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01 Arcade Fire – Funeral [Merge]
This is the best Talking Heads record that David Byrne never wrote. [Stephen Smith]
When I popped this in for the first time, I was awestruck, and as a testment to its cohesiveness and challenging nature, it hasn't yet left my rotation. The vocals, compositions, dynamics and lyrical content are all top notch and Funeral has appealed to a wide range of music lovers. Loads and loads of praise have been lavished upon this album, and suffice to say, it deserves every bit of it. [Abi Huynh]
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02 Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News [Epic]
Modest Mouse put themselves into the public eye, but scoring two radio hits hasn’t corrupted Isaac Brock’s sound or his altered sense of humor. Yet another batch of classic songs; their quirky sense of pop songs wins yet again. [Craig Mertes]
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03 Madvillian – Madvillainy [Stones Throw]
Doom and Madlib made an incredible record. Otis Jackson's beats and Daniel Dumile's battered voice complement each other just perfectly. Far surpassing the Jaylib collaboration, Madvillany should be inserted into your brain and put on eternal repeat. [Jonah Flicker]
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04 TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes [Touch & Go]
What a year for records that rely on the power of that most fragile of instruments, the human voice. Dark and bruised, yet full of hope and soul, TV On The Radio's inspired, indie doo-wop is salvation for the transgressions of boy bands who, it was thought, had killed the vocal genre. This is music with a lot of body and the lyrics reveal a full understanding of what it means to be human. [Peter Lindblad]
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05 Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse [DGC]
I’ll be the first to admit that Sonic Nurse is hardly perfection, but it stands intently as one of the finest releases the band has produced in many years. Perhaps middle age has made Sonic Youth wise beyond their years, as they are able to discern what is poignant with an album that is skillful and sure to sharpen the senses with a natural understanding of song craft and lyrical handiwork this guy hasn’t heard since Daydream Nation. [Mark Taylor]
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06 The Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat [Rough Trade]
Just listen to it, try and wrap your head around it. It is inconceivable that an album this out there, this twisted, could be so accessible and - dare I say it? - popular. Blueberry Boat didn't break any molds, it was hand carved. [Eric J Herboth]
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07 Blonde Redhead – Misery is a Butterfly [4AD]
It's been said quite a bit that this album shows maturity and some healthy progression for Blonde Redhead, and it's an accurate statement to make. The title says a lot for what lies within - a collection of beautifully sad songs. And for those of us who like that sort of thing, this album certainly delivers. It's good news that Blonde Redhead continues to find inspiration and drive to keep it coming. [Randy Gaudreau]
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08 Xiu Xiu – Fabulous Muscles [5RC]
Countless nights have I spent in a futile attempt to apprehend just what this record does to me. It seems, all at once, to be grossly parodical and disarmingly sincere, conversational and friendly yet abstract and standoffish, wet and fragile but also numbingly dense. Hearing the tender midnight of the title track's guitar outro crumbling into "Brian the Vampire"'s jittery synth snowstorm upset every preconceived notion I held about the way pop music albums function and weave their way into my consciousness, and these beautifully offensive moments abound on what has grown to be, hands down, one of the most multi-tiered, ambitious, and fully-realized records I've had the joy of wrestling. [Phillip
Buchan]
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09 Animal Collective – Sung Tongs [Fat Cat]
Cyclical if not nauseously repetitive, wobbly if not over caffeinated, this is a main stance to understand the noise scene, and prove that this whole thing is not simply artistic regurgitation to impress your geek friends. [Helder Gomes]
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10 Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand [Domino]
Yeah, the hip fasionistas broke it big, but don't begrudge them their fame. This debut is fine as apple pie (or the Scottish equivalent). Big Hooks and Big Swagger - it's a deadly combination. [Dan Williams]
With all the success that has come to them, chances are that they're going to blow it on the next one. I'm going to be sad when I have to throw this out and pretend I had always hated them. [Thom Nash]
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11 Q and Not U – Power [Dischord]
This record marks a different step for Q and Not U, and this new path is lined with crazy, danceable fun. Politics don’t really hit you in the face when you listen to Power, which is the reason I think I like it so much. It’s fine to have a message, but it’s also fine to enjoy yourself. [Bob Ladewig]
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12 Of Montreal – Satanic Panic in the Attic [Polyvinyl]
Simply one of the strangest albums I have ever encountered - Satanic Panic in the Attic still makes me laugh when I see it on my CD rack. Why? I feel like I've been tricked. I never imagined I would ever listen to something that at first spin sounds so damned bubble-gummy. But upon further inspection, this 14 track album composed almost entirely of toe-tapping pop ditties is definitely one of the most engaging discs certainly of this year at least. Yet people still tilt their head and give me a strange glance when I decide to throw it on. [Randy Gaudreau]
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13 Elliott Smith – From a Basement on the Hill [Anti-]
The long awaited post-mortem album from a songwriting genius. I don’t know if it’s great because it’s sad or if it’s sad because it’s great. [Andy Brown]
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14 Interpol – Antics [Matador]
There’s something epic about Interpol’s albums, a grandiose impression left on my mind after each listen, as if I’m part of something bigger than just a group of songs. Interpol manages to compliment their stellar debut with a stellar follow-up, engaging and humorous at times, and Hollywood in scope. [David Spain]
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15 Brian Wilson – SMiLE [Nonesuch]
Perhaps one of the biggest letdowns of my life, this still excellent album buckled slightly to the weight of its own legend before anyone could even hear it. I'd much prefer to hear what was actually in Wilson's head so long ago, rather than this later in life interpretation of it, but Smile is still a very enjoyable listen that deserves its due. [Eric J Herboth]
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16 Wilco – A Ghost is Born [Nonesuch]
People who whine that A Ghost is Born is no Yankee Hotel Foxtrot don’t get the point of this record — it’s consciously different from anything else Wilco has done and it is incredible. When they aren’t working on the Spongebob Movie, Jeff Tweedy and co. will be busy changing American pop music. [Andy Brown]
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17 Raising the Fawn – The North Sea [Sonic Unyon]
There's something about records with a nautical theme that gets me every time. Raising The Fawn's The North Sea captures that feeling of being stranded alone on the water. A shut-in who never steps foot outside probably knows all too well what that's like. The atmosphere of The North Sea is cold and gray. The siren-song vocals lead your vessel into the rocks, but the guitars shine a beam of light through the fog and release you from their hold. It gently rocks you to sleep with lapping sonic water. Let it suck you under. [Peter Lindblad]
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18 Björk – Medúlla [Elektra]
Björk, never dwelling within the same realm or concept of music as most artists, creates in Medulla an exploration of voice as instrument and melody. To call it experimental is a little much considering its source, but enlisting the help of beatboxers, Robert Wyatt, and the Mike Patton to lend their vocal talents prefaces the scope of Björk’s art. [David Spain]
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19 Deerhoof – Milk Man [5RC]
This is the most accessible Deerhoof record to date, but without sacrificing the angular guitars, odd percussion, non-standard time signatures, and strangely childish lyrics that made me love Deerhoof in the first place. It is always a major accomplishment if, after releasing several acclaimed albums, a band can keep delivering what the fans want without sounding repetitive and creatively barren. Deerhoof does that here and then some. [Dan Filowitz]
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20 McLusky – The Difference Between Me and You Is That I Am Not On Fire [Too Pure]
Steve Albini’s production has snuck in and completely infiltrated the band. What’s more, it’s as if they wanted it that way. A wholly dark, raucous affair, it proves the band is not a one-trick pony; in fact, they have taken the ideas of Do Dallas and allowed them to corrode in hostility. This is McLusky gone angry, even daring, and moves them to a progressive place, not to be bypassed. [Sarah Peters]
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