Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull M83 - Saturdays = Youth Meshuggah - Obzen The Earth record is fucking perfect. What in skeletal form seems like the template for a doom record, yet sounds so bright, rich, beautiful that it becomes something far more. Not a moment wasted, each song taking its time to build but with perfectly paced restraint, never lethargy. I'd usually grimace at a title like that but it's somehow the perfect imagery for what this is sonically; the guitars, the organ keys, the little flourishes and solos all being the sweetness in the hollow. The M83 material that I like, I really like, and the M83 material that I don't like, I really don't like. Saturdays=Youth is very much in the former. Hardly the first act to dip into the feeling of nostalgia but he executes it amazingly well here; really warm, obviously 80s influenced, with beautiful melodies (and a lovely female vocal), leaning more into dream pop than the electronic shoegaze of the early couple of records. All builds beautifully into the final track Midnight Souls Still Remain, which is essentially just a ten minute ambient track made up of two chords but is the most serene piece of music you'll ever hear. Meshuggah are in with a fair shout of being the most influential heavy band of the last twenty years. In my mind Obzen is the best encapsulation of them, astonishing in its heaviness, jackhammer low end, clarity of production, groove, with just the best Meshuggah songs. Even the extreme metal bands I've listened to have never hit me with anything that punches me in the face quite like Bleed. Honourable mentions: The Future Sound Of London - Environments II Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness Little - Little Roots Manuva - Slime & Reason MRR-ADM - Untitled (EP) David Cronenberg's Wife - Bluebeard's Rooms Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Separation Really difficult to narrow it down to three this year - I think there are probably six or seven albums that would have topped either of my '06 and '07 lists, and on another week my top three might be a little different. The Future Sound Of London album is awesome, the most wonderful mix of ambient electronics, strings and beats, doing what the best of that music should do which is to create what feels like a tangible place. There's such a range of records I love here too, from the lo-fi masterpiece of Deathconsciousness to the really pretty French pop of the self-titled Little. The MRR-ADM EP is all spacey and fuzzy synths, with huge sounding drums. I really like the Roots Manuva record (and try finding a better album opener from 2008), and LITSOS is both the best Underoath album and one of the most well mixed heavy records of the last twenty years (props to David Bendeth, who hasn't been involved in many albums I like). I need to spend more time with the Portishead and Zach Hill albums at some point. Also really interested to check out the Seinfeld-themed mixtape by Wale.
This whole split-year release thing is starting to get to me lmao. I'm keeping this as a 2009 album, dammit.
1. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger 2. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs 3. Taylor Swift - Fearless 4. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends 5. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul 6. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III 7. Katy Perry - One of the Boys 8. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak 9. She & Him - Volume One 10. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night 11. Lady Gaga - The Fame 12. Fall Out Boy - Folie A Deux 13. The Academy Is - Fast Times at Barrington High 14. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords 15. Weezer - Red Album
Yeah was released in Europe a whole year ahead of the US release which is an odd strategy for such an American sounding band but maybe due to the UK success of The Strokes and Kings Of Leon they thought it made sense.
1. Gaslight anthem - 59 sound 2. Every Avenue - Sh...Just Go With it 3. Jacks Mannequin - Glass Passenger 4. Maine - Cant Stop Wont Stop 5. Death Cab - Narrow Stairs
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 2. Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night 3. Foals - Antidotes ------------------------------ 4. Thrice - The Alchemy Index, Vol. 3 & 4: Air & Earth 5. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends 6. Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors 7. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend 8. Nada Surf - Lucky 9. Panic! At The Disco - Pretty. Odd. 10. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound 11. Fools & Horses - I Am The Ghost 12. Beck - Modern Guilt 13. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul 14. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges 15. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours 16. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak 17. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into 18. Copeland - You Are My Sunshine 19. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip 20. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs 21. What Made Milwaukee Famous - What Doesn't Kill Us 22. TV On The Radio - Dear Science 23. R.E.M. - Accelerate 24. The Black Keys - Attack & Release 25. Anberlin - New Surrender 26. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns 27. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive 28. +/- (Plus/Minus) - Xs On Your Eyes 29. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III 30. Taylor Swift - Fearless Honorable Mention: The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony The All-American Rejects - When The World Comes Down Bloc Party - Intimacy The Bronx - The Bronx III Cold War Kids - Loyalty To Loyalty The Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols Darker My Love - 2 Deerhunter - Microcastle Deerhunter - Weird Era Cont Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine Dr. Dog - Fate Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark Eagles Of Death Metal - Heart On Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream The Faint - Fasciinatiion Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux Feeder - Silent Cry Finch - Finch (EP) Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP (I know EPs don't count, otherwise near top of the list) Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords Flogging Molly - Float Foxboro Hottubs - Stop Drop And Roll Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight Girl Talk - Feed The Animals The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead Hot Chip - Made In The Dark Innerpartysystem - Innerpartysystem Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static Jason Mraz - We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Jon Foreman - Fall/Spring/Summer/Winter (EPs) Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads Keane - Perfect Symmetry The Killers - Day & Age The Kooks - Konk Lovedrug - The Sucker Punch Show Ludo - You're Awful, I Love You M83 - Saturdays = Youth The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath Minus The Bear - Acoustics Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV No Age - Nouns The Offspring - Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace Old 97's - Blame It On Gravity Passion Pit - Chunk Of Change (EP) Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead Portishead - Third The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line Ray LaMontagne - Gossip In The Grain The Republic Tigers - Keep Color Rise Against - Appeal To Reason The Roots - Rising Down The Rosebuds - Life Like Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology Shinedown - The Sound Of Madness Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone Story Of The Year - The Black Swan The Sword - Gods Of The Earth Third Eye Blind - Red Star (EP) Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Separation United Nations - United Nations The Walkmen - You & Me The War On Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues Weezer - Weezer (Red Album) Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer Zac Brown Band - The Foundation Checking out in Full First Time (Artist's 08 album): The Academy Is... Augustana Bayside The Black Angels Bring Me The Horizon Butch Walker Ceremony Colour Revolt Conor Oberst Counting Crows Dear and the Headlights Disturbed Earth Elbow Emarosa Forgive Durden Foxy Shazam Frank Turner Fucked Up Gavin DeGraw Gojira Have Heart Hit The Lights Jack's Mannequin La Dispute The Last Shadow Puppets Los Campesinos! Lydia The Maine Margot & The Nuclear So And So's Mason Jennings Metallica Movements The Parlor Mob Protest The Hero The Reign Of Kindo Tigers Jaw Titus Andronicus The Used Valencia WHY? Wye Oak
That Hot Chip album was a contender for but I still enjoy the Cut Copy and Friendly Fires releases more in terms of dance-y indie.
I think all 3 bands made better overall albums with their immediate follow-ups to these albums. Friendly Fires the standout of the bunch. Pretty sure I have Pala as a Top 10 album in 2011.
1. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight 2. Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song 3. The Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Grave The Midnight Organ Fight is an absolutely astonishing achievement, with Scott pouring his heart and soul into these songs, and for my mind the greatest "break up" album ever made, and just hands down one of THE greatest records ever, AND it's not even Frightened Rabbit's best record! He's deeply missed. I'm a bit hit and miss with Frank Turner's other records, but this is phenomenal, it's everything that's exciting and excellent about his music, a brilliantly English snapshot of life, and something he's not managed to get close to since. Both Shallow Grave and 2010's The Wild Hunt are essentially the same album from The Tallest Man On Earth, so I find it hard splitting them. Really crystal clear folk music, and he's a wonderful lyricist. I can't think of a better writer in a second language - though I don't want that to sound like a backhanded compliment! Honourable mentions; Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust: No idea how to say this (I think of it as "Med Sud" in my head, which it 100% is not), but this is a gloriously poppy Sigur Ros record, alongside Takk as easily their most accessible. An Horse - Rearrange Beds: A really great guitar and drum duo from Australia, making earnest and fun poppy indie rock tracks. I Was a Cub Scout - I Want You To Know That There is Always Hope: A deeply underrated and basically totally forgotten English band, this is their only release, and it's a lovely bit of electro-indie rock, a bit like The Postal Service perhaps. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing: I maybe listen to their second record more, but this is a pulsating and aggressive electronic album, that really pushes boundaries. Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life: By far the most interesting punk / post-hardcore band in recent years. Maybeshewill - Not for Want of Trying: A great electronic and cinematic sounding post-rock album, clearly influenced by the likes of 65Daysofstatic and the like. Good use of movie / media samples too. This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You: Pretty much the same as the above, without the samples. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound: A fantastic bit of heartfelt, heartland rock with a little bit of a punk edge. Al Green - Lay it Down: A fantastic late career record from the great Al Green, his final album, produced by Questlove. He's still got it! Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy: I can't remember where I heard about this band, but one of the best pop-punk records I've heard. Capsule - More! More! More!: Silly and very fun Japanese dance-pop. More of them to come in the coming years, but their records always make me smile and give me a bit of energy.
I really need to spend more time with Frightened Rabbit. Recall liking the album, but only ever really heard it in the company of other friends that were more into them, hence feeling not properly equipped to rank it.
Definitely will put it on this afternoon then. Or is it more of an evening time record? Scrolling through the tracklist, I very much recall "Keep Yourself Warm". I'm thinking this evening maybe with a glass of wine or a cocktail to sit and enjoy it.
im not much of a "xyz album for ____ (time of day/season)" person lol I think it's safe to say it's great whenever you listen
1. Fall Out Boy - Folie à deux 2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 3. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter than Creation's Dark Near-misses/albums that could make the top 3 w more listens: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster...
I basically can't listen to "Floating in the Forth" anymore - just too on the nose and raw, considering everything that happened. Can't remember the last time I've listened to that song - maybe The Twilight Sad cover of it from the compilation a few years ago.
Another stacked year, maybe the closest I’ll ever come in a year to wanting to have a tie at number 1. Don’t think I’m allowed to do that, unfortunately.
Not ready to make a list yet but I am ready to say the red album and narrow stairs are at least 2/3 bad each
and now it will be 5 years until another FOB album.... going to get a head start on my 2009 and 2010 lists
Foil A Duck was so close to my Top 30, honestly. That revisit the other week really improved its standing in my eyes and ears.