Albums of 2013 // 10-1

It may have come very early, but Phosphorescent's 'Muchacho' held off all that followed to take top spot. A journey of an album, led out by the country epic Song For Zula and closed by the swelling incantations of Sun's Arising (A Koan, an Exit). Quiet yet soulfully energised throughout, it's an ambitious statement of a record which defined 2013. Enjoy the fruits of our top 10's labours below.

10. Parquet Courts - 'Light Up Gold'



9. Fuzz - 'Fuzz'



8. Laura Marling - 'Once I Was An Eagle'



7. Savages - 'Savages'



6. James Blake - 'Overgrown'



5. Kwes. - 'Ilp.'





4. White Denim - 'Corsicana Lemonade'





3. John Grant - 'Pale Green Ghosts'





2. Toro Y Moi - 'Anything in Return'





1. Phosphorescent - 'Muchacho'





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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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Field Day 2011 // Preview mixtape

With less than a week to go until Field Day 2011, and what may be the best Field Day of its young life, I cannot stop gaping at the line-up in awestruck paralysis. Some of the best UK artists are on show in the form of Anna Calvi, James Blake, SBTRKT, Anika and Spectrals, while there's a healthy sprinkling of trans-Atlantic big hitters Twin Shadow, Glasser and Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti as well as our European cousins Junip, who I for one don't listen to enough.

Below is a mini-playlist to whet your appetite, led out by the boy-girl harmonies, pounding drums and driving 60s garage guitars of Veronica Falls' new track, plus a few choice extras from Gruff Rhys, Jamie xx, Anika and Junip. We also have a fleshed out Spotify playlist you can grab here.

Field Day 2011 mixtape by No Action
Jamie xx - Far Nearer (limited vinyl & download out now - http://farnearer.com) by Numbers
Anika - Terry by stonesthrow



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Cloud Boat // Lions on the Beach

Stars of last Tuesday's Boiler Room session alongside Vondelpark, Cloud Boat have just come off tours with Mount Kimbie and James Blake and trade in similarly blissful, dub influenced soundscapes. Haunting, expansive, beat laden, more about the spaces in between sounds than the sounds themselves, expect Cloud Boat to be on the tips of everyone's James Blake imprinted tongues before too long.



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Glasser w/ Sampha // XOYO

A belated post of my review of the quite immaculate Glasser at XOYO last month, first posted on The Fugitive Motel.

The high and mighty of London indie are out in force, FORCE, tonight for the presence of LA siren Glasser, AKA Cameron Mesirow. Not one but at least two xx’ers are in attendance, as are members of WHB and The Vaccines, to witness what is perhaps the most innovative and enchanting female voice around.

Due to an unreasonably long queue outside XOYO, we only make it in time for second support Sampha. Thank god we did. A remarkable combination of soul, house and dubstep, sounding like a Jamie xx remix of Billy Ocean, and sure to break as big, if not bigger, than contemporary James Blake.

Arriving on stage in a magnificently improbable dress and Jamiroquai-esque millinery, Mesirow’s onstage presence is surprisingly unassuming. Last year’s album Ring was heralded in best-of lists and sent bloggers into a frenzy, its artfully folkish electronica and tropical rhythms accenting Mesirow’s refined vocal, but would this translate to a live performance?

The opening tribal call to arms of Apply immediately fills the room and answers any doubts with an emphatic yes, with Mesirow seeming most at ease within the music and giggly and shy without. Her voice is impossible to pin down. It has elements of Karen O in the yelps, Bat for Lashes on the soaring Home, with looped vocals producing the effect of a one woman Dirty Projectors. Despite feeling “like Janet Jackson at the Superbowl” after a self inflicted wardrobe malfunction, the pulsing electronica of closer Mirrorage gets wails of approval from the now devoted audience, before an impromptu acapella encore of old English folk song Let No Man Steal Your Thyme is the ultimate pin drop moment, and proof if any more were needed that Glasser is primed to be the Bjork of our generation.

Local favourites // Sampha

Having remixed the likes of fellow illustrious Londoners the xx, SBTRKT and Scroobius Pip last year, Sampha's cache is growing all the time, not least through recent production duties, backing vocals and remixing for Jessie Ware's Valentine out last month.

His solo stuff, however, is on another plain altogether. Sounding something like a Jamie xx remix of early Billy Ocean, Sampha's blend of two step, dub and house beats are levitated with his classic soul vocal. With James Blake currently blazing a more high profile trail for 'the future of music as we know it', perhaps not of his own doing but such is the industry frenzy for the next big thing, Sampha is more than equipped to follow that up. Last year's Sundanza EP on Young Turks was evidence if any were needed that a breakthrough is imminent, and hopefully more material this due this year will do just that.Here's some samples of his wares below (and you even get a bit of acting in the Valentine vid!)

YT039 - Sampha - Sundanza EP by Young Turks

Local favourites // James Blake

This BBC performance of The Wilhelm Scream offers the absolute explanation for why we still haven't recovered full consciousness since James Blake's incredible support slot for Everything Everything at the Union Chapel last month.

The first 'echo-pop' at 1.13, the blanket synths gathering at 2.21, the refreshing clarity at 4.32; a few examples of the simple beauty Blake achieves in his music, and why February 7th can't come soon enough.