Daily Life // Alabaster

In a video directed by Former Bullies, Daily Life jive around like The Big O's kids and crank out a brilliant two and a half minute lo-fi pop song. Reminiscent of The Answering Machine (RIP) and The Pixies, tracks like Alabaster and Reunion from their earlier self-titled EP are smart, effortlessly catchy and destined for ears beyond the M60.



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Sea Pinks // Dead Seas

While Veronica Falls, Girls Names and Spectrals all made the cut in our list of the top 50 albums of 2011, the Sea Pinks' 'Dead Seas' missed out.

Having relistened to the Belfast trio's second record almost exclusively today, we feel we may have made an error of judgement / lapse of concentration / temporary insanity, and would like to rectify this in a small way by highlighting its Black Lips on a coastal stroll-esque garage excellence here. Their kaleidoscopic visual treat for Fountain Tesserae is below, as well as the whole album to stream.





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We Have Band // What's Yours, What's Mine

Just in time for Christmas, We Have Band have popped up with a little acoustic gift ahead of their second full length 'The Ternion' due in January on Naïve. The track will feature as an iTunes additional extra but you lucky people can enjoy it below, as well as the first track from the record Where Are Your People.



Where Are Your People? by We Have Band

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Balam Acab vs The Weeknd // Big Boy Outside (TLS Mash)

With an R&B groove that hints of Usher's You Make Me Wanna, this mash of Balam Acab's See Birds and The Weeknd's Outside from The Leaving Scene takes the best of both worlds to create a gorgeous new one in Big Boy Outside. Check out the track below, as well as 'Echoes of Silence', the third EP from The Weeknd, here.

Balam Acab Vs The Weeknd - Big Boy Outside (TLS Mash) by The 405

via

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50 albums of 2011 // 10 - 1

At some point in 2011, the release of each of these albums made us not want to listen to anything else, but more so than any other with White Denim's 'D'. Street Joy, Keys, It's Him and every other track are brimming with soul, excitement and hyperactive musicality, and for us at least there was no other option for album of the year in 2011.

1. White Denim - 'D'



2. tUnE-yArDs - 'W H O K I L L'



tUnE-yArDs // Bizness

3. Girls - 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost'



Girls // Vomit

4. Balam Acab - 'Wander / Wonder'

Balam Acab // Oh, Why

5. Kurt Vile - 'Smoke Ring For My Halo'



6. Korallreven - 'An Album By Korallreven'

Korallreven // As Young As Yesteday

7. PJ Harvey - 'Let England Shake'



8. Active Child - 'You Are All I See'

Active Child // Hanging On

9. Anna Calvi - 'Anna Calvi'



10. Mazes - 'A Thousand Heys'



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50 albums of 2011 // 20 - 11

The fourth installment, and an incredible set of ten albums that have soundtracked our 2011. From SBTRKT's soulful dub step to Yuck's 90s leaning grunge pop, from Bon Iver's epic folk through to Timber Timbre's dramatic noir, it's testament to the top 10 we've picked that these records didn't quite make it in.

11. Bon Iver - 'Bon Iver'

Bon Iver // Holocene

12. SBTRKT - 'SBTRKT'



YT057 - SBTRKT - Living Like I Do by Young Turks

13. Toro Y Moi - 'Underneath The Pine'

Toro Y Moi // Still Sound

14. Yuck - 'Yuck'



15. Peaking Lights - '936'

Peaking Lights // All The Sun That Shines

16. Timber Timbre - 'Creep On Creepin' On'



17. Braids - 'Native Speaker'

Braids // Lemonade

18. Ghostpoet - 'Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam'



19. I Break Horses - 'Hearts'

I Break Horses // Winter Beats

20. The War On Drugs - 'Slave Ambient'



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50 albums of 2011 // 30 - 21

Round three, largely composed of international genius but with a sprinkle of UK stardust. There's also one that's sneaked in thanks to a re-release - if you can spot it you get 5 points and a Merry Christmas.

21. Youth Lagoon - 'The Year of Hibernation'



22. Real Estate - 'Days'



23. Bjork - 'Biophilia'



24. The Head and the Heart - 'The Head and the Heart'

The Head and the Heart // Lost in My Mind

25. Big Troubles - 'Romantic Comedy'

Big Troubles // Sad Girls

26. Oneohtrix Point Never - 'Replica'


Oneohtrix Point Never // Replica

27. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - 'Mirror Traffic'

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks // Stick Figures in Love

28. The Horrors - 'Skying'



29. The Sandwitches - 'Mrs. Jones' Cookies'


The Sandwitches "In The Garden" from Ryan Browne on Vimeo.

30. Arctic Monkeys - 'Suck It and See'



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50 Albums of 2011 // 40 - 31

The second installment. Not that it was planned that way, but this second set of ten also have some of our favourite videos of the year; from Dominant Legs' lesson in joy-seeking, through Metronomy's paper bird to Ganglians' psych-dystopia. Plus, we had to include two from Shabazz Palaces' awesomely titled/sounding record. Enjoy, with 30 to 21 to come tomorrow.

31. Dominant Legs - 'Invitation'



32. James Blake - 'James Blake'



33. Metronomy - 'The English Riviera'



34. Girls Names - 'Dead To Me'

Girls Names // Bury Me

35. Shabazz Palaces - 'Black Up'

Shabazz Palaces // Swerve... the reeping of all that is worthwhile (noir not withstanding)
Shabazz Palaces // An echo from the hosts that profess infinitum

36. Nicholas Jaar - 'Space Is Only Noise'

Nicholas Jaar // Too Many Kids Finding Rain in the Dust

37. Ganglians - 'Still Living'



38. Spectrals - 'Bad Penny'

Spectrals // Big Baby

39. Moon Duo - 'Mazes'



40. Veronica Falls - 'Veronica Falls'



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50 Albums of 2011 // 50 - 41

No year feels complete unless it's been categorised into a list format, and this year is no different. So without further ado, here's our attempt at putting months and years of other people's work into boxes. Below, numbers 50 to 41 of our favourite albums of the past 12 months.

41. Still Corners - 'Creatures of an Hour'



42. Wild Beasts - 'Smother'



43. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - 'Unknown Mortal Orchestra'

Unknown Mortal Orchestra // How Can U Luv me

44. Sleep ∞ Over - 'Romantic Streams'

Sleep ∞ Over // Romantic Streams

45. EMA - 'Past Life Martyred Saints'



46. Bass Drum of Death - 'GB City'

Bass Drum of Death // Young Pros

47. Lykke Li - 'Wounded Rhymes'



48. Blouse - 'Blouse'



49. Cults - 'Cults'



50. Milk Maid - 'Yucca'

Such Fun - Milk Maid by Suffering Jukebox

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Arthur Beatrice // What We Hoped To Achieve

London quartet Arthur Beatrice are currently in the process of producing their debut record, and here is a Radiohead-esque glimpse behind the scenes of their studio Flesh + Bone. What We Hoped To Achieve is dramatic, cultured indie music, akin to The Smiths or Echo & the Bunnymen of yesterday, or Wild Beasts of today.

The band have been fairly secretive thus far in their media output, although not in the flirtatious sense, hence perhaps their absence from any BBC or Brits lists. Instead their focus on collaborative art shows and developing a set of tracks which will see them garner plaudits for years rather than months is one which makes us very excited about 2012.


What We Hoped To Achieve (Recorded Live at Flesh + Bone) from ululation on Vimeo.

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The Black Keys // Gold on The Ceiling and Lonely Boy (live)

No one bangs the drums harder than Pat Carney, and no one does gawp-fest solos like Dan Auerbach. These are facts. Check out evidence of both in The Black Keys' two US talk-show appearances below, with a quick intro to Lonely Boy courtesy of Steve Buscemi. Big time now, huh?





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Fanzine // Tough

We've been anticipating Fanzine's debut record since, well, April Fool's Day, when they made an appearance as our local favourites. It seems the time is nigh.  

Tough maintains the 90s slacker influences of earlier tracks such as Susan or Roman Holiday, but perhaps with additional fine tuning and a sprinkling of west coast pop a la Girls. Check out the video and a couple of earlier tracks below, while you can catch the band at a few London dates before Christmas.

Dec 15th - TLOBF's Ones to Watch, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, w/ Niki & the Dove, Outfit, Theme Park and Amusement
Dec 22nd - Vice Issue Launch Party, Old Blue Last, w/ Gross Magic and Yoofs





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Django Django // Default

Is 2012 going to be Django Django's year? The BBC don't seem to think so given their recent Sound of 2012 long-list. We however, hope they're wrong.

The band's odd-pop shone at The Royal Albert Hall in support of Metronomy back in October, with Default taking the lead from their most prominent early release WOR, adding some DEVO jerkiness and embedding itself in your mind's ear.

Take a listen below, and if you like that, we'd also recommend Waveforms available through their Soundcloud.



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