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This year has been a great one at Hey! Manchester towers: we’ve promoted 48 gigs, helped organise two festivals – and listened to a whole heap of excellent records. Here are our favourites…
Destroyer – Kaputt. A firm fixture since its release in June, and we see it’s getting the kind of recognition it deserves. Hopefully next year we might get a chance to see Destroyer live.
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine. The best thing King Creosote has recorded so far? We think so.
Metronomy – The English Riviera. Twelve tracks of pop fun.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver. Back-to-back great albums now. Let’s hope he doesn’t develop a taste for world music, like Iron & Wine.
Wild Beasts – Smother. Not quite at the same level as Two Dancers, but a grower of a follow-up.
Other Lives – Tamer Animals. Much more subtle than their live show. One of the best new bands we’ve heard this year.
Josh T Pearson – Last of the Country Gentlemen. A great late-night records, in the spirit of early Low.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Possibly the band’s break-through album. Looking forward to hearing it live.
Beirut – The Rip Tide. A majestic return to form from Zach Condon and band.
Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L. Not a patch on her live show, but still one of the best albums of this year.
Yuck – Yuck. Featuring classic songwriting in the vein of Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr.
We’ve also been enjoying a few excellent EPs this year…
Grouplove – Grouplove. Full of energy and fun.
Paul Thomas Saunders – Lilac and Wisteria. The perfect hazy morning soundtrack.
Jens Lekman – An Argument with Myself. A playful return after a four-year absence.
And there are a few albums from last year that have continued to be on heavy rotation throughout 2011…
This has been an awfully busy year – I’ve promoted over 130 gigs and have probably seen 250-plus bands play live. Here are 20 shows that particularly stood out:
An Astronomical Evening with Darren Hayman @ Godlee Observatory, Manchester (video clip below)
Hauschka, Nancy Elizabeth @ The Lowry Hotel’s Presidential Suite, Salford
The Album Leaf @ Bush Hall, London
Owen Pallett @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Jens Lekman, The Blow @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
The Mountain Goats @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
CocoRosie @ Manchester Cathedral
Jónsi @ Latitude Festival, Suffolk
At Swim Two Birds @ Sounds From The Other City festival, Salford
Bonnie Prince Billy & The Cairo Gang @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Joanna Newsom, Roy Harper @ Palace Theatre, Manchester
Josh Ritter, Dawn Landes @ RNCM, Manchester
Yann Tiersen @ Manchester Cathedral
Wu-Tang Clan @ Academy, Glasgow
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Denis Jones @ Band on the Wall, Manchester
The Bundles @ Scala, London
The Duke & The King @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
The Tallest Man on Earth, Idiot Wind @ St Philip’s Church, Salford
Beach House @ Manchester Cathedral
Deer Tick, Caitlin Rose @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Next year is shaping up nicely (and hopefully a little less crazily) – so far I’ve got four shows booked in, with another two or three likely to be announced in the next fortnight. Sign up to the mailing list to keep up to date with upcoming Hey! Manchester shows – and hopefully see you at some in 2011!
So last year I thoroughly enjoyed spending days deciding on my albums of the year. It’s a list of 15 records that, looking back on, I still largely stand by – see and listen for yourself here.
This year I’ve picked out another 15 records that I keep going back to:
Owen Pallett – Heartland (Domino)
The Album Leaf – A Chorus of Storytellers
The Radio Dept – Clinging to a Scheme (Labrador)
S Carey – All We Grow (Jagjaguar)
Yann Tiersen – Dust Lane (Mute)
Beach House – Teen Dream (Bella Union)
Toro y Moi – Causer of This (Car Park)
Twin Shadow – Forget (4AD)
Jonsi – Go (EMI)
Alcoholic Faith Mission – Let This Be The Last Night We Care (Ponyrec)
Ok, so it’s a whole 12 days off the pace (I’ve been busy booking shiny new shows!) but I finally got round to making a list of my favourite albums of last year:
Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Rabid Records)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Vs. Children (Tomlab)
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)
Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light (Moshi Moshi)
Sleeping States – In The Garden of the North (Bella Union)
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Warp)
Wild Beasts – Two Dancers (Domino Recordings)
The xx – xx (Young Turks/XL)
Miike Snow – Miike Snow (Sony)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (Polydor)
At Swim Two Birds – Before You Left (Vespertine & Son)
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Domino)
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below (Community Records)
Alaska in Winter – Holiday (Regular Beat)
Taken By Trees – East Of Eden (Rough Trade)
Oh, and one more for good luck – favourite soundtrack of the year:
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