It’s with sincere regret that I realize that I didn’t actually manage to bring you a single new review in 2020, thanks to personal commitments and the ongoing lockdown. For the time being, while I’m unable to bring you more, here are ten of the greatest hits from the history of this blog:
Of the many artists who have entirely passed me by, The xx are probably the best known. Somehow I totally missed their initial successes, failed to notice their huge cult explosion, and entirely avoided their moments in the limelight. That wouldn’t be so unusual now, but ten years ago, when this album first came out, that was a bit strange. But it’s no reason to avoid them now.
Their debut xx opens with Intro, a meandering guitar piece which strolls gradually along, with ethereal male vocals and a strummed bass line. Then comes VCR, a number 132 single in 2010. Meandering is the key – there’s a somewhat jaunty glockenspiel line, but otherwise this is a slow, almost plodding track with a vocal about watching old videos.
Their debut single was Crystalised, which just missed out on the Top 100 in early 2009. It gradually builds into a sort of lo-fi, less electronic version of New Order, maybe with a bit of a bluesy feel thrown into the mix. It’s good, and easy to nod along to, but it’s also difficult to reconcile with The xx‘s huge acclaim. This was a Mercury Prize-winning album, and they were winning awards left, right, and centre. Why?
Perhaps the answer lies in Islands, their biggest hit – to date, actually – having hit number 34 and reaching silver certification in late 2009. Not particularly, unfortunately. If you wanted to be unkind, you would pick up on another gently strummed guitar line and the self same instrumentation as the last few tracks. That’s not really fair, as the vocal delivery is interesting, and there are some nice electronic drums, but can you honestly repeat any of the lyrics? Seems unlikely.
These are short tracks, though, and already we’re nearly half way through with Heart Skipped a Beat. The ethereal feel that we had at the start is back here, with some softer, higher sounds. This might be my favourite track so far, actually.
Some of the songs would make for interesting film soundtrack moments – Fantasy is a bit vague still, but there’s a lovely gentle feel to it, and the sort of bass part that makes you want to check your heart is still functioning as it should.
But something still doesn’t quite seem right – I wonder if it is the lyrics, after all. Shelter contains the couplet “Could I be, was I there? / It felt so crystal in the air.” What on earth is that supposed to mean? It’s atmospheric, yes, but surely that’s pretty lazy lyric writing, isn’t it? Or maybe The xx‘s lyrics aren’t intended to be scrutinised quite that closely – maybe the mood is the thing here after all?
But if that’s true, it would be nice to have some variety – this is a nice album, but it is pretty samey so far. Well, until Basic Space, anyway – the electronic backing is muted, but it’s beautifully glitchy. It’s even got a nice, catchy chorus too. This came along just in time, didn’t it?
Infinity keeps it going as well – it’s got some wonderful percussion, punctuating the vocals, and the sauntering guitar work is well placed too. These last couple of tracks almost make that Mercury Prize win worthwhile! Or maybe I’m just starting to get used to it, finally.
You do get the impression that The xx might be best enjoyed live, in a dark club, probably with some plant-based narcotics on hand. Listening to the album feels a bit like fundamentally missing the point. Night Time is a bit of a mess of beats and Peter Hook-like strumming, but it’s a nice mess, nonetheless. Closing track Stars is spacious and pleasant, although still perhaps seems a little forgettable for a closing track.
So xx is either a mixed bag, or takes a bit of getting used to, but it does end up in a nice place. Ten years on, it still has its indie charm, even if it does feel a bit wrong not to see them perform any of this live. One day, maybe.
You can still find xx at all major retailers, although possibly only as an import.
For the final post in this series, we reach the 2010s, and 55 years of the Ivor Novello Awards. The 2010 ceremony took place on 20th May 2010 at the Grosvenor House, London.
Grosvenor House in London hosted the 2011 Ivor Novello Awards, on 19th May.
The 2012 ceremony took place at Grosvenor House on 17th May.
Between 2009 and 2011, the NME Awards were still clinging onto their rock obsession, but started to have a few interesting nominees.
Hosted at the Brixton Academy on 25 February 2009, by Mark Watson.
The awards took place at the Brixton Academy on 24 February 2010, and were hosted by Jarvis Cocker, with performances by Kasabian with Noel Fielding, The Specials, Biffy Clyro featuring Marina Diamandis, The Big Pink with Lily Allen.
Hosted by Angelos Epithemiou at the Brixton Academy on 23 February 2011. Performances by My Chemical Romance, Hurts, PJ Harvey, Crystal Castles, and Foo Fighters.
Time for a slightly belated look at the winners of the BRIT Awards 2018. They took place a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason appear to have been encased in amber this year. Anyway…
The nominees were:
The winner was Harry Styles, although apparently that was controversial because Little Mix nearly won.
Nominees:
Winner: Dua Lipa.
Nominees:
The winner is Jorja Smith.
Nominees:
Winner: Stormzy.
Nominees:
Winner: Foo Fighters.
Nominees:
Winner: Lorde.
Nominees:
Winner: Kendrick Lamar.
Nominees:
Winner: Stormzy.
Nominees:
Winner: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man.
Nominees:
Winner: Gorillaz.
Nominees:
Winner: Dua Lipa.
Winner: Steve Mac.
Or the “oh, we forgot to give Ed Sheeran anything,” award. Winner: Ed Sheeran.
You can also read the BBC’s coverage of the “real” winners and losers here.
Apparently it’s actually called the V05 NME Awards this year, although honestly I’ve no idea what a V05 is. Anyway, here are the winners, in all their corporate glory!
Winner: Alt-J
Winner: Haim
Winner: Loyle Carner
Winner: Lorde
Winner: Kasabian
Winner: J Hus
Winner: Stefflon Don
Winner: Charli XCX
Winner: Avelino
Winner: The Big Moon
Winner: Pale Waves
Winner: Craig David and Bastille
Winner: Glastonbury
Winner: Festival Number 6
Winner: Muse
Winner: One Love Manchester
Winner: Baby Driver
Winner: Stranger Things
Winner: Lady Gaga
Winner: Radiohead
Winner: Wiley
Winner: Shirley Manson
Winner: Boy Better Know
Winner: Liam Gallagher
Winner: Ariana Grande
Winner: Piers Morgan
All worthy villains. The ceremony was on February 13th this year.
Edited 12 June 2018 – fix to tense in final sentence.
Revealed a week or so, here are the nominees for the 2018 BRIT Awards!
For reasons that have never been entirely obvious to me, we already know the winner, and which will be presented by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man.
The winner is Jorja Smith.
Or the “we’re short on ideas so let’s just nominate Foo Fighters again” award.
Or the “we’re short on ideas so let’s just nominate Björk again” award.
I wonder why Visa have never taken over sponsorship of this one.
Another award that normally goes under the radar, because it’s not as glitzy or exciting as any of the others – the British Producer of the Year for 2018 will be Steve Mac.
The awards ceremony is on 21st February – join us a little after to find out who won!
The 2017 Q Awards in association with Absolute Radio (for that was the ceremony’s now drearily over-commercial name) took place at the Roundhouse in London on 18th October, hosted by Christian O’Connell. Let’s take a quick look at who won, and probably also a quick chuckle at the ridiculously long commercialised award names while we’re at it.
Of course, on the plus side, the sponsorship of individual awards does help you tell all the almost-identically-named ones apart…
Nominees:
Winner: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
Nominees:
Winner: Liam Gallagher
Winner: Viv Albertine
Winner: Wiley
Nominees:
Winner: Sleaford Mods
Nominees:
Winner: Kasabian
Nominees:
Winner: Gorillaz
Nominees:
Winner: Stormzy
Nominees:
Winner: Ed Sheeran
Winner: Liam Gallagher
Winner: Kelley Deal
Winner: Manic Street Preachers
You can read our coverage of previous years, starting with the 2016 awards here.
Well, the interesting thing about the Mercury Prize really tends to be the nominees, so finding out who actually won is often a bit anticlimactic. So here’s where we were a couple of months ago…
This year’s winner is: Sampha. Congratulations to him!
The timing of the Mercury Prize seems to be very unpredictable these days, but they’re slowly edging themselves back to the summer time. This year’s nominees appeared last week, and look a lot like this:
Music for stowaways 