Top 10 Albums Of The Year So Far

This year has been a pretty good year for music so far. This is my top ten of the best albums released this year.

10. "Exile" - Hurts. I waited a long time for this album to come out and I was worried that it wouldn't when the duo said they'd forgotten how to write music but obviously, it wasn't true. This album is a great follow up to their debut, "Happiness", continuing the moodiness that they captured so well the first time round. Listen to Hurts on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exile-Hurts/dp/B00AO2T9VU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370856703&sr=8-1&keywords=hurts.

9. "I Love You" - The Neighbourhood. I saw this album on my download site and clicked on the link purely because of the album artwork and it was one of my finds of the year. It is nice and dark which I like but was a bit more more synthy than I'd been used to. I think from the the opening bars to the first song I was a little bit in love with this album. Listen to The Neighbourhood on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Love-You-The-Neighbourhood/dp/B00C2KCM0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857103&sr=8-1&keywords=the+neighbourhood.

8. "Random Access Memories" - Daft Punk. Oooh controversial! I put Daft Punk here because although I think the album is great, the genre isn't 100% my thing and so I feel there where albums that I would listen to more often than this one and enjoy more. Daft Punk have taken the world by storm with this album. Practically everyone was singing "Get Lucky" a month ago or so and it is definitely my favourite chart topper of the year. The album is full of other great tunes to get you dancing and will definitely be one of those albums that goes down in history as one of the best. Listen to Daft Punk on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Random-Access-Memories-Daft-Punk/dp/B00C061I3K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857591&sr=8-3&keywords=daft+punk.

7. "Wish to Scream" - Tribes. This is the follow up to the band's successful debut, which was loved by all and hailed one of 2011's albums of the year by many, but didn't get the same standing ovation when it was release last month. Yes there was a lot of new ideas and yes it wasn't necessarily the bangy crashy Tribes of late 2011 but it was still an amazing album. Listen to Tribes on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wish-To-Scream-Tribes/dp/B00BLDHQ5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370857989&sr=8-1&keywords=tribes+wish+to+scream.

6. "In Love" - Peace. This is a gorgeous laid back album that will be played more and more as the summer goes on. It's another indie record that I like quite a lot. Peace where one of those bands we were told to look out for at the start of the year and they didn't disappoint. Listen to Peace on Spotify or buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Love-Peace/dp/B00B9608R4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370859322&sr=8-1&keywords=in+love+peace

5. "Modern Vampires of the City" - Vampire Weekend. Their 4th studio album kicked off the summer with the release of "Diane Young" and "Step" rattling around indie fans heads throughout April and May. "Step" proved to be a triumph using Pachabel's Canon as a foundation which can be risky but they pulled it off to make one of my favourite tracks of the year. Listen to Vampire Weekend on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Vampires-City-Vampire-Weekend/dp/B00BB22GQM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370859820&sr=1-1&keywords=vampire+weekend.

4. "The Messenger" - Johnny Marr. Ah rejoice, he's back! When my Dad and I found out Johnny was coming back we went into a little hype for a few months. It is full of excellent tracks that reach out to the old Smiths fan everywhere. My Dad still plays back the videos we filmed when we went to see him live in Birmingham. Listen to Johnny Marr on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Messenger-Johnny-Marr/dp/B00AG22JHY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370860256&sr=1-1&keywords=johnny+marr.

3. "180" - Palma Violets. This is definitely the indie album of the year, Palma Violets are a revolution! I wasn't sure on them at first but they have become one of my favourite bands. The album is just pure fun to listen to you can tell that the boys are enjoying the moment whilst it's definitely there. It's a great album for the summer. Listen to Palma Violets on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/180-Palma-Violets/dp/B00AE1VXD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370860805&sr=1-1&keywords=palma+violets.

2. "Opposites" - Biffy Clyro. So far this has been the rock album of the year. The band had everyone waiting for near enough 5 years for the release of their 6th studio album and from the fans perspective, they didn't disappoint. The album consisted of 20 tracks which made up for their absence and had some great stadium anthems on their too. It really is amazing. Listen to Biffy Clyro on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opposites-2CD-DVD-Biffy-Clyro/dp/B009AWRF9I/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370861111&sr=1-2&keywords=opposites+biffy+clyro.

1. "I Once Was An Eagle" - Laura Marling. At the start of the year I didn't think anyone would beat Biffy to the top album wise but last month they were smashed by Laura Marling's beautiful 4th album. The songs are like poetry and the Indian influences throughout the album blew me away the first time I listened to it - it was a magical moment. Listen to Laura Marling on Spotify and buy the album at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Once-Was-Eagle-Laura-Marling/dp/B00BQWR9BO/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1370861471&sr=1-1&keywords=laura+marling+once+i+was+an+eagle.

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What has happened to NME?

Hello all, I haven't posted in a while because I've been extremely busy with coursework but I'm back to talk about what was my favourite music magazine NME. 

Now 2013 was meant to be a a year of great music and great artist and to me (even though we're only two months in) it has but apparently, NME doesn't think so. I don't know if others agree but I'd say a good review from NME is 8/10 but NME have been a bit picky with those and aren't handing them out very often this year. 

My first issue was review of Pure Love's album "Anthems" which they gave a measly 1/10. The writer of this particular review Tom Howard said the album "consisted of 11 tracks of unimaginative pub rock" which to me is a bit harsh because, all though Frank Carter was previously the singer of Gallows and Jim Carroll was once the guitarist of Hope Conspiracy, Pure Love are a new band and this is their debut album it's not going to be The White Album and also my understanding is that NME write about Indie music with ultimately is pub rock, no? Mr Howard then went on to say that "Ultimately it just proves that all Carter did in Gallows was sing." which may have been the case but I've listened to the album and the album may not be perfect but it's still very good for a new band's debut and if you ask me has some catchy songs. Reactions to the review weren't very good I must admit but the point is still the same, a 1/10 is basically saying that it isn't worthy of existence and I don't think any album deserves that and definitely not this one.

Secondly, there is Fionn Regan's "The Bunkhouse Vol 1: Anchor Black Tattoo" which Kevin EG Perry gave a 5/10 because he recorded it himself with a mic and four-track instead of a big studio. Is it just me asking whether or not NME have forgotten what kind of bands they write about? Regan has independently recorded and released his own album and by the looks of things is doing quite well in the great scheme of things, Spotify like it - it's all over there so how could it be bad? I think it's a lovely album which has a nice relaxed feel to it and I would just like to add "reciting his careful poetry while flicking at the strings as if trying to dislodge a piece of chewing gum." is called finger picking and is a well known guitar technique.

The last album I'm going to mention is one I'm annoyed by simply because I love the band so much. Dan Stubbs gave Biffy Clyro's album "Opposites" a 7/10, which to me is a shock straight away but then when you read what he didn't like about the album it goes beyond ridiculous. Stubbs writes "A pained atmosphere hangs over CD1, broken only by the bit in 'The Joke's On Us' when 'our souls' sounds like 'arseholes'" which is not only very immature but also quite offensive, it is like he's saying "Hahaha, their Scottish... Hilarious!". To me it's fairly obvious that Mr Stubbs here listened to the album once as I'll even admit that after my first listen I didn't really get what Biffy were getting at with the album after all, there are 20 tracks on the new album so it's a lot to take in at first but after a few listens you do start to get it and it becomes clear they have pulled off the double album.

If you ask me NMEs review writing has become a bit bitchy and desperate to cause controversy but it brings down the standard of the magazine completely. To be honest, if NME want to regain the respect of their readers they need to listen to the album more than once and write more than a paragraph on the album. This is meant to be a well established music magazine, they need to start acting like it again.

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