Nick Pickles’s blog

hey there pop pickers. with my last gig out of the way, it’s time for me to run down the records that have made my year.

2009 has been a great year for music - the live scene has continued to thrive, there’s a continuing buzz around new ways of delivering music and what the future might hold. while the NME as a magazine has continued to loose circulation, online offerings and local print titles have thrived. such a shift is no bad thing - as it became more london/industry focussed, the NME became less relevant and many of these titles are filling the vacum once occupied by the NME/melody maker at a regional level.

it’s also worth giving the BBC Introducing team a nod - by far the best operation out there bringing new music to the masses, which is what has to happen for these talented artists to dedicate themselves to their music full-time.

so, anyway, the list. deciding on wall of arms as #1 was a no-brainer for me - no other record has resonated quite as well as this with where my life is at present. a glorious blend of love, lonliness, hope and desperation, from the angular ‘no kind words’ to the brass-washed sentiments of ‘love you better’ no doubt where it comes on the list.

I guess nods should also go to the notable omissions - particularly the XX’s debut offering, which although I really like still feels too cold to latch onto, and Riceboy Sleeps, which for all it’s beauty is almost too distant to love.

otherwise, there are some records that I think will become timeless classics (Primary colours, merriweather post pavillion) and those which are just a point on a journey to producing something truly epic (Forget the night ahead, kindgom of rust).

Then there are the ones which are simply great records. Two dancers and Sigh No More might be a bit random lyrically, but offer some great melodies and particularly in the case of the former, some really innovative songwriting. Equally Sing along to songs you don’t know has a song about being in love with someone if they were a fish, which would probably get it on the list were it not also a brilliant bit of lo-fi electronica.

I had to struggle to decide on what level the pile of electronica I’ve been listening to should be represented - Burial & Four Tet did a track called ‘Moth’ that’s one of my favourite tunes of the year, but it wasnt released on an album. Equally Thom Yorke’s cover of ‘All for the Best’ is a wonderful cover, but the whole record didnt feel like a top 10 effort. So I settled on The Field’s latest blend of shoegazing electronica, grizzly bass lines and glitchy loops. But it could have easily been Clarke or Bibio.

Anyway, if you find yourself with some music vouchers in the New Year, you’d be well advised to give one of these a try.

1. The Maccabees - Wall of Arms

2. The Horrors - Primary Colours

3. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

4. Kingdom of Rust - Doves

5. Twilight Sad - Forget the Night Ahead

6. Sing along to songs you don’t know - Mum

7. Sigh no More - Mumford & Sons

8. Yesterday & Today - The Field

9. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

10. Further Complications - Jarvis Cocker