Bobbysix.com's End of Year Review 2011 - Andy James

Continuing our series of End of Year Reviews from our contributors, culminating in a grand announcement of overall winners later in the week, Andy James gives us his top albums, song, tv shows and gigs:

1. The Whole Love - WILCO
The Whole Love weaves together great pop songs and alt-country in a real return to form for Wilco. From the opening electronic beats of Art of Almost to the 12-minute acoustic closer One Sunday Morning it’s a belter.
2. Let it Beard - BOSTON SPACESHIPS
A double album with little in the way of fat - a testament to Robert Pollard’s knack for never letting a song overstay its welcome. A guest appearance from J. Mascis is just the icing on the cake as the Boston Spaceships checked out on a real high.

3. Ashes & Fire - RYAN ADAMS

Having ditched the Cardinals somewhere on route, the lovely and restrained Ashes & Fire features some of Ryan Adams’ best material since Heartbreaker and The Suicide Handbook - and that voice just gets better and better with age.

4. Lord of the Birdcage - ROBERT POLLARD
Like much of Robert Pollard’s vast back catalogue, Lord of the Birdcage isn't immediate but grows on you with every listen. As his 4,537^th release is unlikely to win over hipsters or mountains of new fans - but like the Boston Spaceships’ effort it's a fine record nonetheless.

5. Smoke Ring For My Halo - KURT VILE
Philadelphia singer-songwriter Kurt Vile returned with a beautifully layered record which touches on slacker rock, Americana and psychedelic folk. A bourbon-drinking, Marlboro red-smoking gem.

Top 10 Songs
1.Tourist UFO - BOSTON SPACESHIPS
2. Art of Almost - WILCO
3. Defeatist - CAMERAS
4. Curtailed Dream - NICK WEBB
5. In a Circle - ROBERT POLLARD
6. Calgary - BON IVER

7. It's Real - REAL ESTATE
8. Runner Ups - KURT VILE
9. Benediction - THURSTON MOORE
10. Taken for a Fool - THE STROKES

Top 5 TV Shows
1. This is England '88
The second spin-off series from the 2006 film This Is England seemed more relevant than ever. Shit-awful Tory-led government running the show? Check. Disaffected youth? Check. Over-hyped England football team? Check.
2. The Killing
Far-fetched plot twists aside, when it comes to Danish-language police dramas with added knitwear, The Killing was in a league of its own. 
3. Match of the Day
More metrosexual banter and perma-tan tension than the average Channel 5 reality show. Not even a 0-0 at the Britannia or Lawrenson's gloom could take the shine off Shearer's shirts. 
4. PMQs
At times it seemed like Ed would never land a blow, but at least Cameron's own backbenches gave him the occasional kicking.
5. Treme
You don't have to be a lover of jazz to enjoy David Simon's Treme. The Wire creator's drama explored the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the working-class residents of New Orleans.

Top 5 Gigs
SUFJAN STEVENS - The Dome, Brighton
GARY PAGE - The Lamb, Eastbourne
EELS - The Dome, Brighton
NICK WEBB - The Lamb, Eastbourne
STOP THINKING RECORDS X-MAS SHOWCASE - Bibendum, Eastbourne

2011 in Words
Geopolitical turmoil and economic meltdown aside, on a personal level 2011 didn't feel all that remarkable and certainly wasn't a vintage for new music. Going back through my most listened to albums and tracks of the year it was amazing how few of them were released in the last 12 months. 2012 is already shaping up to be a better one - the first three months of the year see releases from Craig Finn, Guided By Voices, Nada Surf and Lambchop, plus there's the fourth season of In The Loop to look forward to. What else? Well, getting kicked into touch was the catalyst for living like a student again and I've spent more hours sitting around in my pants watching football than is healthy for any thirty-something. I didn't do enough travelling either - although crossing over the Bosphorus from Europe into Asia felt special (albeit with a driver determined to play Bruno Mars on loop). Lots of other high points though, not least spending a lot more time with close friends and family, and an office crush which saw me through the last few months. All in all, life's pretty good.


Andy James - Contributor
Englishman Andy has an impressive knowledge of indie bands that you have probably never heard of and can tell you quite a bit about football too.

Boston Spaceships - Let It Beard

Where to start with Robert Pollard? It’s barely weeks since his last solo offering and the former Guided By Voices frontman is back already - this time with the soon-to-be disbanded Boston Spaceships, also featuring Chris Slusarenko from GBV and John Moen of Decemberists fame.

Let it Beard - their fifth and final release - is a double album of 26 tracks with surprisingly little filler - a testament to Pollard’s knack for never letting a song overstay its welcome. Tourist UFO is an early standout and as good anything the Spaceships have written - even before guest guitarist J. Mascis drops by to sign it off with an unmistakably brilliant solo.

While Pollard is sometimes criticised for not straying far enough from the GBV template, there’s also some more experimental material here - not least the krautrock-tinged German Field of Shadows with its rumbling bass and horns.

Thrown in alongside beautifully stripped-back acoustic tracks like No Steamboats there is more than enough to reward the listener over repeated plays.

Let it Beard is the sound of a band checking out on a high.

Review by Andy James

Boston Spaceships to unleash Let It Beard

Indie-boys of the world, prepare to wet yourself with excitement. Robert Pollard's latest project (yes, another new project - this man is a machine) is Boston Spaceships, a supergroup completed by Chris Slusarenko (The Decemberists) and John Moen (Guided By Voices). Their upcoming epic double-album also features (deep breath) guest guitarists Colin Newman (Wire), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs), Dave Rick (Phantom Tollbooth) and Mitch Mitchell (Guided By Voices). If that doesn't get your indie-senses tingling, nothing will.

A 75-minute thrill ride through the many forms Pollard has mastered in his three decades of writing and recording, we are reliably informed that Let It Beard lands somewhere between The White Album, Quadrophenia, Jesus Christ Superstar and Same Place The Fly Got Smashed. Holy Smoke! Pollard has called the double-LP "a subconscious concept album about the sorry state of rock and roll."

Let it Beard is out on August 2nd, but you can pre-order it now through Rockathon Records.

Robert Pollard - Lord of the Birdcage

These days it seems all you need for a bit of lo-fi indie acclaim is some spray-on jeans and a set of half-arsed tracks drenched in fuzz courtesy of GarageBand. Extra bonus points are up for grabs if you throw in a gorgeous frontwoman oozing west coast cool in a pair of Ray-Bans.

If former Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard doesn't fit the mould the one thing he's always had over younger upstarts is tunes and creativity in abundance. In their pomp GBV could chuck away more ideas in 90 seconds than the average indie band will have over a whole album.

A focus on high output without fussing over the subtleties of recording processes has also made Pollard one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation.

Like much of Pollard's vast back catalogue Lord of the Birdcage isn't immediate but grows on you with every listen. He made the record - his 17th full-length solo album - by writing poems first and then setting them to the music. While still exploring new approaches to songwriting, many of the usual hallmarks are here - including his unpolished vocal style and impenetrable lyrics. "Ash Ript Telecopter / Helium Cuisine...", anyone?

It's a highly enjoyable record though. Garden Smarm is the catchiest song you'll hear all year on the subject of putting a lawnmower away for the winter, and Aspersion sounds like the sort of thing Mark E. Smith would produce if he could hold a band together long enough to bash out something decent. Another standout track is the shimmering acoustic In a Circle which reveals Pollard's knack for delivering the big choruses with as much as confidence as a throwaway two-minute pop song.

Lord of the Birdcage is unlikely to win over hipsters or mountains of new fans - but it's a fine record nonetheless.

Review by Andy James

Guided By Voices back on the road

After breaking up Guided By Voices six years ago, Robert Pollard is reuniting the "classic" Guided By Voices line-up for a whistle-stop American tour. Joining Pollard will be Tobin Sprout and Charles "Mitch" Mitchell on guitar, Greg Demos on bass and Kevin Fennel bashing the skins, as they play GBV songs from 1992-1996 - taking trips through the albums Propeller, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes, Under The Stars.

The tour dates are as follows (note, the dates are obviously in the month/day American format):

9/29 - TX Palladium Showroom Dallas TX
9/30 - East Side Drive, Austin, TX
10/3 - Pearl Theatre @ Palms Hotel, Las Vegas NV - SOLD OUT
10/4 - Wiltern, Los Angeles CA
10/5 - Warfield, San Francisco CA
10/7 - Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR
10/9 - Showbox So Do, Seattle WA
10/12 - First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
10/13 - The Riviera, Chicago IL
10/15 - Southgate House, Newport KY (Cincinnati) - SOLD OUT
10/16 - Outland Live, Columbus OH - SOLD OUT
10/21 - 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.
10/22 - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC - SOLD OUT
10/23 - Buckhead Theater, Atlanta GA
10/29 - Bluebird, Bloomington IN
10/30 - Majestic Theatre, Detroit MI
10/31 Oberlin College - Hales Gym, Oberlin OH
11/4 - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - On NBC at 12:35/11:45C
11/5 - Paradise, Boston MA
11/6 - Trocadero, Philadelphia PA - SOLD OUT
11/7 - Terminal 5, NYC - SOLD OUT