Soundtrack of 2012

Here is my soundtrack of 2012 - the songs I have been listening to most this year.

The Birthday Suit - The Eleventh Hour (no video available)
I love the start of this song - the guitar, drums everything.  A very catchy song, with great melodies.

Bluetree - Burn Me Up
From when Bluetree weren't afraid to be creative.  I love how stripped back large parts of this are.

DC Talk - In The Light
A very funky song.  DCTalk doing what they do so well.  Great sounds, great message.

Dennis - Ella
I love listening to this song.  Very upbeat, and a lot of fun.

Dennis - Carry Me Home (no video available, but you can listen here)
Possibly my favourite Dennis song.  It's just lovely.  I love the build through the choruses near the end.

Easyworld - A Stain To Never Fade
An old song that reminds me of being a teenager.  David Ford's vocals are still ridiculous.

Jenny and Tyler - Song For You
Possibly my song of the year, and on my 'contenders for greatest song of all time' list.  It's just massive.

Jenny and Tyler - Through Your Eyes
Beautifully haunting?  Hauntingly beautiful?  Either way, this song is wonderful.

Jenny and Tyler - Skyline Hill
Not normally the sort of thing I'd go for, but this song grabbed me this year and didn't let go.

Jesus Culture - Come Away/Let Me In
Jesus Culture are so good at what they do.  I love the positivity of this song.

The Last Spectacular - No Resistance (no video available, but you can listen here)
This song, possibly more than any other song, impressed me from the very first time I heard it.  Another on my 'contenders for greatest song of all time' list.

Lifecolour - Faking Masqurades (no video available, but you can listen here)
This song reminds me of Hebron.  I don't know why.  I just love it.

Muse - Follow Me
Another great song by Muse, they just keep coming.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
An old song, but it's been in my head all year.  It has everything I love about the Chilis.

Rock'n'Roll Worship Circus - Everybody Awake
Fun, optimistic, and a good tune.  This was the first song onto my soundtrack this year.

Sigur Ros - Vaka
A lovely tune.  Interestingly, the only Sigur Ros song I can sing by heart in its entirety.

The Sunshine Underground - The Messiah
I love how this song is less than 6 minutes long, but feels like at least 8.  Some great moments of music here.

Albums of the decade #7 – Easyworld – This Is Where I Stand (2002)

Just like Stellastarr*, Easyworld have a vocalist that sets them apart – David Ford’s voice is really quite remarkable.  Apparently he once sang so high and loud on stage that the blood vessels in his nose exploded.  Another brilliant sequence from tracks 1 to 7, before the last four admittedly tail off a tad.  The melodies on this album are just amazing, and behind them are layers of guitars and drums as well as some really cool electronics and brass.  Easyworld also really know how to enter a chorus with a bang.  Although there are no contenders for greatest song of all time from this album, the overall standard is very, very high.

10 albums you should listen to

Having harped on about my favourite album, No Name Face, I’d like to share another 10 albums with you, and say a few words about why they’re so good. The criteria for getting onto this list included excellent music, excellent lyrics, and that ‘something extra’ that means that an album really affects me personally. So, in alphabetical order by artist:

British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power
British Sea Power are one of those unique bands that sound like no-one else. This is there first album and, after the first three slightly unusual tracks disappear within 5 minutes, the next 8 are stupendous, with soaring guitars, haunting vocals that manage to combine a scream and a whisper, and poetic imagery like you’ve never heard before.

DCTalk – Jesus Freak
This album is lyrically just so blatant and unashamed with songs like 'Jesus Freak' and 'Like it, Love it, Need it', but also raw and intimate with 'What if I Stumble' and 'Mind’s Eye'. The music is so (there’s no other word for it) cool, and In The Light has probably the funkiest intro of all time.

Easyworld – This Is Where I Stand
This album is packed full of catchy riffs, exciting tunes, and solid, driving rhythms, but the thing that makes it special is the vocals, which reach notes I didn’t think even existed. This is one of those albums that has a couple of ‘good’ songs, and the rest is absolutely brilliant.

Enya – A Day Without Rain
Enya’s music is just beautiful, and this album in particular. There’s not a weak track on it and it’s actually full of variety from the Latin chant 'Tempus Vernum' to the slow 'Only Time' to the upbeat 'Lazy Days'. The genius is that she does it all herself – all the instruments and all the vocals. The only word is beautiful.

Idlewild – The Remote Part
Idlewild are one of my favourite bands and this is their best album. It’s full of hits (You held the world, Modern Way, American English, Stay the same etc), and is one of those rare albums that doesn’t have a weakness. The melodies are inspired and the music uplifting. And the lyrics are typically beautifully obscure.

Matt Redman – The Friendship and the Fear
By far my favourite worship album, although only a couple of songs have ever been picked up for congregational use. This album is rawly intimate with both introspective and extraspective songs, and it’s the rawness that makes it so special - it's far more real and intimate than any other worship album. It’s also really long at a whopping 72 minutes!

Mew – Frengers
From the opening crash of 'Am I Wry' to the final epicness of 'Comforting Sounds', this album is full of really excellent songs, both heavy and soft. It’s one of those albums that you hear, and then you listen to nothing else for a month. Incredibly addictive, with beautifully written lyrics and wonderfully arranged music.

Sabio – Escape
Sabio only ever wrote 8 songs, but they’re all immense. This is a very honest album about chasing after God, and the lyrics are very open and real, with no messing about. The music varies from electronically influenced rockiness to mellow acoustic ballads, covering everything in between. 'Mother' is one of those songs that, when listening to it while driving, I’m always surprised that I manage to maintain control of the vehicle.

Sixpence None the Richer – Divine Discontent
Sixpence always make good music – simple, easy to listen to, music that practically anyone will enjoy – but what I love about this album is how it always makes me feel good about life. It’s not all happy music, but it always leaves a positive message, and some songs in particular on this album reach the beauty usually only produced by Enya – high praise! It’s also great to have a female vocalist for a change.

Stellastarr* – Harmonies for the Haunted
This album is just full of absolute tunes. The music is solid and incredibly catchy, with no pansying about, and the combination of male and female vocalists produces a unique sound. It is not possible to not get into these songs, making this one of my favourite albums for almost any situation.