Last year I felt under-qualified to comment on new music. This year, I actually bought some new albums. I also had some bought for me and I even heard a couple of others too. So, in no particular order...
5. Fever Forms - The Octopus Project
A Christmas present, fresh to my ears. I have had a soft spot for this Austin, Texas four-piece ever since Hello Avalanche (2007). Fever Forms is a bit more vocal than that album (or 2010's Hexadecagon), but still showcases the bands unique sound. Gorgeous, theremin-heavy, esoteric kaleido-pop. Charming.
4. Comfort - Maya Jane Coles
Over the last couple of years, I kept hearing tracks from DJ and producer, Maya Jane Coles. They were always delicious, sparse slices of soulful, 4am house music. Given her sound, I had assumed she was a middle-aged graduate of the old skool. Turns out she's actually a clued-up twenty-summit. Like Fever Forms, Coles' début long-player is more vocal than I'd anticipated, but still has that shadowy soul of her DJ sets. Sleek.
3. Factory Floor - Factory Floor
Ever since I heard Two Different Ways in 2011 I've been champing at the bit for Factory Floor to release an album. This eponymous LP is an aloof collection of looping, clattering, hypnotic jams, with Nik Colk Void's vocal weaving through the cacophony like the ghost of Nico trapped in a Roland TB-303. Inscrutable.
2. Spaces - Mixhell
Brazil's greatest export. Laima Leyton (machines) and her husband, Sepultura's Iggor Cavalera (drums) are joined by Max Blum (bass) for the electro-disco-punk outfit's first album, Spaces. All tracks are perfectly designed for dance-floor or headphone consumption. Catching them at Glastonbury was a live highlight of the year too. Maravilhoso.
1. Edgeland - Karl Hyde
As the singer with Underworld, what has always set Hyde apart from many a front man is his lack of ego. His words and voice are woven into the mix rather than being the centrepiece. Always playing deference to the music; the tune is god. Given that fact, Edgeland could have gone so wrong. But in ditching the floor-filler beats, edging himself closer to the front, Hyde still just wants us to look at the world around us rather than at him. Edgeland is a beguiling and atmospheric train-ride of brownfield-folk and guitar-tinged electronics. Lovely.
