a.m.p.m. favourites of 2008

Squeezing as many songs as possible into 80 minutes in order to summarise the best of a whole year of music is a pretty daunting task involving tough decisions and regrettably obligatory omissions. But after much deliberation, here are my favourite tracks from 2008:
01 Why? - Fatalist Palmistry
02 Amadou and Mariam - Sabali
03 Born Ruffians - Kurt Vonnegut
04 TV on the Radio - Family Tree
05 The Walkmen - In the New Year
06 Titus Andronicus - My Time Outside The Womb
07 Islands - Creeper
08 Laura Marling - The Captain And Hourglass
09 Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why
10 No Age - Eraser
11 Crystal Castles - Courtship Date
12 Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
13 Shearwater - Rooks
14 White Denim - I Can Tell
15 Little Joy - Keep Me In Mind
16 Frightened Rabbit - The Twist
17 Foals - Cassius
18 Love Is All - Wishing Well
19 Times New Viking - Drop-Out
20 Ratatat - Falcon Jab
21 Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree
22 Grand Archives - Sleepdriving
23 Jay Jay Pistolet - Friend

The whole kit and caboodle: ampm2008mix.zip

Thanks to Andy Gilmore for the cover art.

Jay Jay Pistolet and Slow Club @ the Enterprise

Slow Club seem to be playing everywhere in London all the time. They're practically omnipresent. Their recent residency at the Enterprise began on March 31st and has featured talented openers such as Eugene McGuinness and The Wave Pictures; I caught them on Monday when Jay Jay Pistolet warmed up the crowd with an incredibly engaging set. I've written about both bands before so I'll spare you a lengthy description of how awesome they are. Suffice it to say that it was a fantastic, intimate gig and Slow Club's encore performance of "When I Go" was the icing on the cake. Jay Jay and Slow Club will be at the Camden Crawl tomorrow.

Slow Club - When I Go
Jay Jay Pistolet - Friend

- a.m.p.m.

Jay Jay Pistolet

This past week has been extremely busy on the musical front with the apex being Okkervil River's show on Tuesday at the Scala. Needless to say, they blew away all expectations. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about Londoner Jay Jay Pistolet, the second opener on Tuesday night who singlehandedly brought the Scala's rowdy and impatient audience to absolute silence with his first track. Fervent applause followed and the crowd's attention never wavered (even during annoying audio problems). With a sound reminicent of Elvis Perkins and a mature yet fragile voice, this guy is well worth checking out. His first single 'We Are Free' was released in November.

Jay Jay Pistolet - Oh, Caroline
Jay Jay Pistolet - Holly

Okkervil River - For Real

- a.m.p.m.