Bawley (Hearts) 2010: Bottom 5 album covers of the Year

So many bad album covers this year, Devo and Brian Ferry went for glamor mag gloss, Yeasayer had some kind of brain seizure, Kings of Leon explored phallic island and Kanye West showed us way more than we ever wanted to see. Still nothing was worse than these my Bottom 5 album covers of the year.

5. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)

The CD sleeve notes state that the album cover is a photo of X Tecumseh Clark taken by his father, avant-garde composer and poet Todd Tamanend Clark.

Yep about as interesting as it sounds.

4. Deftones - Diamond Eyes

Sadly this is not the soundtrack to Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.

3. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2. MGMT - Congratulations

MGMT do what Nintendon't - pitchfork media

This scratch and sniff disaster was my early favourite for worst album cover of the year. Who could of thought that worse was still to come.

1. M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\

The cover art on M.I.A.'s /\/\ /\ Y /\ is a bigger disaster than the album itself. The YouTube progress bars had been outdated before this album was released, the Tetris brick walls are horrible and can anybody tell me why MIA has spelt her name out in gold bullion?

One part hilarious ten parts hideous , congratulations to M.I.A.; runaway winner for 2010's worst cover album art.

Bawley (Hearts) 2010: Top 5 album covers of the Year

Most of world may have moved to digital downloads, that doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy good album cover art. Here are five of my favorites from 2010.

5. Kele - The Boxer

Kele Okereke the muscled prize fighter. I dare you to tell him that you preferred him when he was in Bloc Party.

4. Massive Attack - Heligoland

Designed by band member (and former graffiti artist) Robert Del Naja who poured over 100s of photos, stencils and original art works before coming up with the street art inspired cover.

The London underground then banned Massive Attack from advertising the album in any of the city's Tube stations, because the art work looks too much like graffiti.

3. Grinderman - Grinderman 2

"Like a wolf showing its teeth in the front room"

Is there any better way to describe Grinderman's second album?

2. Klaxons - Surfing the Void

When a band uses an internet meme as their album art the result is usually uncreative, uninteresting and entirely lame. On the front cover of Surfing the Void, Klaxons have used the greatest meme of them all the lolcat, but somehow it works.

I think it is the dull stair in the cat's eyes; where is he going what adventures will he have when he gets there, will he make it home safely - we will never know.

1. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (re-issue)

The new artwork is little more than an update of the original album's cover but it is the story of lost originals, double blind searches and high-res drawings and 1989-like filters that makes this my favourite album cover art of 2010.

Slevage has the full story, http://sleevage.com/nin-pretty-hate-machine/

Bawley (Hearts) 2010: Top 5 concerts of the year: Nick

Despite being sadly absent from a certain double headline show , I've enjoyed a great year for live music. Here were my favourite shows:

5. The New Pornographers, Manning Bar, Sydney, 10/11/2010

The Canadian collective travelled to Australia complete with all their vocalists, (including the brilliant Neko Case) which is something of a rarity. As a result we were able to enjoy the full force of their their complicated vocal (and whistling!) harmonies, and super-catchy pop tunes. The band's rhythm section also treated to a spontaneous cover of Rush's 'The Spirit Of The Radio'. Result!

4. Blind Boys Of Alabama, Opera House, 5/6/2010

Complete with guest vocal performances from a suitably cantankerous Lou Reed, and an enormously pregnant My Brightest Diamond, this bunch of 80 something year old blind men made a glorious noise, and put many a much younger band to shame with the energy and passion of their performance. Properly life affirming.

3. British Sea Power, Manning Bar, Sydney, 20/02/2010

Any show that ends with members of the band attaching themselves to members of the audience with long stands of gaffer tape, accompanied by noisy guitar feedback, is a good one in my book.

2. Pavement, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 4/3/2010

It was the band's second show in ten years (following the first date of their reunion world tour in New Zealand, a couple of nights earlier) - but they looked and sounded exactly like no time had passed (by which I mean 'endearingly shambolic').

1. Decemberists, Beck's Festival Bar, Hyde Park Barracks, 20/01/2010

Perfect confluence of band and venue, audience participation and a perfect set made for a hugely memorable performance. FasterLouder review

Runners Up:

Al Green, The Domain, Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Oxford Art Factory, Datarock, Metro Theatre

Bawley (Hearts) 2010: Top 5 Covers of the Year

5. Klaxons - Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)

Every list of best-of-covers must contain at least one cool indie band covering a massive pop song, so here it is. (link - skip to 2:52)

4. Regina Spektor - No Surprises (Radiohead)

Spektor recorded this song in support of Médecins Sans Frontières. It is a great cover done for a great cause. Buy the charity single on iTunes or listen to the Triple j recording (link - 10:40)

3. Gorillaz - Crystallised (The Xx)

Gorillaz had a huge 2010, taking their Plastic Beach tour from Glasto to Damascus to Sydney. Along the way they stopped to record a few tracks on Radio 1's Live Lounge. Originals Melancoly Hill and Doncamatic were overshadowed by this brilliant cover of The Xx's Bawley 100 wining track Crystalised. (video)

2. Grizzly Bear - Boy From School (Hot Chip)

Grizzly Bear covering Hot Chip could have been a disaster, luckily guys remembered the vocals and pulled off this brilliant cover. (link - 11:55)

1. Beck's Record Club - Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)

In 2010 Beck's record club covered two drastically different albums INXS's Kick and Yanni's Yanni, Live at the Acropolis. Far and away the highlight of all these sessions came when St. Vincent, Os Mutantes, Liars, Annie Clark and Beck took on INXS's iconic 80's teen movie song Never Tear Us Apart. Just watch.

Live Review: Faster Louder Canberra Christmas Party, The Front, Lyneham, 10/12/2010

Last night I was lucky enough to score an invite to the fasterlouder.com.au Canberra Christmas party. This wonderful evening hosted at The Front started with a set from The Love Recession; now a three piece, the boys played a great set of folk inspired rock (or without a drummer is it now rock inspired folk?).

Performance poet Andrew Galan kept everyone's (at times uncomfortable) attention with a series of poems about wasting away your life, care bears and disappointment.

Next up were Cracked Actor, to say they were channelling Radiohead would be a massive understatement. The four piece combine high hat heavy percussion, dreamy falsetto vocals, sparse guitars, glitchy samples and unusual song transitions to great affect. At times I was not sure if I was at The Front listening to my new favourite Canberra band or hunched over my laptop streaming In Rainbows II*. (*In Rainbows II may not/never exist)

CJ Bowerbird takes the mic for more between band poetry he is less confrontation but just as engaging as Galan. And just as Galan did before him CJ finishes his performance with a ode to Canberra, CJ Bowerbirds Canberra is not the the shiny facade presented as the nation's capital but the filthy underbelly of a living city.

The nights final act was Evan and the Brave. the star of the band is obliviously former idol contestant Daniel Mifsud but to say the other guys (The Brave?) don't add anything would be grossly unfair. The band combine beautifully throughout the set their instrumental and vocal harmonies have the room mesmerised.

All up the fasterlouder.com.au Canberra Christmas party was a great night and a fitting farewell to the sites local content editor.

Live Review: Basement Birds, The Metro, Sydney, 20/08/2010

Opening act The Sun Orchestra's short set is pleasant but largely talked over by the small crowd of early comers.

The room has got noticeably busier by the time second support Old Man River takes to the stage. The Old Man River live show is wonderful, the band delivers a full sound and while I didn't know many of the songs, radio singles Norway, You On My Mind and Sunshine are crowd pleasers. It is front man Ohan Rein's stage presence that impresses me most, he does a brilliant job of getting the crowd up dancing and even (unbelievably for a support act) participating in a call/response sing-a-long for La.

Basement Birds are an the Australian indie/folk super group made up of Josh Pyke, Kevin Mitchell (Bob Evans/Jebediah), Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe), and Steve Parkin (Autopilot). Like many a super group before, the bands album fizzed - the whole was less than the sum of its parts and I was left wondering what was the point of Basement Birds.

The show starts with the four famous birds lined up along the front of the stage, members of The Sun Orchestra are filling in on drums and slide guitar from the darker back half of the stage. Opening track Waiting For You is the perfect place to start, as each of the guys sing their opening lines they are welcomed with an individual cheer from the appreciative audience.

As Basement Birds progress through the show they share the lead vocals and spot light around, a song or two at a time. The chemistry between the four band mates is clear; they are friends and in this band they are having a great time.

With just the one album of original songs behind them the 'birds treat the audience to a few covers, including a beautiful version of Sarah Blasko's All I Want and a more light hearted, jovial take on the Grease Mega Mix.

Josh Pyke and Bob Evans get perhaps the greatest share of the vocals, certainly they fill most of the between song gaps, but Basement Birds greatest weapon is the four part harmony - when their voices come together it is like honey for the ears.

As the main set ends, the band announce that they will be joined by a special guest to help out on Bus Stop. Sadly it is not Julia Stone but the Julia Stone singers, a selection of girls plucked from the audience. The fun being had by the girls on stage is contagious, the whole room is singing along, never been happier.

The show finishes with the band's cover of The Presets My People; the four guys playing, singing, dancing and smiling together on stage. I think that this - four guys having some fun with their mates - is exactly the point of Basement Birds.

Deftones - Diamond Eyes

Deftones should no longer exist; the rap-metal genre they helped define went out of fashion more than a decade ago, bassist Chi Cheng remains in a semi-comatose state following a 2008 car accident and after spending some two years and many millions of dollars recording their Eros album the band decided to toss the whole thing in the bin a start again. But somehow the band have rarely sounded as alive as they do on Diamond Eyes.

The album starts with title track Diamond Eyes; huge riffs, epic chorus and soaring vocals the result is massive. Royal and CMND/CTRL manage to deliver all the spite of early era Deftones but with the maturity of a band beyond its 20th year.

Deftones have reined in the experimental influences that derailed parts of their post White Pony work. Pleasingly this has not been done at the expense of the dense sounds of their 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist. You've Seen the Butcher is a great example of what Deftones do today; the huge metal riff is accompanied by crashing percussion and reverb soaked vocals the whole thing swamped in ambient effects.

Deftones have never hidden their love of new wave and British romantic music. These influences can be found in the Cure-esk baseline of Beauty School and Morrissey like vocals of This Place is Death. More than just a Smiths revivalist front man Chino Moreno shows great vocal range across the album after tearing his throat out on CMND/CTRL and Rocket Skates his voice is stadium big on Risk before showing his melodic side on Sextape and 976-EVIL.

Closer This Place is Death is a triumph itself and a more than fitting end to this album of decadent heavy music.