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Here is the second instalment of our countdown of our favourite 100 tunes of the year.
Enjoy and check back tomorrow for numbers 60 down to 41.
80 Greylag – Yours To Shake
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79 Ty Segall – Feel
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78 The War On Drugs – Under The Pressure
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77 Jessica Lea Mayfield – Party Drugs
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76 Tweak Bird – Greens
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75 Parkay Quarts – Uncast Shadow Of A Southern Myth
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74 Dirt Dress – Revelations
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73 Dream Police – Hypnotized
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72 Water Liars – Last Escape
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71 S.H.I.T. – Feeding Time
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70 Pink Mountaintops – Ambulance City
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69 Cass McCombs – Night Of The World
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68 The Barr Brothers – England
Stream it here.
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67 Young Widows – Money
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66 Angel Olsen – Hi-Five
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65 Deer Tick – Bus Stop
64 Jamie T – Turn On The Light
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63 The Drive-By Truckers – When Walter Went Crazy
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62 Kye Alfred Hillig – My Young Love Was Blind As Ray Charles And Half As Cold As Heat
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61 Parquet Courts – Black And White
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Follow @madmackerel
Canadian folkies, The Barr Brothers have unveiled another new track from their forthcoming album as well as details of a UK tour for the Autumn.
The new track is Half-Crazy, also taken from their new album Sleeping Operator, released on the 6th October through Secret City Records.
The band describe the song as “the tenacious offspring of the North African desert music of Mali/Morocco, and the sweat and electricity of the Chicago and Mississippi Delta blues.”
It sounds mighty fine to us. Have a listen.
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Tour Dates
30th August – End of the Road Festival
31st August – End of the Road Festival
14th October – The Lexington, London
23rd October – The Castle, Manchester
24th October – Whelan’s, Dublin
25th October – Beach House, Bangor
26th October – Sligo Live Festival, Ireland
28th October – Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh
29th October – The Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
Montreal’s The Barr Brothers have announced details of their new album, Sleeping Operator, out on October 6th, through Secret City Records.
The thirteen songs explore the far reaches of folk, laced with West African influences, hypnotic modernist pulsing and beyond. Yet while the record extends into cinematic and other-worldly territories, it still manages to maintain a campfire-like intimacy throughout.
Listen to the brisk, talking-blues influenced album track Even the Darkness Has Arms.
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Follow @madmackerel
Believe it or not, Mad Mackerel has been around for more than five years now. During that time we’ve posted more than 4,000 times, and offered more than 5,000 songs for your listening pleasure. And more than three quarters of a million people have paid MM a visit during our lifetime on Google’s (godawful) blogspot and since April 2010 on WordPress.
We asked some of the regular MM contributors to give us their top twenty songs since MM first went live and we’re also going to give you one big mega-listing shortly, first up was Dr Roddy, then Chris T Popper and now we have the choices of the fragrant, but often blasphemous Polly Pocket.
20) Ben Howard – Old Pine
Download Ben Howard – Old Pine mp3
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19) Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning
Download The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning mp3
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18) One Eskimo – Hometime
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17) Annie Williams – Roll On Hills
Download Annie Williams – Roll On Hills mp3
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16) Dead Weather – I Cut Like A Buffalo
Download The Dead Weather – I Cut Like A Buffalo mp3
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15) The Cave Singers – Swim Club
Download The Cave Singers – Swim Club mp3
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14) The Low Anthem – To Ohio
Download The Low Anthem – To Ohio mp3
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13) First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
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12) The Tallest Man On Earth – I Won’t Be Found
Download The Tallest Man On Earth – I Won’t Be Found (Daytrotter Session) mp3
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11) Alt-J – Taro
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10) Emiliana Torrini – Jungle Drum
Never fails to put a smile on my face and a spring in my step. It really does capture that feeling when you fall utterly head over heels and there is nothing to be done about it.
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9) Laura Marling – Sophia
I love that this song seems to have two such distinct parts to it but they work so beautifully together. Such an incredible voice. Laura can do no wrong in my eyes.
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8) Bon Iver – Blood Bank
A timeless beauty, much loved since 2009. So far it has proved impossible to listen to without singing the end part of the song ‘I know it well’ for hours afterwards.
Download Bon Iver – Blood Bank mp3
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7) Junip – Line Of Fire
A 2013 tune and already Line of Fire is a song I’d rather not live without. I love Jose Gonzalez’ effortless vocals. Utterly emotional, a bit bleak in places and all consuming. It has a cracking (and very odd) video to go with it too.
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6) Shearwater – You As You Were
A lovely discovery for 2012. This song just gets bigger and bigger until you realise you are no longer singing along but shouting like a crazy person!
Download Shearwater – You As You Were mp3
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5) Blitzen Trapper – The Man Who Would Speak True
If you like a song to tell you a tale then this is the one for you. It will also make you want to learn to play the harmonica.
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4) A.A. Bondy – The Twist
From 2011’s top ten, a beautiful track. Very dark and brooding, like a lovely storm overhead. No idea what it’s all about but it feels most profound.
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3) We Are Augustines – Chapel Song
It was my number 1 from 2012 and it certainly deserves its place here. Is it the voice or the lyrics that are most heartbreaking? Always a stand still and listen to all the way through tune.
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2) Willy Mason – What Is This
Timeless, effortless and to my mind perfect. I have yet to find a time or a situation where this tune doesn’t fit the bill. That pretty much sums up the entire album for me, Carry On is a masterpiece.
Watch it here.
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1) The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight
I remember the car journey when I first heard this song – it was a bit of a mind blower and hearing it live the next year cemented it as a firm favourite. The moment the strings start you know its going to be epic and it never disappoints.
Download The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight mp3
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Three much loved discoveries:
A.A Bondy
You know an artist is that good when you kick yourself for not having found them sooner – I could have been listening to ‘When The Devil’s Loose’ since 2009 but only came to it in 2011 having fallen in love with ‘Believers’.
The Tallest Man On Earth
There is a real honesty to Kristian Matsson’s songs, I think that is what I love best. He has an incredible voice and writes songs you just can’t help but sing a long to. Always a treat.
Laura Marling
An unbelievable talent. I was privileged enough to have heard Laura Marling sing in Gloucester Cathedral in 2011 – a very fitting venue for the purest of voices. If she is this good now, what will she be like in years to come? I look forward to finding out.
Our usual round up of the very best of our August posts and some new tracks too. Dip in – every one a winner as they say.
Download The Cabin Dogs – High Falls mp3 (from Midnight Trail)
Invites you to kick off your boots, pour a stiff one and sit on the porch to watch the sun go down – a song for when you’re busy doing nothing as they say.
Download Spectrals – Big Baby mp3 (from Big Baby 7″)
Spritely and upbeat that melds 60s girl group fizz with Elvis Costello in an entirely good way.
Download Waters – O Holy Break Of Day mp3 (from Out In The Light)
Delicate and almost hymn-like indie rock with a sparse, raw feel.
Download Male Bonding – Tame The Sun mp3 (from Endless Now)
Excellent slice of punky power pop.
Download Forest Fire – Future Shadows mp3 (from Staring At The X)
First taster from specialists in weirded out country folk and blues doesn’t disappoint.
Download The Coasts – Handshakers mp3 (from The Coasts)
Quirky anthem that’s equal parts gritty rockabilly and punching pop.
Download Peggy Sue – Cut My Teeth mp3 (from Acrobats)
A six minute, slow brooding burn with a heavier, more viscous feel than previously.
Download Howling Owls featuring WoolfCubb – Spirits To Lift My Spirits mp3 (from Purple On Purple EP)
MM faves return with slightly more upbeat track. And we stress the slightly…
Download Blitzen Trapper – Love The Way You Walk Away mp3 (from American Goldwing)
Another top-notch slice of loose, countrified rock.
Download Beirut – The Rip Tide mp3 (from The Rip Tide)
Superb title track from new album.
Download Ganglians – Drop The Act mp3 (from Still Living)
Smoother than usual garage-psych.
Download Little Gold – Sisters & Friends mp3 (from Weird Freedom)
Easy-breezy basslines, washed-out harmonies, and powerfully mellow drumming.
Download Amen Dunes – Bedroom Drum mp3 (from Through Donkey Jaw)
Another taste of the ominous, malevolent, unique folk stylings from new album.
Download The Ettes – The Pendulum mp3 (from Wicked Will)
Beat-punk and garage sleaze with a healthy dose back porch blues swagger and fuzzed up reverb.
Download Sick Figures – Graveyard Swagger mp3 (from Two Ghosts)
Raucous, saloonish type of rock and roll evoking a dark, eerie mood.
Download The Witch And The Robot – Houdini mp3 (from Fear Of Mountains)
Wonderful blend of peculiarly British pysch-pop and acid folk accompanied by appropriately surreal lyrics.
Download Deer Tick – Miss K. mp3 (from Divine Providence)
Classic slice of bluesy, bar-room Americana from forthcoming album.
Download Ducktails – Sit Around With Ya mp3 (from Killin The Vibe 12″)
Immerse yourself in a mellow hypnotic haze.
Download Luke Temple – Ophelia mp3 (from Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care)
Chugging twang, upbeat and cajun tinged.
Download The Fresh & Onlys – I Would Not Know The Devil mp3 (from I Would Not Know The Devil 7″)
A crackerjack of garage rumble, surf harmonies and guitar jangle.
Download Colossal Gospel – I Have A Heart, I Have A Heart mp3 (from Circles)
Sublime nine minutes of fragile folk beauty that reminded us of Lambchop at their best.
Download Guadalupe Plata – Pollo Podrio mp3 (from Guadalupe Plata)
Think of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion duelling with The Dirtbombs in the Castilla La Mancha…and, er, you’ll not even be close.
Download Beak> – Welcome To The Machine mp3 (from Wish You Were Here Again)
Rigid, pulsating version of Pink Floyd classic.
Download Hypocrite in a Hippy Crypt – The Town Crazies mp3 (from Tweaker In The Park)
Personal, whimsical sometimes, slyly sinister at others, lyrically sharp lo-fi folk.
Download Woodsman – In Circles mp3 (from Mystic Places EP)
Swirling, spacey guitars, reverb washes, tribal drum patterns, vocal delays and ominous repetition mix into a mesmerising, pulsating whole.
Download The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning mp3 (from The Barr Brothers)
Folky, harmony filled and gorgeous.
Download Blessed Feathers – Stinging Nettle, Honeysuckle mp3 (from From The Mouths Of The Middle Class)
A bitterly beautiful reminder of winter’s immediacy in the Midwest.
Download Something Men – Birdy Roof mp3 (from Something Men 7″)
Effortlessly channeling early Velvets rumble and the simple, but effective chord sequences of the Kingsmen into a classic garage sound.
Download Wavves – I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl mp3 (from Life Sux EP)
More lo-fi, slacker punk goodness.
And to finish off we have new tracks for you too – a chaotic, hook ridden pop gem from Oberhofer, an unsettling six minutes of astral pop from Atlas Sound, attractive indie jangle from Sweden’s Youngfuck, and the infectious pulsing rhythms and quirky imagery of Big Tree.
Download Atlas Sound – Terra Incognita mp3 (from Parallax)
Download Oberhofer – Gotta Go mp3 (from Gotta Go)
Download Youngfuck – Black Tulips mp3 (from Youngfuck 7″)
Download Big Tree – This Fall mp3 (from This New Year)
Follow @madmackerel
Andrew and Brad Barr have spent the majority of the last decade playing music in The Slip. In 2004, they were playing a club in Montreal when a fire broke out in the venue. They grabbed a few guitars and drums and were able to escape unscathed. A year later, Brad and Andrew were living in Montreal, and Brad’s first apartment shared a wall with classically-trained harpist Sarah Page…
Her playing seeped through the walls and into Brad’s brain. The dream materialized, and with the addition of Andres Vial, The Barr Brothers began making music in a makeshift boiler room. The results? Lonesome Americana mixed with future-primitive delta blues telling the stories of strangers, lovers, old ghosts and new friends.
Below is one of the fruits from the boiler room session, the folky, harmony filled and gorgeous Beggar in the Morning. It comes from their upcoming self-titled debut (out via Secret City), and really is a gem, recalling the easy-going charm of The Avett Brothers or Vetiver and the rolling country rock of Blitzen Trapper.
Visit their website here.
Download The Barr Brothers – Beggar In The Morning mp3 (from The Barr Brothers)
Follow @madmackerel
