Albums of the Decade - 39. Sun Kil Moon - Amongst The Leaves (2012)

 39. SUN KIL MOON - AMONGST THE LEAVES (2012)

Perfect time to post this, as autumn flows and dark nights go noir. Leaves are everywhere and no local municipality can sweep them away.

This singer-songwriter was an absolute treasure find last decade, with this essentially a double album full of cultivated wonders that this listener can really mellowly harvest.

Amongst the Leaves is a lot more understated than the much more commended follow-up Benji - this one floated my boat a bit more due to its length and breadth - it is a double disc, if I can use that term any more.

Moaning about touring the UK, through typical Yankee eyes, gushing over street-cats and lambasting poor journalism - this album has it all for a top chestnut of observational folk music. 

Albums of 2016 - 33. DAMIEN JURADO - VISIONS OF US ON THE LAND

33. DAMIEN JURADO - VISIONS OF US ON THE LAND 

I just read that this is the twelfth album for Jurado. Woweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Like the title would suggest, this sounds like a road-trip kind of album. However, don't let that distract you because it's not that shallow; this is a trip of grandeur and rugged terrain.

Like many of the albums on this choc-a-bloc countdown, I'm giving it a couple of spins to really feel the aesthetic - and here we have dusty, yet refined and raw, yet cinematic.
There are 17 tracks here to feed on, feed on, feed on, feed off. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm.

This guy could certo become one of my favourite singer-songwriters and how lovely to have such a big back catalogue to explore. Things are looking uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppppppppp.
There's no filler on this album like there is in this article.

Records of 2014 - 28. Beck - Morning Phase

28. BECK - MORNING PHASE

I stuck something on my Facebook in 2014 about how Beck's slow music appeals to me more than his faster Devil's Haircut style, and got quite a good response. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like his upbeat indie-pop - but I feel that his slower, tender side has got a lot more depth to it. It's hardly paper-weight and I feel like I'm listening to the music equivalent of not being interested in Kanye West giving shite to the very same artist for winning a Grammy. I'm done with bombast aplomb, unless it tastes fresh like Thai food. sorry Kanye, but go and listen to the whole of Beck's catalog, especially his mellow stuff and maybe then you can calm down.

Records of 2010 - 43. John Grant - Queen of Denmark

Records of 2010 - 43. John Grant - Queen of Denmark

This album is a shoot-back to the 70's. This struggled singer-songwriter has got Midlake on backing for an absolute corker that's full of suicidal thoughts, lovelorn struggles and brutal honesty. Grant thankfully tells us that his shit's not over yet, he's gonna give life another chance. These are some of the best lyrics ever:

"And I feel like I'm on Jupiter / The one that looks like rainbow sherbert"

"Someday's just chicken bones / you'd better fuck off now / you'd better leave me alone"

"I wish that I had the brain of a Tyrannosaurus Rex / so I didn't have to deal with all this crap"

"I'm sorry that they didn't hand it to me on a silver platter like they did to you..."

...And so it goes. Check it out. Highly recommended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-dPVyM2hYc