Top 50 of 2013: No.37: Silver Sun - A Lick And A Promise (Invisible Hands Music)

Criminally underrated is probably the best way to describe Silver Sun, for 17 years on and off they’ve been banging out amazing power-pop, I say they, these days it seems to be more just James Broad, which makes the likelihood of touring almost non-existent. So out of nowhere after a 7 year gap, new album ‘A Lick And A Promise’ just appears on download sites with no promotion and as far as I can tell not even a website or social media page to its name, it’s hard work being a Silver Sun fan, but occasionally very rewarding. Opening with what must be the best 3 songs to start an album ever ‘I Just Wanna Treat You Right’ is jam-packed with beach boy harmonies, huge guitar riffs, and James’ sardonic wit, ‘For Alan Clarke’ continues this tradition into what must be the most introspective song for this (band) yet ‘Bottom of The Class’ which ironically may actually be the best song you’ll ever hear by Silver Sun. The rest of the album has no chance of really keeping up with this trilogy of tunes, not that there’s a bad song on here, it’s just too good a start. Sadly there may never be another album, tour or any word at all from Silver Sun, but then again who knows when an album will appear from nowhere, fingers crossed.

8.5/10

Buy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lick-Promise-Explicit-Silver-Sun/dp/B00EYXBTXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1395914879&sr=1-1&keywords=Silver+Sun

Top 50 of 2013: No.38: Black Sabbath - 13 (Vertigo)

Let’s face it, no-one was expecting this album to be this good, it’s why I kind of respect Zeppelin for refusing to do new stuff, it’s because they know it wouldn’t be a patch on their old material and it’d pretty much ruin their legacy, so that’s what I was expecting of this. Amazingly Sabbath have pretty much managed to pull it off, I mean it’s no Paranoid, but it definitely stands up to their early work ‘Zeitgeist’ even comes off as this albums own ‘Planet Caravan’ and for a man ill of health Iommi doesn’t show any sign of weakness on the guitar front, ‘Loner’ kicks off with his unmistakable riff style, Geezer’s lyrics occasionaly veer into the cringeiness, but let’s face it ‘Iron Man’ was no lyrical masterpiece, so while this isn’t up there with their best, it would have made the top 5 easily if it was, it’s still an outstanding album from what are technically pensioners.

8.5/10

Buy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/13-Black-Sabbath/dp/B00BU986UG/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1395419902&sr=1-2&keywords=black+sabbath+13

Top 50 of 2013: No.39: A Day To Remember - Common Courtesy (Self Released)

Admittedly I was a little slow getting into ADTR, only starting out with their last album 2010’s ‘What Separates Me From You’ but admittedly I was blown away with the massive pop-punk anthems mixed with brutal metal breakdowns and I’ve since already picked up some of their early stuff, so expectations were already high when I heard about Common Courtesy. The best thing is that they haven’t changed one bit, this album is still crammed with massive sing-alongs and even heavier sections than before, opener ‘City Of Ocala’ is a brilliant ode to remember where you’re from "This is our corner of the world, Where we can come to be ignored" bouncing straight into ‘Right Back At It Again’ which sums up this band so well, always working and always touring. There are no real dud tracks on here but I have to admit I preferred the previous album as a whole; maybe it’s because of how concise and to the point the last one was, with bonus tracks this album comes in over an hour and for once maybe it’s just slightly too much of a good thing, or maybe the old adage is true, the best albums can be fitted onto one side of a 90 minute tape.

8.5/10

Buy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-Courtesy-A-Day-Remember/dp/B00G75BNSK/ref=pd_sim_m_h__4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1R3N46CVAAH36NGVSP0T

Top 50 of 2013: No.40: NARCS - Two Birds, One Stone Later (Clue Records)

Yet another Leeds band worth getting excited about, Narcs literally erupt from the first minute of this album and over the next 10 songs hold you captivated in the palm of their hand. Opener ‘Souvenir’ sets the tone perfectly with a foul-mouthed sample opening into the controlled chaos that Narcs ply their trade in, there’s an almost early-Arctic Monkeys style to the lyrical delivery mixed with the unhinged rage of the extremely underrated My Red Cell and swirled round bouncy catchy choruses. Debut single ‘19’ is a stand-out track that will stick in your head, all sing-along wrapped in thoughtful lyrics such as "It takes two to make a fool, one to lie and one to listen" and that’s what sets this album apart from most, it’s not just catchy, it’s not just rocking but it’s got great lyrics that takes it one step above. Forthcoming single ‘Coast To Coast’ based on a heart wrenching tale of an old couple out of their time with its beautiful line of “Don’t mind me dear, I’m tired & I want to go home” showcasing Narcs ability to get inside you, and that’s what good music does, it gets in your heart and makes you feel, it’s what separates good bands from great bands.

8.5/10

Coast To Coast will be released on April 1st with a few live tracks added which I’m looking forward to, but if you fancy the real thing they’re playing The Library in Leeds on 4th April, links to all that good shit below

http://cluerecords.bandcamp.com/album/two-birds-one-stone-later
http://cluerecords.bandcamp.com/album/coast-to-coast
http://www.jumborecords.co.uk/tickets.asp?event_id=17082
http://crashrecords.co.uk/online/product.php?xProd=14626