maccydlife

1. A Brighter Beat - Malcolm Middleton
If I'm totally honest I was'nt even aware that Malcolm Middleton had put out any solo work after Arab Strap and his first two albums, 2002's  '5:14 Fluoxytine seagull Alcohol John Nicotine' and 2005's stunning 'Into The Woods' completely passed me by on their respective releases. Maybe it was me and I simply was'nt paying enough attention to the music press at the time or maybe the music press just was'nt paying enough attention to Malcolm Middleton ,whatever, I was oblivious to their existence.
Then in February 2007 'A Brighter Beat' was released and this time I found myself reading these amazing reviews continuosly in every paper, magazine and online music blog I read and got my hands on a copy of it pretty smartish.
The glass is always half full in the world that Malcolm Middleton writes and sings about but , and this, for me, is what makes his songwriting so unique and beautiful , theres always the chance that someone will finally come along and top that half full glass up for him and everything will be alright. Malcolm Middleton is, without doubt, one of our most honest songwriters and in 'A Brighter Beat' he has, easily, given me my album of the year.

2. Hello Love -The Broken Family Band
Although Id been aware of The Broken Family Band for a while thanks to my good friend One Tree Hillbilly Id never actually heard anything by them until July when I was checking out some of the bands I hadnt heard anything by that I was due to see at the Green Man Festival in August. The only album I could get my hands on was their latest release at the time Julys 'Hello Love'. I fell in love with it instantly. From opener 'Leaps' right through to album closer, the epic 'Seven Sisters' this album is just a perfect example of great British songwriting at its best. The fact that this band are still all having to hold down full time jobs until the rest of the world catches up with the genius that is The Broken Family Band baffles me every single time I put this record on.

3. Cease to Begin - Band of Horses
I was having a conversation with a friend one afternoon about the first Band of Horses long player  'Everything All The Time' . We were both in total agreement (a rare occurrence) that it was easily one of last years finest albums and was still getting seriously heavy rotation from both of us over a year on. The conversation quickly turned to when the new album from these guys was expected, neither of us had heard anything recently about anything on the horizon and we were both of the mind that if they never released anything ever again they had still done enough with the first album to have a place in our hearts forever. Then, as we were in the office, I decided to check out the Sub Pop website and see if there was anything on there about any forthcoming releases, upcoming shows etc and there it was....'Cease to Begin' was due out in a week!
One week on and I was in possession of the brand spanking new Band of Horses album. Part of me was worried that they could'nt come close to 'Everything All The Time' after all that excitement a week ago had I built my expectations so high that it wouldnt be able to live up to them? with only lead singer Ben Bridwell remaining from the line-up that recorded 'Everything All The Time' would his new band of 'horses' be able to back him like the previous band? there was no need to worry......from start to finish this album just blew, and continues to blow my mind every single time.
Like its predescessor it doesnt hang around and does everything it needs to do in just a little over 35 minutes but what a joyous 35 minutes they are!

And lets not forget these .... 'Sound of Silver - LcdSoundsystem',    'In Rainbows - Radiohead', 'Panic Prevention - Jamie T',    'Untrue - Burial',    'We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse',    'Lets Stay Friends - Les Savy Fav',    'Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys',   'Woke on a Whalebone - Bill Callahan',    'The Broken String - Bishop Allen' ,   'Good Bad, Not Evil - Black Lips',   '23 - Blonde Redhead',   ' Cassadaga - Bright Eyes', 'Graduation - Kayne West'   'Spirit If..- Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew',    'Thirst for Romance - Cherry Ghost',    'Spiderman of The Rings - Dan Deacon',    'Everyone - Grand Drive',    ' Help Wanted Nights - The Good Life',    'Colour It In - The Maccabees',    ' Think Before You Speak - Good Shoes',    'New Moon - Elliott Smith',    ' Ash Wednesday - Elvis Perkins' ,    'Knives Dont Have Your Back - Emily Haines & The Soft skeleton'. 'American Gangster - Jay -Z' ......I could probably list another fifty without trying which I guess speaks volumes about those who'll have you believe that music is dead!!!!!!