Best Records of the Year 2017

After our favourite EPs, and without wasting no more time, now it's time to unveil our Best Records of 2017! As in previous years, we have listed the 30 albums that we have listened and enjoyed the most during the last twelve months. As always, choosing between all the bands/artists' new releases that we have enjoyed during this 2017 has been very hard, but after thinking it quite a lot (which is also fun & a good excuse to have a great soundtrack with you) we believe that we have made a very varied and complete list. Awaited comebacks, new discoveries and in short, a lot of exciting music! Give it a try and stay tuned, because while you are listening this, in our opinion, amazing collection of records, we are finishing our the best songs of the year ... Coming soon!

30. Powerplant - Girlpool
29. Holiday Destination - Nadine Shah
28. Tomorrow - The Keep Left Signs
27. Rescued Objects - Arts & Leisure
26. The Weather Station- The Weather Station
25. Into the Shroud - Flesh World
24. Life After Youth - Land of Talk
23. Change of State - Novella
22. Nothing Feels Natural - Priests
21. Records de Kyoto - Últim Cavall
20. In Phrases - Zebra Hunt
19. Fits & Starts - A Certain Smile
18. Others Towns Than Ours - Last Leaves
17. Lost World - Star Tropics
16. Morningside - Fazerdaze
15. Stellular - Rose Elinor Dougall
14. Antisocialites - Alvvays
13. Els Afores - Renaldo & Clara
12. Mental Illness - Aimee Mann
11. A Deeper Understanding - The War On Drugs
10. The Courtneys II - The Courtneys
9. The Deep Set - The Bats
8. Second of Spring - Beaches
7. Slowdive - Slowdive
6. Sleep Well Beast - The National
5. Or - Eyelids
4. Blue field - The Luxembourg Signal
3. Relatives In Descent - Protomartyr
2. Crybaby - Danny de la Matyr
1. The Navigator - Hurray for the Riff Raff






Special mentions note: There are some records that we are discovering & enjoying just right now. Therefore, as they have 'arrived late' to our ears, they haven't made the list, but we are pretty sure that, with a little more time ahead, they would part of the "chosen few". Three come to mind right now: Las Ruinas - 'Latidos Cósmicos', Nuevos Hobbies - 'Palmeras' and The Ocean Party - 'Beauty Point'.

Want to check last year's list? Then check here
Or do you prefer checking 2015?
And 2014? Or 2013? And 2012's? Click here
Or 2011's?

Best Songs of the Year 2014: 75-51

The music keeps coming! Here's the second round of our favourite 100 songs of the year, now with tunes comprised between numbers 75 to 51. As the previous list, you'll find it also at our Soundcloud page. The countdown will continue shortly with the third part, so you should stay tuned! Hope you enjoy!

75. For the Feel- Bleached
74. Weekend- Arts & Leisure
73. Crime- Real Estate
72. Leave the family - The Skygreen Leopards
71. Flesh War - Total Control
70. All the Rage Back Home- Interpol

69.You can't make me make up my mind-The Sun Days
68. Ashes and Embers- The Casket Girls
67. Party Police- Alvvays
66. Stay Gold- The Hobbes Fanclub
65. Cool Runnings- Tashaki Miyaki
64. Simple And Sure - The Pains Of Being Pure
63. Embers- Night Flowers
62. Rimbaud’s Eyes- Dum Dum Girls
61. Now Time- Close Lobsters
60. Every Morning- J.Mascis
59. Visiones- Aries
58. This Is Pop- Latimer House
57. In My Teeth- The Rosebuds
56. Head Down- The Ocean Party
55. The Rent I Pay- Spoon
54. Running Wild- La Sera
53. Coming Down- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
52.Some Dreams Come True- SW/MM/NG
51. Rabbit Run- Lily and Madeleine

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox 33

There are no "Black Fridays" for us: only Fridays with great music, thanks to our TOP TEN playlist series. Along with our recurrent new discoveries like Cafuné or the Spanish indie-pop sensation that is Neleonard, there's a very special one. The original mix of R.E.M.'s debut single. The beginning of the legend. Enjoy it and remember is also available at our Blog's soundcloud page. Join Us!

Direct links to the previous Jukebox weeks
Week 1      Week 8        Week 15     Week 22     Week 29
Week 2      Week 9        Week 16     Week 23     Week 30 
Week 3      Week 10      Week 17     Week 24     Week 31 
Week 4      Week 11      Week 18     Week 25      Week 32
Week 5      Week 12      Week 19     Week 26 
Week 6      Week 13      Week 20     Week 27 
Week 7      Week 14       Week 21     Week 28

Welcome to the Jukebox!

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox 28

This isn't your average TOP TEN playlist, because some of the songs featured here are really special tunes. We insist on bringing you the new music of our beloved Arts & Leisure, but there's more than this. We're referring, of course, to the new, spectacular song of Sleater-Kinney (comeback of the decade?). And we have, literally, fallen in love with many of the songs listed below, in particular with Line & Circle. What a great discovery. Hope you enjoy the playlist as much as us. As always, it's all at our Blog's soundcloud, so please Join Us!

Direct links to the previous Jukebox weeks
Week 1      Week 8        Week 15     Week 22  
Week 2      Week 9        Week 16     Week 23 
Week 3      Week 10      Week 17     Week 24
Week 4      Week 11      Week 18     Week 25
Week 5      Week 12      Week 19     Week 26 
Week 6      Week 13      Week 20     Week 27 
Week 7      Week 14       Week 21

Welcome to the Jukebox!

Premiere: Arts & Leisure are back!

Every time there's an email in my inbox from Ross Levine my heart starts beating in anticipation: good news are coming. The man behind Sacramento's label Test Pattern Records (also part of the great group Soft Science) has done it again. Our beloved Arts & Leisure are back with a new two-song 7" single! And he offered this humble blog to premiere it!!

The follow-up of last year's 'Choose Your Adventure', one of the Blog's favourite albums, will be released next Tuesday, October 28. Both tunes are as wonderful as expected, with that genuine way of putting some bite to the most delicate vocal harmonies and melodies, and viceversa, making buzz and power chords sounds delightful. California Goth Pop? I get the idea of the contrast between sunshine pop and goth, but honestly, can't see any hint of dark in Arts & Leisure music. They bring light and smiles to anyone willing to listen.

First song, 'Weekend' seems to be the quintessential Arts & Leisure tune. It's sweet, achingly sweet. The female/male vocals make it a bit more pushing and intriguing. And then, when you think the song is nice but maybe Arts & Leisure are playing within their "comfort zone" the pause arrives... And then comes the HANDCLAPPING! followed by a majestic guitar line, and vocals to die for. One minute and a half of stunning beauty.

'Over You' begins letting the guitars do most of the talking, making it a slightly more straightforward piece, but by the time the "Yeah Yeah Yeah" arrives our hearts have been already taken. Vocal harmonies are killer (do I need to say that Gerri White & Becky Cale's voices are irresistible?) after the gorgeous guitar interlude. Power pop in its prettiest version.

There are some, few bands, that you NEED. Arts & Leisure is one of them. So good they're back.

These Go to 11: interviewing Arts & Leisure

New chapter on our interview series, this time with the irresistible singer and guitarist Gerri White of my beloved Arts & Leisure (and a terrific tune with our man Jeremy Jensen of The Very Most on EardrumsPop majestic 'Between Two Waves' compilation). Can't properly articulate with words how nice and enjoyable has been reading & collecting her enthusiastic & honestly open answers, so please, read it carefully. She's a wonder. These Go to 11!

Gerri White, Arts & Leisure

Ms. White, ready for a pop ride

The lovely band Baby Grand formed in Sacramento in 1999 and during more than a decade they offered us 2 EPs and 2 wonderful albums, including their unmissable latest release 'Arts & Leisure', that came out in 2012. But right after the group split, three of its former members, Cory Vick, Gerri White, Tim White joined forces with Becky Cale and, borrowing its name from the aforementioned LP, in July 2013 they released 'Choose Your Adventure'. Released on our dear label Test Pattern Records, it quickly became one of our favourite past year albums. Indiepop meeting power pop, sugar and electricity heavenly combined on killer melodies, intertwined vocal harmonies, a retro vibe and an undeniable, moody beat. Summoning the spirits of legends like Talulah Gosh, Arts & Leisure make pop joyful, something that we would die for seeing live (Gerri told me they're considering coming to Spain, I'm making it public so they now have to be true to their promise). Here we go!

Beauty is always on the inside

1. First record that you bought (be honest)

The first  album I bought (with my allowance) was The Go-Go's 'Beauty and the Beat'. I was obsessed with the song 'Vacation'. I was first able to record the song off of the radio using the tried and true 1980's method of phoning in multiple requests to my local DJ, and making sure I had a fresh blank tape cued up and ready to go, but this small triumph did little to quench the flames of fandom that were burning ever brighter until I HAD. TO. HAVE. THE. RECORD. 


2. First and last concert you have attended (be honest too!)

First concert was John Denver, the smiley folk songwriter with shaggy hair and spectacles who sang with the Muppets. My dad was a big fan, and he took the whole family - I must have 11? My second concert was ALSO John Denver. By then, I was a sullen 15 year old punk and deeply resentful at having to attend a folk concert with my parents. I wore a dog collar and a home made Exploited t-shirt in protest. Third concert (that I attended of my own free will at 16) was Siouxsie and the Banshees! Me and my fashion sense finally fit right in. OK, last concert I saw (last month, I think) was JD McPherson at Palms in Nevada City. So good!

Hall & Oates: hair duo 

3. Guilty pleasure (song/band you shouldn’t like but you do, yes, it’s the embarrassing question)

I think Hall & Oates ('Rock 'N Soul, Part I') and Ace of Base fit squarely in this category. Like deep fried Twinkies at a state fair, they are of the moment and undeniably delicious! A bolt of happiness that defies analysis.

4. Most precious music item you own (collector mode on)

I'm not a music collector, so the most precious music-related items would be my guitars. I still have my first guitar, purchased on layaway for $500 when I was 19; an Olympic white '65 Fender Mustang with original case and catalog. It was absolutely pristine. A few weeks after I paid it off and picked it up, my friend's bass slid off the couch where he had propped it during practice, and his tuning key  knocked a good chunk out of my Mustang's flawless vanilla ice-cream body. I remember playing it cool, and telling him not to worry about it, but I was really trying hard not to cry.

5. Favorite lyrics (not yours)

'Joe Pernice' of the Pernice Brothers has the most...just out of left field lyrics. They're surprising, evocative, sometimes crude, but I always feel like I've become a secondary character in a flash fiction piece, which I love. I tend to be drawn to lyrics that tell a story. It also helps that Joe has the voice of a dirty angel.

Mr. Misery, Elliot Smith

6. Musician/s you would like to meet (should be alive, for obvious reasons, but you can choose a dead one too)

This probably sounds weird, but I tend to not like to meet musicians. Mostly because if they're disappointing, or act like a jerk, I can't stand their music anymore. I just can't separate the artist from the music. I can do it with authors, for some reason, just no musicians. If I had to choose, I'd say Elliot Smith. He seemed so mysterious and sad; I would have liked to buy him an ice cream cone.

7. Favorite artwork album (not yours)

I always loved the artwork for Belle & Sebastian records; the movie still quality of their photos, the pastel color overlays. Also, because you could listen to the songs and just kind of squint at the cover and imagine whose story you were listening to.

8. Books or movies? Depending on your answer recommend us one (trick: you can choose both)
Books, books always! I love movies too, but they don't quite inhabit the same place in my psyche. You can be your own director, casting manager and location scout with books. One of my absolute favorite tales; Shirley Jackson's 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'. Jackson is a master of finding menace in the mundane, of summoning horror in broad daylight. They never made a movie of 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' but they did make the 1963 film, 'The Haunting', based on her novel, 'The Haunting of Hill House'. A classic, eerie chiller.

9. Release (of yours) you are most proud of

Baby Grand's 'Everything You Say' from our first record, 'Coming True'. In 2004, I found out I had a rare tumor in my neck. It was benign, but it was in a tricky place and one of the risks of the surgery was that I might lose my voice permanently or have to go through vocal reconstruction. The doctors said I would just have to wait and see if my voice came back after the procedure. 'Everything You Say' was the first song I wrote while recovering at home. I remember demo-ing it; working to squeak out the vocals and not think too hard about what I would do if that squeak was all I would ever be capable of. I just thought, well, I can still write songs and not give up. It's not the end of everything. So that song is sort of special to me. It has a hopefulness and fragility to it.

Keeping the light with Arts & Leisure

10. What’s does it mean indie for you? (yes, the “serious question”)

Ha, ha. I don't really know what indie means to me. Baby Grand was always described as indie-pop but I've always felt that any band I was in (as a songwriter) was just left of whatever genre it posed as. I don't think my songwriting is indie or not indie...it is what it is. And it's all over the map. It doesn't know from indie. As the indie label applies to other bands, it usually means that I will find something to like - but what that element will be is always a surprise.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Oof. Hopefully working less; writing more fiction and songs. Keeping to the light.

Zillion thanks Gerri & Arts & Leisure!

Discoverer 76: new indie findings

What a trio of new indie proposals we have for you today, love at first listen guaranteed!

Arts & Leisure. The people of Test Pattern Records broke my heart recently. Baby Grand, the adorable band from Sacramento called it a day after releasing the indiespensable "Arts & Leisure" in 2012. But half of its members quickly "hit the reset button and see what happens" quoting guitarist Cory Vick, who alongside Gerri and Tim White, plus Becky Cale, re-assembled into Arts & Leisure, releasing their debut album, "Choose Your Adventure", this July. Not so faraway from their previous incarnation, but with the volume pumped up, right where indiepop meets power pop. You're going to hear instant killing melodies and harmonies, courtesy of Gerri and Becky's intertwined vocals, a never-ending collection of delicious hooks echoing every decade of the best pop music, and a beat so joyous you're going to recall genre myths like Talulah Gosh. One of the best records of the year.    

Males. Anyone willing to go down to the South Pacific with me? I really need to find out what's going on Dunedin, New Zealand. Two weeks ago it was Trick Mammoth, and now this trio, formed in 2011, my second discovery of this scene (bassist Sam Valentine is Trick Mammoth's drummer). Their debut EP, "MalesMalesMales", from July 2012, now comes packaged with 2nd EP "RunRunRun" as a nine-song album, out since past week on Fishrider Records. Relentless indiepop full of explosive guitar lines, immediate melodies and propulsive beats, short in length, but ever-lasting in its addiction. All eyes (and ears) on you, Dunedin.  
The Salient Braves. We move to Yorkshire, UK, to meet Matt Bailey's project, a vehicle for the songs he has been writing for over two decades. He defines himself as an unskilled musician who struggles with the technical aspects of recording, which explains why it took him so long to release his songs. But judging its debut EP, "Somewhere Sordid", out since October on Dufflecoat Records (yes, again), that's very hard to believe. Sing-along choruses, undeniably British in-your-face vocals, melodies that won't let you go, and a very rare sense of authenticity (a tricky word to use today, but he deserves it). You'll think this is a lost recording gem from a C-86 finest acts. More soon, please.