Good Weather For Airstrikes

NOTE: Some people have reported problems with the downloads in the comments. I believe this to be the result of both Blogger and ezarchive being down earlier today for maintenance, but it could also have to do with people playing the files on a music player that isn’t iTunes, as about half of the files are M4As (iTunes-compatible only) and not MP3s. I just went through and tested the downloads and they seem to be working now, so if problems persist please notify me in the comments. Oh, and I think I fixed the Iron & Wine formatting problem. But yeah, enjoy.

As promised, here is my final list, though unfortunately belated, of the top 25 albums I most enjoyed this year. I’m not saying necessarily that these were the best artistic accomplishments of ‘05 (if so Takk… or Illinoise would be #1), these are just the albums I enjoyed the most of this year. Be warned, a lot of people might have a problem with this list, as there’s some minor punk-emo representation, and some albums are noticeably absent (BSS’ Broken Social Scene, MMJ’s Z, Spoon’s Gimme Fiction, Of Montreal’s Sunlandic Twins), as I just didn’t ever get into them as much as everyone else despite trying as hard as I could. I’ve accompanied each album on the list with a “key track”, but I’ve chosen a song you’re less likely to have heard than the song that is the consensus best track, as I think everyone’s heard “Banquet”, “Chicago”, and “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” enough this year (alright I lied, I could never hear “Banquet” enough). Hopefully not too many of you will have a problem with my list, and I hope at the very least you can get some gems from this that you may not have heard already.

1. Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
Key Track: “So Here We Are”
Easily one of the most enjoyable debut albums of the last ten years, Silent Alarm is an incredibly listenable album from one of the UK’s hottest bands of 2005. Kele Okereke’s distinctly British wails are punctuated by Russell Lissack’s sharp and angular guitar riffs and the urgent and intense drumming of Matt Tong, who’s easily the best drummer of ‘05. Bloc Party present often-danceable, always intelligent post-punk dance-rock of the finest quality, and they’ve also been especially prolific, releaseing two EPs, their debut album, a remix album, and four singles in the last year, with work on their sophomore effort to be begun shortly (ge. The biggest knock on these four lads from London is that they’re merely a new-millenium Gang of Four rip-off, and while that may hold true on the angular call-and-return guitar riffs on the band’s hottest single, “Banquet”, a listen to the rest of the album and slower more dramatic songs like “This Modern Love” and “So Here We Are” recall a sound closer to Joy Division, and prove the Gang of Four knock-off notion otherwise. Every month of this year found me with a new favorite song (”Banquet”, “Helicopter”, “Like Eating Glass”, “Pioneers”, “So Here We Are”… the list goes on)from this album, and I am consistently astonished by my love for this album.

2. Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens
Key Track: “The Predatory Wasp”
Not enough can be said about the artistic accomplishment that is Illinoise. Sufjan Stevens took a state largely unfamiliar to him, researched its history relentlessly, and came out with a 22-song masterpiece of an album. “Chicago” and “Casimir Pulaski Day” are easily two of the best and most moving songs of the year, but the real gem is buried in the album’s slightly-lagging second half (in comparison to the immaculate first half only), Sufjan’s ballad about a lost love, “The Predatory Wasp”.

3. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning - Bright Eyes
Key Track: “Poison Oak”
Narrowly edged out of the top two spots, Conor Oberst’s folk-american record of 2005, I’m Wide Awake, is not to be overlooked, as in any other year it could easily contend for the top spot. The fact that an album of this caliber slips all the way to number 3 is a testament to the incredibly quality of 2005’s releases. Though the entire album displays Oberst’s finest work to date, “Poison Oak” stands out as the best track of his illustrious career and one of the most moving songs I’ve ever heard. I consistently get chills every time he reaches the swelling chorus for the first time, and for a while I was actually convinced this was the single best song I had ever heard.

4. Takk… - Sigur Ros
Video: “Hoppipolla” (for some reason ezarchive never lets me upload this song, so unfortunately you’ll have to settle for downloading/watching the video instead, which is fantastic in itself).
Sigur Ros return with what is in my opinion their best album yet, eclipsing the somber tones of 2002’s ( ) and the incredible, though somewhat inaccesible, arrangements of 2000’s Ã?gætis Byrjun. Takk…, which means “Thanks” in their native Icelandic, is their must accessible album yet, though the term “accessible” is always relative when talking about Sigur Ros. In my opinion The Ros are in my opinion easily the best band in the world right now, as they’re creating and releasing the most groundbreaking and innovative music of anyone these days, and while every song on this album is special, “Hoppipolla” is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard and is probably the best song released this year, though I can’t bring myself to officially bump “Banquet” from the number one spot.

5. Plans - Death Cab For Cutie
Key Track: “Marching Bands of Manhattan”
Ah, Death Cab’s much talked-about major-label debut. After months of speculation as to the effect that the band’s recent major-label singing would have on their sound, DCFC released Plans to decent reviews and after slight initial dissappointment, I grew to love this album almost as much as their previous releases, which considering Transatlanticism’s status as one of my favorite albums of all time, is kind of a big deal (yeah, that’s a run-on sentence, what of it?). The lead-off track, “Marching Bands of Manhattan”, though not yet released as a single, is definitely the album’s highlight, though every song on the album, possibly excluding Stabilty EP re-hash “Stable Song”, is more of the fantastic DCFC-goodness you’ve come to expect.

6. Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
Key Track: “What I’m Trying To Say”
(NOTE: Set Yourself On Fire was released in Canada in 2004, but didn’t see a US release until March of this year, so it gets a spot on the list.)
My surprise album of the year had to be Stars’ Set Yourself On Fire, as it came out of nowhere to become one of my most listened to albums of 2005. My friend Alex Malkin sent this to me after I had asked him for any new music he had to recommend last February, and I immediately fell in love with album-opener “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”. However, upon first listen I was only mildly excited about the rest of the album, but when I returned to it months later I was blown away with what a complete and incredible album this was. Stars’ brand of keyboard-based blissful pop, highlighted by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan’s and male-female dual vocals, makes for a wonderful listen, and the cathartic powers of this album (specifically songs like “Ex-Lover”, “One More Night”, and “Sleep Tonight”) are to be noted as well.

7. Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers
Key Track: “The Jessica Numbers”
Heading into 2005 I had not really been a fan of The New Pornographers, and I had actually preferred AC Newman’s solo work to the full band’s two prior releases, Mass Romantic and Electric Version. However, with Twin Cinema, The New Pornos absolutely blew me away, unleashing a near-flawless album of power-pop perfection. My enthusiasm for the album could be seen in the simple fact that songs from it appeared on three consecutive M3s (V5, Dance Dance… Dance, and V6), but for some inexplicable reason I can’t bring myself to put this higher than #7 on the list. I think I view this album more in terms of single fantastic songs rather than a cohesive album listening experience, hence it’s somewhat unfair low placement on this list. All in all though, I definitely highly recommend this album for anyone, as I’m yet to find a single person who doesn’t absolutely love most of the songs on this release.

8. Picaresque - The Decemberists
Key Track: “On The Bus Mall”
Everyone’s favorite lit-rockers Colin Meloy and The Decemberists returned in 2005 with their best release to date, Picaresque. The album’s title is wonderfully appropriate for Meloy’s wonderfully fantastical lyrics, as it means “of or relating to a genre of usually satiric prose fiction depicting in realistic, often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social degree living by his or her wits in a corrupt society”. From politically-charged lead-single “16 Military Wives” to the incredible heartfelt ballad “The Engine Driver”, this album is start-to-finish wonderful. For me the highlight is buried at the end of the album, “On The Bus Mall”, a story of enduring companionship through the toughest of trials and tribulations as told by a runaway who perfectly encompasses the role of “roguish hero of low social degree”. Plus “Mariner’s Revenge Song” is the most fun you’ll have all year.

9. A Certain Trigger - Maximo Park
Key Track: “Apply Some Pressure”
First introduced to me as “kind of a Hot Hot Heat ripoff” by Lizzy last spring, Maximo Park grew on me so much that they actually eclipsed HHH (both pre and post-Elevator) and finish six spots above the aforementioned Canadians in this year-end albums list. Near-flawless first single, “Apply Some Pressure” is a frantic test of endurance, featuring a central guitar riff that’s catchier than anything you’ll hear all year. “Pressure” stands out as one of my favorite singles of the year, and other singles “Graffiti” and “Going Missing”, as well as standout track “Postcard of a Painting” make the album a brilliant debut, and probably the best true debut of the year (technically Bloc Party’s debut came in ‘04 with the Bloc Party EP).

10. Digital Ash In A Digital Urn - Bright Eyes
Key Track: “I Believe In Symmetry”
Though widely trashed as I’m Wide Awake’s far-inferior brother, I actually originally enjoyed Digital Ash more than its folk-Americana counterpart. Though that eventually changed drastically, I still do love Oberst’s experimentation in lo-fi electronica, and I feel like much of the criticism directed at the album is purely the result of its release coinciding with the brilliance that was and is I’m Wide Awake. If you view this album on its own, specifically incredible songs like singles “Take It Easy” and “Easy/Lucky/Free”, and album tracks “Arc of Time” and “I Believe In Symmetry”, I think you’ll find it’s better than you gave it credit for. Wrought with themes of death and mortality, Digital Ash is a remarkable tribute to the ephemeral quality of life.

11. Woman King/In The Reins - Iron & Wine/Iron & Wine + Calexico
Key Track: “Jezebel”
Key Track: “16, Maybe Less”
Though Sam Beam didn’t release a proper full-length in 2005, he was still a formidable presence, kicking off the year with the incredible Woman King and turning heads with his collaboration with Calexico, In The Reins, earlier this fall. Woman King is a compilation of songs all
playing on the female archetype (the poweful woman king, the whore, the mother, the wife, etc.), and sees Beam surrounded by much more lush instrumentation than his more sparse previous releases, and even features an electric guitar(!) on the album’s closer “Evening On The Ground”. Woman King outshines Reins, though the latter still provides us with a refreshing Southwestern take on Beam’s usually subdued instrumentation and vocals, notable for the standout track “16, Maybe Less” (as seen on M3 Volume 5).

12. Commit This To Memory - Motion City Soundtrack
Key Track: “Time Turn Fragile”
One of three non-indie entries on this list, MCS’ Commit This To Memory is a fantastic sophomore effort and vastly outshines the bands formulaic (in comparison) debut. Motion City Soundtrack’s 2002 debut, I Am The Movie, had some great moments that hinted to the band’s talent (specifically, “My Favorite Accident” and “The Future Freaks Me Out”), but their follow-up is a great album all the way through. Key tracks like “Attractive Today” and “Everything Is Alright” recall the sound established on I Am The Movie, but the band also shows maturity and evolution on slower songs like “Resolution” and the incredible pre-party-anthem-of-the-year “Let’s Get Fucked Up And Die”. However, the shining moment on the album comes towards the end with “Time Turned Fragile” an absolute pop-punk masterpiece, feature frantic catchy keyboard lines to open the song and incredible drumming in the song’s last minute, as well as possibly my favorite musical moment of the year at the “got so cold the words just froze, we had to wait ’til summer to find out what was said” part that begins at the 1:42 mark.

13. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River
Key Track: “Black”
Out of nowhere (for me at least), Okkervil River released a stellar album of some of the best Americana-folk you’ll hear all year (outside of Bright Eye’s I’m Wide Awake that is), centered around lead singer Will Sheff’s urgent, often frantic, vocals, which P-Fork so perfectly described as “more self-aware than Conor Oberst, more serious than Colin Meloy, more legible than Jeff Mangum” in their review of the album. The standout track is definitely “For Real”, which is easily one of the year’s best (it made both You Ain’t No Picasso and Said The Gramophone’s top 10 lists - follow either link to download), but Okkervil River also churns out two other songs that will make my Top 50, “Black” and “The Latest Toughs”, and just give us a great album in general.

14. Everything In Transit - Jack’s Mannequin
Key Track: “The Mixed Tape”
Yes, Jack’s Mannequin is the solo project of Andrew McMahon, the lead singer of Something Corporate. And yes, Something Corporate is lame. But McMahon has put together an album of flawless, pristine pop-punk goodness that was one of the most enjoyable listens of the year. The album opens with the wonderful “Holiday From Real” (as seen on M3 Volume 6), whose opening lyrics (”She thinks I’m much too thin, she asks me if I’m sick”) are creepily prescient, as McMahon would be diagnosed with lukemia shortly after finishing recording the album. However, with the support of thousands of devoted fans from his SoCo days, McMahon’s lukemia is in remission, and the pop-punk community can breathe a sigh of relief. But as for the album itself, it provided the perfect soundtrack for the transition from end of summer to fall. Though the album peaks early in the first half, on the strength of the opening two tracks “Holiday From Real” and the first single “The Mixed Tape”, it’s good from start to finish and is one of the finest pop-punk albums of the past five years.

15. Elevator - Hot Hot Heat
Key Track: “Dirty Mouth”
Though indie elitists might think that the giant red hands controlling the members of Hot Hot Heat like they were marionettes on the album cover is representative of major label executives controlling the band’s sound, but I prefer their new album to their previous works. Though the standout tracks from their previous releases still hold a very special place in my heart, I enjoy their new album all the way through. The first single, “Goodnight Goodnight” was one of the most popular tracks on M3 Volume 1, and became a party hit for the rest of the year, and the rest of the album proved to be just as much fun as that first taste. Unfortunately, when seeing the band live the new tracks don’t hold up to the old material, with the exception of “Island of the Honest Man (which bears the most resemblance to the older songs), but on record this was one of the most enjoyable albums of ‘05.

16. With Love & Squalor - We Are Scientists
Key Track: “Inaction”
(NOTE: Released in the UK in October, and though it doesn’t drop on our side of the pond until next week, I’m including it on the 2005 list since I bought it off import this year).
We Are Scientists was a band first introduced to me by You Ain’t No Picasso (follow the link to see his interview with the band), and then my love for them was reinforced when I first saw one of their videos (their first one, for “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt”) on MTV2 in London (British MTV2 = heaven) last June. The rest of the summer saw me fall further and further in love with the band and their unique brand of humor and herky-jerky indie rock, until I finally gave in and paid too much money for the import of the album (which is finally released in the US on January 10th). However, the price was definitely worth it, as I was exposed to gems like “Inaction”, “This Scene Is Dead”, and “It’s A Hit”, which I would have been hard-pressed to find otherwise. This is really an album full of singles, but when the singles are this good and this catchy it’s hard to complain. Definitely pick this one up when it drops next week.

17. Late Registration - Kanye West
Key Track: “Touch The Sky”
Truth be told, I’m not really a hip-hop fan, let alone a fan of commercial hip-hop. Yes, Jay-Z has dropped some hot tracks that I’ve loved over the years, and Talib’s “Get By” is one of my favorite songs of all time, but Kanye is one of the only acts in hip-hop who consistently delights me with his releases. Though not quite as pristine as 2004 debut, Late Registration presents more of the same flawless production and witty lyrics established on The College Dropout. Though the definite highlight is the remix of “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” featuring one of Jay-Z’s finest verses of all time, “Touch The Sky” is another incredible track, featuring an extremely impressive verse from newcomer (I think) Lupe Fiasco.

18. The Understanding - Royksopp
Key Track: “Only This Moment”
Less of a sequel to 2001’s platinum-selling Melody A.M. and much more of an evolution, The Understanding sees Royksopp adding their own vocals to their songs for the first time, though some of the tracks still feature guest vocalists (most notably Karien Driefer’s stunning vocals on “What Else Is There”). The first two tracks on this album are one of the best one-two punches of the year. The album opens with the beautiful, haunting, and awe-inspiring instrumental track “Triumphant” (as heard on The OC), and is immediately followed by the highlight of the album, first single “Only This Moment”, which marked the first time fans got to hear a Royksopp song featuring the duo’s own vocals. Though this album is really made by the three songs previously mentioned in this summary, the album flows as a whole and the tracks all complement each other quite well, with the glaring exception of second single “49 Percent”, which is legitimately one of my least favorite songs of the year. However, so as not to end on a bad note, I still must highly recommend this album to anyone who’s a fan of electronic music or just interesting music in general.

19. Has A Good Home! -Final Fantasy
Key Track: “This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine”
This is one of the few albums that is making this list solely on the strength of a couple songs. Though the album lags at spots, any lackluster parts are more than made up for by the standout tracks, “The CN Tower Is Dead”, “This Is The Dream”, and “Your Light Is Spent”, all of which are phenomenal and will find their way into the upper echelon of my Top 50 Songs fo ‘05.

20. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
Key Track: “Tribulations”
Hah-OW-OW! I think everything in life would be more interesting if it started with an “OW-OW” before it, as does the signature song and lead single from LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut, “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”. This album could be made on the fact alone that it contains the indie party anthem of the year (The OC agrees), but there’s much more to it than that. The personal highlight for me is the synth-driven “Tribulations”, and James Murphy proves he’s not just a one-trick pony on tracks like the Eno-inspired “Never As Tired As I’m Waking Up”. However, this album places so low on my list (though still in the top 20) because the best material (”Losing My Edge”, “Yeah”) is contained on Disc 2, which compiles all of his releases previous to this formal debut, and those are songs released prior to 2005, thus making this a somewhat ambiguous entry on the lsit.

21. Eye To The Telescope - KT Tunstall
Key Track: “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree”
Tunstall is a UK artist with little to know fame or following in the US, but since when has that held me back from loving an album. I actually first came across Tunstall from my then-girlfriend’s away message, in which “Suddenly I See”, one of the album’s premier tracks, was quoted. After downloading and loving the song, I decided to further investigate and was greatly rewarded for doing so, as Eye To The Telescope is definitely deserving of a spot amongst the year’s best releases. Along with “Suddenly”, the premier track is easily “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, a soulful romp ostensibly detailing a woman’s self-discovery. Though the album as a whole is an enjoyable listen all the way through, with the exception of “Suddenly” and “Black Horse”, few of the other songs on the album are terribly innovative or challenging, and as a result certain songs on this album retain their enjoyability much more so than others.

22. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
Key Track: “The Denial Twist”
I’ve always been of the opinion that The White Stripes are a singles band, that is, their albums are always much less so a cohesive listening experience than merely a collection of catchy songs all put together in one convenient place. Get Behind Me Satan is for the most part no different, only all of a sudden Jack White discovered the piano. Though the album’s first track and lead single, “Blue Orchid” harkens back to the duo’s previously established power-chord heavy guitar-rock, the rest of the album relies more heavily on the piano than the guitar. Follow-up singles “My Doorbell” and the wonderful “Denial Twist” seem to be completely complementary to each other, as if they’re slightly alternate versions of the same song, and the rest of the album features more of the same simplistic, but still incredibly enjoyable chord-based piano-rock.

23. A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out - Panic! At The Disco
Key Track: “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes”
Fall Out Boy + synthesizers = Panic! At The Disco. Which trust me, is not a bad thing at all. However, this album far surpasses Fall Out Boy’s 2005 release, From Under The Cork Tree. The similarity is most present in the nearly identical voices of lead vocalists Brendon Urie (Panic! At The Disco) and Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), both bands’ extremely long song titles and witty lyrics, but unlike F.O.B., Panic features lots of synthesizers and vaudville pianos. In fact the album is neatly divided into two halves, the first relying on synthesizers and the second replacing the synths with vaudville pianos. A brief intermission track (aptly titled “Intermission”) separates the two halves just after “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes” and just before “But It’s Better If You Do” (and if you combine those two song titles you get a clever reference to the movie Closer). All in all, Panic! A The Disco score minimal points for originality, but they deserve credit for recognizing a trend and capitalizing on it, and producing one of the year’s most enjoyable debuts.

24. Let It Die - Feist
Key Track: “Mushaboom”
This would be a lot higher on the list if this were “Derek’s Mother’s Top 25 Albums of 2005″, possibly even contending for the number one spot. I gave this to her for her birthday and she repeatedly called me from the car (which is the only place she listens to music) telling me how wonderful it is. But for those of us who haven’t birthed and raised children into mildly respectable young adults, it’s still a good listen. “Mushaboom” is a masterpiece of a song, worthy of a spot in the top 15 songs of the year, and other singles “One Evening” and Pitchfork-approved “Inside & Out”, as well as album track “Let It Die” are all shining examples of Leslie Feist’s lovely soft-rock-jazz sound. Also, she was voted the number two hottest woman in indie in Stereogum’s poll, beaten out only by the immaculate and incomparable Jenny Lewis, who scored 32% of the votes in comparison to Feist’s 21%.

25a. Feels - Animal Collective
Key Track: “Did You See The Words”
There are people who “get” Animal Collective and their masked on-stage antics, meandering song structures, and often unintelligible lyrics, but I’m pretty sure I’m not one of them. Which is why it’s curious that I enjoy this album so much. The first two songs of this album, “Did You See The Words” and “Grass” are the band’s best and most accessible (although again, “accessible” is relative here) yet, and despite the absolute chaos that characterizes many of the songs, it still somehow works together to form a mildly cohesive listening experience.

25b. The Back Room - Editors
Key Track: “Fingers In The Factories”
Editors are another one of the hot UK buzz bands of 2005, having rocketed up the charts on the strength of singles “Blood” and “Munich”. However, the standout track from this, their debut effort, has to be “Fingers In The Factory”, and if Editors can continue to churn out great tracks like this then expect to be hearing a lot more from them very soon, and maybe we’ll even see them make the often-difficult jump across the pond to US success.

Phew, that legitimately took forever, so sorry for the lull in posts over the last couple of days. I’ll do my best to make up for it with the upcoming 50 best videos and songs of ‘05 lists, after which we’ll return to our usual programming of artist profiles, hot jams, and the upcoming release of M3 Volume 7.

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