Cage & Aviary Birds
The Maccabees Marks To Prove It
“They’re a band that develops more potential with age, and with such a beautiful voice Orlando Weeks could get away with writing total nonsense lyrics and still impress. He took centre stage on the band’s last album but this one’s more about the instruments, while guitarist Hugo White takes lead vocals on Silence. Spit It Out, meanwhile, perfectly sums up what this band is all about. The album is mostly calming, therefore suitable to be played in a bird room when carrying out routine chores.”
Laura Welch Deputy editor
Global Cement
Slaves Are You Satisfied?
“I came across Slaves thanks to a friend. We were travelling to a stag do and this was the only thing he wanted to play in the car. The album is infectiously enthusiastic while being dark, which suits my sense of humour. It’s like the stuff I used to listen to as a teenager and I think speeding along in my mate’s mum’s car completed this memory-lane experience. The repetitive, only partially intelligible, lyrics on top of catchy, banging tunes refuse to leave your head. My favourite track is Feed The Mantaray.”
Peter Edwards Editor
Men’s Health
Jamie xx In Colour
“It takes a lot to unite our office in musical harmony but In Colour seems to have done the trick. It makes senior members of the team nostalgic for early 90s rave when they weren’t quite as responsible as they are now, and I’d imagine it has a similar effect on our readers. Then there’s the track Loud Places, which I’m told various members of the team have heard in just about every Psycle class this year and still aren’t sick of. For me, though, Girl, with its brilliant opening line: “You’re the most beautiful girl in Hackney, you know?” and that sample of IOU by Freeez, is the clincher.”
Matt Hambly Associate style editor
Small Furry Pets
Joe Ely Panhandle Rambler
“Ely transcends musical genres. He was there with the Clash in the late 70s, but has long since returned to his Lubbock roots, and the sparse arrangements on this album bring his supreme vocals to the fore. If you’re ever feeling hemmed-in by life and want to escape, simply close your eyes and listen to this album. It will transport you to the wide open spaces of the Texas Panhandle, calling to mind images of tumbleweed blowing across this harsh landscape. You might even be distracted by thoughts of silky pocket mice, should you work for our publication!”
David Alderton Editor
Inside Soap
Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
“We’re used to operating at a high level of emotional intensity – partly from watching soaps, partly from producing a magazine about them – and this album turned out to be a brilliant health check for the subconscious. Written in response to the death of his mother, it’s often uncomfortably intimate but always intensely involving, and so cathartic that it brings all of your deepest feelings up for an airing. Fourth Of July is delicate and devastating, but the gently optimistic closing track, Blue Bucket Of Gold, ensures it leaves you on an uplifting note.”
Steven Perkins TV editor
Slimming World
Richard Hawley Hollow Meadows
“Music’s always on in our office, and we switch between 6 Music, Radio 1 and Radio 2 to keep everyone happy. Richard Hawley’s Hollow Meadows unites us: the album is beautifully crafted and produced, with lush vocals and songs about love, family and friendship, which is what Slimming World as an organisation is about. The album’s named after a Peak District area on the Yorkshire-Derbyshire borders, not too far from our offices. We’re unusual in being one of the UK’s biggest magazines produced outside London and, like Hawley, we’re proud of our area.”
Elise Wells Editor
Wired
Public Service Broadcasting The Race To Space
“I have a personal soft spot for Chvrches’ addictive Every Open Eye and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly but, in terms of the most Wired album of the year, I’ve got to go for Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race To Space, purely for their ability to turn a simple gimmick – sampling old BFI radio and film samples from the space race – into richly layered, infectious guitar funk. Gagarin is worthy of Quincy Jones, and yet would make your science teacher proud. And it has a great video, too.” Oliver Franklin-Wallis Assistant editor
Your Horse
The Weeknd Beauty Behind The Madness
“I personally love this album, but it also resonates with the crew at Your Horse. Firstly, there really is beauty behind the madness of owning and working with horses. Horsey folk are often considered bonkers, but what we do requires a dedication that’s often unseen by the non-horsey world. Secondly, this album dominated the charts this year, a little like British riders on the world equestrian scene. Like the Weeknd, equestrian Team GBR had a real breakthrough in 2015 and continues to go from strength to strength.”
Imogen Johnson Editor-in-chief
