Albums of 2013

Here is my ranked list of albums I have got in 2013.

Unranked
Editors - The Weight of Your Love
Although I got this album in the last year, I don't think I know it well enough to rank it yet.

17.  Keston Cobbler's Club - One, For Words
I saw these guys supporting To Kill a King.  They were really fun live, but their album is quite boring.  The music gains a huge amount when played live.

16.  Cathy Burton - Source of Every Hour
Meh.  S'ok.  Not much more to say.

15.  Treacherous Orchestra - Origins
Very different, quite entertaining.  Hard to listen to a whole album though, it's pretty intense.

14.  Rend Collective Experiment - Homemade Worship by Handmade People
Some ok stuff, some really good stuff.  The style isn't really my thing though.

13.  Lifehouse - Almeria
It's fine, but not much more.  Lifehouse's first two albums were incredible.  The next four were fine, but far less impressive.

12.  One Sonic Society - Forever Reign
Good, especially the title track.  I should keep following this band.

11.  Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
I bought this out of curiosity.  It is Oasis-y, but I like that.  Decent album.

10.  Matt Redman - Your Grace Finds Me
Not one of his best, but still fairly good.  Even a weak album from Matt is better than most other worship albums.

9.  The Killers - Battle Born
Strong.  Some great tunes.

7=.  To Kill a King - Cannibals with Cutlery
This band has real quality.  Some excellent songs on here.  Deep stuff.

7=.  Switchfoot - Oh, Gravity
I got five Switchfoot albums at the start of this year, and the weakest of them is in joint 7th place.  Ths is an excellent band, an this is a very good album.

5=.  Bastille - Bad Blood
Surprisingly mainstream for me.  This album doesn't really have a weakness.

5=.  Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound
More good quality music.  Simple as.

4.  Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
A bit of a leap, I think, from the previous 2 Switchfoot albums, to the next 3.  This is a mint album.

2=.  Switchfoot - Vice Verses
This really has been Switchfoot's year.

2=.  Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
I really like this album.  And it doesn't decline in the second half.

1.  Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
To be honest, all five Switchfoot albums on this list are very good.  The order could change on another day, but Hello Hurricane currently tops the list.

Soundtrack of 2011

Following previous years here, here and here, it is now time for my soundtrack of 2011.

Athlete - Wild Wolves

Just lovely.  Only on the Black Swan bonus disc, but a great song.  I was lucky enough to see them play it live twice about a year ago.

Flight Brigade - Planes, Trains and Motor Vehicles
I discovered this band at The Vane Tempest Sessions in Durham, and this was the song that grabbed me the most.

(no video)

Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard - Now We Are Free

Not new at all, but still very special.  Gerrard's voice is immense.  One of the best film ending songs ever.  "Not yet, not yet".

Lifehouse - Simon

Another song over ten years old.  It's always been huge.  This year it's probably become my favourite by Lifehouse.

Lou Fellingham - See the Lamb of God

I saw Phatfish play at Spring Harvest this year, and this song was the highlight.  They built it up much more than on the recorded version.  Massively epic.

Matt Redman - Here For You

The best song off his latest album.  A lot of people are saying this is the best worship song since 2002's Consuming Fire.

Matt Redman - We can change the world

Touted at the June Project 2012 video song, this is also from Matt's latest album.

Matt Redman - Oh This God

So is this.  Musically probably my favourite on the album, and with better lyrics than it is given credit for.

Sigur Ros - Flugufrelsarinn

This is here simply because of the chord change at 3.56 (and later places), which is apparently just G to A, but sounds awesome.

Sigur Ros - Gong

Everyone knows what Sigur Ros do (if you don't, the above song is what they do), and everyone knows that they are amazing at what they do.  Gong is simply not what they (normally) do, and they're still amazing at it.

Soul Survivor - Our Hope

(no video)

A Spontaneous Song from Soul Survivor which, unlike most of the spontaneous ones, is immense.

Stoney+ - Jailbird

This just has a really catchy chorus.  It's a weird, but additive, song.

Stoney+ - Ghost

With some of the best lyrics I've ever heard, this song also entered my 'contenders for greatest song of all time' list this year.

Stoney+ - Underdog

(no video)

Just another very cool song from Stoney.  Some brilliant imagery.

Stoney+ - Let it go

(no video)

This has a very catchy riff and a very cool trumpet part.  I never get bored of it.

The Temper Trap - Love Lost

Temper Trap released a very good debut album this year, and while I can't pick a favourite track, this is right up there.

Concept albums

Until recently I had never heard the term concept album.  I don’t know why, I must have just never come across it.  Then I researched Coldplay’s new album Mylo Xyloto on Wikipedia and found that the album was a concept album.  I found that a concept album is an album that is ‘unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical’.

This initially confused me, because I have always thought that a vital ingredient of any album is a unifying theme.  For example, my all-time favourite album, Lifehouse’s No Name Face is about identity, and the theme and how it is discussed is one of the excellent things about the album.  The idea that only some albums have a unifying theme is strange to me – I would think that if an album doesn’t have a theme then it shouldn’t be called an album.  It’s just a playlist.

Looking further, it seems that many (most?) concept albums have focussed around an imaginary character, two of the most famous being Sgt Pepper and Ziggy Stardust.  But if the theme can be ‘instrumental, compositional narrative or lyrical’, then the vast majority of recordings should be defined as concept albums – a quick scan of my music collection reveals a total of zero albums that are entirely disjointed.  While the definition above seems often quoted, reviewers and critics usually look for characters and stories when labelling a recording as a concept album.  This is a bit silly, really.  No Name Face has never been called a concept album, but if Jason Wade (singer/songwriter for Lifehouse) had come out and said that the album was about Mr. X who is struggling with his identity, it would have immediately been labelled as a concept album.

When it comes to Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay have said that the album is about ‘two protagonists, Mylo and Xyloto, who are living in an oppressive, dystopian urban environment, meet one another through a gang called "The Lost Boys", and fall in love’.  This is ridiculous.  These characters are never mentioned, and the lost boys only get a passing mention in one song.  There is no significant mention of dystopia.  The songs are generally about relationships, that is true, but there is nothing within the songs themselves to suggest that this is a story about two particular characters.  If Coldplay had not explained what the album is about, it would not have been labelled as a concept album.  The only thing that can be said for Mylo Xyloto as a concept album is that the songs could be argued to show the progression of a (any, not a specific) relationship throughout the album – the first few songs are about the past, then there are songs about meeting and falling in love, then breakup and reconciliation songs.  There is a progression in the track order.  But this is equally true of other albums.  As argued elsewhere, thoughtful tracklisting is part of what makes a good album, and is not a particular mark of one of these so-called ‘concept albums’.

An album has a theme.  That’s what sets it apart from a playlist.  The whole concept album thing is an attempt to classify albums that are about specific imaginary characters.  I don’t know much about any other of these concept albums, but Coldplay’s example is pitifully poor because there is nothing in the album itself to suggest the existence of such characters.  I’m not saying it’s a bad album (I am remaining silent on that question for now), just that it’s not a concept album.

Lifehouse Intros

I have a friend called Joe. There are many reasons that I like Joe. One reason is that he doesn't get annoyed by my habit of creating lists and rankings of bands, songs, films, books, sports teams etc. A second reason is that he actively encourages me and does the same himself. It often gets silly – a couple of weeks ago we were debating the 'Five Greatest Lifehouse Intros'. After some cogitation, here is my ranking – not just 5, but 10 (I am so cool...).

1. Quasimodo
2. Take Me Away
3. Disarray
4. Blind
5. Smoke and Mirrors
6. Just Another Name
7. Spin
8. Anchor
9. Easier To Be
10. Unknown

A Great Album

I was asked the other day what I look for in an album. What makes an album great? Here are my thoughts, based partly on thinking about my favourite albums.
• The music must be interesting (this discounts almost all of Green Day, for example), to my taste (if you don’t know, this is generally indie/rock-ish), and must have some oomph. By this I do not mean it must be heavy – A Day Without Rain by Enya has plenty of oomph. But I don’t like anything floppy or incidental (Jamie Cullum, for example).
• The lyrics must be inventive, poetic and purposeful (this immediately discounts most pop)
• The themes or message of the album must be something I really agree with. This is a difficult one, because it generally takes me a lot of listening to an album, and quite a bit of research, to work out all the themes. Therefore my appreciation of the music and lyrics tends to come before an appreciation with the theme. This is one reason why a Best Of album could never be a favourite of mine, no matter how good the songs are – a Best Of album is never a complete piece of work, precisely because it is amalgamated.
• The album must hang together well as a whole, rather than being disjointed (the main weakness of Mezzamorphis by Delirious). The whole should also be greater than the sum of its parts (the problem for How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2).
• X factor – the indefinable thing that makes the album special. Sometimes it’s a unique vocal style, sometimes it’s a particular run of songs, sometimes it’s the memories attached to the album.
• Strong ending – the vast majority of albums start relatively strongly and then tail off in the second half (Californication by RHCP and Hot Fuss by The Killers are great examples). A great album is as strong, or stronger, in the second half.
The single album that most completely hits all these points for me is No Name Face by Lifehouse (which I’ve written about before) – my all-time favourite album. The music and lyrics are inspired and inspiring, the theme is superb, the album hangs together brilliantly, and it has a superb second half. I think the X factor is probably the honesty and rawness of the album.

Soundtrack of 2009

Last year I wrote a blog about my soundtrack of 2008.  Here is my soundtrack of 2009.  Links take you to Youtube videos.

Athlete - Black Swan Song
A great song, I think anyone would agree.  On of my current 'funeral songs'  Also has an outstanding video.  Emotional stuff.

Bloc Party - I Still Remember
Possibly the most fun love song ever.  Another great video.  And the best up-the-octave move I've ever heard at 3.26.


Bloc Party - Sunday
A wonderful song, with one of my all-time favourite middle-eights, especially when they link it back in with the chorus.  The album combination of Kreuzberg (on last year's soundtrack), I Still Remember, and Sunday, is enormous.

Bottlerockit - Die Out (no video available)
A song I've known for years but has really come back to me this year, by the small-town punk rockers.

Doves - Satellites
B-E-A-bloody-utiful.  That is all.

Enya - Book of Days
I don't think I will ever stop going on about the genius that is Enya.  This is an old song of hers, but one of her very best.  The video is a live version - this is incredibly rare!

Feeder - Morning Life
This song just sounds so good!  The four guitar parts are amazing.  Morning Life has actually entered my list of contenders for greatest song ever.

Lifehouse - From Where You Are
Clearly a lovely song.  Lifehouse somehow manage to play songs that on paper are immensely cheesy, but without making them cheesy.  Remarkable.  Apparently this song will be on their next album, to be released in February.

Mew - 156
Another song I've known for a while, but this year I've listened to it a lot.  It is currently challenging 'Am I Wry?' for the title of Mew's best song and a place in the list of contenders for greatest song ever.

Regina Spektor - The Call
This is on this list because of its place as the end song for the film Prince Caspian.  Best non-LOTR film ending song I've ever heard, perfectly captured the poignancy at the end of the film.

Stellastarr* - Move On (no video available)
The best song off the new album and, as is often the case with Stellastarr*, it's just an absolute TUNE!


This blog would not be complete without mentioning Athlete's third album Beyond the Neitghbourhood.  While no song quite matches Black Swan Song, almost every track comes close, and the overall standard of the album is outstanding.  The best album of the year, highly recommended (it's on Spotify, go there now!)

Anberlin

Today, a sixth band has joined British Sea Power, Delirious, Idlewild, Lifehouse and Mew in my ‘inner circle’ of favourite bands. This band is Anberlin.

I discovered Anberlin about a year ago when I got their third album ‘Cities’, which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I soon baought their other three albums which, while not quite at the level of Cities, are strong enough, I have decided, to merit Anberlin a place in my inner circle.

While listening to the four albums over the last few weeks, they simply have enough songs of a high enough quality to be ranked alongside Idlewild et al. For anyone who’s interested (probably just James), the songs that particularly catch my ear (other than the entirety of Cities) are Never Take Friendship, The Symphony of Blasé, A Day Late, Time and Confusion, The Feel Good Drag, Audrey Start the Revolution, Dance Dance Christa Paffgen, Foreign Language, Change the World, Cold War Transmissions, Glass to the Arson, Love Song, Cadence, The Resistance, Breaking, Blame Me, Retrace, Disappear, Breath, and Burn Out Brighter. Yeah, that’s a lot of quality songs, and that doesn’t include the 12 absolute monsters on Cities, and that is why they’re in the elite inner circle.

If you care enough, I’m sure you’re capable of Youtubing or Googling them to find out what Anberlin are like. The point of this post is mainly just to register their promotion to the elite.

Soundtrack of 2008

As the end of the year approaches, it seems appropriate to list my ‘songs of the year’. These are not (necessarily) my favourite songs at the moment (though most of them are), but they are songs that I have been very into this year, songs that have in some way shaped the year for me. And they’re all songs I didn’t know before about a year ago.

Click on the links to listen to the songs - they're all on Youtube, so some are official videos and some are fan made. Sorry for the awful ones - just close your eyes and enjoy the music.

Anberlin – (Fin)

I discovered Anberlin in the summer via my sister, and was addicted to their 3^rd album, Cities within about a day. (Fin) is the final track, a many-layered epic masterpiece, full of stories, honesty and truth. Immense.

Barlow Girl – Enough

Barlow Girl are very average, but their version of the worship song Enough has the most amazing 3-part harmonies I’ve ever heard, that start on entry to the first chorus and continue for much of the song. Beautiful stuff.

Bloc Party – Kreuzberg

I’ve really got into Bloc Party this year, and went through a phase of absolutely loving Kreuzberg. There’s just something about the way it builds, with the guitar and vocal parts, that I love. Especially while driving.

British Sea Power – Waving Flags

On each of their albums, BSP produce one stand-out track, one true all-time great song. Waving Flags is the latest of these, including everything that is great about BSP – truly inspiring music and wonderfully odd lyrics.

Casting Crowns – Stained Glass Masquerade

Casting Crowns are often described as ‘prophetic’, and Stained Glass Masquerade is the most insightful of all their songs. It’s one of those songs I think every Christian should hear, and then take a really good look at themselves. Very challenging stuff.

Coldplay – Viva la Vida

Coldplay have produced another very good all-round album, but Viva la Vida is the stand-out track. Just the ability to produce such a driving rhythm without a drum kit is pretty special, and then there’s that insanely addictive riff.

David Crowder Band – The Glory of it All

I only have two David Crowder Band songs, but The Glory of it All is rapidly heading towards my top few songs of all time. It’s a complete worship experience which links us into God’s story in a wonderful way that we should think about a lot more.

Delirious - God is Smiling

Delirious just keep producing brilliant songs. God is Smiling is an immensely positive song, capturing so much of what is great about knowing God. The music and lyrics are each Delirious at their best.

Editors - Weight of the World

Editors always make great music, but Weight of the World has their best lyrics too. It’s one of those songs that contains so much truth, I suspect unintentionally. A very emotionally intense song, and awesome live.

The Kissaway Trail – Smother + Evil = Hurt

The Kissaway Trail are a bit weird, and the bizzarely titled Smother + Evil = Hurt is probably their most normal song. The music has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it addictive to listen to, and the lyrics, especially in the verses, are enchanting.

Lifehouse – Easier to be

Easier to be is the latest example of Lifehouse’s lyrical brilliance. It’s not an outstanding song at first, but its message is so uniquely beautiful, it's an idea I've never heard in a song before, and it’s become a very important song to me.

Live – Run to the Water

Live are as unique as, and better than, RHCP, and Run to the Water is nothing less than genius. The music subtly draws you in and then explodes in your face, and the lyrics are just as enticing and powerful. The combination of the two is majestic.

Rock’n’Roll Worship Circus – Blessed Tune (sorry, couldn't find a video)

You wouldn’t think that the beatitudes put to music would be so amazing, but Blessed Tune by RnRWS proves that it can be. Soothing music, very nice and remarkably honest lyrics, and a simultaneously comforting and terrifying message.

Stellastarr* – Lost in Time

Stellastarr produce the best rock I’ve heard for a long time, probably since Muse made it big. Lost in Time is a powerful and potentially painful song, with fantastic musicianship and vocals, and lyrics that really make you stop and listen.

Strangeday – Fogpilot

Strangeday are the least well-known band on this list, but many of their songs, especially Fogpilot, are actually amazing. The openness and honesty here is refreshing, and the music is completely without weakness. And the middle eight is huge.

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.

No Name Face

There are some albums that sometimes I just need, that’s medically need, to listen to.

These are:
Escape (Sabio)
The Friendship and the Fear (Matt Redman)
Divine Discontent (Sixpence NTR)
A Day Without Rain (Enya)
Jesus Freak (DCTalk)
No Name Face (Lifehouse)

The greatest of these is the last. No Name Face is Lifehouse's first album from 2000.



Of 14 tracks, only 1 (Somebody Else’s Song) does not make me think ‘I LOVE this track’, and it’s still a really good song.

A total of 6 of the songs (Hanging by a Moment, Sick Cycle Carousel, Simon, Quasimodo, Everything and Fool) are of the level that makes me liable to crash while driving. These 6 would all be contenders for a 20-track CD of my favourite songs ever. 6 out of 20 from one album is insane.

The other 7 songs (Unknown, Trying, Only One, Cling and Clatter, Breathing, Somewhere In Between, What’s Wrong With That?) are all easily in my ‘amazing’ category. These are all songs that would dominate many albums, yet they’re all on this one album, and aren’t even in the top 6 on the album!

My latest attempt to rank the 14 tracks, for anyone who cares (that’s you Joe), is:

Quasimodo
Simon
Sick Cycle Carousel
Everything
Fool
Hanging by a Moment
Only One
Breathing
Cling and Clatter
Unknown
What’s Wrong With That?
Trying
Somewhere in Between
Somebody Else’s Song

But that’ll probably change. Anyhow, the album is amazing. It is also, interestingly, the most expensive album I have ever bought - £16.99. Bargain!