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January 30, 2006
the great 2005 roundup :: part 1 . . . loose ends
At long last, and at least before January is gone, it's time to close out 2005 with final thoughts on a few discs I haven't covered. Tomorrow I'll post my summary comments on the actual top 20. Otherwise, as I set fingertips to keyboard, I have very little plan for this post. 2005 loose ends: here we come.
There were several records I listened to a fair bit but didn't get a chance to write about, for one reason or another. Five of them stick in my mind:
the frames :: burn the maps
This came out in the UK in late 2004, but not in the US until early 2005 as far as I can tell. I have been listening to it all year, but it got lost in the frenzy of the early days of this blog. In a way, it's a cross between two forms of earnest indie rock: The Wedding Present and The Constantines. It's better than both records, and a few more; it enters at #17 in the final list.
The Frames :: Dream Awake (mp3)
kate bush :: aerial
Kate Bush's last album came out in 1993; the Lilith Fair started in 1996. If you find it hard to listen to her music given how Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and the rest took a jackhammer to the path she paved, I understand. But she still sounds weirder and more legitimate than any of the rest on the 2-disc Aerial, although it's just a bit too wispy to make the top 20 (and it has a song in which she recites pi to way too many digits). If I judged records on how many purely astonishing moments they contain, it would be in the top 10.
Kate Bush :: How to be Invisible (mp3)
m83 :: before the dawn heals us
M83's first album was an indie cause célèbre; for some reason the duo's split diminished this subsequent release by one of the original pair. The songs sound more fully-realized and composed than those on Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts, and it is simply a more lasting album to my ears. It deserves a place in the top 20, but I can't find one for it.
lightning bolt :: hypermagic mountain
This is the first Lightning Bolt record I've ever listened to. Based on descriptions, I expected patience-testing pure noise; instead, this is compelling energy music with an improvisational structure and a fair amount of musical theme. There are hints of prog-rock, metal, and free jazz all over the place. It's pretty damn listenable (if you're the adventurous sort), and another one that's tough to exclude from the top 20.
Lightning Bolt :: 2 Morro Morro Land (mp3)
the go! team :: thunder, lightning, strike
This came out in the UK in mid-2004, and I have been listening to it since then. It was mentioned plenty among the best records of '04. But it was released in the US in late 2005, and many folks are catching on. Nothing sounds quite like it, it's a rush all the way through, and it's not a bad thing that it's appearing in year-end roundups again.
The Go! Team :: Junior Kickstart (mp3)
Records that I have reviewed and have aged well through the year:
Gorillaz (I said I was calling it too early, and I was), Akron/Family (including the disc with Michael Gira's Angels of Light), Jaga Jazzist, The Decemberists, British Sea Power, Kanye West, Superwolf, Boards of Canada, Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine & Calexico (and Woman King EP), White Stripes, Michael Penn, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Stars, Black Mountain, Lou Barlow.
Also great ambient/experimental discs by Marsen Jules, Eluvium, and Nils Økland.
The disappointments? Spoon, first and foremost, despite one of the best songs of the year in "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine". I expected a top 5 album after Kill the Moonlight and got a flawed non-masterpiece. It was still one of the 50 best discs of the year, despite the disappointment. In the major-league division, Bruce Springsteen turned in a near-total snooze.
The best live shows I saw all year were by LCD Soundsystem (the clear #1), Broken Social Scene, the triple bill of The Hold Steady, The Constantines, and Thunderbirds are Now!, and The Futureheads.
The best archival releases of the year were the Talking Heads brick, the Bill Fay reissues, the Band box set, the latest Bob Dylan compilation, the Judee Sill stuff, and the reissue of Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity.
Tomorrow, the top 20 wrap-up.
Posted by borrowed_tunes at January 30, 2006 11:25 PM