9 of the best – sounds of 2020

The strangest of years, but Samuelsounds keep going. Once again, no Christmas hiatus year and today I gift you my favourite tracks of 2020. The sounds are in no particular order and are, as ever, limited by what I’ve heard…

Jay Electronica feat. Jay-Z – Ghost of Soulja Slim

Phoebe Bridgers – Kyoto

Gorillaz feat. Peter Hook & GEoRGiA ‎- Aries

SAULT – Strong

The Strokes – Ode To The Mets

Ben Seretan – Power Zone

Khruangbin – So We Won’t Forget

The Districts – Hey Jo

Tame Impala – One More Year

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Honourable mentions also go to: Moses Sumney for ‘Cut Me‘; Ludwig Göransson for ‘Foils‘; Caroline Rose for ‘Feel The Way I Want‘; Jacob Banks ‘Devil That I Know‘; Run The Jewels for ‘Ooh La La‘; Labrinth for ‘Imagination‘; Faye Webser for ‘In A Good Way‘; Fiona Apple for ‘I Want You To Love Me‘; Angelo De Augustine for ‘Santa Barbara‘; Retirement Party for ‘Runaway Dog‘; M!R!M for ‘Another Life Another Time‘; and Chubby & The Gang – Chubby and The Gang Rule OK?.

Tame Impala – Is It True (2020)

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Tame Impala’s album The Slow Rush was released back in February. Over 6 months later and it’s time to revisit. The sixth single (yes that’s six) is ‘Is It True’, a rhythmic, psychedelic treat from Kevin Parker and team. Have a great weekend.

Tame Impala – One More Year (2020)

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Tame Impala’s new album was finally released a couple of weeks back. One wondered whether Kevin Parker was withholding any singles; the answer is a resounding yes. The opening track ‘One More Year’ is up there with his best. Have a great week.

Tame Impala – Half Full Glass Of Wine (2008)

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Good morning. As press commentators get very excited about the upcoming release of Tame Impala’s fourth album The Slow Rush, I pull out a gem from the band’s genesis – a time when Kevin Parker was more rock club than dance floor. In 2004, the Australian auteur wrote and recorded ‘You Haven’t Been Telling The Truth’ as The Dee Dee Drums with friend Luke Epstein. The song outlived that collaborations and would evolve into Tame Impala’s ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’, released on their debut self-titled EP released in 2008. Have a great week.

Tame Impala – It Might Be Time (2019)

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Hypnotic drums, stabbing keyboards, techno crashes, rave sirens, questions about purpose… in a week of returns, Kevin Parker and Tame Impala are back with ‘It Might Be Time’. Their new album The Slow Rush is expected to drop in February. Have a great weekend.

Tame Impala – Patience (2019)

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It’s been 4 years since Tame Impala released their third studio album Currents and it feels like it. Hopefully the wait has been worthwhile and the first signs are good. A fortnight ago, the band released the single ‘Patience’. Patience indeed.

Yuno – No Going Back (2018)

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Fans of Tame Impala, prick your ears. It’s been far too long since the release of Currents; and Innerspeaker and Lonerism seem like distant memories. So what a delight to hear the psychedelic pop sounds of Yuno Moodi, a 27-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida (his parents are British and of Jamaican descent). Last year, Sub Pop signed him and shortly thereafter, Yuno released Moodie. The EP features ‘No Going Back’. Rejoice Sub Pop. Rejoice Juno.

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better (2015)

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‘The Less I Know the Better’ was released by Tame Impala towards the end of 2015. Selected as the third single off the album Currents, the song flows from Kevin Parker’s love of “dorky disco”.

BNQT ‎- Restart (2017)

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Formed by Midlake’s Eric Pulido, BNQT (Banquet) is a supergroup comprising Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Fran Healy of Travis, and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle. Songwriting duties were split between the five singers for their upcoming album, Volume 1, while the remaining members of Midlake provide the backing band. The whole is groovier and heavier than the sum of its parts. Like Tame Impala flirting with Bolan-esque glam.

Pond – Sweep Me Off My Feet (2017)

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‘Sweep Me Off My Feet’ will feature on Pond’s forthcoming psychedelic offering Man It Feels Like Space Again, which arrives in “early 2017”. Once again,  sometime bandmate Kevin Parker is heavily involved, producing the album to obvious sound effect. Pond and Kevin Parker are becoming one.

Temples – Strange Or Be Forgotten (2017)

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Like a cross between MGMT and Tame Impala, Temples are UK purveyors of psych-rock. They have released the second single from their second album Volcano. ‘Strange or be Forgotten’ is my kind of groovy. Have a great week.

Electric Light Orchestra – The Whale (1977)

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As we emerge from a wet weekend, I use the tenuous opportunity to segue the ‘The Whale’. Off the ELO’s unreal gatefold album Out Of The Blue, this ambient track feels forever current with its Tame Impala-style trippy disco, vocoder sounds and electronic funk. Jeff Lynne, you are an unlikely genius. Have a great week.

Methyl Ethel – Idée Fixe (2016)

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Western Australia has given us its fair share of quality electronica – Empire of the Sun and Tame Impala to name but a couple. Methyl Ethel added their name to the list with last year’s album release Oh Inhuman Spectacle. The off-key androgyny of Jake Webb’s vocals give ‘Idee Fixe’ added credentials. One part The War on Drugs, one part Animal Collective, one part Methyl Ethel.

9 of the best – sounds of 2015

This year’s been chock-full of classy sounds. In no particular order…

Tame Impala – Let It Happen

Jamie xx – Loud Places

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love

Bill Ryder-Jones – Two To Birkenhead

Julian Holter – Feel You

Dutch Uncles – Be Right Back

Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin

Alberta Cross – Water Mountain

Floating Points – Silhouettes

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Honourable mentions also go to: ’Impératrice’s for ‘Vanille Fraise’; Beach House for ‘Space Song‘; Gaz Coombes for ‘The Girl Who Fell To Earth‘; Outfit for ‘Smart Thing‘; Shura for ‘2Shy‘; Lindstrøm for ‘Home Tonight‘; Foxes for ‘Body Talk‘; Tobias Jesso Jr. for ‘How Could You Babe‘; Tame Impala for ‘The Less I Know The Better‘; Sufjan Stevens for ‘No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross‘; and, yes, Justin Bieber for ‘What Do You Mean?‘.

Melody’s Echo Chamber – I Follow You (2012)

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‘I Follow You’ opens Melody’s Echo Chamber’s eponymous debut album. And what a start it is too – lush guitar hook, melancholic vocals and an overtly psychedelic production. It may sound a little bit like Lush, but this is in fact the musical collision of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and My Bee’s Garden’s Melody Prochet. The result was Melody’s Echo Chamber and the collaboration was more than just musical.