I've always been a lover of the album, having one piece of art, a physical CD to hold, where I get acquainted with and find things within every song, the knowing which next opening chord I'm about to hear in the seconds of silence between each track, picking out concepts that flow throughout a record and appreciating differences. I love reading the booklets inside an album. I know singles have their plus points, downloading from iTunes has its plus points (I feel guilty, I do it too, increasingly regularly) but I'll always treasure the concept of one, entire, physical CD and the talk of this being lost over the last few years scares me.
I think summer's possibly the best time of year for buying just a couple of entire records and getting your wear out of them, whether that's singing along with all your friends on a long car journey with the windows wound down or solitary bike rides and trips on the train.
Enough babble, here are some of my favourites at the moment.
"THE IMAGINARY EP" - IMAGINARY FRIEND
The first thing I need to admit about Jesse Epstein's music is that I usually like a song to hit me, hard, and this doesn't do that particularly. What it is is sweet, and soft, and fits summer perfectly. This record features guest vocalist Kina Grannis' delicate harmonies which suit the style of this music so well. It's playful, clean, acoustic pop music, and Imaginary Friend's lyrics offer comfort and reassurance, in songs like "We'll Be Okay" and "In My Sight", and can be more thoughtful and exploratory, such as "Chasing Ghosts". I don't think this is anything industry shaping, but it's honest, forward and really pretty.
"SCIENCE AND FAITH" - THE SCRIPT
The Script are in an awkward place, with music that's a little too "indie" for the "mainstream" and vice versa. I recently re-approached their music, I was a fan in 2008, when their debut album "The Script" came out. A three piece sort-of rock band from Dublin, what I admire about Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power is that although what I guess they're known for doing best is a really kick-ass break-up song everything they do is an experiment. There's talk about whether their next release "#3" this autumn is going to be too commercial (the single that's avaliable to hear at the moment is a collaboration with Will.I.Am) but I'm not worried about this, this is just another step in a lot of different directions that they're willing to take.
"Science and Faith" in my opinion is better than their first album, though lyrically both are based around love, exploring it and, often, losing it. It has so much atmosphere, particularly "You Won't Feel A Thing" which really impresses me. The lead singer has a great voice, the guitarist isn't afraid to attempt rapping (see "This Is Love") and songs like "For The First Time" and "If You Ever Come Back" are the sort you can't help but sing along with, the kind I imagine audiences fill venues with along with the band. It finishes with, "Exit Wounds", which draws in the chant:
"Loose your clothes,
And show your scars,
That's who you are."
"THE HEAD AND THE HEART" - THE HEAD AND THE HEART
There's a song at the end of "The Head and the Heart" called "Heaven Go Easy On Me" and I don't want to say it's changed my life, but it's certainly been there at a lot of shaping moments. But most of all I think of it as a song that I listen to on landing planes when I'm coming home, and this has happened three times now. The words of this one really get to me.
The Head and the Heart are full of spirit, originality and, well, heart, and their music is completely beautiful. "Cats and Dogs" and "Couer d'Alene" are an energetic opening medley, "Ghosts" as playful and lively but in a minor key and the softer songs like "Down in the Valley" and the infamous "Rivers and Roads" are lovely, and haunting. Their music and their brilliant lyrics linger in your thoughts long after the song is over. Perfect for long drives.
