derry:

smash boom bang! the songs & productions of feldman-goldstein-gottehrer ace
absolutely astounding collection of still fresh 60s pop classics from this brilliant songwriting team, usually featuring the poundiest of all pounding drums on the likes of ‘hang on sloopy’, ‘my boyfriend’s back’, ‘i want candy’, ‘night time’ & ‘sorrow’. f-g-g put out over a hundred singles but the 26 collected here make you long to be an american teenager in the 60s so you could have been there as they first came out. richard gottehrer went on to co-found sire records & produce classic albums by blondie & the go-gos that reference the sound on these singles. he’s still at it now, recently producing the dum dum girls’ ‘i will be’. if you love any of the 60s influenced bands around at the moment, pick this up & see where they all got it from.

ryan adams : gold mercury
i happened to be browsing in a charity shop on my day off a couple of weeks ago & saw a copy of this album. as well as wondering why on earth anyone would get rid of it, i realised that i’d somehow never managed to buy a copy myself. having put that right, ryan’s second solo album has rarely left the stereo since, mainly because my one year old son only has to hear the classic ‘pinball wizard’ referencing opener ‘new york, new york’ (not that one, thankfully), or , even more so, second track ‘firecracker’ with its steve earle country meets rock fast paced guitar riff to get very excited indeed & start dancing like a maniac. small boys dancing aside, this is a great album from start to finish as ryan acknowledges all his influences in one go from the stones to van to stephen stills & neil young to the band & gram parsons. if you only buy one ryan album, it’s probably still ‘heartbreaker’ but, honestly, that would be like only buying one album by any of the people mentioned above. if you’re a fan of americana or classic 70s rock, you need this album in your life. even one year olds know that.

natasha :

django django : django django because (cd out 30th jan, vinyl 20th feb)
yay! the first record this year to make me feel uncontrollably bouncy & smiley. it’s highly inventive & startlingly fresh, melding together a whole heap of influences & sounds. although it’s playful & fun, it’s also incredibly sophisticated & clever – a rare feat indeed & one that only really metronomy is achieving at the moment. the comparisons to the beta band are pretty unavoidable but as no-one’s really come close to emulating their particular brand of eclectic indie-rock since their demise, this is no bad thing. blast this from your speakers & you’re guaranteed to blow away those winter blues in no time - this year’s equivalent to metronomy’s ‘the english riviera’ has arrived!

mark lanegan band : blues funeral 4ad
about flippin’ time! i’ve been waiting for a follow-up to 2004’s awesome ‘bubblegum’ for way too long. i much prefer lanegan without isobel campbell’s tweeness & although he’s been busy as a gutter twin, a soulsaver & lurking in the twilight singers too, nothing he’s done between solo records has been quite as impressive as this. it starts out with a fine qotsa-esque outing & from there on in, we are treated to a mixture of his raw & visceral rockers & intimate, stripped back seductions – all of which (with the exception of 1 questionable synthy track that’s yet to win me over) make for a mind-blowing collection that’ll keep me going for another 7-8 years (or however long i have to wait for the follow-up). 

matt:

suzanne ciani : lixivation finders keepers released 13th feb
gloriously experimental work from this true pioneer of electronic synthesised music. ciani became the popular synthesised voice of us advertising during the 70s for massive companies such as atari & coca cola with her beautifully melodic yet wholly futuristic bursts of creativity. some of these commercial jingles are presented here, sitting alongside more experimental drawn out almost kosmiche soundscapes which ciani would develop over the coming years to transform herself into one of the leading lights of ‘new age’. fans of oneohtrix point never, emeralds, eno etc seriously need to be all over this. “the american delia derbyshire of the atari generation” - finders keepers

the men : open your heart sacred bones released march 5th
the men have tamed things down a bit for their second album on sacred bones, the us protopunk comes way to the forefront of their sound whilst the no wave & early hardcore influences take a bit of a back seat, with some tracks even exhibiting a breezy neil young kind of vibe. don’t get me wrong though, it’s still blisteringly badass, & the men have managed to pull off this transformation without compromising their sound at all. will be in my best of 2012 list for sure.

daniel:

karen dalton : 1966 delmore recordings (cd out now, lp released 6th feb)
utterly essential early home recordings from the enigmatic & elusive dalton, engrossing & heartbreaking. i have to admit to never really “getting” dalton’s two studio albums, 1969’s ‘it’s so hard to tell…’ & 1971’s ‘in my own time’ (controversial, i know). the overly produced lush studio sound seemed a bit oppressive, draining her incredible voice of a lot of its colour, & my impressions probably weren’t helped by the well-reported fact she was notoriously reluctant to record anything in a studio. this collection however, is totally mindblowing. it consists of recordings of her & richard tucker rehearsing for a gig in their remote colorado cabin. stripped back to just guitar / banjo & voice, the songs gain a remarkable power, with the likes of tim hardin’s ‘reason to believe’ & the traditional ‘katie cruel’ becoming even more devastating. her vocals have the power & emotion of the classic blues & gospel singers, with the delicate, melodic intricacy of a lot of her contemporaries in the folk scene, & (in my opinion!) these are the recordings on which she truly shines.

blondes : blondes (2cd) rvng released 13th feb
epic, sprawling, cosmic dance music drawing influence from all across the celestial spectrum. this double cd collects 3 hard to find 12”s from last year, adds a few more tracks, & then a whole extra disc of remixes from big names, such as jd twitch (optimo), andy stott & laurel halo. the track that i heard first off this, & that got me hooked, was ‘lover’, which features a hypnotic, almost tribal meredith monk sample, which gives the track a weird propulsive lurch to complement their luminous synth concoctions. no track here disappoints, using minimal, expressive phrases with more expansive, pulsating quasars of sound, creating epic 8 minute + adventures, suitable both for imagined soundtracks to space exploration & early morning dancefloor excitement. imagine carl sagan throwing down on his ‘spaceship of the imagination’ & you’re pretty much where this album takes me to.  
 

ami:

sharon van etten : tramp jagjaguwar
i’ve literally had this on repeat since i first heard it. van etten has really stepped it up with this stunning album with elements that rock out (‘warsaw’, ‘serpents’) & pull at your heart strings (‘give out’) & some great production that is both unafraid to strip everything back (‘all i can’) but also amp up the guitars. the best thing is her voice though - van etten sounds absolutely fantastic – a rare vocal performer who displays a huge amount of feeling with an exceptional range & when double-tracked will leave you speechless. the songwriting is anything but straight forward keeping you interested throughout with some really impressive folk on board, most notably producer aaron dessner of the national but with contributions from matt barrick (walkmen), zach condon (beirut), jenn wasner (wye oak)& julianna barwick it reads like a who’s who of indie favourites.

matt elliot : the broken man ici d'ailleu
i’ve been following elliot’s solo work (also releasing music under the third eye foundation moniker) since 2005’s ‘drinking songs’ after stumbling upon him at sonar festival. it was intense - a looping, drinking frenzy (bottle of whisky close to his side at all times), of cello & vocals that was utterly intoxicating. with ‘the broken man’ he has taken over as my favourite miserable man (last year’s award going to josh t pearson) by creating a technically impressive guitar album paying homage to eastern european scales, with his ever sombre baritone pouring its heart out & flourishes of orchestrated string work, distant horns & operatic backing vocals making this an album full of punches to the solar plexus. songs that will play havoc with your tear ducts.

james:

portico quartet : portico quartet real world
over the course of 3 albums, portico quartet have made a gradual & subtle transition from former street buskers peddling their own twisted take on jazz music into a band who now seem to be leaving the jazz fold for pastures new & electronic. sure, this record still features some mean acoustic bass slapping along with frantic sax-blowing, but the rhythms, textures & structures point more to the current crop of underground dance music/electronic producers (think burial, sbtrkt & flying lotus). even ‘the hang’ has gone electronic – doused in delays & otherworldly effects. it’s a good move for the quartet, as they sound completely at home inhabiting this expansive, cinematic space. i get the feeling this stuff’s going to be mind-blowing live too.


jacaszek : glimmer ghostly international
polish sonic manipulator michal jacaszek returns with his follow-up to 2008’s ‘treny’, a former ‘album of the year’ for me no less! thankfully, ‘glimmer’ was worth the wait, as jacaszek once again takes us into his unique sound-world where baroque instrumentation (harpsichord being the prevalent instrument here) meets grainy snippets of sampled & manipulated sound, resulting in a patchwork that successfully blurs the lines between the acoustic & the electronic. it’s fairly dark, & in some places almost disturbing, but proves a great diversion from all the safe, easy-going modern classical fare that’s become so popular of late. best enjoyed on a cold, bleak winter’s day.

leo:

gangrene : vodka & ayahuasca decon
this second outing of the alchemist's raw flows paired with oh no's huge psych & soul inflected loops is just as scuzzy & joyously lowlife as their 2010 debut 'gutter water'. free from gangsta posturing or brags of platinum chain wearing, they portray themselves as los angeles scum existing from drug to drug & citing the dumbest examples of bad boy behaviour you could imagine. the beats range from dark, simple wu-tang style loops to sprawling, paul white-esque fuzz guitar breaks, interspersed with gleefully lo-fi youtube samples & surreal skits. the lyrics often make me think of bukowski's 'notes from a dirty old man' but if he had upped sticks from skid row to compton.

deerhoof : reveille polyvinyl records
a beautiful reissue, on 180g blue vinyl no less, of the mighty san francisco art rock giants' 2002 masterpiece of chaotic, angular riffs, crashing drums & breakneck structures, topped with some of the cuddliest vocals you've ever heard. i was 16 when this album came out &, passed onto me by an older friend, i have always considered it a cornerstone of my musical education, so found this reissue particularly exciting & wonderfully nostalgic. sinking back into the album, i was pleasantly surprised at how fresh it still sounds & how much it exemplifies the sheer joy & eccentricity that made me fall in love with deerhoof. in fact 'this magnificent bird will rise' is undoubtedly among my favourite tracks ever laid to wax.

jason:

atomic forest : obsession now again
stones throw offshoot serves up killer slabs of heavy psych & funk sounds from india’s premier psychedelic rock band atomic forrest!! the only indian heavy rock / psych band to ever produce an entire album, albeit in very small numbers, original copies of the obsession ’77 go for ridiculous sums to vinyl junkies desperate to get their hands on it. this version collects pieces from that original album plus unreleased pieces from band member’s personal archives.  a blistering concoction of heavy fuzz guitar licks & synth led funk workouts, this is must for all psych fans & crate diggers alike.

cut hands : afro noise dirter
the two sides of william bennett collide as he fuses the abrasive textures of whitehouse with the timbres & rhythms of traditional african music. best know as the founding member of uk noise group whitehouse, bennett has always been obsessed with africa & its music. after the success of his afro noise mix, bennett became a man on a mission, four years in the making & utilizing his collection of congolese & ghanaian percussion instruments, the afro noise finally arrives. the result: killer african rhythms layered with atmospheric electronic textures & engulfing drones. awesome stuff!!

david:

glenn jones : the wanting thrill jockey
with an upcoming show at the prince albert on february 20th i have been returning to this masterful & magical album daily. a devotee of the acoustic guitar discipline that found its birth, adolescence & transfigurations with john fahey, & indeed a friend & protégé of the late legend, jones achieves a picking style that leans further towards the magical/emotional spaces invoked by the still underappreciated robbie basho. a friend, collaborator & contemporary of the late jack rose, he unveils mystical meanderings, riotous flurries of notes falling like autumn leaves & mournful banjo laments. this is american primitive in jones’ own way, different to both fahey & basho, neither occupying a purely cerebral nor overtly emotive space, he finds a middleground, hidden from the eyes of the modern world. at the brighton show he will also give a talk on john fahey, particularly his work compiling the recent early fahey boxset ‘your past comes back to haunt you’.

dean mcphee : son of the black peace blast first petite
another solo guitarist for me this month, but this time an english electric player who sends glistening drops from a sonorous telecaster into a canyon of reverb & echo. these four compositions have a spiritual quality to their slow unfurlings of subtly shaded, wide-eyed/wise-mind, sadness, making me think of a mellowed out richard thompson playing an ancient folk-hymn. a unique voice which incorporates the occasional motif from british folk, but also recalls persian sufi music like the transcendent setar playing of mohammed reza lotfi as mcphee makes long, patient explorations of a feel, teasing out complex flourishes & sudden flows, like a river finding its course. a fully formed album which would appeal to fans of james blackshaw & loren mazzacane connors.