1. Metronomy – The English Riviera
2. Pete & The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures
3. The Cloud Room – Zither
4. Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow
5 Thirteen Senses – Crystal Sounds
6. Human League – Credo
7. Active Child – You Are All I See
8. The Strokes – Angels
9. Thomas Dolby – A Map Of The Floating City
10. Kaiser Chiefs – The Future Is Medieval
The Kooks took the stage promptly at 9:30, looking typically disheveled for the sold out Troubadour audience. Opening with “Always Where I Need To Be” to an exuberant crowd, the band breezed through many of the Beatles-esque crowd pleasers from from their first two albums. Highlights included “Do You Wanna” and “Shine” to which the crowd sang back at full force “Safety pins holding up the things that made you mine.” It was enough to make you feel like we were seeing The Kooks in London. New tracks sat alongside the classics well. If anything, the band was more energized playing the new stuff. In particular “The Saboteur” and new album title track “Junk Of The Heart” were standouts.
With song titles like “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” and “Pain, Pain Never Again” Glasvegas have a supernatural penchant for drama. Opening their final show of this tour with the shimmering “The World Is Ours,” it could be argued the dour Glaswegan trio (plus new Swedish drummer, Jonna Löfgren, a spitfire, FYI) peaked early on. Indeed as the night grew on, the sold out crowd began to thin. Long stretches of lead vocalist/miscreant James Allen incoherently rambling between tracks delighted half the crowd and embarrassed the rest. The band certainly enjoyed it. And their devil may care stage presence certainly translates well onto MP3, so I just count that as part of the show. Later on, we saw a man punch a woman in the neck. In the neck. (We later found out she’s decided not to press charges. Good for her. People can be so litigious nowadays) The guy was pulled out by his foot. Drama. SO Glasvegas. Soon after, the band quieted the rumbling crowd with an awesome version (is there any other) of “Go Square Go.” A song so fun the audience collectively wet their pants. I’m assuming. I’d like to have heard a few more tracks from the debut, or even something from their hilariously titled Christmas EP A Snowflake Fell And It Felt Like A Kiss, but a stomping version of “Daddy’s Gone” closed out the show shambolically. A good time was had by all. Except that lady who was punched in the neck.
Written with Grant Levy
You can’t usually expect much from industry-only gigs. Sure if the word gets out and the band is big enough, fans will get in and cause a riot, but more often than not a band has to show their stuff, sans fans, to a bunch of suits who internalize any opinion they may have. That was what I expected, and what was initially going on at One Night Only’s gig last night at SIR. By the time the chorus kicked in for their self titled LP’s lead single “Say You Don’t Want It” the unlikely crowd were converts. Ripping through a brief set, the band brought the same energy that made their album one of my top 5 of last year. The band debuted a new song “Can You Feel It” (available on iTunes now) and played one track from their debut Started A Fire, but otherwise the set was confined to 2010′s One Night Only. Highlights included “Bring Me Back Down” and the incredible “All I Want.” Check out the video for “Say You Don’t Want It” featuring Emma Watson below.
LA’s Berdache, featuring Jer Ber Jones, has released their new stomping gender-bending single “Push My Button.” Imagine Fischerspooners icy synths and smooth syrupy vocals mixed with the subversive with of Hunx & His Punx or Girls and you’re about half way there. Front man (man?) Jer Ber Jones croons “Don’t push my button before ten o’clock because I won’t be Helen Reddy.” If that doesn’t already have you hooked then you’re just not Reddy for this. Mikes Dirty Daddy Remix is on heavy rotation at my house. It’s not an anomaly. It’s the future. Listen and download at Berdache’s Bandcamp.
25. Stars – The Five Ghosts
Holds up really well upon repeated listens, unlike it’s predecessor. Though, frustratingly, the title track didn’t end up on the album.
24. Action Action – The Ones Who Get It Are The Ones Who Need Not To Know
Despite an annoying lead vocalist (who kind of grows on you over time) there’s something special about this album. Energetic, dark, fun and inventive throughout. I believe this was a digital-only self-release, and that’s a shame, as it’s the best thing this band has put out, by miles.
23. The National – High Violet
Doesn’t quite hit the highs that Boxer did, which is why it’s so low on this list, but it’s still a great album that soundtracked much of my year. Often because someone else was playing it. As much as I want their ‘hipster coolness’ to distract from the music, it doesn’t.
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“I feel like I’m going through puberty. There’s such a mess of hormones on stage tonight.” Yup. Gone were the butterfly wings and cheerleaders, but the pomp and circumstance remained. Sufjan Stevens is back after a quite some time with over two hours of new music in his arsenal. Dressed casually in a t-shirt, Sufjan starts the set with the title track of his 2006 album “Seven Swans.” It’s simple, plaintive, discordant and perfect. It’s also the oldest song he plays tonight. The rest of the main set, excluding closer “Chicago,” is pulled entirely from this years Age Of Adz LP and All Delighted People EP. It’s for the best. The new stuff translates brilliantly on stage.
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