“Nine Types Of Light” is an AGCS Album of the Year
OK, so initially we wanted to pick just five records for our AGCS albums of the year but I just couldn’t let this one go unnoticed. Because “Nine Types Of Light” recieved a lukewarm reception this year; people claimed it wasn’t as good as Dear Science (in fact it’s better) and in general it’s been overlooked, barely getting a look-in on album of the year lists. But personally I found this record to be the purest manifestation of TV On The Radio’s sound yet, a brilliant album I’m still not tired of. You can read my initial track by track review below.
AGCS Reviews EVERY Sufjan Stevens Christmas EP - Part Three
Since the release of the Songs For Christmas box set in 2006, Sufjan has recorded four more Christmas EPs (and who knows, the fifth could already be in the hands of this year’s lucky few). Of these only Vol. VI and Vol. VIII have found their way into the wider world; as for other two, we can only speculate as to what they may contain. I have it on very good authority that Vol. VII coincided with a short-lived death metal phase and Sufjan’s delicate falsetto was temporarily replaced with a gutteral pig squeal. And while I obviously just made that up, the fact remains that we just don’t know what those EPs sound like. More’s the pity.
Anyway, while it would obviously be lovely to have the complete set of Sufjan’s Songs For Christmas there’s no point dwelling upon it, so lets get back to the issue at hand…
AGCS Reviews EVERY Sufjan Stevens Christmas EP - Part Two
Yesterday I reviewed Vol. I, Vol. II, and Vol. III of Sufjan Stevens’ Christmas EP’s, and today in part two of our Suf-stravaganza I’ll be looking at Vol. IV and Vol. V. As I mentioned yesterday, these releases are a fascinating way to track Sufjan’s progress across the years, and these two EPs are no exception. Indeed, despite being separated by only a year they’re two very different beasts…
AGCS Reviews EVERY Sufjan Stevens Christmas EP - Part One
We couldn’t go through an entire Christmas Calendar without mentioning the S-word could we? And nowadays it seems Sufjan is as much a part of Christmas as mulled wine and bitter family arguments. You see, long before the indie world and his alternative dog were releasing a Christmas record, Sufjan Stevens decided to make a Christmas EP for his friends. That was 2001, and since then there’s been a Christmas EP every year (bar 2004 - I guess he might have been busy, oh, I don’t know, recording 50 odd songs about Illinois?). The first five EPs were released to the general public in 2006, while the others are either floating around the internet (Vol. VI and Vol. VIII were both leaked by some kindly individuals) or remain unheard by all but a select few (Vol. VII, Vol. IX, Vol. X?). But even with these gaps in the collection, that’s seven EPs and over 50 songs, some of a remarkably high standard. And AGCS thought it might be fun to review them all. Here is part one, which covers Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III…
A Guide To Christmas Drinking From Alcopop Records - The AGCS Label Of The Year
Alcopop Records are great for a number of reasons: they’re home to a legion of great acts (Stagecoach, My First Tooth, Screaming Maldini, Johnny Foreigner, Katie Malco, Jumping Ships, and many more), they have lots of great ideas (Frisbee EPs, Scarves, Photo Albums), and they know how to throw a party (see here and here). This year I’ve managed to see all the acts mentioned above (apart from Katie Malco) and they’ve all been brilliant; but bands alone do not a great label make, and it’s the community feel of Alcopop which makes it the AGCS label of the year. We’re massive fans of all they do, and so naturally we wanted to get them involved in our Christmas Calendar.
As mentioned above, Alcopop know how to throw a good party, so with Christmas fast approaching who better to ask for advice on getting through the slew of work dos and family gatherings? Here, then, is label boss Jack Pop’s Guide To Christmas Drinking:
Smith & Burrows - Funny Looking Angels
I guess I should hate this. Smith & Burrows is the imaginative moniker of Tom Smith (from Editors) and Andy Burrows (formerly of Razorlight). I don’t like Editors and I don’t like Razorlight. The lead single from this record, When The Thames Froze, is incredibly annoying, featuring clunky politics and a nauseating video which sees the duo battle it out for the prize of “most dubious facial hair”. So I was expecting the rest of the album to be similarly awful. But you know what; it’s not half bad.
“I’m With The Band” - In Praise of Bandcamp
In the first of these “review of the year” things I got angry at the music press’s obsession with nostalgia. In the second I got angry with Spotify’s complete failure to give bands a fair deal and develop a viable business model. In this third one I’ll be getting angry about … nothing. You see, it’s not all doom and gloom, and this piece is a love letter to potentially the best thing to happen to music in my lifetime; Bandcamp.
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