16 of the Best Albums from 2016

It's been a terrible year all round, but I'm not here to dwell on that. Instead, dwell on this! 16 musical highlights from 2016 for you to explore and enjoy...

16. Bleached - Welcome the Worms

15. Mount Moriah - How to Dance

14. Teleman - Brilliant Sanity

13. Sunflower Bean - Human Ceremony

12. Animal Collective - Painting With

11. Glass Animals - How to Be a Human Being

10. Goat - Requiem

9. Field Music - Commontime

8. Mitski - Puberty 2

7. Laura Gibson - Empire Builder

6. Woods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light

5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

3. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

2. Whitney - Light Upon the Lake

1. David Bowie - ★

The Best Albums of 2015

Hang on, how is it January 2nd already? And for that matter, when did it become 2016?

This year seems to have flown by in a whirlwind of new jobs, new opportunities and commuting, with 2016 set to follow a similar pattern. Last night I woke up in a cold sweat, racking my brains for something I was meant to have done. I finished all of my work before Christmas, didn't I? I bought all of the family presents I'm sure. And then it hit me: I haven't compiled my Best Albums of 2015 list! Now an annual tradition only I care about, it adds an element of much needed routine to the Christmas break, and allows me to reflect on some of the beautiful sounds which infiltrated my ears this year. So without further ado, in reverse order, here we go...

20. Sleaford Mods - Key Markets

19. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color

18. All We Are - All We Are

17. Destroyer - Poison Season

16. Mikal Cronin - MCIII

15. Joanna Gruesome - Peanut Butter

14. Algiers - Algiers

13. Farao - Till It's All Forgotten

12. Sexwitch - Sexwitch

11. Zun Zun Egui - Shackles' Gift

10. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

9. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love

8. Public Service Broadcasting - The Race for Space

7. East India Youth - Culture of Volume

6. Young Rival - Interior Light

5. Panda Bear - Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

4. Ezra Furman - Perpetual Motion People

3. Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp

2. Ghostpoet - Shedding Skin

1. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

Belinda Marshall

Hello there! It's been a while since I've posted anything Soe related - many apologies for that!  Life has been pretty hectic work (and play) wise over at Jam and Soe HQ. So if, like me you are feeling a little unprepared for Monday - here are some gorgeous prints to soothe your tired eyes as you sip your (zillionth) cup on tea and crack on with the day. They're the work of Belinda Marshall, an Australian artist with a love of all things abstract. 

Happy Monday! 

Do Not Listen Alone...

I have recently started having a longer commute to work, and to relieve the boredom associated with driving the same route 3 hours a day, I listen to podcasts.  I've always been a comedy podcast fan, but recently have been more interested in finding something with a little more substance.  I have been listening to Radiolab for years, and one of their recent episodes turned me on to a great podcast called Love + Radio.  It's a similar format; simple stories told well, but there is one in particular I'd like to share with you because it really haunted me on my drive.  Not for those of a nervous disposition, please take the time to listen to The Book by Hans Anderson, you won't regret it...

A Tune A Day: Day Seven

I am in the throes of redundancy currently so am prone to bouts of wallowing, and today I brought the Boss along for company.  It's Bruce Springsteen, with the classic The River.

You can't go wrong learning Bruce tracks, most of them are fairly simple but very satisfying.  On a side note, he appears to be playing the very telecaster I desire in the picture here, it must be a sign.  As per usual, the chords can be found from the ever reliable Ultimate Guitar Tabs here.

A Tune A Day: Day Six

Today I am choosing one of my all time favourite songs, from one of my all time favourite albums.  It is the fantastic I Think I Need A New Heart by The Magnetic Fields, from their seminal classic album 69 Love Songs.  If you have never heard it I urge you to check it out, it's exactly as it sounds: 69 pop songs about love, but the level of quality throughout is really something, and the subject of love is approached from every angle, often amusing, and frequently heartbreaking.

The chords can be found on the excellent Stephin Songs website, which has the chords to every Magnetic Fields song committed to tape.

A Tune A Day: Day Five

This weekend we are off to see the Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You, and so thought it would be appropriate to learn one of his songs, so I chose one of my favourites, Twilight.

Elliott Smith was notorious for overlaying several guitars (and vocals), so this is a nice one to learn as it can be easily recreated on an acoustic.  As always, the chords are courtesy of Ultimate Guitar Tab, and can be found here.