After taking some time in June to list our favourite albums so far this year, the time has come to reveal our Best Albums of 2016.

The surprise alternative pop album of the year has not budged from its number one slot, but our extended end of year list has given us the chance to add a further 10 albums to our selection.

There are a few more veteran performers here, but also plenty of new bands with some stunning debuts released this year.

It may have been a horrible anus  in terms of politics and the death of iconic legends but 2016 was still a great year for music. Sit back and enjoy our Best Albums 2016 list.

20. Picture Box – Songs of Joy

 

Robert Halcrow uses his brand ‘wonky pop’ to take you on a tour of the lesser known nooks and crannies of his home City of Canterbury, in Kent. The demise of its speedway team, its smelly former tannery and a pet fish shop are the stars of this thoroughly eccentric look at small town England. Read the full review here.

15. Robert Pollard – Of Course You Are

 

Incredibly, this is now the 22nd solo album from the hardest working man in music and proves another high point in an illustrious career. Read the full review here.

14. Bob Mould – Patch the Sky

 

Third album from the former Sugar and Husker Du man’s most settled line up for years. The key to its success is its ability to tackle the tough issues of life in the most fun way possible, as Mould’s rage and melody once again combine perfectly.  Read the full review here.

13. Woodpigeon – TROUBLE

 

Heartbreak, loss and a globe trotting meander prove the powerful inspiration for Mark Andrew Hamilton’s latest album. Beautiful and inspiring. Read the full review here.

12. John Howard – Across the Door Sill

 

11. Martha – Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart

 

10. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity

 

Like an extended rock jam, taking in science fiction, monsters and, naturally, some awesome guitar riffs this is another stellar release from the Australian psych rockers, with a little help from some robots and a gigantic wasp. Read the full review here.

9. Dressy Bessy – King Sized

 

Fabulous return from a six-year break for the US act. This works particularly well by merging their beefier pre- hiatus sound with the pop nous that made their early work so infectious. Read the full review here.

8. The Wave Pictures – Bamboo Diner in the Rain

 

Underneath what may very well be 2016’s crappiest album cover lies this year’s best blues LP, as The Wave Pictures take their fascination with American blues to new levels. Read our full review here.

7. Papernut Cambridge – Love the Things Your Lover Loves

 

Former Death in Vegas man Ian Button and crew have created their very own 1970s pop band. Full of fuzzed up guitar riffs and stomping rhythms there would have been plenty to satisfy the charts back in the day, especially the album’s title song, and its best pop tune, Radio. Read the full review here.

6. Darren Hayman – Thankful Villages – Vol 1

 

One of Hayman’s best pieces of work and possibly his most important, preserving the oral history of the relatives of those who survived the horrors of the Great War as well as paying tribute to the village life these soldiers left and thankfully returned to. Read the full review here.

5. Emma Pollock – In Search of Harperfield

 

Childhood memories and the toils of adulthood mix wonderfully on the former Delgados singer’s latest album. With the track Parks and Recreation she has also created one of the best songs of recent years. Read the full review here.

4. Arborist – Home Burial

 

3. Free Swim – Life Time of Treats

 

1. The Monkees – Good Times

 

The comeback to beat all comebacks. Originally planned as merely something to sell on their 50^th anniversary tour this album has ended up grabbing the headlines in its own right. With Fountains of Wayne man Adam Schlesinger at the helm, a stack of lost demos to dust off and new tracks from talented Monkees fans such as Andy Partridge and Ben Gibbard, Good Times both pays tribute to their place in 1960s pop history and creates a great, modern day indie and alternative pop album in its own right. A well deserved number one slot. Read our full review here.

Top Ten Albums of 2016 So far was compiled by Joe Lepper and Dorian Rogers

With 2016 at the half way mark we thought we’d present our list of the ten albums that have impressed us the most so far. All within our broad focus on indie and alternative music, we’ve some old stagers, new bands and plenty of rage. We’ve also got an act at number one who probably never would have thought they’d be acclaimed as the best indie act of the year in 2016 back. In addition to the ten below we also wanted to mention new albums by Shearwater, Pete Astor, The Wave Pictures, Steven James Adams, Picture Box and Rapid Results College, which are all in contention for a place in our end of year extended best albums list.

10. Robert Pollard – Of Course You Are

Incredibly, this is now the 22nd solo album from the hardest working man in music and proves another high point in an illustrious career. Read the full review here.

9. Bob Mould – Patch the Sky

Third album from the former Sugar and Husker Du man’s most settled line up for years. The key to its success is its ability to tackle the tough issues of life in the most fun way possible, as Mould’s rage and melody once again combine perfectly.  Read the full review here.

8. Dressy Bessy – King Sized

Fabulous return from a six-year break for the US act. This works particularly well by merging their beefier pre- hiatus sound with the pop nous that made their early work so infectious. Read the full review here.

7. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity

Like an extended rock jam, taking in science fiction, monsters and, naturally, some awesome guitar riffs this is another stellar release from the Australian psych rockers, with a little help from some robots and a gigantic wasp. Read the full review here.

6. Woodpigeon – TROUBLE

Heartbreak, loss and a globe trotting meander prove the powerful inspiration for Mark Andrew Hamilton’s latest album. Beautiful and inspiring. Read the full review here.

5. Evans the Death – Vanilla

On album number three London act Evans the Death have upped, shredded, beaten up and garrotted the ante. It’s full of rage, the guitars are heavier than before, the vocals fiercer and the ambition turned to stadium sized proportions, with a brass section and even a funky bass added to the mix. Incendiary album from what very well be Britain’s best rock band. Read the full review here.

4. Papernut Cambridge – Love the Things Your Lover Loves

Former Death in Vegas man Ian Button and crew have created their very own 1970s pop band. Full of fuzzed up guitar riffs and stomping rhythms there would have been plenty to satisfy the charts back in the day, especially the album’s title song, and its best pop tune, Radio. Read the full review here.

3. Darren Hayman – Thankful Villages – Vol 1

One of Hayman’s best pieces of work and possibly his most important, preserving the oral history of the relatives of those who survived the horrors of the Great War as well as paying tribute to the village life these soldiers left and thankfully returned to. Read the full review here.

2. Emma Pollock – In Search of Harperfield

Childhood memories and the toils of adulthood mix wonderfully on the former Delgados singer’s latest album. With the track Parks and Recreation she has also created one of the best songs of recent years. Read the full review here.

1. The Monkees – Good Times

The comeback to beat all comebacks. Originally planned as merely something to sell on their 50^th anniversary tour this album has ended up grabbing the headlines in its own right. With Fountains of Wayne man Adam Schlesinger at the helm, a stack of lost demos to dust off and new tracks from talented Monkees fans such as Andy Partridge and Ben Gibbard, Good Times both pays tribute to their place in 1960s pop history and creates a great, modern day indie and alternative pop album in its own right. A well deserved number one slot. Read our full review here.

Top Ten Albums of 2016 So far was compiled by Joe Lepper and Dorian Rogers

If I was asked to name the top 5 (or even top 10) musical artists that mean the most to me I would find it incredibly hard to do. I’d spend days agonising over who to include and would want to change it immediately I’d finished. If I was asked to pick one band that would definitely be in the top 10 my first answer would probably be The Monkees.

Good Times! has been released to coincide with the band’s 50th anniversary and is their first release since Justus in 1996, and the first since the death of Davy Jones.  These factors do lead to the very real likelihood of this being the last time we’ll get a new Monkees album. The very, very good news is that, if it is to be their last album, it is among the best of their career and one of the best albums released by anyone this year.

In common with their most successful albums of the late 60s, Good Times! features the pre-fab four on all the vocals and mixes them in with a team of top quality session musicians to produce the album. The album was produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, and his love for the band and the sounds of the 60s is evident throughout.

The title track kicks things off in great style and symbolises the album by mixing session work from 1968 with additional instrumentation from the contemporary band. Songwriter Harry Nillsons’ original vocal is mixed as a duet with fresh vocals from Mickey Dolenz (perhaps the most underrated singer of his era) and the scene is set for a fun-filled collection.

The album features a batch of songs written by songwriters from first time around (Nilsson, Neil Diamond Goffin & King, Boyce & Hart) alongside a song apiece from each of the surviving members. In addition to this a crop of contemporary artists provide a healthy handful of tracks for the record (although given that only Zach Rogue is an artist who arrived this century, and his song didn’t make the final album*,’ contemporary’ is a bit of a push).

The least successful of the new songs is by Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller and the knowing title ‘Birth of an Accidental Hipster’ is as clumsy as their attempts at a psychedelic pop mash-up. It isn’t a bad song, and the performances are great, but it doesn’t match the overall song-writing quality here. I also have issues with Noel Gallagher being included as a songwriter on the album, should someone who once derogatorily stated about Blur “People say we’re the Rolling Stones and that Blur are the Beatles. We’re the Stones and the Beatles. They’re the fucking Monkees!” be given the honour of writing for such a wonderful band?

The playing is superb throughout and Tork and/or Nesmith play on most of the tracks here. The session musicians capture the band’s classic sound perfectly, and there is a real magic to the tracks recorded across a 49-year period.

First and foremost this is a Monkees album, and each of the original members delivers great vocal performances here. Dolenz has the bulk of the tracks and sounds like he is enjoying every minute, Tork delivers what may be the definitive version of ‘Wasn’t Born To Follow’ and Nesmith takes the lead on Ben Gibbard’s ‘Me and Magdalena’ (which may well be the best song of the year so far). An updated session of a Davy Jones vocal gives the late-singer a presence on the album. It is a typically sweet tune and sits perfectly in the middle of the album, his distinct voice sounding great with Dolenz and Tork adding harmonies.

It is a wonderful album and one that I know I’ll return to again and again over the coming years. What is pretty unique and special about the record is that it manages to be one of the best albums of 2016, and also sound like one of the best albums of 1968.

10/10

By Dorian Rogers

*The tracks that didn’t make the album include one by Zach Rogue, a second Partridge song, a song written by Peter Tork’s brother and a different version of ‘Me and Magdalena’. These tracks are available variously on the digital release or through a few country specific releases. It would have been good for Rhino to have put a second disc of these tracks for the people who purchased the CD or vinyl on first release.