Getintothis guestlist selections part one

Albums of the Year:

1. Parquet Courts: Sunbathing Animal (Chris says: “An absolute classic from start to finish.”)
2. Spoon: They Want My Soul
3. Hoodie Allen: People Keep Talking
4. St Vincent: St Vincent
5. Todd Terje: It’s Album Time

Top Tracks of 2014:

1. Parquet Courts:Sunbathing Animal (Chris says: “At first listen a manic and unrelenting track, Sunbathing Animal is actually packed full of meaningful lyrics – a rarity this year, it seemed.”)
2. Nicki Minaj: Anaconda (“Bootyful.”)
3. The Juan MacLean: A Simple Design (“Exquisite.”)

Top Gigs of 2014:

1. Simon Knighton at The Big Mello Send Off, The Kazimier, Liverpool (Chris says: “Knighton stole the show on perhaps the most emotional night of the year – performing to a spellbound crowd.”) (Getintothis review)
2.  The Part Time Heliocentric Cosmo Drama After School Club at Threshold Festival, Liverpool (“Cosmic.”)
3. Chali 2Na at The Kazimier, Liverpool (“Baritone.”) (Getintothis review)
4. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes at O2 Academy, Liverpool (“Covers.”) (Getintothis review)
5. Andrew WK at Arts Club, Liverpool (“PARTY!”) (Getintothis review)

Event of the Year:

Chris says: “For all the wrong reasons the event of the year was the Big Mello Send Off at The Kazimier. Emotional and heartbreaking, the march down was intensely moving.”

Tip for 2015:

Chris says: “Lapsley, without a doubt.”

Michael Fowler, Getintothis writer & Wild Writer:

Albums of the Year:

1. Taylor Swift: 1989 (Michael says: “Taylor Swift got possibly the best pop song writing team in the world to help her co-write 1989. Max Martin, Shelback and even Imogen Heap all feature in the album booklet. It is my favourite album of the year for the oh, so catchy hits and the clever lyrical balance of autobiography and pop wit.”)
2. Mowbird: Islander (“Mowbird‘s debut album, Islander, is full of blink and you’ll miss them tunes, made up from heavy surf guitars, catchy riffs and computer game-like synths.”)
3. Broncho: Just Enough Hip to be Woman (“80s guitars, catchy ruffs and petulant lyrics, Broncho fill the gaping hole that The Strokes have been digging for the last ten years.”)
4. Amazing Snakeheads: Amphetamine Ballads (“Growly, Glaswegian reptilians makingsexy, murderous music that’s like the Birthday Party trying to mug you”.)
5. Todd Terje: It’s Album Time (“The beautiful blend of electro/disco noises and experimentation made It’s Album Time one of my most listened to albums of the year. Also, the Robert Palmer cover of Johnny and Mary, featuring the weathered, old bastard voice of Bryan Ferry, is just harrowing.”)

Top Tracks of 2014:

1. Taylor Swift: Shake if Off (Michael says: “There’s nothing I’ve enjoyed more this year. Watching people’s faces turn from disgust to sheer joy while listening to it for the first time is a treat.”)
2. Broncho: Class Historian (“It’s all about those stuttering doo doo doos. Jeez, they are so good! This song needs to be played loud over the credits of posthumously released John Hughes film.”)
3. Dune Rats: Red Light Green Light (“The most anarchic 2 minutes of surf pop punk I’ve heard. It’s pure dumb fun, you hear it and you want to start running around chasing your own tail.”)

Top Gigs of 2014:

1. Kanye West at Wireless Festival, London (Michael says: “Kanye at his mad, bad best. Stopping songs halfway through to make people dance more, a half an hour rant about artistic freedom and he even left enough time to play Blood on the Leaves twice.”)
2. Johnny Greenwood & the London Contemporary Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall, Manchester (“Johnny Greenwood played selected compositions, come of his film scores and a few new pieces with the London Contemporary Orchestra. The music was so inviting and mesmeric that it gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. Michael Gordon‘s Industry on solo cello was breathtaking and the interactive use of mobile phones on Seven Finger… Blew. My. Mind.”)
3. Michael Jackson: 1o Bands 10 Minutes at The Kazimier, Liverpool (“I don’t think I’ve had much more fun at a gig this year. Organ Freeman‘s Do The Bartman and Zangief‘s Earth Song remain fresh in my memory and still give me a chuckle every now and then.”)
4. Deadalus at The Kazimier, Liverpool (“Deadalus played an incredible electronic set that made you forget it was still midweek, and he had the most amazing visuals of an event this year, a massive metal structure that shot huge, fuck-off lasers everywhere.”)
5. Fat White Family, Growlers & Wytches at The Kazimier (Three bands at the top of their game playing in one night with a crowd ready to cause mayhem. Fat Whites were a guitarist down yet still managed to produce one of the most exciting sets I’ve seen.”) (Getintothis review)

Event of the Year:

Everisland’s Aquaria at The Williamson Tunnels

Michael says: “Spooky, watery ghouls and visuals set up around The Williamson Tunnels made for an aquatic wonderland. It was so good I took 3 whole trips around it, and if it hadn’t closed I would’ve taken more. A ream of cool bands played long into the night, but the real highlight was the jellyfish people hidden in the murky depths of the tunnels.”

Tip for 2015:

Michael says: Charli XCX‘s long awaited Sucker album will finally come out in January and then we can all dance like teenage girls to her dirty-synth-pop all month long.

Harry Sumnall, Getintothis writer:

Albums of the Year:

1. Advisory Circle: From Out Here
2. Bitchin’ Bajas: Bitchin’ Bajas
3. Eternal Tapestry: Guru Overload
4. Sinoia Caves: Beyond the Black Rainbow
5. Stag Hare: Pongdools

Top Tracks of the Year:

1. Food Pyramid: Knossos
2. Hinterhof: Molecular Love with a Modular Sound
3. Karen Novotny X: 3 Minutes over Brussels
4. Nick Nicely: HeadwindAheadwind (Secret Circuit Mix)
5. Pye Corner Audio: The Black Mist

Emma Walsh, Getintothis writer:

Albums of the Year:

1. James Vincent McMorrow: Post Tropical
2. Jungle: Jungle
3. Glass Animals: Zaba
4. Hozier: Hozier
5. SOHN: Tremors

(Emma says: And a sneaky Soundtrack of the Year: Chef Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Top Tracks of 2014:

1. Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk (Emma says: A very late, very serious contender!)
2. Ben Khan: Youth
3. MO: Say You’ll be There

Top Gigs of 2014:

1. St Vincent at O2 Academy, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
2. Asgeir at Arts Club, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
3. Ghostface Killah at The Kazimier, Liverpool (Getintothis review)
4. 10 Bands 10 Minutes: Michael Jackson at The Kazimier, Liverpool
5. Jungle at Sound City, Liverpool

Event of 2014:

Sancho Panza at The Kazimier

Emma says: “I’m always amazed by how versatile The Kazimier is as a venue, considering it has such a strong individual charm and character it can still be transformed into a different spectacle every time you walk through the doors. But to date, the most bizarre spectacle I’ve witnessed at The Kaz is The Wild Writers’ Sancho Panza. Of all the oddities that have transpired in the Wolstenholme Square sanctuary over the years, seeing a wrestling ring take centre stage while two scantily clad wrestlers chase and subsequently throw each other around the venue (and off the balcony!) still stands out as the most peculiar.”

Tip for 2015:

Emma says: Anyone who keeps even their tiniest pinky finger on the music pulse back in my small part of the world can tell you that Strabane is the current Northern Irish hub for promising new music. White Male Actors led the way over the pond for Sound City 2014, I hope to see a few more familiar faces there this year. I predict big things for Gaze is Ghost, Those Ghosts and Gerard i2. You (probably) heard it here first.

Simon Lewis, Getintothis photographer and webmeister:

Albums of the Year:

1. Pat Metheny Group: Kin
2. Toad the Wet Sprocket: New Constellation
3. Sugarking: Dandelions and Soap Shops

Top Tracks of 2014:

1. Chemistry Lane: Pitch Black
2. Go Fiasco: Calm
3. Scarlet: Georgia

Top Gigs of 2014:

1. The Hummingbirds at Buxton Tap House, Buxton
2. Tea Street Band at The Grand National, Aintree
3. Esco Williams at The Grand National, Aintree
4. Kavez at FestEvol, The Kazimier, Liverpool
5. Rachel Wright at Sound City, Leaf, Liverpool

Event of 2014:

Bill Ryder-Jones and Manchester Camerata @ Manchester Cathedral (Getintothis review)

Music Tip for 2015:

Simon says: “Play it loud”