A good song stays with you forever, imprinting some feeling or memory into it's melody that when triggered is as vivid as the moment you felt or lived it. These are songs I discovered in 2013, not necessarily songs from 2013.
5. Thames Soup - The Phoenix Foundation
From Fandango released in April 2013, Phoenix Foundation's new album where you questioned whether you were high or transported back to the 80s (or both), came Thames Soup. Sam Scott vocals and lyrics as strong as ever and the song is proof that The Phoenix Foundation are still at top of their game. A self declared song about London, there was something I related to in this song with the reiteration of I don't live here that summed up both my detachment and disconnection from the big city I live in every day but sometimes feel no part of it. Piano, thumping bassline and a spacey outro. Perfect.
4. Leak at the Disco - Baxter Dury
A 2011 release that a tiny wee online radio station London Burning introduced me to and an Amazon MP3 special for £2.49 lead me blindly to download. The sound of birds in the night is a gentle introduction to one of my absolute favourite basslines not just of the year, but ever. Baxter's spoken word verses heavy with accent and metaphors (I was a sexual forest fire, but my flame had been dampened by the monsoons of fear and age) a melancholy organ and a sweet womanly chorus - She borrowed all this from your heart. And no one can be inside your heart.. The song followed me through the end of something I didn't think would stomp all over my heart so much, transforming into that song to turn up and drown thoughts in bass and then by the end of 2013, like the end of the song with the flutter of a helicopter, that reminder that bad feelings mean that the good ones feel even better.
3. Amsterdam - Yesyou
Another song discovery that falls at the feet of London Burning as I beavered away at work. This Australian duo bring a song that has 80s cop show vibes with it's racing drum beat and soft vocals that progress into a chorus that resonated so much for me in 2013 - And what's the difference if I throw it away in Amsterdam? Think with my mouth and I talk with my hands. That constant battle in my head to want to throw caution to the wind and play with sexual fire than listen to my head telling me that it is a bad idea to get involved. The song concludes in perfect fashion dottering out with wailing vocals and a clicky keyboard, leaving me to wonder the decisions I made and the things I talked myself out of doing throughout the year.
2. I Already Forgot Everything You Said - The Dig
Released May 2012, again London Burning was the one who introduced me to The Dig and yet another song where the first basis of my adoration was a rolling bassline. A song that in the handful of early listens could easily be pegholed to just another bitter breakup song, progresses into something a bit more meaningful. I could have let 2013 be ruined by some bad events (L, rogue kidney, the mugging) but there was something more freeing about the refrain that also gives the song it's name. This song was there when I was sad. This song was there when I wanted to groove along to a banging bassline with brilliant ringing guitar. This song was there when I wanted ooooh along. We do and say things and experience things that could stay with us forever and taint the way we act or continue onwards (or backwards). But sometimes it's best just to forget. Well you can ease your heart, you can ease your mind. And you can save your thoughts for another time. Because the sun is rising on your bed. And I already forgot everything you said
1. Don't Swallow The Cap - The National
Having not fallen in love with Demons, their first release from their 2013 release Trouble Will Find Me, I was anxious to whether my anticipation for new The Naional music was bound to be dampened. Then during a tedious day at work, The National tweeted a link to this song and the moment those drums and piano kicked in - I was in love again. Matt's familiar baritone echoed with his own backing vocals like a dark whisper in your ear that epitomises the vulnerability and insecurities that those lyrics embody. The song travels and builds through it's verses in a way that I can't help but involuntarily touch at my chest and my eyes flicker to the sky at the line When they ask what do I see, I say a bright white beautiful heaven hanging over me. There's desperation, there's hope, there's that dark feeling that never quite lets go with a drumline that pushes through reminiscence of their (and a personal favourite) song Guest Room. And there it crescendos, especially live, Matt's voice dropping away to leave you stripped back to that piano, those strings, the bass and drums. This song is 2013 for me. There was awful moments. There were great moments. And then there was every minute where I knew just how much I was loved and how many people I loved in return.
Everything I love is on the table. Everything I love is out to sea. I'm not alone. I'll never be.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
2013 Top 5 - Gigs
While some say that 13 is unlucky for some, 2013 was the year that I finally got back into music again. Especially live music. Being my third year in London, it was as if something clicked and this city with a population twice the size of my entire country became my home. And I realised the benefits of living in such a huge iconic city – quite often if I discovered a new band, it wasn’t that long off that would be playing some small or big gig in London.
I saw 2013 through with 21 gigs and 1 festival. So picking a top 5 is a difficult and contemplative task but also a great way to remember that I’ve been very lucky to see some great bands (and some not so great).
The soul of all music to me is how it makes you feel live. Anyone can record an album. Only a few bands can really sell it when they are in front of you, in a venue full of 10,000 people or full of 10.
5. 27 August 2013: The Drowning Men, The Islington, London
The only reason I knew about this gig was a couple days beforehand I received an email from a promoter mentioning this free gig. Likening them to Arcade Fire I was intrigued so had a listen, thought why not and dragged a friend along to North London unsure of what to expect.
Quite late, a band of mostly bearded men rolled onto the stage in a way that you’d expect them to break into some bluegrass. But there wasn’t a banjo on stage but a Theremin which started a blazing set.
What made this set stand out so much? These guys were so slick playing together and it didn’t matter that they were playing to a small room of about 30 people, these guys played as if they were playing to 1000s. Despite only knowing 2-3 songs, every song felt familiar and if I knew them intimately. It was a crime that there wasn’t more people there because this is a band that everyone should know live.
4. 19 July 2013: Bloc Party, Latitude Festival, Southwold
The Friday night headliner, Oren and I wandered in mid crowd and on a dark summer night watched what is very possibly the last Bloc Party gig ever. I had seen Bloc Party only once before, Leeds Festival in 2007 and had since then lost most interest in them only ever hearing snippets of awful new releases. I guess the benefit of a festival show when you are in love with their older more familiar material is they are more likely to play it and they did not disappoint. The setlist of 19 songs did not have one bad step and the crowd moved back and forth in small waves to Kele’s inciting. The five song encore was absolutely crazy and I left that mess with smiles ear to ear and fully reminded why Silent Alarm will always be one of my top ever albums.
3. 9 July 2013: The Veils, Scala, King's Cross, London
It had been a very long period between drinks for The Veils. Having seen them twice only in 2007 (and last time in London in Borderline where they played 5 songs only at a supposedly headlining gig), it meant it had been a long six years. Time Stays, We Go their brilliant new album set my hopes high and when I rocked up to Scala that night I wondered if they could really meet all my expectations.
Despite having seen them live before, I had completely forgotten just how Finn can produce his unique voice and sound live. A 15 song setlist missing out thankfully most of their dullest album in between their two best, Finn screamed and wailed and sung softly with the drums so high in the mix that I wanted to jut all over the place like there was no tomorrow. Oren commented to me, having been with me at the last Christchurch gig in 2007 “Finn is a lot less of a spaz now”.
Finn started the encore with a sweet lone acoustic rendition of The Tide that Never Came Back and Lavinia that set a tone that made Jesus for the Juglar even more epic and crazy than it is. It says something that as soon as I heard about the London show in March 2014 that I had snapped up two tickets.
2. 14 November 2013: The National, Alexandra Palace, London
I’m not gonna lie. I saw The National three times in five days back in November and one of those gigs were in a different country. Had I not been mugged in Paris, I might have just gone to see them in Belgium and France too. All three gigs had their merits and quirks (Belfast if just for the fact that Matt would not stay out of the crowd; London night 1 for screaming along to Available to deathly silence around me) but I assume because I knew it would be the last one – the second night at Ally Pally was when I absolutely fell in love with that band all over again. Learning from the night before, I decided to take minimal possessions and warm clothes so I could go in as deep as possible and even downed a few beers to mask the freezing winter night. The crowd was the same as the first night. Unmoved to take off their jackets and standing still. Why go 3 rows from the front to stand there as if you don’t even want to be there? I took my own cue and as soon as Bryce and Aaron break into Don’t Swallow The Cap, I danced to my own beat and was glad to hear that Matt’s attempt to ruin his voice the night before had been unsuccessful. The setlist was mostly the same although there were perfect bonuses of All the Wine and Exile Vilify. For Graceless I found someone to dance with as Matt screamed “GRACE!” and then to sing along with to Fake Empire. The crowd finally came alive to Mr November as Matt stumbled through a surging crowd. He headed straight for me and for no reason I grabbed at him and rubbed his stomach. Nearly falling, my dancing friend pulled me out and I screamed Mr November until my throat hurt. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geek acoustic with Matt telling the crowd to shut up ended a night that I just didn’t want to end. This is the only band that I would not hesitate to see live and live again and the only one I would trek to see at Ally Pally – not once but two nights in a row.
1. 26 October 2013: El Ten Eleven, Windmill, Brixton
I nearly didn’t go to this gig. I was studying for an exam on the Tuesday and the thought of having to venture to Brixton, a place tainted by the ghost of someone who treated me badly, with a combination of overground, tube and bus was almost too much. I had arrived at 9pm expecting El Ten Eleven to be on at 9:30pm at the latest. The L shape of this tiny estate bar made it difficult to even get anywhere near the stage and I was really wondering if it was worth it. A band finished and I managed to sneak up to the front and stood through 2 decent supports. By this time it was 10:30pm and I was concerned about how I was going to get home, already planning in my head to leave early as not to miss last tubes or buses.
…then El Ten Eleven came on and then there was no question that I would stay out until forever and take 100 night buses home if I had to see this right through. Right from the first song, Kristin on his double necked guitar, smiling almost manically, Tim on drums, I stood with my mouth open and then moved my body to the crazy looped guitar/bass/drums sound. The venue was tiny and hot and everyone was sweating, including Kristin dripping down his guitar and bass but they both didn’t miss a beat. When I first heard them, from a random recommendation on bandcamp, I couldn’t believe it was only two guys. That disbelief carries over to their live show. How?! I’ve never seen live looping to that level before and can’t imagine ever seeing it again (unless they come back). I felt so lucky that I discovered them, let alone that only a few months later I got to see them play their first London show ever. When Kristin explained Connie, about letting people go that aren’t with you anymore because they died, they left you, you left them, they were never with you, about letting that weight off your shoulders, it felt like a moment I could never reproduce again and one so appropriate to that ghost lingering. Drenched in sweat, legs aching from jumping, and my face hurting from smiling so damn much I stepped into the freezing cold knowing I had just seen something amazing that I could never ever be able to adequately describe.
If you ever get the chance, see them live and I hope you could understand.
I saw 2013 through with 21 gigs and 1 festival. So picking a top 5 is a difficult and contemplative task but also a great way to remember that I’ve been very lucky to see some great bands (and some not so great).
The soul of all music to me is how it makes you feel live. Anyone can record an album. Only a few bands can really sell it when they are in front of you, in a venue full of 10,000 people or full of 10.
5. 27 August 2013: The Drowning Men, The Islington, London
The only reason I knew about this gig was a couple days beforehand I received an email from a promoter mentioning this free gig. Likening them to Arcade Fire I was intrigued so had a listen, thought why not and dragged a friend along to North London unsure of what to expect.
Quite late, a band of mostly bearded men rolled onto the stage in a way that you’d expect them to break into some bluegrass. But there wasn’t a banjo on stage but a Theremin which started a blazing set.
What made this set stand out so much? These guys were so slick playing together and it didn’t matter that they were playing to a small room of about 30 people, these guys played as if they were playing to 1000s. Despite only knowing 2-3 songs, every song felt familiar and if I knew them intimately. It was a crime that there wasn’t more people there because this is a band that everyone should know live.
4. 19 July 2013: Bloc Party, Latitude Festival, Southwold
The Friday night headliner, Oren and I wandered in mid crowd and on a dark summer night watched what is very possibly the last Bloc Party gig ever. I had seen Bloc Party only once before, Leeds Festival in 2007 and had since then lost most interest in them only ever hearing snippets of awful new releases. I guess the benefit of a festival show when you are in love with their older more familiar material is they are more likely to play it and they did not disappoint. The setlist of 19 songs did not have one bad step and the crowd moved back and forth in small waves to Kele’s inciting. The five song encore was absolutely crazy and I left that mess with smiles ear to ear and fully reminded why Silent Alarm will always be one of my top ever albums.
3. 9 July 2013: The Veils, Scala, King's Cross, London
It had been a very long period between drinks for The Veils. Having seen them twice only in 2007 (and last time in London in Borderline where they played 5 songs only at a supposedly headlining gig), it meant it had been a long six years. Time Stays, We Go their brilliant new album set my hopes high and when I rocked up to Scala that night I wondered if they could really meet all my expectations.
Despite having seen them live before, I had completely forgotten just how Finn can produce his unique voice and sound live. A 15 song setlist missing out thankfully most of their dullest album in between their two best, Finn screamed and wailed and sung softly with the drums so high in the mix that I wanted to jut all over the place like there was no tomorrow. Oren commented to me, having been with me at the last Christchurch gig in 2007 “Finn is a lot less of a spaz now”.
Finn started the encore with a sweet lone acoustic rendition of The Tide that Never Came Back and Lavinia that set a tone that made Jesus for the Juglar even more epic and crazy than it is. It says something that as soon as I heard about the London show in March 2014 that I had snapped up two tickets.
2. 14 November 2013: The National, Alexandra Palace, London
I’m not gonna lie. I saw The National three times in five days back in November and one of those gigs were in a different country. Had I not been mugged in Paris, I might have just gone to see them in Belgium and France too. All three gigs had their merits and quirks (Belfast if just for the fact that Matt would not stay out of the crowd; London night 1 for screaming along to Available to deathly silence around me) but I assume because I knew it would be the last one – the second night at Ally Pally was when I absolutely fell in love with that band all over again. Learning from the night before, I decided to take minimal possessions and warm clothes so I could go in as deep as possible and even downed a few beers to mask the freezing winter night. The crowd was the same as the first night. Unmoved to take off their jackets and standing still. Why go 3 rows from the front to stand there as if you don’t even want to be there? I took my own cue and as soon as Bryce and Aaron break into Don’t Swallow The Cap, I danced to my own beat and was glad to hear that Matt’s attempt to ruin his voice the night before had been unsuccessful. The setlist was mostly the same although there were perfect bonuses of All the Wine and Exile Vilify. For Graceless I found someone to dance with as Matt screamed “GRACE!” and then to sing along with to Fake Empire. The crowd finally came alive to Mr November as Matt stumbled through a surging crowd. He headed straight for me and for no reason I grabbed at him and rubbed his stomach. Nearly falling, my dancing friend pulled me out and I screamed Mr November until my throat hurt. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geek acoustic with Matt telling the crowd to shut up ended a night that I just didn’t want to end. This is the only band that I would not hesitate to see live and live again and the only one I would trek to see at Ally Pally – not once but two nights in a row.
1. 26 October 2013: El Ten Eleven, Windmill, Brixton
I nearly didn’t go to this gig. I was studying for an exam on the Tuesday and the thought of having to venture to Brixton, a place tainted by the ghost of someone who treated me badly, with a combination of overground, tube and bus was almost too much. I had arrived at 9pm expecting El Ten Eleven to be on at 9:30pm at the latest. The L shape of this tiny estate bar made it difficult to even get anywhere near the stage and I was really wondering if it was worth it. A band finished and I managed to sneak up to the front and stood through 2 decent supports. By this time it was 10:30pm and I was concerned about how I was going to get home, already planning in my head to leave early as not to miss last tubes or buses.
…then El Ten Eleven came on and then there was no question that I would stay out until forever and take 100 night buses home if I had to see this right through. Right from the first song, Kristin on his double necked guitar, smiling almost manically, Tim on drums, I stood with my mouth open and then moved my body to the crazy looped guitar/bass/drums sound. The venue was tiny and hot and everyone was sweating, including Kristin dripping down his guitar and bass but they both didn’t miss a beat. When I first heard them, from a random recommendation on bandcamp, I couldn’t believe it was only two guys. That disbelief carries over to their live show. How?! I’ve never seen live looping to that level before and can’t imagine ever seeing it again (unless they come back). I felt so lucky that I discovered them, let alone that only a few months later I got to see them play their first London show ever. When Kristin explained Connie, about letting people go that aren’t with you anymore because they died, they left you, you left them, they were never with you, about letting that weight off your shoulders, it felt like a moment I could never reproduce again and one so appropriate to that ghost lingering. Drenched in sweat, legs aching from jumping, and my face hurting from smiling so damn much I stepped into the freezing cold knowing I had just seen something amazing that I could never ever be able to adequately describe.
If you ever get the chance, see them live and I hope you could understand.
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