It's been a hectic year. Covid-19 is still with us and only in autumn did we see a real return of live music - but even now bands are being forced to cancel shows and postpone tours as Omicron bears down on the country. In our personal life, a newborn baby put the stoppers on the ability to ingest as music new music as we would have desired - well, in a way that means we could find the time to put pen to paper and provide our non-vital views on the artists' work.
As a result, just as we got going with this site it came to a grinding halt. 7lbs of flesh and bone being enough to slow what was surely going to be the new monolith of the musical writing industry.
However, as summer saw sleepless nights and days spent resembling the walking dead, in the autumn your writer found himself having to work away from home for an period. Despite a hectic work schedule, it did offer the opportunity to take in some gigs, with Courting, Pom Poko, LIINES, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Stephen Fretwell, Sports Team and Mush all providing the sorely missed live musical experience.
And 2021 - what a year for music it was. This isn't a review of the year but seeing as we've been too preoccupied to provide our thoughts, it would be amiss to not close this empty chapter of AIS's history without mentioning our album of the year, Coral Island by The Coral. What majestic piece of art this is. It deserves every accolade it has received. Also last year, Mogwai's As The Love Continues, Crawler by Idles, How Beautiful Life Can Be by The Lathums, Nick Caves and Warren Ellis' Carnage, Courtney Barnett's Things Take Time, Take Time, Dry Cleaning's New Long Leg, Drunk Tank Pink by Shame, For The First Time by Black Country, New Road and Damon Albarn's The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows all deserve mention.
But let's move into 2022. Yard Act's debut album has landed, as has new LPs by Elbow and Black Country, New Road. Here in AIS Towers we are eagerly awaiting Wet Leg's eponymous debut, their singles to date constantly playing, along with new singles by Fontaines D.C., Andy Bell, recently renamed Sea Power and Frank Turner. 2022 has a lot of good stuff in tour, along with gigs already lined up, with The Music, Hundred Reasons and Sleeper - this year it seems we'll be delving back into our youth.
We'll try and keep these pages updated as much as possible - when life doesn't get in the way. Until then, from one music fan to (we assume) many others, have a cracking 2022. It's going to be a good one!