Anyway, the present I got was from my brother. He got the hints I dropped (before Christmas, mind you) and bought me an AeroPress coffee and espresso maker. (Apparently he almost bought me a Stylophone, which would have been even cooler.)

I first heard of it on Boing Boing TV.

As much as anything else, I thought the mechanism was just ingenious. It would be great enough as a toy. The amazing thing, though, is that the reviews are right — it makes a great cup of coffee. It has a very smooth taste — probably the best coffee I’ve been able to make at home.

I normally use one of these mugs that act as their own little cafetière. This is an improvement over instant, but sometimes coffee granules escape through, leading to a mouthful of grit. It can also sometimes taste quite bitter.

The other method I use is an automatic drip-brew coffee maker. The cool thing about this is that it has an alarm timer on it, so if I have an early start I can be really lazy and lie in for five more minutes while the coffee is made for me. The disadvantage is that it doesn’t taste all that great, although it’s difficult to put my finger on what is wrong with it. Also, these things are not labour saving in the slightest in the long run. Preparing them beforehand and cleaning them afterwards is a faff I could really do without.

I am not a coffee geek. I think if I started to research coffee too much I would become like one of those audiophiles who get fleeced into buying expensive snake oil in the fruitless search for perfect audio. Nevertheless, I take note of anything that promises a better coffee, especially if it is gimmicky.

It did take me a couple of goes to get the hang of the AeroPress, but in the end it has turned out to be quite a fuss-free method. The best part is that the clean-up process is so quick and easy it just feels wrong. You just push the plunger all the way out, and out plops the coffee in one clean ‘puck’. You just need to give the bottom of the plunger a little rinse and that’s it, all set for the next time you want to make coffee.

There are a couple of downsides. One is that it needs a filter. The AeroPress comes with 350 filters, but you can re-use them several times. Some have even reported re-using them up to 20 times, which would make the package good enough for 7000 uses. Not bad.

Another thing is that it seems, from my perspective, to use up an awful lot of coffee. The scoop that comes with it is rather large compared to other scoops I have used, yet the coffee that is produced still tastes about the right strength (once the espresso produced is diluted to make an Americano).

I imagine if I used the AeroPress more than my other methods of making coffee, I would soon find myself spending a lot more money on coffee. On the other hand, the taste is worth it. Maybe it would be best for me to use it as a kind of luxury, like having an occasional glass of wine or something. Sundays, special occasions, tough days and so on. It also looks like it would be excellent if you are travelling.

If you like coffee, I’d definitely give the AeroPress a shot. It only costs around £25.

Series: Quaristice
TOC

1. How to quadruple the price of an album and get away with it
2. How not to review music
3. Autechre — Quaristice

I was going to to a track-by-track review of Quaristice. Pinksy asked what it sounds like, which is quite a tough question to answer. I was tempted to give it a shot though.

But I think I will give the track-by-track review a miss — in case I end up sounding like this.

It already has its own parodies.

Like a bad Plaid track really. Is it ‘played’ or ‘plahd’?

In fairness, it is difficult to describe Autechre, and I defy anyone to pronounce most of Autechre’s track titles. But these parodies are too funny! Love the piss-take fake Autechre music in this one as well.

Series: Music of 2007
TOC

1. What I listened to in 2007
2. Music of 2007: #40–#21
3. Music of 2007: #20–#11
4. Music not of 2007: three reissues
5. Music of 2007: #10–#4
6. Music of 2007: top three

Yesterday I promised that I would finally get round to posting my top three albums of 2007 today. I almost forgot about it because I was having so much fun writing my dissertation (true story). But a promise is a promise, so I am staying up extra late. I’m sure it won’t take long…

3. Shining — Grindstone

This must be the most overlooked album of the year. I should point out, in case you were confused, that I am talking about the Norwegian electro-jazz-prog metal band, not the Swedish suicide-themed death metal band.

I discovered Shining because some of their members used to be in Jaga Jazzist, another Norwegian band that I love. But while Jaga Jazzist are known for their quirky electo-jazz stylings, Shining have increasingly forged a path into the altogether darker territory of progressive metal.

But it’s not just that — it’s a cartoon version of metal. Jazz instruments play as big a role as guitars, and the whole lot is backed by whacked out singing and interspersed with ambient interludes. In short, expect the unexpected.

If it all sounds a little bit overwhelming, as though they have over-egged the pudding, do not fear. Although light moments are mixed with the darkness of metal, it is far from a scatter-gun approach. Everything is meticulously arranged. In fact, it is the multi-layered nature of the tracks and musicianship of the band members that impresses me the most about Grindstone.

I think it is an utter travesty that Shining are not more well-known.

Listen to the album in full at Last.fm

Video: ‘Winterreise’ — not an official video, but it has kind of been endorsed by the band.

2. Radiohead — In Rainbows

So much has been made of this album, but not much of it has been about the music itself. I am a serial offender here as well.

I was disappointed at first. If you have been reading this blog for long, you will know that I quite like exploratory electronic music. I am much more of the Kid A stripe of Radiohead fan than The Bends kind. So I initially found In Rainbows to be a let down. It seemed too safe for a band as good as Radiohead.

It sounded little different to Hail to the Thief. It rather does suggest that Radiohead have found their equilibrium. The post-OK Computer explorations were just that: explorations. Now they have found a happy medium, and every future Radiohead album will pitch its flag in this middle ground.

But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is strange to hear Radiohead sounding so comfortable — but over time I have come to see that as one of the greatest strengths of In Rainbows. Probably for the first time in several years — the first time ever? — Radiohead don’t sound tetchy or fed up or lost. They are at ease. They are just making great music.

In Rainbows makes Kid A sound immature and Hail to the Thief sound downright shambolic. Not that I am announcing that I now dislike Kid A — it is probably still my favourite album. But In Rainbows has a craftsmanship to it. It has been constructed, not thrown together. Kid A had ideas. In Rainbows has songs.

So the experimentation has gone. Or at least it is taking a back seat. So there is nothing aurally exciting like ‘Everything in its Right Place’ or ‘Pulk’. But there is now pure beauty: ‘Nude’, ‘Videotape’ and ‘Reckoner’ are now among my very favourite Radiohead songs.

What makes In Rainbows stand out as a great album is Phil Selway’s drumming. Time and again he has been the essential element in a Radiohead song, most notably in ‘Pyramid Song’. Today he is at the top of his game, providing unusual but immediate drumbeats. He’s obviously had to up his game since the rest of the band started using drum machines!

If I have a complaint, it is about ‘Arpeggi/Weird Fishes’. Not that it’s a bad song, but I much prefer the original ‘Arpeggi’. It doesn’t sound as powerful as the original live version, as the guitars make the arpeggios sound rather muddied.

And great albums don’t have songs as weak as ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Bodysnatchers’. The latter also has a line that has been stolen straight out of Pulp’s ‘The Fear’, right down to the way it’s sung. Not a high crime, but rather off-putting.

Discbox purchasers got a second CD, and amazingly the music is pretty much at the same high standard as on CD1. ‘Bangers + Mash’ in particular is a great, fun song. It should have been on CD1 in place of ‘Bodysnatchers’.

Videos: lots — mostly live performances

1. Battles — Mirrored

I have been going on all year about how great Battles are, and truth be told I don’t think there’s much else I can really say about Mirrored. Suffice it to say that it is great to hear someone genuinely pushing the boundaries and showing everyone what really can be done with technology when you put your mind to it.

Video: ‘Tonto’

My original review of Mirrored

Series: Music of 2007
TOC

1. What I listened to in 2007
2. Music of 2007: #40–#21
3. Music of 2007: #20–#11
4. Music not of 2007: three reissues
5. Music of 2007: #10–#4
6. Music of 2007: top three

At last! I have got round to the top ten. Was it worth it? Probably not. Next (i.e. this) year, I am only doing the top 20, I swear…

10. Hanne Hukkelberg — Rykestrasse 68

A neat album of playfully experimental jazzy folky songs. The interesting but subtle use of found sounds makes Rykestrasse 68 an unconventional album, but one that never forces the fact down your throat.

At the heart of this album is good songwriting and a wonderful singing voice. I just love the quirkiness of the vocals in ‘Fourteen’.

Video: ‘A Cheater’s Armoury’

9. The Future Sound of London — From the Archives Vol. 1–3

Technically, this isn’t from 2007 (or is it? I dunno), which is the only reason why this doesn’t appear any higher on the list. But bear with me.

The Future Sound of London are (a little bit) before my time. But they are still among my very favourite electronic music groups, despite the fact that electronic music normally dates really badly. Sadly, little has been heard of FSOL since the release of Dead Cities in 1996 (not counting that Amorphous Androgynous stuff). I don’t suppose we can be too upset — they were stunningly prolific in the few years leading up to that moment.

I often yearned for the return of FSOL. A best of here and a compilation there has come, mostly reminding people that maybe FSOL just belonged in the 1990s. Would their music still seem so vital today? I wondered.

Well in 2007 FSOL seem to have begun a huge clearout of some sort, releasing several CDs worth of archive material from the 1980s and 1990s. So far only From the Archives vol. 1–3 seem to have come out on CD. I’m biding my time to see if the rest gets a CD release, but it doesn’t look like it.

Anyway, the point is that From the Archives is amazing. It is hard to believe that all of these tracks are rejects. It is clear that the technology available to them was not what it would be today. But this just means that it sounds like classic FSOL in their prime. To think that they had all of this awesome music just sitting around doing nothing for all those years!

Plenty of tracks contain familiar elements and samples from more well-known FSOL material. So it is useful to think of it as a historical document as much as a collection of albums.

The artwork takes a similar tack. Well-known elements of old FSOL artwork have been remixed into a form that is rather deferential to the peak period of activity. All in all, it’s quite a refreshing approach because normally bands seem keen to distance themselves from the past.

Because it sounds dated, and consists of music that didn’t make the cut, it is perhaps best to recommend it only to people who are already fans of FSOL. But for those people, what a treat this is! I couldn’t believe my luck when I read about it.

For those not so keen on getting the lot, there is a digest 2× vinyl edition. And Bleep are selling what appears to be an alternative digest version on MP3 and Flac.

8. Simian Mobile Disco — Attack Decay Sustain Release

Simian Mobile Disco is the phoenix that has risen from the ashes of the early-noughties indie-electro band Simian. Slaving away for years only to have your shtick stolen by the much more successful Hot Chip as soon as you disband. It must hurt.

A change of tack was in order for the Simian lads then, and Attack Decay Sustain Release is the result. Unashamedly danceable to an almost cheesy extent, don’t expect much in the way of experimental explorations. Do expect to be grinning ear to ear.

Video: ‘It’s the Beat’

7. Björk — Volta

The pre-release hype had it that this was Björk’s most accessible and poppy album for around a decade. There is a modicum of truth in that. But fans of Björk’s wonderful explorations won’t be disappointed.

Okay, so if you compare the Timbaland-produced lead single, ‘Earth Intruders’, with one of the more guttural offerings from her last album, the almost a cappella Medúlla, then it does look like a change to a poppier direction. But there is more to Volta than that.

In reality, it is just as exploratory as other Björk releases. Any preconception that Volta is a pop album is encouraged by the fact that ‘Earth Intruders’ opens the album, but the balloon is popped when the song fizzles out and ends with a cacophony of foghorn sounds that last over a minute.

There are a few other fun moments. ‘Innocence’, the second single, is a particularly interesting song. It is fun and catchy, but if it is commercial then it is a delightfully skewed version of pop. For me, though, the best moment is Vertebrae by Vertebrae. I love those dissonant horns.

Video: ‘Earth Intruders’

6. The Fiery Furnaces — Widow City

It is a sign of how strong 2007 was for music that The Fiery Furnaces are so low on this year’s list. Possibly the most prolific band around, they often churn out more than one album per year and quality never seems to drop.

Okay, so Widow City isn’t quite up there with Blueberry Boat or Rehearsing My Choir. But this is still a stunningly awesome album. Fans of Matthew Friedberger’s double solo album will be particularly pleased — Widow City is similar in style in a lot of ways.

The album begins with a lush, slow, Eno-esque guitar solo. A fine curtain raiser to the normal Fiery Furnaces diet of playful alliterative lyrics, Mellotrons and other vintage synths, and delightfully wonky prog.

Unusually, there are some weak moments in this album. Some tracks towards the end of the album are particularly forgettable, but ‘Clear Signal From Cairo’ takes the wooden spoon — it just hasn’t clicked with me at all.

Video: ‘Ex-Guru’

5. Justice — †

It’s easy to get bored of electronic music. In dry patches you listen to one techno album after another, none particularly improving on what has come before. Then a group like Justice comes along to provide a breath of fresh air and remind you why you love electronic music.

What’s good about this album is that it is really immediate. It is clearly designed for the dancefloor. But there is still a good deal of sonic experimentation going on there to keep it interesting for the chin-strokers like me. And of course Justice have that infectious sound that only Parisian groups seem to have (hence the number of times you see Justice compared to Daft Punk).

My favourite track is ‘Tthhee Ppaarrttyy’. It’s not a banger as you might expect from the title — not at first anyway. Instead, it sets the scene of a person preparing for a party against an introspective-sounding melody. Can’t forget the other highlights though — ‘DVNO’ and, of course, the monumental ‘D.A.N.C.E.’

Video: ‘D.A.N.C.E.’

4. Underworld — Oblivion With Bells

I have been a fan of Underworld for quite a while, but I was still floored by the quality of this album. It has been a while since Underworld have released a studio album, so I was wondering if they were running out of steam. On the contrary, they have raised the bar.

It takes a while for the album to get going. I thought lead single and opening track ‘Crocodile’ was so-so. After that things star to get better. Before you know it, every track is a winner.

Particular highlights include ‘Ring Road’ which has an infections driving beat and hypnotically rhythmic vocals. It’s impossible not to nod your head or tap your foot along. Meanwhile, ‘Boy, Boy, Boy’ sounds like the past future of pop music that sadly never happened.

What amazes me is the fact that after all of these years Underworld are still going strong. Okay, it’s been five years since their last album, but this is top quality stuff. Most electronic acts tend to fizzle out after a few years. But Underworld’s history can be traced back to the 1970s, and they’re still going strong. I might even go as far as to say that Oblivion With Bells is Underworld’s best album. Karl Hyde must be the coolest fifty-something around. Except for Brian Eno.

Video: ‘Boy, Boy, Boy’

The top 3 is coming tomorrow. I promise.

Series: Music of 2007
TOC

1. What I listened to in 2007
2. Music of 2007: #40–#21
3. Music of 2007: #20–#11
4. Music not of 2007: three reissues
5. Music of 2007: #10–#4
6. Music of 2007: top three

Well, last year I looked at some reissues as well, so I thought I’d do that this year as well. I wasn’t joking when I said I might not get this list finished until February. This is in alphabetical order.

Seefeel — Quique (Redux Edition)

This is nice. This forgotten shoegaze / techno crossover classic got a re-release for seemingly no particular reason. Not even an anniversary. If they’d waited until 2008 they could have done it for the fifteenth anniversary. I guess that for whatever reason they felt like the time was right to reissue it last year.

Scottish readers may be wondering, and I can confirm — this album’s title rhymes with ‘keech’. But the music itself is anything but.

This ‘redux’ edition comes with a full second CD of lost extra goodies. Tracks that inexplicably never made an album as well as alternate versions and remixes come included. My particular favourite — of both discs — is ‘Clique’. Why did this not make the album? It should have been a single!

Quique has a gentle ambient approach, like a wall or ocean of sound. I personally prefer the heavier, darker, more industrial sound of their follow-up, Succour. But Quique is nevertheless a fine album, and I’m happy to have picked up this double disc joy.

The Knife — Silent Shout (Deluxe Edition)

I missed this one first time around. Wasn’t quite interested enough. But when it was re-released as a three disc package I went for it. Maybe I was right first time round.

It’s actually a fairly good album. There are some good tunes. But I was disappointed. Given the rave reviews the album got, I very much found it a damp squib. Good to listen to from time to time though.

Maybe part of the problem is that I already knew one of this album’s tracks quite well. For that reason it suffers from that problem where one song seems to tower over the rest of the album. Even knowledge of this problem hasn’t prevented me from feeling a bit disappointed though.

The new extra discs give me much the same feeling. One is a DVD of a concert performance (An Audio Visual Experience) and all of The Knife’s videos. The other is a CD with the audio of the concert performance.

On CD it sounds quite good. About the same standard of Silent Shout. But watch the DVD and it just looks a bit ridiculous. It is about as live as Princess Diana. The vocals seem to be live, but that other guy clearly doesn’t know what to do with himself. If somebody is making that music live, it certainly isn’t him.

I’d love to believe that waving a couple of ridiculous looking glowing sticks in a pseudo-rhythmic (and often not even in sync with the music) manner is making all of those sounds. But I get the feeling that that awesome instrument hasn’t been invented yet.

I know that live electronic music is a bit of a grey area. But seriously. I prefer the “look like you’re checking your email” approach. At least that is less pretentious.

I enjoyed the music videos though. I will probably check out some of their older stuff if I see it going cheap somewhere.

White Noise — An Electric Storm (digitally remastered)

Already this has become one of my favourite albums of electronic music. I am absolutely in awe of it. Having read about the techniques used to make it, and just the sheer fact that it was so visionary, I really think this ought to be more famous than it is.

I have already written a suitably gushing review of it. I had forgotten how long it was. All those words and not a single comment! Gah.

That’s yer lot. Incidentally, I have been linking to my original impressions of the albums I have been listing in this series. But there was also a post where I wrote about 12 of them — a kind of mid-year roundup. If you are interested, you can read it here. You will notice that I was actually near enough on time with that one. Ironic really, given how busy I was at the time…

Series: Music of 2007
TOC

1. What I listened to in 2007
2. Music of 2007: #40–#21
3. Music of 2007: #20–#11
4. Music not of 2007: three reissues
5. Music of 2007: #10–#4
6. Music of 2007: top three

Getting there slowly but surely. We might be two weeks into 2008, but that won’t stop me from looking back at 2007. By this rate it will be February before we get to the end of this list…

20. The Tuss — Rushup Edge

Whoever is responsible for this is at least a genius at generating hype. While the music is ostensibly by Brian and Karen Tregaskin, there are all sorts of clues that point towards this being the work of Richard D. James.

It’s difficult to imagine such an obscure record to make the pages of The Guardian under normal circumstances, but the whiff of Aphex made it happen. And the sight of IDM spods on the internet excitedly polishing off their magnifying glasses (after The Campfire Headphase failed to contain any codes to crack) carried the hype overboard.

Of course, I had to buy it to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out the music is okay, and it certainly sounds like Aphex. I’d be very surprised if something this accomplished really was the work of a hitherto unheard-of duo based in deepest Cornwall.

19. Field Music — Tones of Town

Field Music are the least well known, but easily the best, of the triumvirate of artsy indie-rock bands from the north east of England (the other two bands being The Futureheads and Maxïmo Park). I have to admit to being a bit disappointed with this album at first, but as with previous Field Music records its wonders were revealed with repeated listens.

Their first album was a little delight that combined contemporary indie sensibilities with a liberal dose of syncopation, Beatles-style strings, some quasi-Steve Reich-style minimalism and little snatches of oddness. Tones of Town (while a bit on the short side) expanded on the template beautifully.

However, my highlight is a song that deviates slightly from the template: the more melancholic ‘Place Yourself’, a pleasant, reflective song.

Since the release of Tones of Town, Field Music have gone on hiatus as a band as we know it. But a solo project on Thrill Jockey is in the offing. I’m looking forward to hearing more of School of Language.

Video: ‘In Context’ — highly recommended viewing!

18. Scott Walker — And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?

Definitely the strangest release I got my hands on this year. Scott Walker wrote this music to accompany a contemporary dance piece. So we know what territory we are in here.

The music took some time to get used to, even for a fan of Scott Walker’s recent work. ‘Part 1′ really just consists of some electronic hums and some strange scraping sounds that sound a little bit like that noise people make before they exaggeratedly spit. This lasts for over three minutes, when some largely atonal strings come in, abruptly starting and stopping seemingly arbitrarily.

‘Part 2′ is no less weird, with a foreboding, driving, deep drum beat and string and horn sections squealing like an elephant in a particularly rhythmic distress. But the biggest surprise of them all isn’t to do with the music. Scott Walker’s distinctive voice does not make a single appearance in this entire work.

As you might guess, And Who Shall Go to the Ball?… takes some getting used to. I was certainly left feeling disappointed when I first heard it. But now I think it is quite good.

It certainly seems as though Mr. Walker is entering a rather prolific phase. In past decades you were lucky if Scott Walker brought out a new album every ten years. But hot on the heels of The Drift, he has been appearing on compilations and all sorts. Not to mention the other projects between Tilt and The Drift such as the Pola X soundtrack or producing Pulp’s We Love Life. Every year he seems to be doing a bit more than in the previous year. Here’s hoping.

17. Jonny Greenwood — There Will Be Blood

I think Jonny Greenwood is one of the most important musicians around at the moment. He is most famous for whacking around with guitars in Radiohead, but his solo music reveals him to be a highly accomplished composer as well.

The soundtrack to the film There Will Be Blood further cements this. The film is set in the early twentieth century, so there is not quite the same space for electronic experimentation as Jonny Greenwood had with Bodysong. What you get instead is a beautiful, melancholic mixture of piano, strings and ondes Martenot. The ondes Martenot is such a magical instrument, and it is used to great effect here.

Maybe I am getting carried away because Jonny Greenwood is a rock star. But I really think that ‘Eat Him By His Own Light’ is within touching distance of some of Erik Satie’s work.

The soundtrack contains a lot of work that Jonny Greenwood has done in his role as the BBC’s ‘composer in residence’. Notably, it contains excerpts of ‘Popcorn Superhet Receiver’. It is such a shame that ‘Smear’ — probably my favourite Jonny Greenwood piece — does not make an appearance as originally promised.

Unfortunately, not all of the music is engaging. Also, this album is only half an hour long even though Jonny Greenwood recorded two hours worth of music for the film. I suppose we should be grateful for the scraps, but the album ends without you realising it was even close to the end. Oh well.

16. Battles — Tonto+

I have to say that ‘Tonto’ wouldn’t have been my first choice as a single. Nothing against the song — it’s just a bit long-winded for a single. Mind you, my brother disagrees with me strongly on this!

There are no new tracks on the EP, although it is still quite a treat. After a disappointing remix of ‘Tonto’ by The Field, the seemingly omnipresent remixer Four Tet comes up with the goods. A remix of ‘Leyendecker’ by DJ Emz featuring Joell Ortiz is good enough, although it completely jars with the rest of the EP and the general Battles vibe.

Perhaps the best part of the EP, though, is two live tracks — performances of ‘Tonto’ and ‘Leyendecker’. I go on and on about how great Battles are live, and this is further proof. But as ‘Leyendecker’ winds down on this EP you can hear drummer John Stainer beginning ‘Race: In’, which just makes me desperate for a full live album of some sort. Make it happen!

Video: ‘Tonto’

15. Sigur Rós — Hvarf / Heim

A fair couple of mini-albums. I was getting a bit sick of Sigur Rós, but Hvarf / Heim won me over again.

Hvarf is basically a collection of old songs that never got released before, so it was never going to be a five star album. But nevertheless it is a good listen.

Heim is a more engaging listen. It is made up of some rather lovely live acoustic recordings of some of Sigur Rós’s best songs. The highlight is one of my favourite Sigur Rós songs, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’.

My original review of Hvarf / Heim

14. Air — Pocket Symphony

A reasonably pleasant album from Air. Not their best, but a good listen nonetheless. My main criticism with this album is that it sounds so similar to Talkie Walkie. So if you don’t like previous Air albums, it’s probably best to give Pocket Symphony a miss.

Even a collaboration with Jarvis Cocker feels like a missed opportunity. Another collaboration, ‘Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping’, with Neil Hannon, is more successful — although it plays up to the stereotypes of ‘chill-out’ music. Nice song though.

There are some good songs — ‘Left Bank’ and ‘Mer du Japon’ are particular highlights. However, there is nothing approaching some of the killer songs they have come up with on previous albums.

If you like Air though, you will not be disappointed with Pocket Symphony.

13. Gescom — A1–D1

The mysterious Gescom collective resurfaces for the first time since 2003’s immense Iss:Sa. This new EP, A1–D1, appears to be a collection of six remixes, glitched up to the max.

The only one I can recognise is ‘B1′, which is a remix of Brian Eno + David Byrne’s ‘Come With Us’. It really highlights the spookier elements of the original song, which hadn’t really grabbed me before. It’s quite creepy to listen to really. One of those tracks to ban myself from listening to at night.

I haven’t heard of any of the other stuff that has been remixed for A1–D1, although people with a much better knowledge of the history of electronic dance music will apparently recognise them. It’s really groovy though.

‘A2′ is a good blast of messed up acid. ‘C1′ has a tantalising melody and jumpy beat that never seems to sit still (despite the fact that it doesn’t change much, if at all), leaving you wanting more. ‘C2′ starts off with one of the most dizzying soundscapes I have ever heard.

It is also being claimed by Skam that this is the world’s first ‘left-handed’ CD case. Yes, it opens the wrong way.

All-in-all, a really good Gescom release. I don’t know if the Autechre lads had anything to do with it, but it is nonetheless a good CD to have while we wait for Quaristice to come out.

12. Burial — Untrue

What I know about the fledgling dubstep genre could be written on the back of a postage stamp. It would say ‘Burial’ on it. I kept on reading about Burial. Somehow he has captured the attention of the chatterati, as I read more and more about him in places like The Guardian. Having seen ‘Burial’ written in too many end-of-year lists and ‘hear this before you die’ articles, I took the plunge and bought Untrue.

I had no real preconceptions. All I knew was that Burial was a ‘dubstep’ artist (dubstep being a relatively new kind of electronic music popular with Shoreditch types), and that he was fiercely anonymous to the point that “only five people know I make tunes“.

On first impressions I was a little underwhelmed. It sounded good, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It was like a more experimental, sparse garage music. A bit like what Pole would sound like if he came from London.

I have to say, now that I am used to the sound I think it is fabulous. It sounds like it is from a futuristic urban dystopia. “London 2030, you’re the last man alive” sort of thing. A good accompaniment to last-night walks around town.

I don’t know if it will make me investigate the dubstep genre much further. It will certainly make me buy Burial’s first album at some point. Good stuff.

11. Modeselektor — Happy Birthday!

The latest Modeselektor album contains nothing revelatory. It certainly doesn’t grab me in the same way as their first album, Hello Mom!. And in a lot of ways, Happy Birthday! feels a lot like they are recycling old Modeselektor tunes.

However, I have still found myself enjoying this album immensely. ‘2000007 (feat. TTC)’ particularly gets stuck in my head a lot. It is an excellent mix of great music and good humour.

The collaborations with Thom Yorke and Maxïmo Park are missed opportunities for me. And if you’re looking for something different to their first album, you’ll have to look elsewhere. But it’s nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging listen.

Here are my favourites of the year so far. I won’t list them in a strict numerical order for the time being. That can wait until the end of the year.

Air — Pocket Symphony

Air is a strange band, because — although I am certain that I like them — I never feel as though they are one of my very favourite bands. Yet, every time they release the album I am uncontrollably drawn to buy it.

At first I was just going to ignore Pocket Symphony until I saw it in a sale or something. But then I heard that it was produced by Nigel Godrich. And then I heard that there was a collaboration with Jarvis Cocker. And then I read all the good reviews.

It is a fine album, but it is exactly how we have come to expect an Air album to sound like. It’s not all that different in style and mood from Talkie Walkie.

In reality, the Jarvis collaboration is not all that great. But the Neil Hannon collaboration, ‘Somewhere Between Waking And Sleeping’ is quite something. It won’t do much to shake off all of the clichés about “chill out” music, but there is no doubt that it is a beauty.

Battles — Mirrored

I have already written about this album once, and I have also written about the time I saw them live. I don’t feel the need to say much more. But believe the hype. Battles are real innovators. This is exciting as much for the use of technology, and what it holds for the future, as anything else.

Björk — Volta

For some bizarre reason, Björk’s label tried to make out that this is her most accessible album for years. I’m not sure if that is the case. Those who did not like Björk before will probably not be swung by a couple of Timbaland collaborations (good though they are).

For me, this is a slight disappointment. It’s quite a good album, although not as good as some of Björk’s previous albums. It’s not helped by the collaborations with Antony Hegarty, who is not personally my cup of tea.

That’s not to say it’s a bad album, but I was expecting more. In a way, the best bit is the packaging. The CD comes in an elaborate fold-out box containing Russian doll-inspired cardboard wallets.

Ceephax — Volume One

[Insert comparison to Squarepusher here], but quite a good album. Just because I like that 8-bit 80s retro thing.

Hanne Hukkelberg — Rykestrasse 68

On Last.fm, a fair number of people appear to have tagged Hanne Hukkelberg as “jazz”. It is not one that I would have thought of, although if they mean jazz in that completely un-jazz Norah Jones sense, I can kind of see where they are coming from.

I do not mean to insult Hanne Hukkelberg’s music by comparing it to Norah Jones, but I can see how this album is a bit like that kind of music, but with all the blandness sucked out and replaced by eclectica.

Hanne Hukkelberg manages to do something that many people can’t — make music that is beautiful as well as experimental. Add a gorgeous Norwegian accent into the mix and you have a delightful album.

Justice — †

What a breath of fresh air! Why does not all dance music sound as good as this? There is seemingly lots of exciting electronic music coming out of Paris at the moment, and Justice spearhead it all. Besides Mirrored, this has to be my favourite album of the year so far.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid — Tongues

The awesome collaboration between a man at the forefront of modern electronic music and a jazz drumming legend continues with Tongues. As before, these tracks are performed with no overdubs or edits. That is the most impressive thing about it.

The music is not always great. Some of it is a bit rambling, and a lot of it does sound like second-hand Four Tet out takes. Nonetheless, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid clearly connect very well, and it is a joy to hear them playing together.

Shining — Grindstone

I love this album! Shining keep the electronic / jazz elements of old, but crank up the prog metal à la Dream Theater to create an astounding, enjoyable album.

Moments of madcap, humorous lunacy like ‘In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster’ and ‘Winterreise’ are countered by the more thoughtful and beautiful moments like ‘Psalm’ and the playful ‘Moonchild Mindgames’

If you have never heard of Shining, trust me on this one. If you want to hear something a bit different, I don’t think you can go far wrong with Grindstone. In a way, it has to be heard to be believed. Quite an album.

And chalk another one up for Norway!

Simian Mobile Disco — Attack Decay Sustain Release

From the burning wreckage of lamented electronic-indie band Simian (who must be in a right huff after Hot Chip stole their act and became infinitely more popular) emerges Simian Mobile Disco. Like Justice (remixers of Simian, so this is an obvious comparison), SMD go in for the unashamedly fun dance stuff. It’s like IDM that doesn’t feel the need to emphasise the ‘I’. (It’s The Beat that matters, of course.)

SMD answered a call I think. The world was screaming out for them to come along. I mean, who else is there to make this sort of music (by which I mean dance music that is actually danceable yet isn’t the aural equivalent of scraping your balls through a cheesegrater)? The Chemical Brothers? They’re a bit old hat now…

The Tuss — Rushup Edge

Oh dear. Read one forum and this is Aphex Twin collaborating with Squarepusher. Someone else says it’s Aphex Twin collaborating with Luke Vibert. Go somewhere else and all of a sudden it’s Aphex Twin on his own. Then somebody comes along and says it’s not Aphex at all, it’s just somebody taking the piss and pretending to be Aphex.

So of course I had to buy it.

I am undecided on it so far. Musically it reminds me a lot of the Analord series, which I thought was okay but nothing more. Whether it is good or not seems a bit by the by though. It’s going to be a talking point whatever.

EP of note

Boom Bip — Sacchrilege EP

I was prepared to give up on Boom Bip. His last album, Blue Eyed in the Red Room was so boring that I almost forgot how good his old stuff was. Then I heard some samples of this EP, and found out that he’s gone all electro.

Sadly, it’s still not all that interesting. Still, full marks for trying. And infinity marks for the presentation. The artwork is wonderful, and the pink vinyl is irresistible. Maybe it will grow on me — I have not had much chance to digest it yet.

Reissue of note

Seefeel — Quique (redux edition)

Seefeel can’t have spent much time in Scotland if they were prepared to call their album Quique (which, yes, sounds like ‘keech’). But the album is anything but keech.

This lost shoegaze classic was given a reissue earlier this year. I guess it must have been a bit unexpected. There doesn’t seem to be much reason why Quique in particular deserved this treatment, although I’m glad it got it.

It comes with a bonus disc of previously unreleased material, remixes and the like. A real standout is ‘Clique’, which is easily as good as anything on the album. Why it was not released at the time is probably one of those little mysteries that even the band does not understand (I hope so anyway).

Cheesy image, I know. But lying on the bed, half asleep, listening to this through headphones is a special experience.

But for the first time I have listened to a leak. I just couldn’t stand waiting two months for the album to come out. I am just far too excited about this band to let this get away.

And what an album! Mirrored is undoubtedly the Battles that we have become familiar with over the past couple of years, but there is a really different vibe to their sound in what is technically their début album.

Battles are now a little bit cheeky, happy and bouncy. There is a little bit of a sense of humour shining through, but at the same time they have not allowed their incredible sense of how to surprise their listener to slip. Even the track titles are noticeably different. Many of them even contain actual words rather than looking like excerpts from half-remembered algebra lessons.

The album opens with the frantic ‘Race: In’, which already signals one of the major changes to the Battles sound: vocals take centre stage. Not lyrics, mind — vocals, often skewed so much that you cannot understand a word that is being said. The vocals in ‘Race: In’ sound a bit like dogs yapping.

Lead single ‘Atlas’ swiftly follows, and this is such an awesome track. There is a constant beat and a pounding, relentless bass accompanying the track throughout. Yet despite the basic foundations, here is a track that is as unpredictable as anything else Battles have come up with in the past.

It is kind of the theme of the album. It is recognisably Battles, the band that is liked by many for being so unconventional. With Mirrored, Battles have been unafraid to be as unconventional as to add seemingly conventional elements such as pounding beat and prominent vocals. But these elements are all incorporated in a ways that still surprise and reward greatly.

‘Atlas’ is a tough act to follow, but ‘Ddiamondd’ has a good shot at it. This is an utterly madcap track, with fast-paced chripy singing. If you can imagine it, the track is like a mixture between a sped-up version of Maxïmo Park’s ‘Limassol’ and Clor’s ‘Hearts on Fire’. And then comes the sped-up whistling that sounds like a messed up Seven Dwarves.

My favourite track, though, is ‘Rainbow’. It starts off really quietly with quite a basic riff. Gradually it builds up a bit of a warped streak before eventually turning into something that’s simultaneously mad and happy. It all builds up to a quite triumphant ending, like one of those emotional post-rock bands without (quite) as much pretentiousness. I just don’t know how to describe the track, I don’t even know why I’m trying. Just fantastic.

‘Rainbow’ particularly highlights the John Stainer’s idiosyncratic drumming style. Unrelenting snare drum rolls are interspersed with hi-hat rolls. Full marks to him for effort. To see just how much he puts into his drumming, check out this video of part of ‘SZ2′.

‘Snare Hanger’ is another stand-out track for me with its glitching, almost hip-hoppy drums. The track ends sounding almost like it was influenced by The Futureheads (”oh - o - oh oh!”).

Meanwhile, ‘Tij’ reminds me of Blur’s most experimental moments multiplied. This track is another one that ends interestingly. Splintered, it sounds like a beatboxer with a serious case of the hiccups.

In short, this is a shimmering, dazzlingly experimental album that isn’t afraid to blast out a good melody. I really hope this album is noticed by a lot of people, because it’s probably one of the best I’ve heard for a few years.

Already a lot of Battles’s more po-faced fans have reacted angrily to the new direction. It’s too happy, it’s not serious enough, and — ewww — vocals. I just love the fact that this is only their début album, and already there is ‘old’ Battles and ‘new’ Battles. This is a band that is clearly not scared to push boundaries of any sense, even if it seemingly risks alienating some of their more serious fans out there.

Atlas promo video

• Battles website
• Mixed reactions from fans on Last.fm
• Battles MySpace
• Warp Records

I won’t say much about this, but I will say that I am as disappointed in this EP as I was in his last album.

After ‘Ted’ itself we are presented with Bibio’s remix of ‘Ted’. I don’t think I’ve ever properly listened to any Bibio before. Going by this ‘remix’ (which to my untrained ears sounds more like a cover version than a remix), he’s not much cop. It’s just folksy guitars with effects to make it sound dated. In a similar vein to Boards of Canada’s The Campfire Headphase, which shouldn’t be too much of a shock since Bibio was apparently a big influence on BoC’s most boring album.

Beyond that we have ‘Bruise Animations’ which sounds like it’s had lots of parts recycled from one of the tracks from Body Riddle, but I can’t be bothered working out which.

‘Springtime Epiphany’ sounds like a slowed-down version of ‘Springtime Epigram’ from the album. But towards the end something new comes along — in the shape of synth-farts.

I was prepared to give the whole thing the benefit of the doubt until the final track, ‘Cremation Drones’ started. What a blatant rip-off of Boards of Canada this is! I really wish Chris Clark would get some ideas of his own because he is clearly talented. But he nicks his label mates’ ideas too much.

‘Tyre’ from Empty the Bones of You seemed to be influenced by the piano tracks from Aphex Twin’s DrukQs. Then, on Body Riddle, Clark copied Aphex Twin’s ‘Nannou’ almost wholesale in ‘Night Knuckles’. ‘Betty’ from Empty the Bones of You was also influenced by Autechre’s classic ‘VLetrmx’, and there’s not much attempt to hide it.

It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he started twiddling around on a bass guitar for his next album.

What is strange is that Chris Clark’s most original album was also his first one, Clarence Park. He seems to be getting less adventurous as he goes on. I found Chris Clark so exciting six years ago. Now, it is sad to say, I almost dread new output of his.

Enjoy, if you can, the video to ‘Ted’. (Even this is just Chris Cunningham lite. Also, inexplicably, the track has had a minute chopped off for the video. Not enough footage?)

10. Franz Ferdinand — The Fallen / L. Wells

Okay, so this isn’t an album, but did you want me to call this post “my ten favourite albums and / or singles and / or EPs and / or whatever else of 2006″? What a mouthful. Anyway, I’m usually kind of lukewarm about Franz Ferdinand. The hype that surrounds them is a bit off-putting really, but you have to admit that they make quite a lot of good music.

All singles should be like this. The band called it a “quintuple a-side” (although the CD I own only has four tracks, hmm…). All of the tracks were of a high quality; not the sub-standard b-sides that are often slapped onto a CD single. The most glorious moment is the incredible remix of ‘The Fallen’ by Justice. Brilliant stuff.

What I wrote about it at the time

9. TV on the Radio — Return to Cookie Mountain

Some people have said that they are surprised that I like this album. I don’t know why they should be. There are some fine songs on here, demonstrating that you a good song can be sonically interesting. Opener ‘I Was a Lover’ takes the crown in that regard. Not every song is a winner. There are some quite boring moments, like the collaboration with David Bowie, ‘Province’. Still, the quality of the album overall is still good enough to keep me happy.

8. Steve Reich — Different Trains

This is the CD released by Black Box in 2006. I bought this before I knew of the Phases box set, and I had wanted to hear this for a while so I couldn’t resist really. Luckily enough, I much prefer this performance to the one on Phases. The Duke Quartet’s performance is more passionate than The Kronos Quartet’s rather clinical approach.

This CD also includes ‘Piano Phase’, Steve Reich’s first phase piece that wasn’t for tapes. There is also ‘String Quartet No. 2′ by Marc Mellits, whom I confess to never having heard of before. But it is a very pleasant piece of music indeed. I particularly like the jauntier fun bits in ‘Mara’s Toys’.

7. Matthew Friedberger — Winter Women / Holy Ghost Language School

For how long can Matthew Friedberger churn out such fantastic music at such an alarmingly fast rate? Already committed to making at least an album a year with The Fiery Furnaces, Mr Friedberger has moved into making solo albums. Apparently this is because he is scared of forgetting how to make music. I’m not complaining.

The Fiery Furnaces tend to attract mixed reviews, so you should be warned that this is just like The Fiery Furnaces but with their idiosyncrasies amplified still further. It does feel a bit wrong without Eleanor Friedberger though. Mind you, it also reminds me of Eels’ more recent material. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s a double album, or all of the mellotrons.

This double album hasn’t attracted as much attention as Bitter Tea. I’m not really sure why that should be, because it is almost as good if you ask me.

6. Jarvis — The Jarvis Cocker Record

Another accomplished musician taking his first steps into the world of the solo career. This album is probably exactly what you would expect from Jarvis in this stage of his career. At first I thought it was quite similar to Pulp’s last album, We Love Life. But over time I’ve spotted bits of older Pulp, and lots of bits that are plain new to Cocker’s sound.

Sonically, it is not all that adventurous. But Jarvis Cocker shouldn’t be, because his strength is in brilliant songwriting. And there is plenty of that here. Although I predict this to be a grower, not every song is as great as you’d hope. But four or five of these songs are irresistibly enjoyable. ‘Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time’ is a fine choice for a first single.

Meanwhile ‘Fat Children’ is a delightfully angry song about society, where fat children take your life because “the police force was elsewhere, putting bullets in some guy’s head for no particular reason”.

5. Squarepusher — Hello Everything

How much better can this man get? Hello Everything was well-positioned to be a damp squib. The expectations following the utterly outstanding Ultravisitor were high. But if anything, Tom Jenkinson has improved.

Maybe the album as a whole isn’t on a par with Ultravisitor. But watching the videos of him performing ‘Hello Meow’ and on the BBC’s The Culture Show, I am convinced that Jenkinson must be one of the best musicians on the planet, full stop. It would be enough if he just did the electronic stuff, but with the bass added in it’s just mind-boggling.

I quite liked the cosmic sound of this album, on tracks like ‘Planetarium’ and ‘Circlewave 2′. The b-sides to the Welcome to Europe single were also top-drawer stuff. How much better can Squarepusher get?

What I wrote about it at the time

4. Team Doyobi — The Kphanapic Fragments

Once again, I am left wondering if I’m the only person in the world who likes Team Doyobi this much. This was definitely the album that I looked forward to the most all year, and it was very frustrating to see the release date being moved back so often. I’m sure it was originally meant to come out in March or April. It was never seen until mid-November.

Still, it was well worth the wait as Team Doyobi took their music another stage further. While the bold 8-bit-style electronics are still there in full force, it is mixed in with a much denser, darker sound. The first two tracks are fairly proggy affairs, lasting fifteen minutes each. These two tracks take up half of the album!

But the Team proves that they haven’t forgotten how to have fun as the best moment comes with ‘Thus Jacked Zarathrusta’. Here is your robot music indeed! What an epic. The end result for the album as a whole is a more mature progression on their familiar sound, but one that isn’t all that alien to what we’re used to from them. A tricky balancing act accomplished. Apparently their next album is already just about finished. I can’t wait to hear what they’ve got in store.

3. Scott Walker — The Drift

I like this album so much because it sounds like Scott Walker has actually put some effort into making this a good album. In a year when so many of my favourite bands have put in so-so efforts, it is so refreshing to hear this.

It’s meant to be difficult to get into. So people keep on saying anyway. But I don’t think his music is much more difficult than, say, Björk’s. Still, it’s hardly a barrel of laughs. At times it is a downright unpleasant listen. It sometimes seems as though he’s written the lyrics to be as dirty-sounding as possible, with his talk of “the pee pee soaked trousers” to take just one example.

The music is just masterful though. It’s so good to hear somebody being genuinely experimental. Why aren’t there more musicians like this?

2. Grizzly Bear — Yellow House

This was the big surprise of the year for me. I expected this to be a so-so album at best. I downloaded ‘On A Neck, On A Spit’ and I was unimpressed at first. A few days later I had a song stuck in my head. It was amazing. But I couldn’t for the life of me work out what the song was. It was one of those moments where I actually began to wonder, “Did I write that myself?” But it turned out, of course, to be ‘On A Neck, On A Spit’. A delightful grower — a beautiful song with a bit of a cheeky streak.

Well that was it. I had to buy the album now. And once again I was slightly disappointed. But once again I was won over by repeat listens. It is impossible not to just sit back and enjoy the music. This album has achieved the rare feat of getting me relaxed on train journeys. It is a basic idea: simple, pleasant songwriting. It’s pulled off masterfully.

The peak of this album is reached with ‘Marla’. It is deceptive. On the surface it sounds like this studio is haunted. But delving deeper, you discover that it’s perhaps the most beautiful and gentle song on the album.

What I wrote about it at the time

1. The Fiery Furnaces — Bitter Tea

It says something about the state of music this year — at least the music I’ve heard this year — that Bitter Tea has topped my list. It is true that when this album was released, I wrote an effusive review that predicted that this would turn out to be my favourite album of the year.

But this does not come close to being The Fiery Furnaces’ best album. My biggest complaint is that it doesn’t really feel like a complete album. It just starts, quite suddenly, with ‘In My Little Thatched Hut’, which feels more like it should have been in the middle of the album.

But what am I doing, criticising such a fine album? I should be glad that The Fiery Furnaces exist at all. They are one of the most unique bands around at the moment. How could you fail to fall in love with their clattering pianos and antique synthesisers? Well, quite easily actually — but not if you’re me. The point is that fans of The Fiery Furnaces will find everything they want here.

What I said about it at the time