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Officer May - Smoking In A Minor

described on rateyourmusic as "Flat-out-fucking-rad noise punk." couldn't have said it better myself

Top 50 of 2012: No.25: Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg (Major label)

I don’t give a fuck, I like Jake Bugg, the backlash seems to have already started on this guy, but sit and listen to his debut album and remember that all that backlash stuff is bullshit created by writers of mags like NME. What you have here is 14 little pop nuggets, and by pop I mean what they called pop music back in the 60’s not the awful stuff that mascarades as it today. Almost every track could be a single, and in fact half of the album has been, obviously everyone knows the comparisons to folk heroes like Donovan and Dylan, some tracks even have an early Beatles feel. Brilliant melodies and poignant lyrics are a plenty on this album and tracks like ‘Lightning Bolt’, ‘Trouble Town’, and ‘Two Fingers’ are standouts among standouts, so ignore the hype and just listen to an awesome album.

8.5/10

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Top 50 of 2012: No.26: Soundgarden - King Animal (Major label)

Along with Alice In Chains, Soundgarden are the second big grunge band to reform, personally I’m still waiting to see if Truly or even at some point a Screaming Trees album might come but for now we’ve got the big hitters. Kicking off with an obvious statement of intent ‘Been Away Too Long’ which might sound a little trite but is a beast of a song, Soundgarden know what their fans want and give it to them in buckets, sometimes a little too much but at a few songs less than the last two albums it shows that they’ve at least tried a little creative control, which means that this is actually one of the most consistent Soundgarden albums released yet. Obviously it’s not up there with ‘Badmotorfinger’ but some things are just never going to be beaten, what you do get here is a storming rock album from one of the best bands of the 90’s.

8.5/10

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Just Ordered:

Awesome album!!!!!

Top 50 of 2012: No.27: Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Double Six)

The problem with creating a masterpiece is that you’ll always struggle to follow it up with anything quite as good, this is the 4th album Spiritualized have released since ‘Ladies And Gentlemen…’ but finally they’ve come as close as you can to matching that albums brilliance, that’s not to say the albums between the two have been awful, they just haven’t been up to the same incredibly high standards. This might he harsh to say but Jason Pierce only has himself to blame for putting out one of the Top 10 albums of the entire 90’s probably in the Top 5 if I had the time to order them. Kicking things off, after a little intro is the storming ‘Hey Jane’ which just might be Jason Pierce’s best song ever, unbelievably catchy and laid back rocker of a tune, and from this point on there isn’t a dud track. There’s the usual choir backgrounds, mixed with gospel chanting, but for whatever reason it all flows so much better on ‘Sweet Heart Sweet Light’, so for those missing the magic that flowed through the first 3 albums, it’s back in aplomb.

8.5/10

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Top 50 of 2012: No.28: Mark Lanegan Band - Blues Funeral (4AD)

Mark Lanegan seems to have been on overdrive these last few years, releasing solo albums, collaborations, guest appearances and whatever else he fancies doing, and with talent like his, he can do whatever the hell he wants. Mark has one of the most distinctive voices anyone anywhere will ever hear, however if you like your music upbeat, you may as well stop reading now, Mr. Lanegan pretty much specialises in misery and with an album title like ‘Blues Funeral’ and lyrics like "If tears were liquor, I'd have drunk myself sick" you shouldn’t expect anything else. However the new album is under the Mark Lanegan Band moniker which means at times it’s a bit more rocking than his acoustic solo stuff, featuring the usual guests such as Greg Dulli and Josh Homme, this is dark unsettling stuff, possibly his darkest work since Screaming Trees ‘Dust’ album. So grab a bottle of whiskey a packet of smokes turn the lights down low and enjoy Mark’s misery it’s really the only way.

8.5/10

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Top 50 of 2012: No.29: Stone Sour - House Of Gold & Bones: Part 1 (Roadrunner)

Stone Sour can sometimes be a hit and miss band, especially for fans of Slipknot as Corey Taylor’s vocals in his official day job are amazing, however when Stone Sour hit, they hit the mark perfectly. Luckily the new album is a huge improvement on the last album which seemed a little lacklustre to be honest, maybe it’s the fact that they’re trying to create something big that they’ve thrown their all into it, plus the 90’s rock influences shine through in particular Alice In Chains seem more of an influence than ever. Throughout ‘House Of Gold & Bones’ part 1 the band barely take a wrong footing, and storming tracks like ‘RU486’ bring to mind the passion and aggression of older tunes like ‘30/30-158’ while here and there you get the smattering of soft rock that manages to avoid the cheese factor. Overall this is return to form for Stone Sour, and something tells me they’ve got even better in them, but for now, this is up there with the best they’ve done.

8.5/10

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