10. Manic Street Preachers - Futurology
At number 10 in this year’s countdown are the ever reliable,
ever brilliant Manic Street Preachers. They have ended the year with a
nostalgic tour of ‘The Holy Bible’ but 2014 will remember them for their 12th
studio album ‘Futurology’.
The Newport lads have never been lazy when it comes to
trying new things and nothing has changed on this helping. However, it’s hard
to deny their classic identity shining through on numbers like ‘Walk Me To The
Bridge’ and ‘The Next Jet To Leave Moscow’.
‘Walk Me To The Bridge’ was written by Wire about a time he
considered leaving the band, but fans will be forgiven for thinking it’s about
the much missed Richey Edwards. Either way, the chorus is a fantastic lyric
about leaving something or someone you love behind.
‘The Next Jet To Leave Moscow’ has the classic rapid fire
vocals of their early albums, this only heightens the humour in Wire’s lyrics
which mock his former communist self. Moreover, this is a pop song, one which
should be sandwiched between One Direction and Taylor Swift on the airwaves.
Similarly to ‘Rewind The Film’, it’s the duets on the album
which are the standout efforts. ‘Europa Gecht Durch Mich’ features German trade
unionist Nina Hoss in a BRMC meets Goldfrapp belter. ‘Divine Youth’ features Welsh
songwriter Georgina Ruth Williams lending her beautiful vocals to this tale of
growing old in today’s society.
Nicky Wire recently discussed with Noel Gallagher on XFM how
the last time he felt optimistic was in 1995/6 and who could blame him with the
poor and vulnerable taking the blame for economic crisis yet there is millions
available for the royal family cock about on boats or for a funeral for the
most polarising Prime Minister of the 20th century. Nevertheless,
this is an album to cling to for hope. These ordinary men from Wales have made
an album with far reaching and challenging influences and made it an accessible
pop album. This achievement should be lauded and should be seen as a call to
arms to any aspiring band that a working class hero is still something to be.
9. Emperor Yes - An Island Called Earth
Emperor Yes featured on TT as ones to watch back in March and boy do we feel smug now. Their debut album ‘An Island Called Earth’ is everything we hoped it would be, a fun pop record to put the smile back on our faces.
The London 3 piece don’t just pay homage to the Flaming Lips though, there is a more experimental side to them to counter balance the dreamy pop tracks. ‘Mirror’ is by far the heaviest number on the album with a brooding bass line coursing throughout. Also, the synth solos of ‘Carl Sagan’ and ‘Monkey King’ are quite remarkable for a fledgling band.
The quality of this debut should secure the lads enough
backing for a further 3 albums we hope as a masterpiece surely awaits. They
have produced great singles and experimental epics here, just imagine the
results when they combine the two.
8. Childhood - Lacuna
This decade has witnessed two (amongst others) trends in rock music; one is the otherworldly rock-psyche and the other is beach-rock, often associated with Sub Pop Records. Both strands have produced some good albums but have rarely united the people, which is hardly surprising considering the politics of divide and conquer are in full swing. Nothing lasts forever however and Childhood, a Nottingham via South London four piece, are the first step towards uniting fans, their feelings and guitar music. Here’s why:
7. The Rifles - None The Wiser
The original Chingford quartet is reunited for their fourth album and it has paid dividends. ‘None The Wiser’ is not their most riotous affair but is definitely the most accomplished. The album is an amalgamation of the bullish ‘No Love Lost’ and ‘Great Escape’ and the luscious production of the third instalment ‘Freedom Run’.
The opening three songs embody this combination perfectly. ‘Minute Mile’ opens with an angular riff which launched the likes of The Rifles, The Rakes and Milburn back in 2007. As it’s the only one of its type on the album, it is a refreshing look back on the late 00s indie boom. ‘Heebie Jeebies’ follows which, is more akin to their earlier raucous tunes like ‘The General’ or ‘Local Boy’. Up third is ‘Go Lucky’, a rapturous indie gem circumnavigated via The Jam.
These three tracks are more than just a rehash of the past though. All have their own nuances and idiosyncrasies breathing new life into the classic Rifles sound. In merging their previous styles they have created a start to album which eases fans in before they truly set off down new paths.
‘Catch Her In The Rye’ is the standout track which treads new ground. It begins with a Talking Heads riff and drifts away with a blissful yet resolute ninety second reprise. This venture is the perfect soundtrack to a tale of an elder informing someone they need to do more to succeed in life. Elsewhere on the album, the song writing embraces Dylan-esque harmonicas (‘All I Need’) and new found sense of melancholy on ‘The Hardest Place To Find Me’.
The aforementioned ‘Hardest Place To Find Me’ is a splice of indie gold that only The Rifles can produce and a feat they rarely credited for. Being repressed is arguably one of England’s biggest social diseases. So, when a band write a song about the subject matter and get the tone bang on they should be lauded. However, unless your singing in a generic high pitched squeal, your yesterday’s news to the mainstream music press (Mojo aside, they gave a decent review of the album in January).
Joel and Lucas have always written great love songs. For a band associated with football, boozing and The Jam, they are really classicist romantics at heart. Their debut album featured ‘When I’m Alone’, a venous anthem about unrequited love. ‘The Great Escape’ had the hit single that never was ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (it was featured in Gavin & Stacey at least ninety seven times) and third album ‘Freedom Run’, is almost exclusively about the theme in some form. Yet despite such an easy on the ear subject matter, no airplay comes for them. They are living proof that post-Oasis, the industry doesn’t want real people running amok spoiling their marketing meetings. Maybe they’re afraid their clear desk policies will be used for snorting all their coke we just don’t know.
This album, for TT, is a triumph. It has anthems to sing to, it has production of such quality, it will keep surprising you on every listen. The only criticism is that they haven’t got any songs which would rate nine or ten out of ten but with every song a solid seven or eight there is enough excitement and quality hear to keep The Rifles flag flying high and hoping they catch a break like Frank Turner did couple of years back. Only through word of mouth can The Rifles achieve the success they deserve, so drag your mates, missus or dad out to the next tour. They will not be disappointed.
6. Johnny Marr - Playland
To be somebody's story
Be free it's time
9. Emperor Yes - An Island Called Earth
Emperor Yes featured on TT as ones to watch back in March and boy do we feel smug now. Their debut album ‘An Island Called Earth’ is everything we hoped it would be, a fun pop record to put the smile back on our faces.
New listeners will be faced with the obvious Flaming Lips similarities
but we strongly urge you to let embrace their style because, after all, genius
steals.
The Flaming Lips-esque numbers appear in the form of ‘End Of
The World’, ‘Cosmos’ and ‘Wasps’. ‘End Of The World’ is drenched in sunshine
and could have easily featured on the Lips’ classic album ‘Void’.
Meanwhile ‘Cosmos’ surpasses the epic levels of Polyphonic
Spree and the only bad thing to say about the track ‘Wasps’ is that it makes
you too happy about the bastard creature.
The London 3 piece don’t just pay homage to the Flaming Lips though, there is a more experimental side to them to counter balance the dreamy pop tracks. ‘Mirror’ is by far the heaviest number on the album with a brooding bass line coursing throughout. Also, the synth solos of ‘Carl Sagan’ and ‘Monkey King’ are quite remarkable for a fledgling band.
8. Childhood - Lacuna
This decade has witnessed two (amongst others) trends in rock music; one is the otherworldly rock-psyche and the other is beach-rock, often associated with Sub Pop Records. Both strands have produced some good albums but have rarely united the people, which is hardly surprising considering the politics of divide and conquer are in full swing. Nothing lasts forever however and Childhood, a Nottingham via South London four piece, are the first step towards uniting fans, their feelings and guitar music. Here’s why:
Their debut album ‘Lacuna’ is littered with many influences. For many, this is detrimental to what they are trying to achieve or the sign of a bad producer. For Childhood though, it’s part of the appeal and they should be lauded for incorporating the varying strands of indie into their vision. There are several occasions where Real Estate and Primal Scream circa ‘Sonic Flower Groove’ jingle jangle guitars comes to the fore, as does the beach-rock sounds of Two Wounded Birds and Wavves. Furthermore, there is a lot of dreamy psyche music filtering its way through a-la Tame Impala and Pond with a smidge of the stoner guitar playing of Nick McCabe circa ‘Storm In Heaven’. You must be frothing at the gums knowing this now, right?
The guitars on this record reveal an awful lot about Childhood. Ben and Leo have the talent to turn to any strand of indie music it would appear. ‘Pay For Cool’ is an anomaly on the album because of its immediacy. It has an early Stokes-esque riff and changes pace often, which really draws you in.
‘You Could Be Different’ moves away from the more radio friendly sound and delivers a Tame Impala psyche affair but to the classic ‘verse, chorus’ formula and the solo is deranged and yet inherently catchy, like Doves at their best. ‘When You Rise’ is another signifier of their ability. ‘When You Rise’ has an explosion of guitars two thirds in which have the band on the cusp of something magical but begs the question ‘will they produce it?’
Two songs answer this question, ‘Solemn Skies’ and ‘As I Am’. ‘Solemn Skies’ is a stomping 60s psyche number which is taken to the next level by Hopcraft’s angelic vocals. He has the fragility of Bobby Gillespie which will endear you to him but, before you know it, he is driving the melody forward with his great ability to be powerful yet understated at the same time. This is replicated beautifully by the guitars. At several points they conjure a desperate need of release and when it arrives is ecstasy. For the first time in a long time, a band appear to be connecting the dots between the mire going on around ordinary people and giving them an escape route in guitar music.
‘As I Am’ for TT, is the standout track on this fine debut. Musically it is so blissful we are not sure Bipolar Sunshine didn’t write it for them. It is quite a gear change for the band musically where the guitars are supplementing the beat and dreamy synths rather than the other way round. Hopcraft again excels vocally. He sounds like Arthur Lee on MDMA, floating around a festival without a care in the world. The real beauty of this song is that lyrically, it’s really dark. It’s a tale of a lover who is begging their partner to understand them and join them in love, and the pain of this is like no other as I’m sure all readers are aware.
TT thinks that ‘Definitely Maybe’ is the greatest album of all time and probably always will do. However, part of its legacy has been for people to expect the world from a debut album. In this review we have pondered whether Childhood wants to make it to the top. Is this unfair pressure to put on a band? We have to lean towards yes, as so many bands are cut loose after their first album. This album is a terrific debut album. It’s never going to feature in people’s top 10s, but if Childhood is given space and time to develop, we can envisage them making albums which can threaten people’s top 10s. They have already displayed a great array of style and have been on the cusp of some magical guitar moments on ‘Lacuna’. Importantly, they, along with Peace, appear to be taking guitar music back to a popular consciousness which can only be a good thing.
7. The Rifles - None The Wiser
The original Chingford quartet is reunited for their fourth album and it has paid dividends. ‘None The Wiser’ is not their most riotous affair but is definitely the most accomplished. The album is an amalgamation of the bullish ‘No Love Lost’ and ‘Great Escape’ and the luscious production of the third instalment ‘Freedom Run’.
The opening three songs embody this combination perfectly. ‘Minute Mile’ opens with an angular riff which launched the likes of The Rifles, The Rakes and Milburn back in 2007. As it’s the only one of its type on the album, it is a refreshing look back on the late 00s indie boom. ‘Heebie Jeebies’ follows which, is more akin to their earlier raucous tunes like ‘The General’ or ‘Local Boy’. Up third is ‘Go Lucky’, a rapturous indie gem circumnavigated via The Jam.
These three tracks are more than just a rehash of the past though. All have their own nuances and idiosyncrasies breathing new life into the classic Rifles sound. In merging their previous styles they have created a start to album which eases fans in before they truly set off down new paths.
‘Catch Her In The Rye’ is the standout track which treads new ground. It begins with a Talking Heads riff and drifts away with a blissful yet resolute ninety second reprise. This venture is the perfect soundtrack to a tale of an elder informing someone they need to do more to succeed in life. Elsewhere on the album, the song writing embraces Dylan-esque harmonicas (‘All I Need’) and new found sense of melancholy on ‘The Hardest Place To Find Me’.
The aforementioned ‘Hardest Place To Find Me’ is a splice of indie gold that only The Rifles can produce and a feat they rarely credited for. Being repressed is arguably one of England’s biggest social diseases. So, when a band write a song about the subject matter and get the tone bang on they should be lauded. However, unless your singing in a generic high pitched squeal, your yesterday’s news to the mainstream music press (Mojo aside, they gave a decent review of the album in January).
Joel and Lucas have always written great love songs. For a band associated with football, boozing and The Jam, they are really classicist romantics at heart. Their debut album featured ‘When I’m Alone’, a venous anthem about unrequited love. ‘The Great Escape’ had the hit single that never was ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (it was featured in Gavin & Stacey at least ninety seven times) and third album ‘Freedom Run’, is almost exclusively about the theme in some form. Yet despite such an easy on the ear subject matter, no airplay comes for them. They are living proof that post-Oasis, the industry doesn’t want real people running amok spoiling their marketing meetings. Maybe they’re afraid their clear desk policies will be used for snorting all their coke we just don’t know.
This album, for TT, is a triumph. It has anthems to sing to, it has production of such quality, it will keep surprising you on every listen. The only criticism is that they haven’t got any songs which would rate nine or ten out of ten but with every song a solid seven or eight there is enough excitement and quality hear to keep The Rifles flag flying high and hoping they catch a break like Frank Turner did couple of years back. Only through word of mouth can The Rifles achieve the success they deserve, so drag your mates, missus or dad out to the next tour. They will not be disappointed.
6. Johnny Marr - Playland
Manchester’s guitar hero returned in 2014 to release his second
solo album ‘Playland’. Buoyed by his well-received debut ‘Messenger’, Marr has
picked up where he left off and produced a quality array of tunes.
Being part of the Smiths, Electronic, Modest Mouse and The Cribs,
you would think Marr has used up his good riff quota. Not a bit of it. Lead
single ‘Easy Money’ is as catchy as they come and combines his love of Nile
Rodgers and Patti Smith to form the guitar single of the year.
The breakneck guitars on ‘Boys Get Straight’ have strands of Echo
& The Bunnymen’s ‘The Back Of Love’ whilst ‘Little King’ nods towards the
scousers classic ‘The Cutter’, whilst the euphoric ‘Dynamo’ splices vintage Jon
Ronson glam with Bernard Sumner’s free spirit.
The New Order influence reappears regularly on this album. ‘The
Trap’ has a classic Hooky riff whilst Marr’s vocals lean towards Sumner’s as he
brings in elements of shoegaze on the production. ‘This Tension’ has New Order’s windswept guitar
playing combined with his classic Smiths style. Couple this with some desolate
synths and a killer bass line and hey presto, another gem. (we’re starting to
hate how good he is!!!)
‘Candidate’ is the standout track from this collection. The guitar
parts provide an escapist outlet whilst the lyrics fight back this and
challenge the listener to stand up and be counted:
And you just want fun
Get in the picture come on
Now turn the future on us
Get in the picture come on
Now turn the future on us
Get free it's time
To be somebody's story
Be free it's time
It is remarkable that a man who has achieved so much with
different bands can still find new ways to inspire and achieve so much but he
has done it yet again. 2015 will probably see a lot of touring and TT cannot
wait to be there.
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