Righty, some fucker has to do it.
I found many of the albums I purchased this year ranged from OK to pretty good, nothing standing out as truly great. I'm torn between Andrew WK - The Wolf and Killing Joke for my no.1.
I feel that AWK's release was universally underrated, and I just couldn't understand any of the cirticisms against it. It proves his talent and staying power compared to every other twat the NME creams over. The melodies are still there, the emotion is still there, and the natural progression is a joy to behold. Glorious.
Killing Joke found far more critical acclaim with their eponymous comeback, making it an album of the year contender in many British publications. The world needs this record. Its as if nu-metal were good, had something to stay, and had personality with a frontman who was genuinely nuts. Of course, KJ had all these things in the 80s, but now we need them more than ever. Dave Grohl on drums is always welcome for me. ON DRUMS. Stick with what ya know.
if they are 1 and 2, the rest would go a bit like this:
3. British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power
Many were shocked this didn't make the mercury music prize nominations after it's acclaim as an indie release, and it's the only debut album of it's kind that's really impressed me in a long time. Their longevity remains to be seen, but they're a talented band.
4. Frank Black & The Catholics - Show me your tears
(again panned for sounding much like a pop country record, but can you find me a better example of pop country? Anywhere? Ever? Try and review his solo stuff objectively.)
5. Wire - Send
I believe some of these tracks have been released previously, but they are new masters and there's new material, so it's in. You have to listen to this a few times, but when you learn to split all the noises apart from one another, you realise just how much is going on. 99.9 in particular, a remarkably contained 7:42 of growling, minimalist rush, shows what they are still capable of, and why you should check out all their old stuff.
6. Tomahawk - Mit Gas
I'll say this about Patton, I often find his stuff fizzles out either from being overlong or from blowing his whole load at the start (so to speak). This record doesn't so much suffer for these shortcomings, but the problem is in almost every song there's a good bit and a really pedestrian nu metal bit. It can be very annoying. Rape This Day is complete crap IMO, and I think choosing that as the first single was a mistake, as it appeared they were going for the mainstream market, and that's the last we really heard of the material from Mit Gas. So, a comedown from the first album overall, but (for at least half of every song) the creative ante is way up, the opener (Birdsong) is just the right way to kick off, Patton still owns you and Tomahawk remains a great band when they want to be.
7. The Locust - Plague Soundscapes
Each album is getting to be more of an aquired taste from here on in, I should point out. This is noise. That's basically the gist of it. It starts, I'm hooked. 23 tracks in about half an hour. But there is stuff going on there. You couldn't mosh to this or anything, it's too complicated. and the song titles can't be beat, ie 23 lubed up schizophrenics with delusions of grandeur, Priest with the sexually transmitted diseases get out of my bed, Pulling the Christmas Pig by the Wrong Pair of Ears etc.
8. Melt Banana - Cellscape
See no.7, but more irritating in the bad bits due to a high pitched voice distorter being used throughout the whole damn thing, and better in the good bits due to noise being used in a much more engaging manner for longer periods of time. I've not heard anything else by them, so I don't know if they do the distorted vocals and fast tempos all the time or if it's a new direction. That'd probably be more impressive.
9. The Darkness - Permission To Land
Well well, yes it is a fine album, by a great live band, and if you look past the clichés and the transparent christmas song this stuff is actually quite good. Not AWK in terms of melody and marriage of old and new, but a great mainstream rock album it remains, even after everyone gets bored of them.
10. Well I should point out I have yet to hear the new primus, Aphex Twin's 26 mixes for cash (if it counts) and many others, so this is blank for now. I've no doubt either of those two would get into the middle somewhere.
And my pick for best song is AWK's Totally Stupid.
Do yer worst.
