I could write a separate piece for every list, but you don’t want that, I can’t be arsed to do that, you wouldn’t be arsed to read four or five different articles about my stupid opinion about LP’s, EP’s, Songs, Gigs, branch of Ibis or Travelodge or Premier Inn (well, not the latter, too darn expensive, even in Glasgow). No, you’ve got far too many important other things to be doing like, ordering presents from Amazon, putting a ready made Christmas song playlist on your Spotify, having a mulled wine, cranberry and chocolate orange mochachoccachino from Starbucks or strangling a turtle dove with a Sainsbury’s plastic bag.
Here are some lists.
LPs
- Kathryn Joseph – WE WERE MADE PREY
- Slime City – National Record Of Achievement
- Sorry – Cosplay
- Deftones – private music
- Mclusky – The World Is Still Here And So Are We
- CMAT – EuroCountry
- Idlewild – Idlewild
- Geese – Getting Killed
- Die Spitz – Something To Consume
- Projector – Contempt
- Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars
- Home Counties – Humdrum
- Just Mustard – WE WERE JUST HERE
- Melin Melyn – Mill On The Hill
- Divorce – Drive To Goldhammer
- Water From Your Eyes – It’s A Beautiful Place
- Shame – Cutthroat
- Wednesday – Bleeds
- Anna B Savage – You And I Earth
- We Are Scientists – Qualifying Miles
Scotland for the win. Top two for the Tartan Army of the majestic Kathryn Joseph and the riotous Slime City. You’ll see them again in my gigs of the year below because they owned 2025, as did their national football team. Idlewild too, a bit further down in 7th, but still good. Well done our northern cousins. And if Farage and the Reform fuckers win the next general election I’ll be moving to the Outer Hebrides and changing my name to Jimbo McJim.
EPs
- Bored Marsh – DoGooder EP
- The Family Battenberg – Spider Rock Forever
- Laura Fell – Talk It All Apart
- Bleach Lab – Close to the Flame
- Firehills – Years and Years and Years
An ace second EP from Bored Marsh, a brilliantly bonkers debut EP from The Family Battenberg plus more ethereal amazingness from Laura Fell.
Gigs
- Father John Misty – Brighton Dome, April
- Desperate Journalist – Bodega, Nottingham, January
- Kathryn Joseph – O’Meara, London, October
- Slime City – The Lexington, London, November
- Oasis – Wembley Stadium, London, September
- CMAT – Pryzm, Kingston upon Thames, September
- Sorry – ICA, London, November
- The Family Battenberg – The Shacklewell Arms, London, November
- Slate – The Elephants Head, Camden, London, June
- Ain’t – The Elephants Head, Camden, London, July
There’s a theme. I have my favourites and there’s nothing you can do about it. I wanted to see Our Father at the Royal Albert Hall but technology failed me once again and i lost the page and my seats and my shit. He was quite magnificent in Brighton though. Mahashmashana live is perhaps better than on disc. Desperate Journalist, naturally. Kathryn and Slime City, look it’s not my fault if they are brilliant is it?!?!?
Songs
- Slime City – You Do The Math(s)
- CMAT – The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station
- Kathryn Joseph – WOLF
- Man/Woman/Chainsaw – MadDog
- Ain’t – Pirouette
- Deftones – milk of the madonna
- Perfume Genius ft Aldous Harding – No Front Teeth
- Bored Marsh – The World In Your View
- The Family Battenberg – Anteater
- jasmine.4.t ft Jakob Alon – Find UR Ppl
You get the idea
Plus CMAT‘s ode to the celebrity chef’s fizzog appearing every time she needs a sausage roll after filling her car up. I talk about Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Ain’t, actually basically the rest of the them on the End of Year Pod which may or may not be out by the time this goes up. So you can listen to that whilst hitting a reindeer with your car or watching your cat chew a robins head off in your back garden whilst you make mince pies or Figgy Pudding. Because we all want some Figgy Pudding don’t we?!?!
Merry Chrimbo. Ta ta. J.
