Thursday, December 31, 2009

Joseph's End of the Year List

Hey guys,
I been so busy of late but with any luck I will be increasing (dramatically) my postings.
Instead of acknowledging the artists here, I will acknowledge the labels who I think have done consistently good things this year:

Badminton Bandit
These guys live around the corner from me. They are special, there is a loose relation to the Good Boys hip hop posse, who totally rock.

Meupe
I don't know much about these guys, their releases are kind of dark, but I like their ethos. The Ambassador From Everywhere nights are really something to watch out for.

Tomlab
The first of two Canadian labels, kind of affiliated, love Mt Eerie, and LOVE the David Shrigley artwork usage.

Blocks Recording Club
I have been listening to a release that showcases their artists practically non-stop and the Picastro album is finally out!

Rainbow Quartz
For consistency and reliability in awesome indie pop.

Series Two
The most personally important of the bunch, because Christopher's heart and dedication are so strong, that anything Series Two does is worthwhile.

I hope everyone's New Year was great.

Series Two Chris' 2009 year end list



*Here is a listing of best albums introduced to the ears of “Series Two Chris” during the year 2009. The list prominently contains albums released during 2009 year but may also include a few from year(s) prior. Among the few hundred albums heard during 2009 by me, here below I present my list of albums I enjoyed the most.


BEST FULL LENGTHS:


1. Cleemann “45 Minutes Mostly About Caring”
2. Poland “Interstellar Policeman”
3. Minakumari “Rasa”
4. Homestories “Click-Click-Clack-Clack”
5. Mr. Wright “Diary of a Fool”
6. Nebraska Pop Festival mixtape
7. Kings of Convenience “Declaration of Dependence”
8. Malkovic “Little Estrada”
9. Spencer McGillicutty “Games”
10. Zanin’s Magic Crayon “S/T”
11. My Autumn Sons “Perfect”
12. Series Two Compilation: Volume 15 through Volume 23 (9 CD set)
13. Hearts By Darts “S/T”
14. Series Two Christmas Compilation
15. Chuck Morgan “Patchworks”
16. James & The Express “Are Your Tomatoes Safe?”
17. Mammoth Life “Kaleidoscopic Art Pop”
18. Brave Radar “A Building”
19. Pennyhawk “The Mystery Mines”
20. Artisokka “Sea Bed”
21. Argyle Wishlist “My Thoughts Exactly”
22. Tinycakes “The First Two Years”
23. Christopher Ostrom “Audio Loading…Please Wait…”
24. Mother Z’s “S/T”
25. Landerim “Shallow Draw”


Honorable Mentions (FULL LENGTHS):


Pretty Abandoned Quintet “Searchlights”
2 out of 3 rule “Really Elementary”
Andras Toth (his three long play CDRs)
We & Lisa “Dreams Within A Dream”


BEST EP’S/SINGLES:
1. Thunder Power “Love Yourself”
2. Mr. & Mrs. Muffins “S/T”
3. Transmittens (3 inch)
4. Jodi & the Morning Glory Parade “Every Morning We Must Say Good Morning”
5. Mari Shimamura “S/T”
6. Old Time Radio “Find the Difference”
7. Double Dan “At Dawn”
8. Cowboy Indian Bear “S/T”
9. Weak Ends “We”
10. Man From Another Place “The Loneliest Cowboy”
11. Astruval “S/T”
12. Robert Church and the Holy Community “Wizard On Fire”
13. Opaluc “Including Five Tracks”
14. Pedestrian Pets “Over”
15. French Woods “The TV Outlaws”



MOST ADMIRED PERSONALITIES (no particular order):



Cesar (Zanin’s Magic Crayon/UK)
Dereck (Cleemann/Son Ambulance/NEBRASKA)
Gunnar, Jeanne and Michael (Cleemann/DENMARK)
Hiroho (Hiroho’s Music Friends/JAPAN)
Edward (Workerbee Records/IOWA)
Bibo (Cuddle Pop/INDONESIA)
Matt (Electric Needle Room/Mav Radio/NEBRASKA)
Will (Thunder Power/City Weekly/NEBRASKA)
Jef (Barley Street/NEBRASKA)
Nate (Ames Progressive/IOWA)
James (Tinycakes/ILLINOIS)
Andrew (Fensepost/WASHINGTON)
Yves (Hands & Arms/FRANCE)
Jesse (Argyle Wishlist/Postcard Music/WISCONSIN)
Danny (Tweefort/CONNECTICUT)
Joseph (EIF blog + very good man/AUSTRALIA)
JuanCar (Toxicosmos/SPAIN)
Javi (Shake Finger Pop/SPAIN)
Tomohiro (Flannel/JAPAN)
Matt + Chris (Charlie Big Time/UK)
Sergio (A Pleasant Dream/SPAIN)
Eike (Das Klienicum/GERMANY)
Thomas (Pigeon Lane/GERMANY)
Shane, Mark B & R, “Brian”, Noah, Nanda, Janet, Karen; (Poland/WASHINGTON)
Anders (My Autumn Sons/SWEDEN)
Kevin (Mr. Wright/UK)
Andy & Becca (Mother Z’s/ILLINOIS)
Casey (MAV RADIO/NEBRASKA)



Honorable mentions: Special thanks to all that make “Series Two” what it is today. And to all that ever supported the bands and all the projects I’ve worked so hard for.


Hugs,
Christopher

Best of 2009


Top 10:
1. The Mary Onettes - "Islands"
2. Afternoon Naps - "Parade"
3. Cheap Red - "Cheap Red"
4. Burning Hearts - "Aboa Sleeping"
5. The Besties - “Home Free”
6. A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "Ashes Grammar"
7. Camera Obscura - "My Maudlin Career"
8. Dream Date - "Patience"
9. The Drums - "The Drums EP"
10. Summer Cats - "Songs For Tuesdays"

Honorable Mention:
11. The Lovely Eggs - "If You Were Fruit"
12. Bricolage - "Bricolage"
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart"
14. Let's Wrestle - "In The Court of The Wrestling Let's"
15. Hiawata! - "These Boys and This Band is All I Know"
16. Brilliant Colors - "Introducing"
17. Cats On Fire – “Our Temperance Movement”
18. The Raveonettes - "In and Out of Control"
19. The Legends - "Over and Over"
20. Very Truly Yours – “Reminders” EP

Worth a listen:
21. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names – #4 EP
22. Bad Lieutenant - "Never Cry Another Tear"
23. Dum Dum Girls - "Dum Dum Girls"
24. The Pastels & Tenniscoats - "Two Sunsets"
25. God Help The Girl - "God Help The Girl"

Monday, December 21, 2009

Haunted Stereo-Cross The Sea EP

Haunted Stereo is a 5+ piece "folk/pop" group from Southampton in the United Kingdom. "Cross The Sea" is their most recent release, an 8 song EP. This all may be true, but there is much, much more to be said about this group and this release. I'll focus on "Cross The Sea" which has been released as an EP but plays more like a LP. Listening to the 30 minute disc you hear both female and male vocals, guitar, bass, drums, violin, piano, melodica, accordion...and more. Though it never feels cluttered or forced. Everything falls into place beautifully. Each song stands wonderfully on it's own, yet I get the feeling that none of them could exist without the others (or I'm glad they don't). This is what I mean by it playing more like an LP, each song flows perfectly into the next. "Cross The Sea" is a very charming, passionate and sincere record with no wasted moments, it is wonderfully paced and has a rather timeless quality. It will certainly be getting repeated plays on my stereo.

To find out more about Haunted Stereo please visit: http://www.myspace.com/hauntedstereomusic or
http://hauntedstereo.co.uk/