A tenner in my pocket and fridge full of beer

It's time for my end-of-year posts, I think. I'm not making a list, because I really have trouble ranking music. So, as I did last year, I'm going to come up with arbitrary awards and accolades to give songs/records that I was especially fond of this year. You'll pick it up as we go along.

Most improved - Malcolm Middleton

Malky's first two albums were dour, dark, depressing and other "D" adjectives. He's got a really soft voice, and over the skeletal songs on those albums, he was very, very sad. In the spring, he put out 'A Brighter Beat', and it's fanfuckingtastic. What happened? More instruments, more pulse, more variation, more happiness... well, maybe not that last one, although 'Fuck It, I Love You' was kind of pretty. Elsewhere, there's some rockin' moments (I've posted 'Death Love Depression Love Death' before), a great candidate for Christmas Number One ('We're All Going to Die') and in 'Superhero Songwriters' a straight-up opus. Oh, and don't forget the XFM session I posted in the summer. As an angel said at the end of his first album, his songs are alright.

[download Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat]



[Malcolm Middleton - official site / myspace]
[buy 'A Brighter Beat' US / UK]