Anyway, as is usual in the dying days of the year, here's my Albums of the Year chart. For the second year running, it's a Top 60 (the original Top 40 becoming a Top 50 and then expanding to its final format due to a lot of people pointing me in the direction of stuff I've missed in recent weeks) and it's good to see that it's a decent mix of both old and new bands in there. Hopefully you should be able to find a few in there that you've missed that are worth a listen.
Before we start though, there's the traditional matter of the annual Golden Turkey award to attend to and unfortunately there have been a few clunkers mixed in with the good stuff this year. I got a bit of hate mail for my less-than-favourable review of Skindred's "Big Tings" on Pure Rawk back in the spring but I'm afraid to say that I still stand by it. It's never fun when a band who you used to love for their furious polemic puts out a lacklustre "will this do?" effort in an attempt to win over the mallrat metal crowd but sadly that's very much the case here. I'm hoping for the next effort that Benji and co take a "back to basics" approach and return to the righteous fury that defined their best stuff. Similarly, Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons' "Age of Absurdity" was the sound of a band who really should know better (especially as Phil used to be in Motorhead ferfuxxake) going for a tired mainstream sub-Alter Bridge sound that completely lacked any edge whatsoever. And although it wasn't a total disaster, the Struts' "Young And Dangerous" would certainly be up there for biggest disappointment of the year in my book. Having seen them live in 2017 and realised what the band could do when they were unrestrained by the studio sheen that hobbled their first album a bit, turned up the riffs and really let rip, I was hoping that their second album would see them taking a bit more control and putting out something closer to their live sound. Unfortunately they went completely the other way with a horrifically over-produced album which, although it sounded good on the four or five occasions where the tunes had the clout to punch through, largely sunk without trace in a sea of gloopy synths and studio knob-polish. And the less said about the songs where they sounded like Maroon frickin' 5 the better. Hopefully next time they'll take that synthesiser, stick it right up the jacksy of whoever thought this approach was a good idea and get back to basics. For now though, I suspect that this undeniably talented band may have been fallen in with some dubious company...
There really could be only one winner overall though and, much as this feels a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, my official Worst Album of 2018 award goes to laughably idea-free Led Zeppelin clones Greta Van Fleet for their hilariously terrible and cliched beyond belief "Anthem of the Peaceful Army". I honestly believe if there's any justice though that in years to come, this dire collection of Zep-xeroxed drudgery will be seen as a landmark album. In that it'll be seen as the point where the rock scene gave itself a kick up the backside, woke up and said "no, enough's enough, we're sick of hack bands who can only recycle and parrot out tired old 40 year old rock cliches without adding any sense of their own originality to it, from now on we demand that either you add something of your own essence to your music or you just be honest and become a covers band". Given the backlash that's started already, hopefully this is a sign that the demise of idea-free retro clone-rock as epitomised by GVF is nigh and that it'll be a good decade or so before we see their likes again.
Anyway, as per normal, there'll be ten albums a day on this thing starting today and running until New Year's Day. Also, in case you need reminding, full list of past winners (the SPR Hall of Fame if you will) below:
2017: Peter Perrett - "How The West Was Won"
2016: The Urban Voodoo Machine - "Hellbound Hymns"
2015: Danko Jones - "Fire Music"
2014: Electric River - "The Faith And The Patience"
2013: Hey! Hello! - "Hey! Hello!"
2012: The Bermondsey Joyriders - "Noise And Revolution"
2011: The Eureka Machines - "Champion The Underdog"
Ready then? 'Ere we go...
60. MINISTRY - "Amerikkkant"
It was perhaps inevitable that the advent of the Donald Trump era would see Al Jourgensen dig Ministry back out of storage for another bout of furious political polemic set to a crushing industrial soundscape. Although not quite in the same league as "Houses of the Mole" or "Rio Grande Blood" from the Bush era (and it was guilty of tailing off a bit towards the end), the ferocious likes of "Victims of a Clown" and "Wargasm" proved that Jourgensen still had plenty to say for himself in 2018.
59. GLEN MATLOCK - "Good To Go"
Hooking up with Earl Slick from Bowie's band and Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats, "Good To Go" saw the former Pistols bassist put out a slick and full sounding mainstream rock album. Maybe a bit too straightforward and comfortable sounding for some but the likes of "Won't Put The Brakes On Me" and "Piece Of Work" were enjoyable slices of knockabout upbeat rock 'n' roll which passed the time nicely.
58. WALTER LURE & THE WALDOS - "Wacka Lacka Boom Bop A Lop Bam Boo" (Review here)
I s'pose the big problem as regards putting a new album out when you're Walter Lure is having a sparse but very high quality back catalogue and, if I'm honest, "Wacka Lacka..." wasn't quite up to the same high standard as the Heartbreakers' awesome "LAMF" and the Waldos' similarly peerless "Rent Party". However, it's still not a bad effort at all even if there's a little bit of filler in there with the likes of "Crazy Kids", "Where Were You On Our Wedding Day?" and a revisiting of the late Jerry Nolan's "Take A Chance With Me" making it well worth a listen.
57. TENPLUSONE - "Tenplusone" (Review here)
Hailing from South Wales, Tenplusone's debut album was a fast 'n' furious slice of Dirt Box Disco style glam-punk with plenty of spit 'n' sawdust attitude and some catchy tunes and hooks. Solid, rather than spectacular, the arrival of a second mini-album "Accept Nothing Question Everything" towards the end of the year saw a new political conscience creeping into the music and a swerve towards a more Stiff Little Fingers style approach marking these guys as ones to watch in 2019.
56. MOTHER FEATHER - "Constellation Baby" (Review here)
Second album from the New York glam rockers and a definite step forward from their promising but slightly inconsistent debut. At its best, "Constellation Baby" sounds like Shirley Manson and Kate Bush having a jam in the studio while Marc Bolan fixes a cup of tea in the kitchen next door and nods approvingly. They're maybe not quite there yet as far as top drawer tunes go but on this evidence, it's only a matter of time.
55. HEAVY DRAPES - "Crashing Like Stars"
Sadly the release of "Crashing Like Stars" was overshadowed by the untimely passing of Heavy Drapes frontman Garry Borland (aka Dee Liberate) earlier this year but he's left behind a sound legacy on this evidence with the Dollsy "I Wanna Be Maladjusted" and the ferocious "Number 1" and "Make Some Trouble" mixing well with the more subtle likes of "Into The Blue" and "Nightrippin'". RIP and thanks for the memories.
54. THE CAVEMEN - "Nuke Earth" (Review here)
More ultra-ferocious scuzzed-up garage punk from New Zealand ex-pats the Cavemen, "Nuke Earth" is the sort of feral zero fucks given racket that would have Jack White screaming and running to the hills as fast as he could which is surely reason enough to check it out. Though I take no responsibility for any counselling sessions you may need to enrol for afterwards.
One of the hardest gigging live bands on the circuit, "Valley Of Thorns" is a good summary of the Kut's progress so far. Although the Hole influence is fairly easy to spot, they take the template and comprehensively put their own stamp on it with the chantalong "I Want You Maniac" and the ferocious likes of "Badman" and "Alekhine's Gun" marking them out as definitely being a band to watch.
52. THE SPITFIRES - "Year Zero" (Review here)
Okay so there's a case for arguing that the premium opportunity for Watford's premier mod revivalists the Spitfires to make that big league breakthrough that some were tipping them for at the beginning has arguably passed now. However, although it's not quite up to the standard of their first two albums, "Year Zero" is still a strong effort with the band moving forwards to a more ska-based sound on some tracks and the political fury of "Frontline" and "The New Age" proving that they've still got plenty to say.
51. THE SKIDS - "Burning Cities"
Returning to the recording studio after a 37-year absence, the Skids' comeback album was a solid addition to their legacy with the driving "One Last Chance" and "Kaputt" showing that the fire was very much still there while "Desert Dust" saw the band's Boys' Own punk legacy brought up to date. Not quite all killer no filler but definitely a more than respectable effort from these veterans.
No comments:
Post a Comment