Apologies for the long time coming on this mix. Christmas and New Year took a heavy toll on wallets, waistlines and wi-fi connectivity (struggled a bit to keep the alliteration in that), but now we’re back on board the blog bus (whereas that badboy just rolled off the tongue) so saddle up for our remaining six end of year mixes. And please don’t point out that it’s 2011, everyone else has done theirs and that we should be moving on. It’s not helpful. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The last couple of years have seen a dramatic shift in the sound-boards of what we can loosely term ‘indie’ bands. After increasingly weak offerings from the hopefuls of five or six years ago, the jangly, danceable, pseudo-post-punk style has either totally died away or become mollified into radio-friendly, sing-along indie-cum-pop, played as Gaga respite on Mainstream FM. Recently though, the influences of Sonic Youth, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine and Neu! have become far more prevalent and trends are now veering towards scuzz, dirge, noise and a much more laconic aesthetic. So, without further ado, here’s a selection of some of the best tracks from 2010 that we feel can be loosely categorised in this way. Heads down, eyes shut, enjoy.
Click here to get the tracklisting and to download the mix for keeps.
Photo is from Walker Evans’s Polaroid series, probably some of the most beautiful photographs ever taken. You can find more of them, along with A LOT of other REALLY incredible images at the astoundingly good site, American Suburb X.
