Another Form of Relief

Yep, I may just get this done in time for the 2008 list.

This is one of those songs that you listen to once, think it’s okay and then don’t really come back. Then you hear it again, wonder what it is and think it’s rather good. By the time you’ve heard it four or five times, it’s that catchy song that you already seem to know all of the words to.

There’s nothing here that’s any different from their previous material, but what does it matter? When pop is this jangly, sweeping and melancholy all at once, I’m certainly not going to argue.

The Light Footwork came in at number two on this list last time, and while their position may be a bit lower this time around, they are still just as good as they always were. Releasing a split EP with Tereu, Tereu (which incidentally had the best artwork of the year), they unleashed three new songs upon us, the best of them being Rebellion Time. All of the Light Footwork hallmarks at here, from the Beulah-esque melodies to the back and forth male-female vocals. With a bit of luck, we’ll get a new full length from them in 2008.

How did I go so long not knowing anything about The Thermals? Seemingly the only band genuinely pissed off at the state of the world, each album seems to get angrier than the last, with the latest almost a concept album about living under a fascistic Christian state. Which is obviously not based in reality at all. Anyways, combine the political comment with near perfect song constructions, and you’ve got one of the most exciting bands working today.

Partying like it’s 1959, Friends of the Bride’s music sounds like it could have come from the era of swing and big band music, but it somehow manages to remain fresh at the same time. Cut Down On My Friends is an obvious standout, a bitter tirade about needy friends accousing the singer of being anti-social, followed by a declaration that he’s going to have less to do with them by moving to the suburbs. This was the b-side to the band’s first single, so they are setting the bar pretty high, given this could have been a superb single in itself.

The Punks Are Writing Love Songs shows that little has changed in the Tullyland. A look at current music trends, jangly guitars and the obligatory ‘ooh-oohs’ are here. While it’s not quite the self aware anthems that Twee and Pop Songs were, it’s three minutes of joy that you’ll be hard pressed to find from other bands.

An Icelandic rock band that references Paul Giamatti? Grounds for a top twenty placing right there.

Seemingly this years love it or hate it indie hit, as there seems to be no middle ground on this one at all. Personally I fall into the love it camp, and while I can see the formula becoming stale across several songs, Thou Shalt Always Kill hits all the right spots. A glorious manifesto for modern life that wants to right as many wrongs as possible in this country, no matter how big or small they may be. It’s ridiculously quotable too.

Scrappy guitar playing? Distortion all over the melodies? Deliberately fuzzy vocals about nothing? You will find none of these things in the music of Assembly Now. The guitars are clean and crisp, every nuance can be clearly heard, and the vocals are both clear and literate. Of course none of these things are new concepts, but they certainly seem to be things that are out of favour at the moment. This makes Assembly Now all the more refreshing.

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