- Top Tens
The votes are in from the writers at Rock Club Towers and our own combined Top Ten Albums of 2016 are;
1. David Bowie - Blackstar
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
3. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
4= Bon Iver - 22, a Million
4= Whitney - Light Upon The Lake
5= Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter
5= Wild Beasts - Boy King
6= Kris Drever - If Wishes were Horses
6= Parquet Courts - Human Performance
7 Bears Den - Red Earthing & Pouring Rain
8= Black Mountain - IV
8= Christine and The Queens - Chaleur Humaine
9. Joe Bonamassa - Blues of Desperation
10= Darlingside - Birds Say
10= Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide To Earth
10= The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome
- Top Tens
London based hardcore punk quintet COPE Top Ten albums for 2016;
1. NOFX - First Ditch Effort
2. Crisix - From Blue To Black
3. Norma Jean - Polar Similar
4. Blink 182 - California
5. Black Foxxes - I'm Not Well
6. Architects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us
7. Violent Soho - WACO
8. Ghost - Popestar
9. Misfits - Friday 13th
10. Aborted - Retrogore
- Top Tens
Hieroglyph send in their Top Ten Albums 2016
1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation
2. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
3. Every Time I Die - Low Teens
4. Periphery - Periphery III
5. Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas - Mariner
6. Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley
7. Gojira - Magma
8. Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason
9. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic
10. Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts
- Top Tens
Nottingham Rocker's We Are Carnivores with their super ripped & sweet Best Albums 2016
1. Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere
2. Black Peaks - Statues
3. R. Kelly - 12 Nights Of Christmas
4. Tirade - Self-Titled
5. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
6. Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation
7. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
8. Jack Garratt - Phase
9. GoGo Penguin - Man Made Object
10. Periphery - Periphery III: Select Difficulty
- Top Tens
Albums
1 Kris Drever - If Wishes were Horses
2 David Bowie - Black Star
3 Suede - Night Thoughts
4 Turin Breaks - Lost Property
5 The Changing Room - Picking up the Pieces
Gigs
1 Leisure Society - St Pancras Old Church
2 Kris Drever - Sunny Sailor Maldon
3 Turin Breaks - Colchester Art Centre
4 Lau - Barbican
5 Changing Room - Blue Boar Maldon
Kevin B.
- Top Tens
- Top Tens
Yeovil rocker's Apherium and their top albums of 2016
1. American Love by Jake Owen
2. Live at Alexandria Palace by Enter Shikari
3. Ellipsis by Biffy Clyro
4. I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are so Beautiful Yet so Unaware by The 1975
5. Headspace by Issues
6. Hour of the Nightingale by Trees of Eternity
7. The Wilderness by Explosions in the Sky
8 Arktis by Ihsahn
9 Your Wilderness by The Pineapple Thief
- Top Tens
London Based Nightlife deliver their Top Ten Album for 2016
1- Pinegrove - Cardinal
Whoever says guitar music is dead obviously hasn't heard Pinegrove yet. Intricate and cerebral lyrical storytelling over a country/emo backdrop, they are unique but feel like a band you've known your whole life all at the same time. Check out their Audiotree session as they sound even better live than on record!
2- Blood Orange - Freetown Sound
Dec Hynes is a bloody genius and anything he touches turns into great pop music, extremely catchy and emotional. Major 90s vibes on this record as well!
3- American Football - II
Proof that quality trumps quantity any day. 17 years after their debut, this album feels equal parts fresh and nostalgic and it's the antithesis of a "we've run out of money" band reunion.
4- Frank Ocean - Blond
This is probably on everyone's list but there's a reason for that. Once again showing that good things come to those who wait (there seems to be a running theme here!). It lived up the hype and whatever your musical tipple, this is a must listen.
5- Pup - The Dream is Over
Pup are the best musicians to come out of Canada ever (with the possible exception of Shania Twain, sorry guys!) Their debut was smashing and so is this, riffs for weeks ??
6- Animal Collective - Painting With
Another band with an amazing and unique live show, Animal Collective reinvent themselves on every release. This caters much more to the pop masses but they're still a musician's band.
7- Dinosaur Pile-Up - Eleven Eleven
Dinosaur Pile-Up are a massive influence on us and their move to the bigger, simpler rock 'n' roll riffs and heavy beats feels like the right move. A great pick me up for the horrible early commute.
8- Porches - Pool
I've loved this band ever since I stumbled upon their debut "Slow Dance In The Cosmos" on Bandcamp years ago. Aaron Maine is a songwriting powerhouse and I'm glad to see they're gaining traction and recognition.
9- Tigercub - Abstract Figures In The Dark
A unanimous favourite in the NIGHTLIFE camp, Tigercub are one of many amazing bands to come out of the consistently surprising Brighton music scene. This album takes their sound and cranks it to 11, we bloody love it!
10- Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
This probably gets the award for most played out of this list, purely for the amount of karaoke we've done in the tour van to this album! We're all about flamboyance and silly high falsetto, and you should be too.
- Top Tens
Here’s Lightscape’s choice!
1. Normandie - Inguz
2. Periphery - III: Select Difficulty
3. Hands like houses - Dissonants
4. Architects - All our gods have abandoned us
5.Fort Hope - Armure
6. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It
7.Grumble Bee - Lapwing
8. Biffy Clyro - Ellipsis
9. Lonely the Brave - Things will Matter
10. Black Stone Cherry - Kentucky
- Top Tens
Glenn Van Dyke of BOYTOY who made their UK debut in Octoberarter the release of their debut LP Grackle.
BOYTOY will release a split 7” single with Swiss group Schade in January on Sacred Hood/PaperCup Music.
1: David Bowie: Blackstar
2: Autolux- Pussy's Dead
3: A Tribe Called Quest- We Got it from Here....Thank you 4 Your Service
4: Solange- A Seat at the Table
5: Cosmonauts: A-OK!
6: Angel Olson- My Woman
7: Night Beats: Who Sold My Generation
8: Kendrick Lamar- Untitled Unmastered
9: Drake- Views
10: Warpaint- Heads up
- Top Tens
Top Ten Albums
1. Meilyr Jones -2013
2. Money - Suicide Songs
3. Parquet Courts - Human Performance
4 Keaton Henson – Kindly Now
5. Dandy Warhols - Distortland
6. Ed Harcourt - Furnaces
7. Spring King - Tell Me If You Like To
8. Teleman – Brilliant Sanity
9. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
10. Lanterns On The Lake - Beings (actually a 2015 release but too late for last years list)
Top Ten Gigs
1. Traams – Southampton, Lennons
2. Meilyr Jones – Trisha’s Bar, Soho
3. Anna Meredith – Kings Cross Scala
4. Money - Battersea Arts Centre
5. Adem – Reading Arts Centre
6. Damien Durado – Islington Assembly Hall
7. Cat Empire – Portsmouth Pyramids
8. Lemon Twigs – MOTH Club
9. Lanterns On The Lake – Hackney Oslo
10. Tame Impala - Berlin
Top Ten Festival Appearances
In chronological order
Primavera Sound: Beach House
Primavera Sound: Richard Hawley
Primavera Sound: Parquet Courts
Truck : Yndi Halda
Visions : Let's Eat Grandma
EOTR : Meilyr Jones
EOTR : Money
Southsea Festival : Palm Honey
Southsea Festival : British Sea Power
Mirrors Festival - Bill Ryder-Jones
Best Moments:
1. Kylie joining John Grant at The Albert Hall to duet on Glacier
2. Dressing as one of the bears at BSP gig at the Wedgewood Rooms
3 Whilst having a pee at Union Chapel the bloke next to me said 'hello mate' - it was Ed Harcourt!
Si
- Top Tens
City Of Ashes Top Ten Albums 2016
1. Yashin - The Renegades: This record became the sound track to so much of our 2016 and we'll forever be grateful to the Yashin boys for taking us out on their album release tour earlier this year. It kick started an incredible 12 months for us and I suspect this one will always hold a special place in our hearts.
2. Death Valley High - Cvlt [as fvk]: We first met these boys on tour with Trapt a couple of years ago. They became the reason we were asked to join the tour drunk as anything at 3amon a Tuesday in Swansea and honestly we couldn't be more grateful. In fact we head out on our first ever European tour next year thanks largely to these guys and can't wait to hit the road with them. I think their new single from this record is their most catchy and fun track yet whilst still being true to the band's image. It reminds me of Marilyn Manson mixed with a little Deftones.
3. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues: I'm such a massive fan of this band, particularly having spent so much time growing up in the same home town of Tempe, Arizona. I can't think of many bands that manage to churn out such great catchy, energetic pop rock tracks at such consistency. This record pushes the band into a mellower and almost reflective sound which (of course) they get just right.
4. Young Guns - Echoes: Playing this year's Butserfest with Young Guns was a real highlight for me and I've loved their new release. Not much more I can say other than another great record from a great band!
5. The Amity Affliction - This Could Be Heartbreak: I have a huge amount of time for what this band stand for and how giving Joel is of himself to his art and to those that find strength in it. I was in touch with him earlier in the year about our own depression project (The Sometimes Project) and he was enormously supportive of it and us. It's great to see them getting the level of international recognition they deserve.
6. City of Ashes - Rise: I wouldn't normally be down with sticking our own record in something like this but knowing how much went into it keeps me feeling incredibly proud of the achievement. I think myself and James worked around 1500 bar shift hours between us to fund the record so I rate it as a win.
7. Blink 182 - California: I think a lot of people would agree with this. The new vocals and guitar parts have injected a lot of energy and enthusiasm back into the band and created a fun record to listen to.
8. Hands Like Houses - Dissonants: Without doubt my single favourite record of the year. So many great rock tracks!!
9. Tonight Alive - Limitless: I caught their performance from Download this year and what a hell of a performer Jenna is! Another fantastic record.
10. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful: Probably played in the tour van more than any other record this year. The boys got really into this one. A fun record to round off the list!
