Describing themselves as Avant Pop and capable of some truly gorgeous melodies, it is with some delight that Welsh duo Trwbador launch Just Played’s attempt at streaming suitably splendid tunes in your direction. Having set up their own label, Owlet Music, the pair unveiled their debut EP last summer, ‘Sun In The Winter‘, which can still be purchased here. With some fortuitous timing, I believe the good ship Radcliffe and Maconie gave the band a play on 6Music only today, so nice to know that people are hearing their wonderful music. Chief amongst their supporters, and the man to whom I should doff my cap for the steer on this fine new tune, is Adam Walton. The squire of all things new, Welsh and musical, his genuinely delightful Radio Wales show has just been relocated to Saturday nights at 10pm (after the equally ace Bethan Elfyn) and is always worth three hours of your time.

Anyway, this delightful track, ‘Deffro Ar Y Llawr‘ has been played on Radio Wales and performed live for the lovely Huw Stephens and the good folk at Green Man. I think, and keep in mind that my Welsh is terrible, that it means ‘Wake Up On The Floor’. Don’t quote me on that. Trwbador aren’t sure exactly when this will be out there for you to buy but, for now, you can keep coming back here to listen to it. Spread the word:

BOY AND BEAR – ‘Moonfire‘ (V2 RECORDS)

For a band wanting their fans to “expect the unexpected on each record,” this is awfully pedestrian fare. The polished, even bland, sound here is largely shorn of the character they showed when supporting Laura Marling on her UK tour back in 2010. Having conquered their homeland of Australia off the back of such sterling live work, the record falls flat. The songs are pleasant – ‘Part Time Believer’ the best with a chugging rhythm and a good bit of folk whistling – but imagine that somebody asked you to imagine what a not-as-good Fleet Foxes might sound like. Why bother, you may ask? Well, quite.

It’s alright. I would hope that the above text conveys a mildly withering sense of ambivalence. Any yet, without really tweaking the words, it appeared in print with an amended score of 7/10, raised two from my intended 5. Quite how those words might suggest that number is beyond me but, rest assured, forget it and just buy something else.

CRAIG FINN - ‘Clear Heart Full Eyes‘ (FULL TIME HOBBY)

Beloved of those fond of denim, Finn’s home band, The Hold Steady, plough the old American rock furrow, merrily offering new takes on old sounds. Having crafted a set of songs which didn’t fit with his day job – “a little quieter and perhaps more narrative” – Finn decided to go it alone. His gruff, often spoken, singing style is not the easiest voice to warm to and the general lack of pace fails to excite. There are several lovely moments, despite this, not least ‘New Friend Jesus’: a bouncy singalong with plucked guitar and a chorus to die, if not be reborn, for. Worth judicious sifting.

I know a certain type of music fan is quite fond of The Hold Steady but they’ve never done much for me. They conjure images of Uncut editor Allan Jones in lots of denim.*Gags*This is a slightly different beast but it didn’t really excite me much, beyond the odd song. Although, from the moment I thought of the weak Second Coming themed conclusion, I was in my own little world of smug reverie.

TRAILER TRASH TRACYS – ‘Ester’ (DOUBLE SIX)

This London four-piece arrive as members of the dependably decent Domino Records offshoot, Double Six, and certainly don’t let the side down. Distortion, fuzz and more than a little Kevin Shields homage are where things are headed here, with a rather delicate twee-pop sound chiming away beneath all of the, admittedly fantastic, production effects: think The xx after a few drinks. Having released a critically lauded single in 2009 – ‘Candy Girl’, presented today in more muscular form – the band have taken their time to get from there to here and, while they still don’t quite seem to be the finished article, there’s plenty of promise.

It’s good this. One of the first releases of 2012 worthy of note and, predictably, it comes from one of the dependable indie staples – Domino. Veronica Falls, Cults and Cat’s Eyes fans should make a beeline for this. Despite the name and artwork, that is.

HUNDREDS – ‘Hundreds’ (MURI RECORDS)

A German brother and sister electronic double act who sing in English so as “to be international; we wanted to travel,” you’ll likely have no idea who Hundreds are. You might want to set about changing that, as this self-titled debut outing is a gorgeous collection of gently pulsing electro-pop. The influences of Moloko and Lamb are discernable here and there; quirky percussion, euphoric piano riffs and synth stabs are all over this album, accompanied by Eva Milner’s razor sharp vocals. Think Our Broken Garden crossed with Little Boots and you’ll be somewhere close to the sound on this massively uplifting and hugely compelling record.

Released on vinyl before Christmas and appearing on CD any day now, this is a fine listen for the (possibly, who the fuck knows anymore) cold months ahead. In print, the Little Boots reference was tweaked to qualify it as “the better bits of Little Boots” or some such. The indier-than-thou police obviously out in force for that one.

NADA SURF – ‘The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy’ (CITY SLANG)

We’ll just let the title go, yeah? After almost twenty years of pop-rock riffery, New Yorkers Nada Surf have hit form again. Excellent third album, 2002’s ‘Let Go’ – containing career-highlight ‘Hi-Speed Soul’ which you’ll be wanting to hear – was their last to really soar. A change to the way they work, trying to capture the urgency of live performance or the first rehearsal, has reinvigorated the band. Matthew Caws has one of those gorgeous indie voices – think Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard – which stretches but doesn’t quite break. Coupled to joyous tunes like ‘Looking Through’, recorded in one take, it’s hard to resist.

Nice to have them back. I find it hard to imagine that they’re anybody’s favourite band, but they have a fine knack for melodic indie and this is an intermittently cracking set of songs which demonstrate that. Nice artwork but, as I said, a woeful title.

PAPER DOLLHOUSE – ‘A Box Painted Black’ (BIRD)

An off-shoot label from the largely excellent Finders Keepers – curators of the curious – is very much the logical home for this unusual record. With a stage name based on cult horror film ‘Paperhouse‘ and apparently inspired by the primitive electronic noodlers of the 1960s, Astrud Steehouder possesses a bewitching voice. Lo-fi, distorted recordings seem a wilfully contrary way to present what is often quite special material. That said, anyone who lists “bewildering post-nuclear landscapes, bleak fields, forests, thunderstorms and archaic industrial objects in the middle of nowhere” as their influences is always at risk of taking themselves a little too seriously. Worth a patient cherry-pick.

My thanks to tramadol and paracetamol for their assistance in completing this and the next review, both of which were in the December issue and were due within days of me opting to feng shui my ankle. Short of putting it back on now, I can’t really remember much about it and, for that reason alone, I’m not going to put it back on to check. I’d move on.

JACASZEK – ‘Glimmer’ (GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL)

Never is the reviewer’s list of trusted clichés more likely to figure than when reviewing ambient records. However else I may try to dress it up, Polish modern classical musician Michal Jacaszek makes music which really is cinematic and ominous. It broods thunderously and it loiters claustrophobically and it successfully draws you in, avoiding being cast aside as simple background fodder. The press release describes it as “sonically challenging”, which I suppose it might be if you’re used to a diet of over-produced three minute pop songs, but ‘Glimmer’ actually covers little new ground even though Jacaszek continues to do what he does rather well.

Seriously, ambient records are a pain in the arse to describe, even if they are often lovely to listen to. Which this kind of is, in parts. Well done for lasting seven of my reviews, by the way. I should probably buy you a pint if I ever meet you.

Having previously been known as Curiosity Killed The Cat, this was an attempt at a Nineties rebirth with a tweak of the sound and a clearout of three words. I had absolutely no idea about their past other than the little box which appeared on screen during The Chart Show to tell me the information which I have already imparted. I thought it was great, drawn in by a cracking chorus and neat pop-soul production. Having been a top three hit for Johnny Bristol back in the Seventies, it repeated the trick for a band seeking to re-establish themselves in a different decade to that which had initially brought them success. Amusingly, I’ve just found out that Gary Barlow covered it for his debut solo album, and we all know how well that turned out.

The 7″ pictured above came from the Woolies singles bargain bin in Chepstow, way back in 1992. The massive singles wall used to have slots for CD singles, tapes and sevens, even as you sensed the now-deceased high street chain trying to push out the old format. The increasingly high turnover of the chart in that decade, as the trend for entering at Number One took off having hitherto been a tricky feat to manage, meant that the amount of stuff hitting the reductions bin picked up wonderfully. It was a game of chicken, all about holding your nerve. If you were feeling cavalier with your limited pennies than 49p might be your entry point, after a brief period at 99p if it had been retailing at full price, but I was always to be found holding out for the 10p markdown. The moment of triumph when you realised your wait had not been in vain was magical, as a good few would have escaped at the earlier stages. However, as I recall, I would spoil all of my good work by then buying several 10p titles of variable quality and then ending up with less bang for my buck than I thought. ‘Good Vibrations‘ by Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch, anyone? And it skipped. Although that meant there was technically less of it, so not all bad.

Curiosity’s delightful ‘Hang On In There Baby‘ was one of my 10p triumphs and, rather annoyingly, it’s one of only a few of my early singles I’ve still got. Even more disturbingly, this is very nearly 20 years old – how can anything from the Nineties be twenty years old? There’s a little crackle as the stylus settles in the groove, but otherwise it still sounds as endearing today as it did back then. I played the b-side, ‘Meaning Of Dreaming’, earlier as I had no memory of it. It is, predictably, gloopy swing-pop schlock of that era and interminably shite. Oddly enough, Curiosity’s rebirth didn’t make it past the rusks stage in the end.

Their website seems to have switched a lot of ‘dispatches in 5-8 days’ items to ‘Out of Stock’ suggesting that things might be a little more short term right now and the annual crush in the post-Christmas sale was absent when I visited. Indeed, the former preserve of middle-aged men with an unfeasible amount of noxious flatulence seemed largely untroubled. With their technology stands and stock piled everywhere, the shop seemed to be attracting the younger generation. They just weren’t buying anything. They pointed at stuff and mentioned who in their family had had it for Christmas, they flicked casually through racks and seemed to purchase little. The previous CD hounds of a certain age have moved on. They know that this isn’t a place for music lovers anymore. Instead, they frequent independent and second hand record shops. I know, because I smell them there. I am being disingenuous based on the fact that each year I seemed to encounter somebody at the HMV sales with very loose bowels. However, as only small numbers of young people pledge allegiance to their local independent music emporia, the older generations who might otherwise have ambled round HMV and Virgin in the past are now returning to their spiritual homes, leaving Nipper and his unfortunate employees with a customer base who don’t really want to spend much.

Several years ago, I noticed how blatantly the charts CDs suddenly went up in HMV come December: your Bubles and boy bands given prominent displays at two or three pounds more than they were the week before. Why? Because that’s the other HMV customer, ‘family member with a list’ who visits once a year to pick up the presents. It was announced recently that the week before Christmas accounts for almost 10% of the shop’s annual sales, hence the ruthless price hike. How can you know it was previously cheaper if you haven’t been in since last December? After announcing that his strategy for this year’s festive run-up was “fingers crossed” it now remains to be seen if those last minute sales have actually done enough to postpone the inevitable for Chief Executive Simon Fox. It’s hard to believe the end isn’t nigh and it would be terribly sad to see the brand go and for all of those, largely committed, enthusiastic and knowledgable, people to lose their jobs. However, I can’t truly believe that that many music lovers will actually miss the 21^st century HMV experience. The Oxford Street store is still a treasure trove, but vinyl prices are regularly £5 higher than in their competitors’ stores at a time when it’s gathering an increasing following. Fopp has stayed fairly close to the original incarnation, even if it is essentially an HMV clearing house. And the vinyl’s really expensive there too.

As the independent stores quietly rub their hands at the thought of more trade and possibly even some cautious expansion, the British high street can prepare for a very curious situation ahead. Do indies move for some of the old HMV stores safe in the knowledge that people expect to be able to buy entertainment there? Could town centre music retail return? The downfall of HMV is not a source of glee, more the depressingly predictable end to a downward spiral started years back when their core product was marginalised. There are still record shops thriving and even some new ones entering the fray. If a shop – and the last of its kind – with such a nationwide presence does go under, it’s hard to believe there won’t be a few more on the way.

Having been reading Robert Levine‘s excellent ‘Free Ride – How the Internet Is Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back’ over the last few days, how music is sold and the value attached to it in an internet age has been on my mind. I received the uber-deluxe book edition of Paul McCartney‘s debut solo album for Christmas. It’s over-priced for what it is, but it is utterly gorgeous. A combination of fascinating written content and beautiful photographs from the time of the album’s creation make for a very satisfying and special item. Inevitably, it made me want the equivalent version for ‘McCartney II‘ and I gave in to festive consumerism. The uber-deluxe edition certainly seems to be the current way to get people of a certain age to spend big on music and, while it’s being described by some as the final acts of physical media, there’s a lesson in there for the future. People like beautiful items. I’ve read of teenagers buying LPs with mp3 download codes so that they can listen to the digital copy and pore over the sleeve, despite having no means of playing the disc inside. The wonderful Star Wheel Press album can be bought direct from the band or selected independent retailers of renown in a stunning hand-printed package for only a few pounds more than the download. The Low Anthem posted photos of themselves on Twitter last winter as they took all of the many, many pre-orders for their screen-printed editions of ‘Smart Flesh‘ to the post office. People will still pay for music but they like it to mean something. Independent record shops still understand this and for as long as they do it’s hard to imagine music retail disappearing from the high street entirely. As we enter 2012, I will confidently predict that this time next year there’ll have been a few surprises in the sale of music for us all to reflect on.

Buy Star Wheel Press from the indie which first proclaimed its greatness: Avalanche in Edinburgh

This year it seemed particularly difficult to do: on the one hand, because of how many utterly wonderful albums have come out and, on the other, because I’ve been hoovering up new music for the last twelve months. The vinyl revival (hey, good name for a radio show) has continued apace to the point where pretty much any alternative music gets a release on the magic wax. Indeed, but for my still not especially forthcoming right ankle, I could lay out my entire Top 30 on the floor, on vinyl, for a real-life version of that montage picture I made for the Spotify list. I rather like that. Ok, not all of these records have recent prime-quality pressings, but the vast majority sound wonderful on the superior format. An album like ‘C’mon‘ is absolutely suited to the inherent warmth that format affords, likewise the magical ‘Tamer Animals‘ by Other Lives.

Anyone who looked at the list I produced in July, as a half-way point round up of the year in music, will notice that both Alessi’s Ark and Elbow slipped from the top ten to outside the thirty come December. Alessi’s Ark simply got worn out, and I still wonder if I’ve been unduly harsh. Elbow, however, I’m struggling with a little. It’s sonically outstanding, just like ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’, but ‘Build A Rocket Boys!‘, from its missing comma onwards, just seems a little to poised. I find myself listening and thinking, ‘ah, there’s man of the people Guy Garvey extending some syllables in a matey fashion’. I’ve always loved Elbow. I adore their debut and ‘Leaders Of The Free World‘, and regular readers will remember that ‘The Seldom Seen Kid‘ just pipped Laura Marling to the top of the 2008 albums list. Whether it’s overexposure, less exciting songs or a little bit of music snobbery kicking in, I seem to have lost the bug. My first listens left me cold – which, having been tasked with reviewing it, was an immediate puncturing of the bubble – but then it grew and grew, a more subtle offering than its predecessor. Now though, I’ve no idea. Sometimes music doesn’t make sense, does it? I’m sure it’ll click at some point. Feel free to give me some pointers.

And then there are the ‘too late’ brigade. For most people, that means albums released in the last weeks of December, although for music monthlies it means mid-October onwards. This year, The Black Keys‘ cracking ‘El Camino‘ came out slightly too late to make the cut, its insane vinyl price not exactly inviting last-minute good will. It’s a great follow-up to ‘Brothers‘, to which I came rather late, with a punchy and brisk flow of soulful blues-rock. Let’s face it, if you know what The Black Keys sound like, it sounds like that. If you don’t, then I think soulful blues-rock is a fair summation.

The most unlucky release is the glistening majesty in musical form that is ‘Gathering Dust‘ by Welsh folk charmer Huw M. You may remember that his last offering, ‘Os Mewn Sŵn’, appeared in my 2010 list after I chanced upon it during a visit to Spillers Records. This latest offering takes everything that made that album so special and develops it a little further. Whether its the gently swaying ‘Brechdannau Sgwar‘ or the wonderfully simple opener ‘The Perfect Silence‘, ‘Gathering Dust’ is blessed with both melody and absolutely stunning instrumentation. Featuring mandolin, cello, sitar, French horn, melodica and a good old Hammond organ, this is clearly not a balls-out rock record, but it is one of the most delightful folk albums of 2011, and would likely have been in my top ten had it come out in October. It bothers me that it’s not in there. It shouldn’t, but that’s list anxiety for you. Still, it’s a good way to use any Christmas money/gift vouchers/rent money you might have left after the big day. The aforementioned Welsh palace of glittering musical delights will be able to assist you with that and the debut. Honestly, if ‘For While I Wait For You To Sleep’ doesn’t get the hairs up on the back of your neck then your beauty regime is too intensive for us to ever be friends.

If you’ll forgive the phrasing, I think I’m almost done mopping up. The ‘Fame Studios Story’ boxset on Kent Records is a match for the sublime ‘Take Me To The River‘ set which they issued a few years back and the For Folk’s Sake Christmas album just nudged out Emmy The Great and Tim Wheeler‘s stonking ‘This Is Christmas’ effort for festive release of 2011. Say hi to the multiple remaindered copies of the She & Him record in Fopp in February for me.

The full list is still available for your perusal and I continue to invite your lists ahead of the December 31^st deadline, when I will pick one lucky poster and send them a Low Anthem rarities 10”, a copy of the The National‘s double A-sided 7” and assorted other promo gubbins. It’ll be my pleasure. Thank you for reading this year, and for sticking around during the drought. This isn’t me entirely done for the year, but Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have fun!

‘You See Everything’ is the first of Mimi Parker’s big numbers on this record, a glorious track with a grand sound and a hypnotic charm, taking the wash of luxury applied to the album’s opener and running with it. While ‘Witches’ is a fine example of how a different producer can eek out new things from old sounds. The bold, spacious and gnarled guitar lines which have graced so many of the band’s records are present, but set as part of a much bigger wall of sound, with driving percussion and the chiming gloss of the opening pair still operating underneath. Production duties are shared between the band and Matt Beckley, who has previously worked with Avril Lavigne, Leona Lewis and even the Backstreet Boys. Not that that is in anyway obvious, beyond the slight sheen given to the album’s more grandiose moments.

The constant use of the tag ‘slowcore’ does Low no favours, suggesting as it does that their music is melancholia bordering on the bleak whereas one of the most bare tracks on ‘C’mon’ is not overly gloom in its actual sound. ‘Done’, below lyrics telling us “if you see my love, tell her I’m done”, has an aching lap steel from Nels Cline which underpins it, emotive and rich. Sad songs don’t make sad people. That logic is imbecilic and lazy, just like happy songs don’t make for happy people. Think of the savings the NHS could make with a Girls Aloud album. A gentle ache is often euphoric in its execution.

Take Parker’s crowning glory, ‘Especially Me’, which opens with the sparkling line “Cry me a river, so I can float over to you”. A slow thud keeps time while an atmospheric wash of sound, with Alan Sparhawk very low in the mix, slowly gathers momentum behind her hymnal vocal. The stirring string break which captures the conflicted emotions at the heart of the song is so utterly enthralling that when, thirty seconds later, the song ends, you’re just left hanging. Only the very best music really manipulates your emotions and ‘C’mon’ can certainly do that.

The second half of the record opens with ‘$20’, which it’s probably fair to say has plenty in common with Low records of old with its minimal sound and meditative delivery. Nevertheless, the occasional jagged strums of electric guitar maintain a certain edge, in keeping with the sinister undercurrents of old, even if the album as a whole is far lighter affair than recent releases. This idea is fully explored on ‘Majesty/Magic’, which starts in a similar vein but then builds into a crescendo of drums and guitar, with a pulsing energy and the feel of the threat of a far off storm.

‘Nightingale’ has the same sloping, soulful guitar sound which emboldened the album’s opening tracks and the chorus is heavenly, swooping down in its closing line with a grace and elegance that is simple yet breath-taking. The song washes over you, like the early hours of hazy summer light, leaving you prone for the eight and a bit minutes of ‘Nothing But Heart’. This track, more than any other here, highlights the power of this band’s sonics. Having gone loud(ish) with ‘The Great Destroyer’ and electronic with ‘Drums And Guns’, this offering serves to remind us that Low are capable of manipulating a soundstage in a fashion few can replicate. Over its duration, as the additional instruments appear including a gorgeous guitar break, the song gradually gets louder, until Parker unexpectedly makes an appearance around the six minute mark. It’s a wondrous piece of music and something which feels like the perfect way to end such an accomplished album.

And yet, ‘Something’s Turning Over’, a strummed folky song with gorgeous harmonies and little more than three minutes on the clock, serves to leave things on a musically optimistic note, even if the lyrics suggest otherwise: “just because you never hear their voices, don’t mean they won’t kill you in your sleep.” That this is then followed with a ‘la la la’ coda to close suggests there’s more than a little wry smile behind this supposedly gloomy duo.

There have been some very impressive, massively emotional and beautifully produced albums released this year, but very few have combined all three of those elements. Within that already tiny list, there is only one album which I have already installed on my favourite records of all time list, which I have played at least once a week for most of this year and which I would buy every single one of you if I could afford to. It is ‘C’mon’ by Low and it is a bloody triumph.

With a controlled part-sung, part-spoken baritone, Callahan rarely disappoints, and even then you sort of suspect it might be you rather than him. Just as certain people radiate charisma in person, so Callahan’s voice is something of a magnet. Once he’s got you, there is a wealth of music to explore. Having enjoyed bits of his output in the past, it was only with ‘Apocalypse’ that it all truly clicked into place. It’s a very unassuming album, which may go some way to explaining why it appears to have been overlooked in some quarters come the end of the year.

Essentially recorded live, with a small but perfectly formed band, ‘Apocalypse’ is built using a relatively limited group of sounds and in some senses feels a little like a live performance is happening, albeit discreetly, in the corner of the room. Callahan’s vocals have always been pretty distinctive within the mix but, with songs gently strummed and adorned with sparse percussion, here he constantly hovers in the room. This is a headphones record and a speakers and comfy chair record. It’s a happy album and a sad album. It has a comforting warmth and a captivating confidence. Just as ‘One Sunday Morning’ takes as long as it needs at the ends of Wilco’s ‘The Whole Love’, so too the songs on ‘Apocalypse’, only one of which is under five minutes.

‘Riding For The Feeling’, perhaps the album’s most beautiful song, shimmers with an aching sense of regret. However, that dismay seems to stem from not feeling able to express himself when talking about his music. “I asked the room if I’d said enough. No one really answered,” he sings and are the faces “it’s never easy to say goodbye to” perhaps the songs on an album which are no longer his once they’re out in the world? It’s clear from Callahan’s interviews that he struggles to reflect on his music, often claiming to have forgotten the inspiration behind a song. Whatever the motivation, the result is staggering.

At the other end of the scale is the raw, lop-sided throb of ‘America!’ which has even been described by less self-conscious reviewers than I as “funky.” It’s an amusing tale of feeling distant, if not necessarily homesick, and how watching US talk show host Letterman on tour in Australia causes him to begin reflecting on America and, in particular, the military status achieved by various singers from his homeland. His already curious delivery is highlighted most obviously here. It’s great fun, and it makes you wonder if that is indeed all its meant to be, rather than a specific reflection on those named or the country of his birth. 

Add in the verbalised puff of a fired gun several minutes into ‘Universal Applicant’, which triggers a brief, consuming pause before the song unfurls and the charming narrative of opener ‘Drover’ and this is already a pretty spectacular record. As the album comes to a close, Callahan sings its catalogue number, DC450, twice over the last, trickling notes of ‘One Fine Morning’, and the first time it made me laugh. It seemed like a quirky affectation but it serves to clearly mark the end of a collection of songs. It refers to how this particular source of entertainment is branded and it does make you wonder how much of what came before is autobiographical or metaphorical and how much he actually wants us to think about that. It’s already an album which is crying out to have one of the ‘33 1/3’ books written about it and for now I’m just going to continue enjoying its wondrous songs. ‘Apocalypse’ is quite possibly the best of his solo years and right up there with his finest moments as Smog. There have been more bombastic albums this year, more controversial, more innovative and more imposing, but few have been so purely and consistently engaging.

However, people change and, with ‘Hotel Shampoo’, Gruff Rhys has made his perfect pop album. The broad stereo sound, with two separate drum patterns and a beefy bit of piano, which sets out the stall on ‘Honey All Over’ is one of the finest individual music moments of this year for me. To me, it sounds not unlike ‘Phantom Power’ era SFA, but it’s unashamedly catchy, delicately arranged and, let’s not be coy, utterly beautiful.

Having been preceded by a quite stunning pair of singles, expectations for this album were high. First came ‘Shark Ridden Waters’ which bubbles out of the speakers, a chaotic and infectious signal of what is to come, while ‘Sensations In The Dark’, with its mariachi fascination and title based on the cheap, light-up Eighties keyboard on which it was birthed, truly raised the bar after the previous solo outings. Which is not to say that ‘Yr Atal Genhedlaeth’ and ‘Candylion’ aren’t worth your time, just that they both had their moments whereas ‘Hotel Shampoo’ is a whole album like that – full of ‘moments’. 

‘Sophie Softly’ is another of those perfect tracks which evoke certain past SFA eras but with its gorgeous, sympathetic production very much belongs in the here and now. Gruff’s marshmallows-on-a-hot-chocolate vocal floats across these songs delightfully and it’s hard to imagine ever tiring of this album as a complete listening experience. I don’t skip bits, I don’t wait for the odd song to end and, though I can’t deny that ‘Honey All Over’ goes on pretty much any compilation I make at the moment, I regularly play this from start to finish.

Starting the second half with ‘Christopher Columbus’, a stunning, dub-inspired track with a repeated, distorted horn refrain is, in a similar fashion if not sound to when you first heard ‘Northern Lites’, something truly unexpected. And then there’s the sweetly sung ‘Space Dust #2’, featuring Sarah Assbring who, understandably, trades under the stage name of El Perro Del Mar (also worth checking out, music fans.) While the scuzzier side of the Furries isn’t often on show here, anyone who has ever had their heart slightly melted by one of their more swoonsome numbers, needs ‘Hotel Shampoo’ in their collection. ‘At The Heart Of Love’ has stately drums coupled with somnambulant piano which builds to a chorus to which one might gently sway adoringly. And then, just when you’re lost in a moment of almost tearful reverie, the bastard brings in a horn part to leave you helpless.

‘Patterns Of Power’ sounds a little like one of the men who made ‘Radiator’ getting a little older and, hey, what do you know? It has that familiar chugging verse, before a bustling chorus with falsetto and fuzzy guitar sounds that made SFA’s second album such a stunning release nearly fifteen years ago. Forgive the number of comparisons, but how do we judge things if not by putting them in the context of that which we already know? And if you already like the Furries, you will love this record.

‘Hotel Shampoo’ is an album which ticks all of the singer/songwriter boxes. It has lashings of melody, a sizeable tranche of singalong choruses and an enigmatic frontman. It should, by rights, have made Rhys huge. However, I’ll settle for knowing that all of you good people are suitably informed about this record and suitably entertained by its many, many charms.

Click HERE for JUST PLAYED’S FESTIVE JANGLE – Spotify Edit

Plus… go here and buy the two For Folk’s Sake Christmas albums, which are for charity and bloody lovely. If you have to narrow it down, get this year’s for lovely stuff from Caitlin Rose, Kathryn Williams and The Leisure Society, not to mention Paper Aeroplanes and numerous other spiffers.

Then, go here for a free and utterly beautiful version of ‘Last Christmas’ by Ohbijou which will warm even the coldest heart.

Go here to download Lucky Soul’s lovely version of ‘Lonely This Christmas’ and then here is the lovely Caitlin Rose track ‘You Never Come Home From Christmas’ (if you need you appetite whetting before shelling out for all of the For Folk’s Sake Christmas album.)

You can get a sample of the lovely Rosie Thomas Christmas album, ‘A Very Rosie Christmas’ here and then the whole thing for only $5 if you fancy a download.

Summer Camp’s well suited cover of ‘Christmas Wrapping’ is here or get hold of their mashup of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ and ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ here.

Finally, you can get the 6 Music Morning Show festive giveaways for the next few days for nowt from here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

But then in March came the quiet release of ‘Think You Can Wait’, from the soundtrack to ‘sports comedy-drama’ ‘Win Win’. It was initially just available as a download and very little fuss was made about it. Which is, frankly, ridiculous. With an echoing piano refrain we’re underway before the vocal delivery so beautifully presented on the slower moments of ‘High Violet’ puts in another appearance. What really elevates this track to greatness is the sparingly used backing vocal of Sharon Van Etten whose lulling tones sit beneath Matt Berninger’s voice as if they were made to be together. Similarly, the melding of strings and piano towards the end of the song is as close I’m ever going to get to describing a piece of music as poetic. Just as certain tracks – for me ‘Lemonworld’ and ‘Sorrow’ – on ‘High Violet’ crept up on you over time, while the big guns initially held your attention, ‘Think You Can Wait’ possesses a slightly hypnotic rhythm, delicately lulling you into submission and provoking the gentle headphone-wearer’s nod. As a one-off single, it had no right to be this good. I felt spoilt.

However, as if this wasn’t enough, in April we were treated to ‘Exile Vilify’ from the ‘Portal 2’ soundtrack. Built around stately piano, topped off with gorgeous baritone backing vocals and anxious strings, it is a wonder to behold. I rarely play things twice in one go. If I’m reviewing an album on a short deadline it might happen but otherwise it needs to be something truly stunning to have me starting it over again straight away. The day I downloaded ‘Exile Vilify’, I think I must have played it nine or ten times in a row, and all it did was make me love it more and more. It moved me to tears, it got inside my head, it left me amazed that this was even better than ‘Think You Can Wait’, albeit not by too much. The whole thing proceeds at a solemn pace, with cathartic swells and great lines like ”You’re thinking too fast, like marbles on glass.” Try listening only once.

Having received such a warm response, the band decided to put these two songs out as a double A-sided transparent 7” vinyl. It’s a glorious little item, released via their website only but it still seems a massive shame that these two songs are destined to become a footnote to the ‘High Violet’ era of The National. Had they been on the album, they’d have been rightly lauded for the fine, fine songs they are. The tracks remain available to download or stream separately, but if you buy the (admittedly not cheap) vinyl pressing you’ll have a delicious physical item and access to lossless downloads of both songs. Treat yourself, it’s Christmas.

By clicking on the cover, as with every Best of 2011 post, you can load the music I’m talking about. However, as they were initially released separately, you’ll need to go here for ‘Exile Vilify’. It‘s worth it.