Second Thoughts

This list continued from yesterday.

addendum: see Mike Robert's blog, which he created to display a top 25 album list.


20. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
I understand that putting Bloc Party on an album list is to sacrifice “indie cred,” but I think that’s sort of stupid. Maybe the new-wave/dance-punk movement resurgence has gotten old, and maybe it’s gotten really mainstream, and yes NME is overrun with similar sounding ripoffs--but this album runs a lot deeper. It’s an explicitly political album that you can dance to, the drumming is masterful, there’s a lot of emotion. Sometimes Bloc Party tries too hard, and sometimes Kele’s voice is too full of earnestness, but for the most part I think they put out an impenetrably tight, honest album, and that’s something.

19. Broadcast - Tender Buttons
This is a really weird album, and it’s only beginning to make sense. I’m still on what may be a lifetime search for something that’s as subconsciously interesting as The Books’ first two albums, especially The Lemon of Pink. This comes close, and I think that I haven’t gotten there because it’s so unmelodious. The lead singer’s icy voice hovers over choppy, lo-fi sampled electronica, but it also feels organic. Every time I listen to this album I understand one small part of it. It’s on my list because it took one listen to know that it would continue to come back until I understand.

18. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy is an abnormal, well-dressed genius at making singles. Probably it’s safe to say that this is the least cohesive album on my list, and also to say that it has the largest concentration of unbelievably good singles. Having missed the Losing My Edge single, the bonus disc with this album was my introduction, along with Beat Connection, to a song which, despite all odds, is soooo good. Even the actual album has such instantly likeable and enduring songs as “On Repeat,” Tribulations,” “Too Much Love,” Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” etc. If it weren’t for the two or three missteps, this would be a fair bit higher.

17. Iron and Wine - Woman King EP
It was a hard decision whether or not to include EPs in this list of albums, but it was inconceivable to leave this off of any year-end list. I was vaguely interested in Iron and Wine before hearing this, thinking that Our Endless Numbered Days was a bit too homogenous. But I think I listened to “Jezebel” about 60 times this year (if my Itunes playcount hadn’t been lost when I got a new computer in May, I could tell you). This album bared the teeth that Sam Beam’s previous efforts didn’t, and when they came out I really started listening. Nobody sounds anything like this guy. The collaboration with Calexico is also excellent and worth checking out.

16. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
I was really excited for this album to come out after Carl Newman’s solo effort as “A.C. Newman” and realizing his trenchant gift for pulling perfect pop songs out of the sky. I loved Mass Romantic, New Pornographers earlier album, and this one I liked better. The support of Neko Case’s airy-while-earthy voice and the other members from various bands have always garnered labels like “super group” for the New Pornographers; in that sense they risk sounding contrived. This is not the case. There’s a darker edge to this album, something slightly less cheeky, but in the end Carl Newman and co. simply write impeccable, tight, compulsively singable songs. That it doesn’t sound like the Gin Blossoms is the magic trick.