The Two Year Itch: A Recap

To celebrate two years of Keep Hope Inside, I invited some of my favourite bloggers to offer their opinions of their favourite British albums of the past two years. In this post, I'll just recap their choices in case anyone missed anything or are too lazy to go through all the other posts. And in between all that, I managed to put out a podcast of sorts [link].

[Part One]: Simon of Sweeping The Nation - 'Hold On Now, Youngster...' by Los Campesinos!
"They found initial attention through demos on Myspace, but they feel to their hardcore that this is their band, just for them"

[Part Two]: Jay of clickyclicky - '7 From The Village' (US EP) by Fields
"a charming blend of '70s pastoral psych-folk and contemporary indie rock centered around the undeniable pop gem 'Brittlesticks'"

[Part Three]: Tim of funfunfun - 'Variations On Swing' by Meet Me In St Louis
"Its intricate layers of morphing instruments and its fractured time signatures may put off, or even frighten, some listeners but those that “get it” will join the ranks amongst some of the most passionate and faithful of fans."

[Part Four]: Sid of Music Liberation - 'Box Of Secrets' by Blood Red Shoes
"an honest, full-on assault, that is full of energy, passion, and intent"

[Part Five]: aDawgg - 'Fantastic Playroom' by New Young Pony Club
"shook my bah-dompah-domp"
Bean - 'The Life Pursuit' by Belle & Sebastian
"A little indie, a little pop, and a little glam with vivid stories about kooky characters in songs that will suit any occasion and every mood."
tamboosh - 'The Beatific Visions' by Brakes
"still thrilling and refreshing"

[Part Six]: Tara of The Music Journal - 'Making Dens' by Mystery Jets
"It is the vigour, the youth, the passion, and the boisterous energy that makes this one of my favourite albums of the past two years."

[Part Seven]: Tim of The Daily Growl - 'No Shouts, No Calls' by Electrelane
"Just have a listen – it really is a wonderful album."

[Part Eight]: Saam of Keep Hope Inside (i.e me) - 'Drop It Till It Pops' by Hot Club de Paris
"'Drop It Till It Pops' has that certain joie de vivre that few bands manage to capture on record over their career let alone on their debut album"

I found the selection surprising, with certain bands that I'm rather indifferent to making appearances. Perhaps I'll give them a second look. At the same time, I've discovered Electrelane, the only band that I wasn't familiar with prior to this feature. Unfortunately, they've effectively broken up. Typical. So while many of these names may not jump out at you as the best of British of the last couple of years, I urge you to have a quick listen to each artist. In particular, I endorse - Los Campesinos!, Belle & Sebastian, Mystery Jets and of course, Hot Club de Paris.

You can download the guest blog "sampler" (one mp3 per album mentioned) [here] or listen to each track individually at [The Hype Machine].