I’ve decided I’m only leaving the house if it’s an absolute emergency. There are an overabundance of bad drivers on the road today. It took forty minutes to get to the end of my street and make a left turn onto Route-10. I’m going nowhere, now.
For those of you who are celebrating one holiday or another this weekend, enjoy your time and stay safe.
I suppose this week would be a better opportunity to list my favorite records of 2005, because I figure next week everyone will be on vacation of some sort what with the New Year quickly approaching. So, without further ado, the best (in this blogger’s humble opinion) albums of the year.
25) Black Dice – Broken Ear Record: The cover art is kind of stupid, and I don’t listen to it as much as I do Beaches and Canyons. I mean, it’s a Black Dice record. What do you expect me to say about it other than there’s a bunch of of noises.
24) Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow: When I was talking to Jefre Cantu in San Francisco he mentioned how there are people who can listen to a Devendra Banhart and hear the growth from album to album, while others think every song sounds exactly the same. I fall somewhere in between. I don’t think every song sounds the same but from album to album I’m not all that sure what’s changing other than the instrumentation. The lyrics are still pretty corny and it’s still mostly sparse.
23) American Analog Set – Set Free: Speaking of bands that sound the same from album to album, what a perfect opportunity to talk about the AmAnSet. I think the reason I couldn’t get into the album is because Kenny keeps standing me up when we were supposed to hang out and get some drinks and talk about life and music in Austin. Other than that, this album is better than Promise of Love, but not as good as Know By Heart.
22) Mount Eerie – No Flashlight: Or, as I like to call it, The Glow Pt. 3!
21) The Clientele – Strange Geometry: I accidentally stumbled across The Violet Hour a few years ago and when the band’s new album was released it was basically just out there in the periphery, but then I sat down and listened to it and really enjoyed it. You can call it murky, or foggy, or whatever your most apt analogy for something that’s dark and ethereal may be. Oh man, in that last sentence I count at least five rock journalism indiscretions. I might as well quit while I’m behind.
20) Xiu Xiu – La Foret: I got this in Chicago and listened to it almost exclusively for three or four days, but then it fell under the passenger seat of my car and I didn’t find it for over a month. I like how it’s a bit more subdued then Fabulous Muscles. It’s kind of a return to the really dismal atmosphere that shrouds the songs on A Promise. And you know me, I love my music like I love my women: depressing as all hell.
19) Four Tet – Everything Ecstatic: I’m averse to most electronic albums, but there are a bunch on this list. A lot of reviewers classify Four Tet as electronic or “folktronic,” but I’ve also heard it labeled (and we all know how important labels are!) “post-rock.” Whatever your preference for labels may be, the tunes here are most definitely heavy on the krautrock influence, and that’s good enough for me.
18) Sun O))) – Black One: I guess in recent years, my affinity for Metal has risen from, “The whole genre is utter shit, black disgusting stinking shit,” to something like, “Oh wow, it’s not all that bad!” This is due–in part– to bands like Sunn O))). I don’t really understand how playing four beats per minute while shattering eardrums with insanely loud guitar drones is Metal. Maybe it has to do with the album artwork or the stupid “evil” voices that sing on these albums. I don’t know… A professor of Metal, I am not.
17) Calexico / Iron & Wine – In the Reins: When I reviewed this album for some publication, I wrote, “I found nary a sour note on In the Reins . The first time I settled in and closed my eyes, the booming voice of Tucson flamenco/opera stalwart Salvador Duran two minutes into “Hey Lays in the Reins” rubbed me the wrong way. On repeated listens I began to relish this specialized sliver of the southwest that found its way into In the Reins. The record is a portrait of two bands both on top of their respective games.” So let that be your guide, because I’m too lazy to write a new one.
16) Jonathan Kane – February: If you love repetition (or redundancy!) you’ll love, and I mean love, this album. This album is very repetitious, but it’s still good! Good, and lovable. If you like repetition, you’ll like it.
15) Ryan Adams – Cold Roses: Come one guys, admit it, it’s not THAT bad! He just could’ve axed about ten of these songs and it would have been incredible, instead of a solid double LP.
14) Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain: I was so excited for this album I could barely contain myself when I found it and, consequently, downloaded it (read: stole it) from the Internets. I just wanted to hop in my car, crank the stereo and drive around so that people would stare at me. So, I did just that, and boy did the people stare! Lightning Bolt, more-so than any other band, is playing on my car stereo when I nearly miss killing myself in a horrific automobile accident.
13) Six Organs of Admittance – School of the Flower: Chasney and Corsano are a match made in heaven. The first track is full of lilting free jazz vibes, and the ensuing songs exemplify Chasney’s growth from his previous albums, as well as the obvious influence that playing in Comets on Fire has had on his aesthetic tastes. The Gary Higgins tune “Thicker Than a Smokey,” might just be what enabled Higgins’ album Red Hash to finally see its way into many new sets of ears… most of which probably weren’t alive when it was originally recorded.
12) Boards of Canada – The Campfire Headphase: Learning that there’s a new Boards of Canada album coming out is exciting news. When you tune in for the first time and recognize guitars, it makes it even better. That’s not to say I think this album is better than Music Has the Right to Children, but I like the innovative approach they used, instead of sticking solely to electronic elements. Now they just have to work on working quickly in the studio. If I have to wait another three years for a new album, I’ll be half-way through my twenties. Oh man, that totally just bummed me out.
11) Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney – Superwolf: One of the best moments of my year was bumping into Will Oldham when I was walking down Bardstown Road in Louisville one late July night. I didn’t say much, I just kind of nodded and said, “helloo,” and he smiled and nodded in return. I should’ve said, “I See a Darkness is one of my favorite albums ever!” (because it is). Superwolf is pretty, too. “Chavez” Sweeney wrote the music and “Paul’s Brother” Oldham the lyrics. They work well together. From start to finish, it’s the most focused, honed sound of any Oldham release.
10) Magnolia Electric Co. – What Comes After the Blues: I think the reason I enjoy this record so much is due to the last three songs, when Molina is alone with his acoustic guitar. “Northstar Blues,” “Hammer Down” and “I Can Not Have Seen the Light” are as stark as any Songs: Ohia recordings. I saw them in Chicago this summer and all I have to say is, damn, does the pedal steel dude ever not make things sound 20% better?
9) Shipping News – Flies the Field: When I reviewed this one for Antidote, I wrote, “As a whole, Flies the Fields seems an exercise in controlled restraint. Whenever a song comes too close to erupting into a wall of sound, the reigns are pulled back, the audience left frustratingly in awe. It’s quite genius. Once again, Shipping News has proved their mastery with a solid recording that begs for repeated close listening.” It’s still true. I listen to it frequently and thoroughly enjoy it.
8) LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem: “You mean James Murphy did more than record that Evergreen album and turn the Rapture into PiL-aping indie megastars? He’s got his own band and on almost every track he name-checks someone or someplace? Well, is it any good?” “I don’t know, check out the ranking, guy!”
7) Dead Meadow – Feathers: Sure, seeing them live without the second guitarist can be a lot like listening to the proverbial brown note continuously for an hour or more, but this might have been the most listened to LP of the year for me. Their sound seems a little more relaxed and it’s full of accessible songs. It’s not as dirty as Shivering King or as monotonous (which is a good thing, in this case) as Howls From the Hills. Feathers is it’s own thing, and I like that.
6) Pajo – Pajo: Dude’s dark. He could probably give Oldham a run for his money when it comes to who has more disconcerting, downright spooky images floating in their head. The album is a pet project, a recording made solely with an acoustic guitar and a voice on Pajo’s computer. He has no plans whatsoever to tour in support of the album or even play any of the album cuts in a live setting. The whole thing–impetus, process and the resulting album–is just unsettling… all of which makes it a great listen.
5) Deerhoof – The Runners Four: I saw them in May at a shitty church basement in Philly and I was awed by the drumming of Greg Saunier, I could not take my eyes off his kit for the duration of their set. What a fun band to see live. I can’t think of any group that mixes weird experimentation with sugary sweet melodies. The new album is slow by comparison, like half-speed, slow. Which, coincidentally, fits my tastes perfectly.
4) Pelican – The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw: Despite being a rather boring live band (sorry), there is no denying Pelican’s ability to create album after album of instrumental epics. Does this even qualify as Metal? There’s acoustic guitars all over these songs. One brief aside: I like how Trevor refers to Pelican as, “my silly little band.” I think it’s rather humbling and I envy that kind of modesty. I wonder, would Pelican would label themselves as Metal?
3) A Silver Mt. Zion – Horses in the Sky – This is by far their best effort yet. Efrim finally learned how to kind of sing, too, which is always a bonus. I like the campfire feel of some of the later tracks, the barely there sounds and the swelling strings. Is that enough alliteration for you?
2) Oneida – The Wedding: When they were recording this, Oneida said something to the extent that The Wedding was going to be their swan song. I dig this one the most out of any of their work, which I find to be a huge plus because it’s great to see bands aging gracefully instead of fizzling or fading. The melodies are so far buried under weirdness some aren’t even discernible. In a live setting, the band is absolutely fierce. Bludgeoning, even!
1) Serena Maneesh – Serena Maneesh: I feel really bad declaring this record to be the best–I only know it to be available at Other Music–but in my mind there is no question, this is the best 2005 had to offer. I hate to make obvious references (which, by the way, would be one of the coolest band names ever. The Obvious References? C’mon, it’s incredible! Didn’t you like their first album, Genre Defying?) but My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless would be the point of reference I could offer as glimpse at Serena Maneesh. The dense wall of guitars, steady drumming and ethereal vocals totally blew me away the first several times I listened. By the way, what’s Daniel Smith (of Danielson Famile fame) doing arranging songs like this? It makes no sense to me. Serena Maneesh are–right now (for me)–the most exciting band on the planet. Pay a few extra dollars for this import and hear their work for yourself.
