genius.

 

Newsletter, newsletter: Nov 21 Edition

This is the sound of your credit card debt increasing.
	THE ROLLING STONES Other city dates to come in the next couple of weeks, but why not make the occasion extra special by seeing one of the most legendary bands in the world perform a huge show to commemorate the opening of a brand new... sporting arena? Saturday 22 March, Adelaide Oval General sale starts Monday 25 November Ticketek presales start at 11am today
	ARCADE FIRE Finally, unsurprisingly, Arcade Fire announce their sideshows at huge venues. To their credit, their shows on this tour have been report to be similarly huge (and have formal dress codes). Get your tuxes and gowns ready. Wednesday 22 January, Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Tuesday 28 January, Entertainment Centre, Sydney General sale Friday 29 November Pre-sales start on Tuesday 26 November
	SNOOP LION + MAC MILLER If he's actually allowed in the country, if he's not arrested before taking the stage, you can see Snoop light up a blunt at one of two great venues on the east coast. Wednesday, January 22, Palace, Melbourne Saturday, January 25, Enmore, Sydney On sale Friday 29 November
	PHOENIX These Frenchmen know how to put on a show. Lights, tunes, sauveness. Wednesday, March 5, Horden Pavilion, Sydney Thursday, March 6, Festival Hall, Melbourne On sale now!
	DARKSIDE Nicholas Jaar and Dave Harrington released the amazing album Psychic earlier this year after performing at Laneway Festival, and are returning again for their own headline shows. Wednesday April 2, The Hi-Fi, Sydney Friday April 4, Palace Theatre, Melbourne On sale now!
	DJ SHADOW Shadow lines up a few small scale shows for this DJ tour (if, in any univers,e you can consider anything associated with the Ivy to be small scale.) Saturday, February 8, Bass Boutique, Ivy Courtyard, Sydney Thursday, February 13, The Prince, Melbourne On sale now
	MUDHONEY Touch them, they're still sick. Wednesday, January 22, Corner Hotel, Melbourne Wednesday, January 29, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney On sale Friday 29th November
	NEIL FINN Having developed a taste for the classier of venues, Neil Finn returns to the Opera House and Hammer Hall for the second time in a year. Seems he ditched that layabout Paul Kelly this time though. Wednesday, March 12, Hammer Hall, Melbourne Saturday, March 22, Opera House, Sydney Tickets on sale Friday November 22
	ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS Elvis announces a special performance at the State Theatre as a sideshow to his Bluesfest appearance. Wednesday 23 April, State Theatre On sale Thursday 28 November

 

Newsletter, newsletter: November 8 Edition

An array of exceptional acts announced this edition. Also, Kings of Leon.
	ERYKAH BADU The amazing Erykah Badu's announces sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney alongside her performance at Bluesfest. Your choices: watch alongside barefoot flower children swaying in the Byron air, or alongside sartorial bloggers wearing glasses without lenses in Melbourne, or with bespoke suited inner city types waiting for the intermission so that they can try out 'their system' at the blackjack table in Sydney. Tuesday 15 April, Palais, Melbourne Thursday 17 April, The Star, Sydney Friday 18- 21 April, Bluesfest, Byron Bay Live Nation pre-sale starts at noon Tickets on sale midday Monday, November 11
	NEKO CASE Neko's latest album is one of the best of the year, maybe even the best. This is your chance to see her perform either in intimate surrounds of the Corner Hotel, the kind of venue where she's at her most laidback, or in the Opera House, which always brings out the best in performers (unless you're a member of Spiritualized in which case you'll appear as unimpressed as usual). Sunday 2 March, Corner Hotel, Melbourne Monday 3 March, Sydney Opera House On sale now
	CHARLES BRADLEY Revivalist soul heavyweight is said to deliver a knock-out show- sweaty, intense, surprising: just like catching a train to work in Sydney. Sunday March 2, The Basement, Sydney Thursday March 6, The Corner, Melbourne On sale now
	KINGS OF LEON: INTIMATE HEADLINE SHOW I suppose if you're forced to endure a performance by Kings of Leon, the Enmore's a pretty good place to do it. Sorry, KoL fans. (Not sorry). Wednesday 20 November, Enmore Theatre, Sydney On sale Wednesday 13 November
	FLYING LOTUS: LAYER 3 Experimental producer Flying Lotus brings his acclaimed, innovative 3D AV show and brain-melting sounds to the Opera House for one very special performance. Sunday 9 March, Sydney Opera House On sale 15 November
	OKKERVIL RIVER Literate, quirky, funny and honest: Okkervil River's eHarmony profile. Friday 21 February, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Saturday 22 February, Corner Hotel, Melbourne On sale now
	PUBLIC ENEMY Literate, socially-conscious, passionate Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee: Public Enemy's OkCupid profile. Tuesday 4 March, Corner Hotel, Melbourne Wednesday 5 March, Metro Theatre, Sydney Pre-sale on now
	WIRE Restless postpunk legends refuse to repeat themselves even when revisiting themselves. Thursday 20 February, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Friday 21 February, Corner Hotel, Melbourne On sale Thursday 14 November
	TUNES! Right click, save as! The first track from the upcoming Mogwai album Rave Tapes, the single Remurdered Fuzzy single from Sky Ferreira's debut: You're Not The One Download! James Murphy's typically excellent remix of one of David Bowie's new tracks: Love is Lost

The National: 'Lean' from the Hunger Games Catching Fire soundtrack

Ever busy, The National have contributed a song to the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The album follows in the recent tradition of teen-targeted film soundtracks by being loaded with indie artists whose usual fans aren't necessarily buying tickets for the films themselves. You'd wonder what the purpose is, but it turns out a lot of these artists get a nice little paycheck from their contributions, paid upfront, at that, by the megalithic film production companies. You gots to be selling.

Hear the song below:

Newsletter, newsletter: 31st October Edition

	SYDNEY FESTIVAL A huge Sydney Festival lineup, taking in more venues and events than ever before. Lee Ranaldo’s Hurricane Transcriptions / Mike Patton’s Laborintus III with Ensemble Offspring & The Song Company Big Star’s Third Chaka Khan Amadou & Mariam’s Eclipse So Frenchy So Chic in The Park Tyondai Braxton’s HIVE + Canyons & Daniel Boyd’s 100 Million Nights Matmos Sun Ra Arkestra Ambrose Akinmusire Amanda Palmer Bombino Chris Thile Edwyn Collins Colin Stetson Andrew Weatherall John Grant and John Murry Mick Harvey: Intoxicated Man: Songs of Serge Gainsbourg Kurt Vile & The Violators and heaps more 9-26 January On sale now
	EARL SWEATSHIRT + DANNY BROWN + RUN THE JEWELS Hiphop upstarts join forces for one night of XXL shirts and dropped beats. Tuesday, February 4, Enmore Theatre, Sydney Thursday, February 6, Palace Theatre, Melbourne On sale Wednesday 30 October
	SAVAGES Sure, they stand for something and lean heavily on their monochromatic style, but at least they stand for something and have that fantastic monochromatic style! Also, have you heard their record? It's one of the best of the year. Thursday, January 30, The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Wednesday, February 5, The Metro, Sydney On sale Thursday 31 October
	CHVRCHES Bvzzy Scottish synthpop trio annovnces their Laneway sideshows. Tix are svre to go qvick. Wednesday, January 29, The Forum, Melbourne Tuesday, February 4, Metro Theatre, Sydney On sale Wednesday 30 October
	YO LA TENGO A SHOW IN TWO PARTS: QUIET & LOUD Yo La Tengo have been consistently producing inventive rock music for 3 decades. Here's the opportunity to see them perform two sets of their material. Thursday, March 13, Sydney Opera House, Sydney On sale Friday
	MONA MOFO Another typically idiosyncratic lineup for the typically idiosyncratic MONA festival. Recommended. Ansgar Wallenhorst Astronautalis Australian Art Orchestra With Ngaiire Australian Chamber Orchestra Quartet Chris Thile Client Liaison Colin Stetson Conrad Shawcross: Ada Faux Mo John Grant Kim Myhr & Kjell Bjørgeengen Matmos Mick Harvey: Intoxicated Man: Songs of Serge Gainsbourg Morning Meditations Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro Perch Creek Family Jug Band Pixar In Concert With Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Psycroptic Robin Fox Roland Tings Slave Pianos & Punkasila With Michael Kieran Harvey & Rachel Sarawati Striborg Sun Ra Arkestra The Bombay Royale The Julie Ruin The Orb Tyondai Braxton: Hive & more to come... 15-19 January 2014, Macquarie Wharf, Hobart On sale now
	EMINEM w/ KENDRICK LAMAR + J. COLE + 360 Eminem is 41 years old. Wednesday 19 February, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Saturday 22 February, ANZ Stadium, Sydney On sale Thursday 10am
	SEBADOH One of the pioneers of the lo-fi rock sound. Come and bury your singalong voice way down in the mix. Friday, March 21, Corner Hotel, Melbourne Saturday, March 22, Annandale Hotel, Sydney On sale now
	TUNES! Right click, save as! The stellar opening track from DARKSIDE's excellent album Psychic: Golden Arrow The single Everyone is Noah, Everyone is the Ark from Moonface's latest record. A new track from Kurt Vile's Walking on a Pretty Haze deluxe edition: Feel My Pain Stream! Cut Copy's new album Free Your Mind Check out Midlake's new lead singer on their new album Antiphon

 

David Bowie vs James Murphy

James Murphy does a typically great remix of David Bowie's track Love is Lost from his recent album The Next Day:

Arcade Fire: Reflektor video

Arcade Fire's Reflektor video is online now, as are pre-orders for the band’s new album from their website. Pre-orders get first access to ticket sales for special shows as well as the band’s forthcoming world tour. Which is great so long as you don't live in Australia, where the shipping-- for the vinyl record at least-- is more than the cost of the double-LP itself! Guess I'll have to battle for tickets along with everyone else.

Arcade Fire: Reflektor (featuring David Bowie)

Here it is, the first real taste of Arcade Fire's new album, the 8 minute single Reflektor. The 12" single featuring none other than David Bowie is due to be released today at 9pm, along with an Anton Corbijn-directed video.

Beware, this stream may not last long:

Tunes!

Fantastic listening to be had this week, take your pick of these excellent new releases:

Album Streams!

Belle and Sebastian's rarities collection: The Third Eye Centre:
Neko Case's excellent new album: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You Links!
And over at NPR at the moment you can stream Volcano Choir's phenomenal new album, Repave.

And at Pitchfork Advance (if you can get it to work, I always have trouble), you can listen to the new Forest Swords record Engravings.

The Counselor trailer

As a huge admirer of Cormac McCarthy's writing, a fan of most of this stellar cast and a, let's say, conflicted relationship with Ridley Scott's output, I really, really want The Counselor to be great. I've no idea what it's about- other than a cast of shady characters becoming involved in shady dealings, but it thankfully bears more of the hallmarks of McCarthy's stripped-back brutality than Scott's recent grandiosity. So the signs are encouraging.

And if this film is done, it also hopefully indicates that new novel from McCarthy may be in the works. It's been too long since The Road was released, and there's only so many times you can read Blood Meridian before the rosiness of existence dims beyond repair. I joke, but it's true.

Check out The Counselor trailer below:

Spike Jonze's Her trailer

Four years after the great, misunderstood Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze returns with his latest feature Her, a film that seems to employs his usual adept handling of strangeness and heart in the story of a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with an operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johannsson).

I suppose it's the sort of concept that could have been turned into a wacky Vince Vaughn comedy (imagine: high jinks involving smart phones vibrating in trouser pockets, wireless networks sabotaging his date with a 'real' woman, browser histories popping up at inopportune moments etc. This thing writes itself! I need to get an agent and pitch this to a studio exec like now) but Jonze (in what is his first sole writing credit) is treating it in typically straight-faced fashion. It looks good.

And as a bonus- the music for the film is composed by Arcade Fire! Whether this is all new material or re-purposed tracks remains to be seen.

Here's hoping it's another winner from the endlessly interesting Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures! Keep 'em coming.

Black Skinhead vs Elephant

So good:

Check out this incredible mashup of Tame Impala's Elephant and Kanye West's Black Skinhead by producer Nate Belasco. It's really great.

Lou Reed reviews Yeezus

The best review I've read of Kanye West's great new album Yeezus is an impassioned piece by none other than Lou Reed. A feature on a great new site The Talkhouse, which has musical artists reviewing other musical artists.

It's a fantastic, honest read, and says a lot about how I also feel about Kanye's latest.
Here are a few of my favourite observations:

"There are moments of supreme beauty and greatness on this record, and then some of it is the same old shit.  But the guy really, really, really is talented."

"Very often, he'll have this very monotonous section going and then, suddenly —"BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP!"" 

"It's like farting."

"At so many points in this album, the music breaks into this melody, and it's glorious — I mean, glorious."


Read the whole thing, and other great articles, here: http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed

Harvest Festival 2013 lineup unveiled!

The best-run festival in Australia has just announced its initial lineup and it's another great set of acts, with more to come.

In addition to the astounding coup of securing Neutral Milk Hotel for their first Australian tour (the festival is worth attending just for them), here's the rest of the first announcement:

Massive Attack
Franz Ferdinand
Primus
Goldfrapp
Desaparecidos (Conor Oberst)
Eels
CSS
The Drones
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
M Ward
Superchunk
The Wallflowers
Walk Off The Earth

Typically the second announcement features some great surprises (among others: TV on the Radio the first year, Los Campesinos in the second), so the lineup is sure to improve even more.

The other surprise is the move of the Sydney festival from Parramatta Park to The Domain. Here's hoping the well-organised, easy-going atmosphere is maintained in the inner city digs!


Sunday, November 10, Werribee Park, Melbourne
Saturday, November 16, The Domain, Sydney
Sunday, November 17, Botanic Gardens, Brisbane

For more offical info visit: www.harvestfestival.com.au

Kirin J Callinan's Embracism: Album stream

The anarchic Kirin J Callinan's long awaited debut Embracism drops on Friday, but you can hear it in its entirety now. Not necessarily for the faint-hearted. Probably better played loud in a small, hot room after several drinks than say, your desk at work.

Tunes!

For fans of Nicholas Winding-Refn's Drive, here's a great new synth track from College, Un Long Sommeil:




Check out this amazing and atypically mellow track from the anarchic Aussie Kirin J Callinan's debut album, Embracism:  Landslide. Fans of Xiu Xiu and The Normal should rejoice.
 
Queens of the Stone Age have managed to deliver yet another incredible album, ...Like Clockwork, which may well rank with their best. A particular highlight is late track I Appear Missing:


A brand new anticipatory single from the Artic Monkeys, Do I Wanna Know:

And from the wonderful Neko Case's soon to be released new record, the first single: Man: