So, 2010 is here... but we're not finished with 2009 just yet. BBC News is running a story on the "
best albums you never heard in 2009" (click for link). This sparked my curiosity -- which of these artists did IK VS DK miss?
We featured singles from Dirty Projector's
Bitte Orca and Jack Penate's
Everything is New, and we had tracks from both Sky Larkin and Wild Beasts in 2008... yet we missed the rest. Now some of the tracks aren't in the genres we usually review, but I was particularly embarrassed that I missed Mew's latest release, having thoroughly enjoyed their previous studio albums
Frengers and
And The Glass Handed Kites.
Without further ado, here are singles from several of the albums we missed (click on You Tube links to see/hear videos) and descriptions courtesy of the BBC News article:
A Camp - Stronger Than Jesus (from
Colonia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVMpluF7kQEight years after their debut, The Cardigans singer Nina Persson has resurrected side-project A Camp. Working with her husband, she says the album was inspired by "the history of savagery", explaining: "The human urge to rape, conquer and pillage has always fascinated me."
Blue Roses - Doubtful Comforts (from
Blue Roses)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CzL35rTqfMRecalling Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell, the voice of Laura Groves is at the heart of this warm, folky album. She roped in family and friends to accompany her and recorded on borrowed equipment in bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms in her home town of Shipley, Yorkshire.
The Do - On My Shoulders (from
A Mouthful)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bBkEQYdMM8Named after the first and last note on the musical scale, this French-Finnish duo claim to be as inspired by jazz and classical as rock and pop. The result is wilfully off-the-wall and exhilarating.
The Low Anthem - To Ohio (from
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGxaRpN5Eb4This trio met at university in Rhode Island and have won fans with their fragile Americana. Their instruments include a WWI portable pump organ, a rusty saw, a nipple gong, a "gut-strung parlor axe" and "enough harmonicas to summon a swarm of locusts".
Major Lazer - Hold The Line (from
Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4SNtFQZF0AMajor Lazer is a one-armed Jamaican ex-commando who battles the forces of darkness. Actually, he is a cartoon character devised by producers Diplo and Switch to serve their blistering cocktail of dancehall reggae, hip-hop and electro.
Mew - Repeaterbeater (from
No More Stories...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEh9cELK5OsPhil Singer, There Goes The Fear blog: "This has been my favourite album of 2009. One moment extremely bombastic, the next surprisingly fragile and gentle, it is not your typical indie-by-numbers affair. The stunning opener New Terrain can be played both forwards and backwards, the magical Sometimes Life Isn't Easy has chirpy hand claps and uplifting kid choirs, while Hawaii has hypnotic vocals and fun, calypso-style percussion. "
Micachu & The Shapes - Golden Phone (from
Jewellery)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TRkZpFgJcIMicachu is Londoner Mica Levi, who recorded the album while studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and used home-made instruments ranging from a modified CD rack to broken bottles and a vacuum cleaner.
Sky Larkin - Antibodies (from
The Golden Spike)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQRwg0QLSNgAfter four years together, this Leeds guitar trio recorded their brisk, taut and spiky debut album in two weeks in Seattle. It owes much to American alt.rock and was released by respected indie label Wichita.
tUnE-YaRdS - Fiya (from
BiRd BrAiNs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xff8CnlQ6oMade using a digital voice recorder and shareware software in her Montreal flat, singer and instrumentalist Merrill Garbus' rich, intimate and unpredictable album is held together by DIY charm.
Wild Beasts - All The King's Men (from
Two Dancers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxh5zMbNAoHayden Thorpe's distinctive falsetto, coupled with Tom Fleming's baritone and a delicate, dreamy musical landscape, makes this Kendal foursome stand well apart from the conventional indie scene.
