British Expatriate Network

So, what did you really like this year? Anything float your boat? Anything really irritate the tits off you?

I've been reading through a whole bunch of end-of-year best-of lists for albums this year and have been pleasantly reminded of things in my record collection that I'd forgotten all about. Except for NME which is laughable (Arctic Monkeys is fun but gets old very very quick - but thats only my opinion - and The Strokes record is pretty weak) I'm reminded of how many bloody good records came out this year.

I really liked Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther, very 70s corduroy rock. Gotan Project was as good as the first one. A few others I've been listening to alot are Cat Power - The Greatest, Beirut - Gulag Orkestar, Sondre Lerche - Duper Sessions, Ali Farke Toure - Savane, Murder By Death - In Bocca Al Luppo and Anouar Brahem - Le Voyage de Sahar. The Sufjan Stevens Songs For Christmas boxset is top too. I've been bopping around to The Knife and also Sepultura album over the last few weeks too. But my favorite record is Kashmir's No Balance Palace - go Danish rock! That with Madrugada and Denmark wins my fave bands at the moment (with Norway a very close second). My wife really liked the KT Tunstall, Gnarls Barkley, Josh Ritter and Decemberists records. And my wife has had Vince Gill on nonstop for about a month.

As for annoying, I really disliked the Jarvis Cocker record. Naff doesn't cover it. Razorlight is a really poor record too. I was dissapointed with The Killers album, and Kasabian's is nowhere near as good as the first one. I love Mogwai but the new one was fairly bland which was a shame. And the Pearl Jam one - another band I used to adore - was really awful. The Flaming Lips was surprisingly dull too. And if I here another red Hot Chili Peppers songs that sounds exactly the freaking same I may cut my own ears off. The Raconteurs album was like really bad White Stripes. Keane, Muse and Scissor Sisters were just fairly one dimensional too.

How about you? Get anything that gave you goosebumps?

Both Mrs Servalan and myself have been enjoying the Decemberists Picaresque album an awful lot - and the Tain ep as well,- looking forward to hearing The Crane wife.
Sonic youths Rather Ripped did pretty well, beings as its a bit of a return to early 90's form and I discovered a new found love for Yo La Tengo-although Mrs S isn't too keen on the noisy stuff.
Heard a band called The Fratelli's over in the UK in October and we came home with their album, its kind of jolly. A friend of mine from Cornwall gave me a whole ton of cd's when we went to visit cos he's a vinyl junkie and can't stand to have em around so i aquirred about Four Vic Chesnutt albums (getting lots of play) That Cat Power album and Moon Pix, not too keen but interested enough to keep listening-. some Faust, Non, Buff Medways, the Monks, the melvins, Sigur Ros and a couple of albums by M.Ward
All my fave records have been by old artists who i've only just started listening to - John Fahey, Dead C, Handsome Family, The Silver Apples, Godspeed you!Black emperor and I finally bought the Sufjan Stevens Michigan album- which is really cool. Can't really see how he's gonna finish that project off unless he skips a few states and bundles all of new england into one disc.
There's far too much music that i want to hear but will probably never get around to although I did manage to track down some real obscurities on ebay.(Edgar Broughton, The White Noise and Clark/Hutchinson)
My want-list on emusic just keeps on getting longer and longer and each trip to the music store usually ends with Mrs servalan dragging me forcibly out onto the street.
Looking forward to The Residents River of Crime project though...

Oh and not forgetting those amon Duul II reissues.. roll

Well I've had quite a shitty year health wise where staying alive became the major occupation. So from what I was given I have only three albums i like,
Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams, light, soft and unremittingly cheerful.
John Martyn, Glasgow Walker, a delightful surprise, I thought he was dead, he isn't, but my girlfriend who saw him in concert said he's as big as ever but now has diabetes and a false leg. His music is soothing, and wry and on this recording you can hear him chuckling when the song is going well.
Leonard Cohen, Dear Heather, a couple of really gripping, heart wrenching songs, but mainly the dulcit tones of one of my favorite poetical monks.
Not much to offer, but I've been quite poorly. smile

The Crane Wife is quite different to the usual sea shanty stuff - think Peter Gabriel era Genesis. I liked the Sonic Youth record but The Fratellis one bored me a bit. The Handsome Family and Godspeed are the dogs dangleberries though.

Annie - have you ever heard Xavier Rudd? He's like Jack Johnson but more variety and more didgeridoo.

I hadn't but I'm now looking, ta, :smile:

I've been getting into Pinback alot recently. Great stuff.