Albums of the Year: Number 1

I had a couple of weeks last month when I didn't sleep very well. I think it was because the clocks went back. I kept waking up really early and finding it hard to nod back off. A few times I got up and read until the sun came up but I eventually found a technique that helped me doze off once more.

I'd keep my iPhone by the bed and when I woke up I would use the TuneIn Radio app to locate some foreign radio station, pop an earphone in, roll over and let a whole load of unknown news, weather, travel and music wash over me and send me back to sleep. It worked pretty well.

One morning I woke at 4am and popped the earbud in. I tuned in to ABC Radio Australia and found myself halfway through this song.

Part of me wanted to get back to the land of Nod but most of me wanted to know who was singing this. I liked it. I stayed awake long enough to hear the name of the band and the album. Great Barrier Grief by Oh Mercy.

The next evening I downloaded the whole thing and I have played it pretty much every day since.

I don't think it is a particularly groundbreaking work, it is simply a collection of great songs that fit together neatly as an album, but it has really grown on me and has become my favourite of the year. It reminds me, in places, of Crowded House, of The Go-Betweens, a bit of Aztec Camera even.

Perhaps it was a timing thing. It fell into my ears when I was at my most vulnerable. This track certainly hit home as I was yawning my way to work the following week.

It could be that it came out of nowhere and settled into my brain after just a few plays.

I don't really know why I like it so much, but I do.

Here's one that's a bit Crowded House-y.

And one more to finish you off.

Getting the CD from Amazon seems a bit expensive but you can download it from iTunes for £7.99 or, better still, buy it direct from the band.

Enjoy. Movies of the year next week. Oh yes.

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[Danny Rhodes]

Curiously not on Spotify...yet