Fresh from 2013

What were you doing back in 2013? I mostly remember it as the year that I, flush with unspoken thoughts about my favourite music, started this blog; who'd have guessed that I would still be updating The Album Wall three times a week almost three years later? Had you asked me back in June '13, I probably would have bet against it.

Of the many albums I listened to in those early days, one of the most enjoyable was Furniture by Aberystwyth's Race Horses, which came to my attention after it was nominated for the 2013 Welsh Music Prize (in spite of the fact that it was actually released in 2012). You can read my thoughts on that album here.

Of course, by the time I first wrapped my ears around Furntiure, its creators had already called it a day. As I was belatedly discovering fantastic tracks like Mates and My Year Abroad, Race Horses singer Meilyr Jones was living in Rome, discovering Italian culture and percolating ideas for his solo album.

That album, titled simply 2013, came out last month, and you can really hear the notes Jones took during his stay in Italy. The album's overall sound is like the sonic lovechild of Gruff Rhys and Ennio Morricone, conceived while Neil Hannon watched through a peephole and quietly jerked off. No expense has been spared on the orchestration here: string and brass instruments mingle with harpsichords and recorders*, and Jones's bright-eyed pop sensibilites are smushed up against more classical influences to create something very fresh indeed.

Survey: How Do You Consume Music?

If you live in the UK and you fancy filling out a survey about your music listening habits, then today's your lucky day! I don't have any particular points to prove with this investigation - I just like looking at data, and hey, maybe this data will tell us something interesting that we didn't already know.

If the form below looks a little weird on your device, try this link instead:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VcdzgXMkJcmJVGQ9Jc1S4dYQuQX_tryiMQSdWugqja0/viewform

   

Please share the survey with your friends - I want to see responses from all sorts of different people, not just people who read this blog!

Here's that link again:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VcdzgXMkJcmJVGQ9Jc1S4dYQuQX_tryiMQSdWugqja0/viewform

Still Waiting for a New Tilly and the Wall Album

Tilly and the Wall are great. You may remember them as 'that band with a tap dancer instead of a drummer', but they are so, so much more than that one gimmick. Just listen to Rainbows in the Dark from their second album, Bottoms of Barrels:

This song is pretty much everything I want from music: heavenly horns, an insistent melody, a simple chord pattern, and loads of lyrics, passionately delivered. Oh, and two key changes. The tap shoes are in there too, but their presence sounds like the most natural thing in the world, not the deliberately quirky substitution that most people assume it to be.

Heavy Mood, Tilly and the Wall's most recent album, came out in October 2012, a solid three and a half years ago. If you ask me, a follow-up is long overdue, but the band have been worryingly quiet of late:

• Their official Facebook page hasn't been updated since last August.
• Their Twitter account has been dormant since September 2014.
• Most troublingly of all, the band's website - www.tillyandthewall.com - no longer even exists!

I don't mind waiting for my favourite bands while they work on their albums, but these omens seem to suggest that Tilly and the Wall are never coming back. If true, the world will be a slightly less colourful place for their loss.

Betting on Music: Why I Don't Try Before I Buy

According to a recent BBC article, "half of consumers" listen to albums online before purchasing the physical versions. For artists and record stores, that statistic is probably very welcome indeed: for years, we've worried that fans are streaming music on Spotify instead of purchasing it for keeps, but that BBC report suggests that a surprising number of people actually do both. Loads of record shops have listening posts and/or a 'try before you buy' option that lets the customer hear a couple of songs before parting with any cash, and if that's how people are using streaming services then that's brilliant.

Personally, though, I can't see myself ever using Spotify to make purchasing decisions. Why? Well, just as some people enjoy gambling on horses or football, I love taking a chance on music. I can't deny that I get a glow from staking £10 on a CD that could, for all I know, be a complete dud; it's one thing to purchase music that you already know you love, but I find it even more rewarding to take a leap of faith and see what I end up with.

But the thrill of gambling isn't my only reason for doing things this way. Sometimes, you need a good few listens to really 'get' what an artist is trying to convey, and I worry that if I start using Spotify or Apple Music or whatever to screen every album I'm interested in, I'll wind up dismissing a lot of music that I could have really enjoyed had I only spent a little more time with it.

Wallow with Mothers

Stephen Fry - the British actor, writer and tea pedlar - came under fire last week for some comments he made about child abuse victims:

"It's a great shame and we're all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place - you get some of my sympathy - but your self-pity gets none of my sympathy because self-pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity. Get rid of it, because no one's going to like you if you feel sorry for yourself."

Now, Mr Fry's decision to scold the victims of molestation is a pretty questionable one, and it's surprising to hear someone who in the past has spoken candidly about his own mental illness suggest that people can simply 'get rid of' their emotions.

"Don't feel those feelings; hold them in instead!"

Besides, I think his assertion that "self-pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity" is way off the mark. Self-pity isn't a pleasant emotion, sure, but it can be a very beautiful one, and if you don't believe me then I'd strongly recommend that you listen to When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired by a band called Mothers.

Here are some choice lyrical excerpts from When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired:

"Everything you touch turns to gold; everything I touch turns away" (Burden of Proof)

 "I don't like myself when I'm awake" (It Hurts Until It Doesn't)

 "Walked as softly as I could, and still I stepped on all their feet; I want to apologise to everyone I see" (Too Small for Eyes)