Always looking forward to your Year’s Best list, since I usually find some gems in there which I missed. Any particular reason why Boysen’s “Gravity” and Goldfrapp’s latest didn’t make the cut? I was pretty sure they would end up somewhere.
5:4January 11, 2014 • 17:31 - 17:31
Thanks for your comment David. Very simply, i found both ‘Gravity’ & ‘Tales of Us’ to be pretty dull, uninspired albums. ‘Gravity’, in particular, was a major disappointment; i love his work, & was astonished to hear him treading water in such a banal way as that. A real low-point in Boysen’s career. As for the Goldfrapp, it’s pleasant enough to listen to but where’s the imagination captured in her previous albums? i would have expected both of them to feature on my list, but no way were they anywhere near good enough. i haven’t seen them on any other lists either, so that perhaps says something…
Did *you* like them?
DavidJanuary 11, 2014 • 19:54 - 19:54
Actually, I tend to agree with you, but for some reason I noticed that I heard both albums quite a lot and they somewhat grew on me.
The first time I heard ‘Gravity’, I was disappointed as well. However, I found I listened to it a *lot* at work. I know it is small praise when music primarily works as “background music”,but still, I really like it. Boysen has done far greater work, for sure, but you can still hear that he is a masterful producer.
Similar for Goldfrapp: there’s no “Strict machine” anywhere; a very quiet and also conventional album, but really solid songwriting with an incredible voice.
Both are surely not Top 10 material, but Top 40: yes, absolutely. But maybe I’m just too forgiving since I’m in love with both (although I really didn’t like what Boysen released as “Hecq” this year; that really was just left-overs). I think we can both agree that they can do *much* better.
BTW, thanks for your article on Man with Country. They are amazing. “Entropy” is clearly the EP of the year.
DavidJanuary 11, 2014 • 19:56 - 19:56
Sheesh, Man *without* Country, of course…
5:4January 12, 2014 • 14:47 - 14:47
Perhaps my reaction to ‘Gravity’ was too immediate. i’ve never returned to it for a second listen, but i don’t feel inclined to simply because i’ve heard *so* much of this kind of inane piano-drifty noodling that i can happily live without more. i agree with you about the Hecq release too – ‘Horror Vacui’ was surprisingly limp. But he’s still one of the best – let’s hope 2014 is more rewarding….
Perhaps Boysen & Goldfrapp will feature on someone’s top 40, but considering the outstanding quality they were up against in 2013, they didn’t stand a chance on mine.
Ah – Man Without Country – what a band! Can’t wait to hear what they release this year…
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Always looking forward to your Year’s Best list, since I usually find some gems in there which I missed. Any particular reason why Boysen’s “Gravity” and Goldfrapp’s latest didn’t make the cut? I was pretty sure they would end up somewhere.
Thanks for your comment David. Very simply, i found both ‘Gravity’ & ‘Tales of Us’ to be pretty dull, uninspired albums. ‘Gravity’, in particular, was a major disappointment; i love his work, & was astonished to hear him treading water in such a banal way as that. A real low-point in Boysen’s career. As for the Goldfrapp, it’s pleasant enough to listen to but where’s the imagination captured in her previous albums? i would have expected both of them to feature on my list, but no way were they anywhere near good enough. i haven’t seen them on any other lists either, so that perhaps says something…
Did *you* like them?
Actually, I tend to agree with you, but for some reason I noticed that I heard both albums quite a lot and they somewhat grew on me.
The first time I heard ‘Gravity’, I was disappointed as well. However, I found I listened to it a *lot* at work. I know it is small praise when music primarily works as “background music”,but still, I really like it. Boysen has done far greater work, for sure, but you can still hear that he is a masterful producer.
Similar for Goldfrapp: there’s no “Strict machine” anywhere; a very quiet and also conventional album, but really solid songwriting with an incredible voice.
Both are surely not Top 10 material, but Top 40: yes, absolutely. But maybe I’m just too forgiving since I’m in love with both (although I really didn’t like what Boysen released as “Hecq” this year; that really was just left-overs). I think we can both agree that they can do *much* better.
BTW, thanks for your article on Man with Country. They are amazing. “Entropy” is clearly the EP of the year.
Sheesh, Man *without* Country, of course…
Perhaps my reaction to ‘Gravity’ was too immediate. i’ve never returned to it for a second listen, but i don’t feel inclined to simply because i’ve heard *so* much of this kind of inane piano-drifty noodling that i can happily live without more. i agree with you about the Hecq release too – ‘Horror Vacui’ was surprisingly limp. But he’s still one of the best – let’s hope 2014 is more rewarding….
Perhaps Boysen & Goldfrapp will feature on someone’s top 40, but considering the outstanding quality they were up against in 2013, they didn’t stand a chance on mine.
Ah – Man Without Country – what a band! Can’t wait to hear what they release this year…
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