This month has a bumper crop of new music to enjoy - so much so that there isn't even room for the obligatory track by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I'm sure normal service will resume next month. But when Gorillaz, Slowdive and Saint Etienne emerge from hibernation in the same week you have to find the room somewhere.
1) Progress by Public Service Broadcasting - Continually experimenting with new ideas and techniques, reconstructing, developing, modernizing.
2) Star Roving by Slowdive - An epic return of woozy atmospherics from the pre-Britpop dark ages of Shoegazing.
3) Andromeda by Gorillaz featuring D.R.A.M. One of four new tracks released ahead of new album.
4) Do You Wanna Get Into Trouble by Soulwax - AKA 2manydjs released a great new dance album.
5) True Lovers by Holy Holy - The first of 2manyAussieRockers on this month's playlist?
6) The Two Of Us by The Jesus And Mary Chain - LOVE this - Isobell Campbell (ex Belle & Sebastian) duets with William Reid on the first JAMC album in 19 years.
7) Want by Adam Counts - Someone sampled Sarah Blasko's 2009 hit "All I Want".
8) Escape by Tricky - Trip hop instrumental.
9) Heather by Saint Etienne - Dark synths announce the first new music from St Etienne since 2012.
10) Going Backwards by Depeche Mode - First DM song I've liked in 27 years. Not a great return ratio.
11) Saturday by Real Estate - The unofficial soundtrack to Johnny Marr's daydream.
12) Dodged A Bullet by Alice Jemima - Hails from Devon and makes great music.
13) Gurzle by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - New from Perth's Class A garage rockers.
14) The Weather by Pond - Continuing the altered Western Australian state of consciousness.
15) Double Darkness by Big Scary - Echo piano and dirty beats lifted from their "Animal" album.
16) Bellyache by Billie Eilish - Californian singer with a poppy murder ballad.
17) Sold My Medicine by The Mysterons - Music from Amsterdam.
18) Monday Morning, Somewhere Central by Ultimate Painting - Has a lovely VU vibe.
19) Midnight At The Plutonium by The John Steel Singers - Indie pop from Brisbane.
20) You and Yr Friends by Football Club - New Anthem from Melbourne's version of The Libertines.
1) Always Sad by The Jesus And Mary Chain - Great news the JAMC are back together!
2) Strange Medicines by 485c - Looking forward to hearing more from these Londoners in 2017
3) Home Is A Feeling by Ride - Another influential 90's indie band have reformed.
4) Just A Boy by Jaws - I know very little about them but they made the cut.
5) White Man by Macy Gray - little bit of racial and sexual politics.
6) Elevator by Holy Holy - New album out now from these Aussie retro guitar troubadours.
7) Home Soon by Dope Lemon - Angus Stone's funky stoned return.
8) Melting by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - from their new album Flying Microtonal Banana
9) Darling by Real Estate - New Jersey's Beach-core survivors
10) Jungle by Tash Sultana - Best Australian reggae since Men In Work's Land Down Under?
11) The Scientist by Corinne Bailey Rae - Coldplay cover from the 50 Shades Of Grey sequel.
12) L'Heure des Sorcieres by Methyl Ethel - New album from Perth's coolest band is released on Friday.
13) Golden by Kingswood - More Aussie AOR. I need to have a word with myself - I'm getting soft.
14) Johny by Sofi Tukker - Words can't do it justice so I won't even try.
15) She by Apes - Yet another Australian indie band...
16) Who Knows (SHY FX Remix) by Protoje featuring Chronixx - One of my favourite reggae tunes given a dnb remix - not sure if this sub gene will catch on but too interesting to ignore.
17) Slow Slippy by Underworld - I have pinpointed the peak 90's moment as when Renton lights Begbie's cigarette and gets a face full of smoke to the opening chords of Born Slippy. This remix from T2 Trainspotting soundtrack is both familiar but distorted.
18) Does It by Tricky featuring Casisdead - The whispered sound of claustrophobia.
19) Thick Girls Knock Me Out by The Dandy Warhols - Rocking Out
20) Snowdonia by Surfer Blood - A real progression from snotty surf punks to 60's tripsters
Deep South rockers with an angry female vocalist reminiscent of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2) Darkened Flags At The Cusp Of Dawn - Drive-By Truckers
Alt Country > Alt Facts
3) American Walls - 485c
New London band with a bright future (someone has to have one)
4) Revolution Radio - Green Day
US Punks return to form just when they are needed.
5) Ms Dhu - Spinifex Gum
Aussie Hip Hop protest song about black deaths in custody
6) I Give You Power (Broken Speaker Mix) - Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire's first new material in four years
7) Make America Great Again - Pussy Riot
Enemies of Putin and now advising Trump on policy
8) One People - Nattali Rize
This month's reggae protest song
9) Sour Times - The Civil Wars
American folk duo cover Portishead's signature song
10) Dangerous - The XX
Rejoice! The XX have released their third album this month.
11) Ubu - Methyl Ethel
West Australia's most awaited album of the year is released in March and this is a monster of a single
12) Sleep Drifter - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Old Indie Kid's token monthly single by KG&TLW ahead of new album Flying Microtonal Banana which will be their eighth album in four years
13) Strange or Be Forgotten - Temples
More lush retro psychedelic rock from the outstanding Temples - this track surpasses last year's Certainty single. If you are not familiar with their previous album Sun Structures then drop everything and go listen to it now!
14) Fall In Time - Teleman
London band with an infectiously dark Hot Chip sounding song
"Can't afford not to fight and the footsteps are falling in time"
15) New Song (Soulwax Remix) - Warpaint
The regular Soulwax remix spot is taken by Soulwax again. There are other great remixers out there but Soulwax have the ear for picking the best tunes to tackle.
16) This Boy's In Love - The Land Below
Cover of The Presets track from 2008
17) Everybody Knows - The Creases
Feelgood Indie Pop from Brisbane
18) Name For You - The Shins
The Shins appear to be finishing their first new album since 2012
19) Morning Dew - The National
Taken from the Grateful Dead Covers Album
20) Age Of Consent - Cayetana
US Rock band from Philadelphia cover the New Order classic.
1) Open Up The Sky by Shock Machine James Righton is the man behind Shock Machine and is a former member of Klaxons and husband of Keira Knightly
2) Open Up The Sky (Soulwax Remix) by Shock Machine You know it’s a great tune when there is already a Soulwax remix of it
3) Buzz by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets New track from the Perth rockers
4) Song 2 by Trevor James Tillery Blur anthem stripped back and given a sinister lounge treatment
5) I Just Want To Be Left Alone by Hidden Charms London band full of bluesy riffs
6) Waltz #2 by J Masics Dinosaur Jr guitarist covering Elliot Smith
7) Raveshadow by Brasstronaut Canadian band with an excellent name and horn section who have recently released their third album
8) Easy by Thundamentals I have only recently discovered this sun drenched gem cut from their 2011 album
9) Break Into Your Heart by Iggy Pop Scuzzy pop rock from Iggy Pop
10) Good Life by Oliver Heldens featuring Ida Corr Feel good string laden dance “choon”
11) Roots and Chalice by Chronixx Token reggae track
12) Water Bored by Steve Mason Another tuneful track from the ex-Beta Band man from the album Meet the Humans
13) Birth Of An Accidental Hipster by The Monkees A song co-written by Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher and given to performing Monkees
14) Caught Up In It by Ages and Ages Portland band who sound like The Sleepy Jackson covering Pet Sounds
15) Totally Wired by The Last Shadow Puppets An unhinged claustrophobic rocker from the recent Dream Synopsis EP
16) Dianne by Teeth & Tongue Australian Indie Pop
17) Nothing But A Bad Trip by Ed Harcourt British songwriter Ed Harcourt writes songs, records them and releases them. Can you tell I’m struggling today?
18) Enter Sandman by SHEL A cover of Metallica’s 1991 rock anthem
19) Grease by Flo Morissey Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White duet on this cover of the theme tune from the Grease movie
20) Crazy (live) by Kacey Musgraves The final cover this month is recorded live by Texas country singer who tackles the Gnarls Barkley hit and takes it into full line-dancing cowboy territory
Just in time for Christmas - here is Old Indie Kid's Top Ten Albums of the Year 2016
# 10 Hills End by The DMAs
From Sydney 2016 comes the sound of Manchester 1992 - Think Oasis if they were Shoegazers
#9 Waiting For The World To Turn by Winter Palace
An Australian/Danish band that are making epic tunes similar to The War On Drugs.
#8 Room To Breathe by Andy Cooper
MC from US Hip Hop's Ugly Duckling made an excellent solo album.
#7 Belgica Soundtrack by Soulwax
Soulwax have made a fantastic movie soundtrack under the guise of multiple imaginary artists.
#6 Nonagon Infinity by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Sydney's King Giz release an album every year. This one merges all nine songs and can be played on an infinite loop if you have nothing better to do with your life.
Warning: crazy strobe effects for first ten seconds of the below video.
#5 Honey Bones by Dope Lemon
Australia's Angus Stone has a new band and its so good that you won't even miss Julia Stone.
#4 Meet The Humans by Steve Mason
Steve Mason is the former frontman of The Beta Band and he has released a solo album to rival his best work from the 1990s.
#3 Everything You've Come To Expect by The Last Shadow Puppets
Alex Turner and Miles Kane have reunited to produce another classic album.
#2 Prospect of Skelmersdale by The Magnetic North
An album about 1960s utopian housing developments in Lancashire. Better than it sounds!
#1 Weezer by Weezer (The White Album)
Perfect Indie Pop from the American band who have been crafting such gems for over two decades.
And here is the playlist if you want to check out these ten recommended albums.
These are my top forty tracks of 2016. The playlist is available on Spotify and some of the videos are provided below for those of you of an audiovisual persuasion.
In reverse order...
#40 Wind In Our Sail by Weezer
A jaunty pop song full of sailing imagery.
#39 Cool Out by Matthew E. White
A laid back tune with a whispered duet
#38 Night Owl by Metronomy
Sounds like a lost synth classic from the early '80s.
#37 Nihilist Party Anthem by Ball Park Music
Australian band from Brisbane with a dark indie-rock singalong.
#36 End Of An Era by Public Access TV
Typical NYC sound. Could be The Strokes younger brothers.
#35 Nothing But Love by James
Manchester's James still creating alternative love songs complete with horn sections.
#34 Signs by The Magnetic North
Simon Tong, former member of The Verve is behind this band and this beautiful song.
#33 Bulls by The Cat Empire
Infectious melody from the Aussie rock reggae band.
#32 Let Me Get There by Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions featuring Kurt Vile
A quiet year for Kurt Vile so I expect he is recording new material.
Hope Sandoval, on the other hand, released an album and will return later in this list.
#31 Natty Rides Again by Nattali Rize & Julian Marley
Head nodding Jamaican Reggae.
#30 Drag by Cat's Eyes
Canadian singer Rachel Zeffira and a member from The Horrors making dreamy 60's influenced pop.
#29 On Hold by The XX
First new single from The XX for several years pushing the dance beats to the fore.
#28 Subways by Avalanches
Melbourne Cut N Paste DJ Collective return after 15 years with a long awaited second album featuring this excellent track.
#27 What Part Of Me by Low
Minnesota slowcore band with a hypnotic duet.
#26 Second Heartbeat by Urthboy featuring Sampa The Great
Aussie Hip Hop tune that Spotify informs me was my third most played track of 2016.
#25 Come On Mess Me Up by Club Sport
Another excellent Brisbane indie band.
#24 You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen R.I.P.
The Canadian singer's final single released on his 82nd Birthday and three weeks before his death.
#23 Before The Wall by Kyle Craft
In the ramshackle style of a Dylan protest song this is a song that dreads an American future under President Donald Trump.
#22 The Opposite Of Us by Big Scary
Melbourne band with an epic piano ballad.
#21 1955 by Hilltop Hoods
Skip hop legends with their ode to living in a small town and feeling like you are sixty years behind.
#20 Randy by Justice
Funky French dance rock fusion. Make sure you listen to the full version not the radio edit which cuts off the euphoric instrumental ending.
#19 Bad Habits by The Last Shadow Puppets
Taken from the second album from Miles Kane and Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner.
#18 Blast Off by The Allergies featuring Andy Cooper
The Allergies have been making some smoking tunes lately and here the team up with Andy Cooper of my favorite US rap artists Ugly Duckling to ensure the Hip Hop Don't Stop.
#17 Dark Necessities by Red Hot Chili Peppers
RHCP are still creating laid back funk rock which pleases me immensely.
#16 Poem by She Drew The Gun
Social commentary from a new band who hail from Liverpool.
Are we about to see a re-emergence of protest singers in the next few years?
#15 Ain't No Love by Jake Bugg
This album track songs like an Odelay-era Beck song and was the highlight of Jake's third album.
#14 Gamma Knife by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Sydney's High Priests of Weirdness.
#13 Big Ideas by The Boxer Rebellion
Epic production, great voice and guitars reminiscent of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" result in a tune that swerves into cheesy territory but I still love it.
#12 California Kids by Weezer
Taken from Weezer's White Album which was one of the best albums released this year.
No matter how bad things are there is always a beach in California.
#11 Lauren by Men I Trust
A laidback funky bassline underpins this song about...
well the lyrics appear to be randomly generated so I wouldn't focus on them.
#10 You Are Killing Me by The Dandy Warhols
Best tune from The Dandy Warhols this century and I've been playing regularly all year and it hasn't lost any of its appeal.
#9 Another Day by Steve Mason
Former Beta Band frontman treading a similar path to his previous band but its a track well worth following.
#8 Robin Hood by Jamie T
This is the greatest homage to The Clash that I have ever heard - enjoy all the lyrical references and the unmistakable joyful Clash sound.
#7 Shakedown Street by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
This is a funky cover of a Grateful Dead song from the 1970's and I have been unable to shake it from my head.
#6 One More Night by Michael Kiwanuka
London based singer with a modern classic.
#5 Beautiful Thing by The Stone Roses
22 years after The Second Coming The Roses return with two singles (one cheesy and one groovy)
This is the one, this is the one I've waited for!
#4 1 in 100,000 by L-Fresh The Lion
Australian hip hop with beats, drops, attitude and Indian percussion.
#3 Wow by Beck
Wow Indeed! Just drop your new album and stop teasing me with a new single every twelve months.
#2 The Spoils by Massive Attack featuring Hope Sandoval
Hope Sandoval's second appearance in this list is for her haunting vocals over this beautiful prime cut from the Godfathers of Trip Hop.
#1 Burn The Witch by Radiohead
What else could it be? A claustrophobic string-laden rock gem
The video is also my favorite of the year as Cambellwick Green meets The Wickerman.
It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees, they're putting up reindeers and singing songs
of joy and peace. I wish I had a river I could skate away on...
There are some dark undertones to this month's playlist. Probably because these were the songs that
resonated the most with me. It's not all doom and gloom and dead musicians covering The Smiths -
only mostly.
The mood lifts in the second half to ridiculous levels. The music from 2016 has been fantastic. Those who doubt the abundance of quality modern music are obviously listening to the wrong sets. I am here to be your guide to the best tunes that I stumbled over in the last month.
1) Troubled Times by Green Day
Welcome to the post-truth world - it's a small comfort that Green Day have returned to their best form
since American Idiot. I wasn't planning on mentioning him!
2) You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
"If you are the dealer -I'm out of the game" R.I.P Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)
3) Let Me Get There by Hope Sandoval And The Warm Inventions featuring Kurt Vile
A lush and well stoned duet between two great artists.
4) Hold On by The XX
Highly anticipated third album released mid January
5) The Boy With The Thorn In His Side by Jeff Buckley
A cover of The Smiths song originally released on The Queen Is Dead 30 years ago.
"At the record company meeting, on their hands a dead star at last..."
6) Beautiful People by Mark Pritchard featuring Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke makes an appearance mumbling undecipherable words over a downbeat trip hop track.
7) Sandy Lane by The Magnetic North
Beautiful orchestration from a very Northern band.
8) No. 28 by Methyl Ethel
Fremantle's trippy trio return with a taster of goodies for 2017
9) Come On Mess Me Up by Cub Sport
Brisbane indie pop band with a massive hit on their hands.
10) Sad Songs by Sticky Fingers
Sydney Indie Reggae with a joyous tune ready for Summer.
11) Follow The Leader by Foxygen
Third album called Hang released in January from these West Coast Hippies.
12) Make The World by Lee Fields And The Expressions
Uplifting funky and a positive message - desperately needed in 2016.
13) Garden Of Love by The Liminanas featuring Peter Hook
French band with the distinctive bass guitar of Joy Division
14) All I Want From You Is Everything (Alternative Version) by The School
Indie dream pop originally released a couple of years ago and now given the festive makeover.
15) What Are We Fighting For? by Dodgy
Never thought the 90's Scouse indie band Dodgy would ever bother my ear drums again but they
have some damn infectious anthems. (Cheesy as - but it is Christmas)
16) C-h-e-m-I-c-a-l (Edit) by The Chemical Brothers
Back with another one of those block rocking beats!
17) Rattlesnake by King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard
The prolific Aussie psychadelic rock band return with home made instruments tuned to unusual
notes that I don't understand but totally adore.
18) Roll Back The Years by Dorsal Fins
Melbourne band worth investigating if anyone needs a homework assignment.
19) Born Disco; Died Heavy Metal by Cornershop and The Mike Flowers Pops
This is the 90 revival supergroup you would never have imagined.
20) Better Be Home Soon by Crowded House
The greatest New Zealand band Australia ever produced. Their Sydney Opera House reunion gig was
televised and became the singalong that stopped a nation.
That's all from me - I'll be back with my end of year roundup in a few weeks.
