Craig Finn - Clear Heart, Full Eyes

I'm not a fan of this record. I bought it because I like The Hold Steady and though that the singer's solo album might be alright; I was wrong. I can think of countless records in Banquet that I could have spent £13 on, but I chanced it on Craig Finn and it didn't pay off. The moral is probably to not spend money on albums I've not heard anything from, but I love doing that and one shit album isn't going to make me stop. They can't all be winners I suppose.

Where to start with my dislike of this album? A lot of the time it just sounds like he isn't trying; like he's singing the song but couldn't care less if he was or wasn't. At times you can tell he's trying to play that Springsteen card, but it doesn't work. Similarly there are moments that sound a bit like The Hold Steady, but also not quite. What you're left with is the half-hearted remnants of both - songs about people you don't quite believe in or care about.

But the highlight of my dislike comes in the form of New Friend Jesus, quite possibly the worst song I own (I wouldn't like to make a list of my least favourite records or songs, but this one would be up there). On The King of Carrot Flowers, Jeff Mangum proclaims his love of Jesus and it's intentionally jarring and excellent and sincere all at the same time. When Craig Finn sings that he has a new best friend and his name is Jesus, I think he's a dick. I often wonder if he was trying to mirror that excellent moment on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (so much so the intro here might as well be Holland, 1945). If that was his inspiration, then I think I dislike the song even more. There's a certain irony in the line "it's hard to suck with Jesus in your band" being on the album's worst song.

Despite thinking so little of this album, I ended up seeing Craig live a while later when he toured with Patterson Hood and Will Johnson. For me, and the friends I was there with, Craig was the least interesting of the three (Will and Patterson were both excellent). A while later I was sat in a hot tub on top of a hotel in Tampa with a bunch of punks from Austria and Canada (that reads like a shameless boast, but these situations arise quite regularly at Fest) talking about that tour. They were all saying how they thought Craig carried that tour and how excellent his album was whilst I was sat there wondering how they could enjoy it so much and I could think so little of it. People have different tastes I guess, but this record certainly isn't to mine.

Format: 12", picture sleeve, insert
Tracks: 11
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 09/07/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

I've kinda written about this record before, but in the context of another record. The short version is that I heard The Grey Ship and California played over the hifi in a record shop, thought they were cool, Googled the lyrics and read up about EMA and her old band Gowns. I stumbled across a Gowns record in the next shop I went into and figured it was too much of a coincidence to not buy it. For a couple of years afterwards I kept thinking that I should pick up the EMA record and last year I finally did. I bought this copy at the Independent Label Market in Spitalfields after a fairly sweaty and unexciting trip - in 2013 I bought so many great records there, but I was underwhelmed by the 2014 event. Of my few purchases, Past Life Martyred Saints was quite the highlight.

The Grey Ship is one of those excellent album openers that stands out and sets the listener up for what's about to happen; it's slow and brooding but explodes into one of the highlights. In length and power it could easily dwarf the rest of the album but there are plenty of other songs that meet its standards. California, one of the albums most well-known tracks, follows on in great style and grabs your attention from the get-go. My other favourite is Marked, a song that also made it onto Gowns' Latitudes session EP. The live version has a certain rawness that is missing here but both versions are excellent and almost tell different stories in their styles - Erika's voice is so smooth here that it sounds like a love song even though it most definitely is not. Butterfly Knife and Red Star are great too, although close the album too soon for my liking - I never feel like I've been listening to it for long enough before it's over.

It's hard to describe EMA's music (so I'll try not to), but there are so many influences from starkly different musical styles that all come together so well. You wouldn't think that an album that can draw comparisons to folk, noise and industrial could sound so great. Maybe it's because I quite enjoy all those genres that I enjoy this album so much. It ended up in pretty heavy rotation in the second half of 2014 and I suspect that'll continue into 2015.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 9
Cost: £12 new
Bought: Independent Label Market
When: 12/07/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Palms - Palms

Palms is a collaboration between Chino from Deftones and some of guys from Isis; it was pretty clear from the outset that I was going to enjoy this record. I vaguely remember seeing a news article on Pitchfork about the band and a short while later my friend Hugh tweeted a picture of the LP. In October 2013, I stumbled across this copy in Banquet and would have snapped it up had it not been a rather pricey £22. I text Hugh to ask him if the album was actually any good and, moreover, if it was £22 good. His reply: "£16 good". By that point I was already out of the shop so thought little more about it. Six months later, the record reappeared in Banquet on a day when I had a £10 voucher from my loyalty card ready to spend, so I split it over two albums and got this one for a much more reasonable £17.

Nearly a year later, I'd go so far as to say that this LP is definitely £22 good. It ended up on pretty heavy rotation in 2014, particularly so on my iPod whilst at work - every time I'd scroll past it I'd think "Yeah, I could go for some Palms". It strikes that rare balance of music I can work well too - heavy enough that it drowns out the background noise but not so overwhelming that it distracts me. The moments that do do really grab your attention, like the chorus on Mission Sunset or Shortwave Radio, are so incredible that it's nice to take a moment away from the computer screen to enjoy them.

It's quite a lengthy and brooding album, and it's six songs are spread out over 45 minutes. Those slow beginnings pretty much always build to huge choruses though and Chino's voice sounds incredible as ever. It makes for a pretty lovely package, with both records on orange vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve. I'm not sure I would have ever chanced £22 on it without hearing it first, but I'm glad I did buy it.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 6
Cost: £17 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 22/03/14
Colour: Transparent orange
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime

It's hard to explain quite how much I enjoy Drive Like Jehu. I don't actually listen to them all that often, but when I do I can't think why I don't play them more. Yank Crime is a huge album, filled with moments that fill me with pure joy when I hear them. I certainly consider this to be a classic post-hardcore album, possibly under-rated (at least as far as I can tell, perhaps everyone else loves it too).

I think if I had to list my favourite songs on this album, they'd be Here Come the Rome Plows, Do You Compute and Luau which (on the vinyl version) are the first three songs - it makes for a pretty epic side A. One of the things that sets Drive Like Jehu apart from so many other post-hardcore bands of that era is that they have no qualms about letting a song run on for 7 or 8 minutes, which turns out to be an excellent thing - the intro to Do You Compute is so perfectly stretched out that it's almost taunting you - you know what's going to happen but the song wants you to wait. It's such a pleasing moment on the album. Similarly with Luau - there's no rush to get to that huge chorus, you have to wait. But it's all worth it.

I first heard Yank Crime in 2006 when I got the cd as a Christmas present from my sister. I'd heard about the band and told her I'd quite like one of their albums. Thinking back now, I don't remember what it was I'd read or heard about the band (it was possibly just the Rocket From the Crypt / Hot Snakes connection) but I'm glad I decided to check them out. That was 8 years ago and I still find this album exciting and interesting now.

I'd been meaning to get Yank Crime on vinyl for a while and found this copy in All Ages in Camden last October. I wasn't aware that the order of the songs differed so much between the cd and the LP; not sure why. What it does mean, like I mentioned before, is that the first side of the 12" is pure gold. The last three songs are on a separate 7" and both records are coloured, which is a nice touch.

Format: 12", 7"
Tracks: 9
Cost: £16 new
Bought: All Ages
When: 04/10/14
Colour: Transparent green, transparent blue
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood

For years when I thought about the Manics discography I didn't really think about Lifeblood. It came out three years after the perfectly-fine-but-not-a-classic Know Your Enemy and three years before the attempt-at-a-return-to-form Send Away the Tigers; it makes for a fairly forgettable period in their past. Every band has to have a "worst" album and, for me, Lifeblood is that for the Manics. I suspect I'm not the only one - the cd version came with a flyer about the ten year anniversary release of The Holy Bible and here we are, ten years later again with a 20 year anniversary release of The Holy Bible due out soon and no mention of Lifeblood. The ten years have not been as favourable to it as they had to The Holy Bible.

But recently I have been thinking about Lifeblood more - the reason being that Futurology, the Manics' latest album and the one hailed as one of their recent finest, came out this year and it reminds me of Lifeblood in many ways. When I first heard Futurology my initial thought was that they'd finally done Lifeblood right - those Euro-pop moments were back ten years after they last tried but this time it worked. They proved that they could be different (in a Manics way) but not sound watered down. They sound more comfortable in doing what they want to do and less over-produced than they did on Lifeblood, and it works wonders. Personally, I still think Rewind the Film is by far their greatest recent album and Futurology doesn't quite compare, but I wonder how I'll feel in another ten years.

But back to Lifeblood. It's not a terrible album (despite all I've said) but is just too smooth and bland to be memorable or to be the sort of album the Manics should have made. On the other hand, it has some incredible pop moments and 1985, Empty Souls, and A Song for Departure are all very enjoyable songs. I'd love to hear those songs as 2014 Manics songs rather than 2004 Manics songs. But the lows are pretty low - I remember during the "Singles" show at the O2 Arena James commenting after The Love of Richard Nixon "You still don't like that one then?" (or something to that extent). The other highlight was always the closer, Cardiff Afterlife, which I guess is the only Lifeblood song I ever really thought much about afterwards, mostly because I ended up moving to Cardiff and getting to know the city well.

As with every Manics album since This is My Truth..., I bought Lifeblood the day it came out. A month later I was in Bristol visiting a friend and found this vinyl copy in the HMV there. I think I already knew it wasn't going to be a classic Manics album, but the collector of me was still interested. It's quite a nice little package, especially since new LPs weren't that common at the time. I'm glad I bought it back then because, sadly, I'm not so sure I'd bother these days.

Format: 12", picture sleeve, 12x12" booklet
Tracks: 12
Cost: £12 new
Bought: HMV Bristol
When: 10/12/04
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Wavelets - Athaletics

Wavelets are a band I'd never heard of (let alone heard) when I bought this record. The fact I own this album is a testament to quite how trigger happy I get when ordering records from the states and how easily swung I am by a good offer. On the other hand, it's a great record so I'm very pleased I own a copy.

I was ordering a bunch of records from the Tiny Engines website and I decided to pick up the Dikembe album since we'd seen them at Fest and I thought they were awesome. The site had an offer where you could order the Dikembe and Wavelets albums together for a small saving and I figured I didn't have much to lose - the postage was already high enough another record wouldn't cost too much and records from the US are so cheap anyway. Plus the description said that Dikembe and Wavelets shared a singer and a guitarist (hence the offer) so it really couldn't go too wrong.

Athaletics isn't a long album (it plays at 45rpm) but they squeeze in some excellent moments. The album is book-ended by my two favourite songs - Julio Won't Get Out of the Car and Cannonball - two songs made excellent by the group-vocals (something that also works pretty well on My Dad the Manatee). The end of Cannonball, with the chorus screamed by a whole bunch of voices, is the highlight of the record for me.

Controversially, I think I might actually prefer the Wavelets album to the Dikembe album; both are excellent, but Athaletics comes across a more fun record and I think it works.

Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 9
Cost: £8.70 new
Bought: Tiny Engines website
When: 10/01/13
Colour: Transparent red (/150)
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Dikembe - Broad Shoulders

Both times I've been to Fest I left having discovered so many excellent bands. The Sunday of the first of those two Fests was particularly exciting; I was pretty knackered after three-and-a-half days of watching bands and drinking so decided to hole up in Loosey's for the evening. Failures' Union were playing and I was keen to see them again. Beforehand were a band called Dikembe and afterwards was a band called Restorations. I'd heard of neither but both would shortly go on to completely blow me away. (As if that wasn't enough, on the way home we passed by Eight Seconds and ended up catching the end of The Underground Railroad to Candyland's set, which was also an excellent find. Beforehand all I wanted to do was sit down, but I couldn't tear myself away from that band.)

Anyway, I didn't buy any Dikembe records after their set but did make a mental note to check them out in the future. A year afterwards I finally did so by picking up their debut album, Broad Shoulders. I was ordering the new Run Forever album from the Tiny Engines website and was stocking up to make the most of the postage. I'd enjoyed their set so figured the album would be a safe bet. Luckily, it was as good as I remembered them.

There are some excellent songs throughout the album (like Librarians Would Kill For That Kind of Silence) but it's actually the sparse moments where there are just guitars and vocals like on Nothing, Stuff and Not Today, Angel that really make the album for me.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £8.70 new
Bought: Tiny Engines website
When: 10/01/13
Colour: Light brown (/250)
Etching: Side A: "Take ya lemon and ya honey" Side B: "And get outta here!"
mp3s: Download code