Jim Carrollon music
NME' Greatest Albums You've Never Heard issue. Discuss
Hats off to Krissi Murison. At a time of year when most publications got through the quiet news days of December by reviewing 2010 or previewing 2011 (or, indeed, doing both), the NME editor came up with a perfect wheeze to fill an entire edition. Best of all, she threw a list into the mix – and we all know how much readers love to argue about a list.
The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard was just that – a list of 100 great lost albums as selected by the NME's journalists and a host of pop stars.
You had Dave Grohl waxing lyrical about the amazing Bad Brains album ROIR,LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy making the case for Suicide's 1980 album and Bobby Gillespie on the wonders of John, The Wolfking of LA, the solo record from John Phillips of The Mamas the Papas.
As with all lists, it provoked numerous questions. Can such albums as the Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas,Young Marble Giants' Colossal Youthand Arthur Russell's Calling Out of Contextcompilation, all well received at the time of their release, really be considered "lost"?
Given the volume of new releases these days, will we be compiling a list of 1,000 great lost albums in 10 years' time? And what are the chances that the NMEreadership will now check out Howlin' Wolf, Serge Gainsbourg and The Go-Betweens instead of Brother, The Vaccines and Beady Eye?
Of course, I've a few names to add to the list. There's Pressure Drop's daring and inventive beauty Elusive; the haunted blues and eerie soul of Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis on his one and only solo album; and Sweetback's self-titled album, where Sade's backing band provide slo-mo, sultry soundtracks for daydreamers everywhere.
So, which lost albums would you add to the list?
New Music
GLASS VAULTS
Beautiful slow-motion ambient textures and tones from Manawatu, New Zealand duo Richard Larsen and Rowan Pierce, who met while at college in Wellington. You can download their dreamy GlassEP for free via their Bandcamp page. myspace.com/wearevaults
MR LITTLE JEANS
Norwegian singer Monica Birkenes is the pop-star- in-waiting with the denim moniker and a slew of smart, addictive, sassy pop tunes like Rescue Songand Angel.We're also digging her version of Single Ladies. Tip of the hat to Ms Pop Corner, Ailbhe Malone. myspace.com/ mrlittlejeans100
BLACK ROBOTS
Raw, fuzzy, intuitive and dastardly, unfussy punk rock with some sharp melodic asides from Waterford duo Sarah Grimes and Deen O'Saurus, who should get around to releasing their currently as-yet untitled album some time in 2011. myspace.com/ blackrobots
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