2016: THE YEAR IN MUSIC

As is traditional at this time of year for music aficionados of a certain vintage, I have spent the first few weeks of 2017 looking back over the previous 12 months and sifting through the movers and shakers and the flotsam and jetsam of 2016’s finest, and not so finest, releases, to bring you - dear reader - the definitive guide to what really was the very best music of last year. Rock, indie, hip-hop, folk, jazz, electronica - all the food groups were represented and this post will include my Top 50 albums of 2016, which I hope will try and give you a real flavour of everything that was on offer.

The year started - tragically - on an incredibly sad note. The death of worldwide music icon David Bowie rocked the entire globe on its heels. Coming as it did just two days after the release of possibly one of his finest albums in Blackstar, made it even more incredible to comprehend. As you may no doubt probably guess, Blackstar features high in my list and I will discuss its merits later, but Bowie’s death hung heavy over the world of music for much of the year. Indeed, it still seems impossible to believe that The Thin White Duke is no longer with us. Factor in the tragic early death of Prince as well, and last year was truly a black one for music fans far and wide.
When tragic events such as these occur, sometimes music is the one thing that gets you through. And in 2016, there was a great deal of excellent music available to give succour. Returning to the year’s new releases then and our cup really did runneth over.  In the heavy rock department, Anthrax, Korn, Deftones and Avenged Sevenfold raised the rafters high with their new albums. There was also some excellent new offerings from Rival Sons, Blackberry Smoke and Deap Vally. On top of all that a new super group emerged featuring members of Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. Calling themselves Prophets Of Rage, their self-titled EP was a storming taste of things to come. Over in the indie corner, Money, Ultimate Painting and Toy consolidated on their early promise with tremendous new tunes. Parquet Courts and The Posies returned with good but not quite great albums, while the debut release from Sunflower Bean didn’t leave my stereo for weeks during the summer. There was a very strong turnout in the Americana wing, with John Paul White - late of The Civil Wars - and Sturgill Simpson at the head of the line. Conor Oberst’s latest release, and the debut album from Margo Price were also worthy of anyone’s time. Throw in a beguiling new project from Suzanne Vega, and a remarkable collaboration between KD Lang, Laura Viers and Neko Case, and we were well and truly at the races. There was also lots of room for the more - shall we say - esoteric side of the musical stratosphere. Jean Michel Jarre finally got round to releasing the third part of his Oxygene trilogy, and it was glorious fare indeed. Legendary film director John Carpenter followed up 2015’s Lost Themes with, ahem, Lost Themes 2. And Cavern Of Anti-Matter, Devendra Banhart, The Comet Is Coming and BadBadNotGood upped the weirdorama ante in quite tremendous style. There was also some rather fabulous guitar noodling from William Tyler and Steve Gunn. Finally, the soundtrack of the year was undoubtedly the magnificent score for the breakout Netflix show Stranger Things. Wonderful stuff. There were disappointments too of course. Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pet Shop Boys and Animal Collective all returned with albums that were shadows of their former greatness. Better luck next time, chaps! (A special mention too to sparky new combo Pumarosa, who’s track Honey was the best non-album song I heard all year.)

It all boils down to this though: My Top 50 Albums Of 2016. I have ruminated, cogitated and bent my head at least ten times over finalizing this list, and here it is. Eyes down people and read on….

BUBBLING UNDER:
The Avalanches  ‘WildFlower’
Wild Beasts  ‘Boy King’
Neil Young  ‘Peace Trail’
Suede  ‘Night Thoughts’
PJ Harvey  ‘The Hope Demolition Project’
Richmond Fontaine  ‘You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing To Go Back To’
Black Mountain  ‘iv’
Kings Of Leon  ‘WALLS’
Moby And The Void Pacific Choir  ‘These Systems Are Failing’
Warpaint  ‘Warpaint’
White Lies  ‘Friends’
C Duncan  ‘The Midnight Sun’
Christine And The Queens  ‘Chaleur Humaine’
Ray Lamontagne  ‘Ouroboros’
The Besnard Lakes  ‘A Coliseum Complex Museum’

50: SAVAGES 'ADORE'

Blistering sophomore effort from Jenny Beth and her fearsome band of Viking shield maidens. Moving away from the overly blatant Siouxsie fixations of their debut from two years ago, Adore was punchy, direct and in your face in all the right ways. Fuller of sound and more confident in it’s songwriting, this was visceral and intelligent in equal measure.
In a word: CORUSCATING.
Key Track: SAD PERSON

49: BAND OF HORSES 'WHY ARE YOU OK?'
Ben Bridwell and his hairy gang of choogle enthusiasts return with another album of homilies to kicking back, loving life and getting high. You know what you’re getting with a BoH record - they’re unlikely at this stage to veer into any new musical directions - but when the tunes are this strong, who cares? The perfect soundtrack for pootling around Laurel Canyon in flip-flops and love beads.
DOWNHOME.
Key Track: CASUAL PARTY

48: HERON OBLIVION 'HERON OBLIVION'
Featuring members of freak-folk stalwarts Espers and psych-rock exponents Comets On Fire, this was a masterful collaboration of those two musical genres. Meshing ISB and Fairport trad-folk stylings with crunchy, gnarly guitar workouts, this was tremendous stuff. Best listened too while refreshed…..
PASTORAL.
Key Track: ORIAR

47: BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE 'THIRD WORLD PYRAMID'
BJM nabob Anton Newcombe has been on something of a roll in recent years, Reining in his previously, shall we say, unreliable behaviour - just watch the classic documentary DIG! for proof - for a more traditional rock and roll approach, this is his ever-changing collective’s fourth blinder in a row. All the usual tropes are in place: classic Stones swagger, late 60’s psych drone, Byrdsian jangle, and tunes aplenty. This lot are very quietly becoming rather special.
REVERENTIAL.
Key Track: OH BOTHER

46: PREOCCUPATIONS 'PREOCCUPATIONS'

Third name change in as many albums from the group from Canada previously called Women and VietCong. Whatever they choose to call themselves, this is another excellent collection of doom-laden post-punk rock songs that perch on your shoulder and brood magnificently for days on end. Fans of Joy Division, Killing Joke and early Cure will find much to love here.
CLAUSTROPHOBIC.
Key Track: FEVER

45: GOLD PANDA 'GOOD LUCK AND DO YOUR BEST'
Third album of expansive, swirling electronica from Gold Panda - Derwin to his mum - who, as before, melds his percussive beats and clicks to string-laden pieces inspired by his time in Japan. Similar in scope to Four Tet and DJ Shadow, this new album builds on the potential shown from his early releases and places GP on the same level as the aforementioned artists.
SKITTERING.
Key Track: TIME EATER

44: JIM JAMES 'ETERNALLY EVEN'

Second solo album from the My Morning Jacket front man, and this time he moves away from the more earthy sounds of his day job to produce a startling collection of blue-eyed soul tunes more in line with early 70’s Marvin Gaye. Throw in some yacht rock stylings and we’re looking at a tonal gear shift that although unexpected, is most enjoyable indeed.
SLINKY.
Key Track: HERE IN SPIRIT

43: THE CORAL 'DISTANCE INBETWEEN'
Fantastically welcome return from the Liverpudlian psych-rockers - too long gone in my opinion. This was their heaviest and crunchiest effort yet, full to bursting with thick basslines and searing guitars. Expanding their palette into Krautrock style motorik grooves and almost Motown level harmony vocals, this was far and away their finest album.
HYPNOTIC.
Key Track: MILLION EYES

42: KING CREOSOTE 'ASTRONAUT MEETS APPLEMAN'
The eighth officially released KC album - although there are many more in his vaults - sees Kenny Anderson revert back, after a raft of experimental releases, to the more structured songwriting of the classic KC Rules OK album from 2006. Once again touching on his Scottish folk roots, this album melded all his formative influences with his more recent forays into dance music. The results are stunning, at times both wistful and euphoric.
VERDANT.
Key Track: SURFACE

41: WHITE DENIM 'STIFF'

Album number 6 from the tremendously thundering Texan troupe. Stiff sees them jubilantly rocking forth and grooving hither and yon. A wonderfully fun and reinvigorating record, this was high-octane choogle at it’s most glorious. As close to the White Denim live experience as you’ll get too. As a side note, possibly the album with the largest use of parentheses as well….
GROOVESOME.
Key Track: (I'M THE ONE) BIG BIG FUN

40: JAGWAR MA 'EVERY NOW AND THEN'
Second album from Australian neo-psychedelic dance trio, who follow up their splendid debut Howlin with more hazy grooves and thumping beats. Definitely in thrall to the early 90’s baggy sound of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, this album also tipped it’s hat to fellow Antipodeans Tame Impala. Impossible not to cut a rug to.
WOOZY.
Key Track: LOOSE ENDS

39: PAUL SIMON 'STRANGER TO STRANGER'
Legendary singer-songwriter Simon returns to the fray with a magnificent collection of songs on only his 13th solo record. Short but wonderfully sweet, there are a few nods to his more experimental releases such as Hearts And Bones and Rhythm Of The Saints, but in the main these songs live and breathe around his pretty much unparalleled writing skills. Zesty and adventurous - this was a master class from a master craftsman.
ENGAGING.
Key Track: WRISTBAND

38: WILCO 'SCHMILCO'

Twelve months after the mighty Star Wars, Jeff Tweedy and company are back with a more stripped back affair. Coming across like SW’s quieter and more bookish younger brother, Schmilco was a sweetly mellow concoction of acoustic reveries and gossamer thin lullabies. Once touted as the American Radiohead, on this evidence - with Tweedy’s songwriting  and the band’s musical prowess at it’s peak - it’s easy to see why.
GENTLE.
Key Track: NORMAL AMERICAN KIDS


37: KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD 'NONAGON INFINITY'
More Australian psychedelic enthusiasts here, with this motley crew of nut jobs releasing - astonishingly - their eighth full-length album in only five years. A full-blown, old school concept album, Nonagon’s hook was that it’s to be listened to on a loop. Each of it’s nine tracks segues into the next and the final track segues back into the first - hence the title. Full of thunderingly mental explorations into the fuzzy, skuzzy psych underworld - this was brain-rattling stuff.
UNRELENTING.
Key Track: GAMMA KNIFE

36: STEVE MASON 'MEET THE HUMANS'
Album number three from former Beta Band front man, and this time around he’s in celebratory mood. After severe and debilitating battles with depression, Mason’s songwriting is now hopeful, joyous and relaxed. Fusing pop, soul, funk, reggae and dance into one marvelous, musical melange - this was his finest work since his former combo’s Three Ep’s. And praise doesn’t get much higher than that. A giant, warming hug of a record.
REVELATORY.
Key Track: WORDS IN MY HEAD

35: THE JAYHAWKS 'PAGING MR.PROUST'

After 2011’s damp squib reunion with former partner Mark Olson, Jayhawks nabob Gary Louris returns with the rest of the original lineup and releases the album that should have followed 1997’s classic Sound of Lies. Not having to adhere to Olson’s songwriting constraints has freed Louris to pen some of the best songs of his career. The usual Jayhawks sound is all present and correct of course - it wouldn’t be a Jayhawks album without those spectral harmony vocals and keening, jangly guitar licks - but there is also a more fulsome, almost funky feel to parts of the record that bodes well for whatever comes next. A wonderful surprise.
SPARKLING.
Key Track: COMEBACK KIDS

34: HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS 'UNTIL THE HUNTER'
After the thoroughly unexpected but wholly delightful 2013 Mazzy Star reunion, dusky-voiced indie queen Sandoval returns with the first Inventions album in 7 years. Also featuring Colm O’Coisog from My Bloody Valentine, Until The Hunter embraced the listener like a 10-tog duvet from the off. Sandoval’s warm and hazy vocals were as per usual the USP, but the music drifted along quite beautifully into previously unchartered territory: some psych-drone here; some chugging country-rock there. The absolute highlight though was Sandoval’s duet with fellow laid-back slacker hero Kurt Vile. Quite lovely.
SONAMBULANT.
Key Track: LET ME GET THERE

33: GOAT 'REQUIEM'

Third album from masked, Afrobeat peddling Swedish psych junkies. As per their previous releases, Requiem was bursting with tribal beats, fuzzy, distorted guitars and dance rhythms - as well as crazed, barked shouting from the two female vocalists who, like the rest of this bizarrely wondrous band, still remain unnamed. There was a few new flourishes throughout - the pastoral folk textures were a pleasing surprise - but in the main, Goat remained as tremendously bonkers as before.
THRILLING.
Key Track: GOATFUZZ

32: DAUGHTER 'HOW TO DISAPPEAR'
Second album from hushed, electronica embracing indie trio. Featuring the delicate vocals of Elena Tonra, How To Disappear continued in the same vein as 2013’s If You Leave - mellow, acoustic led ballads that slowly build into euphoric and richly rewarding anthems. Lyrically, Tonra divulges intimate details of her inner struggles without putting the listener off - a difficult thing to master but one she succeeds in doing so with aplomb. This is brave and powerful songwriting, backed by intoxicating music.
INTRICATE.
Key Track: FOSSA

31: SPAIN 'CAROLINA'
After a ten year hiatus for most of the noughties, Josh Haden - for he is basically Spain - returned in 2012 with the utterly magnificent Soul Of Spain (my favourite album of that year) and since then has remained remarkably prolific. Following on from 2014’s Sargeant Place, Carolina was a much more stripped back and purely Country influenced album. Moving further away from the early classic blues and jazz based Spain sound, Haden’s recent vignettes focused on themes such as The Great Depression and the displacement of Native tribes throughout American history. A timely and important record.
PASSIONATE.
Key Track: STATION 2

30: THE CULT 'HIDDEN CITY'

Well - this was a fantastic surprise. Ian ‘Wolfchild’ Astbury and Billy ‘Yes, I have to put up with him’ Duffy returned to the rock and roll coalface with an absolute gem. Reverting back to what made them so great in the eighties, Hidden City was chock full of the classic Cult sound. Searing riffs, pulsating drums and bellowing choruses that were as catchy as man flu. This was what Cult fans had been waiting 25 years for. Lyrically, Astbury was still banging on about riding the wind, channeling his inner lupine and flying with the eagles. Ridiculous of course, but strangely endearing. Duffy however, was on fire here. His guitar work and total, unadulterated riffage was of the highest order.
HEFTY.
Key Track: HINTERLAND

29: WHITNEY 'LIGHT UPON THE LAKE'
Splendid debut album from Julien Erlich - formerly of Unknown Mortal Orchestra - and Max Kakacek, who previously plied his trade in fellow fey indie-rockers Smith Westerns. Introducing themselves as Whitney with a summery, sauntering confection of janglesome old school indie pop. Similar in sound to early Big Star and Teenage Fanclub, there were also late 70’s AOR elements - a la Supertramp. No bad thing in my book.
BEGUILING.
Key Track: FOLLOW

28: RYLEY WALKER 'GOLDEN SINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SUNG'

Third album proper from the young Illinois troubadour and an absolute tour de force. The Bert Jansch and John Martyn influences that shone through his previous records - especially 2014’s glorious Primrose Green - are still present and correct, but this time there are triumphant forays into acid folk, free form jazz and even 90’s style post rock. Short, snappy tracks sit happily next to long and winding ragas that meander along effortlessly in thoroughly impressive style. This chap could become quite something.
HEADY.
Key Track: THE ROUNDABOUT

27: BAT FOR LASHES 'THE BRIDE'
Album number 4 from Brighton’s Natasha Khan, and a full blown concept album telling the tale of a bride-to-be who’s future husband is killed in a car crash on the way to the wedding. No wait - come back! It’s far more enjoyable than that sounds. Expanding her musical palette from the ethereal Kate Bush/Cocteau Twins sound-scapes of her first few records toward the more psych-folk textures that Khan experimented with on her Sexwitch project with fellow travellers Toy, The Bride was an album that burrowed deep with each listen.
CAPTIVATING.
Key Track: SUNDAY LOVE

26: WOLF PEOPLE 'RUINS'

Bedfordshire’s answer to Jethro Tull returned to the freak folk coalface with a third album of scuzzy, grungy paeans to the mystical and medieval. Taking the sound they perfected on 2013’s Fain and running with it, Ruins embraced and celebrated the traditional musical heritage of the British Isles and added some modern psych textures as well as - on the tremendously exciting Kingfisher - some all-out funk rock.
RUMINATIVE.
Key Track: KINGFISHER

25: FIELD MUSIC 'COMMONTIME'
Sunderland born and bred, The Brewis brothers - Peter and David - have been quietly peddling an urgent, jerky form of art-rock for a decade or so now, but with little success. Commontime however, was the album their fans had been secretly hoping was within their scope. Full of funky, Talking Heads style rhythms, the album was a giant step up from previous releases. Opening track The Noisy Days Are Over even had the late, great Prince tweeting his approval on it’s release in January. Now that’s some patronage.
COHESIVE.
Key Track: THE NOISY DAYS ARE OVER

24: EAGULLS 'ULLAGES'
Sophomore set from the fiery young post-punkers from Leeds, and this surged away from their rather one-note debut in extraordinary style. Broadening their sound out into a number of different styles, to this writer’s ears the overriding feel was of a lost early 90’s classic - there were definite nods to baggy and shoegaze that had me unashamedly punching the air.
MONUMENTAL.
Key Track: LEMONTREES

23: SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS 'SVIIB'

Fourth album of dreamy, glacial synth-pop that although sounding tremendously euphoric on first listen was actually an incredibly sad record, with a tragic backstory. In 2012 Benjamin Curtis - formerly of the monstrously brilliant Secret Machines - and personal and professional partner Alejandra Deheza released the remarkable Ghostory. One of my albums of that year, it was a glorious record full of skyscraping electronica and expansive dream-pop. Soon after it’s release though, Curtis was diagnosed with acute lymphoma and after months of treatment, sadly passed away in late 2013. Undeterred, albeit devastated, Deheza carried on with the project the pair had been working on and SVIIB was the stunning result. Full of dance floor friendly tunes reminiscent of classic Eurythmics or Yazoo, the lyrics of course were impossible to listen to without feeling Deheza’s loss. It would take a hard heart indeed not to well up when hearing This Is Our Time for example. A truly heartbreaking record.
POIGNANT.
Key Track: THIS IS OUR TIME

22: THEE OH SEES 'A WEIRD EXITS'
Astonishingly prolific LA combo’s 17th - 17th!!! - album sees head honcho John Dwyer and his rowdy, raucous compadres stretch out their usual lysergic garage rock into even more wigged-out territories. Adding the double drummer lineup from their astounding live shows, helped to build up their already cranium-crushing sound into something quite monumental. There was some freeform funk, jazzy Krautrock and even string-laden epics that recalled The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Later in the year the band released a more relaxed companion album - An Odd Entrances - that was the comedown to this heady and diverse trip.
BLUDGEONING.
Key Track: A CRAWL OUT FROM THE FALL OUT

21: THE LIMINANAS 'MALAMORE'

Mysterious French duo Marie and Lionel Liminana - who may or may not be married - arrived on the scene in 2010 with their self-titled debut album. Marrying mid to late 60s psychedelia with the sunny, summery sound of vintage Gainsbourg style French pop, the pair have maintained a similar sound over the course of three albums. Malamore however, changed things up quite a bit. Adding some fuzzy modern-day psych-rock textures - as well as special guests such as New Order’s Peter Hook - this album had a darker, heavier feel exemplified brilliantly by tracks like Kostas and the wonderful Zippo.
PULSATING.
Key Track: ZIPPO

20: DINOSAUR JR. 'GIVE A GLIMPSE OF WHAT YER NOT'

Legendary Boston grunge titans returned with their fourth album since the classic lineup of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph reformed in 2007. Indeed, the trio have now been together longer this time around than they were originally. This new album was a real return to form though after the rather patchy I Bet On Sky from 2013. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to place it up against Bug and Green Mind as one of their best records. All the usual Dinosaur tropes were in place: ramshackle and lurching songs that always seem to be on the verge of collapse but somehow never do. Add J’s searing guitar riffs and Neil Young indebted soloing into the mix and we were well and truly at the races.
CRUNCHY.
Key Track: GOIN DOWN

19: LEONARD COHEN 'YOU WANT IT DARKER'

Another huge loss to the world of music this year - and indeed, the world in general - was that of Canada’s very own poet laureate. Released just a month before his tragic passing, You Want It Darker was Cohen’s third album in his late-stage renaissance that started in 2012 with Old Ideas. Even without the weight of his death hanging over the record, this was undoubtedly one of his best collections of songs. Since his death of course, the extent of his recent physical deterioration has been made public, so listening to these songs now gives a real insight into how Cohen was confronting his oncoming final days with dignity, grace and - as was so often the case with his songwriting - dry wit. The string arrangements and female backing vocals added light to the darkness and embraced his lyrics with warm and tender hugs. And the title track was a thing of absolute wonder.
SOMBRE.
Key Track: YOU WANT IT DARKER


18: NADA SURF 'YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE'

Yet another glorious album of sparky, chiming power-pop from the New York collective who have now released 8 albums of wondrous music that somehow seems to fly under the radar of all and sundry. And in a world where twonks like Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars can sell millions of recordings of them farting in bathrooms - which is what they sound like to me - this sorry state of affairs is criminal. This time round, core duo Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca refined their sound even further, marrying the jangle of early period R.E.M. with the skewed song structures of Pavement as well as the woozy Americana of Grandaddy. A quite marvelous album.
DULCET.
Key Track: GOLD SOUNDS


17: MINOR VICTORIES 'MINOR VICTORIES'

Indie Supergroup Alert!!! Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai, Rachel Goswell from Slowdive and Justin Lockey from Editors - as well as Lockey’s brother James. Just looking at those names will give you a pretty good idea of what this album sounds like. And you’d be right. Huge, anthemic, shoegazy post-rock - drenched in strings and cloud busting synths. Sounding absolutely HUGE on headphones, this was epic, expansive and downright magnificent. It was also home to one of 2016’s strangest songs: a duet between Goswell and the mighty Mark Kozelek that was, in part, a sequel of sorts to Kozelek’s Garden Of Lavender  ( wherein which he reminisces about stealing a kiss from Goswell at an after-show party 20 years ago). In For You Always, Goswell and Kozelek share a call and response lyric about their platonic love for each other and how they’ll always be in each other’s lives. It doesn’t quite fit the style of the rest of the album but it’s lovely all the same.
SWIRLING.
Key Track: HIGHER HOPES


16: RICHARD ASHCROFT 'THESE PEOPLE'

After the horrific nadir of his 2010 United Nations Of Sound project - go and listen to it, I dare you - the jig seemed to be finally up for rail-thin former Verve nabob Ashcroft. Wonderfully however, he still had some life left in him as this glorious album showed in spades. Reuniting with Urban Hymns string arranger Wil Malone was an absolute masterstroke as the songs on These People were as good as any on that 90s classic. Full of vitality, chutzpah and - dare I say it - verve, this was immense elder statesman Britpop at it’s finest.
MATURE.
Key Track: THEY DON'T OWN ME

15: MICHAEL KIWANUKA 'LOVE AND HATE'

Now this is quite something. Whereas Kiwanuka’s debut album Home Again was a little too in thrall to his obvious heroes - Gaye, Withers, Mayfield - this second effort was a quantum leap. Fantastically produced by Dangermouse, the classic 70s soul textures were still there but with a more expansive, almost Pink Floyd-ian feel to proceedings. Channeling a more psychedelic RnB sound - similar in scope to Funkadelic at their Maggot Brain era peak - Kiwanuka and his band have scaled new heights here. And the guitar wig-out at the climax of the title track is just splendid.
DYNAMIC.
Key Track: LOVE AND HATE

14: IGGY POP 'POST-POP DEPRESSION'

Crashing into view at the beginning of the year - pretty much from out of nowhere - grizzled punk veteran James Osterberg (Iggy to his chums) proved that age ain’t nuthin but a number with this hugely enjoyable collection. Hooking up with QOTSA head honcho Josh Homme - as well as his cohort Dean Fertita and Arctic Monkeys tub-thumper Matt Helders - The Igster pulled out all the stops with his finest set of songs since his hallowed Bowie-assisted 70s work. Dark, dangerous and defiant, this was our hero raging against the dying of the light in a way the rest of us can only hope to emulate. If, as he seemed to intimate, this was his final album, it’s one hell of a way to bow out. To quote the great man: "YOU TAKE YOUR MOTHERFUCKING LAPTOP AND JUST SHOVE IT INTO YOUR GODDAM FOUL MOUTH..."
ANARCHIC.
Key Track: GARDENIA

13: BOB MOULD 'PATCH THE SKY'

Another legendary stalwart of the US hardcore scene of the 1980s, former Husker Du and Sugar founder Mould continued his recent purple patch with this - his third album in 4 years. Continuing on from where 2014’s Beauty And Ruin left off, the songs on Patch The Sky were uplifting, hook-laden anthems that recalled nothing more than Mould’s one true masterpiece - Sugar’s 1992 magnum opus Copper Blue. And believe me, there is no higher praise. Full to bursting with crunchy guitars and catchy choruses, this was indie-rock of the highest stripe.
INCENDIARY.
Key Track: LUCIFER AND GOD'

12: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST 'WE GOT IT FROM HERE, THANK YOU 4 YOUR SERVICE'

In a remarkably fallow year for hip-hop - Chance The Rapper, anyone? - it was left to one of the pioneers of this ever-changing art form to produce not only the best hip-hop album of the year, but also one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. The NYC collective had essentially been on hiatus since 98’s underwhelming The Love Movement, but due to co-rapper Phife Dawg’s ongoing battle with diabetes, fellow MC Q-Tip reconvened the band and set to work on what would become their final recording. Harking back to their classic early albums, this was drenched in the jazz-influenced beats and mellow, laid-back grooves of 70’s funk whilst Phife and Q-Tip rapped intelligently and philosophically - as per usual - about the current state of the nation. A perfect distillation of their anger and disenchantment at the way America - and by extension, the world - has gone to the dogs in recent months. Opening track We The People in particular, was a thoroughly pissed off retort to Trump and his insanity-laden policies. Featuring cameos and guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Busta Ryhmes, Andre 3000 and - yes - Sir Elton John, this was sparkling, thrilling and educational all at once. Tragically, Phife died during the making of the album so not only was this a much anticipated comeback, it was also a sad farewell.
VALEDICTORY.
Key Track: DIS GENERATION

11: LAMBCHOP 'FLOTUS'

Not, as the title would suggest, a tribute to outgoing First Lady Michelle Obama - the acronym here actually standing for For Love Often Turns Us Still. Kurt Wagner and his - in his words - “fucked up country band from Nashville” released their 12th album in late summer and promptly reminded me why I fell in love with them in the first place 20 years ago. Their recent releases have, for me, trod water and drifted along blandly with not much about them to frighten any horses. This though, was another matter entirely. Marrying the hushed Americana that made their name with woozy, experimental electronica has given them a new lease of life.  Burrowing their way into your cerebellum in a gloriously slow and subtle way, this was a modern take on country soul that returned Lambchop to the front of the queue. And The Hustle was probably the lushest 18 minutes of the year.
DELICATE.
Key Track: THE HUSTLE

10: BON IVER '22,A MILLION'

In 2007, Wisconsin native Justin Vernon retreated to a bare cabin in the woods of his home state to lick his wounds after the brutal end of an intense relationship. Pouring out his heartbreak and loss into 9 hushed, stripped-back songs, the resulting album - For Emma, Forever Ago - became a word-of-mouth sensation upon it’s release a year later. Nestling snugly at the top of many a Best Of The Year list at the end of 2008, the album was a tough act to follow. The fact that Vernon almost managed to do just that with 2011’s self-titled effort showed just how talented he was. That second record was a much more expansive affair, fleshing out his spare, organic tunes with strings, horns, and even 1980’s style soft rock guitar workouts. After a huge world tour - as well as winning a slew of Grammys - Vernon basically disappeared, occasionally surfacing on other artists projects - The Staves and Kanye West being the most prominent examples. There were rumours that he’d decided to retire - fed up with the music business treadmill. A sad but all too familiar story. So when, in September, a couple of strangely titled tracks appeared on YouTube under the Bon Iver name, eyes and ears were raised. The third album duly followed, and thankfully for fans far and wide, it was tremendous. Another drastic shift in sound again, 22 embraced Vernon’s new-found love for sampling and discordant synth structures. There was also some serious Auto-Tune work going on - which would ordinarily have me running for the hills, but here works splendidly. There were no out-and-out songs as such - the closest things to actual tunes were 33 (GOD) and 8 (circle) - but the musical experimentation on offer was nothing less than fantastic. Marks docked though for the slightly precious song titles, (___45___ for example.) I mean, really….
IMAGINATIVE.
Key Track: 8 (circle)

9: METALLICA 'HARDWIRED...TO SELF-DESTRUCT'

I have to hold my hands up here - I never saw this coming. I’ve been a fan of Metallica and their unique blend of thrash metal and polished stadium rock for nigh on 30 years now and even though sometimes they’ve been brilliant and sometimes they’ve been bollocks, they’ve always been interesting. The last decade though has been thin gruel for the stalwart followers of the Bay Area Kings. 2008’s Death Magnetic was a decent, albeit stodgy in places, Metallica album that overstayed it’s welcome by a good 20 minutes. Since then there has been sporadic live shows on this side of the pond - mostly festival appearances - the most high profile being their controversial Glastonbury headline slot a few years ago. And then there was Through The Never and Lulu. The former was a ‘movie event’ that told the story of a young fan desperately trying to return a mysterious holdall to his heroes whilst they played a mega-gig nearby. The live footage was ace of course, but the story - such as it was - left most fans scratching their heads. A curate’s egg to be sure, it left the band out of pocket and slightly chastened. Small potatoes however, compared to Lulu - their really rather distressing collaboration with the late Lou Reed. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say it’s an extremely arduous album to listen to once, let alone twice. So, it has to be said, the omens weren’t good for this album. But then they released the title track and the sigh of relief from the Metallica fan base could have been heard on Mars. An astoundingly thrilling 3 minutes, Hardwired was a glorious throwback to their early high intensity thrash roots as well as a thundering consolidation of their status as the biggest metal band on the planet. The album itself was spread across two discs, each featuring 6 monstrous tracks. Highlights were plentiful. Atlas, Rise! And Moth Into Flame on the first disc were huge, weighty slabs of gargantuan riffage and brain-rattling drummage. Disc two was a more sombre affair, but no less extraordinary for it. Am I Savage? And Spit Out The Bone in particular could have sneaked onto the classic Master Of Puppets quite easily, so concise was the songwriting and musical prowess on offer. As good as all of the tracks were though, nothing came close to Halo On Fire. 8 quite masterful minutes of pure Metallica brilliance, it was like listening to 5 different songs at once - all superb - culminating in an solo-led instrumental coda that was as exciting as anything the band have ever done. On this evidence, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and relative newcomer Rob Trujillo - although he’s now been in the band for 12 years - need not worry about their crown ever slipping.
VOLCANIC.
Key Track: HALO ON FIRE

8: TEENAGE FANCLUB 'HERE'

Glasgow’s legendary jangle exponents finally returned to the fold after a six-year break, during which time their effortlessly understated guitar pop was sorely missed. Core trio Norman Blake, Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley have been plying their trade for almost thirty years now, and not much has changed since those early days supporting Nirvana, Mudhoney and the like at long-lost venues like London’s mighty Astoria - where your faithful scribe first fell in love with them. If you liked their classic second album Bandwagonesque, or their Mercury nominated fourth Grand Prix, or you especially fell in love with their masterpiece Songs From Northern Britain, then you’ll love this album. As usual, the 12 songs are split evenly between the 3 songwriters and all of them reach career peaks with Blake’s I’m In Love, McGinley’s I Was Beautiful When I Was Alive and Love’s It’s A Sign really standing out. Musically, the band are still in the same groove but it’s a gloriously warm and fuzzy one. The aforementioned jangle is front and centre of course, but there are bursts of horns here and there and swooning strings make frequent appearances. This is a band at the top of their game, and if they want to disappear again for six years before returning with another fabulous batch of songs like these, then that’s absolutely fine by me.
JOYOUS.
Key Track: I WAS BEAUTIFUL WHEN I WAS ALIVE

7: UNDERWORLD 'BARBARA, BARBARA...we face a shining future'

Essex techno titans Karl Hyde and Rick Smith last released an album under the Underworld moniker in 2010, with the slightly bonkers Barking. Since then though, they haven’t been idle. Hyde has released a more gentle, relaxed effort called Edgeland as well as collaborating with Brian Eno on a couple of hugely enjoyable albums. Their main focus though was taking on the Herculean task of joining Trainspotting director Danny Boyle in putting together the opening ceremony of London’s Olympic Games in 2012. As we all remember, it was an unequivocal success and the warm glow the duo basked in after the event has obviously followed through into the making of this album. A joyous riot from first to last, Barbara… has it’s roots in the classic early Underworld sound best exemplified by the monumental Dubnobasswithmyheadman, but updates things wonderfully to seamlessly fit in with current dance trends. Pulsating rhythms and thumping beats join forces with dub, house and even some flamenco guitar. Bubbling, churning and steaming - this was a potent mix of everything Underworld have been brilliant at for the last 25 years. As usual, Hyde’s lyrics were his usual stream of consciousness rants - sounding more and more like that weirdo on the back of the bus you hope doesn’t get up and sit next to you. Somehow though, it all fits together magnificently. And if you don’t jump up out of your armchair and start giving it the old ’big box, little box’ in the middle of your living room when the astonishing If Rah shifts gear about halfway through, then you’re dead inside quite frankly.
HEDONISTIC.
Key Track: IF RAH

6: PIXIES 'HEAD CARRIER'

Since reforming  - after an 11 year sabbatical - in 2004 for a hefty series of money-spinning tours, the fabled Bostonian alt-rock godfathers had avoided putting too much new material to tape. Whether by accident or design, studio visits had come to nothing - bar one odd little ditty called Bam Thwok recorded not long after their reformation. Finally though in 2013, three new Eps were released and, although a few of the tunes were Pixies-by-numbers, the resulting album - Indie Cindy - that collected the Eps together, contained enough strong material to warrant thumbs up from the majority of Pixies fans. However, before the classic lineup of Black Francis, Joey Santiago, David Lovering and Kim Deal could even consider going out to tour the new songs, Deal threw a spanner in the works by leaving the band for good. A replacement bassist - Kim Shattuck - was quickly drafted in and the tour went ahead. Shattuck soon found herself forced out though, before former Zwan and A Perfect Circle bass queen Paz Lenchantin joined the group. This time round, a permanent replacement for Deal had finally been found. This new iteration of the Pixies returned to the studio in 2015 and Head Carrier is the quite wonderful result. Clocking in at just 32 short and spiky minutes, the album is the sound of a band completely at ease with itself and it’s legacy. Out and out thrashers like Baal’s Back and Um Chagga Lagga hark back to Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, while the catchy punch-the-air choruses of Talent and Classic Masher could have careered their way onto the track listing of Doolittle with no little trouble. The Black Francis scream is in fine voice too, as are those electrifyingly discordant Santiago riffs. There was more than enough room for trying something different as well - Plaster Of Paris for example, is a jangle-filled delight, coming across like Lloyd Cole at his Commotions peak. All in all, this was a hugely welcome return and a massive fuck you to those who thought the time of the Pixies was done.

STORMING.
Key Track: BAAL'S BACK

5: RADIOHEAD 'A MOON SHAPED POOL'

Spectacular return from the ever-evolving Oxfordian quintet. Five years on from the rather scattershot King Of Limbs, this 9th album from Thom Yorke and company was released with no fanfare late on a Sunday night in the spring and promptly - as the youth of today are fond of saying - broke the internet. One listen to it’s eleven beautifully seamless tracks and it was easy to see why. From the opening in your face sonic assault of Burn The Witch’s violin frenzy, to the final, delicate piano coda of long-term fan favourite True Love Waits, this was an album that proved - yet again - that Radiohead really are the most important and groundbreaking British band of the last 40 years. Brimming with atmosphere and song craft of the highest order, it was the spiritual successor to 2007’s mighty In Rainbows and may even match OK Computer in it’s brilliance. Moving away from Limbs’ electronic textures and expanding into more lush, orchestral avenues - the recent soundtrack work from guitarist Johnny Greenwood has obviously been a major factor here - this glorious hour of music was the band’s most breathtaking set. The drifting, free-flowing delicacy of Daydreaming. The acoustic-led balladry of Desert Island Disk. The greatest track that Massive Attack never released in Ful Stop. The swooning, string-laden deliciousness of Tinker Tailor. All are career peaks. This was Radiohead at their most effortless and user-friendly and the musical landscape is all the better for it.
VIBRANT.

Key Track: FUL STOP

4: NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS 'SKELETON TREE'

This album will always be overshadowed - and understandably so - by the death in 2015 of Cave’s son Arthur, who tragically lost his life after falling from a cliff on the way home after an evening out. This utterly devastating event would ordinarily be enough to stop most people in their tracks and curtail any artistic endeavour that may have begun beforehand. Cave, as any fan will know, is not most people. Having started work on this album some weeks before Arthur’s death, Cave and half of his Bad Seeds eventually returned to the studio to continue working on the album. It goes without saying that the songwriting process changed dramatically during these second set of studio sessions. There is no out-and-out references anywhere on the album to suggest which songs were written when - and the only interviews Cave has given are to be found in Andrew Dominik’s accompanying film, One More Time With Feeling, which deals more with how Cave and his wife Susie - as well as Arthur’s twin brother Earl - are dealing with their grief and moving on with their lives. But all of the songs deal with loss, emptiness and the afterlife with the depth and clarity that you would expect from a songwriter who may not always get the credit he deserves, but for me is up there with Dylan, Cohen and Waits. Cave’s lyrics on this album are extraordinary and are some of the finest of his career. His vocals this time round though are less powerful than usual, straining at times on the heartbreaking I Need You, but when you consider the events of this past year or so, you can understand why. It’s raw, compelling and incredibly moving. Musically, Warren Ellis runs the show: whispering, droning synth textures, sonic loops and his usual abrasive and discordant strings are all front and centre here whilst the rest of the Seeds fill in the gaps with hushed grace and dignity. The album ends with some hope for the future. Cave’s duet with Danish vocalist Else Torp on Distant Sky is astonishing - one of the most beautiful songs of the year. And then there’s the title track itself. Cave’s piano taking on a funereal tone whilst he sings of everyday homelife - Sunday mornings, candles in the window, television - before repeating to the listener over and over “And it’s all right now, and it’s all right now, and it’s all right now…..” Just stunning.
MAGISTERIAL.

Key Track: SKELETON TREE

3: SUN KIL MOON/JESU 'JESU/SUN KIL MOON'

Ah, Mark Kozelek. How much do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
Over the last 25 years there have been 2 bands - Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, with whom he has recorded and released a total of 14 albums. There has been 10 solo albums. There has been 15 live albums. There have been 2 collaborations - with Desertshore and Jimmy Lavelle. He has also starred in 3 films. And now there is another partnership - this time with Jesu, otherwise known as British musician Justin Broadrick who was a founding member of the early 90s experimental rock band, Godflesh. The numbers may be daunting to newcomers but writing as a major fan, I can offer you nothing but this sage advice: Do yourself a favour and dive in. For me, Kozelek is the greatest living songwriter - and he may even surpass some of the dead ones. He’s always been prolific, but over the last 6 years or so his output has increased tenfold with no drop in quality. Since 2012, he’s released one studio album a year - either as SKM or in tandem with Lavelle, Desertshore and now Broadrick - as well as some of the aforementioned live albums. He’s just released a double SKM album, and there will be another record with Jesu in May. The man is a songwriting machine. This first SKM/Jesu match-up is an astounding collection of songs - none of which fall below the 6 minute mark - which continues in the same vein of observational, stream of consciousness writing that Kozelek has been perfecting over the last few albums. Akin to reading his diary out loud, subjects range from touring schedules, shopping, phoning relatives, playing with cats, watching television - all of which may sound a bit dull, but it’s all shot through with acerbic humour and a real sense of love and tenderness that makes the listening experience hilarious and compelling in equal measure. Broadrick’s musical accompaniment touches on distorted shoegazey guitars and ethereal electronica to create a majestically melancholic soundtrack. Last Night I Rocked The Room Like Elvis And Had Them Laughing Like Richard Pryor and America’s Most Wanted: Mark Kozelek And John Dillinger are not only superb song titles but wonderfully funny songs, whilst Father’s Day and Beautiful You should melt the very hardest of hearts. Exodus however, is one of the most heartrending songs he’s ever written. An anthem of hope and courage that touches on the death of Nick Cave’s son before focusing on friends and family closer to home that have lost their children. This incredible piece of work ends with a massed choir of voices - including Will Oldham, Rachel Goswell, Low and Isaac Brock - repeating the grief-stricken mantra: “For all bereaved parents, I send you my love”. Utterly, utterly wonderful.
MAGNIFICENT.

Key Track: EXODUS

2: DAVID BOWIE 'BLACKSTAR'

DAVID JONES R.I.P.

Upon it’s release on January 8th last year, this album - Bowie’s first since his remarkable ’comeback’ album The Next Day in 2013 - was greeted with pretty much universal praise and acclaim. It was easy to see why. Seven songs that ran the gamut from stomping, classic Bowie-era glam on Dollar Days to free-form, scare the punters away skronk jazz on Sue (In A Season Of Crime). There was also epic, sky-scraping prog on the title track and eerie, beats-infused electronica on Lazarus. It was quite simply, his best album in decades. Then, the world caved in. Three days after it’s release, the news broke that not only was Bowie dead, but that he’d also been fighting an ultimately losing battle with cancer for 18 months. Shock, grief, disbelief, and downright astonishment were the overriding emotions on the morning of January 11th - and for weeks and months afterward. Listening back to Blackstar after his death, it suddenly became clear that the album was not just a collection of magnificent songs, but a tightly scripted, stage-managed finale and a heartfelt thank you and goodbye to his fans that possibly only the theatre loving polymath could have pulled off. All the clues were immediately apparent. The dead astronaut in the Blackstar video. The “something happened on the day he died” line in the same song. The seemingly throwaway “I’m dying too” in Dollar Days. Most pertinently of course, was the video for Lazarus. Opening with Bowie lying in a hospital bed, his eyes covered in bandages, and finishing with him walking backwards into a closing wardrobe, the symbolism was horribly, tragically clear. Especially the song’s opening lines: “Look up here, I’m in heaven. I’ve got scars that can’t be seen”. As a planned farewell, it was unparalleled. But even though it is still impossible to listen to the album without focusing on the fact that Bowie is no longer here to listen to it himself, the album stands on it’s own merits superbly. Led by West Coast modern jazz luminary Donny McCaslin, the instrumentation is fresh, vibrant and exciting, giving Bowie’s beloved saxophone room to bark and honk away in glorious fashion. There are echoes of Young Americans, Diamond Dogs and Station To Station dotted throughout as well as the occasional nod to less successful Bowie projects like Earthling and the much maligned, but to my ears really rather wonderful, Tin Machine. And to top it all off, the album ends with one of Bowie’s finest songs in I Can’t Give Everything Away which grooves and glides away for 6 quite stupendous minutes. It’s a glorious finale to an album that makes you cry, smile and dance all at the same time.
Contrary to the popular belief over the years, Bowie wasn’t immortal. He wasn’t an alien. He was, sadly, just a man. A man who contracted a horrible illness and left us far too soon. But what a man. What a showman. What an artist. What an icon. The album he left us with was a astonishing swansong that solidifies his legacy in a truly remarkable and groundbreaking way. It’s just terribly sad that we’ll never get to hear what he would have amazed us with next.
R.I.P. Starman.
LEGENDARY.

Key Track: I CAN'T GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY

1: ANGEL OLSEN 'MY WOMAN'

For most of last year, the late and oh so very great David Bowie was nailed on for my Number One slot. Then, in late summer, Missouri native Olsen released her third full-length album and all bets were off. Her previous two albums had touched on greatness - especially on tracks like Unfucktheworld on 2014’s Burn Your Fire For No Witness - but nothing Olsen had written thus far prepared me for the out-and-out brilliance of this album. Something truly great would have to knock Bowie off the top, and this was it. Charting, like most great records, the demise of an intense love affair, My Woman is an absolute tour-de-force from Olsen - her vocals have never been stronger and her songwriting has never been so fully-formed. Far beefier in sound and more confident in it’s approach than her first records, the album is divided into two distinct halves. The first half - Side One in old money - rattles by in less than twenty minutes, incorporating dreamy 80’s synth-pop in Intern, crunchy garage rock in Shut Up And Kiss Me, outlaw country in Never Be Mine and grungy 90’s indie pop in Give It Up. It’s a wonderful mash-up of styles all hanging together seamlessly. As good as the first half is though, it’s the second half of the album that really shines. Dominated by a series of epic ballads, this is where Olsen’s strange and smoky voice comes into it’s own. Heart Shaped Face and Pops are slow, late-night bluesy jams that crawl and meander in and out of your ears in a swooning, slinky fashion that’s nothing short of stupendous. But for my money, it’s Sister and the outrageously magnificent Woman that make this album the best of the year. The former is a woozy and wondrous 70’s country-rock epic that builds slowly and surely into a full-blown psych-indebted wig-out that left me slack-jawed with amazement upon first hearing it. Olsen’s repeated refrain toward the end - “All my life I’d thought I’d changed” - was just the icing on the cake. And then there’s Woman itself. An utter marvel of a song, enveloping the listener in the sadness and despair of a failed relationship - “I’d do anything to see it all the way that you do, but I’d be lying baby. I’d be lying to you” - whilst at the same time defiantly standing firm and looking forward to whatever comes next - “I dare you to understand what makes me a woman”. All this to a backdrop of widescreen Americana and luxuriant Crazy Horse style guitar noodling. Just glorious. Whatever Olsen releases next should be awe-inspiring.
SPECTACULAR.

Key Tracks: SHUT UP KISS ME, SISTER, WOMAN


That’s your lot then. Another excellent year for music and a shed-load of brilliant albums. Meanwhile, 2017 has already kicked off it’s slippers and jumped out of the tracks with releases from The Flaming Lips, The XX, Elbow, Moon Duo, Duke Garwood and Ryan Adams. And in the very near future, Depeche Mode, Future Islands, Goldfrapp, Laura Marling and Mastodon will all be back.
Let’s go round again!