Jason's 2005 Favorite Albums
Without a rambling preamble, here are my picks for my favorite albums of 2005, in alphabetical order:
Art Brut - Bang, Bang, Rock & RollThere was shoeless Eddie Argos, jumping into the crowd, not to fight but to RAWK OUT. Art Brut make my personal Top of the Pops because of their exuberance, their revolutionary sincerity that dared to stand chest to chest with the jaded and calculating. Art Brut dared to name names: Axl Rose, Morrissey...
Bloc Party - Silent AlarmIt seems eons ago that Bloc Party released the most compelling album to come from the latest pack of nervy Brit Poppers. 2005 began with big expectations for Bloc Party. They were "the next Franz Ferdinand" after all. Now two weeks from 2006, their success can be summarized by asking, Who's the next Bloc Party?
Doveman - The AcrobatDoveman's elegant midnight balladry compels listening in the depth of the night, preferably with a bottle of something strong. Singer Thomas Bartlett's weary voice never rises above a whisper, drums barely register and the guitars are a slow and unsteady rain on tin.
The Acrobat is a work of fragile beauty.
LCD Soundsystem - LCD SoundsystemJames Murphy makes me feel inadequate. His first concert?
The Ramones. Mine? Probably some CCM act. His music knowledge? The names dropped in "Losing My Edge" likely represent a sliver of his hipster catalog. Me? I'm in 101 phase, but unawareness didn't keep me from loving the educating
LCD Soundsystem.
The National - AlligatorThe hubbub surrounding that infamous tour made it easy to forget The National released one of the best albums of 2005. I don't love
Alligator as a rally cry against bandwagons or even
that other band. I love it for Matt Berninger's deranged lyrics and the band's intriguing ability to create drama and atmosphere.
Sigur Ros - TakkSigur Rós know something about floating in space. On
Takk, they've come down closer to earth.
Takk is Sigur Rós scaled to human proportions. Remember the popular adjectives to describe them include otherworldly, spacey, and ethereal. They may not walk amongst us, but
Takk is as direct and close as they've come.
Tom Vek - We Have SoundLike
LCD Soundsystem, Tom Vek's
We Have Sound is defined by its low end. Vek's tunes are built around jazzy bass grooves, sludgy here, lithe there, and rollicking drums rhythms. Ostensibly it's an indie-rock record, but
We Have Sound's digital touches and robotic production pushes it towards more daring territory.
: Animal Collective, The Clientele, Deaf Center, The Juan Maclean, Magnetophone, Marsen Jules, Menomena, Rogue Wave
Honorables: Amandine, Andrew Bird, Malcolm Middleton, Goldmund, Elbow, Excepter, Broadcast, Colleen, London Apartments, Brakes, John Cale, Goldspot, Sharon Jones, Avia Gardner, Jamie Lidell, Maritime, Ladytron, Common, Caribou, Condo, TK Webb, Depeche Mode, Sufjan Stevens, Steven Malkmus, Super Furry Animals, Jahcoozi, The Cars are the Stars, Low Frequency in Stereo
Disappointments (these aren't all bad albums, but ones that failed to live up to my expectations): Doves (a few good tunes, some filler too), White Stripes, Coldplay, Prefuse 73, Magic Numbers (I liked the EP much better), Broken Social Scene (half hearted effort) , 13 & God (one good song and a lot of filler)
posted by jason @ 4:56 PM
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