Wednesday 26 December 2007

End Of Year Polls: 2007 Inpress Writers' Poll

INPRESS 2007 WRITERS POLL – James McGalliard


TOP 10 ALBUMS
1. Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters THE TWILIGHT SAD
2. Yes, U DEVASTATIONS
3. A Weekend In The City BLOC PARTY
4. Boxer THE NATIONAL
5. Grinderman GRINDERMAN
6. The Dreamer Evasive APARTMENT
7. Everything Last Winter FIELDS
8. A Brighter Beat MALCOLM MIDDLETON
9. About What You Know LITTLE MAN TATE
10. Home Improvements MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE


TOP 3 ARTISTS OF THE YEAR
1. The Twilight Sad
2. Devastations
3. Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline


TOP 3 INTERNATIONAL ARTIST GIGS
1. The Early Years @ The Luminaire, London
2. Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline @ Primavera Sound, Barcelona
3. Gallon Drunk @ The Borderline, London


TOP 3 LOCAL ARTIST GIGS (Australian acts in Europe)
1. Grinderman @ The Forum, London
2. The Scientists @ Dirty Three ATP, Minehead
3. Ed Kuepper @ Dirty Three ATP, Minehead


TOP 3 RADIO SHOWS
Phill Jupitus – BBC 6Music weekday breakfast
Andrew Collins – BBC 6Music Sunday Afternoon
Gideon Coe – BBC 6Music weekday mornings
- ALL GONE NOW


TOP 3 TV SHOWS
1. Skins
2. Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe
3. Battlestar Galactica


TOP FILM
1. Control


TOP 3 ONLINE DESTINATIONS
1. Wikipedia
2. Guardian Unlimited
3. BBC (esp. News)


THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES AWARD (MOST OVER-HYPED)
Radiohead – if only the product was as good as the marketing


IF THE CRAPTASTIC SLOGAN OF THIS YEAR WAS KEVIN07, WHAT WILL 2008'S BE?
Barrack for Barack?


HIGHLIGHT(S) OF THE YEAR
UK live scene; friends


PREDICTIONS FOR 2008
More use of classical instrumentation in rock, especially string sections. More acts reforming who should have stayed split. Blues crossing into the indie fanbase. More talk about green politics. Recession.


QUOTE OF THE YEAR
James Press Release for April Tour 2007
To any of you cunts at the NME who thought we're past our sell by date;
To any of you cunts at the NME who thought we were over;
To any of you cunts at the NME who thought we couldn't cut it no more;
Think again!
In less time than it takes for most people to go to the toilet and have a shit we sold out Brixton Academy not once but twice.
Forget the Clash because we fucking own Brixton you cunts!
In less time than it takes most people to count from 1 to 20,000 we sold out out Manchester Arena and we could have sold it out twice but we couldn't be arsed to.
I
n less than it takes to catch a plane from Birmingham to Newcastle we sold out out both towns easy.
Stick that up your stelios and smoke it.
We are JAMES.
We're back.
We're fresh as a daisy.
You don't own us.
You don't control us.
If you step in our way you're fucked because the music is back.
Simply put:
We are JAMES.


BEST MEDIA MOMENT
Nick Cave and Grinderman on The Culture Show with Zane Lowe well out of his depth
No. You're wrong. Really, you haven't understood it at all…


2007 IN REVIEW
Consistency was the key word - there were no great high or low points. Although there were many wonderful tracks, few great albums were released, making it harder than usual find ten albums to nominate for this poll. In the UK, a Prime Minister, marred by actions in foreign wars, chose the time of his departure after more than ten years in the job and successfully abdicated. As an Australian living in London, 2007 was a particularly tough year, as summer decided to bypass the UK, even though mainland Europe suffered a lethal heatwave. Festivals were washed away, and the country never experienced the extended period of goodwill the warm season traditionally brings. There was little to challenge on TV – too much reality and lowbrow entertainment; too little original drama. Radio suffered similarly, with BBC 6Music in particular parting ways with many of their stalwarts, replacing them with ex-XFM staff.



© James McGalliard 2008

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Acts To Watch In 2008 - for Drum Media (Sydney)

There’s only so much you can pick up from MySpace or foreign rock press. So our man in the UK James McGalliard has suggested some acts to watch out for in 2008

I’ve got a fair idea of some of the bands that will become hard to avoid in 2008. But you can read about Foals, The Pigeon Detectives, The Cribs, The Wombats, Palladium, The Enemy and their like elsewhere. What follows is not necessarily bands who will break big in 2008, but acts I’ve seen and been impressed by over the past 12 months. Acts I’ll be spending my time and money keeping an eye on; hopefully some of them will find success as well. But rather than just list a few in detail, here are more than 20 over a broad spectrum in rough categories for you to pursue if you so wish

Not The Same Old Blues Crap
Is the name of a set of promoters who have already presented gigs by The Scientists and the wonderful Gallon Drunk this year. They’re also bringing blues to a wider audience - and blues is making big inroads into the indie scene. Seasick Steve is the genuine article – of the old school. But he’s playing bigger and bigger audiences for every tour, and is like the Top Gear - folks who usually have no interest in this sort of thing are flocking to see him. One can only hope that John Peel favourite Jawbone will find success in his wake? With a renewed interest in “punk rock blues”, maybe Archie Bronson Outfit will progress from being one of the best live acts in the country, to being a big one too?

One man and his guitar
Or in the case of Simple Kid, a guitar and a laptop. Which allows him to duet with Kermit the frog on It’s Not Easy Being Green, have a karaoke-style singalong to The Ballad Of Elton John, and spew out the lyrics of set highlight Serotonin. Josh T Pearson (the T is for Texas) has been stunning UK audiences with his open-hearted, scary, long, involved honest one-man songs. He’s due to release his first real material since Lift To Experience soon – it will have been worth the wait. Kid Harpoon first hooked me with his brilliant live cover of Leonard Cohen’s First We Take Manhattan. Now he has a full band (The Powers That Be) and together they play some of the best folk-influenced rock since The Pogues

The shock of the old
Reunions are generally a disappointment, but there have been some exceptions. The best of all was Gang Of Four, whose 2005 live shows wiped the floor with newer pretenders. Sadly drummer Hugh is not currently in the band, but they’re recording new material and its release is sure to make a major impact. Similarly James played the arenas this year, but it was more than a nostalgia trip; they have written and recorded a new album. The live shows were great – if radio gets behind them, they may have a second coming.

Second chances to make a first impression
My Latest Novel produced a great debut album, but it never really translated into a big following. But they’re a fabulously adventurous live act, and the new songs are particularly strong. Fields progressed enormously over 2007; after much touring were able to keep the intensity levels sustained throughout their shows. I hope 2008 is the year their hybrid shoegaze folk-rock makes a mark. On the other hand The Duke Spirit were always great live, but sadly their debut album failed to capture this. However this seems to have been rectified with their new recordings, and their forthcoming album may yet make them a household name.

Pick And Mix
The Early Years were easily a live highlight of 2007. They’ve officially expanded to a four piece and are currently recording a second album – it should be blinding. When Fuck Buttons played Truck festival, such was the interest I couldn’t even get into the tent they were playing. But what I heard though the tent walls definitely made me want to find out more. SPC ECO is Dean Garcia of Curve coming back with something reminiscent of his previous act, but also entirely new. Curve should have been huge – Garbage owed their sound to them! Maybe this time the originators will grab the spoils? But Exit Calm are the where the smart money is. The music is tight and large, even if the vocals are yet to catch up. They will be in big venues by the year’s end. Think U2, but in a good way…

From Over There
The National may have released four albums and have toured a few times, but they’re yet to break big here. All the right ingredients are there – it’s just something not quite clicking. 2008 may well see them do an R.E.M. and jump from devoted fanbase to widespread acclaim.

Personal Bias
The Twilight Sad was the band of 2007 for me. Yet somehow, in a foolish oversight, their brilliant debut album has missed many end of year lists. Live the act is powerful and unforgettable. And bloody LOUD! There’s a special something about them; even though their music is entirely different, I keep thinking Here Are The Young Men. Andy Yorke is that Radiohead guy’s brother, and some years ago had his own band The Unbelievable Truth. At Truck he had be totally entranced – an understanding between the people onstage translated to a magic and beautiful hour. I’ve told Evi Vine that she’s a future Mercury Music Prize candidate; she thinks I’m joking, but her unique music is worthy of such accolades. She is transported when she plays and takes the audience with her; the journey may be sometimes unnerving though, as she is a singularly spectacular talent. A brother and sister – the guy on guitar, a gal on drums - but nothing like that that red & white duo? That’s Joe Gideon & The Shark – a real find for me, and a band I’ll definitely write about in more detail during 2008. And finally there’s Model Morning who may never find huge success, but still make my jaw drop, and my soul sing, each time I see them.

Sadly, there’s no time for
The return of doves. Or Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline. Or other acts with string sections. Or the whole world of new pop! So especially sorry to Tim Ten Yen, Strange Idols, 586, The Chaira L’s… But now that the ukulele has overtaken the recorder as the most played instrument in UK schools, who knows what the future will bring?



© James McGalliard 2008