#12 The Fiery Furnaces - EP
I've realized this list has seemed a bit generic so far, but it should branch out a bit from here. I've really enjoyed the other Fiery Furnaces albums, but what really excites me about them is their live show. This album, labeled as an EP even though it's a full length, best captures the experience of seeing them live through studio recordings. The songs are more accessible than most of their albums, and each track blends seamlessly into the next. The change from Here Comes the Summer to Evergreen manages to send chills down my spine. It best showcases the franticness and energy of their music, which regularly tops anything else out there today.
MP3: The Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes the Summer
#11 The Joggers - With a Cape and a Cane
I wrote once before that this album is so close to being the worst music I've ever heard, but somehow it's turns out so perfect. It's sloppy and all over the place and doesn't seem like it's ever gonna work. But it does. Constantly and so well. Every time the songs sound like they're about to fall apart, some giant hook comes in and swoops it back to safety. It's truly amazing. That sense of danger keeps me entranced, scared to look away for fear the whole thing will collapse.
MP3: The Joggers - White Madam
#10 The Go Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
I haven't heard the domestic release yet, but I'll take Pitchfork's word for it that it stands up to the original. This album is pure fun. It feels like the soundtrack to a 70's cop show. I can't help but think of polyester and mustaches. Shtick aside, these songs are electronic masterpieces. There's not a track on here that lags or disappoints. I've been listening to this album for a long time now, and it still ranks up there as one of the finest musical accomplishments of the year.
MP3: The Go Team - Junior Kickstart
#9 The National - Alligator
Such a beautiful, tortured album. Up there with The Walkmen's Bows and Arrows as the best in urban emo (if I may invent a term) These songs all came from somewhere very real and very dark. It's pretty music, but there's this layer of grime over it that makes it seem so earnest and important. This is music for 5 o'clock on a cold January morning in NYC, walking home in the snow trying to make sense of the night before. Some of the lyrics come out almost as a stream of conscious, sidetracking and jumping in intensity with no warning or explanation. It's truly heartbreaking, brilliant stuff.
I'm really enjoying this run down of the list. interesting choices. go faster!
Posted by: wes | October 10, 2005 at 06:13 PM