There are some weeks where we have almost too much to report, be it singles or albums flying into the upper reaches of the chart, or established acts slowly losing their entire audience off the back of some 'experimental' whim. Our acts from last week, however, all performed as expected, with These New Puritans and Beach House both missing the top 40 and Eels nestling in snugly just outside the top 20 (which was a minor surprise all things considered). This week is a bit of a bumper edition, with no less than three (THREE!?) albums gracing the nation's favourite feature. Eyes down, look in...
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IRM by Charlotte Gainsbourg
We've been thinking a bit about context and its relation to how you consume music by someone who has, on the surface at least, not brought a whole lot to the table. This album was written, produced and performed by Beck, whilst Gainsbourg's last album, 5:55, was written, produced and performed by Air (with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon). Now, if we were talking about a pop star such as Kylie it would all be "she's a puppet", "these songs are only good because so and so did them", "it's not true art". Then we read in an interview that Gainsbourg felt threatened by the legacy of her late father that she was too scared to write her own music and you know what, we fell for it and we love her even more now. IRM may have Beck's finger prints all over it (no bad thing of course), but it works because some of the songs could only be performed by Gainsbourg and that's when this whole writer/performer thing becomes moot.
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Teen Dream by Beach House
There Is Love In You by Four Tet
Let's start with Teen Dream, which has been permanently lodged in our ears since we were lucky enough to hear it a few months ago (when you're important like we are, you too can hear music before everyone else (we stole it)). Though not a huge departure from their last album - Victoria Legrand's vocals still sigh beautifully, the whole thing floats around like wisps of smoke - this time they've remembered to bring the tunes, with each of its ten tracks carrying a deliciously woozy melody. There are moments when everything comes together so perfectly (the bit where 'Silver Soul' melts into 'Norway', for example) that you feel like you want to break down and cry for weeks.
There Is Love In You is the first album under the Four Tet moniker since 2005's Everything Ecstatic. In that time, Kieran Hebden, for it is he, has produced albums with avant-garde drummer Steve Reid as well as an EP with Burial. You'd think this would make There Is Love In You a big mess of impenetrable 'mind' music, where as it's actually his most accessibly record to date. With tracks road tested at his club residency in Dalston it has moments of euphoria reminiscent of early-90s dance ('Love Cry', 'Plastic People'), whilst still displaying his fondness for subtle, intricate moments of beauty ('Angel Echoes', 'This Unfolds').
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'Marlene' by Lightspeed Champion
The string-drenched 'Marlene' is the first single from Lightspeed Champion's second album, Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You. As with most things Mr Champion does, we were unsure at first. Seriously, his last album was a major disappointment to us for the first five months and then we couldn't stop listening to it and by that point no-one else cared because they'd all moved on. However, 'Marlene' reveals itself to be properly amazing, complete with skipping strings, a chugging riff and a brilliantly gonzo guitar solo that seems to erupt from nowhere. Altogether now, "stop being cool". It also has a very funny video, which can be seen here.
Well, what a start to 2010. Last week we took absolutely no risks whatsoever with our album selections and we were rewarded with two top 10 albums. Delphic entered at no. 8 with their debut - fresh from finishing third in both the BBC Sound of Poll, the Brits selection for Critics Choice and Auntie June's Top Ten bands who sound a bit like New Order - whilst Vampire Weekend crashed in at number 3 with Contra. The latter has since gone from 'very good' to 'officially amazing' over the past seven days so anyone who hasn't brought it bloomin' well should. Charlotte Gainsbourg's single with Beck did diddly squat, but that's OK, we forgive you.
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Hidden by These New Puritans
Thanks to the fact that HMV no longer seems to stock CDs, we were thwarted in our attempts to listen to this second album from these pasty faced young whipper snappers. From the reviews we've read - and we understand that's not the same as hearing the music, but it's the best we've got - it's a massive creative leap from their whiny debut and it will need to be seeing as they came across as repellent little twerps in nearly every interview we read last time round. The clips available online suggest the band have taken a shining to Liars, Massive Attack and Bjork and somehow found a way to weld them together. This is clearly a good thing. The first single, 'We Want War', is pretty darn good and can be heard here.
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End Times by Eels
Poor old Mr Eel. First his Dad dies of a heart attack, then his sister commits suicide and finally his mum dies of Cancer. How do we know all this? Not only has he written a brilliant book about it all, but Mr Eel also has a penchant for documenting his life via his music, usually in heart-breakingly detailed fashion. So it is with his new album, End Times, which deals with the ashes of a dead relationship. 'A Line In The Dirt' is a fragile, piano lament, whilst 'Gone Man' is a sweary hoedown, E's vocals delivered in that trademark deadpan manner that somehow makes the whole thing even sadder.
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'Norway' by Beach House
Oh, you're going to be hearing a lot more of Beach House because they're soon to be released new album is, and you heard it here first, one of the best albums of 2010. Yep, already. This single actually came out as a free download a few months ago but it's now available to buy. That's right, you can choose to pay 79p for a song that has actually been available for free since November. And they say the music industry don't know how to deal with the popularity of digital music. Anyways, the song is amazing, the band are amazing and the forthcoming album, entitled Teen Dream, is very much amazing. Enjoy.
So, how did we do this week? Well, following the triumph that was 'Bonkers' by Dizzee Rascal reaching number 1 off the back of being on this here blog, we're pleased to announce that the much-hyped, poll-topping, column-inch snaffling Little Boots and her A-listed single, 'New In Town', roared into the chart at number 13...oh. It doesn't matter of course, it's all relative, but missing out on the top 10 after all that talk is a little disappointing. Still, the album has about 5 other singles on it so it's fine.
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The Bachelor by Patrick Wolf
To some he's the elfin love child of Tilda Swinton and David Bowie, all artful posturing, lashings of make-up and a brilliant way with melody. To others he's no more than a brattish drama school student who professes to make high art when in fact his best musical moment was dancing around to a Status Quo track. Either way, the guy's an interesting character and The Bachelor is a vast improvement on the patchy, The Magic Position.
BUY THIS IF YOU LIKED ALL HIS OTHERS
Hombre Lobo by Eels 
Just under the title on the cover reads "12 songs of desire". That basically sums up an album that's not a million miles away from any of the other Eels albums you'd care to mention, with primal blues rubbing up alongside the usual desolate hymns to loneliness, death and lost love. It's the musical version of putting on some worn slippers, only to find they're a bit hairier than they were before. Or something.
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'We Are The People' by Empire of the Sun
Missing MGMT? Need to hear a slightly strained falsetto, some lazily strummed guitar and the patter of processed drums? Let Empire of the Sun be your musical balm. This has been all over Radio 2 and it's easy to hear why. It's about as inoffensive as a sleeping Leona Lewis dreaming about puppies, but it's perfect for a long summers evening doing nothing.
