Another year passes, another trip around the sun, another year closer to our eternal reward, another blog about music that no-one will read.
Time, as you know, is an artificial construct designed to explain the otherwise random passing of events, and an attempt to place order on a pointless and terrifying universe. 365 days is no more meaningful than any other number of days.
All that said, here are the records that eased our (well, my) path through 2014.
Machine Head – Bloodstone And Diamonds – probably the metal record of the year. Sounds exactly like a Machine Head record should, which is to say brilliant.
Hector Bizerk – Nobody Seen Nothing – this is hip-hop from the back streets of Glasgow. Louie, the MC, is the Weedgie Eminem, except funnier and better. I saw them live a couple of times this year, fantastic, and I don’t even listen to hip-hop very much.
Arctic Monkeys – AM – this got heavy rotation in the lang cat office, along with Mark L’s disco treats and Linda’s 90′ indie fetish. We’re fans of clever words here, and there are lots on AM.
Exodus – Blood In, Blood Out – for those who liked their thrash Bay Area style back in the 80s, Exodus, 10th album is like a warm (very violent) hug. Steve Souza is back and yelping. Salt The Wound features Kirk Hammett doing something worthwhile for a change.
Godflesh – A World Lit Only By Fire – very, very nasty. And great.
Anaal Nathrakh – Desideratum – see Godflesh. AN is almost becoming camp, but it’s for the best.
Taylor Swift – 1989 – a deeply misunderstood post-modern! no, not really.
Mogwai – Rave Tapes – if you know Mogwai, then there’s lots here to like. If you don’t then it’s actually not a bad place to start before jumping into Young Team and The Hawk Is Howling.
Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence – I’ve said before that the distaff Chris Isaak shouldn’t be to our taste at the lang cat, but it is, and this is great. Linda hates it, mind.
And album of the year!
James Yorkston – The Cellardyke Recording And Wassailing Society (CRAWS) – truly as braw as a craw, how could JY, the man who gave the lang cat its name, not top our list? CRAWS is a JY classic, low-key and introspective, but gorgeous throughout. Listen to Broken Wave (A Blues For Doogie), written about the premature death of sometime JY bassist Doogie Paul in 2012 and keep a dry eye, I dare you.
