Hello 2006, Goodbye 2005
Well, I realize that - at best - probably about one person reads this thing, but I'm pretty anal when it comes to both list-making and in terms of valuing the construction of albums as an art form, so I thought I'd do a list of my Top 10 albums of 2005. (For the record, I usually do one and last year was the first time I didn't.) Now this is not an exhaustive list by any means especially given my tendency to pore through back catalogues rather than scour for good new music and - this year - the personal problems I've had which have led to me listening to relatively little music. To name a few, I especially felt I really should have given the last year's offerings from Markus Guentner, The Wolf Parade, Silver Jews, Broken Social Scene, Adult., Xiu Xiu and Broadcast at least a full listen each (and I will do so in due course) but at the end of the day, I'm no critic - these are just the albums I've enjoyed most over the last year.
...and just in case anyone's bonkers enough to actually value my opinion, I'm including a recommended track from each album.
1. British Sea Power - Open Season
I didn't actually think too much to this album when I first heard it, but this is truly the album which solidified my British Sea Power obsession. While their debut was more in the Post-Punk realm of Indie Rock, the follow up doesn't so much lose those touches as make them less prominent in the mix and augment them with more prominent lush keyboards; make no mistake, they steer towards the glossier/poppier side of things here. This is an album of layers - both lyrically and musically - and while in overall quality it doesn't quite match up to their debut, it is a lot more consistent. The 'literate' label British Sea Power have attracted still sticks with them (so - if you're a dumbass like me - a dictionary may be needed,) but the songs are a lot more personal in nature - whether they're talking about and Antarctic Ice mass, Police States, or Wiltshire fields. Throw in a song about death (the absolutely beautiful 'North Hanging Rock') and there's no way I couldn't fall in love with this album:
Witness the demolition of boy in prime condition/Into the dust, we will descend/I hope and pray that this won't end
The only slight gripe I have is that on each of the last two albums they've gone through with relatively short tracks and then finished off with a lengthier foray which errs on Noise-Rock - it just brings up the worry of them entering a holding pattern. Still, if you have an absolutely wonderful album and the only thing you see wrong with it is the principle behind the length of one of the tracks... then you're looking for flaws which really aren't there. Brilliant.
Recommended Track: To Get To Sleep
2. Arab Strap - The Last Romance
Perplexingly the most miserable and most optimistic Arab Strap album to date and also their most accessible. After the misstep which was Monday At The Hug And Pint Arab Strap have redeemed themselves and offered up a relatively polished album, the whole of which whips by almost as easily as 'The Shy Retirer' did - the stretched/strained slowcore tendencies of their previous efforts are definitely tempered here. Like I said, this album is the most miserable thing they've done to date... for the first eight tracks at least, but then just as you're about to completely fall to pieces it rounds up with a couple of extremely sweet songs (even if they're still laced with Aidan's cynicism about the human race.) In short, this is an album that takes you through hell and then delivers you.
Recommended Track: (If there's No) Hope For Us
3. Ladytron - Witching Hour
As the name might suggest, Ladytron have come up with a very dark, menacing album - which also happens to be their best work to date. The vocals are still near-whispered/spoken almost in the airy way expected of a French chanteuse but this spectral sweetness delivers lines such as Destroy everything you touch/Please destroy me this way and If I give you sugar will you give me/Something elusive and temporary. Musically there's nods to the Munich scene and Neu!, and some of the synth work bears a striking similarity to Air's 10 000Hz legend (though I imagine that's due to the two groups sharing common influences.) Noises appear more than before and the tracks grind and whirr from them, but the production provides the perfect compliment to the whispey vocals by allowing enough space for every individual sound to shine through. Even as dark as it is, it still manages to sound definitely like Ladytron and definitely gorgeous.
Recommended Track: Destroy Everything You Touch
4. M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us
First and foremost a a very dense synthesiser album, with elements of Shoegaze thrown in. Gonzalez does grace some of the tracks with vocals but the most evocative aspect is the female narrative, which sounds like a cross between a schizophrenic and a person reading a script and throwing as much emotion as possible into every character's part. While that might sound bad on paper, it works wonderfully and every track acts as a release for the unbridled emotion stirred by these narratives. On a certain level, it seems like Gonzalez is just a step away from experimental Post-Rock akin to the Kranky crew, having divided his tracks between the climatic emotional releases and slowburn intros that would make up those tracks - indeed, it's brimming with so many ideas that there's probably several albums worth of music here. Anyway, if there's even a hint of melancholy in you, this will be cathartic.
Recommended Track: Car Chase Terror
5. Jennifer Gentle - Valende
The track which drew my attention to this album - the fabulous, groovy 'I Do Dream You' - is in fact a complete red herring. For the most part here Jennifer Gentle play airy, relaxed neo-psychedelia usually topped by either whispered vocals or a strained nasal delivery which is sure to grab your attention (and either make you despise Marco Fasolo or love him.) Even the freak-outs on this album manage to remain relaxed and dream-like despite descending into the expected cacophony. It's the more low-key moments that really endear it to me, where it floats by to the delicate interplay of nothing a couple of acoustic guitars. The only real problem is that - as good as the album is - the rest of it can't stand up to 'I Do Dream You' which happens to be the second track, making everything else seem like a little bit of a step down.
Recommended Track: I Do Dream You
6. Chicks On Speed - Press The Spacebar
Those crazy chicks from Munich are back again (collaborating with their pals The NoHeads,) this time having ditched electroclash in favour of a more Indie-Electronic/Experimental approach. But that's not to say this isn't dance music; with demigod Christian Vogel helming the production, things are kept very tight indeed. While CoS might have previously proclaimed that they don't play guitars, The NoHeads do and they form the basis of the album's music, which is full of surprising and interesting movements that I can only compare to early Mothers of Invention work. The usual feminist commentary isn't toned down in the slightest (Cooking is the best/Don't you think so too?! they exclaim on the opening, venomously sarcastic 'The Household Song') but on the whole it's side-stepped in favour of more political statements and social commentary. While this can be almost cringe worthy at first due to their heavy-handed nature (Where are these terrorists anyway/ON WALL STREET?) it actually makes for a very powerful album.
Recommended Track: Class War
7. The Residents - Animal Lover
The Residents return! Their past two albums seem to have marked a slightly new direction in terms of shorter song structures (though with The Residents 'structures' is definitely the key part to emphasize,) being much more sonically appealing and in their themes of mortality. Could it be the impact of 9/11 on them was so great? Could it be that the original residents are dead/otherwise not residing with the band? Who knows? As with all Residents releases, synthesisers occupy most of the space but they're augmented here by a growing number of organic instruments (both processed and unprocessed) and a multitude of vocalists. Make no mistake, it's not an easy listen by any stretch of the imagination (they're definitely not in any danger of losing the term Avant-Garde any time soon) and even the short song structures are deceptive as they tend to form a part of a larger suite. Still, a wonderful treat for anyone who likes to be challenged and has a penchant for music dealing with the human condition.
Recommended Track: Inner Space
8. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Honestly, it is a little hard to say what's so great about The New Pornographers. Is it that they produce wonderful singalong guitar pop that's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face? Is it the deceptively dynamic songs themselves? The quirky one-liners (Two sips from the cup of human kindness and I'm shit-faced)? Honestly I don't know, but I know that I can't stop listening.
Recommended Track: The Bleeding Heart Show
9. The Engineers - The Engineers
Best Dream Pop offering of the year... or is it? Is it shoegaze? Is it space rock? God knows. Guitars swirl and swell, vocals echo and the boys deliver a wonderfully romantic album. The slight drawback is that it has a tendency to become a bit samey towards the end and it does sound very distinctly British Indie, almost to the point of being derivative. Still, a very sweet record that drew me in despite my initial objections to it.
Recommended Track: Let's Just See
10. Sigur Rós - Takk...
See, apparently this is Sigur Rós' return to form - but I don't see it. In fact this is probably my least favourite release of theirs so far, excepting Von. The fact is that in terms of their music Sigur Rós are a bit dull - the appeal of them to me has always been the beautiful soundscapes they construct, which evoke a visceral response. They expand on their instruments and draw in a whole host of new sounds (including on the opening 'Glósóli' what sounds like a cross between a rowing boat and a music box) and they're technically a lot better, but all the really good things I can say about it are intellectual - I don't feel them. That's the problem here, as good as the music is (it's actually better than ( )) it just doesn't sound as pretty as their other work...
...but it is still pretty, and I do still like it.
Recommended Track: Saeglopur
There are others which could have made it in, but didn't. Untilted by Autechre was nice... but when 'nice' is the best you can say about the guys who brought us Tri Repetae++ then you know something's up. I'll admit that I probably listened to The Secret Migration by Mercury Rev probably more than at least half the albums mentioned above, but at the end of the day it's not a very good album; the only reason I listened to it was to feel the exhilaration of 'Vermillion' and just because (however bad it may be) it's still a Mercury Rev album. I also listened to More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley quite a bit, but again I'm not that keen as the main appeal of them to me is listening to Jenny Lewis' lovely vocal and keyboard work - she desperately needs to do a solo album. I mentioned that Art Brut's debut was hilarious, but sadly it's just far too accessible and suffers from Strokes Syndrome (so named by moi as Is This It was the first album I noticed it in) - it's amazing for about four listens, then it bores the hell out of you. The Campfire Headphase really should have made it on (especially due to the 'OMG BoC now do guitars!' wow factor) but I left it off due to not really having listened to it that much. And finally Anniemal by Annie was a wonderful bit of bubblegum dance-pop (quite literally, given the opening track) which didn't quite make it either.
Next year it looks like I'll probably cream my pants - new releases from Radiohead (be prepared to meet Radiohead-frenzied James,) Belle & Sebastian (whose new album actually kinda sucks,) Modest Mouse, Massive attack (talk of a 'Gothic Soul' album and collaborations with Liz Fraser) and Morrissey will hopefully drive me crazy. So yes, I am 'tense with anticipation' as the Krauts would say.
Also - and this isn't any New Year's resolution bullshit or anything - I'm drying up in this year, for good. Laugh, but you'll see.
...and just in case anyone's bonkers enough to actually value my opinion, I'm including a recommended track from each album.
1. British Sea Power - Open Season
I didn't actually think too much to this album when I first heard it, but this is truly the album which solidified my British Sea Power obsession. While their debut was more in the Post-Punk realm of Indie Rock, the follow up doesn't so much lose those touches as make them less prominent in the mix and augment them with more prominent lush keyboards; make no mistake, they steer towards the glossier/poppier side of things here. This is an album of layers - both lyrically and musically - and while in overall quality it doesn't quite match up to their debut, it is a lot more consistent. The 'literate' label British Sea Power have attracted still sticks with them (so - if you're a dumbass like me - a dictionary may be needed,) but the songs are a lot more personal in nature - whether they're talking about and Antarctic Ice mass, Police States, or Wiltshire fields. Throw in a song about death (the absolutely beautiful 'North Hanging Rock') and there's no way I couldn't fall in love with this album:
Witness the demolition of boy in prime condition/Into the dust, we will descend/I hope and pray that this won't end
The only slight gripe I have is that on each of the last two albums they've gone through with relatively short tracks and then finished off with a lengthier foray which errs on Noise-Rock - it just brings up the worry of them entering a holding pattern. Still, if you have an absolutely wonderful album and the only thing you see wrong with it is the principle behind the length of one of the tracks... then you're looking for flaws which really aren't there. Brilliant.
Recommended Track: To Get To Sleep
2. Arab Strap - The Last Romance
Perplexingly the most miserable and most optimistic Arab Strap album to date and also their most accessible. After the misstep which was Monday At The Hug And Pint Arab Strap have redeemed themselves and offered up a relatively polished album, the whole of which whips by almost as easily as 'The Shy Retirer' did - the stretched/strained slowcore tendencies of their previous efforts are definitely tempered here. Like I said, this album is the most miserable thing they've done to date... for the first eight tracks at least, but then just as you're about to completely fall to pieces it rounds up with a couple of extremely sweet songs (even if they're still laced with Aidan's cynicism about the human race.) In short, this is an album that takes you through hell and then delivers you.
Recommended Track: (If there's No) Hope For Us
3. Ladytron - Witching Hour
As the name might suggest, Ladytron have come up with a very dark, menacing album - which also happens to be their best work to date. The vocals are still near-whispered/spoken almost in the airy way expected of a French chanteuse but this spectral sweetness delivers lines such as Destroy everything you touch/Please destroy me this way and If I give you sugar will you give me/Something elusive and temporary. Musically there's nods to the Munich scene and Neu!, and some of the synth work bears a striking similarity to Air's 10 000Hz legend (though I imagine that's due to the two groups sharing common influences.) Noises appear more than before and the tracks grind and whirr from them, but the production provides the perfect compliment to the whispey vocals by allowing enough space for every individual sound to shine through. Even as dark as it is, it still manages to sound definitely like Ladytron and definitely gorgeous.
Recommended Track: Destroy Everything You Touch
4. M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us
First and foremost a a very dense synthesiser album, with elements of Shoegaze thrown in. Gonzalez does grace some of the tracks with vocals but the most evocative aspect is the female narrative, which sounds like a cross between a schizophrenic and a person reading a script and throwing as much emotion as possible into every character's part. While that might sound bad on paper, it works wonderfully and every track acts as a release for the unbridled emotion stirred by these narratives. On a certain level, it seems like Gonzalez is just a step away from experimental Post-Rock akin to the Kranky crew, having divided his tracks between the climatic emotional releases and slowburn intros that would make up those tracks - indeed, it's brimming with so many ideas that there's probably several albums worth of music here. Anyway, if there's even a hint of melancholy in you, this will be cathartic.
Recommended Track: Car Chase Terror
5. Jennifer Gentle - Valende
The track which drew my attention to this album - the fabulous, groovy 'I Do Dream You' - is in fact a complete red herring. For the most part here Jennifer Gentle play airy, relaxed neo-psychedelia usually topped by either whispered vocals or a strained nasal delivery which is sure to grab your attention (and either make you despise Marco Fasolo or love him.) Even the freak-outs on this album manage to remain relaxed and dream-like despite descending into the expected cacophony. It's the more low-key moments that really endear it to me, where it floats by to the delicate interplay of nothing a couple of acoustic guitars. The only real problem is that - as good as the album is - the rest of it can't stand up to 'I Do Dream You' which happens to be the second track, making everything else seem like a little bit of a step down.
Recommended Track: I Do Dream You
6. Chicks On Speed - Press The Spacebar
Those crazy chicks from Munich are back again (collaborating with their pals The NoHeads,) this time having ditched electroclash in favour of a more Indie-Electronic/Experimental approach. But that's not to say this isn't dance music; with demigod Christian Vogel helming the production, things are kept very tight indeed. While CoS might have previously proclaimed that they don't play guitars, The NoHeads do and they form the basis of the album's music, which is full of surprising and interesting movements that I can only compare to early Mothers of Invention work. The usual feminist commentary isn't toned down in the slightest (Cooking is the best/Don't you think so too?! they exclaim on the opening, venomously sarcastic 'The Household Song') but on the whole it's side-stepped in favour of more political statements and social commentary. While this can be almost cringe worthy at first due to their heavy-handed nature (Where are these terrorists anyway/ON WALL STREET?) it actually makes for a very powerful album.
Recommended Track: Class War
7. The Residents - Animal Lover
The Residents return! Their past two albums seem to have marked a slightly new direction in terms of shorter song structures (though with The Residents 'structures' is definitely the key part to emphasize,) being much more sonically appealing and in their themes of mortality. Could it be the impact of 9/11 on them was so great? Could it be that the original residents are dead/otherwise not residing with the band? Who knows? As with all Residents releases, synthesisers occupy most of the space but they're augmented here by a growing number of organic instruments (both processed and unprocessed) and a multitude of vocalists. Make no mistake, it's not an easy listen by any stretch of the imagination (they're definitely not in any danger of losing the term Avant-Garde any time soon) and even the short song structures are deceptive as they tend to form a part of a larger suite. Still, a wonderful treat for anyone who likes to be challenged and has a penchant for music dealing with the human condition.
Recommended Track: Inner Space
8. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Honestly, it is a little hard to say what's so great about The New Pornographers. Is it that they produce wonderful singalong guitar pop that's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face? Is it the deceptively dynamic songs themselves? The quirky one-liners (Two sips from the cup of human kindness and I'm shit-faced)? Honestly I don't know, but I know that I can't stop listening.
Recommended Track: The Bleeding Heart Show
9. The Engineers - The Engineers
Best Dream Pop offering of the year... or is it? Is it shoegaze? Is it space rock? God knows. Guitars swirl and swell, vocals echo and the boys deliver a wonderfully romantic album. The slight drawback is that it has a tendency to become a bit samey towards the end and it does sound very distinctly British Indie, almost to the point of being derivative. Still, a very sweet record that drew me in despite my initial objections to it.
Recommended Track: Let's Just See
10. Sigur Rós - Takk...
See, apparently this is Sigur Rós' return to form - but I don't see it. In fact this is probably my least favourite release of theirs so far, excepting Von. The fact is that in terms of their music Sigur Rós are a bit dull - the appeal of them to me has always been the beautiful soundscapes they construct, which evoke a visceral response. They expand on their instruments and draw in a whole host of new sounds (including on the opening 'Glósóli' what sounds like a cross between a rowing boat and a music box) and they're technically a lot better, but all the really good things I can say about it are intellectual - I don't feel them. That's the problem here, as good as the music is (it's actually better than ( )) it just doesn't sound as pretty as their other work...
...but it is still pretty, and I do still like it.
Recommended Track: Saeglopur
There are others which could have made it in, but didn't. Untilted by Autechre was nice... but when 'nice' is the best you can say about the guys who brought us Tri Repetae++ then you know something's up. I'll admit that I probably listened to The Secret Migration by Mercury Rev probably more than at least half the albums mentioned above, but at the end of the day it's not a very good album; the only reason I listened to it was to feel the exhilaration of 'Vermillion' and just because (however bad it may be) it's still a Mercury Rev album. I also listened to More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley quite a bit, but again I'm not that keen as the main appeal of them to me is listening to Jenny Lewis' lovely vocal and keyboard work - she desperately needs to do a solo album. I mentioned that Art Brut's debut was hilarious, but sadly it's just far too accessible and suffers from Strokes Syndrome (so named by moi as Is This It was the first album I noticed it in) - it's amazing for about four listens, then it bores the hell out of you. The Campfire Headphase really should have made it on (especially due to the 'OMG BoC now do guitars!' wow factor) but I left it off due to not really having listened to it that much. And finally Anniemal by Annie was a wonderful bit of bubblegum dance-pop (quite literally, given the opening track) which didn't quite make it either.
Next year it looks like I'll probably cream my pants - new releases from Radiohead (be prepared to meet Radiohead-frenzied James,) Belle & Sebastian (whose new album actually kinda sucks,) Modest Mouse, Massive attack (talk of a 'Gothic Soul' album and collaborations with Liz Fraser) and Morrissey will hopefully drive me crazy. So yes, I am 'tense with anticipation' as the Krauts would say.
Also - and this isn't any New Year's resolution bullshit or anything - I'm drying up in this year, for good. Laugh, but you'll see.