GRcade

Really good year for me and my favourite rock bands. Foo Fighters, The Gaslight Anthem and Spector are 3 of my all time favourites, but had all released underwhelming records last time out. This time every record is an absolute banger.

The Foo's record obviously came out of the tragedy of Taylor Hawkins passing and a lot of the lyrics cover themes around loss. But, for my money, it's the best album they've put out in over a decade, there's not a bad song on there. Going to see them next year for the first time in years and I can't wait.

The Gaslight Anthem also returned after a hiatus with a really "Gaslight Anthem" sounding album and I loved it, plus a great cameo from Springsteen to boot. Spector coming back with a new album was also a surprise as it's only been a year since their last but they obviously had a set of songs they were confident in and wanted to get out and I'm glad they did.

In other genres, I couldn't stop playing Sultan & Shepherd's progressive house album Forever, Now. Really atmospheric, emotive and beautiful music. And another electronic music record I loved was SG Lewis' AudioLust & Higher Love. He's got a knack for blending old school disco with modern sounds and I absolutely love it. A great follow up to his last album, times.

The Paper Kites, probably my favourite indie folk band, released a slightly bloated but great album At the Roadhouse. Could probably have trimmed 1 or 2 of the more run of the mill folk numbers if I'm being critical but there's some really great songs there outside their usual stuff. A few that channel Fleetwood Mac too, never a bad thing.

Teddy Swims put out his first proper album and it's great fun. He's really good at blending popular genres like soul, R&B, pop and country. Not really usually my type of thing but there's something about him that I really like. My wife & I saw him live this year and he was great. Planning to see him again next year.

Dylan & the Dead Poets were a new Irish indie band I happened upon that in their own words "make music for 20-somethings living in a country that ignores them". I haven't been 20 something for awhile but I really like their songs and I like to think a lot of it is still relatable!

I've always liked Gabrielle Aplin here and there but Phosphorescent was the first of her albums that I think really clicked with me. There's a great variety and approaches to her songs here and it feels a bit more ambitious and experimental than her previous stuff.

Finally, Carter Vail is a really fun dude I happened across him making funny videos on the internet but he's actually a really original and fresh musician, creating catchy pop songs that stick in your head.

Overall, a very good year for me and new music