Albums of 2017

2017 was a kind of weird year musically for me. I didn't buy anywhere near as much music as I once did as Spotify got its hooks into me. That along with the fact that I'm just not in town (or near a record shop - sorry Monorail) so much these days.

That said, through Spotify I possibly listened to more music than ever. I discovered bands and albums new and old and in some cases this prompted me to also buy the vinyl.

A look through the 30 odd albums that have made an impression on me this year evidences a pretty eclectic selection; ranging from self-released and DIY indie labels in Scotland, through to long term faves like The Charlatans, Flaming Lips and BMX Bandits, with comebacks from Ride, LCD Sound system balanced with falling for bands like The Courtney's and then discovering albums by the likes of The National, Kelly Lee Owens and Michael Head towards the end of the year

I fell for The Courtney's during a Spotify browsing session armed with a couple of Arran Blondes. Their song with the title 90210 took my eye in some recommendations and I checked it out. It blew me away. I then discovered they had released their second album earlier in the year, checked that, fell for that too and also bought the vinyl.

Last year I said that any one of the top 5 in my end of year list could be my (favourite) album of the year. This year I'm not so sure what my favourite album is, I like a lot and have loved a lot at various points of the year.

A special mention must go to Mark W Georgsson who kicked off 2017 with his beautiful Faces and Places album. Knowing Mark as I do, I knew that this was a labour of love and everything about the album highlighted that love - from the songs, the playing and the production through to the artwork and sleeve notes. The fact I had the album for over a year in digital form made me appreciate it all the more when it finally came out on vinyl. Check it out HERE

I obviously have a special affinity to local label Last Night From Glasgow and the 6 albums the label has released through 2017 (one jointly with Scottish Fiction) have all given great pleasure. In addition to Mark, LNFG released;

• Medicine Men's Into The Light LP and it is a real melting pot of influences with bubbling synths matched with guitars and beats, taking off on lengthy and trippy grooves. 
• Stephen Solo worked his iPhone magic again with Pii 2, homemade psychedelia with raw soul throughout and also dashes of humour, intelligence and stark honesty. 
• Sister John's Returned From Sea is exquisite, pretty perfect from start to finish.
• Annie Booth's is remarkable for someone so young and hints at a great deal to come.
• while Sun Rose's The Essential Luxury is rich in layers, beats, synths, melodies and harmonies.

The amount of quality (and diverse) music that the label has released since forming in March 2016 is quite breathtaking. It highlights the gap there was and the need for the label in Scotland. I've not been able to offer much time to the label this year which is a shame, but a growing number of people are involved in helping CEO/Chair Ian Smith with the running of the label and each release. There is much more to come in 2018.

Please take the time to check these fine artists out. You can stream them all on Spotify, download from iTunes or buy physical copies from www.lastnightfromglasgow.com

So without wishing to show any favouritism, I'll keep the LNFG artist above,  here are my 5 favourite albums from 2017 with the rest in no particular order listed below.

Top 5 from 2017

1. Adios Señor Pussycat - Michael Head and the Red Elastic
God damn it, I only discovered this album after Michael's Oran Mor show in October when loads of people I follow on Twitter went into overdrive regarding how good the show was and the album is. I agree - melodic stories, a great band, a singer in rich voice, a choice cover of Wild Mountain Thyme and an album that gets better with every listen. SPOTIFY LINK

2. How The West Was Won - Peter Perrett
I blogged about this incredible album in August and described it as the sound of chiming guitars, a tight rythm section and the sound of Perrett pouring his heart out. It is pure, soulful and true.

Catching Peter and his band at King Tut's made me appreciate it even more. A love letter to his long suffering wife, self help for himself - this is special. SPOTIFY LINK

3. The Courtney's II - The Courtney's
As above, the second LP from The Courtney's is direct guitar punk/new wave pop. There is a groove to some songs, others show humour, they all brim with excitement and energy. SPOTIFY LINK

4. Every Valley - Public Service Broadcasting
One of my favourite bands from recent years, they really know how to take the listener on a journey through the incredible sounds they create and their innovative use of samples; ranging from old BBC recordings, to NASA and to their recent album documenting Welsh Coal mining. The way they create music around the samples is extremely clever and I wonder how much the samples inspired the music, or if they had to search for samples to fit. SPOTIFY LINK

5. Erratic Cinematic - Gerry Cinnamon
What a year for Gerry! Heis rounding it off with 2 sold out nights at the Barrowland Ballroom and they are set to be pure celebrations of his honest, soulful storytelling songs. Keysies is one of my songs of the year. SPOTIFY LINK

Others albums I enjoyed

Sleep Well Beast - The National
This could easily have made my top 5. An album with real depth, an album clearly displaying real care and soul. I've never reached for The National before, but a number of friends urged me to check this album out. My only disappointment is that I didn't go and see them live.

New Energy - Four Tet
Stephen Pastel recommended that I check this album out. Recorded in a sparse home studio looking out a window, New Energy has a beautiful feel to the sounds and production. It sounds very fresh and natural despite its electronic origins.


Different Days - The Charlatans
The band that keep on keepin' on. Guest appearances from Marr, Weller, Rankin and more inspired The Charlatans to swiftly follow the incredible Modern Nature with another gem. Many journalists deemed this their best album since Tellin' Stories - but that is doing a massive dis-service (yet also highlighting the consistency of the band) to the aforementioned Modern Nature, You Cross My Path and the wonderful Us and Us Only. I reviewed the album in this BLOG highlighting a sense of freedom, confidence and fun.

Kelly Lee Owen - Kelly Lee Owen
I only discovered this album a couple of weeks ago on a train to London and enjoyed it so much that I listened to it twice on the way down and twice on the way back. A gorgeous album that really fitted with my sunny train ride to and from the big smoke. Trippy, laid back, dreamy and with stunning effected vocals throughout.

Oczy Mlody - Flaming Lips
The Lips produced one of the most memorable musical highlights of my year with their Barrowland Ballroom show that featured Wayne Coyne riding round the hallowed ballroom on a unicorn. Psychedelic with pulsing electro, fantasies, dreams, nightmares.... The Lips continue to push boundaries and imagination to the limit and beyond.

Antisocialites - Alvvays
Loud melodic guitars, a guest spot from Norman Blake and the sound of a band playing with confidence and fun. Alvvays are on the rise.

American Dream - LCD Soundsystem
Back, but they weren't away for long, James Murphy and co keep on keepin' on with songs about ageing, death and dreams accompanied by all kinds of grooves and beats

Weather Diaries - Ride
Ride returned with guitars set to stun and lots of talk of the sun.

Morningside - Fazerdaze
I discovered this album through a tweet by Gold Flake Paint; falling for the real charm in the guitars, production, vocals and lyrics.


Forever - BMX Bandits
I blogged about the Bandits recent number HERE and it is a gem of heart-breaking, heart-aching, warm and reflective pop.



Others

Stellular - Rose Elinor Douglas
Kelvingroove - Fnuf and the Fairylights
Colours - Beck
Permo - Spinning Coin
Earl Gray - Girl Ray
Last Place - Granddaddy
Who Built The Moon? - Noel Gallagher
Another Summer of Love - GospelbeacH
Saved by Metal - Broken By Rock
Friday Night The Eagles Fly - The Bar Dogs
There Are No Saints - Siobhan Wilson
Waiting On A Song - Dan Auerbach

Electric Fields 2016 review

A beautiful rainbow appeared during Public Service Broadcasting

Glorious sunshine, only a couple of tiny showers, a rainbow, a stunning setting,a friendly and upbeat atmosphere and all kinds of brilliant music ensured that Electric Fields jump up to a 2-day festival was a roaring success.

In only the third year of the festival, it was a considerable leap from a 1-day festival with a 1,000 capacity to a 2-day festival of 5,000. It worked......and then some.

There were 4-stages; the main stage with all kinds of eclectic acts and headlined by The Charlatans and Primal Scream, the Sneaky Pete's dance tent with the likes of Erol Alkan, the Tim Burgess curated Tim Peaks Diner with great coffee, sofa's and bands from Wales, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland and then the Stewart Cruickshanks tent with all kinds of bands and artists including The Go! Team.

The festival site is only 1-hour from Glasgow, in the stunning grounds of Drumlanrig Castle. It is a gorgeous setting for a festival.

Friday

Neon Waltz are a band I've mentioned a few times previously on this blog. I last caught them just over a year ago at the Wickerman Festival and they seemed to have stepped up a gear. A 7-piece band  creating some great guitar music with plenty of melodies, gracing the Main Stage with ease.

Tuff Love pulled a good crowd to the Stewart Cruickshanks stage where their old school fuzzy upbeat indie guitar tunes will definitely have won them some new fans.

Tim Burgess had curated a real eclectic line-up for his diner. Yucatan were a band I really fell for when I discovered them upon announcement back in February. Think Sigur Ros meets Spiritualized in the Welsh Valleys - beautiful music that can soar and swoop, sung in their native tongue. I spoke to the band and was delighted to hear that they were going off to tour in Germany as their latest album Uwch Gopa'r Mynydd has been received extremely positively over there. It was there first trip to Scotland and for me that summed up the Tim Peaks Diner concept in a nutshell - giving brilliant bands the opportunity to play to new audiences across the UK. I'd love to bring them back to Scotland in the future.

Dillwyn - lead singer from Yucatan

The no-show of Sugarhill Gang left a huge gap on the Main Stage on Friday afternoon. They should have been the act to really kick start the party. As a result, it was slightly postponed until Public Service Broadcasting took to the stage.

Public Service Broadcasting

PSB are the kind of band that would generate a response anywhere. Mixing electronica with old broadcasts from the BBC through to NASA. The Other Side was euphoric, building, building, dropping and then exploding to a rapturous reception.

The Charlatans absolutely smashed it. Opening with a triple blast of Weirdo, North Country Boy and a glorious Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over ensured that the crowd were in full on festival party a mode. If anything, this only helped the band on.

Let The Good Times Be Never Ending was a total groove and then One To Another (being played on the 20th anniversary of its release) sent the field wild. There was plenty more to come; including The Only One I Know that created a festival indie disco. Come Home Baby jettisoned straight into near the top of my favourite Charlatans songs chart upon release. I sang my heart out to the chorus.

How High was delivered in blistering form, Tim Burgess was bounding and dancing across the stage, conducting the crowd and sounding better than ever.

Sproston Green, the traditional set closer for The Charlatans started with a slow, menacing bass and organ groove, exploding into life and not letting up until the band brought it all back down to the start.

It was a stunning set from The Charlatans and it was great to meet some seasoned Scottish music veterans the next day and hear them singing the bands praises and talking of them smashing it out the park.

The Charlatans - picture from the Electric Fields Facebook page

We hot footed it over to the Bowie and Prince disco at the Tim Peaks tent and danced like crazy to I Wanna Be Your Lover and Controversy and reached for the sky and sang like crazy to Starman. What a great end to a brilliant day.

Saturday

The campsite was certainly lively and the ear plugs worked a treat! I felt reasonably fresh and a Tim Peaks coffee and some chat in the early morning sunshine worked wonders.

Plenty of others were also feeling fresh, choosing to take part in the Northern Soul dance class that was on at the Tim Peaks Diner. It was great to see people of all ages participating; indeed it was great to see lots of families and young kids at the festival.

Northern Soul dance class in Tim Peaks Diner

There was plenty of things to do. I chose a 10-minute neck, shoulder and back massage and almost fell asleep to the strains of Time Will Pass You by coming from the northern soul class. Along with the coffee, some fresh homemade soup and a cheese and onion toast - I was ready for another day.

The weather on the Saturday was absolutely glorious. The sun broke through what little clouds there were early on and remained out for the rest of the day.

Mix sunshine with a festival and the Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 and then you have a winning combination. Despite being a fan of the band, this was actually the first time I had seen them live. There were plenty of fans there to see them, in fancy dress and in loads of band t-shirts. The bands yellow movement is growing with each and every show.

The absolutely nailed it. Coming on stage and turning the festival into a giant party. At one point the good Colonel instructed everyone to go to one side. His compadre David Blair then jumped down with a flag to play lollipop man to a song called Cross the Road with everyone then dancing to the other side. This played out a few times and people were grinning from ear to ear.

We also had a song called Dance Off, with David jumping into the crowd to egg everyone on. They didn't need too much encouragement!

Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5

Another song had the Colonel instructing everyone to dance to certain moves; drive your car, first pump, hands in the air...... everyone had to join in - security, police and people trying to be cool.

I've blogged about These Are Not The Drugs You Are Looking For before and it was perfect for Electric Fields with the Colonel confirming that peace, love, happiness and friendship are the only drugs we need.

This was a family show, the Colonel had his kids on stage, plenty of the 6th Dijon's had their kids in the crowd and everyone could join in good old fashioned fun.

To say that the crowd was buzzing after this performance was an understatement. I suspect they might be back next year! If so, they should get a later slot and longer time. They play a HUGE hometown show at the ABC in Glasgow on 23rd December. It will be the Christmas party to end all Christmas parties!

The crowd (the 6th Dijon) play a huge part in Colonel Mustard shows

There was time for a laze about in the sunshine before Mark W Georgsson took to the Tim Peaks stage with 5 friends to play songs from his forthcoming debut album that will be released via Last Night From Glasgow Records in January. The warm acoustic country rock/Americana feel to the songs was warmly received by the crowd.

The sunshine ensured a busy crowd for the main stage. Admiral Fallow were perfect for a mellow Sunday afternoon in the sunshine. Honeyblood then came on and blitzed it. Their performance bodes well for their forthcoming second album.

We began the Honeyblood set at the side of the stage in blistering sunshine. We then walked through the site and out the back to wander up towards the castle and rest in the shade under a tree. It was a beautiful half hour listening to the sounds of Honeyblood from the main stage.

By the time we walked back down and in the back of Tim Peaks Diner, Documenta were on stage and creating blissful drone pop. They brought a sizeable crowd and again I thought of how brilliant the concept of Tim Peaks is - bringing this band over to Scotland from Northern Ireland to play to a new crowd.

Documenta from the back of Tim Peaks

Steve Mason was in fine form, dedicating a song to his keyboard player who was married the previous day, joking he was paying him time and a half. Mason's vocals were crystal clear, cutting through the summer sky and captivating the crowd. His bands shuffling laid back grooves were perfect for the weather.

Back at Tim Peaks Diner, TeenCanteen were soundchecking to an already impressive crowd. By the time they were 3-songs in the tent was packed and people were peering in from outside. Sister and Kung Fu Heartbeats were uplifting pop, Roses was Motown updated for 2016 with a dash of C86 thrown in for good measure. The sweetness of Honey drew large cheers and Cherry Pie was delicious. Amanda Williams was back on acoustic guitar after returning from her travels, turning the band into a 5-piece and bolstering their modern Spector-esque wall of sound. It was the best I have seen and heard them, brimming with confidence ahead of the release of debut album Say It All With A Kiss on 9th September. Closing with a brilliant Sirens ahead of their cover of TLC's Waterfall with a slice of All Saints I Know Where It's At left the crowd wanting much more.

TeenCanteen

There was time to catch up with TeenCanteen afterwards and the feeling on stage had been the same as off - quite a show.

We waited for friends as actor Paddy Considine's Riding The Low blasted through a high energy set, although it was their chiming guitar song Rocky 99 that won my heart. Although Paddy definitely won a few girls hearts!

Then it was the turn of Everything Flows DJ's to get the crowd in the mood for Primal Scream. I decided to hand the music duties over to my friend Phil Redfearn and he played an absolute blinder.

Opening with the end of Bowie's Memory Of A Free Festival, Phill packed the tent and generated the best atmosphere of the entire festival. Chic's Everybody Dance got....well everyone dancing. Electronic's Getting Away With It was a delight but Blondie's Atomic was the tune of the night. The place went crazy! A Dimitri from Paris mix of Take That's Relight My Fire was a brave choice but it also kept people dancing. There was room for The Stones Get Off Of My Cloud and an incredible re-edit of Marvin and Tammi singing Ain't No Mountain High Enough into Primal Scream's Movin' On Up before we packed up quickly to get out to see the Scream team.

Thank you to everyone who came to see us (Phil). The atmosphere and reaction in the tent was incredible. Phil has recorded the mix so hopes to get it online soon. You can follow him @philthedriller

Everything Flows DJ Phil Redfearn

Primal Scream came on stage just as we met up with friends near the sounddesk. Bobby Gillespie was moving a little more freely than the Kelvingrove Bandstand show and Movin' On Up was the perfect intro. A blast of Jailbird kept things moving. Gillespie did need to sit down for some of the show but Primal Scream kept the party going with Country Girl going down a storm. Everyone wanted to have a party and Loaded was predictably the song that did it and I doubt there is a better song to end a festival with than Come Together.

Top marks to everyone involved with Electric Fields - stunning site, great line-up, perfect size and that touch of luck with the weather.

 Bobby and Simone