TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE PAST DECADE

I’ve been reading everyone else’s top ten albums of the year and stumbled across Paste magazines top 100 albums of the decade. It got me thinking - what were the top ten albums of the last decade for me?

I thought it would be hard. So many great albums, how would I fit them all in? But it was actually much easier than I thought. Sure there were some amazing albums released in the last decade, a lot of them not here on my list. But I realised that for me, the top ten albums are the ones that take me back to a moment in my life - as corny as it sounds – the soundtrack to that time in my life.

We all have them, the records you put on and the memories flood back. The images might be of a house you lived in, or someone you loved, or a day you took a drive and listened to the album and had a good cry. I'm a big fan of driving and crying.

As I compiled my list I had a sudden sense of how much had come to pass in my life in the last decade. I felt a good dose of nostalgia as I thought about these albums. I realised how much I LOVED these albums and still do.

My list isn’t about covering all of the genres of music, I’m no expert when it comes to hip hop for example. Nor am I a music editor who needs to assert how musically brilliant or edgy a release was in order to uphold their reputation. I don’t even listen to a whole heap of music, there would be hundreds of albums that I might have liked better than the ones below, that I’ve simply never heard.

For whatever reason these are the records that found me and owned me. My list.

I encourage you to take the time to do the same. It feels bloody marvellous.

1.Time (the Revelator) – Gillian Welch (2001)

2. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case (2006)

3. Yankee Foxtrot Hotel – Wilco (2002)

4. Seachange – Beck (2002)

5. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea – PJ Harvey (2000)

6. Sunset Studies – Augie March (2000)

7. The Covers Record/ You are Free – Cat Power (2000/2003)

8. Abattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2004)

9. Essence - Lucinda Williams (2000)

10. Wires – Art of Fighting (2001) & Future Suture - Ned Collette (2007)

MISGNOMER

The flight to Perth is like going to New Zealand or Asia. You get a good old fashioned proper meal with wine and beer if you so desire - none of this snack pack rubbish with more packaging than actual food. Then a B grade movie and an icecream. Before you know it - four hours have passed and you are safe and sound in Perth.

Some facts: Perth like Melbourne is flat. The Short Macc cafe in Fremantle has the BEST fruit and muesli EVER. Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke are an excellent band. Bunbury hasn't changed since we last visited in 2006.

In fact the SAME football team were staying at the Prince of Wales this time around but instead of bursting into our bedroom in the middle of the night (like last time) they chose Alex, Matt & Andrew's (Black Black Smoke) room instead! The boys awoke to find a young nubile footy player standing naked at the end of their beds at 3am... A different take on the virginal offering.

On our drive back from Bunbury to Fremantle we took a little detour to the Ferguson Valley. It was reminiscent of some of the lusher parts of NZ or Tassie. We went with the sole purpose of visiting Gnomesville and weren't disappointed,. Thousands of gnomes were planted there from all over the world, fulfilling their destinies in purpose built houses and living the dream. Geoff considered taking one of the gnomes but I reminded him that such an act would bring him seven years of badness.

Our show at Mojo's in Fremantle was a good one. Despite being our first ever headline show in W.A a nice big crowd turned up and filled the room. It was an interesting mix of people of all different ages and backgrounds - I like this, it means you aren't a fashion band.

We'll be heading back to W.A next year for the Nannup festival and will definitely play another show of our own in Perth.

Next stop Adelaide!

JC/ESEA
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Big Fat National Tour.

Well our second album Hidden Hands has been officially launched!

We had plenty of pre-orders online, a sold out launch in Melbourne and a packed house in Sydney - thank you for your support!

We are now excited to announce our biggest tour yet - with our first ever headline shows in Tassie and WA.

Check the shows link for dates, you can book all of your tickets online at:

http://jencloher.oztix.com.au/?Event=11098

Look forward to playing for you soon.
JC/ESEA
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PRE ORDER Limited 50 copies of our new album.

It's a couple of weeks until our new album is out, but we are offering 50 signed, very limited edition copies of our new album HIDDEN HANDS.

The first 50 copies will also include an exclusive previously unreleased download PLUS the chance to win one of three JC/ESEA show bags, which include:

- Double pass to our national tour in September (nearest town to you).

- Limited Edition Tour EP.

- JC/ESEA Tee in your size.

To grab a copy visit our friends at Music Plug http://www.musicplug.com.au

They are reliable, fast and ship to anywhere in the world.

We look forward to playing for you soon!

Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea
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Tour EP now available.

If you missed out on grabbing a copy of our Limited Edition Tour EP when we were touring with Mia, you can now buy a copy at Music Plug by clicking on the STORE link on this website or copying this link to your browser:

http://www.musicplug.com.au/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=132

There are three tracks all previously unreleased.

1. Eden With My Eve
2. Ode To Warren Lan Franchi
3. Ruby Night

There's only a few copies left - being a limited edition and all!

JC/ESea
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The Latest

The Endless Sea shot side of stage at The Athenaeum in Melbourne. Photo by Kisha Bari.

Hey Folks

Firstly a big thanks to all of you who made it out to one of the Mia Dyson shows. It was for me musically, one of the best tours we have done yet. The Endless Sea were in great form and I felt incredibly privileged to have some of Melbourne's finest musicians and songwriter's performing in my band! Mia's partner Lloyd Barratt delivered impeccable sound night after night and it was brilliant to walk out on stage with the confidence we would sound our best.

Laura Jean, Jen Sholakis and I stood side of stage each night listening to Mia's songs and marvelling at what a truly great talent she is. We reckon she is going to become big in the States!

For those of you Overseas or those of you who were unable to make it to a show, the Tour EP will be made available online (with a link from our Myspace page) from the beginning of May.

Due to a couple of delays we have pushed the release date for our new album Hidden Hands into June. We will have some launch party dates up real soon for you.

If you want to see some photos of the tour make sure to become a friend on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jen-Cloher-and-The-Endless-Sea/9406917757

Thanks again for coming out to support our music, for those of you in Auckland, I will be doing a farewell show and EP Launch at the Wine Cellar before I head back to live in Melbourne town, check out the details at our myspace page http://www.myspace.com/jencloherandtheendlesssea

JC/ESEA x



Mic Hubbard gets some lady wookie love on the road.

Limited Edition Tour EP

Hey Folks,

We are excited to hit the road with Mia Dyson next week! Mia has super talent Liz Stringer playing guitar in her band and we have the incredible Laura Jean joining us once again to play piano in The Endless Sea...

A couple of weeks ago I went to this beautiful house about an hour out of Auckland with my friend Tom Healy (who played guitar on our November tour). The house sits right on a cliffs edge overlooking Piha beach. Piha is a black sand beach right next to Kare Kare where they shot The Piano. The ocean is mighty, that real sense of power and wildness of the open sea...

So we got to work and recorded a three track EP. We liked one of the tracks enough to include on our forthcoming album - the release date is still looking like April. The other two songs are previously unreleased material, songs I have loved but never been able to find a place for.

The EP will only be available after shows on the upcoming tour - we have pressed a limited edition of 200 copies. A little collectors item so to speak.

The artwork featured above is by Eva Collado.

See you soon!
JC/ESEA
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