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 Pete @ Small Town's Blog

 

 

 


I waved goodbye to the year 2009 with many mixed feelings. At a NYE party, a friend said shortly after midnight, "we will remember 2009 for the good times, the bad times, and the down right shit times..." We certainly would.

Whilst most of the year was dominated by the recession and its immediate effects, there was still the world of music to try and keep everyone's spirits high. Whether it be the worlds unity over the death of Jackson, the rise of SuBo, or the power of the people that brought Rage Against The Machine to the UK Christmas No.1, it was as always an eventful year.
 
2009 through the eyes of Small Town was probably one of my quietest. Behind the scenes we had a lot going on, and still do, but in terms of retail product, we seemed to keep things basic. Working with Templeton Pek again at the start of the year was as always an absolute pleasure and those guys are currently working on a new album which will no doubt be fantastic.
 
The two other major highlights for me were finally getting stuck into the Whitemare EP which has taken off so well and is without doubt a band to keep your eyes on through 2010. Last but not least, the Shadows Chasing Ghosts single was a personal favourite of mine and the album which is to follow from those boys is already sounding fantastic and I can only hope we have as much input with this as possible, as they are such an exciting prospect.
 
For me, the year 2009 was all about rocking these releases:
 
Deadmau5 - For Lack of a Better Name
Twin Atlantic - Vivarium
Cosmic Gate - Sign Of The Times
Little Boots - Hands
Royksopp - Junior
Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals
Saosin - In Search of Solid Ground
John O'Callaghan - Never Fade Away
A Skylit Drive - Adelphia
 
I could list more, but i'll leave it at that. I really wanted to include the new Thursday album in that list, but sadly, to me, it was a massive disappointment (even though Ben STR seemed to rate it...)
 
So, my plan for 2010? Work hard on the things that a great bunch of guys called The First throw at me, and then with Shadows Chasing Ghosts who as I mentioned have many great things ahead of them. Hopefully some more split EP's, and another album or two would see the year through quite nicely I think.
 
By February I'll probably be ready to throw the towel in, but my New Years Resolutions include "Stay Positive." So lets start as we mean to go on eh?
 
 
 Ben @ Small Town's Blog
 
 
 
 
2009, despite what a lot of friends have told me, was a great year for music (and no, the Animal Collective record wasn't that good. There. I said it). It was a year full of new discoveries and favourite bands releasing new material.
 
I like to feel we released music by some cracking bands but that's a little obvious to say.
 
I suppose the classic "top 10" is pretty apt but it'd probably take me the best part of the year to decide upon a final listing so lets just say some hounorable mentions should go to;
 
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Thrice - Beggars
Converge - Axe To Fall
The XX - XX
The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yeah Yeah Yeah - It's Blitz
Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
P.O.S. - Never Better
Mew - No More Stories
Moneen - The World I Wanted To Leave Behind
Owen - New Leaves
The Temper Trap - Conditions
Thursday - Common Existence
Sub Focus - Sub Focus
Why? - Eskimo Snow
MewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False!...
Passion Pit - Manners
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - s/t
 
Whilst I'm sure there are loads more but they'd be a good place to start for anyone's 2009 collection.
 
Now we rock into 2010 with a tonne of great releases to look forward to; Arcade Fire, Radiohead, UNKLE, Jimmy Eat World, Four Tet, Dillinger Escape Plan etc etc etc. Here's hoping we might be able to spring a few suprises for people and open some eyes to some fantastic new UK talent. Whilst I can't confirm anything for you right now in this blog, keep em peeled. I promises to be a wild ride.
  
 
 

 Alex @ Small Town's Blog