The album at number 9 on the Breaking More Waves end of year LP list is probably one of two that may come as a surprise to our regular readers (or our followers on Twitter) as until now we haven’t mentioned soulful gospel post punk post-apocalyptic three piece Algiers at all except for one early morning tweet. Now is the time to change that though, for this debut is a record of some staggering intent. In a year when we struggled to be truly inspired by many rock records, this one manages it. If the rest of our top 10 albums seem relatively light listening to your ears (and we make no apology for that - this is our list, not yours), this one is the intense antidote.
Algiers isn’t always an easy listen. Despite the gospel reference it isn’t a record of uplifting praises to the heavens. In fact much of Algiers sounds black and oppressive, the sound of history struggling against itself. It’s not a record that you’ll be able to easily consume; for there are so many flavours to devour. From Franklin James Fisher’s bluesy political holler to the near gothic soundtrack that floods much of its layers to the electro beats on Irony. Utility. Pretext that sound as if they’ve been sampled off an old Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five track or maybe even the Pet Shop Boys.
Algiers sound like churches, whisky, blood and fear mixed into a cocktail of nightmares. If that sounds like a load of pretentious bollocks, take just one listen to this album and then you’ll understand exactly what we mean. Imagine Nick Cave, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, TV On The Radio and MC5 slamming their fists and instruments into the ground over and over again and you might be getting somewhere near this powerful piece of work.
Algiers - Blood
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