And so, we come to the obligatory end of year round up of the best new albums
Scarily this is now the 13th such round up and to follow protocol here are six of the best in alphabetical order:
It’s the end of the year to time to look back at the best live gigs of 2024
Back in April it was off to the Exeter Cavern to see Vazum. A band I was unfamiliar with but the description of their music as ‘deathcore’ sold it. Great fun.
Charm of Finches flew all the way from Australia in June to play the Exeter Phoenix.
Glorious harmonies and rather surreal to hear the band and my daughter discussing Moomin tattoos afterwards
The Exeter Cavern was a popular destination this year and in August we caught the stunning Iress on top form. Best vocal performance of the year by a mile.
October and my first trip abroad to catch a gig. Fish at the Tivoli, Utrecht was very special – Not only as it’s the farewell tour but the Dutch fans are just amazing as was the venue. Gig of the year.
Finally rounding out the top 5 is another return to the Cavern in November to see Winterfylleth. It seems extraordinary to catch a band of that stature in the extreme metal world to be playing such a small venue. Absolutely rammed but a blast in more ways than one.
Time for a mini album review – JJ Lovegrove has put together Unravelled: The Elegies in just 5 weeks but it sounds like it been thought about for much longer.
The stories behind the songs were told through the Halloween calendar that JJ lovingly crafted, and it gives you such a deep engagement with music.
Of the six tracks, five are mainly vocals and piano with just Foolish Things adding additional instruments to drive a change of pace. (there is a bonus synth demo of the last track)
It’s raw, emotional and almost unbearably personal at times.
Lyrically, it can be heartbreaking but there is also defiance in that voice – From Unraveled for example:
If this is the last new album I buy this year, then what a beautiful way to end it.
Here is one of those bands you take a chance on with a random gig only to fall in love with them.
I caught Iress playing the Exeter Cavern to promote their album, Sleep Now, In Reverse.
Musically, it’s very post rock, a little bit doom and very much in the territory of A.A. Williams due to the amazing vocals of Michelle Malley.
While Williams voice is powerful and formidable, Malley’s vocals are just as strong but laced with an aching fragility.
In Mercy, the tension of the music is ratcheted up as Malley coos and murmurs about a disintegrating relationship but suddenly there is that cathartic release as she simply roars the word ‘bleed’ – An absolute goosebump raising moment.
Lyrically it’s dark, very dark and you really hope it’s not overtly autobiographical.
“You say you’re really bored, and it hurts to know you really are” (Lovely – Forget Me Not) or “Always waiting for you to call my name, you say you will, you won’t” (Falling).
Another favourite track is Sanctuary where the music is angrier and Malley rages against the world as she sees red
The album ends with an odd track, Deep. Mostly just a guitar picking out individual twanging notes while Malley breathlessly pleads with us to take it easy on her.
Recorded the songs are more controlled, almost restrained at times whereas live it was a ragged, emotional maelstrom.
I would thoroughly recommend the album and the Solace EP from 2023, both are spectacular listens.
Another EP from Cruel Diagonals has arrived - Calcite
Only 4 tracks and 15 minutes but it covers the creation of the earth, it’s destruction by man and it’s collapse until only rock remains. Quite a weighty subject to cover in quarter of an hour.
Opener, Scintillation, is a like a classical piece of work being performed in a cave built on washes of synths whilst the wordless mezzo-soprano voice soars and swoops beautifully over the music.
After that the weirdness really set in. In Disobedience it sounds like someone tuning the oscillator on a large power plant and if you’re listening in headphones, it rumbles and vibrates through your skull.
The last two tracks take it even further into the unknown, Sounds are twisted, stretched and distorted until you’re not really sure if you are still realms of what could be described as music. It seems at this point a long time since the beautiful opening track.
It’s another beguiling by very challenging release from an artist you will either embrace or assiduously avoid
Public Service Broadcasting return once more with their latest concept album, The Last Flight.
There are a few subtle changes in the world of PSB for this one. Previous albums have been many stories under one overarching concept (The blitz, space exploration, South Wales mining or Berlin) but this time it’s concentrated on one person’s story, Amelia Earhart, and one specific part of their life.
This is therefore a more intimate and personal album than before.
The second big change is there are no recordings of Amelia Earhart to sample so instead extracts from her diaries and letters have been read by Kate Graham and made to sound like contemporary recordings. It works surprisingly well as a technique.
The Fun of It see the vocalist Andreya Casablanca reunited with the band after her turn on Bright Magic. A joyously upbeat piece of pop music it’s almost impossible not to smile whilst playing it.
The first single, Electra bounces along in classic funky PSB style and the closest in character to the early hits. There is fun to be had spotting the samples from previous PSB songs such as Korolev, Spitfire and Everest near the end of the song
Monsoons is a dark and ominous piece with a teeth rattling bass section and some of the most strident guitar work that Willgoose has every committed to tape.
The near 9 minute string laden coda of Howland showcases all that the band learnt from their work at the BBC proms to produce a sumptuous, orchestral but poignant ending to the album
A much better album than Bright Magic and possibly their best work since The Race For Space
You never get much notice of a new Rosetta Stone album, it just sort of appears one day - And so it is with the latest offering, Under the Weather.
Let’s be honest here, I could repeat my review of the Cryptology album from September 2020, and it would all still be valid.
It’s uncanny, both albums 10 tracks long with only one being over 4 mins and in both cases, that’s the last track.
The drum machine and insistent, thudding bass are still in attendance topped with that very goth like vocals and a large dose of melody.
We Turned Away is probably my favourite track probably for the subtle changes in pace between verse and chorus which is unusual for a Rosetta Stone track.
If you like your goth circa the Sisters in ’85 then you will thoroughly enjoy this but it’s also likely to leave a lot of listeners indifferent to its unique charms
Sometimes you catch a gig and immediately know the bad are definitely going to be better on stage than in the studio. I’ve always thought this about The Levellers and now I can add Vazum to the list.
We caught the American duo playing a fantastic gig at the Exeter Cavern and now the new album, Western Violence, is out
It’s good fun but not essential, the band claim to be ‘deathrock’ but inspiration from the British goth scene hang heavily in the air and there is definitely something about The Cramps about them
The track, Alien for example has a very pronounced Siouxsie feel in the chorus.
The contrasting male /female vocals keep things interesting even when the pacing on the tracks seem a little too similar at times.
My favourite track is Blush with its insistent melodic refrain and lyrics which are basically ‘we don’t like the cold’.
A band worth investigating but look out for live dates if possible.
So, what’s in a name? This album could have been released under the All About Eve but in typical willfulness Regan & Bricheno have chosen not to trade on past glories.
Apparitions though is a truly Eve album regardless of the name – beautifully melancholic, wistfully nostalgic and a warm haze of both something recognisable but also something excitingly unfamiliar.
Julianne’s blissful vocals have never sounded better and it’s great to hear Tim’s chiming guitar one more.
Radium is currently my favourite track – an exercise in yearning which may be referencing the Great Gatsby (the green light, driving and dancing) though as with most of Julianne’s lyrics there is an ambiguity which means I may be totally wrong!
The tempo picks up Roses Round the Door which jangles along as the most distant cousin of those early eighties singles.
America deals with the disappointment and regret of never having the chance to crack the States as a band all those years ago.
The most interesting lyric appears in Dear Lonely Heart – The chorus line of “Someday a girl will come who doesn’t love guitars” sounds like a direct reference to Farewell Mr Sorrow which was (allegedly) written about Tim.
I know there is very little chance of these songs ever being played live but you also hope this is not the last we get from this wonderful songwriting duo
I don’t usually review singles, but this is pushing the definition of a single anyway.
NFD have returned to their 2022 EP, taken the lead track and expanded, remixed and added to it so that it now clocks in at giddy 13 minutes.
Surrender to my Will was already epic but in true Spinal Tap fashion the decision was made to turn the epic content up to 11 for the Between Oblivion and the Abyss version.
As with old great goth songs it’s OTT and has the full kitchen sink included – a slowly building intro, strings, piano, galloping drums….
Then there are the vocals. Bob White is clearly a man who listened to Carl McCoy from The Nephilim and thought: “I can do that. But more heroically….”
Listening to it, the song builds to a climax, you think this is it and then it takes a split second breather before off we go again.
Love this track.
Marlinchen in the Snow is the new release from Charm of Finches. The two Australian sisters, Ivy and Mabel, have put together a really great album here.
Based around their glorious sung harmonies it’s a bit like a more upbeat Smoke Fairies or less Americana version of Wildwood Kin.
They definitely have an ear for great pop song. The naggingly catchy Middle of Your Mess, dealing with toxic friendship, deserves a lot of airplay (and the highly stylised video is a visual feast).
The opening track of Clean Cut pushes it close in term of the most accessible offering but again lyrically it’s quite dark regarding the ending of a relationship.
Of the slower, more folk like tracks, my favourite is Atlantis which washes over you in a soothing wave of melancholy while the title track back strips back the instrument to allow those voices to take centre stage.
Very looking forward to seeing them live this summer.
It’s been a full six years since the last Midas Fall album and finally here is Cold Waves Divide Us.
Simply put it will take something special to stop this being album of the year.
The band have expanded to a trio since 2018’s Evaporate and the sheer power that has given their music is astonishing.
In the Morning We Will Be Someone Else opens the album by building slowly into a maelstrom of drums and guitar while Elizabeth Heaton’s stratospheric vocals strafe the song with yearning and despair.
However, nothing prepares you for the second track of I Am Wrong. I have played and played and replayed this song so many times already. The almost NMA tribal drumming draws you into a swirling personal psychiatrist session of self-loathing. The line of “I am not extraordinary; I am just the best you can do” just astounds me every time.
The other standout track for me is the instrumental Point of Diminishing Return with the insistent synths in the opening and the trademark deliberate slow drum beat. As the song builds the strings come to the fore and it becomes almost symphonic.
Whilst the album feels like a study in melancholy and longing there are some glimmers of light through the cloud with In This Avalanche being a beautiful, quieter ballad to offset the thunderous post rock heft of the rest of the album.
This is a band reaching new heights, vocally and musically.
This album is just stunning, and you just need to hear it.
Two reviews this month and two albums that have taken their time.
It’s been four years since Jo Beth Young released the album Strangers (under the name of RISE) but Broken Spells was clearly worth the wait.
It’s a beautiful alternative/progressive folk opus full of twists and mesmerising moments.
Jo Beth has assembled a great cast of musicians to help her – members of Abrasive Trees, Peter Yates (ex Fields of Nephilim) and John Reed.
Wolf Song is a gorgeous opener setting the tone with the cello solo from Ben Roberts and those effortless vocals.
Ockham’s Razor has a dusty American gothic vibe while Mechanical Ballerina with its electronic beats and soaring voice is the daintiest song of offer.
My favourite track is still Brigid which was release as a single maybe two years ago. I adore the steel guitar from John Reed before the pace picks up and the song just joyously bounce along.
The vocals throughout are spectacular both with the range and emotion that Jo Beth can invest in the lyrics. I’ve seen the usual comparisons made (Kate Bush, Tori Amos) but ignore that as this is a voice that stands on its own merits.
Here’s hoping there will be chances to catch these songs live in the near future.
It’s been a slow start to the year, but the first new review is a good one.
Any release from the New Model Army should always be welcomed and cherished.
Confession time first – I’ve never really taken to the last album, From Here. After the first few plays it's become one of my least played releases from NMA so I approached Unbroken with a bit of trepidation.
Nothing to fear here though. From the urgent, muscular opener of First Summer After to the bass heavy groove of Deserters this is an excellent album.
Lyrically there seems to be a bit more bite than recently. Reload open with Justin spitting the words “If I have to see another f**king Union Jack flying on the orders of the government, I’m going to be sick”. Must mention the amazing drumming on this track which is so reminiscent of the much missed Rob Heaton.
Language and Coming or Going both come with one of those huge NMA choruses designed to sung at the top of your voice among the crowd with all arms stretched skyward.
Idumea is an interesting track. Sparse and built around loping, tribal drums before swelling in to something almost hymn like with the choir of voices.
My favourite release since Between Dog and Wolf – I so want to get out there and catch them live just one more time.
