Kicker of Elves’ Favourite Things from 2014

There’s just time before the wizards launch into 2015 with full gusto and a new podcast for me to look back over the previous 12 months of music related ephemera and to award my favourite things with the accolade everyone is after, the Kickers of 2014.

what every musician wants on their mantlepiece

Favourite song

You can hear a rundown of my 20 favourite songs of the year right here, but if I had to choose just one song [and you do TTW Ed] as being worthy of the Kicker Song of 2014, it would be Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures – Orange Juice, which I successfully hid from the other wizards for most the year. The radio sucks balls.

Favourite album

In alphabetic order, these are the 25 albums I have listened to most this year and I would recommend you listen to them all. Now.

Amen Dunes – Love

Andrew Jackson Jihad – Christmas Island

Astralasia – Wind On Water

Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures – Gin

Circus Devils – Escape

The Everlasting Yeah – Anima Rising

Eyeless In Gaza – Mania Sour

Goat – Commune

Guided By Voices – Cool Planet

Guided By Voices – Motivational Jumpsuit

Half Man Half Biscuit – Urge For Offal

Joseph Airport – Stronger And Better

Kosmischer Läufer – The Secret Cosmic Music Of The East German Olympic Program 1972-83: Volume Two

Les Big Byrd – They Worshipped Cats

Morrissey – World Peace Is None Of Your Business

Papernut Cambridge – There’s No Underground

Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal

Chuck Prophet – Night Surfer

Shellsuit – Wednesday Morning, Bootle Strand

Sleaford Mods – Divide And Exit

Soft Hearted Scientists – The Slow Cyclone

Something Anorak – Tiny Island

Sun Kil Moon – Benji

Swans – To Be Kind

James Yorkston – The Cellardyke Recording And Wassailing Society

But, the one that has been on my turntable the longest and therefore the winner of the Kicker Album of 2014 is… [do we really need an overlong dramatic pause? Surely,if the reader is interested he/she will have already found out by now. The answer is in bold, ffs. – TTW Ed]… Morrissey. And I know he’ll be only too happy to pick up his award in person. (Photos to follow).

Stop the press! (Or possibly just alert them!)

True gent that he is, Morrissey has sent us this touching acceptance video.

Here are a few of the other albums I have really enjoyed this year:

Hookworms – Hum, Mirel Wagner – When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day, Blank Realm – Grassed Inn, The See See – Once, Forever & Again, Kitten Pyramid – Uh-Oh!, We Stood Like Kings – Berlin 1927, Luke Haines – New York In The 70s, SonSon – A Shine Below The Mound, Temples – Sun Structures, East Brunswick All Girls Choir – Seven Drummers, The Baseball Project – 3rd, David Woodcock – David Woodcock, Malayeen – Malayeen, Sork – Horseflies Flies, The Nightingales – For Fuck’s Sake, James – La Petite Mort, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Wig Out At Jagbags, Johnny Foreigner – You Can Do Better, Scott Walker & Sunn O))) – Soused, Ming City Rockers – Ming City Rockers.

Best Compilation

The Moles – Flashbacks And Dream Sequences

Best EP

Benjamin Shaw – Goodbye, Cagoule World just edging out Radstewart – Wiccans & Beatlemancers

Best Live Albums

Sendelica – Live At Crabstock just edging out Dexys – Nowhere Is Home: Live At The Duke Of York’s Theatre

Worst Record

Neil Young – Storytone

The Robert Pollard Annual Output Roundup

A relatively quiet year on the Bobby Pop front with just the 9 singles and 2 LPs from Guided By Voices (they did officially break up again, of course) and an album from both Circus Devils and Teenage Guitar. In the broader GBV related world, we also had a great album from Doug Gillard (Parade On) and a re-recording of classic tracks by Ohio legends Death Of Samantha (If Memory Serves Us Well).

the vinyl countdown

From these, the winner of the Kicker GbV Release of 2014 is Motivational Jumpsuit.

Top 10 Gigs

Goat / Les Big Byrd / The Lucid Dream – Camp & Furnace, Liverpool, 25-26/9/14
Throwing Muses / Tanya Donnelly – Picturedrome, Holmfirth, 20/9/14 – review
Johnny Foreigner / Radstewart – Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 4/4/14 – review
Sendelica / Earthling Society – Crabstock, Cardigan, 26/4/14 – review
Sleaford Mods / Evil Blizzard / The Ceramic Hobs – Academy Club, Manchester, 19/9/14 – review
Soft Hearted Scientists – The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield, 8/11/14 – review
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages – East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 19/11/14 – review
The Lucid Dream / The Wild Eyes – The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 28/2/14 – review
Chuck Prophet – The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 11/10/14 – review
The Human League – Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, 30/11/14 – review

So congratulations to Goat on winning the Kicker Gig of 2014 award. This despite it being the only gig not reviewed on these pages. I guess we were otherwise engaged. Anyway, here are some photos we did mange to take: