The Rosequartz #1s

I decided it would perhaps be a nice idea to see what you other kids are listening to, so have acquired the albums the others rated number one that I was not previously in possession of and have listened to the all and I offer you my thoughts. Although, as I have been unable to acquire Person Pitch, and am basing my opinion of it on a quick whizz through at work on a copy that was specially ordered in for someone, I'm including The Clientele also, as it featured prominently on a couple of lists. So I Begin!

Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls

I quite enjoy this, it progresses a lot from previous recordings with which I am familiar, as well as their "Lots of Shouts, Lots of Calls" live show. That said, there are still a few tracks which are of the ilk of their predecessors, that are constructed with the love and attention of a sand-castle artist. The arrangement and harmonic patterning has always been my favourite aspect of this band, and Five exemplifies this for me on this album. The new instrumentation is pretty fun as well!

Panda Bear - Person Pitch

As mentioned previously, I haven't got a very good idea of what this is about, but it sounded pleasant enough whilst I helped lovable old dears finding a particular Andy Williams recording. I think it could have been done better justice through earphones however. I've never quite fallen to the floor in admiration of Animal Collective, but this has definitely helped me to see what they are all about. The instrumentation in particular is a lot nicer, and the rhythms blend quite nicely with one another.

The Clientele - God Save The Clientele

First thoughts are that this is MUCH better than Strange Geometry. I might be harping on about instrumentation a bit in this post, but arrangement and orchestration really do add so much in terms of richness of sound, and give many more options for harmony/dissonance. As was mentioned before by my honourable colleagues, this is pretty sublime and summery. Just wonderfully crafted pop songs can make so much right.

Sir - The Brando Room

This has quickly risen to the top-end of my releases for this year, and Max has risen to the top of my music reviewers for ever. It is touching, poignant and has been the soundtrack to me writing this post. Occasional glimpses of a second voice, stripped back instruments, touches reminiscent of a circus or merry-go-round revolving slowly, if it weren't so damn well written it would almost sound like a parody of itself, the quality brings such irreversible and undoubtable sincerity.