Before You Finalize Your 2005 List

Borg166 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:39 pm

Since 2005 is just about over, what one or two albums do you think everyone should listen to before they finalize their Top-10/Top-20 of 2005 list? It doesn't even have to be your #1 album, it could be something on your list that's good, but more obscure or hasn't received enough attention.

Markus Guentner - 1981
Platinum Pied Pipers - Triple P

Dusty Chalk · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:41 pm

Matt Elliott, Drinking Songs
Tiefschwarz, Eat Books

e-stone · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:44 pm

the duke spirit.cuts across the land
fruit bats.spelled in bones
patrick wolf.wind in the wires

Dick Meatwood · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:47 pm

Akron/Family & Angels of Light
A lot of people seem to be saying that this isn't better than the Akron/Family or Angels of Light albums from earlier in the year, but I have to disagree. Well, maybe it's not necessarily better than the Akron/Family, but it's very different and much livelier, and I've been really enjoying it. It's gotten some mentions, but I don't think people have been adequately enthusiastic about it. I'm thinking it's very likely Top 20 and possibly Top 10 material for me.

tentoze · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:54 pm

Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress

jsh · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:02 pm

There's a few:

TTC "Batards Sensible" -
If you can't (under)stand their vocals, just pay attention to the instrumentals. Way bouncy, and crunké.

Jaga Jazzist "What We Must" -
Glacial prog rock. Skirts on the edge of preciousness at times, but is really a beautifully created record. Composition is impeccable, and the production (while seemingly glossy, at first) really highlights its layers and intricacies.

Harris Newman "Accidents With Nature and Each Other" -
Propulsive and pensive guitar ragas, ala John Fahey. A really charming record. I really enjoy its flaws.

Esmerine "Aurora" -
Short and perfect. A seamlessly threaded exploration of downcast melody by cello, drum, drone, and bells.

katie, a princess · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:05 pm

jose gonzales 'veneer'
mice parade 'bem-v'

Dalen · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:06 pm

Marc Hellner - Marriages

Aidan Smith - Early As the Tress

2 outstanding albums that you probably haven't heard. Both in my Top 20.

puma · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:23 pm

i like that one track by aidan smith you posted in one of your mixes dalen... how is the rest of the album?

paladisiac · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:54 pm

Drinky Wrote:

Akron/Family & Angels of Light
A lot of people seem to be saying that this isn't better than the Akron/Family or Angels of Light albums from earlier in the year, but I have to disagree. Well, maybe it's not necessarily better than the Akron/Family, but it's very different and much livelier, and I've been really enjoying it. It's gotten some mentions, but I don't think people have been adequately enthusiastic about it. I'm thinking it's very likely Top 20 and possibly Top 10 material for me.

i read some good things about them & liked the one song i heard (on someone's mix...). they're now in emusic & i might give them a DL in dec.

i have nothing to contribute -- i'm about as obscure as the sky.

Davey · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:23 pm

elephantstone Wrote:

fruit bats.spelled in bones

Yea, that's a good one. Mellow, but very high quality music. Haven't listened to it enough to make a firm judgement yet about how much I really like it, but liked the first one a lot. No clue on the other two you mention so they may be total suckers, but Fruit Bats is OK with me.

A couple that I'd like to hear that I haven't yet is the new Legends and the new Miracle Mile, but both are imports right now. Don't have anything that has gone unnoticed by most of you, but I would say that the British Sea Power album has grown on me tremendously throughout the latter part of the year after a somewhat disappointing first few listens, until it is near the top of my list now. Nothing comes close to Andrew Bird this year for me, but BSP may be close to the number 2 spot with a few others. Haven't decided yet about the Harold Budd Avalon Sutra album. Love it myself, and it is a beautiful album, but not the type of music I'd usually recommend to people unless they were looking for a high quality chillout.

shiv · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:29 pm

cass mccombs PREfection

Postmersh · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:39 pm

Spankrock

Not necessarily one of my top 20, but more people should get on it...
On the same Baltimore tip, if 2.1 had been released this year, Plastic Little would definitely be on my top 20...

billy g · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:41 pm **Posts:** 9020

Maximilian Hecker "Lady Sleep"

BBC Wrote:

On 'Lady Sleep', his third album, the criminally underrated Maximilian Hecker returns to his recurring fascination with affairs of the heart. Although simpler (ie, less electronic) than his last album, 'Rose', 'Lady Sleep' is just as evocative: opulent orchestral symphonies sway with a shimmering elegance, the neo-Baroque chamber pop hints at stunning torch songs for the 21st Century and Hecker’s softly spoken vocals are gently affecting. Less camp than Antony And The Johnsons, although just as grand, Berliner Hecker, in anyone’s language, deserves to be a star

The Saints "Nothing is Safe in my House"

AMG Wrote:

Since 1997's Howling, Chris Bailey has been working hard to re-establish the Saints's reputation as a tough, hard-edged rock & roll band after a string of pop-oriented albums in the 1980s, and 2005's Nothing Is Straight in My House takes a further step in the right direction by pairing Bailey with one of the best guitarists in Australian rock, Marty Willson-Piper of the Church. While Nothing Is Straight in My House is a far cry from the punk-flavored assault of (I'm) Stranded, the pounding opening salvo of "Porno Movies" shows Willson-Piper knows how to confidently make with the crunch, while drummer Pete Wilkinson and bassist Caspar Wijnberg set up a menacing throb in the background. While Bailey does throw in a few mid-tempo numbers along the way, such as the folk-rock-influenced "I Couldn't Help Myself" and "Garden Dark," the good news is "Bang On," "Paint the Town Electric," and "Nylon Pirates" find the Saints rocking out with smarts, swagger, and supreme confidence, and Chris Bailey is once again producing the sort of sneering vocals that made him a contender back in the day. Bailey is also writing up to his best standard on this set, and while the overly clean production sometimes holds the band back, the fact is this album rocks, and when it comes to the Saints, that's always good news. Great stuff.

Max de Castro S/T

Couldn't find an english language review but from the trama label website with quotes from a story in Time Magazine of all things

Quote:

...De Castro has a goal in mind. "Most Brazilian musicians are labeled international artists," he says. "I will be very glad when I enter an American record store and find Samba Raro not in the world-music section but beside people I admire like Prince and Stevie Wonder." The best music, no matter how far away its origins, makes you feel right at home and speaks directly to your heart. Tom Jobim's gentle Desafinado, once "exotic," now seems neighborly and familiar. If De Castro has his way, people around the world may soon know all about Sao Paulo. But they may forget that it's in another country. TIME Magazine

Max de Castro "just might be the most original musical talent to have come out of Brazil in three decades" claims Time Magazine. The reasoning is as simple as it is convincing: Max de Castro "blends disparate genres -- samba, bossa nova, drum 'n' bass, hip-hop and soul into futuristic music that echoes the past." He delivers poems to fit a hip-hop beat, paraphrases classical popular music, for example by Baden Powell, recites, and modifies -- a true magician of sound. De Castro brings a sound that fluidly, intelligently and winningly blends disparate genres - samba, bossa nova, drum 'n' bass, hip-hop and soul - into futuristic music that echoes the past.

two guns holla · **Posted:** Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:22 pm

Brian McBride - When the Detail Lost its Freedom

Quote:

After numerous excellent releases as part of Stars of the Lid, Brian McBride takes an excellent solo bow with When the Detail Lost Its Freedom, as serenely beautiful as his past work would show, but with its own distinct character. Rather than lengthy washes of psychedelic ambient guitar, McBride, using a sampler as the key instrument, here creates more focused, orchestrated songs with the help of a variety of guests, resulting in compositions that have similar emotional impact but in a different vein. Guitar drones and echoes certainly play key roles, but generally as part of a larger structure -- thus the recurrent four-note melody in "A Gathering to Lead Me When You're Gone" or the rigorously structured cycle of sound on "Retenir," sound waves constantly approaching and retreating like their beach-bound counterparts in the ocean. Lead track "Overture (For Other Halfs)" sets the tone, feeling akin to Aphex Twin's high-church hush on Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2 as performed for an elegiac sunset, with the assistance of heavily treated violin parts from Eden Batki to add even more depth and beauty. Its uninterrupted flow into the following "Piano ABG" shows that the gentle ambition of McBride in terms of extended composition remains intact, and from there When the Detail makes its steady, captivating way. Songs like the breathtaking "The Guilt of Uncomplicated Thoughts," a lush combination of everything from understated trumpet to an exultant, aspiring melody, feel like messages from some lost, distant landscape. There's even singing at points -- McBride himself, as well as two separate female vocalists -- which further adds to the unexpected pleasures of this striking album.

ptrck · **Joined:** Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:55 pm **Posts:** 5568

sweet potatoze Wrote:

Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress

Yeah, this is on mine. Excellent

Devin Davis - Lonely People Of The World, Unite!

alive · **Joined:** Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:00 am **Posts:** 352

Herman Düne - Not on Top

Odds Bodkins · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 1:30 am

Great topic and I whole-heartedly agree with Patrick Wolf and Matt Elliott.

I submit:

Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck
The Russian Futurists - Our Thickness

Dalen · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:51 am

dridiculous Wrote:

i like that one track by aidan smith you posted in one of your mixes dalen... how is the rest of the album?

it's fantastical!

i'll get it to you soon.

Dalen · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:53 am

mfdeep fried turkey Wrote:

Brian McBride - When the Detail Lost its Freedom

Quote:

After numerous excellent releases as part of Stars of the Lid, Brian McBride takes an excellent solo bow with When the Detail Lost Its Freedom, as serenely beautiful as his past work would show, but with its own distinct character. Rather than lengthy washes of psychedelic ambient guitar, McBride, using a sampler as the key instrument, here creates more focused, orchestrated songs with the help of a variety of guests, resulting in compositions that have similar emotional impact but in a different vein. Guitar drones and echoes certainly play key roles, but generally as part of a larger structure -- thus the recurrent four-note melody in "A Gathering to Lead Me When You're Gone" or the rigorously structured cycle of sound on "Retenir," sound waves constantly approaching and retreating like their beach-bound counterparts in the ocean. Lead track "Overture (For Other Halfs)" sets the tone, feeling akin to Aphex Twin's high-church hush on Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2 as performed for an elegiac sunset, with the assistance of heavily treated violin parts from Eden Batki to add even more depth and beauty. Its uninterrupted flow into the following "Piano ABG" shows that the gentle ambition of McBride in terms of extended composition remains intact, and from there When the Detail makes its steady, captivating way. Songs like the breathtaking "The Guilt of Uncomplicated Thoughts," a lush combination of everything from understated trumpet to an exultant, aspiring melody, feel like messages from some lost, distant landscape. There's even singing at points -- McBride himself, as well as two separate female vocalists -- which further adds to the unexpected pleasures of this striking album.

great choice. an excellent album at night.

Dalen · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:54 am

Enuch Chuck Wrote:

Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck

i finally listened, and slapped myself for sleeping on this man. i owe you one. shit is TIGHT!

mutty · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 12:19 pm

I need to print this whole fucking thread.

Odds Bodkins · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 12:48 pm

Dalen Wrote:

Enuch Chuck Wrote:

Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck

i finally listened, and slapped myself for sleeping on this man. i owe you one. shit is TIGHT!

Hells yeah!

Here's a few more:

Growing - His Mistake
Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow
Flotation Toy Warning - Bluffer's Guide To The Flight Deck

The Dreaded Marco · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 3:01 pm

Salim Nourallah--Beautiful Noise

Salim Nourallah has had his hand in a number of projects and genres over the years -- alt-country, backing Old 97s frontman Rhett Miller; indie rock, working with the Deathray Davies on their last album; power pop, with his own band, Happiness Factor. Yet for a guy with such a memorable name (his folks were Syrian immigrants who moved to Texas in the 1970s, if you must know), Nourallah manages to fly below the radar (heck, most people missed his and his brother Faris' 2001 band, and that outfit and album was named the Nourallah Brothers). Regardless of recognition (or lack thereof), Nourallah's a busy guy. Yet for all his (excellent) genre- and band-hopping, the name he sounds most comfortable performing under is his own. In fact, on his second album, Beautiful Noise -- a quiet singer / songwriter exploration of life, mortality and hope -- Nourallah proves that he's as capable of lyrical introspection as he is kicking out the jams.

Released in the dog days of summer (16 August, to be exact), Beautiful Noise is a decidedly autumnal record full of quiet moments -- looking through a box brimming with photos of an ex-girlfriend ("The Apartment"), watching tears fall on a wedding band ("First Love") -- and Nourallah, to his songwriting credit, makes the personal sound universal. Beautiful Noise is an epic record dressed up as bedroom chamber pop.

To get a sense of the scale Nourallah's working on, dig the album's opening and closing lines (don't worry, I'm not giving anything away): from the opening title track, "We start out in this life in paradise, / We only know the joy, / The beautiful noise"; and the closer, "Life in a Split Second": "I promise at the end it can still be saved... / Don't be afraid, / We'll soon be safe". Reassuring thoughts, Big Thoughts, and between those two notions are ten songs where the messiness of life happens. A father frets over his newborn baby ("The World Is Full of People Who Want to Hurt You"), love is forged (the gorgeous, upbeat "Montreal"), love is lost ("First Love"), people die ("Slowly Gently Softly") and most horrifyingly, fate intervenes and a child is run over by a car ("No Guarantee"). It's oversimplification, but Nourallah's central thesis seems to be: "A lot of stuff goes down over the course of a life, but hang in there."

It's the second half of that phrase that elevates Beautiful Noise over countless albums that mine the same territory. After all, without that sense of hope, the lyrics on Beautiful Noise could double for those on a death metal album. I'm only half-kidding, but did I mention that one describes a distracted driver chatting on a cellphone running over a child getting off a school bus? Nourallah, like, say Jeff Tweedy (with whom he shares an uncanny vocal similarity) may get dark, but he is at heart an optimist: "Love is for heroes, / Hate is for fools", he righteously notes on "Never Say Never".

And speaking of Tweedy, as a point of reference, Beautiful Noise sounds a lot like the middle third of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot... minus the bleeps 'n' bloops and the weird "Yankee. Hotel. Foxtrot." lady. There's the spare pop arrangement of "The World Is Full of People..."; sweeping strings on "Never Say Never"; synths on "No Guarantee", and a mini guitar-workout on "The Otherside".

With Beautiful Noise, Nourallah has crafted a, uh, beautiful, mature pop record that isn't afraid to tackle grown-up issues. In a culture where everyone is increasingly treated as if they were children, being told that everything is hunky dory, thank artists like Nourallah for standing up and reminding listeners that life is hard, but it's still the most amazing gift that we will ever be given.

hey look · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2005 4:24 pm

Enuch Chuck Wrote:

Dalen Wrote:

Enuch Chuck Wrote:

Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck

i finally listened, and slapped myself for sleeping on this man. i owe you one. shit is TIGHT!

Hells yeah!

Here's a few more:

Growing - His Mistake
Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow
Flotation Toy Warning - Bluffer's Guide To The Flight Deck

If that Growing album wasn't an EP, it would probably be top 3 for me.

Before You Finalize Your 2005 List

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