Eyes & Ears VI; End of Year Awards

2014 Albums of the Year:

Some blinding releases this year. Shellac and the Pop Group do bile and anger better than anyone else. That frightfully talented Alex Neilsen combined “balls to the wall” free jazz with Death Shanties and Copper Family tinged madrigals with Crying Lion. Euros Childs and Jon Langford were as reliable as ever, while Norman and Joe in The New Mendicants started January with a gorgeous set of tender ballads. I discovered Blueblut and Bardo Pond and rediscovered the brilliance of the Band of Holy Joy who, along with Trembling Bells and Teenage Fanclub, are the ones to look out for in 2015. I also bought the Mogwai album; dull stuff.

1.    Shellac: Dude Incredible

2.    Death Shanties: Crabs

3.    Crying Lion: The Golden Boat

4.    The New Mendicants: Into The Lime

5.    The Pop Group: We Are Time

6.    The Band of Holy Joy: Easy Listening

7.    Euros Childs: Eilaaig

8.    Bardo Pond: Looking For Another Place

9.    Blueblut: Hurts So Gut

10. Jon Langford: Here Be Monsters

11. Mogwai: Rave Tapes

2014 Gigs of the Year:

Sixteen gigs by 14 acts this year, with The Band of Holy Joy (Cluny in March and Bede’s World in December) and British Sea Power’s Sea of Brass (identical sets at Durham Gala Theatre in July and Cluny Hall 1 in October) being the bands I caught twice. In that instance, I’ve included the gig I enjoyed more in this run-down. This list also includes 12 different venues, of which Durham Gala Theatre, Glasgow Kelvingrove Bandstand, Stockton Georgian Theatre, Jarrow Bede’s World and the superb Leeds Brudenell Social club were new for me. The only band that were new to me were The Pop Group. I attended 3 gigs alone (5, 12 & BSP, October), 2 gigs as part of an FPX reunion (10 & 14), 5 with Ben (2, 3, 6, 9 & 11), 5 with Laura (1, 4, 8, 12 & BoHJ in March) and 1 with Ben and Laura (7).

1.    Teenage Fanclub: Glasgow, Kelvingrove Bandstand, August.

2.    The Pop Group: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club, October.

3.    Penetration: The Cluny, March.

4.    The Band of Holy Joy: Jarrow, Bede’s World, December.

5.    The Mekons: Cluny 2, August.

6.    The Pastels: Cluny, June.

7.    Lindisfarne: City Hall, December.

8.    Midlake: Whitley Bay Playhouse, July.

9.    British Sea Power: Durham, Gala Theatre, July.

10. The Wedding Present: The Cluny, November.

11. Vic Godard: Star & Shadow, September.

12. Death Shanties: The Bridge, August.

13. Fairport Convention: Sage Hall 2, February.

14. Pete Wylie: Stockton, Georgian Theatre, November.