Blog: Shout and Twist

My life changed forever on Wednesday. It was a rush of dread and fear I've not experienced since the last kick of last season. Only much, much worse. I always knew this day would come, but not now. I'd seen the rumours the night before, and even if my head did start to spin somewhat then, it was only until I read the words "Sir Alex Ferguson retires" on Twitter - in a toilet cubical, no less - when it stung. It's sort of a feeling of 'Wait, so we're still supposed to go [...]

Dear Alex, I just want to say thank you. Football, Manchester United rather, is a massive, massive part of my life. The memories you've given me - both good and bad - will stay with me forever. I could not have asked for a better leader. No-one has your determination, your power, your drive. I feel inspired because of your mentality to succeed and that's in my life, not just football. Thank you for Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Keane, Robson, Ince, Kanchelskis, Schmeichel, McClair, Beckham, Bruce, Pallister, Cantona, Irwin, Solskjaer, Cole, Yorke, Sheringham, [...]

Frank Turner 'Tape Deck Heart' (Xtra Mile Recordings) He is not a Tory. He is not a BNP apologist. And he is not a whore who sold his soul to Wembley Arena and scattered the blood-soaked internal remains to anyone who bought Million Dead's debut album on release day. Alright, fine… you can have the last one. But on 'Tape Deck Heart' (scuse the shocking title), Frank Turner's fifth solo album, the smiley 'lil folk-punkster is about as straight to the point as it gets; heartbroken, angry and, if his promo campaign goes as [...]

The Strokes 'Comedown Machine' (RCA) A new album from The Strokes will always be something worth getting giddy over. They saved the world from taking Badly Drawn Boy (too) seriously and made the Gallagher Bros look about as cool as Screech Powers when they surfaced in the early '00s. But after Angles - that bummer of a last album which, amid the band supposedly hating each other and their gazillions of side-projects, took five years to arrive - the suspense for a fifth record is sadly met with as much suspicion as it is [...]

Frightened Rabbit 'Pedestrian Verse' (Atlantic Records) Ahhh, finally. We've been teased like one of Taylor Swift's pet boyfies for years, but after three records increasingly alluding they had that special something only not wholly breaking through, Frightened Rabbit's thick-bearded leader Scott Hutchison is declaring things like "This is the best album we've made" and, you know what? He couldn't be more right. Not even half of the dauntless, swanky keys-powered 'Acts Of Man' passes before it's obvious just how confident this band have become; Hutchison using it to come clean and lust after serenity [...]

Everything Everything 'Arc' (Sony RCA) Sorry to break it to you, but GaGa really ain't that weird. Neither is Minaj, Paloma or any other of the "I'M MAD, ME!" fraternity who've got 'Quirkeee' carved in to their premium contracts. But a band who straight-up sling anything and everything at the wall then see what sticks, only to OCD it into sheeny harmonic, catchy-as-f**k, about-as-original-as-indie-get s pop? That's weird. And, following 2010's Mercury-nommed debut Man Alive, it's on second album Arc where we meet Everything Everything again. "Yeah... so... um... wait a second," snaps [...]

1. The Maccabees 'Given to the Wild' Bigger, stronger, slower: boys become men and one of the best bands around. 2. Spector 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' 2012 called; it wants indie back. 3. Mumford & Sons 'Babel' More of the same but it's too inspiring to care. [...]

11. Plan B 'iLL Manors' Every generation needs one; thank fuck it's him. 12. The Vaccines 'Come of Age' Less ra-ra-ra, more conviction: a light for good. 13. The Cast of Cheers 'Family' Weird, raw and fun; just excuse the band name. [...]

21. Frank Ocean 'channel ORANGE' 20 minutes less and then it's a great album. 22. Lucy Rose 'Like I Used To' This does the job while Laura Marling is away. 23. The Gaslight Anthem 'Handwritten' The Boss's biggest fans do more Boss-type goodness. [...]

31. The xx 'Coexist' If only the label wasn't so intimidated. 32. Michael Kiwanuka 'Home Again' Too much spent in dullsville. Grrr. 33. Jessie Ware 'Devotion' Lotta filler but when it hits, it hits . 34. Band of Horses [...]

41. Young Guns 'Bones' Keeping Kerrang! alive and well. 42. Tribes 'Baby' Generic indie, sure. Darn good generic indie. 43. Django Django 'Django Django' Mad-hype not justified; they're not that interesting. 44. Jack White 'Blunderbuss' More [...]

Example 'The Evolution of Man' (Ministry of Sound) That darn Rihanna. If only Example knew she'd sneak out her latest album this week before he started tweeting (and tweeting) the release date of his own, he may well have had time to delay it. At least his doggedness to be number one was a feat satisfyingly achieved three albums in with last year's 'Playing in the Shadows'. And surely this one is more of the dubstep boshing the last did so well… "Marilyn Man"-whaaat?! Example the rock star: we didn't see it [...]

Calvin Harris '18 Months' (Columbia) When Calvin Harris first popped up, now a good five years ago, he was annoying; he wore big stripy sunglasses indoors before Kanye made them cool and released novel songs like being acceptable in the '80s. Then came 'I'm Not Alone', a stunning pre-Guetta electropop anthem that made the cool kids want to play with him; few of which were Rihanna, Example and Florence, who all appear in their own guises on '18 Months'. Via illegally addictive swishes and Harris rightly doing less of the singing, these are the [...]

Mumford & Sons 'Babel' (Island) It was a chilly winter's evening in Downtown Los Angeles. Four chaps from West London couldn't quite believe they were up on stage with the folkiest folkster of them all, Lord Dylan. Mumford & Sons - if the six Grammy nods, cracking America and just general transmogrifying folk-rock to the point of our sorry Sheeranation wasn't already proof enough - had made it. And the most impressive thing? It was all off the back of one album. The last time the world fell this in love with a bunch [...]

Spector 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' (Fiction Records) Indie, as you might have noticed, has gone somewhat missing in years past. Sure, The Vaccines' latest single cracked the Top 40 (sneaking in at No. 37), the fat one from The Pigeon Detectives is still no doubt rocking it solo down his local's 'Live Music' nights, and Ricky Kaiser Chiefs managed to convince himself that doing karaoke with Chris Moyles was as meaningful as some Radio 1 airplay. But generally speaking, the days of Brandon Killers and said-Ricky gleefully knocking around an [...]

Passion Pit 'Gossamer' (Columbia) Passion Pit are one of those bands from the '08 electro-pop sweep who never got the adoration they deserved. Demeaning their work to an O2 ad didn't exactly help their cred, either. Thus, the hype about a second album wasn't all that anticipated. Take a listen in, though, and you've one of the year's best. Song after song, it's syrupy-sweet vibrations and honest-but-healthy repartee; Ribena Toothkind without the gross taste. Singer and bipolar sufferer Michael Angelakos squeals on 'I'll Be Alright': "I'm so self-loathing that it's hard for me to [...]

• Passion Pit - Take A Walk

Spector 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' (Fiction Records) Indie, as you might have noticed, has gone somewhat missing in years past. Sure, The Vaccines' latest single cracked the Top 40 (sneaking in at No. 37), the fat one from The Pigeon Detectives is still no doubt rocking it solo down his local's 'Live Music' nights, and Ricky Kaiser Chiefs managed to convince himself that doing karaoke with Chris Moyles was as meaningful as some Radio 1 airplay. But generally speaking, the days of Brandon Killers and said-Ricky gleefully knocking around an [...]

Paws Three lads-but-not-'lads'-lads from Glasgow that sound nothing like Twin Atlantic (despite YouTube's coaxing) but a bit like Yuck and even Splashh (aka Dopest New Band In The World Today Not Called Spector #2). I believe they call this a movement .

Splashh Aside from that highly swag extra "h", this East London foursome are here to bring back the fuzzy alt.rock that Hüsker Dü once founded and the Pixies made famous. Someone needs to tell the bassist that 'flat caps' are about as dope as Conor Maynard, though.

Swim Deep These four boys from Birmingham have played the odd show with Spector and plainly follow the same feel-God indie-pop GPS. Their T-shirts are mad-baggy and their Converse grungy enough to pass the Sick Fence. What more could you ask for?