Top 10 Albums of 2013: 10 - 6

10. Miles Kane - Don't Forget Who You Are

We hope everyone enjoyed the festival season. Here at TT, we have been reviewing our favourite albums of the year so far and will be drip feeding these to you over the coming weeks. To kick things of here is our review of Miles Kane’s ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’.

As a whole, the second helping from Kane has taken T-Rex’s ‘20^th Century Boy’ and ‘Children Of The Revolution’ and injected them with a huge dose of adrenaline worthy of Liam Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft in their pomp.

The current single and lead track ‘Taking Over’ is a fine example of this.  Co-written with Lightning Seeds’ frontman Ian Broudie, the track has catchy and punchy riffs coursing throughout which serve Kane’s new aggressive vocals perfectly.

The album has an undercurrent of glam rock running through it and is none more prevalent on the stomper ‘Give Up’. It has some great guitar hooks which are sure to have crowds strutting nationwide when he is on tour next month.

There are two tracks written with Weller on the album and ‘You’re Gonna Get It’ is the stand out. It seems to spring from Weller’s ‘From The Floorbards Up’ with a Sex Pistols ferocity and shows Kane has guitar showmanship of Mick Ronson.

Kane doesn’t always get the new blend of aggression right though. The title track, ‘Don’t’ Forget Who You Are’ feels tired and a bit of a substandard ‘Jitterbug Boogie’. It’s hard to criticise someone so passionate, but the naivety of youth is definitely at play here. A step back and a more subtle approach with his producer and we could witness magic Bolan produced in his heyday.

His ambition to be the next great rock star of a generation is coupled with a softer intention to pay homage to the grand productions of Scott Walker. ‘Out Of Control’ is the kind of 60s nostalgia that everyone should make time for. It sounds big and grandiose but remains heart-warming throughout. Without tracks like this, what will young lovers sway to? What would cretins film on their shitty phones instead of living for the moment at gigs? We simply don’t know.

What we do know is that Kane is on one hell of a roll. His early days with The Little Flames and The Rascals showed lots of promise but didn’t quite come off. Since the Last Shadow Puppets debut, Kane’s confidence has soared and he has knocked up two quality albums. This serving is not perfect and therein lays its greatest asset:  it is unhinged, raw and energetic. The nods to Northern Soul, Mod and Glam-Rock here are fresh and fiery and exactly what the UK music scene need.

9. Edwyn Collins - Understated

As many of you are aware, in 2005, Collins suffered a brain haemorrhage - so it is an inspiration that he is making music these days at all. The immediate aftermath of the haemorrhage left Collins able to utter just 4 phrases: 'yes', 'no', 'Grace Maxwell' and 'the possibilities are endless'. If this is sending shivers down your spine then his new album ‘Understated’ certainly will.

The song-writing largely centres on Collins' feelings about having a new lease of life and how he is not going to waste it. So, strap yourselves in, folks, because you will be left an emotional wreck, reviewing everything you are doing with your life by the end of listening.

'Baby Jean' is a cracking soul tune reminiscent of Johnnie Taylor in his pomp. Lyrically, it is very powerful, displaying how music has been a therapeutic and cathartic outlet since recovering from his illness. To hear Collins sing 'I got music to see me through / I got art to ease the pain / I got sunshine on a cloudy day / And I'm going to find a way to understand' is as uplifting as it gets.

Collins' spate of optimism is a constant throughout the album, both lyrically and musically. The Orange Juice number '21 Years' decrees 'What the heck I’m living now' as he questions what the point of his rock ‘n’ roll career has been.

Musically, it is an incredibly soulful record. The opener 'Dilemma' is a northern soul beauty ready to bring home the English summer. 'Carry On, Carry On' has some Elysian Frankie Valli-esque production. Meanwhile, 'In The Now' is the kind of fired up soul meets rock ‘n’ roll number Beady Eye would die to have in their repertoire.

Standing out amidst the Temptations upbeat soul numbers is the sombre 'Down The Line'. Collins reveals the darker sides of piecing his life back together with the jaw-aching lyrics 'I wasn't there to comfort you / I wasn’t there to hold your hand / I wasn’t there to do my thing / The best that I could do'. As a father and husband, Collins clearly felt as though he was a burden during his illness. Anyone who doesn’t gulp a lump down their throat to this song simply isn’t human (or is a Tory, take your pick).

This is a strong contender for album of the year, it’s littered with great soul music and incredible pop sensibilities. Ultimately though, the main triumph here is Collins' ability to reflect on the highs and lows of his remarkable journey from being critically ill back to an idolised musician.

8. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform Educate Entertain

Public Service Broadcasting are a London based duo who have trawled the BBC archives to dub old public messages over their enthralling and evocative electro music. This, ladies and gentleman, is no flash in the pan gimmick. What we have is one of the finest albums of 2013 that you should all go and buy immediately.

If there was to be a blueprint for an album opener, Inform-Educate-Entertain would surely tick all the boxes. It is a rasping soaring piece of majesty worthy of Orbital at their finest. One of the broadcast splices states ‘a bright new era is dawning’ and when listening to this song, it certainly feels as though it might be. Despite being released before Royal Mail was decided to be sold off, it utilises excerpts in tandem with some great guitar licks which relay the fury many of us feel about yet another decision made in the name of greed.

 

This sense of loss is beautifully encapsulated by the track ‘Night Mail’. The old clips inevitably create a wave of nostalgia but it is the lush pianos and protracted synths that conjure the sense of something fading away never to return. And for what? To bump up the deficit reduction statistics so Messrs Cameron and Osborne can revel in yet more unfounded glory. If there was a song to sum the coalition’s lack of compassion and shortsightedness, this is most certainly it.

 

‘Spitfire’ will lead fans of Lemon Jelly to recall the ‘Shouty Track’ and ‘Staunton Lick’ on hearing this. However, like all quality music, they have borrowed from the past and added their own ambition to the mix. The combination of modern day Radiohead guitars with British Sea Power’s pop sensibilities gives this track an edge which their contemporaries simply do not have.

For all the brilliance of ‘Inform-Educate-Entertain’, it is occasionally guilty of filler. This is not because of a lack of imagination, more of a lack of originality in the execution. ‘Signal 30’ is a highly enjoyable track but if truth be told, it is something the Go! Team did with more flair. ‘The Now Generation’ meanwhile, feels like watered down version of Primal Scream’s ‘Swastika Eyes’. it is a real pity, an injection of something here could have made this song as strong as others on the album.

Perhaps the most interesting track on the album though is the stripped back ‘ROYGBIV’. Proclaiming ‘there is colour in the reach of everyone’, it is by far the most uplifting and optimistic track of the album. More importantly is hints that the duo could have a hit single hidden in their locker. This is not it, by any means, but the use of the banjo is incredibly infectious for the first two minutes and. the second half of the song has a brilliant funk riff reminiscent of A Certain Ratio. It also has the Beeb extract ‘I believe in this world to come / I think it’s going to be a pretty good one.’ A simple message but one this country is in dire need of as the Coalition’s divide and rule tactics run amok.

 

Overall, TT would have to say this album is not a classic. Nonetheless, it feels like the start of something genuinely inspiring and life-changing. On reading about the duo, you could be forgiven this is a one off gimmick. We feel, however, that this is the beginning of a remarkable journey to be had, one which hopefully coincides with a brave and optimistic British government that speaks to its electorate with heart, rather than with one eye on big business’ profit margin.

7. Peace - In Love

Peace are a 4 piece from Worcester and have been taking the UK by storm on their recent headline NME Awards tour. TT just couldn't resist the hype and had to check out their debut album ‘In Love’.

Whilst TT feels this is one hell of a debut, it would be foolish to ignore that this album is unblemished. ‘Lovesick’ is everything we despise here at TT: British bands singing in an New Found Glory style. It is enough to make you want to go ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ on anyone who likes it. There, now that’s been said, we can all forget about that and move on…

The opening track ‘Higher Than The Sun’ immediately brings to mind Primal Scream’s incredible Acid House tinged anthem not only because of the title but in relation to its escapist virtues. Whilst musically it is more akin to the Scream’s rock-cum bluesy numbers, it has a wonderful feeling of youth awakening and stretching for more. The timing couldn't be better suited with further cuts being made and the ridiculous “Bedroom Tax” coming in to play. Sometimes bands time their journey into cultural conscious of the public just right and Peace appear to be doing just this.

The indie/rock scene has been largely divided in to two realms in recent years. On one side you have rock-psyche with Tame Impala, Toy and Kasabian and on the other there are the softer and more pop friendly (but by no means less credible) bands such as Foals, Mystery Jets and Little Comets. Peace are exciting because they look like the first band to unite the two divisions. ‘Follow Baby’ has verses which sound like The Pixies but with Gruff Rhys pulling the production strings to create a uniquely trippy, yet punky, sound. When the track reaches the chorus, Harry Kossier’s vocals hit those lush tones that Friendly Fires did so well with on ‘Paris’ to provide an ecstatic moment to treasure.

The Foals references will be ringing loud and clear on ‘Wraith’. It is like an offspring of Foals hit ‘My Number’ whose riff may not be as catchy but as a single has so much more depth. There is also looping piano which fades in and out to signify that Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’ was not in vain. The lyrics are spectacular within this setting too. The below chorus may read as childish but with the tune behind it, it feels like two young lovers grasping freedom by the horns with the intention of living forever:

‘You could be my ice age sugar / Lay me down and make me shiver / Blow me like a floating feather / We’ll be dark we’ll be dark we’ll be dark forever’.

 

Then comes the colossal ‘Sugarstone’. What a spectacular rock song. It has a beautiful haziness worthy of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and a swagger not too dissimilar to that off ‘Champagne Supernova’. Oasis seemingly play no part musically in the bands influences but the philosophy of Peace is something different altogether. What makes both bands great is that unseen spirit which allows you and your best mate to belong to something to cherish for all time. ‘Sugarstone’is one of the few tracks that manage to tap into this soul successfully with the lyrics: “It’s not about a generation / It’s not about our education / We don’t need to think today / Cos you and me can slip away”.

These lyrics are just another reason to why Peace are the best thing to happen to the UK music scene since the Libertines. They give a much needed voice to the indie/rock youth of today. TT can see Peace uniting the indie hipsters and math rock fans with Kasabian and Beady Eye lovers out there. ‘In Love’ is an album you must all invest in!

6. Wave Pictures - City Forgiveness

The veterans from Midlands returned this year with ‘City Forgiveness’, less than a year after the acclaimed ‘Long Black Cars’ was released. Ardent fans would not be surprised by this kind of prolific nature, but, this is isn’t any album, this is an M&S album……no wait, we mean, this is a double album.

After a decade of consistently good albums, fans could be forgiven for thinking ‘what’s left to do?’. The answer comes in the form of David Tattersall’s guitar playing. He has always been class, but only on this helping do we see him really let rip and more importantly, let go.

The tracks ‘All My Friends’, ‘Chestnut’, and ‘Ropes’ are prime examples of this. They all work within a similar framework, one in which see’s the rhythm section minimal to allow breathing space for Tattersall’s skills. On ‘All My Friends’, Tattersall combines a dark narrative (he proclaims ‘all my friends are going to be strangers’) with blasts on the guitar a la Peter Green.

‘Chestnut’ and ‘Ropes’ both have distinctive Neil Young vibes emanating from their pores. ‘Chestnut’ ambles along like Young’s ‘Believer’ in the verses before the big heart-warming chord changes lead you towards Young’s ‘Bar Stool Blues’. Meanwhile, ‘Ropes’ takes on the appearance of a discarded b-side from ‘Rust Never Sleeps’. How such quality can slip by the Mercury Music Award is astonishing.

Then, there is the oddity that is ‘Lisbon’. It’s an oddity on the basis that this is a genuine pop song and stands out a mile from the rest of the tracks here. It is three and half minutes of catchy and cool guitar music and the utilising of Dr Feelgood’s baseline from ‘Roxette’ is a touch of inspiration.

This album is not without fault it must be noted. It definitely has too many tracks and midway through disc 2 you will not hear anything different enough or better than what is on disc 1. ‘The Yellow Roses’ and ‘A Crack In The Plans’ feel a bit lack lustre compared to the songs we mentioned earlier. However, compared to some of the year’s most hyped albums (Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys for instance), the tracks which should have been trimmed are infinitely better than first choices on their albums.

What will be interesting is to see where Tattersall takes the band from here. It has been a long journey to reach this peak and it is a peak because Tattersall unleashed himself on the guitar. TT hopes he hasn't laid himself completely bare and there is still more to come.