APRIL: A Summary

APRIL: A Short, Swine-Flu Free Summary
words: Jamie Milton

Thank heavens we were preoccupied with ordering batches of masks and tinned food this month. Had it not been for the global pandemic which WE DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT START GETTING COMPLACENT ABOUT, we’d have been bored shitless. Music was pretty rubbish and it’s got me thinking that 2009 is going to be an even worse music-year than 2008. At least last year by this time we had the pleasure of Cut Copy, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and No Age, all single-handedly saving the year from a dreadful collapse. This year, the big guns have delivered and The Horrors have got brilliant. But there’s not much else to say apart from Mica Levi can’t cut it live with an acoustic guitar, but she sure can on record.

April was devoid of triumph and stand-out moments. Instead we were treated to a solid batch of follow-up records and a couple of stinkers. Super Furry Animals officially put out their excellent ninth record, Welsh accents included, with ‘Dark Days/Light Years’. And fellow veterans Doves made the four-year-wait worth it by revisiting their epic, uplifting rock sound. Bat For Lashes went a thousand steps forward with her second record ‘Two Suns’, with Yeasayer adding a crafty edge to the songs. Song-wise, nothing will top ‘Daniel’ this year. It’s quite simply, flawless.

The Veils’ third record was unsurprisingly sophisticated and expert in songwriting, with unsurprisingly impressive results. Camera Obscura might just have made their best record yet with the dreamy ‘My Maudlin Career’ and Bill Callahan (pictured) surprised us a little with his twisted lullabies in ‘Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle’. The only disappointment came in the form of Metric, which to MFM’s annoyance, everybody else seems to think is pretty good. But for fuck’s sake, it’s really not. The Enemy didn’t disappoint, instead they wowed us with their laugh-out-loud lyrical content (“You know there’s no such thing as a free meal // There ain’t no future in British steel“). Well Tom Clarke, there ain’t no future in Mexican tourism for the time being but you don’t hear THEM complaining. They probably are though, they’re just a bit far away.

APRIL’S RELEASES, IN SCORE ORDER:

Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years — 8.3

Doves – Kingdom of Rust — 8.2

Bat For Lashes – Two Suns — 7.9
(mp3: Sleep Alone) [alt]

The Veils – Sun Gangs — 7.9

Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle – 7.7

Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career — 7.6

Brakes – Touchdown — 7.2

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! — 6.5
(mp3: Hysteric) [alt]

Metric – Fantasies — 3.9

The Enemy – Music For The People — 3.8

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