Northwest Music News: 20 Tracks of the Year So Far

The week after Solstice seems as good a time as any to take stock of some of the best things that have been included in this year's Northwest Music News column, as well as a few other things that have slipped under the radar. There's plenty of the latter of course. Originally, this was going to be a rundown of regionally-linked albums, but given that some of our highlights so far have been individual moments of genius, broadening it out to a list of tracks only seemed fair.

Last of all, there's no hierarchy here, think of this as a representative glossary of just some of the stuff that has been going on over the last six months, from larger releases to a few  SoundCloud uploads.   

Bad Meds — Release The Bees (Maple Death Records)

From the sludgy punk of their self-titled cassette on Maple Death Records, this track is a departure from the rough and tumble of the rest of it but feels all the more malevolent as a result, vocalist Paul Rafferty spitting and snarling through a track ready to collapse at any moment. 

Bernard + Edith — Heartache (Bella Union)

One of the more anticipated releases of the year beyond the M60, Bernard + Edith's Jem was a promising debut LP of tangential dream-pop that went a long way to explaining why former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde signed them; the jewel in the crown was this towering mini-opus of a song.

Capac — Nine3Nine (This Is It Forever Records)

Originally formed in Liverpool, with a couple of cinematically-minded EPs releases at the turn of the decade, then nothing for four year. Capac returned last November with the Nested EP; better was to come though with their debut full-length on This Is It Forever, a discordant yet beautifully melodic amalgamation of minimalist pop and glitch contortions.

Carriers — Subsequently, Intelligence (Sacred Tapes)

Released on one of Manchester's most astute experimental labels, Great Silence by Carriers aka Christopher William Anderson is a series of remixed material taken from his own modular synth mediations. Subsequently, Intelligence has the feeling of a lone lunar explorer about it, gradually becoming overwhelmed by the vastness of space in front of it.

Dialect — Chroma (tasty morsels)

He lives in New York now, but we're giving Outfit's Andrew Hunt a free pass on this one just because, well, we really wanted to include it. From his similarly lush solo digital release Advanced Myth, Chroma is all shimmering horizons and playful woodwind, a richyl immersive listen.

Elle Mary & The Bad Men — Falling (self-released)

Quietly establishing herselves as one of the most distinctive voices within Manchester folk/slowcore circles, Elle Mary has been routinely upstaging headliners all year, the lead-off track from her Happiness EP a perfect example of why, as she effortlessly creates a heady sense of atmosphere from delicate foundations.

Emperor Zero — Heart of Iron (Sways Records)

It's been a quiet year for Sways Records, with former proteges releasing records elsewhere or splitting up, but one of the few things they have put out this year was a corker, a juddering piece of minimalist pop from Emperor Zero, mixing a percussive death rattle with front man Matt Boswell's darkly poetic spoken word utterances.

Gnod — Control Systems (Rocket Recordings)

A new beginning...the Islington-Mill collective killed off any outdated depictions of them as space rockers from the beginning of their monstrous triple-vinyl LP Infinity Machines, Control Systems taking in everything from industrial collage, to spoken word, saxophone and rhodes piano.

Groves — Frack The Shit Out of It

Groves (not the London band, thank god) recently played The Castle in Manchester whereby they got the audience to join hands and summon the spirit of a small statue they'd brought with them on stage. The unceremony was undermined somewhat by the fact one of the key holders they needed to open the attached treasure chest didn't show, luckily they had this track in their set to make everything ok again.

Hartheim — When Did Your Last Rose Die? (JackToPhono Records)

It's all very well making waves with your debut single, as Hartheim did with the epic Yellow, but it counts for nowt if you've got nothing to back it up with. Thankfully on When Did Your Last Rose Die? the dark pop outfit did that and more, with a measured and yet no less full-blooded anti-ballad that set eyes to tearful. The Skinny was shocked and saddened to learn of the recent passing of Hartheim guitarist Gaz Devreede, and wish to convey on our deepest condolences to the rest of the band and those who were close to him.

In Atoms — C - A-i - R-n - S (self-released)

One day In Atoms is going to put together all these effortlessly evocative fragments of composition he's been dripping onto his Soundcloud together and make a record of breathtaking immersion. Until then we're just going to have to listen to things like this on loop.

Irma Vep — Disappointment (Golden Lab Records)

Part of drone-rockers Desmadrados Soldados de Ventura as well as endearing lo-fi Friends-loving group Sex Hands, Edwin Stevens is still frequently at his best by himself, as this startlingly poignant country-tinged fuzzy ballad shows. 

Kepla — ὄρχησις (self-released)

Part of the Deep Hedonia collective, Kepla's experimentations with the di-linear and deliberately tide fighting composition structures hit a peak on ὄρχησις, a complex but wholly enveloping piece of textural sandboxing.

Levelz — LVL 09 (self-released)

The Levelz crew have been hitting it hard on the Manchester club scene seperately for years, but together the likes of Rich Reason, Chimpo and Black Josh et al have truly found a new spark. LVL 09 bursts with a ferocious energy and a playfulness in their lyrics that makes this completely irresistable.

Mother — My Lies (self-released)

On their first studio recording, Mother make good on the eerie sense of pastoral they've thus far conveyed, My Lies a minimal but affecting wander in some deeply enchanted forest.

Outfit — Genderless (Memphis Industries)

There are more than a couple of The Skinny Northwest who'd put Outfit's second album Slowness in their albums of the year so far, and Genderless is just one particular peak of many. It stands out from the spatial, rich melodica of the rest of the album though, Andrew Hunt's vocals battling against claustrophobic, stuttering percussive density, making it all the more of a release when he finally breaks through.

Ruf Dug — Mosquito (Music For Dreams)

A playful piece of calypso Balearia, Mosquito comes from the Manchester-based producer and DJ's LP Island, and was recorded while the Ruf Kutz man spent three months of last summer in Guadalope with just his own portable studio for company.   

Sex Swing — Night-Time Worker (self-released)

It's hard to imagine anyone thought that a group involving members of Part Chimp, Dethscalator and Liverpool psych royalty Mugstar wouldn't work, but for any doubters, Night-Time Worker, one of just a couple of tracks put to MP3 so far, is a brilliantly visceral piece of repeato-industrialism.

Ten Mouth Electron — Young Nuns (self-released)

Sort've like Emperor Zero further up the page, there's a sense of the dishevelled, late night bar romanticism of Ten Mouth; but here they still seem very muchin the moment of inebriation, a wild verging on the unhinged racket that recalls in parts Zappa, the Birthday Party and all that generally pretty great stuff.

Tomasu — Sprawl (self-released)

Another Liverpool producer who, like In Atoms, you're just desperate to hear a full release from. Tomasu's take on techno is far less rigid than the conventions of the genre, as here on Sprawl he attempts to fray and pull apart the peripheries around the tracks interlocking groove.

Elsewhere from the Northwest on The Skinny.co.uk

- The redevelopment plans for Wolstenholme Square, which will bring an end to Liverpool venues the Kazimier and Nation as we know them, have been revealed.
- We took in Six Organs of Admittance at Gullivers, Waxahatchee take to The Ruby Lounge, plus From The Kites of San Quentin treated us to new material at an intimate show in Salford.
- New Order announced their first album in a decade, and first for Mute.