Another year, another new album by Andy Bell. Pinball Wanderer will be released in four weeks and he has released a cover version as an appetizer in advance. The fact that he chose a song by The Passions from 1981 may come as a surprise at first, but it makes sense, as the original's echoing guitar is very similar to the way he plays.
What's much more surprising is that the collaboration with Neu!'s Michael Rother and One Dove's Dot Allison has turned this song into a pearl.
Justin Robertson added also a few superb remixes of a song that sounds like an early highlight of the year. You can listen to them all here.
In addition to my year-end list, here are a few songs that didn't appear on it but should not go unmentioned. The list does not contain a rating of the songs.
The first half of the year is over and I got a few days off work. Later this afternoon we will fly to Brittany, France to visit a few good friends for almost a week. I am so happy to see some different places and cultures instead of a desk full of work. At the end of last month Dot Allison released a remix by GLOK/Andy Bell. It is a collaboration I waited a long time for and for me a highlight this year. Dot's volatile woice meet guitar, loops and feedback. Kind of magic.
There are some musicians who have to do a lot to disappoint me with a new single or album. My affection is too great not to forgive weaker songs. One of them is Dot Allison, whose voice always captures me. A few days ago she announced the release of her next solo album for the end of July and released the lead single Consciousology. It is once again a dreamy piece of pop music, enhanced by the guitar of her label mate Andy Bell. It looks like Dot is moving in the direction of established songwriters like Tim Hardin and Mercury Rev with her new songs. This is certainly not the wrong road to take.
Mark Peters, an English songwriter, musician and producer released last year Red Sunset Dreams, one of those albums I always come back to during the last six months. I follow him since his since he released his Innerland albums/remixes and for me it was an album I can relax by and get rid of many thoughts that buzzed around my mind. A peaceful, warm and relaxed album filled with songs you can drift away. Some might reduce him to another artist surfing on the Balearic scene but for me his songs has a deep like I listened seldom to. That he had the chance to collaborate with Dot Allison for a couple of songs makes them brighter than most others. This is a newer remix by Richard Norris and he made a great song better than expected.
Part two of this little retrospective bring us a band that now after The Fall has gone are the last survivors of 80's indie-rock. Nigel Blackwell and HMHB are too long in business to make any worse album an so is The Voltarol Years another example how indie-rock should sound today. Powerful guitars and intelligent lyrics.
Mark Peters returned after his fantastic Innerlands from 2018 with another excursion into a wide country of guitar based sounds with Red Sunset Dreams. An album you can drift away and as the sound is not much enough Dot Allison lends her velvet voice to a few songs.
Antoine Harispuru aka Golden Bug is a French DJ and producer and I follow his works since a couple of years. Now he released Piscolabis his first full length record. A trip through electronic and guitars that I can't compare with any other artists - maybe The Limiñanas with electronics.
Another indie-rock and legends of experimental rock returned with rehearsals of their last period in the beginning of the new century. It is not necessary to explain Sonic Youth and In/Out/In didn't got much critical acclaim but for are these songs better than many others released this year. Maybe only because I always loved their music.
One of the most mysterious albums this year came from France. Société Etrange released with Chance a milestone of electronic music. Six songs without words, equivocal rhythms, accented bass and drenched in melancholy took me several times in 2022 into a trip to another dimension of sound.
A Mountain Of One is a London based band and if you want you can file them under progressive and psyche rock. But this is not all because you can find on Stars Planet Dust Me much more influences from music of the last decades. An album that grows the often you listen to it.
Our cosmic shaman also released another album. Nothing new or different to his former albums just a few good-time songs for feel-bad days.
Another band that can't make any bad album Reading's Sea Power. Everything Was Forever is just what I expected - a bunch of melodic guitar-pop with elements of electronica and post-punk.
It is still summer and we will have many very hot days ahead here in Southern Germany. I am still off for another day with my colleagues from our workers council for an education in social payment. It is in a small hotel close to my living place so that we have time enough to sit together and talk about many things we haven't the time for during regular working days. Even if it is summer more and more bands sent announcements for their upcoming records. There are so many that I can't listen to all of them but there are some pearls I found. One of them is the new album by British musician, songwriter and producer Mark Peters. I got aware of his music when he released several albums with electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss during the last years. For Red Sunset Dreams he collaborated with Dot Allison for a few songs - the rest will be instrumentals inspired by old Western movies. This song is a perfect symbiosis of Dot's clear voice and Mark's psychedelic guitar sound.
Some artists can release whatever they want and I can't resist to think it is great again. One of those is Dot Allison, the Scottish singer with a voice I really enjoy. A few years ago she released Heart-Shaped Scars another album I enjoyed and she is going to release an EP with a few remixes from this album. And for me it nothing more or less a superb rework.
The year is almost over and it is time to have a look back to the releases from 2021. I have to say that there were many albums released that are worth to be mentioned in a retrospective. Not all albums that impressed me or made fun got it on the year and list. What doesn't mean that they are no good at all but I decided to list 21 albums from this year without scoring in the order.
Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
Sault - Nine
Ben Watt - Storm Shelter
The Orb - Abolition of the Royal Familia (Guillotine mixes)
Short before the turn of the century Richard Fearless released with his band Death In Vegas a classic record that I rediscovered a few days ago. I got this record by recommendation by a friend and what I heard blew my mind. I seldom listened to an album that was different and never boring. A melange of loops inspired by The Velvets, JAMC and The Stooges and combined with the best electronic music could give you at this time. And it was no wonder that Iggy Pop, Bobby Gillespie, Dot Allison and Jim Reid appeared on this forgotten masterpiece.
I was surprised to hear that Dot Allison is going to release a new album after more than a decade. And I have to admit that I was really curious to her new songs and if they are still relevant in these days. Since Andrew Weatherall produced her bands One Dove epic album Morning Dove White a superb melange of country and folk melancholy with dub and electronica I enjoyed listening to Dot's voice. Now the album moved away from any electronic beats towards a classical singer-songwriter style from the 70's. Listening to her songs I think it is the release of forgotten Sandy Denny songs. But it is simply Dot Allison. A beautiful album that makes a good start into August. If you have enough of beats and rock take a time out and listen to this.
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