A very Happy New Year to you all! As always, i want to begin 2021 by thanking all of you around the world who have followed and supported 5:4 during the last year, most especially and above all to my growing number of esteemed and beloved Patrons. i don’t think…
Best of the Year
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It’s something of a relief knowing that this year, finally, is poised to become a memory, consigned to history. But before it does, here’s the second part of my 40 Best Albums of 2020, each of which has wonderfully demonstrated that this year has had a lot more going for…
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i’m sure i’m not alone in being somewhat impatient to see the back of 2020. It’s been a horribly testing and demoralising year, and of course there’ll be some way to go into 2021 (and likely beyond) before life starts to settle into whatever version of ‘normal’ eventually prevails. But…
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Best of the Year
Best Albums of the Year, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Making Lists
by 5:4[This article is adapted and expanded from a patron-only post published to my Patreon supporters late last year.] In two weeks’ time i’ll be starting my annual two-day pilgrimage through the forty Best Albums of the Year. Each year these articles tend to garner more attention (and certainly a greater…
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Happy New Year! i want to start this year by expressing my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have followed and supported 5:4 in the last year, particularly my delectable band of Patrons. Hot on the heels of my Best Albums of 2019 list, i’m beginning 2020 with the…
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Here they are, then, the best of the best albums that have brought untold levels of wonderment into my ears and mind throughout this year. i cannot recommend them highly enough – this is music at its most literally essential.
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With only a couple of days left until 2019 comes to an end, it’s that time once again to take stock and celebrate the great and the good albums that have been tickling my eardrums in the most beguiling way this year. Just before that, though, it’s perhaps worth stating…
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Happy New Year everyone! Many thanks to all of you who have read, followed, commented, shared, promoted and otherwise supported the blog during the previous year, most especially to my beloved band of Patrons. i’m starting 2019 in the usual way, with a new mixtape featuring something from each of the…
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i said yesterday how 2018 had been a very good year – just how good is encapsulated in these, the best of the best of the year’s albums, each one of which will do sublimely wonderful things to your ears.
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Right, let’s cut to the chase: forget all those other narrow, limited, parochial and partisan Best Albums lists, here’s the only list you need: my round-up of the 40 albums that have charmed, enthralled, awed and amazed me the most during 2018. In case anyone was in any doubt, it’s…
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!! As of today, 5:4 is ten years old, so first of all i want to say an enormous thank you to all of you who have read, commented, enjoyed, shared and supported this blog over the last decade, especially to my merry band of patrons. As this…
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * So here they are, the best of the best of 2017. Your CD racks and audio libraries would be so much better off with these incredible gems nestling among…
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * i started last year’s Best Albums of the Year list concerned about whether or not such lists were a good, viable or indeed practical idea. This year finds me…
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! i’m starting 2017 in the usual way, with a mixtape bringing together one track from each of the forty albums on my best of 2016 list. i’m sure posterity will come to regard last year as something of a trough in human history, but this mixtape does…
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Here they are, then: the best of the best of 2016, each and every one of them packed full of the rarest imagination, invention and ingenuity. i can’t recommend them highly…
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * i’ve long wondered whether there’s any justification—or, indeed, any point—in making end of year lists, particularly when, as usual, there’s a pile of as yet unplayed discs staring down…
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A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! In keeping with 5:4 tradition, here’s the new year Mixtape showcasing music from each of my Best Albums of 2015. Three hours that demonstrate something of the sonic wonders that materialised last year. Enjoy! — and there are links to buy each…
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * And here, bringing 2015 to a truly glorious end, is the conclusion of my countdown of the year’s best albums.
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* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Pausing only to reiterate once again how fundamentally definitive and provisional are all lists, here we go with my countdown of 2015’s best albums, starting with numbers 40 to…
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HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Many, many thanks to all of you who have followed the blog through the last 12 months, particularly to all those who have commented and tweeted in response or retort. As usual, here’s my new year mixtape featuring a track from all forty of my Best…