Some new music videos

First up, we have "There Will Come A Time" by Noah and the Whale.  Their fourth studio album, Heart of Nowhere, will be released May 6.

Frank Turner will be releasing his fifth studio album, Tape Deck Heart, on April 23.  Below is the video for, "Recovery."  I am very excited for this album.

A couple of weeks ago, The Vaccines released the video for, "Bad Mood," and it's entertaining.  Can't say it's one of my favorite songs from the album, but decent.

Kid Cudi's "official" video for "Immortal" has yet to be released.  However, the single has been released and am quite enjoying it.  His album, Indicud, will be released on April 23.

Stornoway released their second studio album, Tales from Terra Firma, earlier this month. "Knock Me On the Head" is the first single from the album and I hope you enjoy it.  My favorite track from the album is "The Bigger Picture." 

Albums of the Year

After coming up with this list, I realized that I didn't listen to as much new music as I thought I had.  The few new albums that I did listen to were some pretty solid albums.  Like every year, there were those disappointments, a new face, and those that always release a decent album.  In my opinion, this year was the most unpredictable.  The bands that surprised me the most were Swedish House Mafia and Keane.  Two bands that I was always aware of, but never gave a proper listen to.  Had I made my list longer, Swedish House Mafia would be ranked a#11.  

And here we go...

Albums of the year 2012, part II

Without further ado, here comes the final part of my list.

#10 Django Django
Django Django

Having received rave reviews from just about everyone, this album became increasingly harder to avoid. Needless to say, when I finally gave in, I didn't regret it one bit. There's always something fascinating and refreshing about debuting indie bands, and Django Django certainly made quite an entrance.

#9 Born and Raised
John Mayer

When you rate Born and Raised, it all comes down to whether you like folk music or not. Thus, it's gonna be either your most favourite Mayer's album or the least. Considering it's in my top ten, it must be clear where I stand on this. (My review)

#8 Blunderbuss
Jack White

After an admirable 22-year-long career in music, dozens of projects and collaborations, everyone's favourite guitarist finally set off to release his solo debut. And its outstanding moments by far outweigh the few flaws. One of the bussiest and most prolific men in the bussiness hardly ever lets his fans down, even though it may have taken some time for people like me to appreciate the record. I'm only wondering if Jack White will ever run out of the tricks up his sleeve.

#7 Come of Age
The Vaccines

The Vaccines delivered again. Come of Age is arguably and quite surprisingly an even better album than their massively hyped debut. (My review)

#6 Handwritten
The Gaslight Anthem

Despite the lack of progress, this is still a rather fantastic output. It's been always very exciting for me to witness the band's continual rise to fame, and frankly, I hope it won't stop anytime soon. (My review)

#5 Lonerism
Tame Impala

A fantastic psychedelic album, that grabs you and doesn't let go. Expect no stoner music, though, this is a very focused and elaborate set of songs. It was yet another big surprise for me and will be an important entry in every respectable magazine's guide to 2012's essential albums. (My Review)

#4 Celebration Rock
Japandroids

It's hard to resist the raw energy of this album. I may be overly enthusiastic, but it is thanks to bands like Japandroids, that rock'n'roll will never die. (My review)

#3 Given to the Wild
The Maccabees

Compelling third studio album from the UK indie rockers, that clearly shows their musical maturity and a great deal of ambition, which don't go unfulfilled. (My review)

#2 Some Nights
fun.

It's increasingly difficult to avoid cheap puns, but the band's name really says it all. For me, this has been the feel-good album of 2012. I would always come back to it and be amazed by the sheer talent on display. Despite a few missteps along the way, it's simply a great record and I'm glad fun.'s singles dominated the airwaves this year. (My review)

#1 Battle Born
The Killers

Ever since the release, there was little doubt this mammoth of an album would eventually end up seizing the top spot of my list. Considering the long break, we might have doubted whether The Killers still got what it takes to dominate the world. Thankfully, the answer to that is a resounding "yes". Great hooks, grand statements, perfect execution... An instant classic. (My review)

Come of Age

What Did You Expect From The Vaccines arrived about a year and a half ago. And although it wasn't all that groundbreaking and innovative in the way of the Arctic Monkeys' or Franz Ferdinand's debuts, it was nevertheless a great fun ride from start to finish.

This time around though, the aim to entertain masses is replaced by musical ambition. The songs are far more sophisticated, both musically and lyrically. The Vaccines have slowed down significantly and settled down for more introspective themes. But that doesn't mean they've lost their natural ability to write extremely infectious tunes. And in the end, Come of Age comes off as the better album.

Most of all, I'm just glad to see that The Vaccines are no one hit wonder. They're obviously here to stay and if they don't lose their creative stride, then we have much to look forward to.

Best tracks: No Hope, Teenage Icon

Albums of the year 2011, part II

Let's move on to the second part of my list, the quality rises, the curiosity culminates...

#13 Endgame
Rise Against

Prior to the release, there had been rumours about Rise Against splitting up. Fortunately, they didn't turn out to be true and so fans could enjoy the band's latest output. And here's to hoping that Endgame won't be their last either. Because Tim McIlrath & Co. still haven't forgotten the craft of writing urgent and powerful songs. Again, I may be "a little" biased here, because they're one of my all time favourite bands, but Endgame proves they're still one of the best punk rock bands out there...
Best tracks: Architects, Satelite, This Is Letting Go

The best of 2011 so far, Memphis' picks

Well, I thought about this post before, but never really got down to it, and since st. tropez suggested the same idea, I finally decided to proceed with it...

This year has been quite rich in good music so far and the albums that caught my attention haven't been few. This is the best of the first six months of 2011.

First of all, there was the sophomore White Lies album, panned by Pitchfork but eventually pleasing most of their fans.


Then came Beady Eye with their debut, which some people even called "the best Oasis album since Morning Glory",


or The Vaccines with their extremely catchy indie rock tunes.


But then, there came a buch of pretty good hard rock albums, from bands such as Funeral For a Friend,


Thursday,


Rise Against


or Foo Fighters,

that I've been spinning over and over ever since. But I could not forget the folk rock goodness that was The King Is Dead by The Decemberists. Especially its first track is "musically all over the place".


Neither could I forget this year's indie pop discovery, Cults


So that's about it for now. I obviously couldn't hold myself back, again, but still, these "few" albums are, for me, the most interesting/important of the first half of the year. Hopefully, there will be a few more lists from you guys and certainly one big from me at the end of the year.

What did you expect from a track-by-track guide?

Justin Long, the Vaccines' frontman, recently gave NME a track-by-track guide to the band's new album. You can read it below.

"Wreckin' Bar ( Ra ra ra)

It's about being attracted to trouble, about being out of your depth and thinking you can deal with something when in reality you probably can't. I'm fascinated by the concept of power struggles in relationships. I'm not really sure who is on top in this one. It's supposed to be positive, though.

If You Wanna

As with a lot of the lyrics on the record, I've tried to be as direct as possible. Sometimes when you want to say something it's best to not be too clever about it. The lyrics are pretty defeatist, maybe even slightly pathetic. But we've all been there. I wanted us to have a song with really downbeat lyrics juxtaposed with a poppy and upbeat melody.

A Lack Of Understanding

When you break up with someone you assume their life has changed for the better and that they're off having fun with new friends in new places. Most of the time, though, they're feeling just like you.

Blow It Up

This is about as angry as I'm willing to show people I'm capable of getting. Again, it's pretty direct. It's about someone taking himself too seriously and how that wound me up. It's me saying, "let it go".

Wetsuit

I'm petrified about getting old and I'm incredibly nostalgic. Sometimes I feel like I'm waiting for me life to begin and I always regret not making the most of things. Have any of us really had the kind of summer they experience in American high school films? This is a song about wanting to be young, making the most of it, doing silly things.

Norgaard

I wrote this about a girl I'd only met once (model, Amanda Norgaard). She was beautiful but she kissed my friend. It didn't affect me as much as the song might suggest it did but I thought it would an interesting experiment to write a song about something that wasn't beating me up. I'd only ever written about things I was obsessing over, it made a nice change and came pretty easy.

Post Break-Up Sex

I think people can work out this one! Hopefully it's interpreted as frank rather than crass. I like the term 'gloriously dumb'. We've all felt like this, but I'd never heard a song that dealt with it.

Under Your Thumb
This song talks about the idea of starting something new and being under someone's thumb, funnily enough. It was the first one I wrote for the album.

All In White

This is about jealousy and about victimising yourself. In retrospect, though, it says more about me than it does about other people.

Wolf Pack

I find talking to new people really hard. Sometimes living in London and playing music you feel like people size you up when you're talking to them. They want to know what they can take from you and I hate that. I've never really liked people who try to hold court in social situations either, especially when I haven't had a chance to get to know them. Maybe it's because I'd rather it was me. Whatever the reason, this is an ode to my good friends.

Family Friend
This song is about being lied to by someone you didn't expect to lie. It's in two parts. The first is sweet, the second bitter. So a bit like life, I guess."

Well, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes did the same. Head over here to read his track-by-track guide to the band's new album, Angles. On a related note, The Strokes revealed today, that they've already began working on a follow-up. That was quick.

And by the way, if you haven't checked The Strokes' new record yet, you can stream it in its entirety on their official website.

"With a cool cool breeze and dirty knees I rest on childhood memories"

The band to save rock 'n' roll or just another Strokes rip off? We still don't know since The Vaccines' debut album comes out on March 14. However, the few songs released so far give me hope, that it might be quite good. Listen to a brand new song called Wetsuit from the probably most hyped British band right now...