REVIEW: Sau - Songs for the Queen EP

Well well - isn't this exciting. I've actually been forwarded some music to review for the first time. I'm hoping it's not the last. This might make the blog seem legit (sporadic as the posts are).

So yes. My first requested review is for the new EP of James Alston - under the alter ego "Sau". My brother had sent me a couple of video clips from a set he'd done in Cardiff recently but of course, I needed to hear the real deal and not muffled crowds and/or my brother going "IT'S LIKE CRYSTAL CASSLES INI".

The five-tracked Songs for the Queen takes you on a little experimental journey, albeit shortlived. Its aura is a sort of yearning frustration, beginning with what I first imagined was a Frank Ocean - "White" vibe for its low tempo and jazzy notation. "Oceana" emits this yearning: "dance with me dance with me / were's the only ones left here" in the "moonlit halls" - certainly sung as if in a moonlit hall which was once full of people. Second track "Kleptocracy" seems more reserved and yet shows that Sau has a lot more potential, with twinkly piano notes layering the tapping drum beats, leading into "Is It Colours", where the EP really evolves. Here we could compare Sau's stuff to the likes of Distance in terms of rhythm, together with a gradual crescendo reaching a climax and sick chord change around the 3:30 mark. Penultimate "Breakfast at Drake's" introduces acoustic guitars and what I *assume* is a fingerpicked G chord on top of a rhythmic wood block tapping sound (you know those blocks of wood you'd whack in primary school during "music"? Like that but a bit more in time).

Sau left the best 'til last with final track "MPS2", lyrically as well as instrumentally. On top of light organ chords are James' more emotional and imagerial vocals, comparing his subject to some some sort of prized memento or jewel, perhaps? - and it's unclear to me whether this is good or bad with its "dime a dozen" face, and yet "I need your antique touch / your relic skin on fresh meat".

All in all, I'm really intrigued to see what else Sau has to offer in the future. Keep an eye out for a couple of sets around Cardiff soon.

You can listen/download (name your price) here.

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If you'd like me to review a single/EP/LP or a show you're playing - let me know!
(niaewebb@googlemail.com)

Douglas Dare announces debut album "Whelm"

I'm so excited. I've mentioned Douglas Dare before and I hyped him up to the max. Time to do it again. To be released via Erased Tapes May 12th is DD's debut album, Whelm. I presume this will be ten tracks of bliss. I've seen Douglas live twice, accompanied only by a piano and I rather naively thought this would be all he'd need. You can listen to the second track, Nile, here - and it made me realise, (as if the Seven Hours EP hadn't already) that soft drums and electric piano only add to how hauntingly beautiful his sound is. Of course, I expect that songs like "Clockwork" and "Caroline" will be mainly piano with jarring chords over his lovely velvety voice - but this'll contrast well with the more electronic tracks.

I've pre-ordered and you should too. (The vinyl bundle comes with a 20-page lyric booklet and that was enough for me to break my spending ban.)

City and Colour, Eventium Apollo, Hammersmith, 31st January 2014

About time. "A question of space, a matter of time", you might say. I thought I'd have developed my photos by now (my phone conked out so I had to buy a disposable camera) but I think I only took about ten photos throughout entire day. 

So yeah - this gig had been a long time coming considering I'd had a ticket for ages. I decided, as I have Fridays off, that I'd make a long day of it in London, which meant a 7:45am Megabus, incl. rowdy stag do. Great start. The Natural History Museum was my first destination as I'd never been before - I spent a good two hours furreeaking out at massive scorpions and gargantuan plastic foetuses. I had lunch and a little look in Camden, followed by Rough Trade just off Brick Lane where I died and went to heaven, subsequently followed by the tragic death of my bank account. Six records later, a rather depressing amount of money gone, and a belly full of katsu curry - I'd worked up the appetite for Dallas Green and Co. I waited something like an hour in the pissing London rain in a pair of black cords and holey Vans so here was hoping I was in for a treat - boy, was I!

I've just managed to find my scribblings of the gig (rather professionally done on the back of my Megabus printout) and it's completely illegible. Surprisingly though, not tear-stained!

Now, if I had developed the photos you'd have a good idea of my seating. Up I was in the circle right in the middle, seated next to a guy who was terribly interested in the records I'd bought and liked to frequent the loo during C&C's set. Apart from that, the audience was a sea of sickly sweet couples whom I imagined would have their fucking tongues down each other's necks for the inevitable performance of "The Girl".

Haaanyway, support for the evening was Hannah Georgas, fellow Canadian and Dine Alone signee, whose vocals incorporate the deep tones of Daughter, with a poppy upbeat sound. Georgas was subject to her share of wolf-whistles which just makes me feel nauseous. I'd go on about how women's musical abilities are overshadowed by their looks or the mere fact they're women (shock horror, women don't just have babies!) but that's not the subject of this post. (If you want more on the subject of women's objectification in the alternative scene, read this brilliant article criticising this sexist piece of shit). But yeah - Georgas' sound wasn't entirely my cup of tea and reminded me of perhaps The Magic Numbers - I felt her songs to be slightly samey on the whole but I enjoyed "Elephant", the first track from her S/T. 

As Georgas was the only support act, presumably C&C would be doing a two hour set. YEAH COULDN'T WAIT. Rather strangely, an a cappella version of Soul II Soul's "Back To Life" began playing over the PA and given the key and rhythm, I had a feeling this would flow into "Thirst" or something, but it ended abruptly and DALLAS MY LOVER graced the stage in his cowboy ensemble (I like to call it that - the hat he was wearing wasn't even one of the cowboy variety) and the band kicked off with "Of Space and Time". I've found that for live performances of this song, C&C favour more of the old slide guitar as opposed to the church organ and it totally works in a country sort of way. This led into "The Lonely Life", one of my The Hurry and the Harm faves. Dallas proved he's still got rock'n'roll left in him with this vamped up version, accompanied by the ever-present terrific lighting. Honestly, whoever does C&C's lighting needs to win an some kind of award, because it's always just so dramatic and in time. The organ was back for "The Grand Optimist", which really helped this song as it's not a favourite of mine. 

Okay - a break was needed in the text here, as this marks where I got a bit emo. I always always hope D.Green plays "As Much As I Ever Could" and I'm always tremendously lucky. I've heard this song acoustically, deep and dark, high voltage... but this time it was slow and jazzy feat. brassy guitars. Totally appropriate, and yep, I was moved to tears. How lovely it was to hear a gorgeous three-part harmony at the end, including a reprise! Following this were electric versions of "Silver and Gold" and "Ladies and Gentlemen", proving thus far to be a set comprising mainly of songs from his last two albums. I was more than happy with this because there's only so much screaming for "Comin' Home" I can bear. Even though he played that.

Here comes the bit that everyone's waiting for. 'OMGZ HE'S ON HIS OWN HE IS SOOOO DOIN "THE GIRL" OMG', when the band leaves the stage and it's solely D. Green. Dallas and his voice so pure. Newly handed guitar in place, he test-strummed to reveal a gorgeous tuning to which he played the Alexis classic, "Boiled Frogs" - one of my ultimate favourites, especially when stripped down. I've got to work out that tuning - I tweeted him but he didn't reply. We can forgive and forget, though. Dallas then told everyone to put their phones away, definitely a cue for "Body in a Box". Some douche obviously still had his phone out but apart from that, BIAB always goes down so well when Dallas makes this request. It's a reminder that we're too busy trying to capture the moment rather than experience it, and that's so important. The acoustic sesh finished with "Comin' Home" with predicted screams for 'I've seen a palace in London', followed by "Little Hell" - à mon avis the best track of the evening. Completely and utterly gorgeous. On came the band to finish off the song - I couldn't decide whether it was better acoustic or electric but either way, there I was at the edge of my seat with my jaw in the palms of my hands with tears rolling down my cheeks. This guy, man. 

Electric versions of "Sleeping Sickness" and "Waiting..." came next - which is always refreshing. Dallas likes to mix up his songs - rocking up the gems of Sometimes and Bring Me Your Love and stripping everything else down. I love it when a band gives you something completely different live - I can after all listen to a studio version in my own bed. After a couple more electric songs from Little Hell and THATH came an aggressive, emotional and intimidating version of "Sorrowing Man" - the instrumental interlude lasting a good few minutes. D.Green has something to prove and it's that he's not just a love song writer. But just to please those who think so, he ended, in his encore with "The Girl" - surprisingly to some, my least favourite C&C song. I couldn't help clapping along to the reprise though! 

As is always with a half 11 National Express home, I had to leave before the end. I figured they wouldn't do "Day Old Hate", my old time favourite, and it didn't matter - I'd had a fantastic time. For a while prior to the gig I'd been skipping C&C songs if they came up on shuffle and I have no idea why; I'm back to totally embracing them. 

Sorry it's long and I didn't proofread properly. Pics will be up when they're developed!

Stuff what I heard this week

Thursday's an untimely day to be blogging about new releases but I'm procrastinating and I'm not the NME (which is probably a lot more reliable than a blog with a pun for a title). 

Anyway, it's coming to the end of cold and rainy January and here's what's been keeping me sane in terms of the shining and spanking new. I'll keep it very short. 

Warpaint - Warpaint

Warpaint's Theresa Wayman told the Guardian recently: "We leant towards things we thought were sexier," and that's definitely the feeling of this album. Warpaint: still keeping things etherREAL.


James Vincent McMorrow - Post Tropical

JVM's voice manages to blow me away. It's so... slight, and "ever so". I don't know how to explain it. Post Tropical is slightly more soul than the folky vibe of Early in the Morning, reminiscent of the Bon Iver S/T in some parts. I was gutted to find that his gig in Bristol this weekend is sold out otherwise I'd be straight on a train. 

Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues

Only before Christmas did I actually start listening to Against Me!. Regrettably, I was late to the punk partayyy. Terrifically late. I however might have arrived just in time for the birthday cake. Here's an album speaking out about gender dysphoria, following the coming out of Laura Jane Grace. Actual songs about actual issues concerning those actually singing about it, those dealing with these/similar issues, and for everyone else to take note. "Unconditional Love" is a fave.

You Blew It! - Keep Doing What You're Doing

I thought they might have blew it too, with a band name like that. Bad band names put me off listening straight away, but I gave Keep Doing What You're Doing a go. They are on Topshelf, anyway; and I'll lap up anything Topshelf Recs release like a kitten sipping milk. I'm very very pleasantly surprised with this album and You Blew It! should indeed, keep doing what they're doing (I won't pun anymore).

Other stuff what I listened to this week but it was well old:

Caspian (EVERYTHING BY CASPIAN)
Run, Forever - Settling (A few crap songs but a few bangers)
Lady Gaga - ARTPOP (for Fashion, Do What U Want and Venus. I love her)
Give Up The Ghost - Background Music (Thank you to a fellow blogowner)
The Place Beyond the Pines OST (Score by Mike Patton)
Wild Nothing (basically everything by Wild Nothing)

Stuff to be anticipated - New releases from:

Bombay Bicycle Club
Mogwai
Caspian (MORE CASPIAN)
St Vincent
Diamond Youth

...and a load more, I'm sure. Have a fun weekend.

Defeater, The Fleece Bristol, 19th January 2014

Please forgive me for I have sinned in neglecting the blog for a bit. Please forgive me for I shall sin again in trying to review a "hardcore" show (that's if I'm allowed to call it "hardcore"). I'm sure I'll only get better.

Last night I took a little trip to The Fleece in Bristol (heavy with a burrito in my belly) to see Defeater, supported by Goodtime Boys, More Than Life and Caspian. For me, seeing Defeater had been a long time coming and so the other bands didn't really matter. Goodness knew what MTL were playing as they last released a record about four years ago and yet their merch is still eBay gold. The only thing I'd heard about Goodtime Boys is that one of the members was an ex-screamer from The Automatic (remember them?). I gave that a miss.

I wasn't sure what to expect from More Than Life but The Fleece seemed RAMMED to me. And yet, all I can say, is "meh". That's unfortunately, the very little I can say about them and their performance, apart from the fact that they sound a bit samey and one particular "breakdown" (beginning with an infamous HxC "OHHH!") made me cringe. They're laughing though cause they're making a shit ton off Gildan softstyles every night at £10 a piece.

People seemed to wander outside for the Caspian performance, and this made me apprehensive. In all honesty, I'd never listened to them before and all I'd heard was that they're an instrumental band - how's that gonna go down live? I'm incredibly sorry for doubting what I'd heard. Caspian are astounding and I wish I'd have discovered them sooner. If you're a fan of say... Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky and maybe Happy Body Slow Brain (for their more downtempo stuff) I'd totally recommend. Highly emotional and yet wonderfully ambient. All I've done today is listen to them and now I wish I'd have bought a vinyl or something. My shitty tinny laptop speakers do last night's raw sound no justice - it's definitely something you have to experience live. There were a few little electronic bits which weren't really my cup of tea but that's a very small qualm. I like and am already waiting anxiously for the next full length.

It seemed there weren't as many people back inside for Defeater (had some people really just come for More Than Life?) but that's okay. One could breathe. Frontman Derek, recovering from a hip injury graced the stage simply by saying hello, thanking the other bands and then asking people not to touch him (slightly blunt if you don't know why). For some reason I half expected a less ballsy set given the injury but Defeater provided enough guts and enough gall for me to be satisfied, by kicking off with "Bastards" and pulling out big gun after big gun until an acoustic break for "I Don't Mind", "But Breathing" and (apparently - I had no idea) a Jawbreaker cover. I felt this break was drawn out and unnecessary - if I'd have wanted to see Derek on an acoustic guitar in excess of like fifteen minutes I'd have gone to see Alcoa the week before. I've got to admit, "But Breathing" had been vamped up rockabilly style which was quite nice. Thankfully the drones of "I Don't Mind" from the blokes in their late twenties behind me faded a bit when the full band reconvened for "The Red, White and Blues" and a few tracks from Letters Home, including my favourite "No Savior". This song clearly hits a nerve with the band; Derek's hand held firmly to his chest and Jay's fingers and eyes darting towards the ceiling. It hit a nerve with me too. Mind you, I'm a mess at any show I attend - just you wait for the City and Colour review at the end of this month. Sadly, as Defeater's set started at TWENTY PAST TEN (on a Sunday, man!!) and with a (subsequently forty minutes late) Megabus to catch, I missed what might have been an awesome encore as I was yet to hear neither "Cemetery Walls" nor "Cowardice". Bastards. Also bastards are the Megabus people who have indirectly given me pneumonia waiting outside Colston Hall 'till half twelve as I meanwhile could have been pointing my fingers angrily shouting "WHAT'S LEFT FOR ME?!". Bristol rarely disappoints though; I had a fun time.

Anyway - have a wonderful week. I'm back to the grind wishing I could have this week off just once more.

2013's shows that didn't blow.

Hello, friends. As promised, I've returned to comprise a list of my favourite gigs/concerts/shows/festival sets of 2013, all before the year's out. I also need to do it now as I'll only use it as procrastination when I need to do some real work. For now, I'm back in Cardiff, and thank God. I hope you all had a smashing Christmas too. Let's start from the beginning (or the best), it's a very good place to start. There were so many concerts I wanted to include, but again I encountered the same problem as I did for the previous post (they were late 2012-ers), so that's a bit of a shame. 

1. John Mayer - October 26th @ Wembley Arena, London

Sorry that this is the only photo I have. I spent the rest of the concert drowning in my own tears.

Who else? Only the greatest songwriter and guitar player of our generation. After a three year break, John Mayer embarked on a world tour and unsurprisingly sold out Wembley. I was slightly further away than my front row in Cardiff in 2010 but my reaction to his setlist was much more dramatic. As well as a fair few from Paradise Valley and Born and Raised, John played my favourite song ever, "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and I sort of screamed, burst out crying and blurted all the words out in one go. I was glad I took my good friend Yasmin with me as we were able to sing along together (I would have done it alone anyway), hoe-down together (to "Wildfire" and "Half of my Heart") and swoon together at this fabulous man. To top it all off, we were informed that a certain Aphrodite Lady was in Landan Tahhn, so we ventured to Heaven and saw Matt Lucas, Sharon Osborne and Lady Gaga (and her lady garden, much to my brother's fangirling dismay), and that kind of made my year (as if Mayer hadn't); even if I was hanging into my green tea the following morning.

2. City and Colour - 25th August @ Reading Festival

Second in the "I cried watching this guy" list is Dallas Green and friends on a very smelly Sunday at Reading this year. I turned down Fall Out Boy (who I'd never seen before) for this lovely man and I haven't a single regret. Apart from those in the crowd who only knew "Comin' Home" and the knobs who were heckling for Disclosure, I had a fabulous time at this set. Dallas had stated beforehand that it'd be more of a rock'n'roll set and that is certainly what we got; very few songs from Bring Me Your Love and Sometimes (I rejoiced that "As Much As I Ever Could" was included) and a load from Little Hell and this year's The Hurry and the Harm, suggesting that Dallas baby is moving on. They finished with a cover of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" and I went fucking beserk. It was one of the first songs my father taught me on the guitar and to hear this live by the one and only DG was spellbinding. 

3. Nils Frahm - 11th July @ St John-at-Hackney Church, London

Hands down the best classical concert I've attended. Ever. If there's anyone who puts their all into a set, it's Nils bloody Frahm. Making full use of the facilities, he began upstairs on the church's organ and ran downstairs to continue on piano, with the echo of the organ still resonating. The stage was placed in the middle of the audience, and my front row seat was perfect. I could see all the sweat dripping from his forehead and it was lush (somehow...). Now, if you're familiar with Nils Frahm you're familiar with the song "Said and Done". If you're not, you should be. Nils plays the same note in perfect rhythm throughout the entire song with one hand, fitting chords with the other - a tremendously hard thing to do. Frahm married his insane live capabilities with this already beautiful composition which left me rather tingly by the end. St John's was the perfect platform for this artist - brillz.

4. Daniel Johnston: 30th Anniversay of Hi, How Are You - 2nd June @ Barbican Centre, London

This show was wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. Some special guests (and fans) of Daniel Johnston performed covers of their favourite songs in the first half, followed by Johnston himself performing some others, accompanied by the performers of the first half. Some particular highlights were (Teenage Fanclub's) Norman Blake's covers of "Mountain Top" and "Story of an Artist" and Glen Hansard's cover of "Devil Town". Some argue that you can the full potential of these songs when performed by artists such as these, as Daniel Johnston's guitar playing is obviously not all-out-Hendrix-stylee, and to some extent I can agree. It's always been clear that Johnston is unwell but seeing him on-stage upset me slightly. However, it was lovely to see him come together with the special guests who really did admire him and had been influenced by him over the years.

5. The Staves and Sivu - 23rd April @ The Gate, Cardiff
These are three lovely ladies, indeed. After I saw them supporting Bon Iver in November 2012, I kind of maybe actually fell in love a little bit. The gorgeous three part harmonies sound even more gorgeous live than on the studio album, and especially in such a lovely venue. The Gate is about a ten minute walk from my little Cardiff house and to hear such fine music at a cute venue like this was nothing short of an absolute delight. Sivu, the support act, whom I'd only heard of about a week or two before the show, played a set more acoustic than that on his EP, but it was delicious and the addition of a cello made me melt. We're all a sucker for the lower register strings (I'm talking through my arse here). I got a chance to see the Staves again at the Trinity Centre in Bristol later on this year, but the venue of this gig made it just a teeny bit better.

6. Ólafur Arnalds and Douglas Dare - 5th December @ St George's, Bristol
Above is a link to my full review of the show in Bristol this year. This beat their London show in June a million to none (despite a gorgeous duet) due to the setting, the better organisation, and the fact that I prefer a smaller orchestra. I'm expecting big things from Douglas Dare in 2014.

7. Paramore - 21st September @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Come on. If you've ever seen Paramore live, you'll know why they're on the list. Belter after belter after belter. Who can beat emo-phase nostalgia, right? 

8. Deaf Havana - 24th August @ Reading Festival
There's something magical about seeing a band you've seen grow and develop work their way through the stages at Reading to a set where every person in the crowd is singing along. Yasmin sent me a link to this year's set earlier and it made me feel a bit gooey inside. Love them. (See my defensive DH rant in my previous post too).

9. letlive. - 15th October @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
letlive. are notorious for their mental shows, and this show was no exception. Having seen them twice before, I knew there'd be theatrics (chucking mics in random directions) as well as the "I hate my father" rant which always bodes well... followed by another philosophical statement. If this was Soupy or something I'd want to shove my fingers down the back of my neck but Jason hit me in his words, (spoken and sung). letlive. always mean what they do and it's something I really admire. 

10. The Story So Far, Seahaven and Save Your Breath - 17th October @ The Fleece, Bristol
Here's one for all you pop punks. FFO: hometowns, pizza, stagediving, angry finger pointing (I did a lot of this). I had to leave this show slightly damp with ruined clothes because of the fact I endured a lot of hurt from stage divers, all in the name of fist pumping "TRYING HARD, REAL HARD" as close as I could to Parker Cannon's face. Of course I'm a huge Seahaven and Save Your Breath fan and I'm partial to the angry finger point to SYB's "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy" - just for the WAYULZ love. TSSF are always loads of fun so that's why they're here. There's always too much stagediving so that's why they're no higher than double figures.
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Well, there you have it, my dears. A little top ten of sorts. I think the next post'll be some kind of "new year's musical resolutions". I don't know what that really means at the moment but wait and see. Have a glorious new year. I'll be behind a bar, crying into everyone else's half drunken double vodka lemonades. 

2013's Best Releases

Tonight, I've turned down a rather messy work outing of pub golf as I spent a disgusting amount of money two nights ago. Never go to the students' union knowing full well you can go to a much better place with better music, and never leave for that better place instead and spend shitloads at that better place. Also never order shit tons of Domino's pizza when you get back and not eat it. Anyway, I've got to justify my not going out tonight not only for my bank balance, but in favour of doing something else productive.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 releases of 2013. There's a mixture of EPs and full lengths here because some of the EPs deserved to be in the same list. 

10. Deaf Havana - Old Souls

Okay. First of all, people need to stop slating this band. I've spoken to far too many people who are sat on their high horse, neighing "bands who used to be heavy and lightened up only did it for the Radio 1 plays". Utter bollocks. Ever since Fools and Worthless Liars, I've given Deaf Havana nothing but my utmost respect. Old Souls is summery, fun and at the same time a little bit emotional. I listened to "Mildred (Lost a Friend)" on repeat about twenty times when I first heard it. You might want to do that just the once. 

9. Kodaline - In A Perfect World

I was late to the Kodaline party. At this year's Reading Festival, in a Tesco Value gin-fuelled haze, I caught their set at the NME stage and I wondered where on earth I had been. Sucked up in pop punk, maybe. In A Perfect World makes you think of Coldplay in some bits, and Mumford in others... but that might put you off. 

8.Ólafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter

If you know me then you know I love this man to death. He is a musical genius and I mean it. FNIAW is a little more dancey than his earlier stuff and the tracks featuring Arnór Dan are fabulous and show what you can do when you cross a drum machine, sexy falsetto and some violins. This would have been higher in my list but I found it harder to get into this album than I did the others - but that doesn't detract from the fact album is certainly worth a listen, particularly the song "Old Skin".

7. Diamond Youth - Orange

This is when I start licking Topshelf Records' arse. So many amazing records have been released under this label in the past twelve months and Orange is no exception. Even though it's just six tracks long, each one is musical gold, especially "Come Down" which begins as a slow and quite mellow song and kicks your arse when it heavies up. I'm not sure I can use "heavy" as a verb but let's be fucking metal about this. Diamond Youth's overall sound is as 90s as your Saved By The Bell VHS so if that's your thing, check 'em out.

6. Daylight - Jar

Let's hi-five one of the most consistent bands around. Everything I've heard by Daylight has been just awesome and has packed quite a punch, but in a non-threatening and easily listenable kind of way. As if the punch were the liquid kind, served at an alternative spring fling party where they play Nirvana or something. Jar is as grungey as you like and a personal fave is No One's Deserving, for the riff that runs through its verses. Fingers crossed for a UK appearance in 2014. 

5. Citizen - Youth

I am a huge Citizen fan, and I couldn't say that until very recently. When I first heard Youth I thought "yawwwwn" and I'm not sure why, because I'm kicking myself. Citizen epitomise this new emo scene that's going on, and that's okay. "How Does It Feel" made me want to cry like it's 2006 and that's okay too. This album rules. 

4. Paramore - Paramore

There is a reason why Paramore are one of the biggest alternative acts in the world, which is simply because they are amazing - in the best sense of the word. When I got to see them at the Motorpoint arena in September I was reminded why they are one of my all time favourite bands. We can put the deuces up to anyone who thought Paramore weren't going to survive as a trio. Hell, even I thought so. "Ain't It Fun" and "Hate To See Your Heart Break" are the perfect songs to demonstrate how this band can nail ballads as well as the huge "fuck you all" audience singalongs. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Paramore, which makes sense. There's not much not to like.

3. Twyns - Chyr

I only heard this album last week and knew it had to be in this list, even if it only lasts me the last two weeks of 2013. Twyns absolutely hit the nail on the head in terms of ethereal, downish tempo, trippy, dancey electronic music. It's stuff you want to listen to in your room with some fairy lights as well as on a massive night out. I'd compare this to Grigori, Passion Pit in some parts and The xx. Hell, even Bon Iver (vocally). It's up so high on the list because of the immediate effect it had on me. I hope you feel the same.

2. Pity Sex - Feast of Love

I'd love my own Feast of Love with Pity Sex. Another Topshelf (and now RFC) gem, Feast of Love is raw and sad, textured and upbeat, soft and grungey. I think I actually cried to "Hollow Body", which is definitely up there with one of my top songs of 2013. Pity Sex's vocals sound like they're sung by some totally nonchalant slackers who smoke weed all day and don't give a fuck. It's like what many bands sound like recently (take Seahaven and Tigers Jaw, for example). It's not exactly like they belt the words out. And I know that Pity Sex definitely do NOT smoke weed and slack around. But yeah, that vocal style obviously works for me, otherwise they wouldn't be up so high on the list.

1. John Mayer - Paradise Valley

Finally, last and the furthest away from being the least, is John Mayer, my one and only. Paradise Valley blew away all my expectations. I personally preferred Battle Studies but these are 2013's best albums, not Johnny Mayo's. It's true to say that he's gone a bit country and according to my dad, this is when artists try to "appeal to a wider audience" (if so - where, fucking Texas or what?) but John's sound is still awesome. His collaboration with Katy Perry in "Who You Love" is smooth and sensual and "Paper Doll" is again, another one of my top songs of 2013. If you haven't heard Paradise Valley, go and do so. 

So there you have it! There's my 2013 Top Ten! What were your favourites? What have I missed out?

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Travis - Where You Stand
Into It. Over It. - Interections
KOJI - Crooked In My Mind

Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing
Owen - L'ami du Peuple

City and Colour - The Hurry and the Harm

The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation

UNFORTUNATE DISAPPOINTMENTS

The Swellers - The Light Under Closed Doors

Polar Bear Club - Death Chorus

http://open.spotify.com/user/niawebb/playlist/1Vazcyio9jF42nmRCHef7C