Albums of the decade #6 – Mew – Frengers (2003)

Not very well known, this wonderful band hail from Denmark, and this, their debut album, it outstanding.  From the opening crashes of ‘Am I Wry? No’ to the sweeping epicness of ‘Comforting Sounds’, this album is full of marvellous musicianship and song-crafting.  The drumming in particular is incredible.  Lyrically, they move from a quirky love song to a song by a stalker to a song about drugs to a ballad, and that’s before they even reach the bizarre ‘Eight flew over, one was destroyed’ and the beautiful but chilling ‘She came home for Christmas’.  ‘Am I Wry? No’ and ‘156’ are battling it out for the right to be a contender for greatest song ever, but Frengers is by no means limited to these two.

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!)

Albums I have discovered in 2009

About this time last year, I blogged about ten albums I was excited to have discovered in 2008.
This year, I have a list of some of the albums I have discovered, with a rating, out of 10, for each, to indicate how much it excited me.
However, a low score does not necessarily indicate a poor album, because these marks are given relative to my expectations. Therefore, if a band I love produces a relatively poor album for their high standard, they will receive a low mark, while if a band that I am not as keen on produce a surprisingly decent album, they will receive a high mark. A score of 5 indicates a satisfactory album that is exactly as expected given a band’s previous work. Hope that makes sense.
So, in alphabetical order by artist:

Anberlin – New Surrender – 8
Not as good at the previous Anberlin album, Cities, but full of decent songs and maintains the high Anberlin standard.
Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood – 10
Actually released in 2007, this is Athlete’s best album, far surpassing their first two. Not a weak track in sight. Best album of the year, hands down.
Athlete – Black Swan – 9
Athlete’s fourth album isn’t quite as good as BtN, but it’s still very good, and Black Swan Song is just amazing.
Bloc Party – Intimacy – 1
The third Bloc Party album had the task of following one of my all-time favourite albums, and doesn’t come anywhere close. Some good songs, but overall a big disappointment – far weaker than either of Bloc Party’s first two albums.
Editors – In the light and on this evening – 3
Some decent stuff on their third album, but it is still definitely their weakest.
Idlewild – Post electric blues – 2
Again, some really nice songs here, but ultimately a disappointment – this is significantly Idlewild’s weakest album since Hope is Important.
Killers – Day and Age – 4
Not as good as Hot Fuss or Sam’s Town, but this is still quite a good album. It’s a shame that it declines after the great opening of Losing Touch and Human.
Matt Redman – We shall not be shaken – 6
Another very solid Matt Redman album which, while not even close to The Friendship and the Fear, is definitely better than Beautiful News. A few absolute belters in We Shall Not Be Shaken, Through it All and You Alone Can Rescue.
Mew – No more stories – 3
Four very good songs, but ten that are not bad but not up to the standard of Mew’s first two albums.
Muse – The Resistance – 7
Like many albums on this list, this isn’t Muse at their very peak, but it’s still a very good album.
Stellastarr* - Civilised – 4
Some really cool stuff on Civilised, but following Harmonies for the Haunted was always a tall order and it’s just not in the same league. Move On is lovely though.
U2 – No line on the horizon - 2
My least favourite of all of U2s albums. Nuff said.


Absolute top 5 albums of the year?
Beyond the Neighbourhood
Black Swan
New Surrender
The Resistance
We Shall Not Be Shaken

A very interesting list, because this is the same ranking as the ‘relative to previous work’ list above. Which means that either this is a fluke, or I’m less capable of being objective than I thought.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that this year has been Athlete’s year. Well done boys.

Mew in concert

On Saturday I went to see Mew play in Leeds. Here is a song-by-song review.

Special - an unexpected opener that began with just guitar and drums and took a few minutes of buildup before the actual song was revealed. A song that suffers from being between 2 slightly superior songs on the album. However, on the night it was brilliant - an excellent live performance and a great opener.
Zookeeper's Boy - as Special ended, everyone was wondering if it would flow into Zookeeper's as it does on the album. When it did, it was welcomed by one of the biggest cheers of the night. Lots of singing along, and seeing the live four-part harmony was pretty special.
Am I Wry? No - the entry was just as good as the recording, and this probably got the best singalong of the night. The sort of song a band can't go wrong with.
156 - very dark and sinister, even more so than the album version. They kept the first chorus low-key - quite chilling. But superb - probably the highlight of the show.
Hawaii - the first from the new album, and it didn't even feel like a letdown after 156. Epic, with great lighting. Felt like standing in a thunderstorm.
Apolcalypso - a carbon copy of the album recording, so I won't complain, but it was a shame that they did nothing different with it. Very good though.
A really random bit involving a teddy bear on the screen - don't think this was a real song, more of an instrumental. The bear spoke about friends and forgiveness - I didn't catch it all but it sounded very deep and moving. Then, one by one, tha bad left the stage while the music continued.
Repeaterbeater - then they re-entered and started in exactly the same way as at the beginning - guitar and drums, same rhythms and notes. This time they went into another of the new album which was short but solid.
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - my favourite from the new album, and performed to perfection. So far not a single letdown on the night.
Saviours of Jazz Ballet (not sure about the order of this and the next two) - unexpected, but welcome, with suitably enormous chords. Good to hear one of the not-so-obvious-hits.
Beach - the latest album is weaker than the previous two, and there are 4 songs that stand out: Hawaii, Repeaterbeater, Sometimes Life, and Beach. This song confirmed this as a near-perfect set list.
White Lips Kissed - not what I'd have picked to play, but by this point Mew could do no wrong, and performed this with great skill and passion. The guitairst injured his finger, just before playing...
Snow Brigade - with a very difficult guitar part. But you couldn't tell he was injured. A great, fun, upbeat finish to the main set.

Circuitry of the Wolf - did not see this coming at all (I was expecting She Cam Home for Christmas), but it's always a good song to hear, especially when combined with...
Chinaberry Tree - one of those songs that everyone just loves. Big singalong.
Comforting Sounds - there's only one way to end a Mew gig, and this was enormous. One of those songs that you just have to hear live to really get it.

Overall, a magnificent gig. My only complaint would be a lack of She Came Home for Christmas (especially as they were only on stage for 1 hour 20. That aside, just brilliant, one of the highest quality concerts I've been to.

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.

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.