Band Aid 30: Cease and Desist

Bob Geldof caring about African children

Last week, the news of a fourth Band Aid project came through. Today, the full list of artists involved was announced and it's a stellar cast of British pop giants, just like previous Band Aids. It's going to be a re-recording of the "classic" Do They Know It's Christmas and it's going to raise money for West Africa and their fight against Ebola. It's going to be plugged a lot and it's going to be up and around that part of the charts when it comes to Christmas number one time, though a release date has not been announced yet.

Before I slag off Bob Geldof and Band Aid (because I will be doing that), I should first mention that Ebola is a terrible disease that has torn apart lives, families and whole communities in West Africa. The fact that such a tragedy is happening primarily in a place which is so under-equipped to deal with a crisis like this is particularly worrying. Caring about the plight of those in close contact with Ebola should have little to do with the risks of us in the Western world catching it. There is plenty of reason to do so already, mainly compassion for your fellow human.

Give what you can to help the Red Cross in their valiant efforts in West Africa

Ok

Anyone who has been at all aware of British popular culture in the last 30 years will be aware of Do They Know It's Christmas. If you managed to dodge that bullet, please watch this video of famous people pulling their best "I care about poor people" faces:


Amazing.

Well where does one start? The hair? The hilariously 80s synths? George Michael? These are all too easy targets.

First of all, the lyrics. These are some of the most patronising lyrics ever written. This song is a prime example of how Western media have created detrimental misconceptions about charity and developing countries. Just take this line for example:

Oh, where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow

Tell me if I'm jumping to conclusions, but the song actually telling us that Africa has no rivers, no rain and is completely barren. Nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow. Just to clear this up, it does rain in the vast and geographically diverse continent of Africa, crops are grown (approximately 65% of Africans work in agriculture) and there are rivers in Africa. In fact, the longest one in the world is in Africa. From just this one line, Bob Geldof has created a wholly negative image of Africa: a strange, dystopian wasteland devoid of life. More lines that make this proud, culturally rich continent seem like something out of this painting include:

And it's a world of dread and fear

Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears

And the Christmas bells that ring there

Are the clanging chimes of doom

It's shit like this which makes people view Africa as a basket case, totally uncivilised and definitely inferior to us clever Europeans. This latter, almost colonialist view is emphasised in this line:

Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Do they know it's Christmastime at all? Well the answer will obviously vary from person to person. Those who don't know it's Christmastime won't know because um, well, they have their own cultures that don't do Christmas like we do. Those who do, well it's because us Europeans brutally colonised them and made them believe in God. So either way, it's kind of patronising to ask this question...

Ok ok ok I get it, it's not meant to be taken literally, it's a metaphor for the fact that Africans in poverty have less reasons to be happy than we do in such a time of celebration. But it is still kinda patronising. It is kind of implying that you can't be happy unless you celebrate this Christian festival, like us clever guys in Europe. You can't be happy unless you buy into this lifestyle, these values and these customs. If you don't, you must be living in some kind of dystopian wasteland where there are no rivers or something...

Some these lines are just god damn stupid. Take this one for example:

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime

Here is a link to a website for a ski resort in Lesotho, Africa.

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

I don't have to explain why this is bad do I?

So the song itself takes 53 different countries in Africa and places them all into one, mega-hellhole. Hearing this song a lot in TV, radio or on your music playing device might just make you think no-one in Africa is capable of anything. You'll think this despite the fact that many African countries are developing every day. Having this kind of viewpoint is wrong, especially when you consider the story of Nigeria, who have managed to completely rid themselves of Ebola, showing a great deal of independence doing so.

Ok ok ok I hear you. Yeah sure the song has dodgy lyrics, but it's raised millions and millions of pounds over the years for charity, making it alright...right? Well maybe not. The question of where did all the money go is quite a good one. There have been allegations that money from Band Aid in 1984 went to rebels in Ethiopia, who then used it to buy arms...to kill people. This BBC article (for which Geldof complained, and the BBC ended up apologising) claims that the percentage of money that ended up in rebel hands could've been around 95%. Admittedly, no-one can truly know whether or not this figure is true or not, but it remains the case that a significant amount of money raised by Band Aid went to killing people. It's a common problem faced by all humanitarian groups, but it's not like that was part of the aesthetic of Band Aid. Bob Geldof fills these projects with idealistic rhetoric, that promise so much from the contributions of us clever Europeans. It's never been mentioned that fucking it up and making it worse is a distinct possibility. There are plenty of charity workers and humanitarian groups who are doing good work and trying to make the world a better place, but the good ones know that these problems exist. Band Aid tends to forget that part somewhat...

So that was in 1984. What's changed? Well they did another one in 1989. Then Band Aid 20 happened in 2004 for the famine in Darfur. That brings us to 2014 and Band Aid 30. The artists involved this year so far include most of the most annoying people in British music:

One Direction (utter shit)

Ed Sheeran (no...he's not good...he's just not good...and he's so very boring)

Bastille (maybe even more shit than One Direction)

Foals (just to clear it up, listening to Foals does not make you indie)

Elbow (world's greatest advert/montage music band ever)

Ellie Goulding (meh)

Sam Smith (could it get any more boring?)

Coldplay (yes it could)

Olly Murs (I want to punch his stupid grinning face)

Paloma Faith (no, you're not kooky)

Bono (I think South Park sum this one up best)

So these boring people will be coming together to do a very bad song that has already been done three times. Why on earth would they be doing this? Well it's clearly a self-righteous career move. It's a stamp of approval from mainstream media. It's a chance to show the public at large just how decent they all are because they love charity. 

Ok ok ok I hear you. What's wrong with them loving charity? Can't they do their bit too? Well yeah, of course they can and there's nothing wrong with loving charity. Is doing Band Aid loving charity though? Could Bono, the man so rich that he once paid for a first-class plane ticket for his favourite hat to fly to his gig not be charitable more effectively? Could he and his very rich and powerful friends not feed the world as well the people buying the shit music? Must he also be so loud about how good he is? The tragedy of charity singles like these is that the focus shifts from the people who are selflessly committing themselves to these worthy causes and to these celebrities, who do relatively very little. 

The sad thing is, all of what I've said here has been said before. Chumbawumba famously put out the album Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records as a pretty direct criticism of it. Morrissey also said this about Band Aid:

'I'm not afraid to say that I think Band Aid was diabolical. Or to say that I think Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. Many people find that very unsettling, but I'll say it as loud as anyone wants me to. In the first instance the record itself was absolutely tuneless. One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of Great Britain. It was an awful record considering the mass of talent involved. And it wasn't done shyly it was the most self-righteous platform ever in the history of popular music.'

It does feel a bit wrong to openly attack someone who recently and tragically lost a daughter, but I do think Band Aid has done a lot more bad than good. To me, this makes it even more upsetting that in 2014, this is happening again. At face value it's a shit song, making it bad for music. Then the song patronises Africa, having a detrimental effect on how its proud nations and people are perceived in this country. Worst of all, it changes what charity is about. Charity should be about compassion for your fellow human. Charity should be entirely motivated by kindness and goodwill. Charity should be about those who have more than they need giving what they can to those who don't have enough. 

Popstars are great, but you don't always have to buy into their bullshit. If you want to donate money to help out those in West Africa, go straight to the charities we know are doing it right. Don't go through the most self-righteous, nauseating middle-men in history.

Donate to the Red Cross here

Generic End of Year "Best Of" List

Fat Whites: worth it

Winter tends to be quite rubbish in most aspects of life: it gets cold, people start complaining all the time about how cold it is and you end up doing the same, thus contributing to the never-ending cycle of whiny weather-bullcrap. However in the world of music journalism, winter is the time when end of year lists get published, which is always fun. Voting for the NME awards opened today, so I'm going to take that as an invitation for the beginning of the end of year lists. Like much of music journalism as a concept, the end of year list actually makes no sense. It's an attempt to find an absolute answer to a totally subjective question. Obviously not everyone's going to agree on a single "best album of 2014", it's missing the point to think otherwise. That being said, it is quite fun to think about what you liked and more importantly why you liked it. Without further ado, here is what I think:

Best Breakthrough Act
Sleaford Mods
In 2014, the state of this country was most accurately represented in the Sleaford Mods album Divide and Exit. Sleaford Mods are not new. Jason Williamson has been spitting out his poetic, angry rants over Andrew Fearn's minimalistic beats since their first release Wank in 2012. Sleaford Mods are also not young. Both Williamson and Fearn are in their 40s, with Williamson only recently leaving his day job as a benefits officer. Despite these factors, Sleaford Mods managed to put out the most thought-provoking, witty, exciting British release this year. They evoke the sounds of true legends such as Mike Skinner, John Cooper Clarke and Mark E Smith but manage to build on this rather than bow down to it. I personally see it as a bit unfair to make those comparisons, the point of Sleaford Mods is not that they're reviving these characters. They're ripping open a much-needed new arsehole in British music.

Most Criminally Overlooked Release
Winter by Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Vancouver Sleep Clinic is the project of Australian musician Tim Bettinson, who is yet another 17 year old who is more impressive than me. He makes some really really chilled out electronic music with him singing some of the best falsetto I've ever heard over the top. I made this discovery at 12am on the Sunday of Green Man festival, standing groggily in the Far Out tent. Seeing Slint the night before was really intense and I was prepared just to spend the day waiting for Neutral Milk Hotel later, but I ended up wandering into Vancouver Sleep Clinic's set. It turned out to be the perfect way to start the day. Bettinson played a powerful set that bathed my ears in comfort. He covered Hold On, We're Coming Home by Drake and made it a thing of beauty. Winter is the EP that he released this year and it's essentially one of the most chilled out 23 minutes I've had in a while. I honestly can't wait to see what this guy does next.

Most Interesting Music
FKA Twigs
The latest in the line of cool-as-fuck female figures electronica started by Grimes, Twigs put out some of the most original and interesting music this year in LP1. Whilst often described as R&B,  I have to agree with her disagreement to that label. Like she does, I suspect it's a label that she's earned for being mixed race. It's much more interesting than merely R&B. The rhythms of some tracks make you think Massive Attack, other tracks have the time and space of The xx. However, these comparisons shouldn't detract from the originality of FKA Twigs. The music is genuinely like falling through a trap door into another universe which you had no idea existed
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: St Vincent, East India Youth

Best Grooves
Piñata by Madlib and Freddie Gibbs
No question about this one- Madlib is the undisputed king of hip hop production. This album has some of the most satisfying songs to listen to whilst walking down the street. It's impossible to fall into a gentle swagger whilst listening to Scarface. The production is jazzy, interesting and compliments Freddie Gibbs to perfection. Piñata is one of the best albums of the year and definitely has the best grooves.

Best Debut
Annabel Dream Reader by The Wytches
Plenty to choose from this year, from FKA Twigs to Jungle to Kate Tempest to East India Youth to everything else. That being said, it's the psych-tinged, horror-punk, slow grunge stylings of the Wytches which has ended up catching my ears the most. The riffs are huge but not dumb. The singer has a powerful scream but isn't clichéd. Overall, it's a very compelling listen. The songs are intense but full of space. You could mosh to them or you could get stoned to them. It's your choice. Their early afternoon set at Reading was very well attended, considering their relatively low-buzz, new-band status. It'll be worth watching what they do next.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: FKA Twigs, Kate Tempest, Jungle, East India Youth, Temples

Best Live Performance (that I saw...obviously)
Neutral Milk Hotel - Green Man Festival
This year I've seen over 80 acts perform so I'm going to go ahead and say I've got decent authority to make a call on this one. I managed to see a lot of incredible music this year, which I feel really lucky to have done so. However when choosing a favourite, it gets hard looking any further than Neutral Milk Hotel. Seeing songs like King of Carrot Flowers Parts 1,2 &3, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Holland, 1945 performed live was a genuinely magical experience, one that I'll never forget. Their set took me on a journey with emotional ups and downs, swelling and ebbing in intensity with one constant: Jeff Mangum sang with so much passion it was like he was going to blow his brains out at the end of the set. Ever since that performance I've seemed to listen to the whole of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea every day. It's now pretty well lodged as one of my absolute all-time favourites. It's one of the few things in life where in my opinion, hyperbole is impossible.

After they finished, we watched the Green Man burn down, the fireworks light up the sky and then sat around the campfire until sunrise. I met and talked to anyone and everyone, and they turned out to be pretty cool. It's a magical night that I won't forget very soon and will forever be associated with Neutral Milk Hotel.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: The Brian Jonestown Massacre (v.amazing), Mac Demarco, Fat White Family, Snarky Puppy, The Libertines

Best Album
Salad Days by Mac Demarco
I can't get enough of this album. At any point this year I've thought my Mac Demarco obsession has grown to an unsustainable level, I've found another youtube video where he does something really fucking weird or just put on Passing Out Pieces again and the love has lived on. Salad Days is a brilliantly complete album. It has a theme: being jaded. It's got a sound: twangy guitars with some eerie synths. Boy oh boy does it have a personality. It's filled with tunes with Passing Out Pieces, Let Her Go and Chamber of Reflection being three of the best songs to come out this year. The guitar solo on Goodbye Weekend is a work of genius, carved from the side of the mountain of brilliance that is Mac Demarco. From a completely personal point of view, nothing else this year has come close to being better than this. It's an album that creates and operates in its own world and the more you listen to it, the more you want to be a part of that world.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Are We There by Sharon Van Etten, Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen, Piñata by Madlib and Freddie Gibbs,  Divide and Exit by Sleaford Mods, Overseas by Tonstartssbandht

Best Song
Passing Out Pieces by Mac Demarco
Genius, pure genius. That clav synth, that bass line, those brilliant lyrics. That WEIRD video.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Every Time the Sun Comes Up by Sharon Van Etten, I Am Mark E Smith by Fat White Family, The Beigeness by Kate Tempest

The Year Belongs To...
Jizz Jazz
When I say jizz jazz, I refer to the gang that surrounds Mac Demarco. One of the best things about Mac Demarco is his band. All of them have their own music which this year has been having a decent amount of success. All of it is brilliant. As well as Mac releasing Salad Days, Tonstartssbandht (roommates and now partially part of Mac's band) released Overseas.  Homeshake (Peter Sagar, Mac's old guitarist) put out In the Shower. Walter TV (Mac's part-time other project but mainly his bass player and drummer's band) rereleased Appetite on vinyl for the first time. All of it is great music, but it's their aesthetic that's the best bit. They just have the most fun and it really comes through in the music as well as on stage. 2014 truly belonged to the jizz jazzers.

Walter TV

R.I.P Crystal Castles

This week the news that Alice Glass has left Crystal Castles, breaking up the duo broke. Ending it with a tweet, Glass wrote: "For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC"

And so within 140 characters, it came to pass that one of the boldest and most exciting music projects of the late noughties ceased to exist. Whilst it's important not to get too bogged down in hyperbolic "I CAN'T LIVE ANYMORE" stuff , one should take a moment to reflect on the life of Crystal Castles and appreciate what they brought to the table.

To the outsider, Crystal Castles were basically that band who sounded like a video game with some girl screaming. To the initiated, Crystal Castles were a relentless electrical typhoon of excitement. Ethan Kath commanding the storm from his synths with Alice Glass surfing it on her sadistic-punk screams and eyeliner. Crystal Castles created a sound so original that it was hard not to get involved. The music produced across all three albums is utterly captivating.

A short amount of time on Youtube and you'll realise just how upsetting it is that in the foreseeable future, there will be no more Crystal Castles shows. Alice Glass is so full of energy, commanding the stage and your attention by making it impossible to ignore her. Whilst she's still going to be around, it's a shame that we won't see her in the Crystal Castles context again. I would've loved to have seen them whilst they were still around and it's quite sad that the chance to do so has gone. Just look at their Glastonbury 2008 set and feel sorry for yourself because you weren't there...

In their time as Crystal Castles, Alice Glass and Ethan Kath released songs that should now be regarded as anthems for this generation. Tunes like Baptism and Untrust Us are firmly cemented as modern classics. I, II and III contain some of the most innovative, interesting and excellent All good things have to end at some point but it's always sad when they do. Especially when that thing is as twisted, violent but strangely beautiful as Crystal Castles.

The Rock n Roll Saviour Complex

Total Wanker

If you were to judge the current state of music just by reading any issue of NME from the last two years, you'd have a couple of deep rooted and strong misconceptions: the Arctic Monkeys are the only band in the world; Oasis should headline every festival and Alex Turner is not a wanker.

However, the most important mistaken principle that NME and others rely on these days is the idea that rock music is dead and constantly needs to be saved. This crazy, over-exaggerated hype has reached a climax recently with Royal Blood's debut LP getting to number one in the UK charts. The most recent issue of NME has Royal Blood on the cover, being described as being the band "giving British music a kick up the arse". Throughout their feature NME hype them up, calling them a "genuine rock phenomenon", mentioning "amazing results for rock in recent weeks" at Radio 1 and implying that Royal Blood are going to kick off a huge new wave of guitar music.

Slightly Moronic

It all sounds very familiar. Just take a look at Alex Turner's douchey speech at the Brit awards. The whole premise of that stunt was based on creating an image that the Arctic Monkeys are the saviours of the genre. Just read this stupid as fuck article by Sergio Pizzorno from Kasabian: http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/kasabians-sergio-pizzorno-british-rock-n-roll-needs-to-up-its-game. What's happening here is a capitalisation of the apparent lack of any "rock band" leading the music scene and using it to sell records. This is what I like to call the Rock n Roll Saviour Complex.

This is a confusing ploy used by the likes of NME to sell their magazines to an increasingly middle-aged readership. The reason NME constantly declares rock to be dead is partly because their definition of it is stuck in 1996. In 1996, Britpop arguably turned the clocks back for the rock n roll guitar group in quite a detrimental way. A focus shifted entirely away from creating something new and fresh and straight onto creating something that harked back to a bygone era. This was cool whilst it lasted but when a generation of guitarists grow up thinking that Noel Gallagher is the best role-model they have, the future begins to look bleak...

The truth is though that despite Britpop, decent guitar music never died and has always been around. It's just that it's changed and looks different now. The same rock n roll spirit of punkish rebellion with a youthful focus is alive and has never been better. This is the same spirit that was once owned by bands like the Rolling Stones and the Who. Punk came along and the Sex Pistols and the Clash took it. The Smiths had it, the Stone Roses had it, Nirvana had it, even Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys once had it. The counter-cultural rock n roll spirit never went away, it just changed shape. Saying it did is just lazy.

Fat White Family are awesome

So which guitar acts have this kind of spirit today? Like everything else good, they're in the process of breaking out of the underground as we speak. Until you see Fat White Family live, it's impossible for you to fully understand just how good a state rock n roll is in today. Their pure punk spirit, dressed in scuzzy fuzzy guitars and their sleep deprived appearance means that this Peckham collective are probably the best young band on the planet. Unlike almost every other band today, Fat White Family's music has a point to it. Everything from the cynical band name to frontman Lias Saoudi's frequent comments about how shit something is, Fat White Family scream rebellion. They play by their own rules and abide by no-one else's. Their shows are filled to the brim with raucous energy (and even nudity). They are the embodiment of the rock n roll spirit in 2014.

Mac Demarco with bros

On the other end of the spectrum, but still in the same category is Mac Demarco. Some of the best guitar work of the last few years has come from this Canadian singer. He's written some of the twangiest riffs in recent memory but it's his attitude and personality that separates him from the crowd. Utterly unpretentious and genuine, Mac is a totally unique package. Like the Fat Whites, he is best when live. He's got a reputation for being wild and drunk live but more recently he's toned it down slightly, being able to rely more on the strength of his songwriting. His carefree, footloose aura that doesn't give a crap is much more aligned with the spirit of rock n roll than anything that's declared itself to be this year. Like all good music, Mac speaks for a generation. A generation who really can't be bothered with the bullshit and would rather just wear ironic baseball caps and chill their own way. Judging by the growing cult of Mac Demarco around the world, it's clearly resonating with plenty of people.

Sleaford Mods probably embodies the spirit far better than any guitar group today. They're a rap/shouted word act but there's a ton of rebellion in Jason Williamson's lyrics. They've captured the voice of pissed off, austerity Britain and deserve every bit of praise they get. Divide and Exit has to be a contender for best British album of the year.

This is perhaps the greatest flaw with the Rock n Roll Saviour Complex: it distracts from the acts that embody this timeless, youthful spirit in modern times. The same spirit that bursted out of the hacked off and frustrated solo of You Really Got Me by the Kinks. The spirit that still exists in the screams of Lias Saoudi and Mario Cuomo of The Orwells. In its place, the commercial, soulless "indie" stands in the limelight. Bands who are rock only in name.

Royal Blood's new album is decent, don't get me wrong. Those songs are well crafted with some really good riffs. The sound Mike Kerr gets from his bass guitar is incredible as well. It's decent music, but there's no way it's giving anything a kick up the arse. It's basically really high-quality pub rock, which is good but it just doesn't capture the right vibe. Definitely Maybe caused such a riot when it first came out because Oasis wrote songs about escaping the shit and making it. Liam Gallagher's voice encapsulated that rock n roll spirit perfectly. That's what it's meant to be like. Constantly declaring it dead in order to resurrect it isn't going to do anything other than appeal to stupid people.

Everyone will work it out in time. No-one will be talking about AM or Royal Blood in a few years, but there might be a few decent discussions about Salad Days and Champagne Holocaust. The smoke and mirrors don't last...

I mean, they're pretty good for what they are

Who should win the Mercury Prize?

Well it's this time of year again when 12 more British albums from the last year get picked out and a group of people choose which one is the best. Of course, they aren't the big albums you'd expect, they're more "left-field" choices that you wouldn't have thought of. Previous winners such as Primal Scream and the Arctic Monkeys went on to achieve greater things after winning. Others like Speech Debelle and Gomez have...well...not. It's questionable what exactly winning this prize offers...but nevertheless it still inspires some decent thought and discussion.

So who's going to win?

Damon Albarn is the biggest name in the shortlist. The Blur and Gorrilaz man put out his first solo album this year in what was a decent offering with a couple of niceish moments. However, personally speaking I think this album should never have received a nomination. Whilst it's quite nice, it's far from Damon's best or most interesting music. To justify such a big name for this prize, the music has to be even better, simply due to reputation. In this case it isn't justified. Sorry Damon, I really like your stuff but I don't think this is your year...anyway don't
you object to the Mercury prize? The word albatross springs to mind...can't remember why...

Bombay Bicycle Club are the second biggest name in the shortlist and their album So Long, See You Tomorrow essentially just sounds like classic Bombay Bicycle Club: kinda nice, kinda boring middle of the road music that fails to interest or excite...but nice enough to hear on the radio. Like Damon Albarn, I don't think this should have ever been nominated but this time it's because it's not actually that great an album...I don't think it has any real chance of winning anyway.

I don't particularly think that much of Nick Mulvey either. Similarly to BBC, his music is perfectly pleasant but doesn't particularly excite or move me in any way. I personally wouldn't have nominated him but his presence doesn't really irk me too much.

Two jazz albums have been nominated for the prize, which don't have any chance of winning but it's important to have them in the list for diversity's sake. Gogo Penguin's album v2.0 is a very relaxing, chilled out listen with some really nice rhythms and grooves. Polar Bear's In Each and Every One contains plenty of space within, and is well arranged. Both albums should be given a chance by everyone and hopefully the exposure that comes with being nominated will help both groups. There's no way they'll win though...

Young Fathers put out a pretty alternative hip-hop record out with some really good production on it. The lo-fi R&B sound that they have going on is well worth a listen. A pretty solid nomination that should hopefully get this group more exposure.

Anna Calvi is no stranger to the Mercury shortlist, having been nominated in 2011. Her album One Breath is one of the stronger nominations, with it being a deeply personal affair, filled with interesting arrangements. Sound-wise, Calvi is one the more stand-out nominations. Image-wise, Calvi is easily one of the coolest on this list. A lot of passion and feeling comes across in One Breath, making this album a deserved candidate for the prize. This isn't my personal choice to win it but if it did, I certainly wouldn't object.

East India Youth put out one of the buzziest albums of the last year, causing a bit of a storm amongst the indie music internet community. Total Strife Forever makes an unsurprising appearance in this list and is bound to appear on more "best of year" lists. This is some of the more exciting electronic music from 2014, catching the attention of the likes of Brian Eno. This album contains one of the most exciting listens from Britain, being experimental and with each track sounding new and fresh. This album should be receiving serious consideration for the prize, though William Doyle finds himself amongst fierce competition...

This is who will win

If FKA Twigs doesn't win this I will be very very surprised. Her album LP1 has received rave review upon rave review upon rave review, and frankly, it deserves all of them. LP1 has an incredibly unique sound, resembling no-one else but FKA Twigs. Filled with intricate, layered production, perfectly complimenting her hushed voice, creating a remarkably complete vision. LP1 is eTwo Weeks create their own worlds which you get lost in. Weird, sexy and undeniably futuristic, FKA Twigs is who I predict to win the Mercury prize 2014.
asily the sexiest record on the list. Songs such as

That being said, it isn't impossible that the panel will instead opt for Jungle's self-titled debut. Most of the music press seemed to focus on the whole "mystery" aspect of Jungle when this album came out, failing to fully address just how fresh it sounds. Jungle is a cracking album, jam-packed with grooves. Like FKA Twigs, Jungle have carved out quite a unique sound. Unlike FKA Twigs, Jungle's stuff is really fun to dance to. For this reason, Jungle have become one of the best live bands in Britain today. I thoroughly recommend witnessing their 7-piece live band in the flesh. Any album which can produce a song like Drops should always be regarded as notable.

Royal Blood are probably the most commercially successful group on this list this year, selling 66,000 albums in the first week of its release. It's one of two albums on the shortlist to get to number one (Bombay Bicycle Club being the other). Their year has been very big for the heavy rock duo from Brighton, with their Reading set being one of the most exciting of the weekend. What was intriguing from that set was how large the crowd was and how into their songs everyone got. Considering they had only released three singles at the time, this kind of pulling power is worth noting. Sound-wise, it's pretty trad. heavy rock. One of them bangs the drums really loud whilst the other plays big riffs and sings lyrics that don't really mean anything. There are some really tight songs on this album and considering Mike Kerr gets that sound from a bass guitar, it's definitely worth a mention on any "best of 2014" list. That being said, due to the lack of innovation or freshness, Royal Blood shouldn't win.

This is who should win

My personal favourite on the list has to be Kate Tempest. Everyone Down has the best lyrics on the shortlist by a country mile. Tempest is a really impressive poet and Dan Carey's excellent production compliments perfectly. The contrast between her Reading set and Royal Blood's was huge. Royal Blood filled the NME/Radio One tent, the second biggest stage. Tempest played to a half-empty Alternative stage. Despite this, there was no doubt in mind whose music was the most appropriate for Britain in 2014. It is key to remember that this award is for the best British music, especially when considering someone like Kate Tempest. She isn't someone who plays up her nationality but her record is distinctly British. On the shortlist, nothing is as relevant or as thought-provoking as Everyone Down. I don't think it'll win but in my mind it should.

The best British album this year

One notable omission from the shortlist this year has to be Sleaford Mods and their album Divide and Exit. To quote one YouTube comment, Sleaford Mods have "blown a new arsehole in British music". Divide and Exit is the essential soundtrack to Coalition Britain. The brilliant rant-raps really tell it as it is. This album has a definite conscience and soul. Nothing is a relevant as Sleaford Mods are today. That being said, there is a sense that they're better off without the pressure of winning this award. The duo have expressed on Facebook and Twitter that they feel like they've dodged a bullet too so I'm not too upset at their omission. That being said, if this award is supposed to be for the best British album of the year, they've messed it up by not nominating the best British album of the year.

This year's shortlist is a strong one as Mercury Prize shortlists go. I'm fairly certain FKA Twigs will win but I would love it to be Kate Tempest. If LP1 does win though, it'll be thoroughly deserved.

Your new favourite band: Tonstartssbandht

In a musical world full of pretenders and imitators, true mavericks are hard to come by. However all this really means is that when you find a couple, they stand out from the crowd like no others. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: Tonstartssbandht.

To some people these guys may be familiar as the fellas who live and sometimes play with Mac Demarco. Guitarist and singer Andy White has even plays in Mac's band occasionally. Always showing great personality in their Mac-related moments (like this brilliant q&a) , it's often far too easy to forget their own music...and what a crime that would be...

Originally hailing from Orlando, Florida, these two brothers (Andy and Edwin) play a kind of music that can frankly only be described as Tonstartssbandht "boogie rock". There's no real other way to do it. Their 2009 album contains a fair amount of lo-fi synth work with highlights being 5ft7 and the incredible Black Country.

However more recently the instrumentation has tended to be Andy on a 12-string guitar with Ed on drums, both singing vocals soaking in reverb. It is with this set-up in a live setting where Tonstartssbandht are best. This year's release Overseas (available for whatever you want on their bandcamp page http://tonstartssbandht.bandcamp.com/album/overseas) is an album that shows this to be the case. Made up entirely of various live recordings from gigs (you guessed it) overseas. In some sense this is a live album but rather than being one concert, it's more of a collage. The opening Alright Medley showcases Andy and Edwin's brilliant musicianship to great effect but also their ability to create such a large expansive sound with just two instruments and voices.

This song has a glorious jig to it. This song is also a great exploration of sound, making it one of the most interesting songs to be released this year. Other tracks show other sides to Tonstartssbandht, for example First Taape, a fantastically gritty lo-fi guitar anthem. Black Country also makes a welcome appearance.

Tonstartssbandht's sound is an exciting melding together of a number of different sounds without sounding like any of them. At times they're atmospheric, at times they shred. They're metal, they're country, they're synth-pop, they're lo-fi garage rock, psychedelic rock and definitely blues but all they really are is boogie rock.

Rather like their contemporary Mac Demarco, Tonstartssbandht have a sound that is difficult to define. Like Mac has "jizz jazz", these guys have whatever they want to call it. Unlike Mac, their music is for creation of new sounds rather the personality and fun. The plethora of styles and variations on show in an album like Overseas is fantastic and makes them even harder to pin down, thus making them more of a maverick group.

For all the experimentation and awesome sounds, Tonstartssbandht are in essence two excellent and unbelievably admirable musicians who work together in a truly exciting way. This is the reason their live recordings are the best. The chemistry in their performances is breathtaking. For any aspiring guitar/drum duos, the video below is a must-watch. Watching musicians creating sparks in such a way is one of the most captivating sights in the world. For some reason there isn't that much of it in today's music, making Tonstartssbandht even more exciting.

Hello Operator @ The Spread Eagle, York, 09/08/14

Whilst garish northern hens and loudmouth stags infiltrate the pubs and clubs of York in swarms, local lads and potential hometown heroes Hello Operator take to the stage at The Spread Eagle. What they're offering is also loud but very, very different. This pub-cum-music venue is today the home of the Oxjam music festival and whilst admittedly small, the crowd is in a festive and excitable mood. One punter leans over and tells me that this band are being sent to Reading and Leeds by BBC York and are reportedly being looked at by CBS after a very buzzy EP came out earlier this year. This would explain the knowing anticipation that was beginning to fill the room.

They played a classic desert rock, sleek-yet-heavy power set, shaking the veins of the crowd. The band utilised all of their biggest riffs (which are very big indeed), swaggering through around half an hour leaning on their EP Blood Stained Bill. Whilst starting slightly quiet and almost nervous looking, frontman Max Dalton gradually began to find his voice as the set went on, beginning to really ooze cool by the end. Musically, Hello Operator are a standard Josh Homme-influenced desert rock quartet. If you think Humbug is the best Arctic Monkeys album or you think Royal Blood are the best band around today, you may enjoy these guys.

This was by all means a very warmly received hometown gig, playing to friendly ears. Halfway through one number, Dalton paused a song to rouse the pub to sing happy birthday for his friend before returning to playing an earth-shattering riff. This gesture was a high point in a set otherwise filled with huge guitar lines and and excellent rhythm section. Despite appearing to be an unassuming lanky white guy with as much rhythm as a coffee table, Robin Elliot is an extremely promising bass player and is one of the group's greatest assets.  

The set highlight had to be their rendition of Wiser Than a Fool from the aforementioned EP. The "oosh...sha-la-la-la" had Kasabian-esque swagger and it's not had to imagine a tune this big occupying a much bigger stage in the near future. I definitely have hopes of one day being able to proudly brag that "I was there in 2014 at The Spread Eagle". With the likes of Royal Blood getting a lot of attention these days, Hello Operator may find things moving quite fast for them if their BBC Introducing stage set goes down well.