2024 was the year that I almost triumphed, I nearly did, I almost wrote what I had intended to at the start of the year. Short, paragraph long reviews of everything I was sent, bought and given by the photographer. Pages of reviews that were funny, emotional and in some cases scathing. I was told off for the scathing ones and laughed a good deal when rereading them to others. But I only made it until the start of August. Unfortunately I am also trying to keep a life on the tracks while writing about noise and sometimes the noise wins and sometimes it gets left behind in the life stuff. Don’t get me wrong. This means very little to anyone. It’s my and the photographer’s opinion and no one agrees with us most of the time. So, with that in mind, here is 2024.
In a drunken cloud of beer and laughter just before one of the best gigs of the year on Saturday just gone the photographer assured me, just like he does every year, that he hasn’t listened to ten albums let alone liked ten. So he’s not doing a top ten, this year I can’t be bothered to argue. So his choice is the new Jesus Lizard and about two tons of repetitive techno. Also the worst gigs we have ever been to are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gene Loves Jezebel and Flowered Up.
I have listened to hundreds, and a top ten may be beyond me, but I know what’s expected. So to start with go to the Cruel Nature Bandcamp page and close your eyes, wiggle the mouse around and wherever it lands, buy the tape, or if it’s sold out as they only make runs of around twenty four or so, buy the download, it’ll be something completely unexpected and I guarantee that you will like it. If not, I’ll refund you. They have released bloody tons of stuff this year and I could populate a top ten three or four times over with the output. Magnificent stuff.
Of the stuff reviewed, I got one comment on Facebook that merely said ‘ouch’ by one band. Lots of thanks from others. We sat and reviewed singles in the pub a few times and shouted at each other lots. One PR person said she didn’t want to read the reviews as the Photographer is always mean about her songs, well, that’s his job. There were excellent albums from the four corners of the Earth, Coma Rossi returned with a fantastic slice of guitar wonderfulness. Bunuel seemed to both underline and accentuate the year their vocalist Eugene has endured and made a record to play as your house burns down around you. Redd Kross gave me a massive huge reminder of my misspent and hazy youth with their double self titled album. Moor Mother made a record of unparalleled anger and anguish. The Cure made me cry. Attrition came back with a wonderful slice of darkwave.. Album of the year? Quite possibly Score with Temporary Arrangement – a thing of fragile beauty.
We went to gigs too. The most memorable, destructive and just plain mesmerising was SUNN O))) in Coventry. It took me a week to feel normal again. Honestly, they were second only to Swans for sheer powerful raw noise and emotion. I haven’t bought any of their records as I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t get it loud enough at home on account of not having a full PA in my front room. We have got to as many local gigs as possible, our favourite record shop has played host to many, from indie legends to the lunacy of dungeon synth. I’ve been to gigs with my children and in one case sat outside drawing with my daughter and the artist five minutes before she went on stage. Attrition played brilliantly and just this weekend the photographer recommended we go to see the wonderful whirlwind of Duke Keats live, they are stars.
We finally managed to put on a Fighting Boredom night where we played excellent music and projected photos from the gigs we have reviewed up onto the screen in the Brewery, it was almost cancelled as we are, if nothing else, passionate about doing it properly, but in the end it was an ace night. We drunkenly agreed to various DJ sets, supported Clock DVA and a sixtieth birthday. At one time my hard drive broke so the Photographer carried me, we will quite possibly be drunkenly agreeing to do more of that stuff in 2025 too, if we already have, message us to remind us..
Oxbow split up. One of the most outstanding bands I have ever seen live. The LTB, a Coventry community arts space closed with a last gig and was attended by every freak in Coventry, most of them we knew.
2025 will be spent finding more music, writing about more music and watching more bands live. It’s what we do, it keeps us going and at its best replaces all the static in our heads.
All words by Adrian Bloxham and Martin Ward, all photographs by Martin Ward.
