Twenty Abundant Songs
Twenty Songs, 16th April 2006
This has been much more like it. There are songs that didn't make it into this twenty which, at times, could've just been one album or another. A much better week for music.
Diving straight in, then, we kick off with The Rapture back on the list after a long absence in light of the news of a new single which might be pretty good. Here we have the standout track from a recent night out, House Of Jealous Lovers, which is guaranteed to get me up off my seat (i.e. my arse) whenever it's played. Also in the bottom is Sex Automata, another fantastically jagged little track and one that makes us want to buy the current Ex Models album just wishing it were as good.
One band we are expecting the next album to be great from is Tunng who have yet to let us down and have that quality of always appearing in the chart in a week where we play their songs. This week they appear because we are going to include them in a Chaîne feature. They appear a couple of times but, as with a number of other artists really could've somewhat dominated in the way Daft Punk did last week. Daft Punk who are conspicuous by their absence this week but as I say, it was a good week for music. Next up and one of a few from the outstanding Public Service Broadcast compilation are Ipsofacto, whose website doesn't work so we can't actually check on them. Annoyingly.
Speaking of Tunng, though, my recent realisation that I've been neglecting my electronic origins prompted me to buy some singles on download. I ignore dance music mostly because the singles are all 12" and therefore weigh in at about £7 before we even look at postage or packing. However from Bleep we've treated ourselves to a few tracks here aren there, a lot more guilt free at 99p each. The standout of the ones we downloaded before the chart was compiled (we got a couple after too, which might pop up next week) was the slow, mesmerising bass odyssey Qawwali by Pinch. Absolutely stunning. Circlesquare also keeps the Twenty from being a four-men-with-guitars-only zone with his awesome Fight Sounds track, from the recently acquired Fight Sounds EP. This Et Al complete the bottom half of the Twenty just because, well, they're pretty damn ace aren't they, really. Simple as that.
Elsewhere some slightly more familiar faces (with guitars) in the form of intriguing prospect Tera:Tora whose Style continues stay hot on our lips. Field Music also keep a place, this week with the ingenius If Only The Moon Were Up which we've been singing randomly at work all week. Because, if only the moon were up, be trying to find my shoes!. Whatever that means. Autolux, as we mentioned in the previous entry, are also a formidable entity and will quite possibly get a better showing next week - although by the same token, next week looks pretty big too when I think about it.
Thee More Shallows appear just before Autolux and are hot off the Public Broadcast CD too. An American act I believe, which we weren't expecting from the Broadcast series but still, an excellent contribution. Also up there, just outside the hotly contested top five, with his second entry of the week, Maps appears with Start Something. As much as we adored Lost My Soul we took the opportunity to play all our Maps songs this week - there are nine tracks now in total, making Maps yet another artist on, like, his second single with more material than some artists pack into their first album. Start Something, however, gets the top slot because it just such an outsider anthem. As all Maps songs could no doubt be, one feels. An actual album from the man is just a mouthwatering prospect.
Into the top five then and yet another non-indie band appears (gosh) and more than that, it's the elder statesman of all that is electronic and wonderful himself, ladies and gentlemen allow us it introduce Mr Apheeexxxx, Twiiin. Etc. Anyway, the sublime Chosen Lords album/compilation only got a few spins this week what with all the music clamouring for attention but XMD 5A stood out as the best and as he needed to be included in this week's Twenty what better track.
Like Aphex, the Semifinalists didn't get the most airtime but used it well and worked their way into our hearts afresh. We were worried the album might be a bit tryhard as the singles hinted at a band with a lot on their mind but somehow it all just, works. It all just flows easily despite not being the most obvious pop record. We chose the two singles because, obviously, we've had more time to get into those but the whole album is good, really. Over time I'm sure other songs will just pop up now and then in this list, as I get to know them individually by name.
Next up was ¡Forward, Russia! and it's not like I haven't used up enough column inches on them already. Surficeth to say that we bum ¡Forward, Russia! something fierce. Nine is getting re-released and so has a video doing rotation on MTV2. Apparently the kids like it, so good for them on that one. Shame it's still behind to The Kooks in MTV2 top ten but still, there's time yet.
The third track - although it could easily have been more - from Public Service Broadcast 6, Smalltown America's compilation, is Copper And Lead Fight by Fuck-Off Machete. Like Life Without Buildings but with a bit more edge to them and slightly less stream of consciousness lyrics (a pro and a con there), ultimately they seem the hottest tip on that compilation and a hot tip indeed. Their single is released soon and received glowing plaudits in Artrocker magazine. Which means they must be cool. Heh. (I love Artrocker really, heaven knows I found out about pretty much all the non-electronic music in this list through them or something).
Pretty much all of it, perhaps, but not GoodBooks. I have no idea how I found out about GoodBooks. Oh yes! MTV2Electic. A program I should watch more often. Ah, what a glorious single it is as well, on tape or vinyl, it's just so swoonfully playful and accomplished it makes you wonder why so much attention is foisted on so many inferior bands. Three chords and a chorus or the moon on a stick, those are your options and so many of you (although hopefully not actually you) choose the former. Music can really blossom and brighten up your whole dull room of a heart. So many people pick daisies when there are orchids of all varieties so close to hand I may never know.
Or, y'know, feel free to change that metaphor to include your flower of choice. I know what you lot're like.
This has been much more like it. There are songs that didn't make it into this twenty which, at times, could've just been one album or another. A much better week for music.
Diving straight in, then, we kick off with The Rapture back on the list after a long absence in light of the news of a new single which might be pretty good. Here we have the standout track from a recent night out, House Of Jealous Lovers, which is guaranteed to get me up off my seat (i.e. my arse) whenever it's played. Also in the bottom is Sex Automata, another fantastically jagged little track and one that makes us want to buy the current Ex Models album just wishing it were as good.
One band we are expecting the next album to be great from is Tunng who have yet to let us down and have that quality of always appearing in the chart in a week where we play their songs. This week they appear because we are going to include them in a Chaîne feature. They appear a couple of times but, as with a number of other artists really could've somewhat dominated in the way Daft Punk did last week. Daft Punk who are conspicuous by their absence this week but as I say, it was a good week for music. Next up and one of a few from the outstanding Public Service Broadcast compilation are Ipsofacto, whose website doesn't work so we can't actually check on them. Annoyingly.
Speaking of Tunng, though, my recent realisation that I've been neglecting my electronic origins prompted me to buy some singles on download. I ignore dance music mostly because the singles are all 12" and therefore weigh in at about £7 before we even look at postage or packing. However from Bleep we've treated ourselves to a few tracks here aren there, a lot more guilt free at 99p each. The standout of the ones we downloaded before the chart was compiled (we got a couple after too, which might pop up next week) was the slow, mesmerising bass odyssey Qawwali by Pinch. Absolutely stunning. Circlesquare also keeps the Twenty from being a four-men-with-guitars-only zone with his awesome Fight Sounds track, from the recently acquired Fight Sounds EP. This Et Al complete the bottom half of the Twenty just because, well, they're pretty damn ace aren't they, really. Simple as that.
Elsewhere some slightly more familiar faces (with guitars) in the form of intriguing prospect Tera:Tora whose Style continues stay hot on our lips. Field Music also keep a place, this week with the ingenius If Only The Moon Were Up which we've been singing randomly at work all week. Because, if only the moon were up, be trying to find my shoes!. Whatever that means. Autolux, as we mentioned in the previous entry, are also a formidable entity and will quite possibly get a better showing next week - although by the same token, next week looks pretty big too when I think about it.
Thee More Shallows appear just before Autolux and are hot off the Public Broadcast CD too. An American act I believe, which we weren't expecting from the Broadcast series but still, an excellent contribution. Also up there, just outside the hotly contested top five, with his second entry of the week, Maps appears with Start Something. As much as we adored Lost My Soul we took the opportunity to play all our Maps songs this week - there are nine tracks now in total, making Maps yet another artist on, like, his second single with more material than some artists pack into their first album. Start Something, however, gets the top slot because it just such an outsider anthem. As all Maps songs could no doubt be, one feels. An actual album from the man is just a mouthwatering prospect.
Into the top five then and yet another non-indie band appears (gosh) and more than that, it's the elder statesman of all that is electronic and wonderful himself, ladies and gentlemen allow us it introduce Mr Apheeexxxx, Twiiin. Etc. Anyway, the sublime Chosen Lords album/compilation only got a few spins this week what with all the music clamouring for attention but XMD 5A stood out as the best and as he needed to be included in this week's Twenty what better track.
Like Aphex, the Semifinalists didn't get the most airtime but used it well and worked their way into our hearts afresh. We were worried the album might be a bit tryhard as the singles hinted at a band with a lot on their mind but somehow it all just, works. It all just flows easily despite not being the most obvious pop record. We chose the two singles because, obviously, we've had more time to get into those but the whole album is good, really. Over time I'm sure other songs will just pop up now and then in this list, as I get to know them individually by name.
Next up was ¡Forward, Russia! and it's not like I haven't used up enough column inches on them already. Surficeth to say that we bum ¡Forward, Russia! something fierce. Nine is getting re-released and so has a video doing rotation on MTV2. Apparently the kids like it, so good for them on that one. Shame it's still behind to The Kooks in MTV2 top ten but still, there's time yet.
The third track - although it could easily have been more - from Public Service Broadcast 6, Smalltown America's compilation, is Copper And Lead Fight by Fuck-Off Machete. Like Life Without Buildings but with a bit more edge to them and slightly less stream of consciousness lyrics (a pro and a con there), ultimately they seem the hottest tip on that compilation and a hot tip indeed. Their single is released soon and received glowing plaudits in Artrocker magazine. Which means they must be cool. Heh. (I love Artrocker really, heaven knows I found out about pretty much all the non-electronic music in this list through them or something).
Pretty much all of it, perhaps, but not GoodBooks. I have no idea how I found out about GoodBooks. Oh yes! MTV2Electic. A program I should watch more often. Ah, what a glorious single it is as well, on tape or vinyl, it's just so swoonfully playful and accomplished it makes you wonder why so much attention is foisted on so many inferior bands. Three chords and a chorus or the moon on a stick, those are your options and so many of you (although hopefully not actually you) choose the former. Music can really blossom and brighten up your whole dull room of a heart. So many people pick daisies when there are orchids of all varieties so close to hand I may never know.
Or, y'know, feel free to change that metaphor to include your flower of choice. I know what you lot're like.