Half Yearly Report: Part I

With more than half the year gone we take time to look back at some of our favourite albums from the first 6 months of the year.

Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
Back after leading the initial wave of 00’s indie dance bands Cut Copy were in danger of becoming just another in the bloated pool of the genres followers. But, on In Ghost Colours they change the formula just enough to keep it sounding new. The danceable beats are still there as is the obvious love of French house, but DFA production, better song writing and the addition of distorted guitars take Cut Copy to a whole new level of cool. Essential tracks are So Haunted, Out There On The Ice, Feel The Love and a re-recorded version of Hearts on Fire.

Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
Ambiguous copyright laws and a “he stole/she stole/I sampled/no you stole!” controversy largely robbed Crystal Castles brilliant self titled debut the praises of the music press. Combining a keyboard full of video game sound effects, a laptop loaded with fresh samples a good dose of uncontrollable energy Crystal Castles prove that it is still possible to produce a dance punk record that is both fun and dangerous. Remixes of Health and Van She are highlights but the albums best track is a Crystal Castles original Courtship Dating.

Portishead – Third
Returning after more than a decade out of the game, Portishead have delivered an album that sounds fresh and very now, while still feeling very much like the Portishead that went quiet at the end of the nineties. A lot of the familiarity comes from the group’s still downtrodden view of the world and Beth Gibbons fragile lyrics. Machine Gun (with its crushing industrial beat) is one of the best singles of the year so far, other highlights are The Rip, and the oh-so delicate Hunter.

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV / The Slip
Just a few years ago it would have been unbelievable to consider that Nine Inch Nails could have produced two albums in 6 months. Now free from both drugs and his record company Trent Reznor has been on a creative roll giving us Ghosts I-IV in March and The Slip in May. Despite being released as mp3 downloads both albums are best when taken off the laptop and treated like traditional albums: played loud on the stereo. Ghosts I-IV a collection of 36 instrumentals has an atmosphere that absorbs the listener as they trawl a dark-dark journey into the apocalypse. The Slip starts off where Ghosts left, but quickly pushes you away and punches you in the face with raw aggression. It is near impossible to separate Ghosts into individual highlights, the Slip however is dominated by the powerful 1,000,000.

More half year highlights to come...