This has been such an incredible year for music for me, I've made some really great discoveries, found a rekindled passion for old favourites, and enjoyed more live music in the past 12 months than I had, by this time last year, in my life time. Although I'm generally pretty scatty in my music discoveries, usually falling in love with albums that have been around for years, this year I've probably been more on the ball than ever... which calls for a rundown of my personal best albums of the year. Oh end of year lists, how I love you.

10. Animal Collective - "Merriweather Post Pavilion"

Strangely, even the most disappointing of all the Animal Collective albums can still manage to creep it's way into this, my highly prestigious list of all lists. I guess even if it didn't capture me for any where near as long as their previous attempts, it did still capture me for a percentage of the year. Which is why it is here now. It features a few graces that save it from the mundane, 'No More Runnin' being the best.

09. Phoenix - "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"

True pop music of our time, this album became the anthem to my summer and it really sunk in. I listen now and am instantly filled with that warm, sunny, beginning of July feeling, I can respect any album that has the ability to hold memories and this really is a true testament of that. However, I couldn't say whether any track on this album could top one of my favourite songs of all time, the incredible 'Too Young'. Though 'Girlfriend' sure does try.



08. The Antlers - "Hospice"

An album that is full to the brim with angst and emotion, almost to the point of it becoming a little contrived. Almost. Although it does make some pretty incredible noise, I'm just not sure how easily it connects, due to the pretty heavy subject matter that runs through all 10 tracks. You can't deny that The Antlers do tell their story very well though. 'Wake' brings the album to an end in spectacular fashion, and builds to a crashing crescendo that truly tugs at the heart strings.



07. Grizzly Bear - "Veckatimest"

They seem to have come a little more... out of the mist with this album, as opposed to their previous efforts. 'Two Weeks', although catchy, did scare me off a little as it seemed to be so much more down to earth, unlike the dreamy sounds that warmed me to them originally. Fortunately, this is the minority of the album, and it seems that even with a bigger profile they have kept to a very well-working sound. It did take a while for the album to grow on me, and one track in particular seemed to come out of no where at me a few months after my first listen:



06. Neon Indian - "Psychic Chasms"

An album that I discovered at completely the wrong time of year... it just does not sound the same on a cold, rainy October as I'm sure it would have sounded during the summer. I shouldn't let that detract from it's pure amazingness though, as there are tracks on this album that warm my soul so much that it becomes pretty emotional, which is a pretty strange thing to come from an album that was essentially made to be danced to. 'Mind, Drips' is a perfect example of this.



05. Sin Fang Bous - "Clangour"

If Phoenix provided the music for my summer day, then Sin Fang Bous provided the music for my summer evening. Although released in February, I only discovered it in August, and in a way I'm really glad for that because it just seemed to fit that time so nicely- not just for the weather, but also for my own state of mind. I love the smooth melodies, and the 'setting sun' atmosphere, I really find it to be one of the most exhilarating albums of my list. The standout track for me is, quite easily, 'Clangour and Flutes'.



04. Noah and the Whale - "The First Days of Spring"

The second emotionally charged album on my list seems to do it much better. It's a much more personable album, one that's truly touching in a way that I'm not sure I've ever heard from an album before. The remaining 3 on the list perhaps bring a little more innovation, but there's no denying that this album really means something to me. I've managed to attach some incredible memories to it these past few months, which have even survived a lackluster live performance (but I'm not sure that that was their fault). If anything, this album will always stand for a much more positive 2009 than it once appeared to be.



03. Mount Eerie - "Wind's Poem"

I have honestly never experienced an album quite as beautiful, and quite as majestic, and quite as powerful as 'Wind's Poem'. The imagery, and the poetry captures me so much, it really leaves something with me that I'm just not sure I could even put into words. I don't see it as number 1, because over half of the tracks are just too dark for me to really sink into, but it is the more accessible tracks that make this one of the most incredible albums I've heard in a long time. If not the most listenable, it is definitely the most moving of my list, as there are sounds on here that completely absorb me and leave me stranded. I can't deny that it maybe wouldn't be here (or at least this close to the top) if it wasn't for 'Stone's Ode' and the magnificent 'Ancient Questions', which is perhaps the best song I have heard this year. Perhaps the best song I have ever heard.



02. Here We Go Magic - "Here We Go Magic"

I managed to drown my autumn in this album, and too right too, there's a kind of modest atmosphere to this album that I think really connects with me, and somehow really comforts me. It was perfectly fitting for my orange days, in particular the swelling sounds of 'Everything's Big', which is strangely out of sync with the rest of the album... but captivated me for weeks, regardless. It's a song and album that I've managed to attach to one of my favourite places where l can go to feel secluded and at peace, which I think suits the album to a tee.



01. Capybara - "Try Brother"

An uplifting album that came at a time when I needed it the most, it really made such a difference to a low summer, and it really allowed for a much more positive 2009. In particular, it was the first song that sparked my love for them that really stands out from the album; 'The Wimp' hits all the right spots, and pushes all the right buttons, and has a chorus that, quite simply, hugs my soul. There is no album this year that has managed to penetrate my heart quite as well as Capybara's 'Try Brother' - and I really think music with the ability to do such a thing is exactly what I look for in each and every track that tickles at my ears.



I enjoyed writing this a lot, to make a list like this is a reminder of just how much value I attach to music, and of just how much I love it. I think I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2010 has in store.

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They're far from technically correct... but I think they're lovely. The result of this post, and in all honesty, I'm just glad to get any kind of result at all. They were taken in a newly discovered favourite place in Nottingham, with bare brick walls and fairy lights... which is an irresistible combination, perfectly warm. Really just one of many discoveries that make for good autumn weekends.

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Soon to be experiencing the music of these beautiful people in their silly hats live. May it vibrate my soul, please.

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"I stand for a long while looking at the hammer-and-peg.
Maybe it's cowardly of me to take it.
But New York is not the most hammer-conducive place in the world.
People who live there probably have completely different ways of releasing tensions.
Why should I hammer and make a fool of myself in New York?
On the other hand, I don't want to pretend I'm any tougher than I am. That could easily cause harm.
I weigh the board in my hand.
It weighs next to nothing.
I don't have to use it. It'll be a support just to have it in the rucksack. To know it's there.
And should I need to hammer, I'll have it right there with me.
I could also go without the hammer-and-peg, and just buy one if things get tight. But that's risky.
I don't know how big Brio are in America. Maybe they don't have hammer-and-pegs there. In which case I risk bottling up plenty emotions.
I'd be fooling no one but myself by leaving it home.
The hammer-and-peg has to come.
If the city is as big as I think it is, I'll very likely need to let off steam.
Besides, it'll look good in the X-ray machine at the airport.
I grant the customs people the experience."

- Naïve. Super. by Erlend Loe

A book that helped a pretty dreadful train journey become a little less dreadful. I love this book.

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My new toy. I understand it's not such a rare find, or particularly magical, but no doubt I'll enjoy the results. It's been a few years since I've touched a manual camera so I'm sure it will take some getting used to - but I will update with beautiful imagery in time (is the plan).

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Until I can reclaim JSLucas.com once again, which has recently vanished from the interwebs, I've updated my JSLucas Blog with a small portfolio (and here too, if you look closely).

The first day of my new house (a possibly haunted new house) proved to be a challenging one, to say the least. It came with a migraine, which I guess I'm learning these days is pretty typical of me- it seems to be a stress reflex. I guess I'm quickly realising just how much I'm not a very good student, and how much I can't really handle the drinking games, clubbing nights, and other such things. I hope to soon fit my own awkward headspace into this house of incredibly talkative young people.

The first day of my new course was a slightly better one. After a slightly unorganised start, it seems as though I could have a pretty productive year ahead of me, which excites me a lot. I wonder if it's maybe time I stop talking about making art and actually start doing it.

Here We Go Magic
Everything's Big

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