Best Records of the Year 2016

No time to waste! After EPs and Concerts, now it's the turn for the Best Records of 2016! As usual, here's the list with the 30 albums that we have listened, enjoyed and hummed the most during the last twelve months. It's always a very challenging list to do, being forced to leave many bands & artists that could have a spot here, But, at least for us, here's the biggest & most wonderful part of the soundtrack of our year. Enjoy & stay tuned, books and songs of the year coming soon! 

30. Wordless Wonder- Real Numbers
29. No Burden- Lucy Dacus
28. Cut and Paste- Oscar
27. Algo nos va a pasar- Espíritusanto
26. Spilt Milk- Pete Astor
25. Around the House- Chook Race
24. Juvenilia- Juvenilia
23. Psychopomp- Japanese Breakfast
22. At Swim- Lisa Hannigan
21. CVEEC3- Cómo Vivir en el Campo
20. Lost Time- Tacocat
19. The Holiday Crowd- The Holiday Crowd
18. Crystal Cafe- Witching Waves
17. Here- Teenage Fanclub
16. Up to Anything- The Goon Sax
15. Midnight Room- Springtime Carnivore
14. Don’t Let the Kids Win- Julia Jacklin
13. La Puerta Giratoria- Invisible Harvey
12. Everything You’ve Come to Expect- The Last Shadow Puppets
11. Luck or Magic- Britta Phillips
10. El Progreso- Sr. Chinarro
9.   Everybody’s Dying to Meet You- Flowers
8.   Psiconáutica- Linda Guilala
7.   Hit Reset- The Julie Ruin
6.   You Know Who You Are- Nada Surf
5.  Babes Never Die- Honeyblood
4.  Postal- Chicharrón
3. Minor Victories- Minor Victories
2. Puberty 2- Mitski
1. My Woman- Angel Olsen

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

Discoverer 143: new indie findings

Back with another trio of new proposals in our discoverer series. Three versions of indiepop you won't like to miss!

Oscar. Let me introduce you to Oscar Scheller and his music. Hailing from London, UK, this young musician who started to make some noise in spring of 2014 with debut 7" 'Sometimes' that June via Brown Rice, followed by 7" 'Daffodil Days' in 2015, his first release with Wichita Recordings. EP 'Beautiful Words' surfaced that summer, confirming here was an indiepop auteur to get excited about. In 2016, after 7" single 'Sometimes' he has delivered the album 'Cut and Paste', out just now. No longer a "laptop pop" maker (hate that lame definition, anyway), Oscar is a modern pop artisan, blending lo-fi gems with his baritone voice, recalling Stephen Merritt, Damon Albarn, Jens Lekman, melancholy and upbeat optimism, kind of gathering the 90s'slacker-Britpop-quirky-alternative-songsmith altogether. One to follow closely.

Desario. Hailing from Sacramento, CA, Jim Rivas and John Conley began Desario in 2004, as a side project from their other bands (Holiday Flyer, California Oranges, Rocketship), recruiting Michael Yoas and Mike Carr to form a full band, playing their first gig in September 2005. In a pretty slow-burning process, debut album 'Zero Point Zero' arrived in 2009 via Darla Records, with sophomore record 'Mixer' following in 2012 thanks to our dear friends at Test Pattern Records, achieving overall praise and even a Sammie nomination at the indie category. After drummer Jim Rivas left the band a year later, being replaced by Kirklyn Cox, Desario decided to work with recording engineer Tony Cale on their new songs with EP 'Red Returns', out just now, showing how wonderful are the results. Slightly gloomy jangle rock with a foot on the 80s indiepop classics and the other on the 90s Britpop and shoegaze. Elegant, intimate but irresistibly melodic, here's a heavy contender for EP of the year and, hopefully, an exciting promise for much more about to come...

Mercury Girls. And we end in Philadelphia, PA, to meet this mindblowing quintet featuring Sarah Schimineck (formerly of Pet Milk), Kevin Attics (Literature), Andrew Hagiwara, Chris Schackerman, and Kevin O'Halloran (Little Big League). Formed just in March of 2015, the first demos arousing at their bandcamp started making the buzz around the band's potential, collecting endorsements by fans, critics and other bands as they were sharing stage with the likes of Joanna Gruesome, Beverly, TEEN, Expert Alterations or Eternal Summers. Now they are ready to offer us first release, out now through the wise people at Slumberland Records, the 7" 'Ariana' backed with the equally gorgeous 'All that Heaven Allows'. I don't care if it sounds too bombastic, but they sound as the most incredible group ever: you'll hear Sarah Records for sure, but also the darker vibes of post-punk, with a firepowered rhythmic base along with guitars raging with urgency and a carefree intention to face some sonic experimentation. Add huge choruses and dreamy vocals and here's the instant crush. Oh my...

The Bloodbuzzed Jukebox 38

Here we go again! Another week and another round of our TOP TEN playlist! This time we have focused only in new, most exciting discoveries! Yes, ten new bands & sounds, from slight electronic rhythms to "our" trademark indie-pop style. And as always, you can hear them at our  Blog's soundcloud page.

Direct links to the previous Jukebox weeks
Week 1 Week 8  Week 15 Week 22 Week 29 Week 36
Week 2 Week 9 Week 16 Week 23 Week 30  Week 37
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 33
Week 6  Week 13 Week 20   Week 27   Week 34
Week 7   Week 14  Week 21  Week 28   Week 35

"Crazy Heart", Jeff Bridges' one man show

Crazy Heart

There are movies that would pass unnoticed if there wasn't an actor to bring in some life. "Crazy Heart" is one of these films.

There's nothing bad on the film, but nothing really remarkable or outstanding either, with one big exception. The script is far from being original, Bad Blake, a veteran country artist, once famous, tries to keep going, despite his star is fading and his own addiction, alcoholism, is killing him. But the second chance to reform his life is going to appear, in the form of romance (an uncharacteristically one) and a music proposal. Add that this is not the most dynamic film you have seen (the rythm is paused to say the least) and that the soundtrack is of course, a collection of country music (sorry, ages from my taste). That's not a lot to justify watching the film, or to catch your interest in my opinion. But as I said, there's one big exception. The exception is Jeff Bridges.

Because if you care about the fate of this archetypal, bearish and embittered singer is just thanks to Bridges' outstanding performance (well deserved Oscar). He impersonates Bad Blake in a way you completely believe every single line he delivers, every gesture of quiet desolation or chagrin, or every silly step towards his slow self-destruction. He is also strikingly convincing when he reveals as a vulnerable human, with the capacity, long-time hidden, of being heartbroken. Bridges composes not a character, but a flesh and blood real (although imaginary of course) person. Bridges holds "Crazy Heart" entirely. He is the film.

I'm unsure Bridges alone is enough to rate the movie as a good one, but at least makes it worth the watching.

SCORE: 5,75/10

"The Fighter", boxing and family triumph by K.O.

The Fighter
Great surprise. Wasn't expecting much, because boxing has been overused by Hollywood, and so the topic of redemption/second opportunity through sport, which is on the verge of being a worrying cliché. But luckily, "The Fighter" offers a lot more.

To start with, because boxing remains on the background of the movie, and although it is based on the true story of "Irish" Micky Ward, a local hero from Lowell, Massachusetts, the film instead reveals itself as a familiar drama where there are far more punches at the emotional level that inside the ring.

During the first hour of "The Fighter", we saw a family holding on to nothing, struggling with the decadence of Dick Ecklund (Christian Bale), once a boxing local legend, but now a human waste, consumed by crack addiction. The family is sticking with him, living of the past glory, dragging his younger brother Mick Ward (Mark Wahlberg), who also tries to be a boxer, with them. There's no glamour in this portray, as director David O Russell shows us how poverty is around the corner, and how family and the familiar business boxing is, is disgusting and ugly.

Russell really manages to make us feel the suffocating environment in which Mick is trapped because of his family. He also is able to bring the outsider character into the mix, in the form of a girlfriend (played solidly by Amy Adams), someone really meaningful to Mick who has no fear in saying the things he cannot say to his mother and sisters. She's liberation for him, a reason to keep fighting, and deciding to walk his own way. 

It might be true the second half of the film is more uplifting, with a happier, friendlier tone with the characters. Being a true story I feel inclined to believe it, or maybe, by the time the second opportunity arrives, I cannot avoid to feel a bit compelled by it. But even then, the film has glimpses of harsh reality in a poignant dialogue, a gesture, or awkward situation where the unbalanced relation between the brothers still arises. This wouldn't be possible without the brilliant job of the actors, not just Bale's manic impersonation of Dick, which made him won a deserved Oscar, but everyone on screen. Special credit to Wahlberg's performance, carrying the film on his shoulders, sometimes with just an appalled face.

So, yes, this is another movie about underdogs trying to succeed. But this time the fight is for survival, there's real darkness, filthiness, consistency, and a remarkable honesty in the script, acting and direction. Overall, a knockout triumph.

SCORE: 7,5/10

"The King's Speech", a very conventional message

The King's Speech

Best movie of the year? Well, I couldn't find a better argument to demonstrate how low is the quality of cinema nowadays that the “King’s Speech” obtaining 4 of the “biggest” awards at the latest Oscar's ceremony, arguably  (really?) the most important recognisement a movie could achieve.

Not saying the movie is bad. It is entertaining, and pleasant, fundamentally because of the chemistry between Colin Firth (King George VI) and Geoffrey Rush (Lionel Logue, his speech therapist). The scenes in which they are together are the only ones remarkable, where something genuine goes on. Both actors are the pillars of the film, although in the case of Firth I would say his best interpretation, one that could seriously deserve an Oscar, can be seen in “A Single Man”.

But aside from that, the “King’s Speech” is quite mediocre. There are many sides that are hidden or that the director avoids to treat. It’s quite disappointing to see how George's brother abdicates from the throne just because of “love” when among the reasons, there was one very transcendent and not very admirable, and linked with that, the almost inexistent role prime ministers Baldwin and Chamberlain (or Churchill) have. In general, the lack of history in the film, when surely the most attractive thing about George’s period (Hitler's rising in Europe, the start of Second World War) weren’t his speeches, but the times when these speeches have to be delivered, is frustrating.

The script is predictable and conservative (jokes about saying "shit, fuck, etc." or "funny" situations based on the fact the Royal family is at Logue's house doing normal things, something that made me recall films like "Notting Hill") and it has that tone of a commercial biopic where the hero succeeds and becomes a "better man". Let’s be honest, the movie is a conventional hagiography. Nice and pleasant, but very far from a film that deserves to be recognised, or simply remembered.

SCORE: 5,25/10

"Black Swan", the darkest of fairy tales

Black Swan

It was hard to put myself in front of this film. To all the Oscar's "white noise" about Portman's tour de force (with the usual physical effort included) I was adding the two previous films from director Darren Aronofsky: the horrible "The Fountain" (among the worst movies of the last 10 years, no question about it) and the spectacular amount of clichés that "The Wrestler" is. So, to say it politely, I was quite reluctant to see "Black Swan". But after I finally did, I can say it was worth it.

Two major factors are the reasons for the overall positive consideration. First, the stunning visual conception of the film, the weight of the details (Nina's toys in her bedroom, her skin, the objects from the almost unrecognisable Wynona Ryder as Beth, to name a few), its gothic and disturbing imagery and the strikingly dreamy, dark and absorbing atmosphere. And second, Natalie Portman's performance, not only because her tortured impersonation of Nina, but also for being capable of showing a childish, immature (to the point of getting you nervous) and extremely fragile character.

Having said that, "Black Swan" has also some important question marks. The main one being, again (sorry to insist with the comparison with "The Fountain") is about the strength of the script. We get attracted to the feverish obsession/dream/descent into hell of Nina, so we know that what we are seeing is her subjective and distorted vision. But the few points of "reality", responsible of providing us with the much needed information to go through the story are either weak or clearly insufficient, so the psycho thriller part is not very strong. The best examples of these could be the roles of the artistic director, Thomas, and Nina's mother, Erica, strongly portrayed by Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. While they serve the purpose of adding more creepiness to the dark and twisted fairy tale, but they don't help to the coherency of the plot, as we know little about their motivations behind their actions.

And linked with that, one cannot avoid wondering if the amount of complexity in Nina's paranoia deserved something more than the simple "Swan Lake" black/white duplicity, developed into the topical part of the film where Nina learns about evil (the "Odile/Black Swan") or in practical terms, lust. My doubt about "Black Swan can be epitomized in the sentence "I just want to be perfect" that Nina repeats a couple of times during the film. Is that genuine innocence or a serious failure of the script, making a mighty powerful character so disappointingly empty? The movie impacts, disturbs and grabs you, but is that a lasting impression? 

SCORE: 6,75/10