The results of the only real award that matters this Winter season (apart from the oracular annunciations of my own opinion, of course) can now finally be announced!  AWESOME! I hear you cry in unison.  Maybe.

Last year we had these votes as well, but I rather neglectfully failed to actually add up the final scores.  In all honesty, it’s the making of the lists which is often the best bit, so picking a winner at the very end is probably not entirely necessary for fun to take place, but given you all did me the honour of voting it seems a little rude not to fulfil my side of the bargain.

So yes, my enormous and profoundly complex algorithm (also known as a tally chart) has finally processed all the entries, and we can announce the winner of the Song, by Toad Readers’ Top Five Songs of the Year.  On Friday we will vote for our top five albums, so you might want to start thinking about that one in advance.

Anyone who actually followed the votes will know two things about this particular vote: firstly, that the winner was completely obvious from the very start; and secondly, that there are dozens and dozens of songs with no more than a single vote each, which is kind of inevitable in this kind of thing, but at least suggests that for all Song, by Toad probably represents something of a musical monoculture, there is at least a fair bit of diversity within that narrow vista.  So congratulations to the likes of CTel for coming on here and posting five entirely different songs from a notably different genre to the norm around these parts, and balls to the indie kids who don’t like it!

So, in reverse order, we had many songs tied for sixth place.  They’re not really part of a top five, of course, but I thought you would be interested to see them:
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Arcade Fire – We Used to Wait
Meursault – One Day This’ll All Be Fields
Meursault – Weather
The National – England
The Scottish Enlightenment – Little Sleep
The Walkmen – Angela Surf City

Getting into the top five, we ended up with a three-way tie for third place (in alphabetical order):

=3. Broken Records – You Know You’re Not Dead (Buy here)

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=3. Foals – Spanish Sahara (Buy here)

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=3. Meursault – What You Don’t Have (Buy here)

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There was a really close-run race for second throughout the voting, with Meursault, Foals and Broken Records all in there at various times, but in the end a little burst of enthusiasm carried the following tranche of epic gorgeousness over the line ahead of the others:

2. eagleowl – No Conjunction (Buy here)

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Which leaves the winner, obvious from the very start of the voting, and a song which, from the moment it was first released, generated so much excitement for the album from which it comes that High Violet was almost guaranteed to do well weeks before anyone heard more than a single song.  Bloodbuzz Ohio may not even be my personal favourite from that record (that would be England) but it does embody the rich, luxuriant sombreness of the album beautifully.

1. The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio (Buy here)

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And so there we go, your favourite five songs from 2010, a year which I thought was brilliant for new albums, far better than the extremely disappointing 2009.  A few things stood out to me from the voting, which are sort of worth mentioning, just by way of follow up.

1. No Sparrow & the Workshop?  Come on, people. I know the Sparrows have been quiet for a while, working on their new album, but I reckon they deserved a little more love than they ended up getting in this particular vote.

2. Ha ha ha, no Joanna fucking Newsom or Laura Marling. Well done.  They’re fucking shit.  I am proud of you.

3. Meursault and The National got a lot of votes. The National scored marginally more total votes than Meursault, but they were mostly for Bloodbuzz Ohio.  Meursault had about five or six songs, all of which could easily have been nudged into the top five by a couple of stray votes here or there.  In the end, I think it’s fair to say (with some pride) that the consistent excellence of their album, and their general schizophrenia as a band, cannibalised their own vote.  No matter though, because these two bands both scored almost double as many total votes as anyone else on the whole list, which is accolade enough in itself.

4. How do I know nothing at all about Foals? I assume that you all read this site because you more or less agree with my taste in music.  Otherwise, I can’t entirely see the point.  So how come, given we all listen to broadly the same kind of music, do you all love Foals so much while I have never once made the time to sit down and listen to their stuff.  Shame on me.  Homework for Christmas!

5. We got a lot of votes. This fact gives the results a sheen of respectability which I could never hope to generate on my own. Thank you.

The above video is something I found whilst browsing Folk Radio UK this morning.  The animation was done by a guy called Yannick Puig, and the music is by a band called Kwoon.  It’s difficult to think of this as a music video when the visual element is so beautiful – it seems a little insulting to the film-makers, honestly.  Folk Radio descibe it as a short film, and I think that’s the best way to put it – completely spellbinding – but then I have always been a total sucker for beautiful animation.

So, now that I’ve managed to get my concentration back and focussed on the matters in hand, what the fucking hairy old arse is happening in Edinburgh this week then?  Well, for starters I am turning 35 on Friday.

I would say that there is nothing sadder than an ageing hipster, but I was never actually a hipster, so I think I’m clear of that one. I remember the hipsters at school, and although I got on well with them and traded mixtapes, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call one of them – too sporty I suppose.  NHS prescription glasses and flying elbows on the basketball court do not go very well together. And basketball takes place indoors – as for football, well, just forget it.  Musicians play football occasionally, but hipsters most certainly do not!

Any old how, what’s happening this week in chilly Edinburgh then?  Well, nothing at all as far as I can tell.  I’ve checked the venues, checked my calendar, checked my Facebook events, checked everything I can think of and… nothing. So what the fuck am I going to do with myself then?

Well on Thursday I am popping through to Glasgow to a Music Business Innovation thingy, at which I will be attempting to convey whatever wisdom I can muster about how to interact with media in the 21st Century.  The only problem I have with the whole event is that all the panels are happening at once, and there are a couple I would quite like to go to actually, but it looks like that will be impossible.

Then afterwards, it’ll probably be the 13th Note for Deathpodal, Le Reno Amps and the Scottish Enlightenment, and hopefully a pint with me old pals Colin and JC.  Oh, and I’ll be recording a podcast with Glasgow Podcart while I’m through there.

So, in the absence of gigs this week, I will be working on the Lach and Savings and Loan Toad Sessions, finalising the details for Yusuf’s criminally unlucky album launches, and spending some time in the house with Mrs. Toad.  She has the day off today so we will probably read books and lounge about on the couch.  I will almost inevitably put some vinyl on too; mostly likely The Books‘ The Way Out, and the new Mount Erie, Song Islands Vol. 2.

My music listening has become quite compartmentalised these days, which is odd.  I don’t actually have access to my digital library downstairs in the living room, although I know that would be easy enough to change.  Consequently the only music we listen to in our leisure time is now vinyl, so even my favourite albums of the year don’t get much time at the moment, unless I have them on record.

Conversely, because I have the two aforementioned albums on vinyl only, I’ve just realised I’ve never actually reviewed them on the site, which is ridiculous.  But because they don’t exist in digital form in my office where I do my writing they’ve never really been on that ‘imminent’ list, despite the Books album in particular being one of my favourites of the year.  This is not exactly a fascinating little tale, I know, just something marginally peculiar which occurred to me this weekend.

Well, it can’t all be essays and reviews and discussions and art now can it.

Whee, back on the radio.  And for some reason tonight’s playlist is going to consist of lots of pretty well-established artists.  There is no reason for this at all, it just worked out that way when I was selecting the playlist.

Nevertheless, I find myself focussing so much on new music that the old stuff kinda gets neglected these days.  I have actually stopped listening to my digital music collection for pleasure, and now only listen to vinyl when I am actually listening for the pure enjoyment of it.  This isn’t an ideological stance against digital music, more a logistical one.  The drive with all my music on is now upstairs, and I haven’t been arsed to set up a link to the stereo yet.

Live from 8pm (UK time) – listen here.

As per usual I will update the playlist live below as I go along, so feel free to chip in with any suggestions and comments and assorted smart-arsed remarks you might have.

1. Sleepy Horses – Lubbock Love Song
2. Paul Simon – Graceland
3. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Optimist vs the Silent Alarm
4. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Graceland
5. Paul Simon – Adios Hermanos
6. The Scottish Enlightenment – Necromancer
7. Jesus H. Foxx – Elegy for the Good Times
8. Droney Mitchell – An Empty House (Droney may actually be Rob St. John.  Just perhaps.)
9. The Savings and Loan – Pale Water
10. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow
11. White Antelope – Silver Dagger
12. Saint Etienne – Like a Motorway
13. The Maladies of Bellfontaine – Black Biro

After a weekend of alcoholic liver-punching with the awful cunts from Gerry Loves Records I find myself back in Edinburgh with Mrs. Toad off in Australia and nothing between me and an entire week spent on the internet in my pants with a jar of pickled onions and a jumbo packet of pork scratchings.

In fact, that sounds like a pretty good plan, all told.  Balls to dignity, self-respect and hygiene.

Wednesday 10th November 2010: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone & My Tiny Robots at Sneaky Pete’s.

If ever a band’s music were better described in their band name than anything any reviewer could write it is Casiotone. And if you don’t come along on Wednesday you will never see them again, ever.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Natural Light

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Thursday 11th November 2010: My Tiny Robots, Donna Maciocia & Enfant Bastard at the Caves.

This gig was very nearly a casualty of the collapse of the Settlement, but quickly found a home at the Caves, fortunately.  My Tiny Robots played smart acoustic pop songs the last time I saw them.  That was some time ago though, and I am looking forward to giving their new EP (for which this is the launch night) a good listen this week.

My Tiny Robots – Ghosts

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Friday 12th November 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Jesus H. Foxx & Trapped Mice at the Wee Red Bar.

The Scottish Enlightenment aren’t far from being my new band of the year, I think.  And I’ve only seen them once, which is a bit stupid.  St. Thomas is a fantastic piece of melancholy guitar music, and one which always seems to retain a sense of optimism and belief, and I am really looking forward to this gig.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Necromancer

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Friday 12th November 2010: Limbo, with Over the Wall, How to Swim & the Oates Field at the Voodoo Rooms.

Over the Wall also have a new album on the way, although far from the brooding of the Scottish Enlightenment, I imagine theirs will be just a little bit more bouncy and cheerful.  How to Swim may not approach their music with the same instruments, but that sense of manic exuberance is very much still there – perfect for wishing the Limbo lads happy third birthday.

Over the Wall – Shifts

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This, boys and girls, is every bit as awesome as I expected.  Get in! Whenever you start listening to an album of which have serious expectations there is always the likelihood that it will disappoint.  This one, I was careful not to over-anticipate for just that reason.

Also, The Scottish Enlightenment’s music isn’t the kind of music to bowl you over, particularly, it just washes over you in an unhurried, unassuming kind of way, and it’s usually only afterwards that you realise how much you’ve enjoyed it.

There is a kind of bigness to though.  It’s nothing new, and nothing pointedly clever, it’s just good, but the slow burn of their guitars does bring a grandeur with it of a sort, but it’s the sort which seems inward-facing, rather than exhorting others to admire its greatness.  One guitar tends to pick out notes here and there, keeping the melody nice and clear, while another slowly builds an impression of the mood of the song.  The two will take turns being centre-stage over the course of most tracks, but the interplay is really nicely done.

Previous EPs Pascal and Little Sleep contribute their title tracks to the playlist here, but no more than that, although it still feels like a strongly familiar collection of songs.  They are the kind of band who sound almost instantly like you’ve been listening to them for ages, and despite this album not exactly being all sweetness and light, there is still a strong feeling of comfort about it.

The slow-building nature of the songs does make this a relatively long twelve tracks however, although this isn’t by definition a bad thing of course.  I don’t really like The Soft Place at all though, and sandwiched between two other slower songs it does seem to bog the record down a little in the last third, which is a shame.  Mind you any album going over ten songs/forty minutes (whichever comes first) does run the risk of song eight attention drift, and to have slow material around the song I happen to find the least compelling does give St. Thomas a bit of a soft ending from my perspective, but the excellence which goes before it makes this a pretty insignificant gripe.

Considering I pretty much thought they were dead and buried after nearly two years of silence, this band have produced an awful lot of very, very good material in the last year, and I only hope the reputation and success they achieve is commensurate with the quality of the music.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Necromancer

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The Scottish Enlightenment – The First Will Be Last

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Website | More mp3s | Buy from Armellodie Records

Here we are once more, another week closer to the darkest day of the year, which will be upon us scarily soon. Actually, it’s not the darkest day at all, is it, just the shortest one.  But I think you’ll agree that darkest sounds better.

The week just gone has seen the collapse of the Edinburgh Settlement, a charity which had existed for over a hundred years.  They seemed to hold a rather irresponsibly large number of expensive mortgages, which I can only guess played a significant role in their collapse, and indeed The Forest Cafe, Bristo Hall, The GRV and The Roxy Art House had been on the market for quite a while before the charity finally felt the chop late last week.

That’s all just me speculating of course, so don’t take it too seriously, but at the very least, carrying a lot of debt would not have helped at all as things became progressively tighter towards the end.

More to the point, Edinburgh is now down three venues, and we didn’t really have enough to begin with.  One very important point made in Drowned in Sound’s recent Glasgow love-a-thon was that we suffer very much for a lack of good venues over on this side of the M8.  We’re also pretty bloody short of active promoters at the moment, and this is just going to make it worse, leaving just one or two people to be responsible for the entire musical life of the city, which is really no good at all.

So good luck to all the now unemployed staff, and as for the rest of us (myself included): time to get things happening again please, because otherwise we’re going to end up with no bands at all putting Edinburgh on their tour itinerary.

Tuesday 2nd November 2010: Happy Birthday, Mitchell Museum & Morris Major at Sneaky Pete’s.

This will be straightforward, boisterous, bouncy indie pop from start to finish.  If you can’t have fun at this gig, I am tempted to suggest that you can’t have fun at all.

Mitchell Museum – Take the Tongue Out

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Tuesday 2nd November 2010: Michelle Shocked at the Queen’s Hall.

Michelle Shocked? I hear you ask.  Yes, Michelle Shocked.  She’s possibly gone a bit gospelly, rocky, souly recently – just look at the rather worrying blurb on the QH page – but in her early, acoustic days she wrote some truly wonderful songs.  So approach this with a little caution, but it could be really good.

Michelle Shocked – The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore

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Thursday 4th November 2010: Born to Be Wide: Playing Away at the Electric Circus.

The B2BW team bring us more practical tips and advice from the experts in the field.  After briefly shoehorning my way into the back of their A&R one last month, before remembering that I am not in a band and hence have no interest in getting signed and promptly fucking off to the pub instead, I am thinking that this one will be a little quieter and, from my perspective at least, a lot more directly relevant.  It’s about booking tours and getting gigs in faraway places.  Skills it would greatly improve our label to have at our disposal.

Thursday 4th November 2010: The Last Battle, The Scottish Enlightenment & Very Well at the Wee Red Bar.

Two bands you already know fine well I like, with the Scottish Enlightenment mere weeks away from their debut album launch.  A debut album which is, in case you were wondering, very very good indeed.  Very Well, though.  Anyone know anything about them?

The Scottish Enlightenment – The First Will Be Last

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So, we are off to Eigg this weekend for the Fence Away Game.  Being a gallant sort I booked tickets for Mrs. Toad as well, as I thought she would enjoy such a picturesque setting, but the grumbling noises emanating from my better half over the last week or so have suggested that she is planning on weaselling out at the last minute.  Fucking typical, is all I can say.

Anyhow, this week’s podcast is the usual mixed bag of new stuff and old stuff, and also includes an expectation of the dubious concept of Mixtape Infidelity, as well as new tracks from Honeytrap, British Sea Power, Mount Erie, The Scottish Enlightenment and the Savings and Loan.

Please do not confuse this with the Eggcast, by the way.  I know the names are awfully similar, but I only have a limited imagination and couldn’t be arsed thinking of anything more original.

Direct download: Toadcast #141 – The Eiggcast

01. Honeytrap – Roslin in a Cylon (00.17)
02. Mount Erie – I Whale (06.50)
03. Timber Timbre – Lay Down in the Tall Grass (15.17)
04. Wilmer Watts & the Lonely Eagles – She’s a Hard-boiled R0se (20.12)
05. British Sea Power – Zeus (27.30)
06. The Scottish Enlightenment – Drip Feed (36.22)
07. Grant Lee Buffalo – Crashing at Corona (45.45)
08. The Raincoats – Don’t be Mean (49.47)
09. The Savings and Loan – Pale Water (58.01.)
10. Neutral Milk Hotel – Snow Song Pt.1 (63.15)

Oh ambassador, with these EPs you are really teasing us… JUST RELEASE THE FUCKING ALBUM ALREADY!

I like EPs.  I don’t release many, because the bands I work with seem to be more into the idea of albums at the moment, but I like EPs.  They are leaner, less prone to that period at about song six or seven when you cease to pay attention and start doing something else, and it seems to be easier to keep them thematically quite close.  In short, I suppose, small is beautiful.

The Scottish Enlightenment have apparently released the superlative Pascal EP and this new one (title track aside) largely by using off-cuts from their forthcoming debut album and I will repeat what I said on my Pascal review: if these are the off-cuts, then this album might just be a bit fucking special.

I had a conversation in a pub about this EP before I ever heard it – one which suggested that it wasn’t quite up to the standards of Pascal.  I agree that by starting with Little Sleep and Get My Limousine it may not be as immediate, but they are both cracking songs once you get into them.  And by the time the beautifully simple piano riff of Drip Feed pierces the low key guitar fuzz I must say I am ready to embrace this with at least as much enthusiasm as its predecessor.

The issue with EPs, I suppose, is that with so few tracks they can be a little unforgiving.  When You Hate Me is a decent song, but it doesn’t grab me with the urgency of everything else around it. The Scottish Enlightenment take a bit of a risk in that they tread really quite familiar musical turf, so when they don’t quite crack a song it can quickly sound like so many things I’ve heard a thousand times before that I can find myself judging it a little harshly.

When an EP ends with something as lovely as St. Germain is Thick Tonight, however, all is quickly forgotten.  I am trying not to look forward to this album too much, because I don’t want to develop impossible expectations.  But I really am looking forward to it.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Little Sleep

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The Scottish Enlightenment – St Germain is Thick Tonight

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MySpace | More mp3s | Buy from Armellodie Records

It’s a busy week this week, and actually I am quite happy with this fact.  Sometimes busy weeks of gigs feel like a forest of looming obligations, but I don’t think there’s anything I feel any real guilty pressure to attend this time around, so this week may for once be assigned to fun and fun alone.

Having delivered a shitty Summer, Edinburgh is doing its usual trick of starting Autumn brilliantly.  It is cold now, but the sun has been dazzling, leaving me wondering why I didn’t spend more time in the garden this Summer.  The answer, of course, is because it was constantly pishing rain.

I am actually going to miss anything, however interesting, taking place at the end of the week because I am off to Eigg (an island, for you non-Scots) for the Fence Collective’s rather brilliant-sounding Away Game.  I won’t tease you too much about that though, as tickets have long since sold out.

Wednesday 22nd September 2010: Diane Cluck, Wig Smith and Rob St. John at the Wee Red Bar.

I am as keen to hear Rob St. John’s new stuff as I am to hear Diane Cluck for the first time, I have to confess.  Either way though, it’s a win-win situation for me.  I just have to be careful not to let the Wee Red Bar’s primary school time constraints catch me by surprise as I have done in the past.

Diane Cluck – Ink & Needles

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Thursday 23rd September 2010: Darren Hayman, Gordon McIntyre (fae Ballboy) & Withered Hand (solo) at the Wee Red Bar.

Wave Pictures and Herman Dune pal Darren Hayman is touring, I think, in support of his latest album with the Secondary Modern, Essex.  Both Gordon and Dan are friendly, charismatic performers and this comes across particularly strongly in a solo acoustic setting, so I would imagine this will be one of the most ‘lovely cup of tea’ gigs you’ll see in a while.

Ballboy – Sex is Boring

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Friday 24th September 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Dan Lyth & Moon Junk at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Scottish Enlightenment are launching their new EP this evening (title track below, for all you naughty downloaders of pirate material from the internet – shame on you!), all of which is a painstakingly crafted strategic buildup to their album release later in the year, and subsequent unstoppable ascent to world domination.  This is not as accessible as their previous Pascal EP, at least not immediately anyway, but after a few more listens I think it might be every bit as good.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Little Sleep

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Saturday 25th September 2010: White Heath, Sebastian Dangerfield, Zoobizaretta and Loch Awe at Sneaky Pete’s.

I think this is actually Zoobizaretta’s album launch, but I don’t really know them at all and so, no disrespect intended, I kinda think of this as the first chance to catch Loch Awe.  Yep, their first ever gig.  Now, they sent me through their debut EP (which you can download from their Bandcamp link above) and although I am not sure if it’s quite ready for wider consumption yet (most of the Edinburgh bands I love were going for a good few years before I bumped into them and fell in love with their stuff, so this is a pretty normal thing, I think), there are still some great moments on it.  Darling, Your Lover in particular is one of those songs which brought me back in from the next room to listen to.  I am not sure what it is about it, but it’s a song I definitely find compelling for some reason, and that’s the magic ingredient I suppose.

Loch Awe – Darling, Your Lover

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Having missed most of the first week of the Festival by being in Spain, I am now going to miss large parts of this week by pootling about in Anstruther at Haarfest (tickets can be found in the right hand column of this page).

Mrs. Toad will presumably hate me for this of course, as she has to stay behind in Edinburgh and do a proper job, whereas I can fuck off to Fife, get lashed, and call it work.  Mwaaah hah haaa…!

Given the fact that during the Festival the centre of Edinburgh becomes roughly as welcoming as the picture above I think I’ll appreciate a swift relocation for a few days, ready to come back to the last week of the Festival, go to a couple of shows and pretend I always knew it was going to be fun all along.

Anyhow, for those of you not Fifing themselves all to pieces this week I have some very fine recommendations indeed:

Lach’s Antihoot – from Wednesday at the Gilded Balloon.

I was at the first night, which was great, and apparently this week has been great fun, according to the man himself and according to Dylan’s drunken Facebook pictures of himself, Bart and Jamie and Rory from Broken Records who played there on Saturday.

Tuesday 17th August 2010: Withered Hand & The Last Battle at the Electric Circus.

Dan from Withered Hand is currently working on his second album, although I am not sure how far he’s actually got just yet.  Either way, I’m probably as excited to hear new stuff from Withered Hand as I am to hear new stuff from any band on Song, by Toad Records. Dan’s way with words is as good as anyone I know, and his knack of wrapping them up in simple but effective melodies makes his music both as pleasurable and as rewarding as anything else happening in Edinburgh at the moment.

Withered Hand – Religious Songs

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Tuesday 17th August 2010: John Grant & Rachel Sermanni at the Wee Red Bar.

John Grant used to be in a band called The Czars who had some truly brilliant moments.  I saw him at SXSW, and he stepped up to a piano in a checked shirt and sporting a very alt-country sort of beard and then instead of playing the sort of Bella Union alt country I expected (fairly obvious assumptions based on costume and venue) he played a series of sweet, melodic piano ballads, with just the faintest scent of theatricality about them.  I haven’t heard the album yet, but that was an intriguing show and I’d recommend checking his stuff out.

John Grant – Where Dreams Go to Die

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Tuesday 17th August 2010: The Besnard Lakes, Heart Beats & Penguins Kill Polar Bears at Sneaky Pete’s.

I haven’t seen the Besnard Lakes live, but their sound is really nicely complex and layered, and when their songs are good they are really really good.  If that translates to the live setting as well as I suspect it might then this could be an almighty wall of sound and completely brilliant.  That’s just a guess though, but I would like to think it’s true.  Let me know if you go and find out.

The Besnard Lakes – Chicago Train

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Thursday 19th August 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Debutant & Dan Lyth at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

This is something of a stripped back gig for the Scottish Enlightenment, due to the absence of a guitarist, but nevertheless their slow, deliberate sound is a treat I would recommend to anyone.  There is an album due out shortly, which I am heartily looking forward to.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Riverbed

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Thursday 19th August 2010: Sleepy Sun at Sneaky Pete’s.

I’ll be honest with you, I know no more about this than the fact that I had a listen to their MySpace page and thought it sounded interesting.  Interesting it did sound however, so I reckon it might well be worth a chance if you’re looking for something to do on Thursday.