Us Brits may moan about the weather and the tax, but when it comes to live music, this tiny island is a delight. From where else in the world could we nip off to Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen or, er, Minehead to indulge our burning desire for live music and still scrape into work on a Monday morning? And where else could we hop between a 60,000-seat football stadium packed full of air-punching Bruce Springsteen fans and a miniscule bar where a fragile Edwyn Collins plays a secret set to 50 tearful Dundonians (and one TLOBF writer)? Eight of the site’s most obsessive gig-goers present their picks of the year’s live music. Continue Reading

The Research are a band, a band a band a band a band a band a band a BAND. This may sound like it’s a pretty obvious statement. Unless they’re one of those solo projects that have a name like a band then it pretty much goes without saying. But that’s not really my point. My point is that there is just something so hopelessly band-*like* about The Research, like they could just be generic image #1 when you *think of a band*, they just sound like… a band. A band of people playing songs. Continue Reading

Well… we’re sorry for the delay, but the two Rich’s here at TLOBF Towers have been burning the midnight oil, counting each of the votes… And now we’re ready to announce it!

According to you, the lovely, well-dressed and gorgeous readers of TLOBF, the album of the year IS:

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It’s that time of year again… We’re making our list and checking it twice, trying to find out who’s been naughty or nice. Yes, it’s our Album of the Year! More coveted than a shiny penny, more famous than the winner of last year’s X-Factor and guaranteed to start debate!

This year, to shuffle blame away from TLOBF HQ, we’re getting YOU, yes, YOU the reader, to vote for the albums YOU think are the best 2008 had to offer. We’ve whittled down a mammoth list of prospective albums to a mere 50. It’s tough work, but someone had to do it.

So, mouse button at the ready - get clicking! You can pick as many albums as you like, there are no limits. If you feel it’s worthy of “Album of the Year” status, then do the right thing and cast your vote.

If you need some help making that all-important decision, you can read our take on the albums listed in our 2008 archive here.

The poll will close on Friday December 12th.

There is a prize up for grabs for one lucky reader. Some very kind record companies behind the following 50 records have offered up a selection of prizes including: ultra-rare vinyl, posters, t-shirts and CDs by some of the nominees, plus a pair of tickets to see the sold-out Fleet Foxes show at London Roundhouse in February 2009. To be in with a chance of winning this mammoth and hugely exciting prize, enter your details at the bottom of this page. The lucky winner will be notified via email. Competition closes on Friday 12th December.

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Ace Bushy Striptease are this generation’s Beatles.

I started saying that for LOLs on a music forum I post on but now I sincerely believe it and will maintain it to my dying day. Ace Bushy Striptease are four student type lads from Birmingham and one seemingly constantly rotating female singer who construct numerous ramshackle, somehow stylistically diverse guitar pop songs with wonderful titles like ‘Panda Love Unit’ (pre-Johnny Foreigner Alexei reference) and ‘Arrogance Is My Middle Name, Said Will Davis Arrogantly’. And ‘For A Star You Don’t Have Much Sparkle’. And ‘We Care For Each Other A Bit Still’. I’m not sure quite what it is that makes them this generation’s Beatles just yet, but its probably not entirely the songs. Its also the fanzines that they hand out at shows. And the fact, on a personal level, we clearly share the same musical ideology (their ‘cuddlecore’ is basically the Birmingham equivalent of my semi-imagined Manchester ‘tweexcore’). I put them on in a church in Salford and half expected them to tear up the place by accident, but actually they were surprisingly unflailing. This could be partly due to the fact their drummer is currently in India, though. But they’re still gigging, just with tapes and a drum machine or something, I don’t know. 

In short, Ace Bushy Striptease are the latest in a recently very consistent line of fantastic Birmingham-based guitar pop bands, flagshipped by Johnny Foreigner and Dystoph (and also with the likes of Sunset Cinema Club and Calories somewhere near behind). There’s something distinctly ‘un-proper’ about them as a band… the type of band that is just a bunch of mates who never practise and aren’t even quite sure what instrument they all play, but that’s just part of their magic. Part of me suspects that behind all the fanzines and cuddlecore, bassist Simon has the cold head for image of a veteran spin doctor or advertising executive. Although actually not. 

Realistically, I know in my heart of hearts that Ace Bushy Striptease aren’t *actually* this generation’s Beatles (that ‘dying day’ comment was, in hindsight, probably a bit hasty). But they might just be this generation’s Mekons. Give yrself up to their ramshackle magic. 

Ace Bushy Striptease on MySpace

Photos by Lucy Johnston. Taken in London 30/09/08

What the Charlotte, a grand old stopover on the touring circuit, lacks in glamour it makes up for in atmosphere when a band come to town who demand fervency, and tonight is most definitely one of those nights. The 390 capacity venue may be looking about a third full at best, but following fine support sets from Loughborough’s wirily intense Love Ends Disaster! and the pounding electro dance-math - when they aren’t having technical breakdowns, which tonight is during every song - of fast rising (their forthcoming debut EP was produced by Forward Russia’s Tom Woodhead) Minnaars a hardcore form down the front expecting to cut loose. Continue Reading

If we’re to quote The Cranberries (and why shouldn’t you?), “Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we?”. As we’ve past the halfway point in this year of 2008, it seemed like a good time to look back. What have been the musical higlights of the year so far? We’ve had some absolutely corking albums released, from Fleet Foxes genre defying debut, to Elbow’s continued cultured and heartwarming release. It might surprise some of our readers what’s ended up on this list but one thing this exercise has made us realise, is that come the end of the year, there’s going to be a big pile of albums under the ‘Excellent’ heading…

So how did we decide on the final 10 albums? We asked all of our writers to email in their favourite 5 releases of the year thus far. Each album voted for was then given a point and entered into a highly technical spreadsheet - which left us with the following records… Continue Reading