A beer connoisseur for the night!

Posted on January 13, 2015 by John S

OK, so I have drunk a lot of beer in my time. I know what I like. Fuller’s London Pride (and the mighty ESB), Young’s Special, Wadworth 6X, Ringwood Forty Niner and Old Thumper, Ruddles County, Old Speckled Hen, Shropshire Lad,  Sharps Doombar: these and many more are all very fine ales. I’ll quaff lager, be it Peroni, Stella, 1664, Estrella (Barcelona!), Red Stripe (maan!) San Miguel. I think I could hold my own with a beer buff on Belgian Beers, the Trappists, Duvel, Leffe. I love a good German lager, sitting in a market square in Munich.  But I wouldn’t claim to be a connoisseur.

My friend Simon James, @gueuzel on Twitter, most definitely is. Every year he arranges a beer tasting for 50-60 friends in Ealing. He gets in six very interesting, mostly very strong beers, and invites the assembled throng to assess them. Pizza is thrown in half way through.  Simon has been hosting this with wit and passion for eight years now. This year was the first time I have been.

It was awesome!

I’m not going to go into vast detail, but I’ve got a picture of each beer and will add a sentence or two. There is a theme every year and this year all the beers were from the USA. Certainly changed my perception of the US as the home of refreshing but rather tasteless lager. (Blame Budweiser).

So here we go. Starting with a quaffer and ending up with something that could replace dessert wine after Christmas pudding!

First up. Longboard Island lager, Kona Brewery, originally from Hawaii. Very drinkable lager, with a hint of lemon. A step up from Budweiser. 4.6% strength.

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2nd, Freedom (or French) Tickler, modelled on a French “Saison farmhouse” ale. From the Oskar Blues brewery, based in Colorado and North Carolina. Quite like the Belgians, to me. Cloudy, a bit like Hoegaarden. 5.8% – getting serious.

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3rd, Anchor Porter Steam beer from San Francisco. The connoisseurs purred over this one. I’m not a huge fan of dark beers (until they transform into Guinness) but this was good. Consensus was that there were real chocolate flavours in this one. 5.6%.

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4th, Lagunitas IPA (India Pale Ale), from the Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, California. Cool! A very fine beer, with a grapefruit aroma and a hoppy, fruity taste. Maybe a bit too strong for quaffing, but a couple of bottles would be nice. 6.2%

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(The arm in the photo is my good friend Paul, who claims he has drunk this as a session beer in America!)

5th. Trellis Garden Ale, from the Odell Brewery in Colorado. (I’m beginning to think Colorado is a good place for drinking beer!). This came in a wine-sized bottled and cost £16.42. It’s a ruby colour with a strong aroma of mint and other  herbs. It doesn’t taste minty, but has a good hoppy flavour. In the sense that the strength takes a moment to hit you, it reminded me of Duvel. It is a quality beer, to be treated with respect. 8.7%.

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Last, and most, Founders Curmudgeon.  A brutal beer. Thinking about aromas, I got bread and butter pudding! It is rich and fruity, like a dessert wine, but with a hoppy underpinning. A fascinating clash of flavours. To be treated like a dessert wine in terms of the quantity drunk. 9.7%.

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An educational evening.

We were sharing the cans and bottles, although I didn’t realise when we got the cans of Longboard at the start! Luckily not everyone had turned up at that point. And it was the quaffer. I was able to watch Match of the Day without falling asleep when I got home. And the Championship highlights afterwards. I hadn’t expected that!

Respect to Simon, his wife and friends, who made it all possible.

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lovelondonscenes – 84

Posted on January 9, 2015 by John S

I went to the Sigmar Polke exhibition to the Tate Modern yesterday. Took this shot out of one of the windows on a gloomy, rainy morning. The Millenium Bridge and St Paul’s centre ground. Treated a bit on iPhotos for effect. Kind of inspired by the exhibition!

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After the Polke, I went to the Conflict, Time, Photography exhibition which is a brilliant, though rather sobering photographic portrayal of man’s inhumanity to man, from the American Civil war onwards. (More of this in a future blog). By the time I was out of that, the weather had completely changed.

This one is a straight iPhone effort. The sky is so blue it could be Canaletto! Well, you know what I mean.

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Sportsthoughts (123) – Premier League half time report

Posted on January 8, 2015 by John S

Just past the halfway point in the Premier League season; time for a few thoughts on what’s gone on so far.

Top two predictable, rest pretty crazy. Chelsea and Man City are streets ahead of anyone else. Chelsea, in particular, have looked really strong – until Spurs whupped them 5-3 at White Hart Lane on [New Years Day]. Let’s just assume that was some kind of post binge hangover and will quickly be shaken off. In the previous game, against West Ham, the one I was at, they looked deeply impressive. Strong in all areas: excellent goalkeeper, solid at the back, rampaging full backs, power and poise in deep midfield – Matic and Fabregas – flair and energy in the attacking midfield trio, and, finally, a big, aggressive, lethal striker in Diego Costa. A decent supporting cast on the bench too. Jose Mourinho has done it again. Unassailable, surely.

But Man City have been hanging on in there. At times they’ve looked a bit off colour, and have suffered from injuries to key players: notably Aguero and Kompany, but also Silva. Yaya Toure took a while to get going too, but seems to have found his shooting boots again recently. And so, stealthily, they have caught up with Chelsea, who have lost a couple of games in the past month. Aguero is big loss – he was on fire before he got injured again. But they are on the verge of buying Wilfried Bony from Swansea, which is an astute move. He has been excellent this season and has the class to step up further at City.

I still think Chelsea will come out top, but it will be a good fight between the two.

Then the wackiness begins. Man Utd had a poor start under Louis van Gaal – worse than under David Moyes the previous season. Loads of injuries, bafflement at the 3-5-2, new players getting to know each other. But gradually things have gelled. They still look fragile at the back; but going forward, they have awesome talent at their disposal. Mata, Rooney, van Persie, Falcao, di Maria. England’s version of the galacticos. I really like the way Rooney is playing at the moment – quite deep lying, threading passes, ghosting in to the box to score, interchanging with Mata, who looks to have regained his confidence. It’s a role I’d like to see Rooney playing for England: creator, poacher, rather than target man. Finally, the new Paul Scholes!

Arsenal are just…. Arsenal. Occasionally exhilarating, deeply frustrating to their fans, injury-wracked and with that perennial soft centre. Defensive midfield, centre back, goal keeper. None are good enough for a team with title aspirations. I mean, they had Monreal playing in the centre of defence recently! On the plus side, Cazorla has been excellent in midfield since the loss of Ramsey, Ozil and Wilshere, Sanchez has been a true star and Theo Walcott is back! Arsenal will pick up, go on the customary unbeaten run-in from March, and come third or fourth. They may do well in the Champions League, where they have a relatively kind last 16 draw – Monaco – and where their playing style has more chance of success. That would be nice: Champions League triumph, to cap Arsene’s reign. Then he could leave with head held high, as he deserves to do.

Who might then replace him? Well, I imagine that Ronald Koeman at Southampton is gaining a few advocates, just as the implosion of Borussia Dortmund in Germany might be damaging the reputation of the much sought-after Jurgen Klopp. The Saints have been the revelation of the season. Back up to fourth, after a wobble when they played Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd in swift succession. They recently put Arsenal in their place, too. After the heart was ripped out of last season’s team – Lallana, Lovren, Lambert to Liverpool, Shaw to Man Utd, Chambers to Arsenal, manager Pochettino to Spurs – the prospects looked grim. But Koeman came in from Feyenoord, brought in some useful players we’d hardly heard of (Pelle, Tadic, Mane, Alderweireld, as well as England squad goalkeeper, Fraser Forster from Celtic) and had the team playing attractive football, while having the tightest defence around. A remarkable achievement. Can they hang on for a Champions League place? Maybe, but they’ll have to stay very strong, when Arsenal embark on the traditional sprint to the finish. Fifth I fear.

Talking of Liverpool, they have been the big disappointment this season, after their swashbuckling second place last time. Losing Suarez to Barcelona was always going to be a massive blow, and Sturridge has been injured for much of the season. The vim, the pace, the pressing all seems to have gone. Sterling has missed his two partners, Gerrard has looked a bit jaded and seems to have fallen out with manager Brendan Rodgers, and none of the new players has shone. Lallana has been in and out, while Lovren is a shadow of the defender he was at Southampton. Worst of all though…. Balotelli. A moment of hubris for Rodgers, thinking his man-management skills could do the job on the moody Italian. He has been off the pace, seemingly uninterested, totally unsuited to Liverpool’s preferred style of pacy attacking and pressing up the pitch. The fans seem to have turned against Rodgers – that didn’t take long – which seems unfair to me. The loss of your two best strikers would hurt any team (even Man City have struggled a bit by their standards) and Gerrard has reached that age where some loss of his powers are inevitable. There’s no disaster really – they are only 7 points off fourth place with half the season to go. But expectations were raised by last season’s overachievement. A bit of patience is required.

That leaves me with one more side that has been in the top four. Along with Southampton, the surprise of the season. Oh yes, my own team, the happy Hammers! Slightly less happy after losing to Chelsea (easily), Arsenal (unluckily) and drawing with West Brom (stupidly) over the festive period. But we’re still pinching ourselves to make sure the transformation of the team isn’t just a dream. The football is good, the team spirit clearly strong. The new players have integrated exceptionally well, while others have a new spring in their step, Stewart Downing in particular, probing, scoring goals from the tip of the midfield diamond. We have two promising young full backs: Cresswell, bought from Ipswich, Jenkinson, on loan from Arsenal. The goalkeeper, Adrian, has been outstanding. Sakho and Valencia have been revelations up front – fast, powerful, with an eye for goal. These attributes have not been common in West Ham strikers in recent years! And having the big man, Andy Caroll back from relentless injuries gives us variety. Best of all has been the midfield, where Kouyate and Song have been awesome, with Mark Noble as industrious and effective as ever. The heartbeat of the team. It’s disappointing that Zarate hasn’t had a proper chance, but there has been real competition for places.

Can we keep it going? January will be tough, with Kouyate and Sakho (if he isn’t injured) at the African Nations Cup, Winston Reid possibly leaving and some doubts again over Carroll’s fitness. But Alex Song has given up on Cameroon so he’ll be available. The question may be, how strong is the belief that they can be a top six, if not top four team this season? It’s a massive change in mentality. I was a bit worried about the retreat into a shell for the Chelsea game, but I guess Big Sam would say Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is the toughest game of the season and there was another big game against Arsenal two days later. We lost that too, but only after having a goal from Song disallowed for interference by another player who didn’t touch the ball. Many refs would have given the goal, it would have been 1-0 and brittle Arsenal might have crumbled. Would, should, might… The habitual refuge of the losing fan!

Anyway, fingers crossed; but I reckon 7th or 8th is most likely. Not a bad return and something to build on.

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Rush, rush, rush!

Posted on January 5, 2015 by John S

I’m taking a week’s leave, taking it easy in London, soaking up a bit of art around the place. Today I went back to Tate Britain for another look at the Late Turner exhibition (of which more in another blog soon).

Making my way back afterwards, as I walked down the slope into Pimlico station, some bloke in a suit with a satchel barged me aside. OK, my head was still full of big thoughts about Turner’s seas and skies; but then he did the same to a woman and her child just in front of me. Moving in a straight line, moving in a straight line. Rush, rush, rush.

I took the tube to Victoria and changed onto the District Line there. People pressing on to the train before we’d got off. People pushin’ and a shovin’ on the steps up to the District and Circle Line platform. Pouring on to the Wimbledon train, desperate for that last seat. So fast, so aggressive.

I’d slowed down. In chill-out mode. In art mode. Why were all these people in such a hurry? Yeah, I know, I’m just the same myself in work mode. I looked around the carriage. First day back at work for most. January blues. Maybe I’ll catch those on 12 January.

I realised how all those people who come up to London from the countryside, small towns, abroad, can feel pretty intimidated by the London attitude, especially on public transport. So rude, unfriendly, they say. Just surviving really. You harden, until you see someone in genuine distress. Everyone helps then.

Big city life.

So people, if going back to work has been a bit stressful, let me calm you down with one of Turner’s most beautiful late paintings. Take in the colours, the light, the castle seeming to rise from the early morning mist. It’s called “Norham Castle” and was first exhibited in 1845. Genius.

Norham Castle, Sunrise c.1845 by Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851

Copied from the Tate website – a brilliant array of Turners are there.

Doesn’t that feel better?

PS. I got three songs into that little piece. They are in italics. The bands are Galliano, Wire, Mattafix. Do you know which is which?

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lovelondonscenes – 83

Posted on January 4, 2015 by John S

On Friday just gone, I went up to have a proper look around the new Kings Cross development. It was impressive, but mostly pretty quiet – no surprise, I guess, on 2 January. What I liked best was the architecture of the station itself.

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The roof inside the new concourse is spectacular.

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Outside looking over to St Pancras. Four takes of the same photo. Top left is the original.

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The bit of the station that really matters!

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Looking over to St Pancras again.

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Front of the station.

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Gateway to the North.  And, of course, location of Harry Potter’s famous platform 9 and 3/4. These days there’s a big queue of tourists having their photos taken with Griffyndor scarves by a bit of wall that’s been designated as the place.  Fair enough!

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lovelondonscenes – 82

Posted on January 2, 2015 by John S

Happy New Year to you all.  Thanks for all your support and comments over 2014. Onward to 2015!

We walked to Richmond along the Grand Union Canal and the Thames on New Year’s Day. A rather cloudy and grey day, but cleared the cobwebs and whatever the weather, it is always a lovely scene. A few shots coming into Richmond…

From Richmond Lock.

IMG_1973Under Twickenham Bridge, which is not in Twickenham and is closer to Richmond than Richmond Lock! The next bridge is a railway bridge.

IMG_1975Richmond Bridge in the background.

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Sportsthoughts (122) – A Hammer at Stamford Bridge

Posted on December 30, 2014 by John S

On Boxing Day, I was invited by my good friend Dave – the Big Man – to Chelsea to see my team, West Ham, to take on the League leaders. I was a little more optimistic than usual – after all we were fourth in the table, our best position in the top league at Christmas since 1985, the season when we eventually came third. Sadly, English teams were banned from European club competitions, after the appalling Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985, when 39, mostly Juventus, supporters lost their lives at the Liverpool v Juve European Cup final. The European authorities finally lost patience with years of English football hooliganism and banned the clubs for five years. Some clubs, like Everton, who won the English first division twice in that time, and West Ham, with their best ever finish, suffered from not being able to build on their success with European competition; but let’s face it, after Heysel, no-one felt like arguing about it. Thankfully we now live in a very different world.

So, on Boxing Day, with the District Line shut over Christmas, so no-one could get to the ground on the tube, I set off, planning a brisk walk from Hammersmith to Fulham Broadway, the location of Chelsea’s ground, Stamford Bridge. (So Chelsea are in Fulham, not Chelsea, just as West Ham are actually in East Ham!). The walk took about forty-five minutes, down the Fulham Palace Road and beyond,through territory that felt like the set from “Minder”, the quintessential comedy underworld series, full of spivs and gangsters, set in West London. I popped into a bookies on the way to put £10 on a West Ham win. 7/1 in a two horse race, 1st against 4th! I met Dave inside the Chelsea grounds at 10.45, ready for a two hour slap up breakfast before kick off at 12.45. Dave has a share of a couple of tickets that involve hospitality, and very hospitable it is too!

As we lingered outside the stadium itself, a red Rolls Royce suddenly appeared. Out of it stepped the diminutive figure of the West Ham co-chairman, David Sullivan. Dressed in black, with grey suede shoes. Impassive stare, as bewildered Chelsea fans watched him. One of the two Davids – the other David Gold – who rescued West Ham from their financial dark days. Now we are heading for residency at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, and the future is bright. You have to admire the brio of the man – red Roller and number plate that combines his own initials with those of the team. Not afraid to show off!

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(The geezer in the picture is the driver I think, not DS, who exited quickly from the back).

Into the Chelsea restuarant, and Dave immediately outed me to the staff as a West Ham fan! But they couldn’t have been more courteous – and interested in how I felt about my team this season.  Real professionals. The food was an amazing mix. There were help-yourself starters: smoked salmon, prawns, charcuterie, cheeses, breads. And then a full English breakfast! (Or steak and eggs or kedgeree or something else). And then… a dessert! I don’t think I’ve ever had a dessert after a full English. It was good. And we washed that down with some nice still water….er, and two pints of Guinness and some smooth Malbec. Oooff!  Perfect preparation for some football viewing…

The first half was all Chelsea. I was a bit disappointed with Big Sam’s tactics. Showed he didn’t quite believe in himself and the team yet. Instead of playing with the adventurous formation that has taken the team to fourth place, he retreated into a crabby 4-5-1 which left Andy Carroll isolated as centre forward, and Stewart Downing, a revelation at the tip of a midfield diamond, shoved out onto the right wing, where he hardly saw the ball. And Alex Song and Diafra Sakho didn’t even start. The caution also meant that the majestic Cesc Fabregas could stroll around in deep midfield for Chelsea and thread perfect passes, long to Costa, short to the indefatigable Hazard, Willian and Oscar, with hardly a challenge. And if anyone tried, the awesome Matic was there to sort it out. We were defensively quite solid though, and so, despite all the Chelsea possession, we were only 1-0 down, to a John Terry poke-in, at half time.

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A West Ham free kick is spooned over the bar.

Back to the restaurant for a quick lager and a bite of a rather unappetising turkey stuffing pie, Dave and I got back for the start of the second half – just. I always remember a brilliant European Champions League tie a few years ago, Chelsea v Barcelona, when we missed the only goal of the game, scored by Didier Drogba, which went in about a minute into the second half! So we’d learned our lesson, but most people in the restaurant hadn’t. For about five minutes we were surrounded by a sea of empty seats. What Roy Keane notoriously called the “prawn sandwich brigade” at Man Utd.

In the second half West Ham upped their tempo, and brought on Song, Sakho and Amalfitano as the game wore on. We ended up having a few chances, but Costa scored a brilliant second and Chelsea continued to pepper the West Ham goal. Our keeper, Adrian, must have been our man of the match. Chelsea were at their very best, and showed why they are top of the Premier League. But I can’t help but feel that we let them settle into superiority. I’m sure we could have ruffled their defence with a more aggressive attacking strategy early on. It showed that the belief isn’t quite there yet. But, hey, no real complaints – we were playing the best team in the League, on their turf.

So 2-0 to Chelsea. No great disaster. Back to the restaurant for more food…and drink. An array of cheeses, finished off the Malbec, a Guinness for the road. Watched a bit of Man Utd v Newcastle on the TV. Left at 3,30. Only 3.30! It had already been a pretty full day.

I walked back to Hammersmith in a cold drizzle and then joined my family at my wife’s brother and Dad’s for Boxing Day nibbles and drinks. I was reasonably coherent still. I think. Normal service resumed.

A good day at the Bridge, despite the loss. With thanks to Dave and all the people in the restaurant who made me so welcome.

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Have You Heard? – (58) Espers

Posted on December 23, 2014 by John S

I think the answer might be no. So here’s a pointer. I was writing about the band tonight for my music book (which is nearly finished – hooray!). Here’s what I said and a YouTube version of one of their best songs.

Espers are a band who are little known, judging by the internet, and are described by Wikipedia as psych-folk. The psych being psychedelic, as opposed to psychotic or psycho. I first came across them through the Word magazine’s monthly compilation CDs, when they included a track called “Mansfield and Cyclops”. A strange combination I thought, Greek mythology and an industrial town in Nottinghamshire. What could it mean? I forget which year I had these thoughts. The song was on an album released in 2006, but I think it was a few years on before I realised how good it was. I used to keep all those monthly CDs and only occasionally listen to them at the time. So much to do, so little time! But I then spent a bit of time uploading all of them on to my iTunes, on one big playlist. I added a few other CDs, from Q and Uncut. Put the lot on shuffle and you got to hear some really interesting sounds. And that’s when “Mansfield and Cyclops” came up, and “Cruel Storm”. Two fantastic tracks, both from Espers’ second album, called “II”. (The first in 2004 was called “Espers” and the third in 2009 was called “III”, so the band clearly didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about album titles!).

When I first heard the band I thought they must be Irish – or maybe an English prog-folk combo. Irish because of that sense of celtic soul – like an ancient version. The female singer – the duties were shared – reminded me of Clannad. Whatever, the sound of “Mansfield And Cyclops” and “Cruel Storm” was mystical, beautiful, with a real sense of the past – centuries past – but also with some striking guitar shapes. I knew I was getting sucked into the dreaded prog here. I could hear Wishbone Ash’s “Warrior”, the pastoral side of Genesis, and who knows what that Yes and others conjured up in the seventies. But most of all, I heard songs of astonishing beauty. There was clearly no alternative but to buy the album and delve into the rest of Espers’ past.

And what I found was those three albums and a few EPs besides. All filled with magical music. A sort of clash between the mediaeval and seventies folk rock, with some seriously good guitar thrown in. I couldn’t really listen to too much in one go, because it was just too prog for me, being a simple rocker really. But there were some wonderful tracks, and the whole blurred into this classic British folk thing, stretching back into the Middle Ages. I so I thought. In fact, the band are American, from Philadelphia. So I guess you have to look to influences like Jefferson Airplane and even The Doors – some of the amazing guitar on songs like “Cruel Storm” and “Mansfield and Cyclops” aren’t so different to The Doors’ epic, “The End”. There’s a third track which stands out for me, which is on the first “Espers” album. It is called “Riding”. It’s sung, I assume, by frontman Greg Weeks. It’s a lovely tune, punctuated by some extraordinary distorted guitar. The ultimate Espers combination. As I was thinking about how to describe it, I imagined Jimi Hendrix being transported back to Sherwood Forest and teaming up with Robin Hood, Maid Marian and the Merry Men. Daft, I know, but that’s what it feels like.

The band don’t seem to have done a lot in recent times, as far as I can tell. I would really love to see them live. I suspect I never will. But they are my greatest prog guilty pleasure!

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lovelondonscenes -81

Posted on December 21, 2014 by John S

 

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Trafalgar Square from the steps of the National Gallery yesterday afternoon. popped in for an hour or so before doing a bit of Christmas shopping – wanted to check the Turners and Constables. Inevitably stopped by Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Cezanne, Monnet, Sisley, van Gogh…. how privileged we are in London to be able to do this – for free!

Look carefully in the left foreground and you can see a young boy transfixed by a Yoda! All life…

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My Top Ten – Albums of 2014

Posted on December 17, 2014 by John S

So, after much head scratching, here’s my Top Ten of 2014. The hardest choice was between one and two. I thought about equal 1st, but decided that was a cop out. More after the list.

1. Royal Blood – Royal Blood

2. Lost In The Dream – The War On Drugs

3. Sunbathing Animal/Light Up Gold (2013) – Parquet Courts

4. Augustines – Augustines

5. Liminal – The Acid

6. Total Strife Forever – East India Youth

7. Are We There? – Sharon Van Etten

8. Art Official Age/PlectrumElectrum – Prince/3rd Eye Girl

9. Songs Of Innocence – U2

10. I Forget where We Were – Ben Howard

Yeah, it was a hard call to pick No 1. There were three contenders really. Parquet Courts are the best New York new wave band I’ve heard since The Strokes first burst on the scene. I didn’t hear their 2013 album “Light Up Gold” until this year. I immediately fell in love with the opening two tracks, which go together: “Master Of My Craft” and “Borrowed Time”. Amazing punk rock’n’roll. And then there was the epic “Stoned and Starving”. The guitar is something else. 2014’s “Sunbathing Animals” was good, if not as good. Still worth 3rd place though. The War On Drugs “Lost In The Dream” is a wonderfully moving mix of Americana and electronica, with echoes of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. It’s a break up album, the story of frontman Adam Granduciel. It’s heartbreaking, utterly beautiful and quite grandiose, as the guitars and sax launch into magnificent solos. Live, at Latitude, I was completely bowled over.

So how didn’t the War On Drugs make No1? Because Royal Blood came along and made the most enjoyable hard rocking album for years. On one level hugely retro, with echoes of Led Zep and the White Stripes’ blues rock; on the other, a totally modern take on the genre. I got into them seeing the impact they had at Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds festivals. Just the two of them – Mike Kerr on bass (sounding like guitar) and Ben Thatcher on drums. A truly awesome noise, which I found completely inspiring.  To continue they’ll have to evolve, probably build up the band. But for now, this was visceral, hugely enjoyable rock’n’roll. It wouldn’t have been honest for me to put anything else at No 1.

At no 4, Augustines continued what sounds to me like their Bruce-inspired rock’n’roll journey. You might have read my review of their recent concert at the Roundhouse, which was so good. They are one of the great live bands. The energy is extraordinary. Singer and guitarist Billy McCarthy really wears his heart on his sleeve. You need to listen to the album a few times before it reveals its treasures, but it is worth it.

The Acid at No 5 you may not know. I heard them for the first time at Latitude. It’s seriously good electro pop. A techno Depeche Mode. Quite a sinister sound at times. Great tunes, with some strikingly bass heavy grooves. This should be massive.

At no 6, I’ve got another artist I saw at Latitude, East India Youth. The album, title a pun on Foal’s second album, is a glorious mixture of pop, electronica and techno. Another grower. Live, William Doyle – who is EIY – leaps around from keyboard to keyboard and plays the bass and just makes an awesome sound. It can only get better.

Sharon Van Etten at 7, is very confessional. “Are We There?’ is a deep album, which works as a whole piece. The previous album, “Tramp” was more country/Americana; this one enters torch song territory. I’m hearing a bit of Patti Smith and PJ Harvey in there too. This is a good thing! One to wallow in.

Prince has been tearing things up live for the last few years. I saw him at the Roundhouse this year, with 3rd Eye Girl giving him some heavy-rocking backing, and he was quite astounding. So many absolute classics, but some good new stuff too. He marked that by releasing two albums together. “Art Official Age”is a great soul funk piece that really grows on you. “PlectrumElectrum” is mostly seventies retro rock, which comes to life on the stage. Together they are immense.

U2 were reviled by some by releasing their new album, “Songs Of Innocence” on iTunes, in collaboration with Apple. You got it even if you didn’t want it – sort of. You had to get it off the Cloud. But onto the music…. it’s not in my U2 top 5, but it is still a really good rock/pop album. Give it a chance!

Finally, in the ten, Ben Howard, with his follow up album to the hugely successful “Every Kingdom”. I’ve got my son, Kieran, to thank for putting me on to the man. We saw him at Latitude in 2012 and he was superb, one of the best that year, and really popular with the youth. An excellent guitarist, focusing at that time on the acoustic. On “I Forget Where We Were” he’s switched to electric, with plenty of echo and is creating a similar atmosphere to another contemporary band, Daughter.  Most of all though, I’m reminded of the late great John Martyn, and some of his classic seventies pieces like “Solid Air” and “One World”. That is a recommendation and a half!

So that’s the Ten. For those of you with access to Spotify, you can hear a selection of tracks from the albums at the link below. I’ve added four other artists to that playlist because they each meant a lot to me in 2014.

Nils Frahm is a brilliant electro-classical keyboardist. He, again, was at Latitude and was astoundingly good. I’ve included his track “Says”, from 2013 album “Spaces”.  I had to include an Emily Barker track from her wonderful 2013 album “Dear River” and I’ve chosen the heart-rending “In The Winter I Returned”, which is musical poetry. I saw Swedish folkies First Aid Kit at Latitude and enjoyed them without  getting too excited. But I kept on hearing tracks on BBC 6 Music from 2013’s “Stay Gold” and thinking, I really like this. So I bought the album and I now love it! The title track is on my selection.

And finally, in honour of the wonderful Don Letts-inspired reggae dance-athon into the early hours on the last night of Latitude, I give you Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”. When this came on and everyone was skanking, it was one of those truly magical moments. On a muddy slope in a damp wood, we grooved to the sunshine sounds of Jamaica.

Yeah, this is love!

Best of 2014 (and some 2013 extras)

 

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