2005-12-22

Top Five Albums Of 2005

Check it!

1. Employment: Kaiser Chiefs
Not a mind-blowing, genre-busting, life-changing record by any mark but it has attitude, energy and considerable replay value.
2. Tales From Turnpike House: Saint Etienne
The Et bring everything to the table: clubby beats, grinding guitars, melodies played on milk bottles, and a duet with David Essex! Sometimes you have to give a band props simply for ignoring the zeitgeist and making the music that they want to make. Other times you can't believe you just used the word "zeitgeist" in public.



3. Twin Cinema: The New Pornographers
I'm so out of touch with contemporary music that I saw a picture of Antony from Antony & The Johnsons and thought it was that Sonia Jackson off the telly. I've discovered more good albums from reading end-of-year polls than in the first ten months of the year combined. The New Pornographers are one such band: a Canadian indie "collective" with nice harmonies. When many of the year's breakthrough bands play guitar so fast they sound like they're dialling up to the internet, harmonies begin to rock.
4. Funeral: Arcade Fire
More Canadians! The singer sounds like he's using his last breaths to tell you something really important, and he's going to tell you whether the string section shuts up or not.
5. Awfully Deep: Roots Manuva
Inferior to his previous Run Come Save Me in just about every respect, but still fine music to get you up and about in the mornings when your body is saying no.

Single Of The Year? One Thing: Amerie.

Album Cover Of The Year? Pretty In Black: The Raveonettes. Dig the rockabilly/Wild Ones/Russ Meyer/Wild At Heart visual confluence!

Disappointment Of The Year? Takk: Sigur Ros. Don't believe the hype.

posted by thisismarcus @ 18:53 

3 Comments:

Blogger Trundling Grunt said...

Without giving it deep thought, some of the best would be:-

Another Day On Earth - Brian Eno. Probably the first 'vocal' album he's produced since Before & After Science (1978??) and he's lost none of his touch. This has been played pretty much constantly since I got it.

Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple. Maybe not the gobsmacking classic that LSWMBO claims it to be, but listening to it reminds me of what a unique style she has. If you like "whiny girly music" as my mate Mo Yap calls it - than it's for you.

Voodoo Chic - Helicopter Girl. Not usually my thing, but if you like Macy Gray then you'll like this I suspect.

Debt Collection - The Shortwave Set. Recycled music, very quirky and different.

Speak for Yourself - Imogen Heap. Yes, she's come a long way since singing to Marcus in a pub. This CD has a grip on me.

Major disappointment - Fiona Apple's "Somebody's Miracle". I've enjoyed Liz Phair since Exile in Guyville but this was just rather indistinctive and uninispiring. Great shame.

Honorable mentions - David Gray, Earth Wind & Fire, Bally Sagoo. I sometimes can't remember what year things were released in so bear with me. When you're olde you don't retain things like you used to.

02:31  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wot no Gorillaz? I am too olde to have listened to a fantastic amount of new music this year, but it and Arcade Fire were the standouts for me.

14:49  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I should add that I have no great idea from your photos which is Johnson and which is Jackson. The one on the left looks more like he's called Antony. One for Private Eye?

11:28  

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