Sunday, January 01, 2006
Please excuse any spelling and/or grammatical errors. Enjoy! And happy new year!
30. Be-Common Common this is Kanye West, Kanye this is Common. And with that these two Chicago natives teamed up to create one of the best hip-hop releases of the year. Producing 9 of the 11 tracks on the album, West’s soulful, string laden production provides a nice back drop for the spoken word/poetic flow that Common puts on wax. An evocative storyteller, Common revels in the production, documenting life on the corner, [‘The Corner’] and professing his love for his boo on the gorgeously soulful ‘Faithful.’ As stated in the intro, the present for Common is a gift, and he just wants to be, and thanks to his winning delivery, smart lyrics, and soulful production he is allowed to do so effortlessly.
Key Tracks: Go!, Faithful, Be (Intro)
29. Demon Days-Gorillaz A group of well to do musicians disguised as moderately attractive and hip cartoon characters team up with a man who allows himself to be photographed only in a mouse costume and what do you get, this wonderfully dark yet playful patch of songs from that manage to build utilize and build on the musical palette presented on their debut LP. With the now infamous and critically acclaimed Danger Mouse behind the boards, the Gorillaz manage to keep their feet in the game. From the bass heavy swagger of ‘Kids With Guns’ to the stop and go ebb and flow of the infectious hit single ‘Feel Good Inc.’ [one of the best singles of the year in my opinion], Danger, Damon, and co. prove that this act more than just a mere side project novelty.
Key Tracks: Feel Good Inc, Dirty Harry, DARE
28. Stars-Set Yourself on Fire Oh Montreal. Is their anything you can’t do right? For the past 2-3 years this little city that good has become quite the burgeoning musical scene making its presence known via acts such as the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and of course the Stars, a large ensemble fronted by vocalist Torquil Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman, featuring a few members of the Broken Social Scene. Like Broken Social Scene the Stars succeed in effortlessly sliding back and forth between male and female vocals reciting lyrics that are as lush and mature as the instrumentation that supports each track. With bands producing music like this, Montreal will soon be on its way to being placed alongside influential rock cities such as New York City and Seattle.
Key Tracks: What I’m Trying To Say, Celebration Guns, Calendar Girl
27. Extraordinary Machine-Fiona Apple Once upon a time [a year or two ago] in place far, far, away [New York City], some over zealous fans caused a ruckus when they gathered outside the main offices of a well known record company to show support for their damsel in distress Fiona Apple. You see it was believed that said record company was holding back on an album she had completed because it was well, how do you say ‘uncommercial.’ Well as we all know this wasn’t the complete truth, Fiona scrapped the album herself and was sitting on her ass watching stories in her mother’s house when word got out that a few fans had her back. This inspired her to get up, get out and do something, teaming with producer and engineer Mike Elizondo [Dr. Dre, Eminem] to rework this, her Extraordinary Machine. In her six year absence from ‘the game’ we as fans have had to deal with Fiona wannabes, and bad Sherly Crow singles. Thank God the lyrical and piano wonderkid is back poised and ready for action. From the opening swagger of the opener ‘Extraordinary Machine’ [one of two tracks produced by longtime partner in crime Jon Brion] to the hip-hop lite bounce of ‘Tymps[Sick in the Head]’, Fiona proves that six years away doesn’t mean she’s lost it, naw, this girl’s still got bite.
Key Tracks: Extraordinary Machine, O’Sailor, Tymps [The Sick in the Head Song]
26. Anniemal-Annie Last year Pitchforkmedia.com named Annie’s single ‘Heartbeat’ their single of the year, and why wouldn’t they? The song is all sex appeal complete with pulsating rhythms and a vocal track that seems hellbent on mirroring lust on the dance floor. The album had yet to be released in the United States and if anything the naming of Heartbeat at single of the year made the wait for the album by this Norwegian DJ/pop star [Evan Wheeler’s ‘personal Britney Spears’] all the more excruciating. Now here for your consumption, Anniemal is a non-stop excercise in kiss-offs, sex appeal, pulsating rhythms, and dance, dance, dance. ‘Always too late’ snap, crackles, and pops, while the nearly eight minute ‘Come Together’ takes a page from the LCD Soundsystem notebook slowly building second by second til the beat kicks in ferociously complementing Annie’s advances and coos. Sass never sounded so good.
Key Tracks: Heartbeat, Come Together, Me Plus One
25. The Cookbook-Missy Elliot For every critic/fan that has something nice to say about Missy Elliot, there are numerous naysayers who see her as a talentless, funnylooking hack who would be nothing without her boy Timbaland. Well get this, Timbaland produced two of the sixteen tracks on this album. And that Kraftwerkesque/80's jungle bounce single you find yourself shaking your ass to featuring Ciara and Fat Man Scoop [Lose Control] that was produced by Misdemeanor herself. With a little help from friends both old [such as Mary J Blige, who drops a sweet rhyme over a sample of her What’s the 411? On ‘My Struggles’] and new [like Mike Jones whose rhyme on ‘Joy’ had me clamoring for more of his tracks] Missy puts it down yet again in a game dominated by females MC’s with little interesting or nothing at all to say, and anybody who manages to put M.I.A. and Missy Elliot on the same track together gets major points in my book.
Key Tracks: Irresistible Delicious, Lose Control, Meltdown.
24.Guero-Beck Last time we heard from Beck he was a wandering troubadour drowning in his sorrows with his “hands on the wheel” watching the Golden Age begin. Well that was then and this is now and the white boy [what the Spanish epithet Guero translates] is back, teaming once again with the Dust Brothers to produce an album that is less ‘Guess I’m Doing Fine’and more ‘Where It’s At?’ Beck segues effortlessly through the tempo and mood changes on the album as if they were the bustling streets of East Los Angeles that he once called home, [Said streets also make a nice cameo appearance on the track ‘Que Onda Guero’] showing that he is comfortable in b-boy stances [‘Hell Yes’, ‘Que Onda Guero’] Latin tinged numbers [‘Missing’] and sunny guitar pop [‘Girl’]. Keep on walking Beck, we’ll follow you anywhere.
Key Tracks: Go It Alone, Girl, Black Tambourine
23. The Emancipation of Mimi-Mariah Carey Yeah I went there, but apparently so did the rest of the world cause in 2005 Mariah Carey suddenly became a force to be reckoned with again on the charts and on the airwaves. Now, we all know that popularity, exposure, and sales is not what makes the performer, it’s the music and the batch of songs on Mimi marked a return [?] to form for Ms. Carey. Combining the subdued and lush vocal performances and soundscapes of ‘Daydream’ with the r&b and hip-hop lite melodies found on ‘Butterfly’, Mimi found Mariah honing the lightly urban sound of records past without sounding as if she is trying too hard. And the voice? It’s still there. It’s powerful when it needs to be, [‘Circles’ and ‘Mine Again’] Seductive and coy [‘Say Somethin’, ‘One and Only’], and as always, yearning and commanding [‘We Belong Together’, another addition to the list for singles of the year, and ‘Your Girl.’] You’ve done good Mimi. Congratulations on that emancipation.
Key Tracks: We Belong Together, Say Somethin’, Mine Again
22. The First Lady-Faith Evans Faith Evans is quite an interesting performer in the R&B world. Her voice shimmers yet attacks and emotes while at the same time holding back, showcasing how Evans effortlessly hones her craft and the instrument that is her voice. When paired with her emotive, lovelorn lyrics, Evans’ voice helps to craft songs that are just wrought with emotion. In other words, the girl can sang and she keeps it real. Mariah may have had the hits and publicity, but Faith seemed grounded and completely immersed in 13 tracks on this disc. [including the hook she sings on the bonus track ‘Hope’ featuring Twista from the Coach Carter sdtrk.] Don’t believe me? Peep the autobiographical first single ‘Again’, a Motown Soul/Mary J. Blige-esque number that documents an embarrassing moment from her life, or ‘Mesmerized’ a powerfully sung mid-tempo number steeped in percussion, keyboards, and gospel like harmonies, showcasing Evans’ roots in the church, where such a song would not be out of place. Even the addition of a R&B male/female lovesong duet[‘Ever Wonder’ feat. Mario Winans] is thrown into the mix, without dumbing things down or deterring from the emotional core that makes The First Lady both a captivating listen throwback to soul singers of yesteryear from start to finish.
Key Tracks: Again, I Don’t Need It, Mesmerized
21. One Way Ticket To Hell And Back- The Darkness Everything about the Darkness just reeks of parody. From the leotards that lead singer Justin Hawkins favors so much right down to the title of their songs [examples: Knockers, English Country Garden, and Get Your Hands Off My Woman from their debut], but this band is no joke. This time around the sum of the album’s ten parts make for one rollicking and satisfying ride...to hell and back. Teaming up with former Queen producer Roy Thomas Barker, the Darkness toy with melancholy ballads [‘Blind Man’], wonderfully layered vocals placed in the right place at the right time [‘Dinner Lady Arms’], and heavy on the guitar love songs[‘Is It Just Me?’] that wouldn’t be out of place at your local pub next to old Bon Jovi, AC/DC, or Van Halen. These guys take what they do very seriously and so should you.
Key Tracks: Is It Just Me?, One Way Ticket, Dinner Lady Arms
20. 29-Ryan Adams It ain’t easy being a Ryan Adams fan. Catering to no one’s whims but his own, Mr. Adams is the true definition of an artist, constantly writing and producing, putting his thoughts on disc in various incarnations: the alt-country hipster or the lonely wandering star in search of love. This year, as was the case with 2004, found Adams releasing not one, not two, but three discs. The first was Cold Roses, and exploration in Grateful Dead like compositions backed by The Cardinals, and September’s Jacksonville City Nights also backed by The Cardinals. Both albums had their moments, but if anything they made the listener pine for a more focused, less ‘look what I can do’ Ryan Adams. And then it happened, December came and Ryan released this disc, credited only to him, featuring nine songs meant to chronicle that wonderful period we all know as our 20's. Starting things off with ‘29' in which Adams details his move towards stardom, a boy who was a “motherless son of a bitch loaded on ephedrine looking for downers and coke”, who should have “died a hundred thousand times.” It’s a rollicking six minute track that harkens back to the Ryan Adams of Heartbreaker fame. What follows is eight songs in which Adams does what he does best: emote and tell stories which rely heavily on his close attention to detail. It is nothing short of introspective, and at nine songs and nearly 50 minutes of heartfelt emotion, Adams manages to document his 20's like the grandparent who asks his youngins to come close as he reminisces on days long gone.
Key Tracks: The Sadness, Night Birds, Starlite Diner
19. Martha Wainwright-Martha Wainwright Here’s a little gem overlooked by many despite the fact that she shares the same last name as this famous gay piano man named Rufus. With the balls and confidence of an early Liz Phair, and a voice as tortured as her brother’s Martha’s just another “chick with a dick and gift for the gab.” Confidence and gutsy, Wainwright’s digs deep into her soul singing self penned lyrics about growing up in a nuclear household that was far from perfect, [“Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole”] submitting herself to another’s sexual wants and needs [“G.P.T.”], and the fear of growing too close to someone who may see her for what she really is: weak and incapable of loving herself let alone another person. [“TV Show” the lyrical highlight of the album. Sample verse:
“I'm not such a good lover/I'm a better talker/So when you touch me there/I'm scared that you'll see/Not the way that I don't love you/But the way that I don't love myself”...wow...wow.]With a delivery and collection that rivals that of her brother’s catalog, Martha Wainwright proves she is a commanding presence that needs to be heard.
Key Tracks: TV Show, Factory, Far Away
18. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah AND
Apologies to the Queen Mary-Wolf Parade Did any bands have any more positive buzz this year than CYHSY and Wolf Parade? Taking a cue from the Talking Heads songbook, the Brooklyn five piece Clap Your Hands Say Yeah surrounded themselves in underproduced song structures and the scatterbrain vocal delivery of frontman Alec Ounsworth, creating idiosyncratic songs that still managed to leave a charming impression. Meanwhile, Montreal’s Wolf Parade enlisted Modest Mouse frontman Issac Brock to produce a large portion of their album that’s heavy on loud, goth like/androgynous vocal inflections and song structures that bounce and move with an almost chaotic groove. Grab onto the hype machine while supplies last [and possibly believe it?].
Key Tracks [WP]: You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son, I’ll Believe In Anything, Dinner Bells
[Clap Your Hands Say Yeah]: Clap Your Hands!, Gimme Some Salt, Over and Over Again [Lost and Found]
17. Silent Alarm-Bloc Party The Cure. Gang of Four. Human League. Joy Division. You can hear them all here on this debut by the hip and polished lads who go by the name Bloc Party. Though the influences are highly evident, the presence and delivery is all theirs. As noted in various music publications this year, the album is near flawless for the first eight tracks as the band swaggers from the angular guitar/bass/drum attack of tracks such as the openers ‘Like Eating Glass’, ‘Helicopter’, and ‘Positive Tension’, to the more melodic and slow vibe of ‘Blue Light’ and ‘This Modern Love’ with ease. The one two punch of lead singer’s Kele Okereke’s vocal delivery [one part Morissey, one part Robert Smith] and the fine tuned and polished delivery of those who back him [particularly drummer Matt Tong who’s drumming is just out of fucking control] makes for one near perfect post-punk debut.
Key Tracks: Helicopter, Banquet, This Modern Love
16. Sing Along With The Acid House Kings-Acid House Kings What do you get when you mix the lush orchestral bounce of Burt Bacharach with the fun vocals, and delivery of ABBA? You get this, a mature and fun collection of songs steeped in the musical elements that made girl groups, doo wop, and acts like The Carpenters all the rage back in the day. Pure pop perfection is encapsulated throughout the disc wonderfully captured in tracks such as ‘This Heart As A Stone’ complete with sweet harmonies and hand snaps, sung by co-singer Julia Lannerheim, and the meditative groove of the love song ‘Do What You Wanna Do.’ The Swedish pop band also gets its ABBA on with the disco lite ‘Tonight Is Forever.’ The title of the album is a reference to the second half of the album, a track for track karoake disc that allows you to indeed sing along with the Acid House Kings, something you can’t help but do when playing disc one.
Key Tracks: Do What You Wanna Do, This Heart Is A Stone, I Write Summer Songs For No Reason
15. Lullabies To Paralyze-Queens of the Stone Age Track 7. Press Play. Immediately the cowbell gets going and the guitars kick in. Seconds later that masculine couldn’t give a fuck snarl of Josh Homme jumps in, and it is here with the first single ‘Little Sister’ that in 2005 no one was making balls to the wall rock n’ roll music like Queens of The Stone Age. Everything is turned up to the 9's, pulsating and dripping with sweat. Drumsticks click, feedback glistens, and vocals rise to the occasion or get lost in the shuffle [as in ‘Medication’]. This ain’t your indie hipster’s rock n’roll, but it could be your mom’s and pop’s.
Key Tracks: Tangled Up In Plaid, Little Sister, Everybody Knows That You’re Insane
14. Plans-Death Cab For Cutie The men of Death Cab for Cutie are currently enjoying their Modest Mouse like moment in the sun. [Minus the radio friendly/popular hit single.] After years of toiling away in the independent stratosphere, the boys signed to a major label [Atlantic] releasing this melancholy gem. The formula’s the same, achingly beautiful acoustic ballads [‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark’], commanding opening numbers [‘Marching Bands of Manhattan’, and of course the radio friendly, O.C. ready single [‘Soul Meets Body’]. Gibbard’s time spent with the Postal Service is evident on a few tracks such as the guitar-blip pop of ‘Different Names For The Same Thing’, merely complementing DCFC elements that ain’t broke. As was the case with R.E.M. when they signed with Warner Bros., Death Cab For Cutie have stepped into the limelight without losing sight of who they are.
Key Tracks: I Will Follow You Into The Dark, What Sarah Said, Soul Meets Body
13. You Could Have It So Much Better-Franz Ferdinand How many of us were ready to write off these Scottish hipsters as hype machine one hit wonders? Only year after releasing their fine tuned and well crafted debut, Alex Kapranos and Co. Return with a sophomore album that both expands and builds on the sound and energy of such hits as ‘Take Me Out’ and ‘This Fire.’ First single ‘Do You Want To?’ is a winning combination of smart and savvy lyrics and thumping drums, basslines, and harmonies. This formula is repeated over and over again in the punk like numbers ‘This Boy’ and ‘Evil and a Heathen.’ But what truly makes this album stand out is the band’s excursion into slow down tempo numbers, “slow jams” if you will. “Eleanor Put Your Boots On” moves with the subtlety and grace of a Lennon/McCartney mood piece, complete with gorgeous harmonies and all, while the breezy kiss off ‘Walk Away’ ebbs and flows, allowing the backing instrumentation to echo the menacing sentiments being uttered by Mr. Kapranos. Up now and get em boys!
Key Tracks: This Boy, Eleanor Put Your Boots On, You Could Have It So Much Better
12. Gimme Fiction-Spoon This Texas outfit has always been smarter than the average band. Known to have many a trick up their sleeves, Spoon manages to craft an LP that is just as ambitious and sprawling as the one that came before it. [In this case, 2002's Kill The Moonlight] Gimme Fiction divides itself into two halves like a mixtape where Side A is focused on sweeping you up in its slower, melodic numbers [the guitar bursting at the seams narrative that is ‘The Beast and Dragon Adored’, and the nearly bare and simple instrumentation and vocal effects of ‘I Summon You.’]. Side B on the other hand is hell bent on getting you to shake that ass. [The foot stomping tambourine romp of ‘Sister Jack’, the ‘Maneater’ bounce of ‘They Never Got You’, and the pinnacle of it all, ‘I Turn My Camera On,’ a booty shaking, falsetto rocking exercise in the 1, 2 step executed in a manner that would make Mick Jagger and Co. proud. (and another addition to the list of singles of the year)] When both sides of the tape are brought together to and formed to make up the tracklist that is ‘Gimme Fiction’, all one can do is get down to the rhythm and marvel at the musical narratives crafted by Britt Daniel and Co.
Key Tracks: The Beast and Dragon Adored, I Turn My Camera On, They Never Got You
11. Get Behind Me Satan-The White Stripes Another year another great White Stripes album. Hot of the heels of 2003's classic LP Elephant, the Stripes are back with more tales of loneliness, deception, and love both attainable and out of reach. Adding marimbas, piano, and fewer guitars to the mix, Jack and Meg strum and beat their way through what may well be their first full concept album. Starting with the opener ‘Blue Orchid’ in which Jack verbally assaults a woman who can’t understand what love is that she turns white orchids blue (get it?), Jack spends the majority of the album going back and forth with this woman, letting her know that he’ll never let her down [The xylophone and egg shaker number ‘The Nurse’], wondering when she’ll ring his doorbell [The Jackson Five bop of ‘My Doorbell’], and finally saying fuck it, let’s do it, let’s get on a plane and just do it. [The beautiful and repetitive ‘Forever for Her (Is Over For Me)’] At the end of it all we find Mr. White alone at his piano proclaiming that he’s lonely, but he ain’t that lonely yet. [‘I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)’ a solemn blues classic in the making.] It’s a fitting end to he and Meg’s gripping emotional saga.
Key Tracks: The Nurse, My Doorbell, Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)
10. Elevator-Hot Hot Heat When we last heard from this Canadian quartet, they were an
off-kilter Talking Heads/The Cure influenced new wave quartet. That was 2002. In 2005 Hot Hot Heat are a fun loving power pop quartet heavy on the idiosyncracies [the stop and go bop of ‘Goodnight, Goodnight’, and the hand clap laden bounce of ‘Pickin’ It Up’] and clever wordplay [‘You Owe Me An IOU’ and the slow moving honesty of ‘Jingle Jangle’] Breathing life to the odd phrasing and clever wordplay of each song are the vocal stylings of lead singer/keyboardist Steve Bays, enunciating, rising, swelling, rushing, and dropping at just the right moment in order to give each song that off-kilter punch that makes them stand out and beg to be turned up and sung along to. Another secret weapon is the rhythm section provided by Paul Hawley on drums and Dustin Hawthorne on bass, applying flow and momentum to songs like ‘Pickin’ It Up’ and the ska like page from No Doubt’s songbook ‘Shame On You.’ Many may be quick to knock a band like Hot Hot Heat for reveling in the fluff so shamelessly, but when the music is this tight, focused, smart, and FUN, how could you not sing along, crack a smile, and bust a move?
Key Tracks: Goodnight, Goodnight, You Owe Me An IOU, Middle Of Nowhere
9. Cripple Crow-Devendra Banhart Being a music snob sucks. You find yourself discrediting music just because it is recommended 1000 time over by critics, magazines, and cooler than thou music sites. Or you knock something because it is overplayed on the radio or MTV. Or worst of all, you knock something based solely on image or because you just know you wouldn’t enjoy it. Now I hate to think of myself as a music snob, but each year I stumble onto a disc I would have normally discarded and end up falling in love with it. [You see where I am going with this right?] Devendra, Devendra, Devendra, oh where do I begin. You see I immediately labeled you as some odd folk hippie that made nothing but weird experimental music that somehow got pegged as being music. Yes I did this without ever listening to even one piece of your music, but after hearing and falling in love with this I am quick to admit my faults. Cripple Crow is hands down, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous and beautiful albums of the year; a throwback to the stirring and epic folk period of the 70's, complete with anti-war diddies [‘I Feel Just Like A Child’ and the choir assisted stillness of ‘Heard Somebody Say’] and a little help from friends [among them Andy Cabic of Vetiver and the free-folk band Feathers]. At 22 tracks the disc may be a little long, but it is wonderfully eclectic for a folk album, with songs sung in Spanish, (Banhart’s native tongue) [the marimba assisted waltz of ‘Santa Maria De Feira’ and the slow moving ‘Inaniel.’]and English, covering topics as odd and eccentric as seeing little boys he wants to marry [the part tavern based blues, parts Fats Domino ‘Little Boys’], how much he loves and will always produce Chinese children [the quirky and offbeat vibe of ‘Chinese Children’], and of course, as mentioned previously, songs pleading for love, not war [‘Heard Somebody Say, and the gorgeous six minute title track.]. Devendra I’m sorry I ever doubted your talent. I won’t let it happen again.
Key Tracks: Heard Somebody Say, Cripple Crow, Hey Mama Wolf
8. Aha Shake Heartbreak-Kings Of Leon The brothers Followill and their cousin on lead guitar sure do know how to craft some good old fashioned southern fried rock. On this, there sophomore album, the Followill men spit out their best southern drawl and cover all the necessary topics of rock n’ roll: sex, partying, and boozin’. On ‘King Of The Rodeo’ two tracks in the boys sing a chorus which asks the listener to merely relax and “let the good times roll.” From there on out the horndog tales and foot stomping odes to debauchery don’t let up. ‘Pistol of Fire’ [a reference to you know what] tells you to “go hug your sister/banana stand”, while on the rhythmic southern bounce of ‘Soft’ lead singer Nathan warns his playmate of what he’ll do to her, but can’t because well you see, he’s soft. But it can’t be all fun and games. On the slower numbers like ‘Day Old Blues’ and ‘Milk’ the debauchery slows and the men get serious about the courting and the screwing. ‘Day Old Blues’ in particular plays like a four minute hangover in song form with one hand on the spinning head asking how did I get here? The painful thoughts throb continuously in the chorus as the boys harmonize, constantly repeating “day old blues” over and over again til a break is in sight. With songs like these the boys of Kings Of Leon prove that they are more than a southern version of the Strokes.
Key Tracks: Milk, Day Old Blues, Taper Jean Girl
7. Arular-M.I.A. On first listen M.I.A’s Arular is nothing more than an innovative trip-hop album dropping bombs from track to track. Spin it again and you realize it’s something more, a musical call to arms that reverberates in every track, lyric, and backing beat. ‘Pull Up The People’ can easily be labeled as a cocky announcement of M.I.A.’s arrival particularly with lines like “I got the bombs to make you blow/ I got the beats to make you bang”, but pay attention to the lines that came before it. “Pull up the people/pull up the poor”. Suddenly the party jam doubles as a call to arms, an anthem to get up, get out and do something. The trend is repeated throughout the album. 80's b-girl throwback ‘Bucky Done Gun’ borrows the lines of a kidnapper: ‘Done gun, quiet down, no need to make a sound’ as the breakbeat mimics the sound of an army marching and revving up for battle. ‘Fire Fire’ reads like an autobiographical page from M.I.A.’s life with a chorus that chants “Growing up, growing up, barely get trained now, lookout, lookout from over the rooftop/...competition on coming out now/look out!/plane/ Fire! Fire!, as the beat drops sounding like bombs over Baghdad. Obviously this Sri Lankan refugee/ art student by way of London wants to keep you entertained and moving on the dancefloor, but she also has something important to say and after a few spins your mind and your two-stepping feet get the point.
Key Tracks: Amazon, Sunshowers, Galang
6. Z-My Morning Jacket At the start of Radiohead’s 2003 album Hail To The Thief the first sounds you hear when you press play on track one are guitars plugging into amps and the men searching for the right note and/or chord to start the line in. Such sounds and actions are reminiscent of those made in concert when a band first takes to the stage and straps in their instruments. There are sounds and actions that seem to say it’s been a long time, we shouldn’t have left you without a dope beat to step to. Press play for track one on My Morning Jacket’s Z and the same things occurs, preparing the viewer for a 10 track fusion of southern and classic rock. Guitars swell [check out the classic leaning guitar solo in the sprawling six minute rocker ‘Lay Low’], songs bounce in a grandiose fashion [the carnivalesque/vaudevillian swagger of ‘Into the Woods’], and vocals pause allowing this Kentucky five piece to jam and rock out til the song fades into the distance as they so often do. Start to finish, track for track, this band is tight, focused, and adventurous, bound together by the powerful lead vocals of songwriter/guitarist Jim James. His vocal performance never lets up, channeling gospel like heights on the two minute ode to Jesus [‘What A Wonderful Man’] and mollifying lows on the lovesick slow jams ‘Knot Comes Loose’ and ‘It Beats For You.’ When James’ vocals combine with the musical work of his bandmates the results are awe-inspiring as is the case on two of the albums best tracks: the opener ‘Wordless Chorus’ and the ska-lite jam of ‘Off The Record.’ Made up of throbbing keyboard and percussive elements and a simple 1,2 bounce, the song truly takes flight in the fanciful chorus made up of nothing more than the band harmonizing the sound aah for 5-15 seconds. On the last go round Jim James jumps in hooting, hollering, and spewing high decibel southern fried notes as the aah’s back out and the song comes to a close. It’s a hazy four minute jam that moves and soothes, preparing the listener for nine more tracks of sprawling rockers and lush lullabies. Woo! Woo hoo indeed.
Key Tracks: Wordless Chorus, Off The Record, Lay Low
5. I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning-Bright Eyes It ain’t easy trying to make it out in the lonesome crowded West, especially if you are a young twentysomething from Nebraska. But sometimes you gotta grin and bear it, roll with the punches, and just do it. This period of transition from child to adult is wonderfully documented by the indie wunderkid Conor Oberst, also known as Bright Eyes on this stirring and highly detailed collection of alt-country tunes steeped in emotion and realism. I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning presents Oberst at his most focused and confident, maintaining his lyrical, musical, and vocal strengths throughout the duration of the album. ‘Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)’ is sung in a controlled manner until the very end when Oberst’s emotion rings through, rising with the drums and guitars til all is brought home sweetly. It’s an emotional device/dramatic effect that breathes life to Oberst’s highly detailed lyrics. In ‘Lua’ Oberst guides us through the trials and tribulations of roaming the streets of New York bouncing from parties to parties at “actor’s westside lofts” with a girl whose late night antics are hard to keep up with. Such trysts remind Oberst that “what’s so simple in the moonlight/by the morning never is.” 2 songs later on the bare acoustic number ‘First Day Of My Life’ Oberst is once again standing by his woman, reminding her of the joy she’s brought into his life, urging here to consider him for” maybe this time will be different” and she may really like him, a sentiment we feel and know is dear to him for he nearly strains his voice stretching out the word me with yearning sincerity. Tracks such as these [especially those featuring Emmylou Harris on backing vocals] find Oberst channeling his Heartbreaker era Ryan Adams with conviction and gusto. It’s a fitting comparisson and all the more proof that Bright Eyes is ready to move beyond the realm of being an acquired taste.
Key Tracks: Lua, We Are Nowhere (And It’s Now), First Day of My Life
4. LCD Soundsystem-LCD Soundsystem For the past 2-3 years, DFA has been churning out the hits, remixes, and compilations with one thing in mind: getting you to shake that ass. Said hits are a step away from the rave and ecstasy era tunes that were all the rage in the mid to late 90's. With DFA the music is tighter, relying more on live instrumentation and rhythms that get their inspiration from a wide variety of sources: disco, new wave, funk, and classic rock. One man behind all this cutting edge dance music is James Murphy, ‘a fat guy in a t-shirt doing all the singing’ with his band LCD Soundsytem. On their self-tilted debut Murphy and co. craft a first class mixtape where every jam is strategically placed so not to mess up the flow. Things start off with the witty wink at the underground scene, ‘Daft Punk Is Playing At My House’, a five minute cowbell rockin’ party jam about a party so fly that “jocks can’t get in the door and the neighbors can’t call the police.” The five minute disco jam parlays into the woozy lament that is ‘Too Much Love’, a slower number whose sound and vibe still allows for a little hip shaking action. Soon you’re being hit with the block rockin’ ‘Tribulations’ which segues into the punk rock rant ‘Movement’ before coming down into the slurry mood piece ‘Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up’ a catch your breath pause for the dancefloor junkies. The remaining four tracks [and those on the accompanying EP like bonus disc] move you and soothe you like that mixtape your hip ass older sibling used to bump from time to time. James Murphy and the folks at DFA are on to something as evidenced by the sweat on your shirt and the pain in your feet.
Key Tracks: Daft Punk Is Playing At My House, On Repeat, Disco Infiltrator
3. Late Registration-Kanye West Last year Kanye came with it on his debut album The College Dropout. That disc, with its fresh beats, witty lyrics, and thought provoking subject matter was a breath of fresh air in the hip hop game. Well the son of a bitch has done it again. Merely a year after his debut album Kanye is back and the words sophomore slump probably mean nothing to him. With a little help from Fiona Apple’s right hand man Jon Brion, the beats remain on point providing an expansive canvas on which Kanye can spit his fly ass lyrics. If anything Brion shows Kanye how to remind folks that his beats are just as important as his lyrics by letting the music drag out way beyond the end of the last verse as opposed to the favored hip hop trend of repeating the chorus til the song fades. [See the Latin tinged ‘Addiction’ or the soulful guitar assisted ode to his mother ‘Hey Mama’] Everything about this album is just right; the samples [‘Goldigger’ is just one of the many fine examples] guest apperances [particularly Paul Wall on the thought provoking H-Town stomp of ‘Drive Slow’], and of course the lyrics and craftsmanship of the star of the show Mr Kanye West himself. The shining moment on this disc is the Stevie Wonder does hip-hop ‘We Major’ feat Nas and Really Doe. The track is all soul harmonies, dope rhymes, strings, and mesmerizing keys. For seven and a half minutes you are transfixed and reminded of what hip-hop is missing and how peeps like Kanye is providing it. It’s a thought that pops through your head repeatedly as you play the disc. Good job Mr. West. You’ve succeeded in taking these motherfuckers back to school.
Key Tracks: Drive Slow, Gone, We Major
2. Cloven Soft Shoe-My Barbarian Once upon a time in the ultimate Los Angeles an enchantress and four lovely lads came together to form a performance art musical act whose music would have a wide range of influences from Cole Porter to the B-52's to Kate Bush and Tin Pin Alley just to name a few. Calling themselves My Barbarian, this rag tag of actors, scholars, and UCLA grads would go on to release their debut album Cloven Soft-Shoe under the radar without anyone noticing. Said album is truly a stunning and mystical affair, an album in which the majority of the tracks revolve around trying to make it in your twenties/making it as a performer in your twenties. It’s all big kids with big dreams, buying tickets one way from NY to LA, dreaming of “being the first jew-yorican in the Bolshoi Ballet”, while sitting lonely in their apartments smoking a lot of pot. The themes and thoughts on making it in the city is backed by music that is both adventurous and haunting, channeling post punk dance rock with operatic vocal flourishes one minute [‘Dance You Withces (Dance)’] and psychedelic brit rock of yesteryear the next [the fanciful dance inducing psychedelia of ‘Morgan Le Fay’]. In ‘The Upstairs’ the band slows down as lead singer Alex Segade rhapsodizes on life in his spacious one room flat to the beat of a simple drum pattern and heavy keyboard melody. Rats line the walls, vietnam vets rant, masturbation has now become a bore, and the stairs go up, up, up. In other words a whole lot of something is going on around him. The same can be said for the album. While My Barbarian doesn’t necessarily take a kitchen sink approach to crafting their tunes, the incorporation of layered vocals, spoken word interludes, haunting song structures, and dips into various genres makes for one eclectic reflection of growing up actor/dancer/artist/confused trying to make it on your own.
Key Tracks: The Upstairs, Morgan Le Fay, Secret Ceremony
1. The Best Party Ever-The Boy Least Likely To After listening to this album from start to finish you almost have the urge to recite the album title with hunched shoulders, palms facing upward, looking slightly confused as if a question mark sits behind the word ever. Best party ever? That’s a damn good question when the songs that encompass this disc by the english duo Joj Owen and Pete Hobbs deal with child like grown up fears of growing old, growing up,[the toe tapping country breeze of ‘Fur Soft As Fur’] towns full of monsters,[the rhythmic and vocal urgency of ‘Monsters’] and seeing spiders when one closes his eyes. [‘I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes’ a guitar strummed diddy for those with OCD] Seeking comfort from the horrors the duo comes to us for solace, hitching their apple wagons to our stars, and asking us to be gentle with them, all while keeping an eye out for any unsuspecting terror, which may explain why they choose to sleep with guns up under their pillow. Yes it is all very child like indeed and both the lyrics and musical pallette they work with [synths, strings, harmonicas, guitars, tambourines, sweet follow the bouncing ball harmonies, and the like] give off a fluffy children’s book/cd vibe, but the duo is getting at something more. Comfort is the best medicine and with all that is bad out there lurking in the shadows, it’s nice to find that person, place, or thing that makes you feel safe. It’s a sentiment echoed by Jof near the middle of the album on the melancholy ‘Battle of the Boy Least Likely To’ when all he seeks is to get the one he loves alone and next to him. This girl quietly saves him again and again and that, for him, is truly the best thing ever.
Key Tracks: Be Gentle With Me, I’m Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star, Sleeping With A Gun Under My Pillow
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