Albums of the Year Pt 8 (35-31)

35. THE INTERNATIONAL SWINGERS - "The International Swingers"

So imagine if Billy Idol's last album hadn't been a bit over-heavy on the ballads and had rocked out a bit more. That's the International Swingers' debut in a nutshell. Featuring various off-duty and one-time members of Blondie, the Sex Pistols and Generation X, this was a supergroup who well and truly delivered on their potential with a collection of full-throttle and rock 'n' roll tunes. Full review here and you can check out the video for single "Gun Control" below.

34. MATTY JAMES - "The Road To No Town"

Spit 'n' sawdust acoustic-led rock 'n' roll from Northern Ireland, Matty James' second album comes on like the distant cousin of Ricky Warwick's solo output with the defiance of songs like "Sticks 'n' Stones" (video below) meshing well with more downbeat country laments like "Heavy Heart". He's definitely set out his stall as a good songwriter with this one - full review here.

33. HELEN LOVE - "Classic Hits"

Scarily now in their third decade as a band, this was a most enjoyable comeback effort from the one-time lo-fi clown princesses of the Britpop era. Still packed full of the group's bubbly enthusiasm and hooks that resolutely refuse to let go of your brain once they're in there and featuring nods to everyone from the Ramones to Van Halen via Sheila E, "Classic Hits" was great fun from start to finish. Full review here.

32. AGAINST ME! - "Shape Shift With Me"

"Shape Shift With Me"'s predecessor "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" was one of the darkest albums of 2014, documenting Laura Jane Grace's gender transition with no punches pulled. Compared to that, "Shape Shift With Me" does at least seem to be focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel with some tracks that are a bit more upbeat on it but it's still a brutally raw effort for the most part and that's it's main appeal. Review wot I did for Pure Rawk here.

31. THE ZIPHEADS - "Z2: Rampage!"

Second album from this St Albans based psychobilly crew and it was a good follow-up to their 2013 debut "Prehistoric Beat". Full-on pedal to the metal greaser rock with the odd bit of surf-rock, cowpunk and ska which takes the best bits of their debut and ramps up the energy to breakneck levels. Good stuff - you can read the full review here.