2010 is approaching soon. Twelve new months full of brand new music, from old veterans, young bands and complete upcomers. Just to go up-to-date on what’s happening with the artists that pleasure Flint’s tastebuds, it’s time to give a little checkaround to 2010’s possible offers by artists I’m intrigued about. Rumours, confirmed news, it’s all here.

Not keen on the artists I display? Give a sly prod at the other writers, maybe they’ll reveal their musical stalking results as well?

After the cut, a big list of various names.

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Guillemots are pretty super-awesome, aren’t they? I’m glad we’re in agreement. While the band’s currently recording their third guaranteed-to-be-pretty-awesome album, the cute bastard mad genius frontman Fyfe Dangerfield is in the process of doing his own solo album debut. The reported name is “Fly Yellow Moon” and what minimal signs there are speculatingly point towards a 2010 release date, perhaps even early on in the year.

Why bring this rumour-mongering up? Because there’s a leak. Or a “leak”. Mr Dangerfield is being rather coy. The song is called “She Needs Me” and those who are aware of what sorts of things Fyfe likes to contribute to Guillemots have a fairly good idea what the song will be like. It’s life-affirmingly upbeat, it’s wonderfully sunshineypoppy, and most importantly it’s got a combination of funky bass, gorgeously e-bowing guitar parts, horn awesomeness and BIG string sections. BIG. It’s one big joyous pop song that’s sure to put one’s private dancing shoes on and make the said listener dance and sing along in his private quarters like a silly loon completely in love with music.

Oh yes.

On the other hand there’s also the reported lead single for the album, “Faster Than the Setting Sun” that’s also making tours in the internetospace after being aired in a radio show. It’s just as epic as “She Needs Me” but rather than being a wonderfully sunshiney piece of lovegroove, it’s a sky-soaring, dove-tailing anthem that bursts into all sorts of vibrant colour and orgasmic sound as it progresses and eventually climaxes into a gigantic outro. In other words, it’s effin fantastic.

Click the viddy after the cut for Sun, click the mp3 linky similarly after the cut for She.

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I have both of these tracks on repeat right now, their beauty is making me feel wonderful little things and I got the urge to share the beauty with the world.

What we have here is a couple of tracks by Guillemots, both alternative versions of familiar album tracks. Trains to Brazil gets an acoustic treatment, starting out with just a bare guitar and Fyfe’s voice before building up into a tiny, jubilant romp with a bass and some percussion – never really going so far as to sound energetic, but just happily singalonging its way. The other treat here is an alternative version of the Red highlight Standing on the Last Star – what on the album is a fantastic, lyrically sad yet musically incredibly upbeat little pop tune appears in a much more stripped down, sorrowful form on this version as the tempo is lowered and the only instrument remaining is a lone melancholy organ.

Both are beautiful, beautiful gems. Enjoy.

MP3: Trains to Brazil (acoustic)
MP3: Standing on the Last Star (alternative version)

Yes, I too have a list of my top ten albums from last year. I, however, am far too indolent to state why I enjoy them so much. Here’s hoping you’ll check them out anyway. Just because I’m apathetic doesn’t mean that you should be! (In my defense, I’m on vacation in Idaho.)

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So last time when we checked up on 2008 in full, we were on a pretty downbeat note. 2008 was full of small and minor disappointments and it showed. That doesn’t however mean that there wasn’t any greatness in the year. Granted, there was very little superb greatness compared to many of the years before, but there were good things. A lot of flawed, but good things. And now it’s the time to round them up.

After the cut: the official Flinty top 10.

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I hope that by this point we have already established and everyone has understood the objectional fact that Guillemots are one of the greatest things to grace the musical world ever. Right? Right. Good.

Now, a confession: I’m not really a huge fan of live music. I know I know, I’m a music fan and therefore should spend my spare time checking out awesome bands in live environment where “the music’s real greatness is measured”. Sod that crap. I mean, I enjoy a good live DVD as much as anyone and spend time occasionally watching live clips of songs that I love but the thing is, I can do that on my own, from the comfort of my home. I don’t have to go to insanely crowded room where I can’t move, full of idiots who either get in front of me, push me, almost spill their ridiculously full beer mugs on me (why the hell do you even try to juggle those into the very crowded areas? Seriously), I don’t have to stand for ages while suffering from poor sound quality because I didn’t pick some magical spot while desperately attempting to see the band. Instead, I get to sit on my bed or chair and listen to an awesome live recording with a good sound quality and video quality. Plus I’m more into studio work in general, it’s impossible to have those amazing musical details and thick atmospheres in live setting.

That said, last night I went and checked out Guillemots because they’re just so awesome.

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The writers of Indie Paws have been very busy lately as two of us are moving or have moved already and thus our lives are filled with all sorts of fuss related to that while the third’s just started another chapter in his academic life. Hence, updates have been scarce lately but don’t worry – we’ve already got some new awesome ones in the planning and just to relieve the pain of waiting, here’s a couple of quickie news from around the music world.

GUILLEMOTS LIVE!

That awesome FabChannel site that gave us the Elbow concert a while back has now uploaded a concert by the supercalifragilisticexpialidociously amazing Guillemots. Clicketh here for a fabulous concert offering some amazing musical moments spanning the band’s both albums. Differently for the usual shtick, this time there’s no backing horn section or anything so it’s mainly just the four band members making amazing noise.

Check it out!

And speaking of Guillemots, the new double a-side single “Kriss Kross/Clarion” (both some of Red’s most fantastic tracks) is hitting digital shelves soon – along the two tracks, you also get a cover of Sam Sparro’s “Black & Gold” and a new track called “Fishbone for a Drink” which apparently “provides a glimpse of the way things might sound on their next album”. While waiting for that, you might as well check the rather wtf video for Kriss Kross.

NEW KINGS OF CONVENIENCE TRACKS!

Kings of Convenience, the Simon & Garfunkel of the 00’s, have performed a couple of new tracks in concert this year (and I only found out about it now). It’s rather great to see the fellas back in action, a rather long time has passed since their previous album, the amazing Riot on an Empty Street. Check the two new tracks here and here. They’re more of the same really – cute, instantly charming folk pop.

BELLE & SEBASTIAN LOOKING BACK LIVE HISTORY

Every indiepopster’s favourites Belle & Sebastian are releasing a compilation of BBC live sessions tracks from 1996 to 2001 on November 18th, informatively titled The BBC Sessions. Along with a handful of said session versions of old favourites, there’s an additional hook for the fans – four unreleased songs that were never properly recorded in studio and which happen to be the band’s last performances with the now ex-member Isobel Campbell.

If that’s not enough, there’s still a special version of the album with a bonus disc of 12 live tracks recorded in Belfast, if you’re into that sort of stuff.

Whilst it all certainly sounds interesting, I can’t say I’m not drooling obsessively myself due to mainly just preferring the band’s more recent work. Javs on the other hand is probably counting the days already…

AND FINALLY

Not exactly a news article but Husky Rescue’s Caravan is pretty superamazing.

Flinty’s superlove Guillemots took part of the ongoing “Off-Guard” gigs where lucky fans get a chance to see a band they love perform extremely intimately – in at least this case, a van. A few songs and an interview have been posted in Youtube – this absolutely wonderful rendition of the beautiful “Made-Up Lovesong #43″ being one of them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.