And the beat goes on…and the beat goes on…
(For those who need to catch up: #50-41, #40-31, & #30-21.)
20. The Stage Names – Okkervil River
Being an actor isn’t all glitz and glamor, or at least so says Okkervil River. Over the course of nine tracks Will Scheff and company use their linguistic brand of indie rock to spin stories of the terror of the spotlight (“A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene”), the hollowness of womanizing (“A Girl In Port”), and the loneliness of forced attention (“Plus Ones”). All the while the poetic lyrics are carried by rock orchestrations that match the mood of each tune to a T. The Stage Names feels like a novel masquerading as an album and even though the last chapter ends triumphantly on “John Allyn Smith Sails,” you’re left wanting more. Luckily this is one story that can be heard again and again without ever growing sick of it.
(Full review here.)
19. Makers – Rocky Votolato
The tradition of singer-songwriters has always thrived off deep ties to regions and their natural essence. Countless albums have been distilled the heart of the deep south, northeast, and the mid-western plains, but the northwest has often gone largely overlooked. Rocky Votolato’s Makers fills this gap in the American tapestry, proving the region is more than just the stereotypical coffee drinking indie grungers. “White Daisy Passing” captures the serene delicacy of the majestic pines surrounding calm, cool Pacific streams, while many others (like “Where We Left Off”) capture the powerful beauty in the ominous darkness of rain clouds. All the while Volotato’s soothing croon takes the listener away from whatever reality they are at and transports them, even if only for a few short tunes, to his world.
18. The Artist In The Ambulance – Thrice
There is nothing light about Thrice’s The Artist In The Ambulance. It is the absolute antithesis of heavy melodicism. The music has a gravitas about it, coming on thick and unrelenting, yet everything still manages to have a hook. Considering these two world are often dichotomous, Thrice really achieves something by achieving the perfect balance. But beyond the album’s instrumental fortitude, lie lyrics that don’t pull punches while discussing political climates, American greed, and the complete loss of hope. “Cold Cash And Colder Hearts” is a scathing rebuke of the lifestyle of the United States and the neglect of the Third World. Even in it’s brightest moments, like on “Stare At The Sun” and “The Artist In The Ambulance,” Thrice drives home an underlying message of wasted moments that could have be spent doing something meaningful. The Artist In The Ambulance can kick your ass, get stuck in your head, and make you think. It’s not everyday that trio works in synergy.
17. Funeral – Arcade Fire
Music doesn’t get more joyous than Funeral. While the lyrical picture the album paints is certainly bleak, it holds the feeling of a soulful and lively congregation singing their hearts out to the rafters. Mixing together a cornucopia of sounds, song after song on Funeral carries an anthemic weight. What starts with the uplifting “Neighborhood 1 – Tunnels” carries through to soaring “Wake Up” and gradeous epic “Rebellion (Lies).” It is music that makes people smile through their tears. Raise you’re hands to the sky, rejoice, and sing along.
16. Turn On The Bright Lights – Interpol
With a foreboding instrumental atmosphere and Paul Banks’s monotone drawl, Turn On The Bright Lights gives a voice to a New York City night’s underbelly. The songs aren’t sung as much as coldly emitted, droning on about subways, sex fiends, and senses of separation. There are just enough hints of pep and lyrical slyness to make each song’s distant core engaging. Turn On The Bright Lights makes you wish you never had to go out in natural light again.
15. Futures – Jimmy Eat World
The massive columns of guitar sound right off the bat on “Futures” set the tone for Jimmy Eat World’s biggest and best album. The band’s heartfelt center is still in tact, but everything else is precisely tightened and honed. The first half of the album is a rockers paradise, as numbers like “Pain” and “Just Tonight” blister along with a biting edge. It’s life in the fast lane, so to speak. But once “Drugs Or Me” begins things melow into a pseudo-slowcore feel, with the emotionality coming out in full force. The way that the album calmly winds down, with numbers like “Polaris” and the stirring epic “24,” make Futures the perfect dreamy soundtrack for long late night drives across lonely highways. Each half represents a distinct paths that somehow merge into one. Wherever the road may lead, the audio accompaniment will remain wonderous.
13 (Tie). Hot Fuss / Sam’s Town – The Killers
Choosing which one of The Killers’ first two albums is better is like a mother having two amazing and gifted children and having to picking her favorite. Each one does so much right in complete different ways. Hot Fuss captures a snapshot of The Killers a band on the rise who unabashedly embraces the excess and mystique of their hometown Las Vegas. Half in a stupor, the group rattles off songs about murder (“Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine”), envy and lust (“Mr. Brightside”), and wild parties (“Midnight Show”). But amidst all the debauchery there’s a sequin’s glimmer of hope for the undeniable uplifting of the human spirit in lines like, “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier,” from “All These Things That I’ve Done.” On the other hand, Sam’s Town is pure Americana; about as far away from Vegas as one can get. On the album silvery luster of life shows its rust, and so The Killers replace the exterior pop flair with a hard-driving rock heart. Sam’s Town is grounded in extrapolations on the theme of the American dream and its shortcomings: idealistic love (“When You Were Young”), never being content (“The River Is Wild”), and self-medicating away the pain (“Uncle Jonny”), to name a few. Both Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town are fantastic. Luckily no one has to pick between the two.
12. Your Favorite Weapon – Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon is an encapsulation of youth in short bursts of audio perfection. There are so many things that set the album apart from all other music of it’s ilk (that being teen-oriented pop punk/emo), but primary among theses factors is Jesse Lacey’s lyrical work. If such a position existed, he’d undoubtedly be the Poet Laureate of teenage angst. When he sings of describes a former flame by saying, “I’ve got a twenty dollar bill that says no one’s ever seen you without make-up, you’re always made up,” on “Mix Tape,” the point is vividly clear and palpably disgusted. But girls don’t bear all his wrath. There might not be a more scathing indictment of friendship than “Seventy Times 7.” Your Favorite Weapon captures the experiences of growing up: being hopelessly confused, feeling life out, falling in love, and getting kicked more than a few times when you fall down. When “Soco Amaretto Lime,” the killer acoustic album-ender about staying “eighteen forever,” comes (literally) to a screeching halt, the most crucial idea about adolescence becomes clear. Youth, just like Your Favorite Weapon, is over before anyone wants it to be.
(Full review here.)
11. So Jealous – Tegan and Sara
When discussing music there are two types of ways to define something that’s infectious. There’s the negative context; where a terrible repetitive song gets stuck in your and you’re furious that it won’t go away. Then there’s the type of infectious found on So Jealous; the type where songs burrow their way into your brain and you never want them to leave because they feel like home. Beginning with the clunky chords of “You Wouldn’t Like Me” the sister duo weave songs built on emotionally fragility with a dash of optimism. From the simplistically addictive “Walking With A Ghost” to the sweetness of “Speak Slow,” each track carves it’s own identity while still maintaining a tie to the whole collective work. So Jealous is just so…so…pretty…and so…real. Sometimes, that’s all music needs to be.
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[...] Top 50 Albums of ’00s (10-1) Here’s a quick recap previous installments: #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, & #20-11. [...]