By now you should be familiar with David Kitt's solo work. From the initial acoustic flourish of The Big Romance right through to the beat-driven splendour of The Nightsaver, Kittser has been one of the most essential Irish artists of the last decade. Recently recruited by The Tindersticks, he's also well known for his side projects and with a burst of nepotism herein lies another.
Based on "a desire by two brothers to hang out and create music inspired by musical treats exchanged between them" Spilly Walker is a collaboration between David and his younger brother Robbie. Offering up sprawling electro tunes with a memorable burst, Spilly's tracks have a knack of working their way into your bones, with a strong resemblance to David's recent synth-infused output evident throughout.
Initially emerging a few years back, constant talk of an album release has yet to materialise, leaving fans like I to feed off the odd gig and uploaded demo. The duo played a cracking set at last year's Electric Picnic while there's fresh hope in the from of new track 'The Only Way Through Is The Music'; an instantly catchy number which is euphoric in a subdued sort of manner. 'Let The Freak Come Out At Night' has been a mainstay in Kittser's solo shows for quite some time, while 'No Future' and 'You'll Never Meet A Guy Like Me Again' (available via MySpace) are downright essential.
Fingers crossed for a proper release soon but in the meantime there's enough good tunes to enjoy as we wait with bated breath.
So here we are. I'm not quite sure why I settled on 60 but it's a nice number regardless, and one which holds the tracks which have most pleased my ears throughout the last 12 months.
I'm sure I've missed some obvious choices but it's a nice representation of what has been a great year in music none the less, particularly on an Irish front.
Have a listen, find something you may like/have missed and make sure to post your own!
Sure, who else? Love 'em or hate 'em there's no doubting that Horse Outside will be on the 'Reeling in the years' montage for 2010 in another decade or so...
59) Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes
Summery indie-vibes which are as fuzzy and warm as the name suggests.
58) El Guincho - Bombay
An outstandingly nonsensical video which almost detracts attention away from a great tune from Spain's Animal Collective influenced El Guincho.
57) Mountain Man - Animal Tracks
As with the best things in life this is simple and beautiful, and if you will excuse the lazy comparison, sounds close to an all female Fleet Foxes - which is never a bad thing.
56)Blur – Fools Day
An unexpected treat from a band presumed defunct; not a Blur classic but it holds more than enough to suggest a proper reunion is a worthy proposition.
55) Ham Sandwich – The Naturist
The greatest achievement yet of a band whose earlier praise baffled me, lovely voice.
Scandanavian pop-let lets loose to wondrous effect.
53) Laura Marling – Needle and the damage done
A charming retelling of a Neil Young classic; her incredible voice suits it perfectly and there's a smashing stop-motion video to boot.
52) Owen Pallett – Midnight Directives
Sufjan-esque, operatic splendour.
51) Rory Grubb – Take Your Own Advice
Lush acoustic ramblings; Ireland has never been short on singer-songwritrs but Grubb's latest album 'Sketches From The Big Sleep', does enough to keep his head well and truly above the water.
No videos unfortunately but have a listen over at Breaking Tunes.
50) Rihanna – Rude Boy
A pop song that the indie kids will dance to, no wonder it has 133 million YouTube hits...
49) Stornoway – Boats and Trains
A beautiful seranade from the thinking man's Mumford and Sons.
48) Tindersticks – Black Smoke
With our very own David Kitt in tow, Tindersticks produced a strong new LP in the form of 'Falling Down A Mountain', with this track in particular appearing as the perfect accompaniment to a 'Cohen' Brothers classic.
47) Everything Everything – My Keys, Your Boyfriend
Will no doubt infuriate many but these off-kilter melodies have enough originality to stick around
46) Belle and Sebastian– I Want the world to stop
Modern indie royalty arrive back with a good new album, of which this is a highlight.
45) The Flaws – Part of you
Jangly return from Monaghan's finest; which is the equal of anything on their excellent debut.
44) John Grant – TC and Honeybear
Wherein the members of Midlake combine with a singer to make an arguably more compelling set of songs than the band's own new LP.
43)Patrick Kelleher - Wonder (Jape Remix)
Emerged late last year but only officially released this year on the stellar You Look Colder remixes album. That good that it deserves as many listens as possible; genuinely spine tingling reworking of the splendid original. The Kittser remix would have made it also were it not for fear of an overload.
A sumptious pebble-dashed array of colours and shapes, which build and latch onto your snyapses in the process.
41) Solar Bears – Primary Colours at the Back of My Mind
The sound of the cosmos and equally as life affirming. Beautiful and in no way immediately recognisable as 'Irish', Dublin/Wicklow's Solar Bears are the perfect example of the depth and variety which Irish music has been offering lately.
The full run down from 40 - 1 will follow in the next couple of days...
This is a brilliant version of David Kitt's 'Say No More', which was originally on his 2006 LP Not Fade Away. Slightly spruced up, yet ultimately toned down, the video shows Kittser strolling through the streets of Belfast with only his acoustic guitar (and camera man) for company. There's something quite endearing about these types of videos; with the minimal, almost naked approach allowing for a level of empathy and appreciation not usually found in your average promo-vid. And it sure helps that it's a great track also. Here's hoping for a new album from him sometime soon.
Whoever designed this list clearly never thought to start it off on an easy note anyways, as I'm sure most would struggle to come up with a definite answer for this one.
Scanning through the list however, there was one song which could have been used for up to a dozen different days and to me, this is as good an indication as necessary of it's rightful position.
David Kitt is a singer songwriter from Dublin whose career has spanned the entire decade; from the more acoustic, humble romanticism of his early work, through to his most recent dance infused output in the form of The Nightsaver via the rockier, love lorn anthems of Not Fade Away. Along the way Kitt has come under criticism for never replicating the dizzying heights set by 2001's The Big Romance, and though I'd dispute this (The Nightsaver in particular was one of the best albums of 2009) there is no denying the wonder of his earlier output and Step Outside In The Morning Light is a perfect example of this.
Present on both Small Moments and The Big Romance, Step Outside...is a blissful ode to that intangible feeling of optimism which washes over us on occasions as we dream of better times ahead, with nothing to tend to other than one's current setting. Kittser (as he's more commonly known) delivers a soothing and ultimately uplifting tale of love and hope which is earnest without being overbearing and romantic without ever bordering on soppy or trite. If ever a song embodied Summer and happiness, this to me, is it. This is the musical representation of that feeling as the sun pours over us after months of dreary 7am starts and the first glance in new lovers eyes amid the smell of freshly cut grass.
One of Kittser's greatest strength's is his ability to write effective lyrics which can be personally applied by the masses and the line, "and the thought of the summer clears my head" surely represented the national mood as wind, rain and snow pelted us for months on end earlier this year.
A true classic from one of Ireland's greatest singer song-writers and one of the decades best albums.
Fingers crossed for a proper release soon but in the meantime there's enough good tunes to enjoy as we wait with bated breath.
