We start with guilty pleasure #1. Jay Kay has bounced back from 2005’s frankly awful Dynamite to produce another really fun(ky) pop record. Over the five year break, Jamiroquai have clearly gone back to what comes naturally. So, gone is the forced trance/electronica of A Funk Odyssey, as is Dynamite’s misguided attempt to sound like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rock Dust Light Star instead essentially offers the funk bass/pop chorus formula which underpinned Jamiroquai’s 90s heyday. As such, the album is not exactly groundbreaking; more the return of a familiar friend. Having said that, it’s a record that benefits from a willingness to add a variety of aspects of pop history into the mix: 60s soft rock, 70s disco and 80s synth-pop all combine with the familiar Jamiroquai sound to create a consistently strong and extremely enjoyable record.
A record that sounds far grander (and more pretentious) than it actually is – a loose concept album based on stories/battles/themes from the American Civil War, lanced with unrelated imagery and references to everything from Billy Bragg to Cheers, by a band named after a Shakespeare play. Should be as impenetrable/irritating as hell, but actually it’s quite a simple rock record. The obvious comparison – primarily because of the similarity between Patrick Stickles’ voice and that of Conor Oberst – is Desaparecidos. Another favorable comparison is Against Me!. Titus Andronicus make engaging punk rock which is both varied and accessible. There’s also a good dollop of pop-rock (‘Theme From Cheers’) and a lovely piano ballad (‘The Old Friends And The New’ – ‘lovely’ in terms of the music, not the lyrical content!). An album I got right near the beginning of 2010 that still gets played regularly. Would like to catch them live; I bet they’re good.
Come Around Sundown sees the Kings Of Leon cementing their place at the top table, at least in terms of record sales. It is also something of a creative triumph, stacked full of thoughtful introspective rock songs. It’s similar enough to the mega-selling Only For The Night to keep the punters happy, but finds room to experiment and to subtly develop the band’s sound. There’s no stand out song on the album as such – there’s no ‘Sex On Fire’ here – but that probably makes the album rather more coherent than the less consistent Only For The Night (which, I’d say, when good was better than anything on offer here, but when less good would fall well short of the sustained standard of Come Around Sundown). Kings Of Leon seem to have mined the 60s more notably here than before, most obviously on ‘Mary’, and the blues element to their sound is again closer to the forefront. A band that is increasingly a record company’s wet dream – marketable and good. I think my favourite record by them is still Youth And Young Manhood, mind, but I couldn’t have asked for (and certainly didn’t expect) anything more than I got from Come Around Sundown. Not as groundbreaking as some have suggested, but nonetheless thoroughly excellent from start to finish.
Perhaps not as consistent as some of their previous albums (see, for example, Magic Potion or Attack & Release), this is another indication of the sheer quality of The Black Keys. Blues rock of the highest calibre. Often compared to the White Stripes, I actually think The Black Keys have more in common with Muddy Waters than Jack White. The fuzz distortion may hide it, but this is ‘pure’ blues. The album is full of outstanding songs, but my favourites include the riff driven ‘Next Girl’ and the drum-rumbling ‘Howlin’ For You’. The only real gripe is the rubbish ‘Too Afraid to Love’, which sounds like a discarded Eminem backing track (presumably a hangover from their hip-hop collaboration Blackrock – which I’ve not heard). A track that gets it all wrong. That aside, this is a great record. It would probably have been higher on my list if I’d not discovered The Black Keys last Christmas and so already listened to their back catalogue extensively in the early months of 2010. By the time I got Brothers in July, I’d probably OD’d slightly on this band – plus, of course, while this record is great, I was acutely aware from recent exposure that it isn’t their best. If you have nothing by this band, get 2008’s Attack & Release. If you have that already, then you won’t be disappointed by this.
To say this album has been ignored isn’t quite true, given it was Mercury nominated, but it hasn’t had the recognition one might have expected for such a quality debut. I would have thought with the right marketing this could be effectively sold to Mumford & Sons fans everywhere. In any event, the first record by Conor O’Brien (not to be confused with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes/Desaparecidos/loads of other bands fame) is a beguiling one which rewards repeated listens with haunting melodies, fantastic vocal harmonies and a genuine sense of soul. Becoming A Jackal is packed with passionate songwriting and playing. Musically, the styles vary from panoramic piano (‘I Saw The Dead’), via loner-with-guitar plucking (‘Twenty Seven Strangers’), to shiny pop (‘The Pact (I’ll Be Your Fever)’). What ties it all together is that every track is full of heart and has been beautifully crafted. Nothing is wasted, everything is clearly very deliberate. A proper album of quality songwriting.
Initially I wasn’t keen on Vampire Weekend’s debut, but after a second try I discovered a great record which was both catchy and very unique. This year’s follow up, Contra, is every bit as good as the debut: it is packed full of great indie rock songs with all kinds of influences including reggae and big-band. I adore the speedy ‘Holiday’, the prog-laced ‘White Sky’ and the frenetic ‘Cousins’. It’s all brilliant fun. On its own merits, Contra probably would have broken the top five and even gotten close to the number one spot. The only thing that holds it back is that it is extremely similar to the first record. If I’d have heard Contra having not already heard and loved Vampire Weekend, then I’m sure I’d rate it higher. I do think this is just as good as its predecessor, but the fact that it’s similar and came second hurts it somewhat just by association. I think also the fact that I bought it in January is telling – that it still made top 6 is impressive for an album I’ve had for 11 and a half months – but if the list had been written in June it would’ve come 2nd... Overall, a fantastic follow up to a fantastic record. No complaints, but they’ll need to change it up a bit for album 3.
