Guest top 10s: We Are The Physics

by Stephen McLeod Post to Twitter

Photo: Stephen McLeod

Top 10 Bands of 2009 by Michael M of that band WE ARE THE PHYSICS

1 The Victorian English Gentlemens Club

Blasted out an amazing second album ‘Love On An Oil Rig’ this year, and we got to see them several times on their UK tour. It was a humiliating lesson in how rubbish every other band is. Their single ‘Parrot’ was one of the best singles of 2009, without a doubt. So, shut it.

2 Art Brut

‘Art Brut VS Satan’ came out this year and I claim that it’s their best album so far. Their live shows have become even better too, especially now that they’ve openly stolen parts of it from us. Also note – if you don’t like Ghostbusters 2, Eddie Argos will kill you.

3 Divorce

Photo: Iain Canning

About time somebody brought moshpits back to gigs. Like riot grrl with an extra punch in the face. Released a brilliant record full of teeth this year, and toured with another great band ‘Ultimate Thrush’. They even get reviewed in ‘metal’ sections of magazines, which makes them well tough. 2010 will smell like their gloves.

Divorce Myspace

4 Zombina And The Skeletones

ZATS have been going for so long that if they’d had a child when they started, that child would now be able to father another child. And yet they’re still amazing – saw them destroy the 13th Note in Glasgow this year with b-movie punk rock madness. One of my favourite bands of all time.

Zombina and the Skeletones Myspace

5 John & Edward Grimes

He is John. He is Edward. Together they are John & Edward. I’ve never bought an X Factor record in my life (apart from Steve Brookstein’s album, which I keep in my coat pocket to deflect bullets), but I would most likely buy theirs. This is in no way an ironic, mocking choice and I’m not trying to justify or intellectualise it, but there’s something deeply endearing about Jedward. Probably because they have no self-awareness so what they do comes across as genuine sincerity – they wholeheartedly want to be good pop stars and I’ve always felt absolute sincerity is something that’s sadly missing from a lot of modern music. Self-belief is often replaced by that studenty sneering middle-class sarcasm and fear of failure. I’m not a fan of them because they’re blatantly bad, I’m not making fun of them. At first I thought I was just rooting for the underdog, but now I think having them win would put a squinty arrow into the smug X Factor heart as a whole in thinking it’s a legitimate way to find pop talent. I think Jedward could unknowingly disassemble the record industry from the inside out like The Clash didn’t.

6 Findo Gask

Photo: Lyndsey Watson

Jaw-droppingly talented synth-based band whose live set is so intricate and complicated that it makes every other band seem lazy. No idea where half the loops and bleeps are coming from, but they’re definitely live. As if that wasn’t enough, they bring in some of the best harmonies you’ll hear and singer Gerard’s voice is like God doing electro-hymns. Belter!

Findo Gask Myspace

7 Swound

I am always a fan of any band who exist in their own world outside any sort of trend or fashion and Swound seem to have successfully constructed their own. They’re made up of four brothers from the Isle Of Man and sound like good old 00s pop-punk when it was fun and not introspective wank. What’s great about them is the unavoidable British humour in the whole affair and they’ve somehow managed to infiltrate the rock press without having any fans which deserves applause on millions of levels. Plus they will destroy you at Left 4 Dead on the Xbox.

Swound Myspace

8 Sultans Of Ping FC

We were lucky enough to play two gigs with Sultans who’ve been doing the comeback rounds this year, and having not been of age to catch them in the 90s, it was a beezer of a treat to see them beast out some brilliant songs which make a lot of today’s bands seem positively dull in comparison. ‘Where’s Me Jumper?’ destroyed every venue they played in.

Sultans of Ping FC Myspace

9 Ex Wives

They wrote a new song this year. One time I saw the singer, Alistair (wearing a dress at the time) take a tampon stuck to his arse with a Mars Bar and throw it on a man in London who then, instead of trying to kill him, congratulated him on their set. [Ed. Watch out for the Ex Wives interview/review early January]

Ex Wives Myspace

10 Cholesterols

Their songs range from a second long to several seconds long, and join together like an aural jigsaw to make one massive song. I’m not a part of this band, so there’s no biased opinion here. Honest.

Cholesterols Myspace