radio days

January

Lackluster

Container [Focus]

First of the year’s discoveries and a major one. Anonymous on the outside, warm on the inside and the perfect antidote to frosty New Year times. Deceptively simple-sounding at first, this all-instrumental LP revealed more in the way of melody with every play. With the technology now readily available to bring well-produced music cheaply from small home studios to the market, the opportunities for self-expression have never been greater. The sheer volume of labels and recording artists vying for attention are proof of this. Music has opened up because of it but more than ever something exceptional needs to be at the heart of the matter in order to stand a chance of recognition. The music made by Esa Ruoho from Helsinki, Lackluster by name, has yet to be recognised but Container has the proof of something special sealed therein.

February

Mogwai

2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (LP track) [Southpaw]

Making maximum use of time spent travelling is one way of getting to hear music outside of the radio studio and staying sane simultaneously. Most of the new music I get to hear will be done so on the move. Have travel, will music! The return journeys to Kerry are, for instance, 360 miles of quality listening time with the added bonus of the odd bit of scenery! Being in between is good for concentration but discovering stuff in this way makes the experience of sitting in the studio feel a bit static sometimes. (Bigger wheels for the office chair might be an idea. Could be the start of something) This tune is one that shortened many a journey in February. Made for making movies to, it clocks in at an epic ten minutes without wasting a second. Please drive carefully!

March

The Avalanches

Since I Left You [XL]

Music's tendency to put a smile on your face is always strong. The charm of pop music lies in its undeniable ability to do just that. The fact that so much of it is laughable doesn't really matter at all. Making fun out of it is missing the point. It is fun, that's all. When a record comes along with nothing but a good time in mind, and, co-incidentally, the ability to maintain its appeal after a few listens, then it’s time to get ready the garden shed and have a knees-up. Since I Left You is one such record. The Avalanches turn up in a good mood all of the time. They’re special envoys from a particularly happy time and sunny place. They don’t do stormy weather. We need them.

April

Radiohead

Amnesiac [EMI]

Signs of summer were obviously premature. Now it’s raining again. What makes them necessary all the same? The lyrics and tone of voice make it demanding music sometimes. I accept the way some people switch off but they’re far too good to ignore. Sound-wise, they’ve been setting the standard since OK Computer. The songs seem to invariably come from some tight corner but the music is always open and free-flowing. Their conviction in tackling new sounds and taking risks sets them miles apart from the next-in-line. An obvious cliché I know, but somehow, as a soundtrack, it all fits the time pretty well too

May

Jimmy Behan

Jimmy Behan EP [Kin Recordings]

The DIY-revolution in music production has turned self-sufficiency itself into an art form. The fact that you can have a recording device at home under the stairs tends to take the sting out of studio costs. Among the benefits is the opportunity to take enough time to get things right from the start. Jimmy Behan’s debut EP is a prime example of the cottage industry approach to music-making gotten absolutely right. The music across all four tracks is mature and long-lasting. With one gesture, a tiny niche has been carved.

June

David Kitt

The Big Romance [Rough Trade]

Bringing this album on a week of filming in Andalucia was a good idea. The Costa de la Luz is the strip of coastline that runs from Spain’s south-western tip at Tarifa to the Portuguese border above Cadiz. High Atlantic winds conspire to keep development away from the coastal stretches not cliff-bound or used as military zones. The unbroken space in front of the sea is unique in all of Spain. In springtime, when the light is particularly good, the whole place looks lush. Not a bad setting for The Big Romance to begin. Several months later it still passes the sunshine test. The future’s so bright, etc…

July

David Donohue

First Course In Hygiene [D1]

The business of setting standards is followed in rare cases by repeated attempts to raise them higher again. All of this and more is going on within the sleeve of David Donohue’s debut record. There’s a completeness to it that some of the celebrated dance acts in Britain are clearly struggling to achieve. As the title suggests, it is, of course, early days. Improvement is possible. Room has been left to expand and colour the range but the picture so far is wide and well-painted. Are there lessons to be learnt from the first course in hygiene? Yes. Step two?

August

Orchestra Baobab

Pirate’s Choice [World Circuit]

I’d read excited reviews of the original re-release a few years back but never came across it on the shelves. Discovering it now, almost twenty years after it was made is almost too good to be true. There’s so much to it – the warmth of the sound, the virtuosity of the playing, the combination of languages, styles and influences, everything! There is such a feeling to it all. The really great records extend your ability to know and appreciate music a little bit more than before you’d heard them. You think you’ve heard it all and then suddenly you’ve got a new place to go. Back to Senegal!

September

Traffic

‘Dream Gerrard’ (LP track) [Island]

September started badly with Kerry’s still unfathomable feeble exit from Croke Park. Holidays which had been planned with the All-Ireland final in mind, had to be hastily rearranged. (Serves me right!) Checking in at Dublin airport the following morning with the biggest of all worries being the avoidance of beaming Meath fans now seem such carefree old world follies in the light of what happened next. Being away from home without the usual points of reference made digesting the whole tragic saga all the more strange. The BBC World Service became both a light and a guide through those dark days. Music didn’t re-enter the equation for several days. When the sound did return, this was the first song to make any sense at all.

October

Aphex Twin

Drukqs [Warp]

The control Richard D. James exercises over his image and art is unique in itself. Add to this the fact that his music is among the most exquisitely conceived around and it’s obvious we’re talking about one of the great artists. Everything up to now has been pretty abstract but the piano pieces on this record are like figurative paintings from a master. He’s been breaking down barriers, busting taboos and being himself for some considerable time and still he keeps his cool. If it’s true he’s recently bought the huge ex-power station silver cube that sits awkwardly in the middle of the Elephant & Castle roundabout then the acquisition speaks for itself. Which of them is the more impenetrable or intriguing. It’s hard to say.

November

Kylie Minogue

‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ [Parlophone]

Travis

‘Side’ [Independiente]

Does anyone know how to stop singing these songs? Never having had any interest whatsoever in the Travis situation before now I consider myself an innocent victim of this appalling classic pop conspiracy. What did they go and shatter our highly judgmental pre-conceived notions for? Hey, you with the Mohawk? Are you singing at me? (Now Kylie’s a different story…)

December

The Jimmy Cake

‘Hungry Ghosts’ [Pilatus]

Both the standard and rate of independent music being produced here has come on significantly in the last couple of years, pretty much of its own accord. The Jimmy Cake are one of many groups and individuals who’ve managed to step forward without seemingly anyone pushing them. This particular tune is a beauty. The starting point for many a headphones set this year, it moseys along at a pleasant pace, bicycle bell ringing away all the while in the background. A bit of a stroll, really. If they made it at all to the morning session, it’s unlikely any members of The Jimmy Cake will have been honoured with afternoon call-backs at the Popstars auditions. There is hope, after all. Happy Christmas.

Donal Dineen’s radio show Here Comes The Night continues Sun–Thurs, 10pm – 1am on Today FM. There will be a Here Comes The Night tour in February featuring some of his new film work.