#2
(Sub Pop)
The Shins have done it again.?? Their latest release, , illustrates how the band can create a successful follow-up record to match the success of .?? offers dynamic lyrics, tempos and instrumentation. The album is fluid, constantly engaging the listener and providing captivating melodies.
The first track, \Kissing the Lipless,"" appears to be a tranquil, acoustic melody, but bits and pieces of the electric guitar start to take over, creating an emotional, high-intensity ballad. ""Kissing the Lipless"" sets the tone for the entire album; the listener does not know what to expect next, but anxiously waits for The Shins' upcoming, beautifully constructed songs. Not only is each song written creatively, but each track, although different, connects well and creates a solid album.??
The Shins' sophomore album is pleasing because of the different sounds they produce with each track, which complement each other and create an artfully captivating album. The Shins are able to create their own unique sound by redefining the classic sounds of 1960s rock 'n' roll, making very successful and one of the best albums of the year.
#3
(Matador)
With the truly devastating song ""Good Woman,"" Cat Power (a.k.a. Chan Marshall) may have recorded the most hauntingly beautiful ballad of the year. The fluid guitar chords, punctuated by fiddle and carried by the slight, desperate tremor of Marshall's vocals, makes this song absolutely gripping. Eddie Vedder offers hushed backing vocals on ""Good Woman"" and the album's other best track, the potent closer ""Evolution,"" which seamlessly complement-and never overshadow-Marshall's arrangements.
is entirely Cat Power's unique vision and is not a particularly happy vision. The album's most poignantly affecting song is ""Names,"" a simple piano ballad, structured around the names and resurrected memories of abused and lost childhood friends. The childlike simplicity of Marshall's lyrics in ""Names"" underscores her tragic subjects, and her singing is so matter-of-fact that it becomes chilling.
While sparse piano and acoustic guitar-backed numbers dominate the album, it contains its share of effective electric tracks. By alternating between electric rockers and fragile, confessional ballads, Cat Power has created a somewhat unbalanced but unquestionably accomplished album. She is one of the most interesting and captivating artists at work today.
#4
(Matador Records)
With giants of the scene like Phish vocally singing his praises and offering him his first chance in years to drastically expand his audience, it was perhaps inevitable that Stephen Malkmus would embrace his growing jam-band constituency. Of course, he does so on his own terms, and while his latest album, , may contain a surprising amount of guitar noodling, the album sports so many obscure prog-rock and post-punk influences that it can hardly be called a compromise.
is playfully unpredictable and hectic enough to please the most cynical Pavement fans, while remaining charming and accessible enough to win over any newcomers. The inclusion of two near-perfect, wistful songs, ""Ramp of Death"" and ""Us,"" underscores not only Malkmus' songwriting prowess but also how badly he deserves to see his fanbase increase.
#5
(Rhymesayers)
With his self-described ""sulky"" style, Atmosphere's frontman, Slug, has always been one of the more charismatic MCs on the indie scene, and on , that has not changed. He has never had such inspired music to rock over. On , Ant, Atmosphere's long-time producer, displays gigantic growth from his earlier work, and in the process nearly steals the show from a more grown-up but still delightfully grumpy Slug.
On the haunting ""Lifter Puller,"" Ant matches Slug's vivid description of a genuine, but troubled relationship with a somber saxophone-blessed beat reminiscent of De La Soul's work on .
With Ant and Slug at the top of their game, Atmosphere is becoming something much greater than a hip-hop act, unique in that they are from Minnesota. If is any indication, they are on pace to become a more troubled, but just as soulful, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth.
#6
(Sub Pop)
The Postal Service, a collaboration between Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello, lays claim to both intrinsic beauty and its?? significance for indie-pop music. Give Up was initially an important venture because of its well-crafted presentation of emo-synth sensibilities and drum machine-driven vulnerability.
Tracks such as ""The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"" and ""Recycled Air"" carefully, and perhaps unintentionally, digitized and manipulated the tired spirit of emo and the result is spectacular. It will soon be, and perhaps already is, difficult to downplay influence as the sub-genre creating record it has become.
#7
(Columbia)
John Mellencamp is not to be relegated to the '80s. With , the artist has asserted his place in his next decade far more than allowed him to.
In a year that has its top releases scattered over several genres, manages to be the most American album of the bunch because of its mix of timely rebelliousness, well-pitched innovation and simple, earthy melodies. It is difficult to resist songs like ""Teardrops Will Fall"" and ""Lafayette."" Between Mellencamp's gravel-voiced choruses and the surprisingly fresh, rock 'n' roll-tinged interpretation of folk classics, unites words of yesteryear with the vitality of today.
#8
(Vector)
Irish troubadour Damien Rice burst onto the American music scene in 2003 with this collection of poignantly romantic and contemplative tracks. Rice and collaborator Lisa Hannigan perform with such haunting gravity that comes off less as a listening experience than as a religious one.
Despite the album's minimalist approach, diversity abounds as songs span the emotional palette, from the solemn Gregorian chant at the end of ""Cold Water"" to the album's operatic climax in ""Eskimo."" One of the most pleasant surprises of the year, penetrates deep into the heart of the listener, ensuring that Rice will no longer be a surprise to anyone in the years to come.
#9
(Capitol)
Radiohead's achieves rubber-stamp greatness. Somewhere between and , the beeps, chirps and whistles stopped being so thrilling, and Radiohead has since decided to balance itself between the sounds that served them in in the past. They are left sounding good, but the most stale they ever have been.
fails to live up to the intensity that the opening ""2+2=5"" seems to promise and fails to take the beautifully layered songwriting of ""A Punchup at a Wedding"" to the rest of the album. Still, Thom Yorke and band stays miles ahead of groups like Blur who have tried to close in on their sound. If was written to retreat from soundscapes toward traditional songwriting, then they should continue in this direction. But when succeeds, as in its powerfully buzzing ""Myxomatosis,"" its successes are masterful.
#10
(Absolutely Kosher)
Few other records released this year can seep themes of separation, loneliness and melancholy in indie-pop melodies as exquisitely as The Wrens. Their latest release, , restrains upbeat songs with dusky piano and balances fast-paced bass lines with gentle acoustics and startlingly insightful lyrics.
depth is evidenced not only by the production's polish but by the nature of the songs themselves-solid, well-developed and without a hint of pretentiousness. The album was released among several excellent indie records this year, but none have what The Wrens have seemingly gained: a sense for a bright and shiny record and the ability to ground it with shades of dark.
#11
(Touch & Go)
marks a change in the style of Nina Nastasia. Unlike her last album, features a stripped-down sound, slow but still intense, quiet but still engulfing. Although it is only an EP-length album, Nastasia produced the most striking 30 minutes of music of the year. Every song shows why lumbering can be a compliment. Every track is haunting and wispish, and fully engaging. could have been what the Magnolia soundtrack was for Aimee Mann, the kind of album that could have launched Nina Nastasia's career and the career of a thousand imitators.
#12
(Matador)
The New Pornographers, Canada's first official (or unofficial, depending on with whom one speaks) supergroup outdid themselves in this year's absolute stunner, .
This band maintains pole position as the purest indie pop successors to The Beach Boys the world has ever seen. However, instead of that ponce Mike Love, the Pornographers have their lush harmonies provided by God's own personal gift to the vocal world, Neko Case.
The sheer melodic and harmonic dexterity of The New Pornographers makes other bands look utterly amateur. The album's true complexity is how effortless the band makes it all sound. The sonic burdens shared between strings, keys, and voice on tracks like ""From Blown Speakers,"" ""The End of Medicine"" and ""July Jones"" are absolute intercourse, and cleaner than a Howard Hughes spoon.
#13
(Artemis)
#14
(Hellcat)
This year music endured the loss of two of its best. Warren Zevon's inoperable lung cancer claimed him only a few weeks after the release of his final album, , and Joe Strummer suffered a fatal heart attack recording the posthumously released .
Though it seemed as restrained as the singer could make it, Zevon and fans of were aware of Zevon's failing health. Mournful songs like ""Keep Me in Your Heart"" and more of a rawer emotion seemed to permeate the album. He covered ""Knockin' on Heaven's Door,"" and in ""Prison Blues"" he empathized with prisoners who hold their own. Full of feeling, is as much an album as a character piece of a singer facing his death.
In stark contrast to , Joe Strummer left his fans with an album full of hope and redemption. seemed to herald in a golden age of The Clash frontman's career. ""It'll take a lot of prayers to save my soul,"" he sings over harmonica and strummed chords, I've got to hurry up before I get too old."" successes are songs stripped to bare instruments and Strummer's honest voice. Though propped-up angst always has a market, it is downright gutsy to release an album so deliberately bright. It is tragic for Strummer to never know how his optimism paid off on .
#15
(RCA)
Overall expectations??for The Strokes' were for the jumbled, gritty rock 'n' roll the group is known for. While the album is musically tighter and more mature than their breakthrough album , The Strokes did little more to distinguish from its predecessor, which should not??be surprising as?? producer Gordon Raphael once again filled the producer's seat.
Nevertheless, with??Julian Casablancas'??vocals integrated with the band's??straightforward guitar lines,?? comes together and??is a??solid release that speaks for the band commonly considered the??future??(if not the kings) of a new generation of rock 'n' roll.
(Saddle Creek)
(Atlantic)
(In the Red)
(Roc - A - Fella)
(Atlantic)
(Rhymesayers)
(Acony)
(V2)
(Interscope)
