The ongoing look back at the top albums of the 00s. In case you need a recap on the tenants used to make these rankings or missed the previous effort: #50-41.
40. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me – Brand New
Brand New’s third album finds the group in a place where fighting off their inner demons took president over any problems they previously wrote about. This turmoil results in the pinnacle of Brand New’s usage of the soft-to-loud dynamic (which many have come to define as the band’s “signature” sound). Whether he’s pouring out his emotions on death (“Sowing Season”) or the end of the world (“Degausser”), Jesse Lacey’s lyrical precision remains in tact. No mention of The Devil And God would be complete without bringing up “Luca,” which features the most startling moment in music I’ve ever experienced. Anytime an album features a track that can literally catch you off guard to the point of a physical reaction (multiple times, none the less) you know you’re onto something great.
39. Highly Evolved – The Vines
During early part of the decade hype swirled like crazy around the “The” bands; The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Hives, and The Vines. Of the set, The Vines were they group that didn’t “deliver” according to most observers. Uhh…bullshit. Just because the radio listeners didn’t dig what The Vines were selling doesn’t mean that Highly Evolved wasn’t fantastic with it’s blend of modern alternative and much more classic (60s/70s-ish) rock. The real brilliance of The Vines is how singer/guitarist Craig Nicholls created pure havoc while his killer rhythm section stabilized everything with super tight playing. Tracks like “Outtathaway!” and “Get Free” spiral completely out of control while others like “Mary Jane” and “Autumn Shade” stay in control only because you can hear how much the reek of reefer. Nicholls is almost assuredly crazy, but that doesn’t preclude him from also being insanely gifted.
38. Songs For The Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme was born to rock and on Songs For The Deaf he’s out to prove he deserves a place among the coolest cats in rock ‘n roll. Armed with a brutalizing rhythm section (Dave Ghrol and Nick Oliveri) and an array of riffs, Homme creates a soundtrack for scorching desert drives. The opener “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire” might be the heaviest hyper-melodic song ever laid down and that’s only the tip of the quickly melting iceberg. The off-kilter riff of “No One Knows” is polar opposite of the unrelenting downstroke barrage of “Go With The Flow,” but both feel at home on this journey. It’s a long trip and it’s hot out there, luckily Songs For The Deaf can help quench the musical thirst.
37. Good News For People Who Love Bad News – Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse never was and is never going to be a happy band, but on Good News For People Who Love Bad News you could almost catch a glimpse of the corners of their mouths inching to crack a smile. The album seemed to have more a more airy quality than what Isaac Brock and company are used to; the increase in space was somewhat freeing. “The View” and “Ocean Breathes Salty” have actual pep in their step. That’s not to say that Modest Mouse lost any edge, tracks like “Bukowski” and “Black Cadillacs” still pack a vile punch. Yet even on “The Good Times Are Killing Me” there’s an admittance that though the ends might not be desirable, some of these days are actually “good.” It’s a pessimistic brand of hope that somehow got a lot of people through the 00s.
36. The Antlers – Hospice
No album this decade captured a single aspect of humanity as well as Hospice captured death. It’s crushingly sad and real depiction of dealing with the inevitability of mortality. Acoustic guitars and electronic buzzes set the scene for singer Peter Silberman’s soft croon, which tires to keep the listener calm and composed even when he’s uttering the most heartbreaking words imaginable. The sincerity makes the album, anyone who has to deal with a loved one’s passing can identify with the emotions in play here. Statements like, “We’re fucked and not getting unfucked soon,” hit points of our psyche we try desperately to forgot. Hospice is a viscerally brutal piece of artwork that’s beauty and pain will forever linger in your head.
(Full review here.)
35. Picaresque – The Decemberists
Detailed stories and scenes define The Decmemberists and Picaresque features the group’s most vivid imagery and liveliest tales. Accounts of star-crossed lovers, barrow boys, klutzy athletes, and modern American war are laid out with frontman Colin Meloy’s signature English major lyrical verbosity. Tragedy often seems to befall his charcters, but that hardly dampens the listening experience thanks to wonderful arrangements behind the words. And while the term “epic” gets tossed around a bit too often when discussing music, there’s simply no other way to describe nearly nine minutes of blissful narration that is “The Mariner’s Revenge Song.” This collection of short stories is a must read listen.
34. Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
The massive success of “Stacy’s Mom” made many immediately write off Welcome Interstate Managers as a one-hit wonder album with nothing to offer other than a silly single. These people couldn’t have been more wrong. This album features some of the most creative and varied songwriting one could ever hope to find; both stylistically and lyrically. Lyrical themes of the songs range from the traditional love songs (“Hey Julie”) to the atypical topics of businessmen (“Little Red Light” and “Bright Future In Sales”), quarterbacking (“All Kinds of Time”), and bad food service workers (“Haley’s Waitress”). There’s something here for everyone because even in their specificity the songs have a universality that everyone can connect with. Even if that connection is…sigh…a M.I.L.F.
33. Plans – Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab For Cutie managed to put out 4 great LPs this decade, but the group’s mainstream breakthrough, Plans, is the best of the lot. Every tune seems gently crafted in these Washingtonians hands, from the majestically soaring “Marching Bands Of Manhattan” to the contained and intimate “Brothers On A Hotel Bed.” But the clear standouts are two of the singles. “Soul Meets Body” is about as flawless as a track can get on any level you look at it and “I Will Follow You Into The Dark,” in all it’s stripped-down glory (both instrumentally and emotionally), has to be among the decade’s most touching songs. Plans’s highs are lost among the clouds and it’s lows are canyon-esque; and it’s all the more beautiful for it.
32. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – Arctic Monkeys
The blitz of guitars that kick off “The View From The Afternoon” set out to answer band’s self-imposed question, “Who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?” The answer: The roundest bunch of U.K. rockers who don’t play punk. Alex Turner’s lyrics are derived from the eyes of a danceclub ethnographist and delivered with the coy cleverness of a kid who is too cool to be hip. When he hollers to “put on your dancing shoes” it’s hard to imagine anyone refusing the order; not with such great hip-shaking riffs wailing across these tunes. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not is the all-nighter you’d regret missing no matter how hard you’re head is pounding the next morning.
31. Fuckin A – The Thermals
After their initial fray into lo-fi, The Thermals came back with noise, noise, noise. From the opening screeches of “Our Trip,” it’s clear feedback rules the day on Fuckin A, but Hutch Harris’s crew also find themselves in a tighter, more melodic place without sacrificing their bratty, snarling edge. Songs including “How We Know” and “Forward” brim with frenetic energy, punk stylings, and a sugary coating that can’t be resisted. The album is like a good mosh pit; you’re constantly getting hit and beaten, but everybody’s on the same page and just having a blast.
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