Album of the Year 2011

The 405 Album Of The Year Staff Winner 2011

You Are All I See

Active Child

From his early years as a choirboy, to the more recent musical landscapes produced in his bedroom with the aid of a laptop, Pat Grossi of Active Child has had a long journey to get to the point of his You Are All I See debut.

Pat’s music is not typical of a guy sat in his bedroom in the dark; heavenly ethereal vocals, beautiful harp lines and minimal R&B rhythms help to create a delicate intimacy between himself and the listener; evoking playful imagery and creating atmospheres that help transport you to other worlds.

You Are All I See, whilst exploring similar avenues to his well-received 2010 EP Curtis Lane, has gone that step further in terms of creativity. Comparisons between Pat and the likes of James Blake and How To Dress Well (Tom Krell features on 'Playing House') are freely made, but both of those critically acclaimed artists fail to give us that goose bump feeling (see our healthy 9.5/10 review).

How he'll follow this album is anyone’s guess, but from start to finish, Grossi has provided the world with something truly special, and that's something he should be very proud of.

If you've yet to hear the album a good starting point is the video below of 'Playing House'.

Whilst the mainstream press continues to allow James Blake all the limelight, everyone here at The 405 feels that it's about time someone else was allowed a go.

"While there are a lot of artists writing songs with similar motifs, Grossi has managed to record this album in a way that remains truly fresh and innovative." Colin Joyce
The 405

The 405 Album Of The Year Readers Choice 2011

Sans Souci

Brontide

Despite Brontide’s formation in 2008, this year finally saw the release of their long-awaited debut album. While Sans Souci may have been a long time coming, its intense, continuous flow of instrumental punches are both arresting and astounding, and completely capture the chaotic cacophony of the live shows that have ensured immense interest around the band since their inception. Simply put, Sans Souci was completely worth the wait.

Meanwhile, the continuous, cyclical nature of the album sees the band demonstrate their ability to create a well-crafted, ongoing passage of music; yet for all the focus on the record as a coherent piece, it speaks volumes that each and every track on the album can be enjoyed as individual entities.

Despite its release in May, Sans Souci has remained omnipresent throughout the year, presenting itself as one whole seamless glissando of heaviness, whilst crucially retaining its accessibility.

As the year’s progressed, so has the band’s popularity, and consequently Brontide’s non-stop showcase of Sans Souci – densely packed with thundering riffs, intense drum patterns and textured guitar work – has continued to whip up their listeners into a staggering maelstrom of immediacy until the very end.

"We are all still so proud of this album. We've been a band for about 3 years now but found it very hard to find the time to really sit down, get X amount of songs written for a record and actually record them." Brontide

Prize Winner

Matt Fletcher

Congratulations to Matt Fletcher who won our 'Album Of The Year' competition. Matt walked away with a Pro Soundcloud account courtesy of Soundcloud, a load of CDs courtesy of Republic Of Music, and some 405 goodies.