5) Ezra Furman – ‘Transangelic Exodus’
I nearly didn’t listen to this album, which would’ve been a stupid thing to do. This is Ezra Furman’s seventh album release, and judging from what I’ve been hearing and reading, this is his best work to date. The album has a blistering cinematic sound and feel to it all, as each track seems tailored made for the big screen. The album takes you through a story as each song seems to have a clear narrative. There’s also some cool elements worked into album, much of them being electronic and provide that big sound. Also Ezra’s vocal performance on each track is consistently good, as you can really feel the emotion he gives off. Listen Here.
4) Anna Burch – ‘Quit the Curse’
This was the solo debut for Anna Burch, after stints with the bands Failed Flowers and Frontier Ruckus she finally flew from the nest and went solo. Quit The Curse is a fantastic debut album as it has such a laid back mellow feel to it and is easily digestable. With it’s indie pop hooks and softer than velvet vocals the album just seems to breeze through you. Clear reference points for the record would be The Softies and perhaps a the more gentle side of The Pastels. However Anna easily puts her own stamp on each track, creating an album which has given her a new coat of paint, as it’s clear she’s took a step away from her old folk roots. Listen Here
3) MGMT – ‘Little Dark Age’
MGMT have been a much loved act ever since their debut album Oracular Spectacular which featured tracks like ‘Electric Feel’, ‘Kids’ and ‘Time To Pretend’ all of which have become indie favourites. However since those releases it seems that the band have tried to distance themselves as far away as possible from that genre, as they’ve delved into various different styles – avoiding the mainstream. Little Dark Age however feels like a step in the right direction. Once again the band continue to push their boundaries by doing something different, however this time it feels like it has more substance. The album is a really dark and gothic twist on pop music, with sinister synths and haunting vocals. The album has some great tracks like ‘Little Dark Age’ , ‘TSLAMP’ and a personal favourite ‘Me and Michael’, yet it’s not just these tracks as the whole album makes a wonderful listening experience. Listen Here
2) Table Scraps – ‘Autonomy’
Ever since I heard this record back in November before its release, I couldn’t wait for the day it was available to everyone because I knew the band had a fantastic album on their hands. Table Scraps as a band embody chaos, and this record is just further proof as it solidifies that statement. Each track comes full with a heavy hook and spooky vocals that sound like they’re coming directly from a ghoul. With songs like ‘My Obsession’ and ‘Sick Of Me’ it’s not hard to see these going down amazingly well with a live audience. Table Scraps made another big step with the release of their second album, and I can see it being a very important one. Read the review here. Listen Here
1) The Orielles – ‘Silver Dollar Moment’
Finally the album of the month has to be The Orielles exquisite debut album Silver Dollar Moment. Not only because it’s great record from top to bottom, but because it’s been a long time coming and they’ve delivered without faltering at any stage. The Orielles stay very loyal to the sound that made them so revered by their fans, yet they manipulated their sound in a number of different ways to create a very varied album which is highly enjoyable. For instance songs like ‘Sunflower Seeds’ sounds sunkissed and beautiful, while ‘Borrachero Tree’ has a slightly darker edge to it – but it has that Orielles lo-fi indie garage disco sound (if there’s such a genre). Can honestly see this being in contention for album of the year in December, so it had to be number one this month. Full Review Here. Listen Here
That concludes this months Top 5 Albums, would love to know your thoughts so please leave a comment below!
Words by Alex Wise @AJWise – @Wordsformusic1
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