In Which I have far too many albums to review

It could be said that, at times, I can get a little obsessive. I’ve had this blog going for a few weeks now and, over the last six months I’ve built up a huge mental pile of stuff I would like to write about. Many of these things are album reviews so, in order to save myself any further mental anguish, I thought it easier just to go through them in one go. I’m also going to set up a ‘charts feed’ which I can update as I listen to new stuff.

So, this year I have listened to...

	BT - These Hopeful Machines: This is, in my opinion, the best album BT has put out yet, eclipsing even the classic ‘ESCM’ from ’97. It is presented as a 2 CD set, each of 6 tracks. Nobody seems to understand the capacity of sonic experience that you can achieve with modern music like this man does. If Mozart was alive today, I think he would sound like this. There is a very wide range of different styles of music, expertly woven together. The standout here is ‘Every Other Way’, a beautiful duet with Jes. This is my album of the year and a classic for many to come. This album is perfect. 10/10
	Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions: I’ve read many mixed reviews around this album from older fans but, as someone introduced to Biffy Clyro by this album, I find it both accessible and unique; it took a while to grow on me but now it’s one of my favourite records. Many Of Horror is the real stand out track for me. 8/10
	Ellie Goulding - Lights: This is, at the time of writing, my number three choice for the charts. I bought this album as a total shot in the dark and never looked back. This is a really great folk album with a really edgy production to it that turns tis girl from Hertford into a very promising artist. Diana Vickers can only look in awe and cry a lot. Talent like this is a rare gem and another classic. 9/10
	Hybrid - Disappear Here: I had been waiting for this album for many many months before it came out, ever since the ‘Formula of Fear’ single was released; the album did not disappoint. I don’t think there’s a bad track on the CD. Probably Hybrid’s best album to date, this manages to be packed full of hard floor fillers and deep emotional pieces that you have to listen to over and over again. 10/10
	The Chemical Brothers - Further: I bought this album because of the many reviews stating that this album was a ‘return to form’ and like the old style Chemical Brothers. This is utter codswalop! This album is dreary, repetitive and utterly dire. The only track that’s even mediocre is ‘Swoon’. If you want to listen to lo-fi influenced techno that makes you feel like you died last week and have started to smell then go right ahead, but this was by far my biggest disappointment of the year so far. 2/10
	Lissie - Catching A Tiger: Lissie has been around a while, providing vocals quite frequently for dance artist Morgan Page (Check out ‘The Longest Road’, one of my tracks of the year!). This is her debut album, containing the single ‘In Sleep’. I’ve only listened to this once so far and the album is unabashed Americana; I think it’s growing on me - I may report back on this one later. At the moment I think it’s OK, but I thought the same about ‘In Sleep’ until I listened to it a few times, now it’s one of my favourite tracks of the year. 7/10
	Pendulum - Immersion: This was a huge surprise. In their first album, ‘Hold Your Colour’, Pendulum made an album that had many great tracks on it, but lacked consistency. In their second album they made an album which was consistent, just consistently mediocre. Immersion takes the best elements of the previous two albums and winds them together. Standout tracks are ‘Watercolor’, ‘Self vs Self’ and ‘Set Me On Fire’. This is a great album and a huge step forward for Perth’s Drum & Bass Supremos. 8/10
	Sarah McLachlan - Laws Of Illusion: The brand new album from Sarah McLachlan is far far from a disappointment. This is silken honey and wondrous heartbreak wrapped together in a package of tears. Reminiscent of ‘Fumbling Towards Ecstasy’ and a huge improvement on ‘Afterglow’, this album was great on the first listen and will only grow on me further. 8/10
	Public Symphony - Inspire: This is not strictly a ‘new’ album, as Public Symphony have simply reworked their self titled 2008 album; the remixes are, all in all, huge improvements though on what was already a fantastic record. Sitting somewhere between Pink Floyd and Radiohead (read ‘The Bends’ era), Public Symphony are a couple of perfectionist producers who decided to make a record. This is what they came up with and it’s arguably one of the best records of the decade. It’s the kind of music you can see being lifted for adverts for years and years to come. 10/10