Break out the celebratory beer - Not only is this my fifth 'best of' list it's also my 100th post !!

Easily the best year for new releases since I started doing this blog, so here are the top ten (in alphabetical order as always):

• Alcest - Kodama
• Blueneck - The Outpost
• Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - Mariner
• Goatspsalm - Downstream
• Marillion - Fuck Everyone And Run
• Myrkur - Mausoleum
• New Model Army - Winter
• Secrets for September - Insert Title Ear
• Shovels & Rope - Little Seeds
• Ulver - Atgclvlsscap

Special mention should also go to Tusks and Placebo for some excellent EP's and Public Service Broadcasting for their Live at Brixton set which is one of the best concert footage DVD's I've seen in a long time 

Blueneck have released The Outpost and another fine slab of post rock misery it is too....

The opening track is has to be one of the best songs of the year. From Beyond is built around the rhythm of a ticking clock and for a while it looks like being the most electronic orientated song they've done but the guitar crescendo at 5 minutes in is enormous. It has all the fury of modern day Killing Joke and is an amazing opening number.

Ghosts then quietens down the noise and takes you deep into familiar Blueneck territory with some gorgeous melody and piano but that is possibly the downfall of the album

Swathes of keyboards permeate Hive and the vocals are higher in the mix (I can actually hear lyrics!) but there is no sense of progression or doing something new apart from the opening track.

It's a good Blueneck album but lacks the wow factor you got when first hearing the earlier albums Fallen Host or King Nine

December already and still two more reviews of fantastic late releases to do.....

First up it Alcest with their new album called Kodama. It's really impossible to review an Alcest album as they sound like nothing else - a heady mix of post rock, prog, shoegazing, black metal and whatever else you want to throw in

Where this differs slightly from the previous release Shelter is they've rediscovered their black metal roots and woven them back into the sound, something that Shelter lacked. Examples are the screaming vocals on the second track Eclosion which are a bit of shock after it starts like a beefed up Coldplay style chart anthem and the drumming in the central part of Oiseaux de proie is as brutal as any white faced church burning Scandinavian can manage

The vocals still seem to convey some idea of hope and belief though as they are still in French the subject matter may not be that cheerful but it's that glorious indescribable musical noise they make which is heart of the appeal

This release ranks up there with their masterpiece of Les voyages de l'âme from 2012 and is surely one of the albums of the year

A bit of a rediscovery next….. Tusks is the pseudonym of a young woman called Emily Underhill whose music I had previously bought off bandcamp.

 

Now signed to the One Little Indian label she has released a couple of vinyl EP’s and the latest is called False

 

The opening track For You is all twitchy electronica and the closest sound I can think of is the band Grice with maybe a bit of Portishead thrown in

 

The title track False is a more traditional sounding rock song and maybe closer to what I originally heard her do on the Ghost single from a few years back but my favourite track would be the ballad, Ivy.

 

There is an accompanying EP of a remix for each song which is interesting but hardly essential.

 

All four tracks are self-compositions and show a lot a talent which hopefully won’t take too long to produce a full album

Oh dear.... The Mission return with Another Fall from Grace and I an find very little to say about it.

Three original members and a support cast list to die for (Gary Numan, Julianne Regan, Martin Gore and Ville Valo) but it's all so unmemorable.....  I couldn't even guess which track Numan was on until I read the sleeve notes and even now I'm not sure he's actually on it

It's meant to be the album that follows First & Last and Always and in a way you can see that with Adams' bass to the fore and Hussey adopting a very low register on most of the vocals but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a great Mission album - more a Sisters curio

There are a couple of great tracks though

• The first is the big dumb sing along of Met-A-Morphis which contemplates old age and the death of Bowie with a nagging chorus.
• The second is Jade which is a glorious slow burning classic in the traditional Mission manner

With 12 tracks and only the two mentioned (and the title track) showing any signs of staying power in my memory it's not a great return - It may get better with repeated listens but for now it's a disappointment

Two short reviews for two short albums.....

To celebrate 20 years, Placebo have released a six track EP. First up is a cover of Life's What You Make It from Talk Talk. Sensibly it keeps the original guitar lines but replaces the deep mournful piano chords with big squelches of keyboard which sort of works.... The other big difference is obviously the vocals and you either enjoy the whine of Mr Moloko or can't stand it so this won't change any opinions. The nominal single is a new track called Jesus' Son which is a bouncy blast very reminiscent of what they sounded like circa Nancy Boy.  There are also two inconsequential B sides but the gems are two live versions of Twenty Years. This is probably my favourite Placebo track so one full live band version recorded in France and a piano led acoustic version recorded in Russia are all the reason I need to make this purchase


The new Winterfylleth album is only five tracks long but no covers or live tracks here. Where some extreme bands are off diversifying their sound (hello Opeth and Ulver) this is the sound of a band who know what their strengths are and are happy to stick with the formula. The title track, The Dark Hereafter, is only 4 minutes long and might even be considered an attempt at mainstream metal. Rapid drums, a hint of melody and almost straightforward. After that the tracks get longer, more complex and darker. Green Cathedral is a 13 minute epic, much slower and with some very interesting choral effects. A bit like Placebo though, you either like what this band does or you don't and this new album won't change your mind either way.

Saw a review claiming September 1991 was the greatest month in rock for new releases but I disagree - the last six weeks have been the best I can ever remember for releases.....

We have had (in order) - Myrkur, New Model Army, Marillion, Insomnium, The Mission, Winterfylleth, Alcest, Placebo and Shovels & Rope