05

Salford Edition: Monday 5 December 2011

Arts

And so the end is near, and we face the final curtain of 2011.
What a slog it has been, with numerous revolutions, bloody oppressors toppled, and people finally granted the freedom they deserve.
Thanks to social media such as Twitter we have seen what the Internet can do for the future of society, no longer are we lied to by the media (not this paper obviously), and we learn of the truth and what must come from it. Also, Jason Derulo had a number one. I mean, Jason Derulo. Whats more is that it stayed at number one for more than a week. Swagger Jagger was sort of funny, people bought it for the novelty value, but Jason Derulo? He has as much ability as a newt and not a particularly clever newt at that. However, it may be bad journalism to treat the singles charts as anything other than a niche market now who buys singles anyway? Only hardcore fans and the mentally unstable. It may be better to judge the year in music by the album charts. Lady Gaga convinced us that she was indeed born this way, with the album Born This Way, a terrible dirge of electro pop marketed in a way to suggest it was something new and fresh. The Arctic Monkeys released Suck It and See, and their cover was banned in America because of the connotations of the title. Shocking stuff. Ed Sheeran, king of drole, released the album +, which is neither an equation or a proper name for an album. It was ok at best. The Red Hot Chili Peppers also attempted to write something of artistic value, and came up with Im With You, with less filler than one would expect, but still the vocal ability of a 50-year-old man trying to rap. The best album of the year commercially was without doubt Adeles 21, which was better than Beyonces 4 by an entire 17 amounts of whatever they were referencing. In all honesty

Adele was the most successful artist of 2011 commercially

though, the 21 year old singers album was a gigantic hit, and rightly so. It mesmerised many, and made the X Factor much more predictable. There were many artists out there that didnt get the recognition they deserved, simply because too many people have fairly shocking tastes in music, or werent aware that there were more sonically gifted musicians out there. Lou Reed and Metallicas album, Lulu, however, is not one of those

albums that deserves to be put in the sonically gifted section of HMV. If we are looking for the worst album of the year, an aging rockstar who used to be really good collaborating with some aging metallers who also used to be really good and creating what can only be described as shit on a stick, Lulu is our culprit. But this week we at Salford Student Direct Arts Section Towers aim to tell you, the Salford student what were the best albums of the year, even

Ed Sheeran: King of Drole?

if you dont really like post rock or dubstep or noisecore. Happy Christmas and a jolly fine New Year to you all.

Album Reviews Compiled and Written By Sam Jones, Tom Miller, Richard Knight

Jamie Woon
Mirror Writing

Wugazi
13 Chambers

I Break Horses
Hearts

Son Lux
We Are Rising

Tom Vek
Leisure Seizure

Radiohead
TKOL RMX 1234567

Jamie Woons debut album Mirrorwriting came out relatively early this year and could quite possibly be one of the best outright singer/songwriter pop records to have appeared in a long time. In some ways its possibly one of the bravest in recent times as well. With production credits from William Bevan (AKA Burial) and nods towards RnB, dubstep, sub-bass culture and dance, the album manages to avoid specifically sounding like any of the above and its insane grooves create what could possibly be described as the perfect Pop-soundscape crossover album. Check out Night Air and Spirits on YouTube for some inspired use of loops.

Cecil Otter (Doomtree) and Swiss Andy (The Millionth Word, Field Guide, The Swiss Army) did something that in hindsight probably should have been done a long time ago. A mash up of tracks spanning the entire art punk legends, Fugazi, career with all things Wu Tang Clan seems to make so much sense now. Fugazis tight-as-you-like rhymthic section and the intense vocal performances of RZA et al sound near enough to perfection as youre ever going to get. Go to www.wugazi.com, and check out Sleep Rules Everything Around Me and Sweet Release, download the album, blast it out of your car and feel more street than a cul-de-sac.

Cecil Otter (Doomtree) and Swiss Andy (The Millionth Word, Field Guide, The Swiss Army) did something that in hindsight probably should have been done a long time ago. A mash up of tracks spanning the entire art punk legends, Fugazi, career with all things Wu Tang Clan seems to make so much sense now. Fugazis tight-as-you-like rhymthic section and the intense vocal performances of RZA et al sound near enough to perfection as youre ever going to get. Go to www.wugazi.com, and check out Sleep Rules Everything Around Me and Sweet Release, download the album, blast it out of your car and feel more street than a cul-de-sac.

Ryan Lott (aka Son Lux) was asked to write a record in 28 days. His experimental dance sounds (already well known in his previous record, At War With Walls and Mazes) break through in a much more sparse way that expected; a record that sounds like its in a dream is a pretty hard thing to write, especially in the space of a month. Son Lux did it, and he did it very very well. With more time, his third record could well be where people really sit back and take notice of the talent this man has. Check out All the Right Things and Leave the Riches, but make sure to listen to the album in its entirety.

Tom Vek is a massive hipster. The album cover practically screams it at you consisting mostly of some dark framed glasses. Fortunately the album is actually rather good with lead single Aroused being particularly catchy and memorable. Full of interesting sounds and cut up vocals the album has its own space in which it plays and is refreshing to hear in current times. Should definitely be listened to with a pinch of salt however as the hipster/Camden roots do occasionally bleed through a little too much Check out Aroused and We Do Nothing.

Radioheads The King Of Limbs was all right, in vision it was definitely interesting but felt a little soulless and short considering all the wait. But fortunately there was enough material on there for 19 remixes of the 8 provided on the original and thanks to the wide mix of artists providing their remixes the album manages a much more diverse and wider scope than perhaps The King Of Limbs ever had. No masterpiece by any means like most remix albums but as they go TKOL RMX 1234567 manages to have a through-line feel and diversity that isnt often found on remix albums. Check out Lotus Flower (Jacques Green Remix) and Separator (Four Tet Remix).