From GAF:
I said I missed a lot of music this year, but when I look back, I guess I didn't. But I feel like I haven't discovered as many new bands/artists; THAT seems to have slowed down. Anyway, I'm not going to write a book about every album like I did last year.
Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur CoatThis album is awesome. Do you know how hard it is for me to get into anything with a twangy sound? It doesn't matter, it's that good. Jenny Lewis has a beautiful voice. I also like the way she puts thought into songwriting ("The Charging Sky" for example). This was a very Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley year for me. In fact that's probably why I missed out on some albums, because I listened to nothing but Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley forever. AOTY. Well, it's tied with something else listed below, actually...
Zero 7 - The GardenI don't know why people were so disappointed in this album. It still has a really good chill vibe to it, but it's just not brought out in the same kind of way that it was in their last two albums. What do you want, another
Simple Things? They can't top that. Also, I like the more pure jazz sound and feel to a lot of the songs. Specifically, "This Fine Social Scene" and "Waiting to Die". "Throw It All Away" also has a more pure sound to it even though it's... not. Impressive. Nice production.
Sonic Youth - Rather RippedThurston's songs are pretty lacking, but Kim has some of the best songs she's ever done on here. Reena, Jams Run Free and Turquoise Boy are my favorite tracks.
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the FloodNow THIS is an album. Wow. Neko Case just has a wealth of talent, doesn't she? I am impressed by her ability to write such amazing songs. Her vocals are hauntingly beautiful and moving, and the band is just ace. Songwriting is top notch. She's one of a kind. This and 2002's
Blacklisted are my favorite albums of hers, and they do share a similar sound -- it's the one I prefer most out of Ms. Case.
Fox Confessor is tied with Jenny Lewis for my AOTY. The fact that they are both redheads, in their mid-30's, and doing more of a country/twangy album is
pure coincidence, and I am not joking! But that is pretty funny, regardless.
Silversun Pickups - CarnavasGood, fuzzy, noisy, melodic lo-fi rock. Silversun Pickups have a kind of sound that can range from being like Sonic Youth to Built to Spill, but also a bit more accessible. On the other hand, they don't overdo it and they're definitely closer to being more of a lo-fi band than really polished. "Well Thought Out Twinkles" is one of the catchiest songs I've heard all year. I think this band could become considerably popular soon enough, even with a very mainstream audience.
Film School - Film SchoolIt's poppy shoegaze. Fun stuff. "Pitfalls" is just a great song, if mainstream radio actually played good new songs, this would no doubt be one of the best singles of the year. "He's a Deep Deep Lake" is really slick and spooky. 11:11 for whatever reason reminds me of the FFVIII OST and I love the song.
Deftones - Saturday Night WristYeah. Completely out of place in this list, but this album is good. Even if Chino is ripping off the brutal nature of some of The Smashing Pumpkins' harder songs (and not anywhere close to being as good, I might add), I still enjoyed this album.
Girl Talk - Night RipperAlso out of place. This normally isn't my kind of thing, but I'm so very impressed with this just from a technical standpoint. He really mashes up a bunch of songs really well, and it does NOT sound like every other lame "illegal megamix" effort. It sounds like a commercial effort. It sounds better than that, actually. Also, the fact that Greg Gillis is from Pittsburgh is cool.
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife Quite an improvement from their last (an album that only had two tracks that I kept listening to), this one has a lot of strong songs. While I do really like it, I'm not sure what else I have to say about it other than the fact that, well, I really like it, dammit. I think it has to do with the fact that I can't really describe this band. But they sound awesome. I think they have a lot of future potential.
Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA"The Ruling Class" alone makes this worth putting in the list. This has to be one of the best songs Jeff Tweedy ever had anything to do with. But, it's filled with a lot of other good tracks that also justify it making the list.
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy SoldiersWhen Jack White said this was not a White Stripes side band, he was right. These guys have their own sound. This is a very enjoyable album from start to finish; it's short (33 minutes), but it's certainly all killer, no filler.
The Futureheads - News and Tributes Upon first listen I figured I wouldn't care much for this album, but surprisingly, I listened to this one all the time. It's solid from start to finish. "Cope" (rocks like a mother****er), "Thursday", "Skip To The End," "Fallout", "News and Tributes", "Favours for Favours"... hell, that's over half the album, I think. Just really good, catchy songs with great execution, even if simplistic.
And that's about it.
I listened to some other albums, but I don't feel they were so good that they belonged on the list. Some of them were utterly dismal.
Also, Mew's
"And the Glass Handed Kites" is an awesome album. Actually, that's an understatement. This is one of the best of all the ones I've listed.
