Music Chart - May 2014

More of an interesting month for music than a great one... the long awaited solo effort from Damon Albarn, Everyday Robots is as prosaic as it is charming - given his recent collaborative work and adventures into soundtracks, this is the sound of the former Blur front-man growing old gracefully. In contrast, the guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela return with 9 Dead Alive, another tribute album, with each track inspired by someone; a more varied collection than 2009's 11:11. This month also brings back The Pixies, a truly extraordinary and inventive band show their class on Indie Cindy. And the other album of note this month is A Letter Home by Neil Young, taking retrospective to the extreme - a covers album (avoiding the obvious, mostly) recorded, with the help of Jack White, on vintage equipment. This works, up to a point, and the under-production is engaging at first but slowly grates. If nothing else, this shows Young is still full of ideas, and music, and long may it continue.

Elsewhere, new material from Swans (To Be Kind) is challenging, Conor Oberst doesn't quite bring back the majesty of Bright Eyes (Upside Down Mountain), Ray LaMontagne (Supernova) goes 60s smooth and Tori Amos (Unrepentant Geraldines) twists and turns her way through a strange, but ultimately underwhelming, landscape.

(...a late addition, thanks to the recent gig supporting The War On Drugs at The Koko, Quilt's Held In Splendor makes it onto the Underwurld chart...Speaking of The War On Drugs, Lost In The Dream still tops the list...)

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis 
6. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
7. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies
8. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
9. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
10. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders 
11. Indie Cindy by The Pixies
12. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
13. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
14. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
15. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
16. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
17. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
18. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club
19. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
20. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
21. A Letter Home By Neil Young
22. In The Silence by Asgeir
23. Held n Splendor by Quilt
24. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
25. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
26. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
27. The Future's Void by EMA
28. Echoes by Emily Smith 
29. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
30. Atlas by Real Estate
31. Croz by David Crosby
32. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
33. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
34. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
35. Wildewoman by Lucius
36. Luminous by The Horrors
37. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
38. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
39. Waking Lines by Patterns
40. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos
41. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
42. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
43. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
44. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
45. Warpaint by Warpaint
46. To Be Kind by Swans
47. Eagulls by Eagulls 
48. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
49. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
50. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
51. None The Wiser by The Rifles
52. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads