Shaun Tey's humble opinion on this year's new music

This year I generally stuck to my charity shop rummages (discovery highlights being Stephen Malkmus’s debut album, Sleigh Bells’ debut album, Grandaddy’s Sumday, Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker).

However, I thought I’d write about the new albums that have made me happy this year. I actually haven’t reviewed albums in nearly a decade; in fact I hardly even read reviews anymore. Reviewing has always been fiendishly difficult, since I can never be bothered to listen to lyrics and discover meaning in the song and all that nonsense – but anyhow – here are three reviews right up:

St Vincent - Strange Mercy

This was my favourite new album of the year. St Vincent (Annie Clark) has previously caught my attention since she seemed to give fascinating interviews (plus crikey, just look her! She’s so gorgeous!), but I never listened that carefully to her songs (which I thought could be a bit over orchestral)

However I heard the new songs off ‘Strange Mercy’ when watching her 4AD sessions a few weeks ago. (http://www.4ad.com/sessions/010 Check it out!) These performances completely blew me away. They bring out the layered sounds and stellar guitar work that make this album so astounding. In fact, being able to see how Clark constructs her songs live really adds something to the tracks. Plus, the way Clarks uses the noise from her guitar is far more prominent.

It’s Annie Clark’s intricate guitar work that makes this album so unique. She doesn’t just strum along to provide a background to her voice. Instead, each time she strikes the strings it’s with a specific purpose, it’s with the intention of adding a specific effect to her songs. In a single song the guitar can switch several times from providing a soft echoing accompaniment to a giving a blistering noise-laden fuzz. The guitar burrs a thick distorted rumble on tracks like ‘Chloe in the Afternoon’, which mesh well with the ambient synth backdrops.

In a recent interview she said that she is working on a project with David Byrne. You can definitely hear the influence of Talking Heads (particularly the ‘Remain in Light’ era) in the way the guitar is used during solos to deliver these great elongated contorted sounds. A great example is the wonky guitar solo in ‘Surgeon’ which recalls David Byrne's killer guitar freak-outs from ‘The Great Curve’ and ‘Cross-Eyes and Painless’.

The 11 tracks work well together as an album, but there are still a few standout tracks. My favourite is album’s title track ‘Strange Mercy’, which has a grand majestic quality. I’m not someone who pays attention to lyrics, but there is something almost cinematic about the song’s grandiose chorus “If I ever meet that dirty policeman who roughed you up, No I don't know what”. It sounds beautifully protective and the tenderness of lyrics meld wonderfully with the soaring guitars. Instruments, great vocals and an array of experimental guitar sounds melding together effectively is what makes ‘Strange Mercy such a strong album.

Best tracks: ‘Strange Mercy’, ‘Year of the Tiger’, ‘Surgeon’

Let’s Wrestle – Nursing Home

‘Nursing Home’ has songs which are full of energy and pack awesome distorted guitars, but are ultimately grounded in a poppy bounciness.

They sound like a British Pavement, making lo-fi tracks, with songs that embody a lo-fi spirit. There’s this Pavement-like slacker edge to them, such as ‘In the Suburbs’ and ‘I’m so lazy’, little songs about the little things in life. There’s quite a range to songs on the record. There’s the chugging guitars and urgency of ‘Dear John’, the playful ‘There’s a rock star in my room’ and earnest pleadings of ‘I am useful’.

What makes the band great is that their songs pack sincerity. They make music that’s genuine, they’re not trying to be cool, they’re not putting on an act. The ‘sounds like the band is in the room with you’ production adds to the immediacy of the songs, making it seem like they’ve been put together on the spot, giving them an enjoyable raw emotional bite.

Best tracks: ‘Dear John’, ‘Getting Rest’

Veronica Falls – Self-titled Debut

Veronica Falls are the only band I saw twice in 2011 and their stint supporting the Dum Dum Girls at ULU was probably the best support performance I’ve seen this year.

They’ve gotten stick for being a mopey hipster band – but this album has some great tunes, with a hard hitting folksy 60s sound and some nice harmonies. They sound like a 60s Christian folk group showing off their dark side. In fact they remind me of the 70s folk band Steeleye Span as well as the jangle-pop of early My Bloody Valentine.

There are whimsy pop tracks like ‘Stephen’ and the utterly joyful ‘The Box’ (complete with a beachy reverb-laden guitar solo!). Though it’s their more thudding moody tracks like ‘Bad Feeling’, ‘Right Side of my Brain’ and ‘Found love in the graveyard’ that allow the band to come into their own. Their 60s nostalgia and tendency to evoke a Hammer Horror feel makes them sound a bit like the Horrors (before they became a boring wannabe 80s post-punk band). It’s particularly clear on tracks like Beachy Head. Even some of their poppier tracks like “Wedding Day”, pack a mischievous dark wink.

The band has found a great sound, packing great drumming and the sweet vocals of the lead female vocalist with simple hooky guitar work.

Best Tracks: ‘Right Side of my Brain’, ‘Bad Feeling’, ‘The Box’