Tag: New Wave

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Albums

Best albums of 2023: Albums #10 through #6

Good morning, good morning! And happy Tuesday!

To be honest, Tuesday mornings are not something I typically get too excited about but today, I’m starting in on the countdown of my top ten favourite albums of the year. Music has always been a trusty crutch and a source of joy and in recent years, has even been more so. And the albums that I’ll be focusing on as we close out the year are my favourites that the last eleven plus months have offered us.

As in years past, there’s been lots of great music in 2023. It’s true that I’ve had to be more selective in vinyl collecting, continuing a trend from last year, what with the rising costs of everything. But rest assured, I’ve been listening to lots more than the handful of new records I’ve procured, streaming hours of music through my trusty Apple Music service.

I’ve discovered plenty of great new artists over the course of this year’s music journey and I’ve also reacquainted myself with many old friends. Indeed, a good number of my top albums have come from bands that I’ve been a fan of for years and despite high expectations, have put out some fantastic new pieces of work. Some of these were represented in the post I shared on Friday of five exceptional albums that didn’t quite make the cut but were worth your attentions nonetheless. Some are these are yet to come – today, and in the weeks ahead.

As I mentioned earlier, this post marks the start of my top ten countdown in earnest, starting with albums #10 through #6. Then, I plan to share my favourite five over the next few weeks, hopefully, getting them all in by the end of the year.

With all the excellent releases, I am sure I missed out on one or two so as we go through my own ten favourite albums, I welcome your comments and thoughts and perhaps even your own top ten favourites in the comments spaces provided.

Let’s do this.

#10 Bodywash “I held the shape while I could”

Bodywash is a shoegaze duo that was formed in Montreal in 2014 by Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter, apparently after musically bonding over another Canadian indie, dream pop group: Alvvays. I only came upon the group a few weeks after the release of this, their sophomore record, but I was so enthused that I immediately went back to explore their previous debut EP and LP and was sad to hear that I had just missed their swing through town on their tour. “I held the shape while I could” was mostly self-produced but recorded with Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) and is notably darker and muscular than its predecessor but shares its penchant for shimmering guitars and airy vocals from both its singers. It is by times haunting and fleeting and explosive.

#9 Boygenius “The record”

Just over five years ago, three of the most exciting young solo singer/songwriters in indie rock banded together and put out a six song, self-titled EP. This particular music fan could and should be forgiven for assuming that that one fine release would be it for the humorously named Boygenius. As great as it was, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus were all very successful and busy in their own careers, had put out their own excellent albums in the interim and toured quite a bit. The announcement of “The record” was met with a lot of excitement and just as much hype and the album of course lived up to meet both face to face. The songs are all finely crafted but what’s more impressive is how you can almost feel the joy with which these three musicians perform together while listening and you just can’t do so passively at all.

#8 Depeche Mode “Momento mori”

Depeche Mode is probably the band that I’ve been following the longest of those that I consider amongst my favourites and they’ve made quite a few appearances on this blog’s pages already. The new wave and synth pop icons have been making music for more than four decades and the time that passed between records had never been more than four years before. “Memento mori”, though, comes six years after 2017’s “Spirit” and after news came of Andrew Fletcher’s passing last year, reducing the one-time quartet down to a duo, I was actually surprised we saw the 15th album come out at all. But what was even more surprising to me was how much I loved this album. It’s like a return to form without feeling like a retread and chock full of bangers.

#7 The Clientele “I am not there anymore”

The Clientele has also already appeared on these pages a number of times*. I can’t really believe that I’ve been following the indie pop group from London for a couple of decades but the dates on all those timeless albums on my record shelves don’t lie. Indeed, their sun-kissed and lazy sunday psycheledelic dream pop has been one of my mainstays and every album an event. However, it had been almost six years since we’d last heard from them and then, when news came of a new album but that it would be a departure, I was hesitant to check it out. Luckily for me, those words of experimenting with jazz and electronic music were a bit overstated. They have indeed expanded their sound, freshening it up and seemingly invigorating its players in the process, but it’s still beautiful Clientele music.

#6 Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”

Eyelids are a power pop, indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. As far as I can tell, they’ve been active since some time around 2012, which blows me away because I only just learned about them this year. The announcement of the impending release of their sixth studio album, “A colossal waste of light”, came up on my Instagram feed care of The Decemberists’ account. As it turns out, the latter band’s drummer, John Moen has had this side thing going with a good friend of his, Chris Slusarenko (ex-Guided By Voices), for quite some time and they are quite excellent. Their latest features their new bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker) and is produced by good friend Peter Buck (R.E.M.). With all this music pedigree, you can bet that the tunes are tight and slick, jangly power pop that gets stuck in your head for days and will cause no complaints while it’s there.

*They had songs on my Best Tunes lists for 2000 and 2003 and made my Best Albums lists for 2007 and 2017.

Stay tuned for album #5 on this list. In the meantime, you can check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.

Categories
Tunes

Eighties’ best 100 redux: #94 Echo & The Bunnymen “Lips like sugar” (1987)

<< #95    |    #93 >>

Echo and the Bunnymen originally formed as the trio of Ian McCulloch, Will Sargent, and Les Pattinson in Liverpool in 1978. Drummer Pete de Freitas would eventually replace the band’s drum machine as the fourth member in 1980. It was this lineup that recorded and released the band’s first five and best-loved albums: “Crocodiles” (1980), “Heaven up here” (1981), “Porcupine” (1983), “Ocean rain” (1984), and “Echo and the Bunnymen” (1987). After McCulloch left to pursue a solo career in 1988 and de Freitas died a year later, the remaining two members carried on with new recruits and released a mostly forgettable album in 1990 before dissolving a few years later. The name and band was revived in 1997 after McCulloch and Sargent successfully worked together again as Electrafixion on one album and then, Pattinson returned to work with them.

I original got into the group with a cover. I was super haunted by their version of The Doors’ “People are strange”* that appeared on the “Lost boys” soundtrack, a film that I watched despite my parents warnings as a teen and then, watched and rewatched many times over. I came upon this very song, “Lips like sugar”, on an 80s compilation, a bunch of years later, and from there, it was an easy hop, skip, and jump to the rest of their singles.

“Lips like sugar” was originally released as the second single off Echo & the Bunnymen’s 1987, eponymously-named fifth record, the group’s most commercially successful album in North America. In fact, frontman Ian McCulloch initially disliked the song because he thought it sounded too commercial. His view towards it has softened considerably over the years, likely because he was right. Money does have a way of changing views towards the positive.

Regardless of its commercial activity, it’s a great song. Evoking fantastical imagery and that magical feeling of early love and longing, in that time when the object of your affection is near perfection. Pounding drums echoing that of a racing heartbeat, guitars jangle and ring and chirp and roll off into the distance, and all the while, McCulloch wavers between croons and howls, all bouncing and reverberating off of prison walls of his own making. This definitely wasn’t what mainstream sounded like back then, but it certainly paved the way for what was to come.

Original Eighties best 100 position: n/a

Favourite lyric: “She floats like a swan / grace on the water” It’s a great image and it so completely sets the tone and gives you a clear image of who McCulloch is pining over.

Where are they now?: Echo and the Bunnymen is still very much a going concern, though these days the only remaining original members are Ian McCulloch and Will Sargent. They last released an album of new material in 2014 (“Meteorites”) and back in 2018, released an album called “The stars, the oceans, and the moon”, which was mostly reworked versions of earlier tunes.

*This very cover of The Doors’ classic appeared at number sixty-eight on my ongoing list of 100 favourite cover songs.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

Categories
Playlists

Playlist: À la mode – Thirty great Depeche Mode tunes

Depeche Mode is likely the band I have been following and listening to the longest out of all the artists that I would consider as part of my all time greats. I first came upon them mid-way through high school and have been listening to them ever since, which if you actually knew how old I am, you’d realized is quite a long time.

Back in 2020, the synth pop icons celebrated their 40th anniversary together as a going concern. The COVID pandemic likely scuttled some of the big plans the band might have had to celebrate the occasion but it thankfully didn’t impact their well-deserved induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That very same year I dedicated a bunch of words and time writing three posts celebrating some of my very favourite tunes by Depeche Mode in the 1980s and 1990s and everything thereafter. I had mused back then that the group was due for a new album, given that it had already been three years at that point since their last.

When founding member Andrew Fletcher passed away in the spring of 2022, though, I figured that was it for one of my favourite bands. I’d heard that Martin Gore and David Gahan planned to soldier on as a duo but I didn’t believe anything would really come of it. When they announced the impending release of Depeche Mode’s 15th studio album, “Memento mori”, I knew I would give it a listen but never did I suspect it would be my favourite by the band in almost two decades.

Listening to tracks like “Wagging tongue” and “Ghosts again” reminded me of what drew me to them in first place. Indeed, this new album got me reminiscing, once again, on their incredible back catalogue, how it has soundtracked the best and worst times of my life, and has probably done the same for many others. And that thought got me thinking about my favourite tracks by Depeche Mode and I started putting together a playlist of what I’d consider to be the best of their best. A new playlist, I thought, what a novelty!

Usually, I limit these playlists of mine to 25 songs but it just didn’t seem enough for Depeche Mode so I stretched it to 30. And here is the playlist (with some commentary) in all its Youtube glory:

1. Dreaming of me

    • The band’s first ever single is the obvious place to start this playlist. Written by Vince Clarke, its light energy foreshadowed the dance pop material on their debut long player.

2. Just can’t get enough

    • The big single off Depeche Mode’s debut album, “Speak & spell”, is the only other song here written by founding member, Vince Clarke, who shortly afterwards left to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet. He was always concerned more with hooks than lyrics and this one left it all on the dance floor.

3. Everything counts

    • Martin Gore took over the bulk of songwriting duties with Clarke’s departure and he really started to hit his stride on the band’s third album, “Construction time again”. I’ve include an extended version of the first single, a rail against corporate greed and corruption.

4. People are people
5. Blasphemous rumours

    • “Some great reward” was the first album by the band that I purchased for myself on cassette tape, years after the band’s fourth album was released. I remember singing the chorus of the first of these two singles over and over again while delivering papers as a teen and the second one was favourite for turning up loudly in my bedroom when I was feeling low.

6. But not tonight
7. A question of lust
8. Stripped

    • I picked up a used CD copy of “Black celebration”, the fifth album, many years after its original release and a few years after becoming a fan. It marked a further journey into darker and more romantic (or is it just lustful) territory, as evidenced by the latter two of these tracks. The first was a bonus track on my CD that appeared in the 80s rom-com “Modern girls” and for some reason, always got under my skin.

9. Behind the wheel
10. Never let me down again
11. The things you said

    • The sixth album’s title was a tongue-in-cheek play on the group’s place in popular culture and their commercial appeal and ironically, found them finally finding success in North America. These three tracks from “Music for the masses” are Mode at their gloomy best.

12. Black celebration (live)
13. Somebody (live)

    • During their very last (101st) stop on their North American tour in support of the last album, the shows were recorded and collected as a double live album called “101”. It’s one of my favourite live albums of all time and given the playlist, considered by many as almost another ‘best of’ collection. It was my own introduction to much of their incredible back catalogue.

14. Enjoy the silence
15. Personal Jesus
16. Waiting for the night
17. World in my eyes

    • Coming off their most successful tour, the synth pop quartet then recorded what is arguably their best album. “Violator” spawned four incredible and at the time, ubiquitous singles, three of which are represented here. The fourth is one of my favourites of all time by the group, a haunting track that is best listened to with the lights out.

18. Death’s door

    • Depeche Mode contributed this uncharacteristically low-key track to the soundtrack to the 1991 Wim Winders film, “Until the end of the world”. It perfectly fit with the mood and lackadaisical pace of the film and those of us hungry for new music from the group ate it up.

19. I feel you
20. One caress
21. Walking in my shoes

    • Three years seemed an eternity between Mode albums at the time but 1993’s “Songs of faith and devotion” was worth the wait. It was by times more aggressive and rock-oriented than their previous work and at others, had a lot more soul and life. By all accounts, though, its recording was difficult and is the final album on which Alan Wilder appears, given he left the group after its tour cycle.

22. Barrel of a gun
23. It’s no good

    • The remaining trio soldiered on and returned with “Ultra”, their ninth studio album, in 1997. The results for me were a bit uneven. Though I enjoyed a few of its tracks, include the two singles above, this was the first of their albums that I rarely wanted to listen to all the way through.

24. Dream on

    • On “Exciter”, the group moved on from synth pop into electronica territory. The album’s first single was “Dream on”, on which Martin Gore set a driving guitar line against rave-ready beat and David Gahan gave it some soul.

25. Precious
26. A pain that I’m used to

    • “Playing the angel” found the group back in familiar Depeche Mode territory. Indeed, the two excellent tracks included here are both sleek, dark, and sexy.

27. Peace

    • The second single released off of Mode’s 12th studio album, 2009’s “Sounds of the universe” is real spiritual. The song is heavy percussive low end synths with high end electronic beats, flittering and frittering digital party streamers, and then, more synth washes give way to breakbeats and other flourishes.

28. Where’s the revolution

    • The group’s last album before the pandemic and before Andy Fletcher’s death whittled them down to a duo was 2017’s “Spirit”. It wasn’t my favourite of their albums but had a couple bright spots, including this twitchy and industrial, political call to arms.

29. Wagging tongue
30. Ghosts again

    • And here we are at the end, or is it a new beginning, only time will tell, but as I hinted at above, tracks like above two from the new album are some of their best in a decade or so.

For the whole playlist on Apple music, click here. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in checking out any of the other playlists I’ve created and shared on these pages, you can peruse them here.