For our new issue, Clash is running a limited promotional offer with WHSmith in the UK to give away an incredible fourteen track CD compiling the bands and artists that defined our listening experience this year.
You won’t find this CD anywhere else – if you want to hear the tracks below, the only place you’ll find Clash with a covermount CD is at your local WH Smith, or if you’re a subscriber to Clash. Already bought the issue and want a CD? You can still claim a copy, only while stocks last.
Simply email [email protected] with your name and address.
1. Arcade Fire ‘Suburban War’
Gentle, climatic, and wildly beautiful, ‘The Suburbs’ may be Arcade Fire’s third album, but it’s our Number One.
2. Band Of Horses ‘Compliments’
This robust Americana stomp boasts serious versatility, extolling real pastoral vibes and widescreen ambition.
3. Foals ‘Two Trees’
This is probably as close to a ballad as you’ll ever get with Foals. And with a newfound sense of fluidity, they expose their sensitive side.
4. The Gaslight Anthem ‘American Slang’
Classic rock structures in place, The Gaslight Anthem are poster boys for that all-American dream.
5. Field Music ‘Them That Do Nothing’
Cult North-Eastern familial troupe Field Music drench post-rock guitars in The Beach Boys’ sunny optimism.
6. Eskmo ‘Cloudlight’
The jaws of the commercial abyss may beckon, but dubstep’s coolest crusader is here to save the day with his trip-hop beats.
7. Ólöf Arnalds ‘Innundir Skinni’
Olof’s infantile call is not lost in translation here, but rather heralded for its awe-inspiring, ethereal quality.
8. Lissie ‘In Sleep’ (Live)
One of the undisputed success stories of the year, Lissie’s powerful voice speaks volumes in this live recording.
9. Mavis Staples ‘Wrote A Song For Everyone’
Seventy years in the making, and legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples is still a force to be reckoned with.
10. Teebs ‘Why Like This?’
Graduating from the FlyLo/Brainfeeder school of head melting, experimental electronica, this track shows Teebs in his element.
11. EL-P ‘Whores: The Movie’
Super producer and rapper Jaime Meline is one of the leading lights in alternative hip-hop. But there’s not a whore in sight.
12. Gonjasufi ‘Candylane (Bibio Remix)’
The reclusive, Mojave Desert-dwelling wizard who came from nowhere and whipped up quite the frenzy.
13. Sufjan Stevens ‘I Walked’
This airy, electronic number will make you rethink everything you had previously thought about the man with the unpronounceable name.
14. LCD Soundsystem ‘I Can Change (London Session)’
Going out with a suitably LCD-sized bang, James Murphy’s legacy will live on in the metallic hearts and minds of a generation.
WHSmith has High Street stores and Travel outlets at airports, train stations, hospitals and motorway service areas. To find your nearest WHSmith store, use the store locator www.whsmith.co.uk
