April 15, 2025 by A.S. Van Dorston

Indie rock, death, sludge & heavy metal, doom, stoner and UK post-punk top the year’s lists.

With a lot fewer great albums, 2005 may have been relatively the weakest year in music in about thirteen years. It’s hard to say why, other than the fact there is nothing truly riveting or surprising that’s capturing our imaginations. When you least expect it, some seemingly played-out genre sometimes goes through some clever innovations. But other than the “freak folk” scene, which, honestly, isn’t all that impressive, this year hasn’t seen much change.

Yet I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a bad year in music. There’s simply too much creative energy floating about the world for there not to be plenty of great music. Death metal reared its head from the black seas of Scandinavia and presented Opeth’s masterpiece. Sleater-Kinney took a surprising turn, after years of twee guitars and lack of a heavy bottom. With The Woods, they have finally begun to rock like beasts, like giant mythic Yeti crashing through the forests of the Northwest. Patrick Wolf made subtle innovations, augmenting folk, pop and rock with laptronica. British pop bands produced a strong batch of albums. While not groundbreaking by any means, Franz Ferdinand comfortably evolved into a straight pop band in the vein of The Jam and Madness, while debut albums by Editors, The Rakes, Field Music, Bloc Party, Maximo Park and Dogs show great promise. They all beat the living hell out of Kaiser Chiefs. Swedish pop veteran Robyn delivered an album that tops last year’s efforts by Annie and Utada. Together they show that Scandinavia and Japan are eclipsing the U.S. and Britain in producing pop stars with actual talent. Hardly pop, Finland’s Paavoharju created an enchanting, timelessly strange album. African musicians Konono No. 1 (from the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Amadou & Mariam (from Mali) produced albums that stretch and redefine traditional production techniques.

Genre

The group of UK guitar pop albums I wrote about at the time in Anglophilic Summer aren’t exactly one particular genre, though they largely touch on some aspects of post-punk and garage punk. It seems that American band The Strokes, during their early residency in the UK, had quite an impact, starting with the Libertines that set off a chain of small creative explosions like a pack of Black Cat firecrackers, which I enjoyed a heck of a lot.

Anglophilic Summer ’05: U.K. Post-Punk/Guitar Pop

Comeback

After a glut of reunited post-punk bands the last few years, things slowed down in 2005. I give the nod to Bettye LaVette. Like Solomon Burke’s Don’t Give Up On Me, her I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise was produced by Joe Henry, who seems to be developing a side career rejuvenating aging soul singers. More, please.

Debut

The Rakes lead a strong crop of young bands, including Editors, Bloc Party, Dogs, Field Music, Maximo Park, M.I.A. and LCD Soundsystem.

Memoriam

May they rock in excelsis DIO and rest in pieces: Jim Capaldi (Traffic, 60) , Tyrone Davis (66), Martin Denny (93), Paul Hester (Crowded House, 45), Karl Mueller (Soul Asylum, 41), Luther Vandross (54), Laurel Aitken (78), Robert Moog (71), Dennis “Piggy” D’Amour (Voivod, 45), Barry Cowsill (Cowsills, 50), R.L. Burnside (78), Shirley Horn (71), Chris Whitley (45), Derek Bailey (85),

Underrated

While UK post-punkers Bloc Party seemed to get pretty much the amount of attention they earned, The Rakes did not.

Disappointment

Both White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age were a let down at first. Being great bands, they certainly didn’t make bad albums. They just had the unenviable task of following up career peak albums. In the years since, both have grown on me since I appreciate anything these bands did in their not extensive catalogs, but QOTSA more so.

Overrated

It’s certainly far from the best album of the year. Runner up is Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise. While Greetings From Michigan was a revelation, his music has gone from being diverse and surprising to staid. Runner-up, Kanye West (again).

Surprise

I went back and forth in my opinion of the exotic persona of M.I.A., an English woman of Sri Lankan heritage. Part of her image seemed calculated with the terrorist chic and such, and yet it’s all legitimately part of her story. I got a preview before her debut with the bootleg mixes with her DJ partner Diplo, Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1. The mix of pop, hip-hop, samples and electronics was enough to build significant anticipation. But Arular was so new and different than anything else at the time, and did not have anything you could call tunes. They were more like cut and paste aural assaults harking back to the Bomb Squad which sounded pretty exciting. Would it stand the test of time? Yes indeed, and not only that, you can hear M.I.A.’s influence on loads of young artists in the 2020s.

Fester’s Lucky 13 – Favorite Albums of 2005

1. Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (Sub Pop)

With their seventh album in ten years, and the first in three, Sleater-Kinney may have been winding down, but they certainly didn’t mellow out. The Woods was the most poundingly vicious album they’d ever done. The key to their refreshing new approach was using Dave Fridmann to light a fire under their butts. Indeed, Janet Weiss sounds like she’s using John Bonham’s femur bones for sticks, while Corin Tucker’s vocal work reaches a primally powerful peak. Near the end of the album, song structure is abandoned for hypnotic jams. At the time I hoped it was the start of a new era for the band, but instead it marked the beginning of a decade long hiatus, the last album of their initial essential run. At the time it felt like an important album, a kind of culmination to their musical journey since 1995. The band meant a lot to myself and a group of friends, as there was always no question that whenever Sleater-Kinney were playing in town, we’d be there. And while at the time I said it wasn’t a perfect album (though it was still my #2 album for the year), in hindsight, it was the perfect way to end that chapter.

Indie Rock, Noise Rock, Garage, Garage Punk, Heavy Psych | RYM #14 | Acclaimed #9 | AOTY #7

2. Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner)

While Opeth had been dabbling with prog since nearly the beginning, they crossed over to expanded audiences in 2001 when Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson produced Blackwater Park. After another risk-taking exercise in the nearly all acoustic 2003 album Damnation, anticipation built to a fever for their eighth album. In 2005, event albums were becoming increasingly rare, where a diverse cross-section of people all come together and want to talk about the album the day it came out, because they all bought it. August 30 was like that. Ghost Reveries is the band’s most finely balanced mix of brutal crunch and stately, almost lovely arrangements that pay homage to British and German prog bands and space rock. Mikael Åkerfeldt deftly alternates between Cookie Monster death growls with some very fine clean singing, depending on what the music called for. With poetic lyrics that delve into occult mysticisim, group vocal chanting and elaborate classical themes, Opeth were at their peak, and were rewarded with their highest selling album.

Prog Metal, Prog, Death Metal | RYM #7 | Acclaimed #76

3. Witchcraft – Firewood (Rise Above)

Magnus Pelander spent a few years in the 90s in a band called Norssken with Joakim Nilsson and Rikard Edlund. Those two would go on to form Graveyard, but Pelander was the first to make an impact with Witchcraft, originally formed to contribute covers to two tribute albums for Pentagram and The 13th Floor Elevators. That seemd as good as template as anything to start with, and they were signed to Lee Dorian’s (Cathedral) Rise Above records on the strength of “No Angel Or Demon.” The debut Witchcraft (2004) captured the spirit of 70s proto-doom and psych, but ironically was not quite able to achieve the fat, fuzzy analog sounds as well. To be fair, no one could quite get the Black Sabbath sound, not Saint Vitus, Trouble or Candlemass. Their second album did, however, much improve on the basement demo quality of the last record, and actually had some low end and dynamic range, with songwriting equally up to the task. Soon, celebs like actor Elijah Wood and Phil Ansemlmo of DOWN were citing Witchcraft as their new favorite band. I almost expected Paris Hilton to be sporting a Witchcraft t-shirt at some point. Things didn’t quite get to that level, but I’m chuffed that a new album is coming out next month. Fingers crossed that Magnus has overcome his struggles and the band are back to full strength.

Hard Rock, Heavy Psych, Stoner, Doom Metal, Psych | RYM #201

4. Truckfighters – Gravity X (Fuzzorama)

Örebro, Sweden’s Truckfighters certainly weren’t the first stoner rockers in Europe. When they formed in 2001, the scene in Sweden, in particular, had already exploded with the likes of Dozer, Terra Firma, Mammoth Volume, Spiritual Beggars, The Spacious Mind, Lowrider and Sgt. Sunshine. Many of the songs here were given test runs on two demo tapes from 2001-02 that were then issued as EPs, so when they were recorded for the debut 3-4 years later, they were fine-tuned to produce maximum weight and excitement found in their live shows. Appropriately, it kicks off with the band’s signature tune, “Desert Cruiser,” a kind of action sci-fi tribute to Fu Manchu and the original Palm Desert stoner scene with Kyuss, Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson. The album gives the impression of how Soundgarden and Nirvana might have sounded had they come up in that scene instead of the northwest, but mixed with some subtly progressive elements. It’s a fantastic balance between the band’s live punk energy, flailing about like muppets, and the distinct tang of melancholy, because, well Scandinavian snow and darkness. A winning template that would spur on hundreds of more bands. Long live the fuzz!

Stoner Rock, Heavy Psych, Psych | RYM #160

5. Gojira – From Mars to Sirius (Listenable)

It was pretty damn delightful to experience ambitious concept albums from up and coming metal bands two years in a row, first with Mastodon’s Leviathan (2004), then Gojira’s third and still greatest album, where they embark on an interplanetary quest seeking a way to resurrect a dead planet. Who better to do it than fucking space whales! The French band is dead serious, though about their environmentally-fueled rage, channeled through rat-a-tat Meshuggah style blastbeats from drummer Mario Duplantier and his brother Joe’s vocals, compressing the fury Neurosis into a potent roar of existential despair. The first album to make use of the band’s custom built studio, the artful production introduces judiciously placed spaces in between the crushing passages, such as the instrumental “Unicorn.” The apocalyptic angst brings to mind Killing Joke at their best. “Ocean Planet” sets the scene, and the album reaches an early brutal highlight with “From the Sky,” packed with changes that maintain a propulsive momentum. “Flying Whales” is a gorgeous centerpiece that incorporates actual whale songs, making for one of the most unique metal tracks of the year. The final track, “Global Warming,” doesn’t make for a happy conclusion, which serves as a dire warning. If we don’t immediately change our ways, we are well and truly fucked within most of our lifetimes. It’s gratifying to see the band reach a billion people via the Olympic opening ceremony last year. If they end up crossing over to the mainstream with an industrial synth album, I’m all for it if it gets their message to more people.

Prog Metal, Death Metal, Groove Metal, Sludge Metal | RYM #6 | AOTY #4

6. The Rakes – Capture/Release (V2)

Original Review: Last year’s single “22 Grand Job” sounded spindly like it was recorded on a 2-track home studio. But there was something special about the tale of a wage slave’s nervous breakdown that suggest this is part of a wave of British bands that may have been inspired by the Strokes’ needle-sharp staccato guitar tabs and early Pavement’s shambolic catchiness, but they had that special something that would enable them to transcend their humble beginnings. Indeed, the London band also taps into their own history of The Specials’ echoey rhythms and street poetry and more sober social critiques and melodic sophistication of later Madness (complete with Suggs-like ‘oh-whoas’ on “Open Book”).

Louche singer Alan Donohoe may at first sound a little flip with his heavily accented tales of debauchery, but if you focus, you’ll also hear his thoughtful, bookish side that captures the mood of our times within the dichotomy of self-righteous moralizing and escapist hedonism, tainted by the paranoia of a world gone horribly wrong. Think of a seemingly drunken, vacuous pop band that sobers up and suddenly grasps the horror of reality mid-performance, injecting venomous barbs worthy of The Fall. Produced by Paul Epworth (Bloc Party), the balance of power and clarity sounds exactly what The Rakes needed.

“Retreat” displays the perfect kind of tension to back Donohoe’s grim visions (“There’s nothing golden about Golden Lane/The smoke is heavy in my lungs and/The adverts are working”). “The Guilt” starts with the proclamation, “This is a true story,” you hear a watch alarm go off as Donohoe bellows in Mark E. Smith fashion, “I had just woke up/Everything was fucked…The guilt won’t leave my circulation.” Avoiding overt repetition, “Binary Love” is a glistening slower number that perfectly evokes loneliness (“Over and over she burns my circuits/I feel fire rushing through my wires/I can feel all the things that we can’t share”). I dare you to find a better song this year. “T Bone” is really the only throwaway on the album, and it’s still enjoyable. “Terror” establishes an epic dread that rivals The Sound’s “Missiles” from the height of the cold war, its prophecy unfortunately fulfilled after recording with the Tube bombings. “Work Work Work (Pub Club Sleep)” wraps up the album with brilliant hooks and ladders, elevating the song to pop ecstasy. The perfect antidote to the sometimes dreary workaday treadmill.

7. Editors – The Back Room (Kitchenware)

Original review: A few years back, Interpol were hounded with comparisons to Joy Division, mainly because of superficial similarities in the singers’ vocal range. Eventually the band would bristle in interviews that they don’t even like Joy Division. And indeed they’re right. Not only don’t they sound like Joy Division, but they’re not worthy to polish Curtis’ gravestone. Now the Birmingham based Editors are getting the same comparisons, and in turn, to Interpol. Editors’ best response is “Blood runs in our veins/That’s where our similarity ends.” Look at one possible shared influence, Echo & The Bunnymen. Interpol invoke the feel of post-Ocean Rain era Bunnymen, with empty, meaningless lyrics. In “Lights,” Editors bring to mind the Heaven Up Here era, more dark desperation and fiercely strummed rhythms, with convincingly urgent lyrics that make it a plausible proposition that love would indeed tear them apart. With ballads like “Fall” and “Camera,” Editors are more inspired by Elbow.

It’s an admirable approach, certainly better than the saccharine balladry of Coldplay. While the songs are hauntingly good and pace the album nicely, their strength lies in the more insistent, uptempo numbers like “Blood,” “Munich,” “Fingers In The Factories” and “Bullets.” The lyrics aren’t all great poetry, but in rock, simple, evocative lines like “you burn like a bouncing cigarette” and “you don’t need this disease” go a long way. Tom Smith really shows his iconic potential on “Fingers In The Factories” with his white-knuckled chorus. While not always overtly catchy, the strong songwriting is unrelentingly memorable and affecting. The crystalline reverberating guitar, thick bass, pounding drums and overall dark sheen will sound familiar to fans of early 80s bands like Teardrop Explodes, Comsat Angels and The Sound. This link to the past may not make Editors revolutionary, but neither do they rip off any specific songs. And given that hardly anyone heard those bands the first time around, they’re a welcome addition to the new crop of post-punk. The brooding “Open Your Arms” and “Distance” end the album at a dreamy, incandescent pace, lending enough time and space to reflect on the album and how perfect it all seems. What a rare thing, a debut that’s not just a grower, but capable of inspiring fandom and obsession. Hints of perfection, of course, always leave one less than satisfied, craving more. A good measure of a band’s quality is their B-sides. The bonus EP (included in the limited edition), Cuttings features many A-list worthy tracks like “Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home,” “You Are Fading” and “Release.” This makes for great odds that the band will endure for many albums to come.

Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Dream Pop | RYM #598

8. Queens Of The Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope)

It’s tough for artists to follow up a career peak album, especially when they never want to acknowledge that they’ve peaked. While Josh Homme had plenty of creativity left in the tank and would get close to the acclaim of Songs for the Deaf (2002) in 2013, this album has aged well. Mark Lanegan kicks it off with “This Lullaby,” and while “Everybody Knows That You Are Insane” and “Little Sister” stand out slightly, there’s no hit singles, just a really solid groove of nearly flawless songs, at least through “Someone’s in the Wolf.” Embedded in these smoldering grooves is a blackened, gothic heart. Depending on your state of mind, if you’re paralyzed in a trance you may be happy to let the remaining dirges float past. Or you might just want to skip to “Long Slow Goodbye.” Either way, an hour of new QOTSA music is never one to be taken for granted in this world of uncertainties, when you never know the next time you’re gonna be rocked off your ass by a band like this.

Alt Rock, Stoner Rock, Garage | RYM #221 | Acclaimed #49 | AOTY #98

9. Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge)

Austin’s Spoon are a sneaky band. On the surface they may sound like bog standard indie rock, and to younger listeners, “dad rock.” Their mostly very spare, minimalist arrangements sound deceptively simple, and yet no one else has such a longstanding success rate of killer tunes that draw on the strengths of peak Elvis Costello and Wire. This is ultimately experimental art rock and post-punk in disguise. “The Beast and the Dragon Adored” contains no wave guitar squalls not unlike what avant-garde jazzbo Nels Cline was starting to contribute to Wilco, while the stupidly catchy “I Turn My Camera On” shares structural DNA with Prince’s “Kiss.” The tracks move from strength to strength, from the janglye “Sister Jack” to the emotional “I Summon You,” making a good case for this being one of their best albums.

Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Art Rock, Post-Punk | RYM #192 | Acclaimed #21 | AOTY #42

10. Patrick Wolf – Wind In The Wires (Tomlab)

I like a lot of singer-songwriters well enough, but they don’t often make my Lucky 13. In the 2000s, three really caught my ear and imagination — Hawksley Workman, Ed Harcourt, and Patrick Wolf. The precocious 20 year-old released his debut Lycanthropy (2003) which was a pretty fresh mix of folktronica and autumnal chamber folk that can loosely be traced back to the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits in terms of innovative creativity rather than actual sound. The second album fulfilled that promise, his unique chamber/art pop finely calibrated for maximum haunting power. It brings all kinds of vivid imagery not of this time and place, along the lines of Neal Gaiman’s Neverwhere, a shadowy subterranean world underneath London full of dark magic. The fusion of old world fairy tales and modern technology evokes some rich imagery that could inspire some great films. It’s a damn shame no one picked up on this, and he toiled in relative obscurity, taking a long 14 year hiatus until his new album, Crying the Neck is due Apr 25.

Singer-Songwriter, Chamber Pop, Art Pop, Chamber Folk, Folktronica, Indietronica | RYM #308 | Acclaimed #56

11. High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings (Relapse)

I remember in 2004 when there were Matt Pike sightings around Chicago. He and his band High On Fire, formed in 1998 while Sleep was on hiatus, were in town recording at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini. This was an exciting prospect, as the first two albums were a bit muddy. Clarity in recording could elevate their unique stoner/sludge metal with ripping thrash metal riffs into something truly filthy but vivid. Mission accomplished! Album number three was their best yet, and an early pinnacle for the band along with Death is This Communion (2007) recorded with Jack Endino. Around the same time as it’s release, the heavy metal themed burger bar, Kuma’s Corner opened up down the street from Electrical. The highlight of the menu? The High on Fire burger, of course, with habanero aioli, jalapeno bacon jam, house made hot sauce, pineapple, roasted red pepper, and fire! Probably the highest honor given to the band, aside from that Grammy.

Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal, Thrash Metal | RYM #148

12. Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz del Sur)

I’ve moved this up because The Lord Weird Slough Feg are never talked about enough. They are by far THE greatest band to spearhead the American side of the new wave of traditional heavy metal movement, and this is within the run of classic albums from second album Twilight of the Idols (1999) through their sixth, Hardworlder (2007). This album is sometimes overlooked because it follows up arguably the band’s career peak with Traveller (2003). Perhaps there was suspicion of them dropping the “Lord Weird” from their name. Are they looking to no longer be weird? The evidence in the grooves say no. From the cavemen in the cover art to song titles like “Eumaeus the Swineherd,” and “Hiberno-Latin Invasion,” it starts to make sense that Mike Scalzi’s day job is as a college philosophy professor. They’re just as nerdy and eccentric as ever, yet stacking their songs with riff after killer riff, along with some delicious twin guitar harmonies and Celtic folk influences. Basically they sound like Thin Lizzy should have on their final metal excursion. You can’t get more essential than that.

Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Folk Metal | RYM #178

13. Torche – Torche (Robotic Empire)

First there was Floor, formed in Hialeah, FL in 1992. Though they didn’t release a full-lengh album until a decade later, their singles indicated they were dialed in to a delicously bottom heavy sound that’s a hybrid of post-hardcore and stoner/sludge metal (via Melvins and Helmet). I prefer the term sludge pop, because they aren’t metal to my ears, though thanks to Steve Brooks and Juan Montoya’s synchronized guitars to the famous E-tune and one long-suffering, half-broken E-bomb string, they had a unique, thunderous and often explosive low-end sound, both in Floor, and Torche, which Brooks and Montoya formed with a slightly different lineup, with shorter, feistier tracks that maintain their post-hardcore roots. Elements of their influence can be heard in many of the heavy doomgaze/blackgaze bands these days, but no one does it quite like Torche, who unfortunately disbanded in 2022. While Floor did release Oblation in 2014, there was no such breakup announcement for them, so I’m hoping new music will still come at some point.

Sludge Pop, Stoner Rock | RYM #746

Mix

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Favorite Albums of 2005

Witchcraft – Firewood (Candlelight) | Sweden
Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner) | Sweden
Truckfighters – Gravity X (Fuzzorama) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Gojira – From Mars To Sirius (Listenable/Prosthetic) | France | Bandcamp
The Rakes – Capture/Release (V2UK) | UK
Editors – The Back Room (Kitchenware UK) | UK
Queens Of The Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope) | USA
Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Patrick Wolf – Wind In The Wires (Tomlab) | UK
High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz del Sur) | USA | Bandcamp
Circulus – The Lick on the Tip of an Envelope Yet to Be Sent (Rise Above) | UK | Buy
Torche – Torche (Robotic Empire) | USA | Bandcamp
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (Wichita/V2) | UK
…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart (Interscope) | USA
Dogs – Turn Against This Land (Island) | UK
Field Music – Field Music (Memphis Industries UK) | UK | Bandcamp
Boris – Pink (Southern Lord) | Japan | Bandcamp
Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino) | UK
M.I.A. – Arular (XL ) | UK
Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
The Drones – Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (ATP) | Australia
The Coral – The Invisible Invasion (Deltasonic ) | UK
Om – Variations On A Theme (Holy Mountain) | USA | Bandcamp
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load) | USA | Bandcamp
Dozer – Through The Eyes Of Heathens (Small Stone) | Sweden | Bandcamp
The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (Universal) | USA
The Boards Of Canada – Campfire Headcase (Warp ) | UK | Bandcamp
Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (Lava/Atlantic) | UK | Bandcamp
Acid King – III (Small Stone) | USA | Bandcamp
Low – The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Pelican – The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw (Hydra Head) | USA | Bandcamp
Causa Sui – Causa Sui (Elektrohasch) | Denmark
Kate Bush – Aerial (Columbia) | UK
35007 – Phase V (Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Sigur Rós – Takk… (Geffen) | Iceland | Bandcamp
Wolfmother – Wolfmother (Modular) | Australia
The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (Matador) | Canada | Bandcamp
The Fiery Furnaces – EP (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Nile – Annihilation Of The Wicked (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
Mary Timony – Ex Hex (Lookout!) | USA
Dead Meadow – Feathers (Matador) | USA
Earthless – Sonic Prayer (Gravity) | USA
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl (Echo) | USA
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
The Darkness – One Way Ticket To Hell…And Back (Atlantic) | UK
Boris – Dronevil (Misanthropic) | Japan
Candlemass – Candlemass (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden
Tricky Woo – First Blush (Last Gang) | Canada
Bolt Thrower – Those Once Loyal (Metal Blade) | UK | Bandcamp
LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem (Capitol/DFA) | USA
Konono No. 1 – Congotronics (FatCat) | Congo
Animal Collective – Feels (FatCat) | USA | Bandcamp
Manilla Road – Gates of Fire (Battle Cry) | USA
Pugwash – Jollity (1969 Records) | Ireland | Bandcamp
Broadcast – Tender Buttons (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Robyn – Robyn (Konichiwa Records) | Sweden
Nine Horses – Snow Borne Sorrow (Samadhisound) | UK
Kreator – Enemy of God (Steamhammer) | Germany | Bandcamp
Windy & Carl – The Dream House / Dedications to Flea (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Circle – Tulikoira (No Quarter) | Finland
M83 – Before The Dawn Heals Us (Goom/Mute) | UK | Bandcamp
The Clientele – Strange Geometry (Merge) | UK | Bandcamp
Black Mountain – Black Mountain (Jagjaguwar) | USA | Bandcamp
Antony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian) | USA
My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp
The Wedding Present – Take Fountain (Scopitones) | UK
Mew – And The Glass-Handed Kites (Sony) | Sweden
Petra Haden – Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out (Bar/None) | USA
Valley Lodge – Valley Lodge (Thistime) | USA
The Dolly Rocker Movement – The Dolly Rocker Movement (DRM) | Australia | Bandcamp
Cathedral – The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (Nuclear Blast) | UK
Deceased – As the Weird Travel On (Hells Headbangers) | USA | Bandcamp
Ufomammut – Lucifer Songs (Supernatural Cat) | Italy | Bandcamp
Deadbolt – I Should Have Killed You (Headhunter) | USA
Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift (Barsuk) | USA | Bandcamp
Elbow – Leaders Of The Free World (V2) | UK
Dredg – Catch Without Arms (Interscope) | USA
The Heads – Dead in the Water (Invada) | UK
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – Naturally (Daptone) | USA | Bandcamp
John Cale – Black Acetate (Astralwerks) | UK
Priestess – Hello Master (Indica) | Canada | Bandcamp
Jaga Jazzist – What We Must (Ninja Tune) | Norway | Bandcamp
Taint – The Ruin of Nová Roma (Rise Above) | UK
Hood – Outside Closer (Domino) | UK
Super Furry Animals – Love Kraft (XL) | UK
British Sea Power – Open Season (Rough Trade ) | UK
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Insen (NOTON) | Germany/Japan
Enslaved – Isa (Candlelight) | Norway
Josh Rouse – Nashville (Yep Roc) | USA
Jack Rose – Kensington Blues (VHF) | USA | Bandcamp
The Spacious Mind – Rotvälta (Goddamn I’m a Countryman) | Sweden
Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Parlophone) | UK
Judas Priest – Angel Of Retribution (Columbia) | UK
The Focus Group – Hey Let Loose Your Love (Ghost Box) | UK
Kent – Du & jag döden (RCA) | Sweden
The Drones – The Miller’s Daughter (Bang!) | Australia
Brakes – Give Blood (Rough Trade) | UK
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll (Slogan) | UK | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: See full list of 1,000+ albums here.

2005 Breakdown: Genre Lists

As always, you can deep dive any of these these genres with the list search. While previously I had limited an album to one genre list, it didn’t accurately reflect the multi-genre nature of many of these albums. So this year an album will show up in multiple lists. I have a widget that automatically pulls from the database, so as albums are added and moved around in the future, this will reflect it.

Psych

I used to think I hated jam bands, until I realized I just like mine with rockets and asteroids. Netherland’s 35007 was one of the best, space jammin’ since 1991. This is their fourth and final album, a must have for genre fans.

Space Rock, Jam, Psych, Stoner | RYM #462

Witchcraft – Firewood (Candlelight) | Sweden
Truckfighters – Gravity X (Fuzzorama) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Circulus – The Lick on the Tip of an Envelope Yet to Be Sent (Rise Above) | UK | Buy
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load) | USA | Bandcamp
Causa Sui – Causa Sui (Elektrohasch) | Denmark
35007 – Phase V (Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
The Fiery Furnaces – EP (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Dead Meadow – Feathers (Matador) | USA
Animal Collective – Feels (FatCat) | USA | Bandcamp
Broadcast – Tender Buttons (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Circle – Tulikoira (No Quarter) | Finland
Black Mountain – Black Mountain (Jagjaguwar) | USA | Bandcamp
My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

Brother and sister duo (for real, no fake incest or marriage) Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces had a strong catalog of challenging releases of art and prog pop, and this one, which pretends to be an EP, is actually a 41+ minute long full length album, and their best.

Art Pop, Prog Pop, Indie, Psych | RYM #26

Field Music – Field Music (Memphis Industries UK) | UK | Bandcamp
The Coral – The Invisible Invasion (Deltasonic ) | UK
Kate Bush – Aerial (Columbia) | UK
The Fiery Furnaces – EP (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Animal Collective – Feels (FatCat) | USA | Bandcamp
Pugwash – Jollity (1969 Records) | Ireland | Bandcamp
Mew – And The Glass-Handed Kites (Sony) | Sweden
Petra Haden – Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out (Bar/None) | USA
The Dolly Rocker Movement – The Dolly Rocker Movement (DRM) | Australia | Bandcamp
Super Furry Animals – Love Kraft (XL) | UK
Of Arrowe Hill – Hexadelica And The Speed Of Darkness (Ouija Board) | UK | Bandcamp
Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
Supergrass – Road To Rouen (UK) | UK

Kosmische & Space Rock

The debut full-length from soon to be legendary space rock jam band Earthless, lead by the guitar maestro of the scene, Isaiah Mitchell were operating at full throttle from the get go.

Heavy Psych, Jam, Space Rock, Psych, Stoner, Acid Rock, Kosmsiche | RYM #183

35007 – Phase V (Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Earthless – Sonic Prayer (Gravity) | USA
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
Black Mountain – Black Mountain (Jagjaguwar) | USA | Bandcamp
Ufomammut – Lucifer Songs (Supernatural Cat) | Italy | Bandcamp
The Spacious Mind – Rotvälta (Goddamn I’m a Countryman) | Sweden
The Black Angels – The Black Angels EP (Light In The Attic) | USA
Space Debris – Kraut Lok (Breitklang) | Germany | Bandcamp
Pilotdrift – Water Sphere (Good Records) | USA
Pharaoh Overlord – #3 (Riot Season) | Finland | Bandcamp
Mugstar – Trail (Critical Mass) | UK
F/i – Blanga (Lexicon Devil) | USA
Serena-Maneesh – Serena-Maneesh (Honeymilk) | Norway

Noir (Folk, Garage, Psych, Punk, Surf)

Imagine Aussie instrumental rockers The Dirty Three, doing the saddest songs Neil Young ever wrote, ones that were too sad to release, fronted by the raw, visceral vocalist Gareth Liddiard, and you’ve got The Drones, a helluva great garage noir band. Liddiard and others morphed this into Tropical Fuck Storm, a more gnarly, arty project, but I much prefer this album.

Punk Blues, Garage Noir, Art Rock, Noise Rock | RYM #72

The Drones – Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (ATP) | Australia
The Drones – The Miller’s Daughter (Bang!) | Australia
The Black Angels – The Black Angels EP (Light In The Attic) | USA
Snatches Of Pink – Stag (MoRisen) | USA | Bandcamp
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 – …tick…tick…tick (Redeye) | USA
Mick Harvey – One Man’s Treasure (Mute) | Australia
Duke Spirit – Cuts Across the Land (Universal UK) | UK
Sons And Daughters – The Repulsion Box (Domino) | UK

Prog & Prog Metal

Evolving from El Paso post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta went full-on prog, while also keeping octopus tendrils in seemingly all the cool genres (post-hardcore, fusion, psych, art rock, etc). The kitchen sink approach could be a bit overwhelming on the debut, De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003), but remarkably, they get even more dense on the follow-up, and it’s freaking magnificent. It may bit a lot for one sitting, but every minute of it is bracing stuff, packed with jolts of electricity.

Prog, Experimental Rock, Art Rock, Latin Rock, Psych, Post-Hardcore, Jazz Fusion, Avant-Prog, Ambient | RYM #8 | Acclaimed #42 | AOTY #6

Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner) | Sweden
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load) | USA | Bandcamp
The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (Universal) | USA
Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (Lava/Atlantic) | UK | Bandcamp
Mary Timony – Ex Hex (Lookout!) | USA
Manilla Road – Gates of Fire (Battle Cry) | USA
Dredg – Catch Without Arms (Interscope) | USA
Enslaved – Isa (Candlelight) | Norway
Wobbler – Hinterland (Laser’s Edge) | Norway | Bandcamp
Moonsorrow – Verisäkeet (Spikedarm) | Finland
Echolyn – The End Is Beautiful (Velveteen) | USA
Kamelot – The Black Halo (Steamhammer) | USA
Communic – Conspiracy in Mind (Nuclear Blast) | Norway

Punk & Post-Punk

I got ahold of the Bloc Party album at the end of 2004, and I couldn’t stop listening to it for the next three months. Combined with their B-Sides, Bloc Party were immensely entertaining. They put on a great live show, and Matt Tong proved to be a juggernaut on the kit (he left the band in 2013 and can be heard in Algiers). I wasn’t sure how well Kele Okereke’s yelping vocals and the deep cuts would hold up at the time, but I’ve kept coming back to the album since then, and seeing them perform the entire album at Riot Fest in 2016 was priceless. It’s an unending source of irritation how it’s assumed post-punk should go out of fashion every time a few good bands do some good work. It’s not the case for literally hundreds of other genres. While the band struggled a bit to maintain quality on subsequent albums, trying out mixes of indietronica and U2 style stadium rock (which Coldplay are doing in the worst way lately), but post-punk has persisted regardless, and so has this album.

Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Math Pop | RYM #50 | Acclaimed #7 | AOTY #30

The Rakes – Capture/Release (V2UK) | UK
Editors – The Back Room (Kitchenware UK) | UK
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (Wichita/V2) | UK
Dogs – Turn Against This Land (Island) | UK
Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino) | UK
Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
British Sea Power – Open Season (Rough Trade ) | UK
Kent – Du & jag döden (RCA) | Sweden
Brakes – Give Blood (Rough Trade) | UK
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll (Slogan) | UK | Bandcamp
P.K. 14 – White Paper (Modern Sky) | China
Bell Hollow – Bell Hollow EP (Five03) | USA | Bandcamp

Goth, Goth Metal, Deathrock & Darkwave

Formed in 1988 in San Diego, the mention of the under appreciated Deadbolt makes me slobber just a bit. Think about how dangerous surfing is. Of course surf music should be dark, insane, and obsessed with death. Surfers are borderline suicidal, addicted to the thrill of flirting with death with every wave, and Deadbolt provide a delightfully macabre soundtrack. Plus they dance with snakes.

Psychobilly, Surf Noir, Goth

Deadbolt – I Should Have Killed You (Headhunter) | USA
Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel (Mute) | UK
Rammstein – Reise, Reise (Universal) | Germany
Colder – Heat (Output) | UK
The Departure – Dirty Words (Parlophone) | UK
HIM – Dark Light (Sire) | Finland
Ladytron – Witching Hour (Rykodisc) | UK | Bandcamp
A Frames – Black Forest (Sub Pop) | USA
Rammstein – Rosenrot (Universal) | Germany

Garage Rock

London may not be burning again, but it’s a simmering pot nearing boil. It may not have the verve anymore to riot, but is definitely aware it’s going to the dogs. Dogs are part of a sort of street urchin-turned rock star continuum of Jam acolytes that includes The Libertines and Razorlight. The former had their own particular twist on The Clash, and oddly enough, The Replacements’ Hootenany, while the latter incorporate everything from Thin Lizzy to the E-Street Band, Patti Smith Group and the Voidoids.

Aside from “Tuned To A Different Station,” which earned Dogs a support slot on Paul Weller’s tour, they’re harder to nail down. On the anthemic “London Bridge,” guitarist Luciano Vargas peels out sharp, inventive shards of sound not unlike Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and Pixies’ Joey Santiago, while Rikki provides a more hypnotic bedrock. Johnny Clarke’s voice is a gruff tug-of-war between derisive sneer and hysterical abandon. Like Elvis Costello, even on the love songs you’re not sure if he’s actually gritting his teeth to avoid barking at his paramour. Not to say that Clarke is anywhere Costello’s level. But to condemn them for it is just like damning all the other lyricists who aren’t Dylan — pointless.

“Selfish Ways” makes misanthropy irresistible with its exuberant bounce. Because it takes a detour with a post-My Bloody Valentine wall of feedback, “Donkey” will be a standout to some, although it lacks the hooks and changes so evident in songs like “End Of An Era,” “Tarred And Feathered” and “Wait,” a love song more desperate (“wait, don’t leave me”) than tender. A few songs toward the end tend to become less distinguished as they rush by in a blustery blur. It’s the nature of a young band that is basically documenting their frenetic live set, which sounds like a wicked good time. The album closes with the title track, an honest to goodness (though abbreviated) ballad that doesn’t suck. Turn Against This Land may not provide food for late night debates in the student union, but as a blazing debut rock album, it blows most everyone out of the water.

As much as I’ve liked bands influenced by early XTC, The Stranglers, The Jam and Gang of Four, I was wary when Maximo Park seemingly appeared from nowhere. Well, Newcastle to be precise, not far from North East England’s The Futureheads, who mined similar territory to considerable acclaim (and backlash). As it turns out, that band’s album did not hold up well over time aside from a few highlights. So I sat on A Certain Trigger all summer, playing it to death, waiting to see if repetition would kill it. It didn’t. While Maximo Park don’t have fancy four-part harmonies, they do have an album loaded with muscular songs that can stand up to repeated listens. The deceptively simple instrumentation and arrangements give the songs room to breathe, while Paul Smith plainly sings his eloquent lyrics with a lilting Geordie accent, always pushing forward the incessant melodies.

The album is top heavy, with the best songs taking up the first half. “Signal And Sign” builds gradually into a keyboard-driven, anthemic mod rocker. “Apply Some Pressure” is their best song, a punked out “I’ll Melt With You” that really needs to land on a good teen movie soundtrack and be immortalized in proms everywhere. The kinetic “Graffiti” is nearly as great. It roars, recalling The Wedding Present at full charge while Smith wails riddles like “I’ll do graffiti if you sing to me in French,” and “What are we doing here if romance isn’t dead?” Funny how odd words can bring a rush of emotion with a killer tune. What’s impressive is the quality is maintained for three more songs. The only reason “The Coast Is Always Changing” pales slightly is that it starts to recycle some of the earlier melodic themes. On it’s own it’s still a great tune, along with “The Night I Lost My Head” (“I spent all night trying to remember your address… Why did we have to meet/On the night I lost my head?”).

The biggest stylistic departures are the synth pop of “Limassol” and “Acrobat.” The former is has a great buzzing synth line straight from Tubeway Army or Ultravox. It brings fond memories of The Dismemberment Plan, and could point to further fruitful exploration, even though the tune isn’t quite as great as the first half dozen.

Post-Punk, Indie, Garage, New Wave, Dance-Punk | RYM #594 | Acclaimed #63

Anglophilic Summer ’05: U.K. Post-Punk/Guitar Pop

Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Dogs – Turn Against This Land (Island) | UK
Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Wolfmother – Wolfmother (Modular) | Australia
Tricky Woo – First Blush (Last Gang) | Canada
The Dolly Rocker Movement – The Dolly Rocker Movement (DRM) | Australia | Bandcamp
Deadbolt – I Should Have Killed You (Headhunter) | USA
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan (V2) | USA
C’mon – In the Heat of the Moment (MapleMusic) | Canada
The Fleshtones – Beachhead (Yep Roc) | USA | Bandcamp
Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp
Weird War – Illuminated By The Light (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Daikaiju – Daikaiju (Reptile) | USA | Bandcamp

Hard Rock

I have to say, it was hard to get excited at first about another band influenced by Led Zep and Sabbath. Sure, The Darkness were fun, but most bands simply don’t have the songwriting chops to pull it off without sounding tired and derivative. Yet from Kyuss to Monster Magnet, there’s always exceptions that manage to record some worthwhile new material. This Brisbane, Australia hard rock group offer a couple twists that keep things fresh, including some psychedelic proto-stoner metal along the lines of Blue Cheer and, surprisingly, a strong White Stripes influence (“Joker And The Thief”). Even before the U.S. release, the promotional machine was in full gear. But since it was not 1974, DJs no longer get the promos sealed in bags of cocaine. A tour with smoke machines and capes, however, was most welcome.

Hard Rock, Stoner Rock | RYM #736 | Acclaimed #63

Queens Of The Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope) | USA
Wolfmother – Wolfmother (Modular) | Australia
The Darkness – One Way Ticket To Hell…And Back (Atlantic) | UK
Black Mountain – Black Mountain (Jagjaguwar) | USA | Bandcamp
Priestess – Hello Master (Indica) | Canada | Bandcamp
Kamchatka – Kamchatka (Grooveyard) | Sweden
Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes – Fused (Sanctuary) | UK
C’mon – In the Heat of the Moment (MapleMusic) | Canada
The Hellacopters – Rock & Roll Is Dead (Wild Kingdom) | Sweden
Clutch – Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT) | USA
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush – From the Hip (SPV) | Canada
The Hellacopters – Rock & Roll Is Dead (Wild Kingdom) | Sweden
D.A.D. – A Prayer for the Loud (Mermaid) | Denmark

Stoner/Desert/Fuzz

Like the Melvins, who Boris got their name from when they formed in Japan in 1992, they are incredibly diverse and prolific, veering wildly between metal, drone, punk, shoegaze, dream pop and many other sounds. Seventh album Pink was as good as place as any to introduce one to this great band. One time they were playing Pitchfork and amidst walls of feedback, the power to the entire park went out. They said, “uhhh, we used all your electricity.” Could be, Boris, could be.

Noise Rock, Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal, Hardcore Punk, Psych, Post-Metal, Shoegaze, Doomgaze | RYM #9 | Acclaimed #52

Witchcraft – Firewood (Candlelight) | Sweden
Truckfighters – Gravity X (Fuzzorama) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Queens Of The Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope) | USA
High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
Torche – Torche (Robotic Empire) | USA | Bandcamp
Boris – Pink (Southern Lord) | Japan | Bandcamp
Om – Variations On A Theme (Holy Mountain) | USA | Bandcamp
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load) | USA | Bandcamp
Dozer – Through The Eyes Of Heathens (Small Stone) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Acid King – III (Small Stone) | USA | Bandcamp
Causa Sui – Causa Sui (Elektrohasch) | Denmark
35007 – Phase V (Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Wolfmother – Wolfmother (Modular) | Australia

Heavy Metal

After four genre-defining classics of Swedish epic doom metal, Candlemass floundered for a few albums after original vocalist Messiah Marcolin left. It’s no coincidence that they return to full strength on their eighth album with the return of their Messiah.

Epic Doom Metal, Heavy Metal | RYM #110

Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz del Sur) | USA | Bandcamp
Candlemass – Candlemass (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden
Manilla Road – Gates of Fire (Battle Cry) | USA
Judas Priest – Angel Of Retribution (Columbia) | UK
Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes – Fused (Sanctuary) | UK
Primal Fear – Seven Seals (Nuclear Blast ) | Germany
Reverend Bizarre – II: Crush The Insects (Spinefarm) | Finland
Place Of Skulls – Love Through Blood EP (Outlaw) | USA | Bandcamp
Corrosion Of Conformity – In the Arms of God (Sanctuary) | USA
Bruce Dickinson – Tyranny Of Souls (Mayan) | UK
Russell Allen & Jorn Lande – The Battle (Frontiers) | Sweden
Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys, The Legacy (Steamhammer) | Germany
Sabaton – Primo victoria (Black Lodge) | Sweden | Bandcamp

Doom

Om is Sleep’s Al Ciscneros, the Yin to High on Fire’s Yang, a dark, cold, monolithic force, slow as tectonic plates, and as the name suggests, very meditative.

Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Drone Metal | RYM #458

Witchcraft – Firewood (Candlelight) | Sweden
Om – Variations On A Theme (Holy Mountain) | USA | Bandcamp
Acid King – III (Small Stone) | USA | Bandcamp
Candlemass – Candlemass (Nuclear Blast) | Sweden
Cathedral – The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (Nuclear Blast) | UK
Ufomammut – Lucifer Songs (Supernatural Cat) | Italy | Bandcamp
Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes – Fused (Sanctuary) | UK
sHEAVY – Republic? (Rise Above) | Canada
YOB – The Unreal Never Lived (Metal Blade) | USA
Reverend Bizarre – II: Crush The Insects (Spinefarm) | Finland
Corrupted – El Mundo Frio (HG Fact) | Japan
Sons Of Otis – X (Small Stone) | Canada
Place Of Skulls – Love Through Blood EP (Outlaw) | USA | Bandcamp

Metal

At it since 1984, iconic German band Kreator are lifers. Their eleventh album represents a continued resurgence after Violent Revolution (2001).

Thrash Metal | RYM #265

Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner) | Sweden
Gojira – From Mars To Sirius (Listenable/Prosthetic) | France | Bandcamp
Nile – Annihilation Of The Wicked (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
Bolt Thrower – Those Once Loyal (Metal Blade) | UK | Bandcamp
Kreator – Enemy of God (Steamhammer) | Germany | Bandcamp
Deceased – As the Weird Travel On (Hells Headbangers) | USA | Bandcamp
Taint – The Ruin of Nová Roma (Rise Above) | UK
Enslaved – Isa (Candlelight) | Norway
Municipal Waste – Hazardous Mutation (Earache) | USA | Bandcamp
Moonsorrow – Verisäkeet (Spikedarm) | Finland
sHEAVY – Republic? (Rise Above) | Canada
Communic – Conspiracy in Mind (Nuclear Blast) | Norway
YOB – The Unreal Never Lived (Metal Blade) | USA

Power Metal, Epic Adventure & Symphonic/Dark Romance Metal

Power Metal, Rock Opera, Symphonic Metal, Prog Metal | RYM #59

Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz del Sur) | USA | Bandcamp
Manilla Road – Gates of Fire (Battle Cry) | USA
Kamelot – The Black Halo (Steamhammer) | USA
Communic – Conspiracy in Mind (Nuclear Blast) | Norway
Circus Maximus – Isolate (Frontiers) | Norway
Primal Fear – Seven Seals (Nuclear Blast ) | Germany
Circus Maximus – The 1st Chapter (Frontiers) | Norway
Russell Allen & Jorn Lande – The Battle (Frontiers) | Sweden
Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys, The Legacy (Steamhammer) | Germany
Sigh – Gallows Gallery (The End) | Japan | Bandcamp
Sabaton – Primo victoria (Black Lodge) | Sweden | Bandcamp

Experimental, Modern Classical, Drone

Drone Metal, Drone, Dark Ambient, Post-Metal, Post-Rock, Doom | RYM #39

The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (Universal) | USA
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
Boris – Dronevil (Misanthropic) | Japan
Windy & Carl – The Dream House / Dedications to Flea (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Circle – Tulikoira (No Quarter) | Finland
The Spacious Mind – Rotvälta (Goddamn I’m a Countryman) | Sweden
The Chap – Ham (Lo) | UK | Bandcamp
Oneida – The Wedding (Jagjaguwar ) | USA | Bandcamp
Nadja – Truth Becomes Death (Alien8) | Canada | Bandcamp
Richard Youngs – The Naive Shaman (Jajjaguwar) | UK
The Telescopes – #4 (Antenna) | UK | Bandcamp
Gang Gang Dance – God’s Money (Social Registry) | USA
Paavoharju – Yhä Hämärää (Fonal) | Finland

Industrial & Noise

With a two-man noise band setup, one might assume Lightning Bolt take a pretty simplistic approach. Wrongo — this band, both live and on record, particularly this, their third and best, shoves more genres into a trash compacter than you’d find colors in a mega bag of Skittles, all with virtuoso brutal prog level attack and agility. The band avoids stages, setting up in the middle of a room, where they can be even more in your face. I got to witness such a show at Chicago’s tiny Schuba’s Tavern, and it was magnificent.

Noise Rock, Brutal Prog, Math Rock, Psych, Stoner | RYM #31 | Acclaimed #66

Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Boris – Pink (Southern Lord) | Japan | Bandcamp
The Drones – Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (ATP) | Australia
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain (Load) | USA | Bandcamp
The Heads – Dead in the Water (Invada) | UK
The Drones – The Miller’s Daughter (Bang!) | Australia
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll (Slogan) | UK | Bandcamp
P.K. 14 – White Paper (Modern Sky) | China
Oneida – The Wedding (Jagjaguwar ) | USA | Bandcamp
Juliana Hatfield – Made in China (Ye Olde) | USA
Sunn 0))) – Black One (Southern Lord) | USA | Bandcamp
Old Time Relijun – 2012 (K ) | USA | Bandcamp
Sol Invictus – The Devil’s Steed (Tursa) | UK | Bandcamp

Ambient, New Age & Post-Rock

The Boards Of Canada were coming off a peak with their third album Geogaddi (2002), the best example of the Hauntology movement that runs musical styles and broadcast media from the mid-20th century post-war era through digital manipulation or manual tape collage to lend haunted atmospherics. Here they’ve moved their focus to folktronica and downtempo electronic music, with just a touch of ambient. It’s nice, though nothing I really played a lot, as I had quickly grown fatigued of most electronic music from the past decade. This hasn’t really changed in the 20 years since.

Folktronica, Downtempo, Psych | RYM #21 | Acclaimed #67

The Boards Of Canada – Campfire Headcase (Warp ) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Pelican – The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw (Hydra Head) | USA | Bandcamp
Sigur Rós – Takk… (Geffen) | Iceland | Bandcamp
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
Windy & Carl – The Dream House / Dedications to Flea (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Dredg – Catch Without Arms (Interscope) | USA
Jaga Jazzist – What We Must (Ninja Tune) | Norway | Bandcamp
Hood – Outside Closer (Domino) | UK
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Insen (NOTON) | Germany/Japan
The Spacious Mind – Rotvälta (Goddamn I’m a Countryman) | Sweden
The Focus Group – Hey Let Loose Your Love (Ghost Box) | UK
Nadja – Truth Becomes Death (Alien8) | Canada | Bandcamp

Art Pop & Dream Pop

Original Review: While this Sunderland band shares a drummer with Maximo Park and includes a former Futurehead, their sound is miles away from their neighbors. Field Music is delicate art pop with off-kilter melodies and rhythms. Imagine if Robert Wyatt joined XTC circa 1983. The songs are shy and not exactly catchy. You have to put in some effort to chase down and grab the music. Or perhaps play possum until it comes sniffing and licks your ear. The reward is some pretty, tickly piano embellishments, falsetto harmonies (courtesy of brothers Peter and David Brewis) and percussion percolating with various shakers and ringing bells. The easiest entry point, the single “You Can Decide,” with its straightforward handclaps and chorus, bring to mind a more interesting Shins. “Got To Write A Letter” starts with some cleverly sampled typewriter set to the rhythm.

The sensual acoustic guitars bring to mind a faint influence of Brazilian bossanova and The Sea And Cake. “Like When You Meet Someone Else” is the obligatory sad song always with a light touch. “Shorter Shorter” employs a small chamber orchestra that could have been borrowed from the Abbey Road era Beatles. Like snowflakes, this music is too ephemeral to stick with you for long. In a way this can be positive, as every repeated listen sounds fresh, making it a grower and a keeper.

Prog Pop, Indie Pop, Art Pop, Chamber Pop | RYM #633

Field Music – Field Music (Memphis Industries UK) | UK | Bandcamp
Kate Bush – Aerial (Columbia) | UK
Sigur Rós – Takk… (Geffen) | Iceland | Bandcamp
The Fiery Furnaces – EP (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Animal Collective – Feels (FatCat) | USA | Bandcamp
Broadcast – Tender Buttons (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Nine Horses – Snow Borne Sorrow (Samadhisound) | UK
M83 – Before The Dawn Heals Us (Goom/Mute) | UK | Bandcamp
The Clientele – Strange Geometry (Merge) | UK | Bandcamp
Antony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian) | USA
Mew – And The Glass-Handed Kites (Sony) | Sweden
Petra Haden – Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out (Bar/None) | USA
John Cale – Black Acetate (Astralwerks) | UK

Shoegaze & Noise Pop

Leading up to this, Low had a run of six albums of remarkably consistent quality. At the time, I admit I took the band for granted, and dragged my feet in hearing what seemed to be more of the same. In a sense it was, and the quality was just a tiny smidge below anything from the first half dozen. However, that means Low are still running on a full tank of creativity, and it would be a mistake to skip this new batch. And surprise, the band have turned on the amps and pedals for some of the loudest guitar sounds they’ve ever tackled. It’s not stoner psych or anything, but it packs as much punch as, say Yo La Tengo when they get feisty. Just one more facet of how this little slowcore unit from Duluth could excel.

Indie Rock, Slowcore, Noise Pop, Indie Pop, Post-Rock | RYM #218

Boris – Pink (Southern Lord) | Japan | Bandcamp
Low – The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
M83 – Before The Dawn Heals Us (Goom/Mute) | UK | Bandcamp
Nadja – Truth Becomes Death (Alien8) | Canada | Bandcamp
Wussy – Funeral Dress (Shake It!) | USA | Bandcamp
Dressy Bessy – Electrified (Transdreamer) | USA
Magic Dirt – Snow White (Warner) | Australia | Bandcamp
Calla – Collisions (Beggars Banquet) | USA
Vanishing Kids – The Selfish Mirror (Underground) | USA
Birchville Cat Motel – Chi Vampires (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) | New Zealand | Bandcamp
Serena-Maneesh – Serena-Maneesh (Honeymilk) | Norway
Engineers – Engineers (Echo) | UK

Synthpop, New Wave, Coldwave, Minimal Synth

As much as I enjoyed Broadcast’s debut The Noise Made by People (2000), it was tempting to write them off as Stereolab Jr. But while they crossed paths in their retro-futurist hauntological excursions, Broadcast proved themselves as worthy songwriters, taking a more simpler sonic approach that suited their music. Their third album holds up well in retrospect as their best effort by a smidge.

Indietronica, Ambient Pop, Psych, Minimal Wave, Glitch Pop, Art Pop, Dream Pop | RYM #39 | Acclaimed #51

Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
Broadcast – Tender Buttons (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
M83 – Before The Dawn Heals Us (Goom/Mute) | UK | Bandcamp
Brakes – Give Blood (Rough Trade) | UK
Metric – Live It Out (Last Gang) | Canada
Of Monteral – The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl) | Canada | Bandcamp
Goldfrapp – Supernature (MuteUK) | UK
Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel (Mute) | UK
Clor – Clor (EMIUK) | UK
Royksopp – The Understanding (Astralwerks) | Norway
Tom Vek – We Have Sound (Startime International) | UK | Bandcamp
The Epoxies – Stop The Future (Fat Wreck) | USA | Bandcamp
Ladytron – Witching Hour (Rykodisc) | UK | Bandcamp

Indie Rock, Pop & Jangle Pop

I got ahold of the Bloc Party album at the end of 2004, and I couldn’t stop listening to it for the next three months. Combined with their B-Sides, Bloc Party were immensely entertaining. They put on a great live show, and Matt Tong proved to be a juggernaut on the kit (he left the band in 2013 and can be heard in Algiers). I wasn’t sure how well Kele Okereke’s yelping vocals and the deep cuts would hold up at the time, but I’ve kept coming back to the album since then, and seeing them perform the entire album at Riot Fest in 2016 was priceless. It’s an unending source of irritation how it’s assumed post-punk should go out of fashion every time a few good bands do some good work. It’s not the case for literally hundreds of other genres. While the band struggled a bit to maintain quality on subsequent albums, trying out mixes of indietronica and U2 style stadium rock (which Coldplay are doing in the worst way lately), but post-punk has persisted regardless, and so has this album.

Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Math Pop | RYM #50 | Acclaimed #7 | AOTY #30

Austin’s Trail of Dead’s third album, Source Tags & Codes (2002) blew things wide open for them, as they went from an obscure noise rock/post-hardcore band to a celebrated one, thanks in part to a 10.0 rating from Pitchfork. Not ones to repeat themselves, they progressed into a more ambitiously diverse and complex art rock direction with their next album. P4K didn’t get it, punishing them with a 4.0, damning the band back to the underground. What a load of bullshit. Trail of Dead were taking in influences like Mott the Hoople and The Who’s Quadrophenia and creating sweepingly epic music that is very much contemporary. The problem is a clash of tribes, as the indie and post-hardcore crowd weren’t quite ready to mix with the proggers and art rockers, and had nothing to do with the quality of their music. Open minded fans of both The Arcade Fire and Porcupine Tree would appreciate this if they gave it a chance. Their albums remained underappreciated to the end, and they broke up in 2023

Indie Rock, Art Rock, Post-Hardcore | RYM #740 | Acclaimed #87 | AOTY #277. | More.

Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
The Rakes – Capture/Release (V2UK) | UK
Editors – The Back Room (Kitchenware UK) | UK
Spoon – Gimme Fiction (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (Wichita/V2) | UK
…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart (Interscope) | USA
Dogs – Turn Against This Land (Island) | UK
Field Music – Field Music (Memphis Industries UK) | UK | Bandcamp
Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino) | UK
Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
The Coral – The Invisible Invasion (Deltasonic ) | UK
Low – The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (Matador) | Canada | Bandcamp

Power Pop

While people were going nuts over a new Paul McCartney album, the next generation was fully engaged in making some amazing music that plows new crop circles in the fields of psych and power pop. In this case, lead by Ireland’s Thomas Walsh, Pugwash’s third album was a tribute to ELO and cricket (the sport). With XTC’s Andy Partridge co-writing album closer “Anchor,” this has the feel of a baton being handed off.

Psych Pop, Pop Rock, Power Pop, Baroque Pop, Sunshine Pop

The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (Matador) | Canada | Bandcamp
Pugwash – Jollity (1969 Records) | Ireland | Bandcamp
Valley Lodge – Valley Lodge (Thistime) | USA
Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift (Barsuk) | USA | Bandcamp
Of Arrowe Hill – Hexadelica And The Speed Of Darkness (Ouija Board) | UK | Bandcamp
The Fleshtones – Beachhead (Yep Roc) | USA | Bandcamp
Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp
Juliana Hatfield – Made in China (Ye Olde) | USA
Dressy Bessy – Electrified (Transdreamer) | USA
Dramarama – Everybody Dies (33rd Street) | USA
Caesars – Paper Tigers (Astralwerks) | Sweden
Barracudas – The Barracudas (NDN) | UK
Mae – The Everglow (Tooth & Nail) | USA

Jazz, Fusion & Jazz-Funk

Around 2002, a Russian colleague introduced me to Norway’s Jaga Jazzist, their first few albums an interesting mix of electronic music and jazz fusion. Their fourth album ventures into more organic sounds with rock instrumentation, resulting in possibly their best album.

Post-Rock, Jazz, Jazz-Rock | RYM #352

The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (Universal) | USA
Jaga Jazzist – What We Must (Ninja Tune) | Norway | Bandcamp
El Michels Affair – Sounding Out the City (Fast Life) | USA | Bandcamp
Budos Band – The Budos Band (Daptone) | USA
Nostalgia 77 – The Garden (Tru Thoughts) | UK | Bandcamp
Meshell Ndegeocello – The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance Of The Infidel (Shanachie) | USA
Polar Bear – Held On The Tips Of Fingers (Babel) | UK | Bandcamp

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

As mentioned in the intro as one of the surprises of the year, M.I.A. had the shock of new sounds, incorporating a wide array of global sounds with hip hop and electro-dance. Aside from “Bucky Done Gun” and “Galang,” the rest of the tracks blend together in a dense but colorful tapestry that as a whole, stands the test of time.

Experimental Hip Hop, Funk brasileiro, Dancehall, Political Hip Hop, Pop Rap, Tamborzão, Grime, Electropop | RYM #47 | Acclaimed #3 | AOTY #6

M.I.A. – Arular (XL ) | UK
Konono No. 1 – Congotronics (FatCat) | Congo
Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch) | Mali
Rhythm & Sound – See Mi Yah (Burial Mix) | UK
Budos Band – The Budos Band (Daptone) | USA
Todosantos – Aeropuerto (La Superagencia) | Venezuela
Gogol Bordello – Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike (USA Side 1 Dummy) | USA
Seu Jorge – Cru (Wrasse) | Brazil
Max De Castro – Max De Castro (Trama) | Brazil
Various – Love’s A Real Thing: The Funky Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa (Luaka Bop) | Africa
Sinéad O’Connor – Throw Down Your Arms (THCV) | Ireland
Mariem Hassan – Deseos OK (Nubenegra) | Sahara
Yat-Kha – Re-Covers (World Village) | Tuva

Electronic

A French band fusing electronic music with shoegaze and dream pop? It sounds like a surefire way to please a wide array of fans, and that it did. M83 would reach greater heights later in the decade, but they wouldn’t surpass the quality and consistency of their third album.

Dream Pop, Electronic, Synthpop, Shoegaze, Ambient Pop, Noise Pop | RYM #311 | Acclaimed #68

The Boards Of Canada – Campfire Headcase (Warp ) | UK | Bandcamp
Robyn – Robyn (Konichiwa Records) | Sweden
M83 – Before The Dawn Heals Us (Goom/Mute) | UK | Bandcamp
John Cale – Black Acetate (Astralwerks) | UK
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Insen (NOTON) | Germany/Japan
The Focus Group – Hey Let Loose Your Love (Ghost Box) | UK
Autechre – Untilted (Warp) | UK | Bandcamp
The Books – Lost and Safe (Tomlab) | USA | Bandcamp
God Is An Astronaut – All Is Violent, All Is Bright (Revive) | Ireland | Bandcamp
The Lappetites – Before the Libretto (Quecksilber) | USA | Bandcamp
Matias Aguayo – Are You Really Lost (Kompakt) | Chile/Germany
Gorillaz – Demon Days (Virgin) | UK
Jamie Lidell – Multiply (Warp) | UK

R&B, Soul & Funk

ANOHNI burst on the scene in 2000 with Antony and the Johnsons, featuring their androgynous but powerful vocals. On their second album, the scales are tipped toward soul and away from chamber art Pop. There is no doubt this is one soulful human who’s been through it, leaving this powerful statement.

Chamber Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Soul, Art Pop | RYM #90 | Acclaimed #2

Antony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian) | USA
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – Naturally (Daptone) | USA | Bandcamp
Weird War – Illuminated By The Light (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Common – Be (Geffen) | USA
El Michels Affair – Sounding Out the City (Fast Life) | USA | Bandcamp
Alice Russell – My Favourite Letters (Tru Thoughts) | UK | Bandcamp
Jamie Lidell – Multiply (Warp) | UK
Budos Band – The Budos Band (Daptone) | USA
Missy Elliott – The Cookbook (Atlantic) | USA
Anthony Hamilton – Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ (So So Def/Zomba) | USA
Roots Manuva – Awfully Deep (Big Dada/Ninja TuneUK ) | UK
Bettye LaVette – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti-) | USA
Greg Dulli – Amber Headlights (One Little Indian) | USA

Hip Hop & Rap

You can’t say hip hop stopped being experimental, but the kind I liked — super dense audio collages that mine not only 70s funk, but 60s psych and even sunshine pop — disappeared deep in the underground. Edan’s third album was one of the last to get any kind of attention, and it was overdue, taking the best parts of The Avalanches with the likes of Dalek, Anti-Pop Consortium and MF Doom.

Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop, Psych, Boom Bap, Plunderphonics | RYM #54 | Acclaimed #46

M.I.A. – Arular (XL ) | UK
Edan – Beauty and the Beat (Lewis) | USA | Bandcamp
Common – Be (Geffen) | USA
Beck – Guero (WB) | USA
Kanye West – Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella) | USA
Gorillaz – Demon Days (Virgin) | UK
Quasimoto – The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas (Stones Throw) | USA | Bandcamp
Dälek – Absence (Ipecac ) | USA
DangerDoom – The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph/ADA) | USA | Bandcamp
Missy Elliott – The Cookbook (Atlantic) | USA
Roots Manuva – Awfully Deep (Big Dada/Ninja TuneUK ) | UK
Lady Sovereign – Vertically Challenged EP (Chocolate Industries) | UK
Kano – Kano (Home Sweet Home) | UK

Folk & Americana

Since the early 00s there’s been a divide between bands embraced by the indie scene, and the stoner rockers. Dead Meadow and Black Mountain were favored by the indie crowd and ignored elsewhere, despite being quite heavy, especially live. 20+ years later it still doesn’t make any damn sense. The folk rock element that got Dead Meadow on this list isn’t super prominent, but it would be off and on throughout their long career which is still going with their tenth album released this year. In the context of a playlist, the murkiness of the production really stands out in a negative way. It’s okay on it’s own, but then sounds like someone fell down a port-a-potty a hundred meters away. It’s their fourth album, so I suppose it’s a choice, which is indeed very indie of them. Nevertheless, the music holds up.

Psych, Stoner Rock, Heavy Psych, Folk Rock | RYM #462

Circulus – The Lick on the Tip of an Envelope Yet to Be Sent (Rise Above) | UK | Buy
Dead Meadow – Feathers (Matador) | USA
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl (Echo) | USA
Animal Collective – Feels (FatCat) | USA | Bandcamp
Josh Rouse – Nashville (Yep Roc) | USA
Jack Rose – Kensington Blues (VHF) | USA | Bandcamp
Smog – A River Ain’t Too Much to Love (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
The Eighteenth Day Of May – The Eighteenth Day Of May (Hannibal/Cardinal Fuzz) | UK | Bandcamp
Espers – The Weed Tree (Locust) | USA | Bandcamp
Wussy – Funeral Dress (Shake It!) | USA | Bandcamp
Clem Snide – End of Love (spinART) | USA
Alasdair Roberts – No Earthly Man (Drag City) | UK

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

Louisville’s My Morning Jacket works in that fuzzy area between country and indie rock that I like okay, but never expect to love. Z grew on me gradually like kudzo vines over the years, and what stands out is the unique, ethereal psychedelic atmospherics they achieve on their fourth album, with assistance from the stellar talents of Andrew Bird (strings, whistling) and M. Ward (acoustic guitar, choir).

Indie, Alt, Psych, Indie Pop, Country Rock

My Morning Jacket – Z (ATO) | USA | Bandcamp
Clem Snide – End of Love (spinART) | USA
John Prine – Fair & Square (Oh Boy) | USA | Bandcamp
Freakwater – Thinking Of You (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Lucero – Nobody’s Darlings (Liberty & Lament) | USA
Madrugada – The Deep End (Virgin) | Norway
Frank Black – Honeycomb (Cooking Vinyl) | USA
Devin Davis – Lonely People of the World, Unite! (Mousse) | USA
Bettye LaVette – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti-) | USA
Crooked Fingers – Dignity And Shame (Merge) | USA
Kingsbury Manx – The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South (Yep Roc) | USA | Bandcamp
Deana Carter – The Story of My Life (Vanguard) | USA
Buck 65 – Secret House Against the World (WEA) | Canada

Blues Rock

While I still favor the psychedelic garage/space/noise rock and shoegaze of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s debut from 2001, I call their experimentation with bluesy Americana and folk rock a success, following the same pattern as The Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain to change things up and not be a one-trick pony. Also, it may be strange but I sometimes project feelings I have for an artist onto their children, as I’m a fan of Robert Levon Been’s father Michael and his band The Call. Along similar lines I always have time for anything Sean Ono Lennon does. Butt not Julian, screw him. Anyway, BRMC beat out The White Stripes, which is saying something.

Blues Rock, Indie Rock, Americana, Folk Rock | RYM #430

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl (Echo) | USA
Kamchatka – Kamchatka (Grooveyard) | Sweden
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan (V2) | USA
Robert Cray – Twenty (Sanctuary) | USA
Snatches Of Pink – Stag (MoRisen) | USA | Bandcamp
Clutch – Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT) | USA
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush – From the Hip (SPV) | Canada
Tetuzi Akiyama – Route 13 to the Gates of Hell: Live in Tokyo (Headz) | Japan
Charlie Sexton – Cruel and Gentle Things (Back Porch) | USA
Bettye LaVette – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti-) | USA
The Kills – No Wow (Rough Trade) | UK

Singer-Songwriters

It’s funny how my attention with one of the greatest guitar heroes of my generation ebbs and flows. Like a lot of restless creative souls, Mary Timony likes to be involved in a variety of projects. After closing the books on Helium, she did a couple excellent solo albums fleshing out her fantasy fairie pop (e.g. psych/art/prog pop), and later would have the short lived M. Timony Band, Wild Flag, and one of my favorite band projects that I hope she returns to, Ex Hex. It’s clear why she named that band after this solo album, as it’s a triumphant return to guitar heroics. Supplementing her income as a guitar teacher, the woman can shred, and this album has some fine six string work indeed, as well as solid tunes. So why in the actual fuck is this #1,495 in Rate Your Music? Do they hate guitars, or are they basement dwellers who are also part of misogynist incels?

Indie Rock | RYM #1,495

Patrick Wolf – Wind In The Wires (Tomlab) | UK
Mary Timony – Ex Hex (Lookout!) | USA
Antony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian) | USA
Josh Rouse – Nashville (Yep Roc) | USA
Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Parlophone) | UK
Smog – A River Ain’t Too Much to Love (Drag City) | USA | Bandcamp
Richard Youngs – The Naive Shaman (Jajjaguwar) | UK
Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty) | USA | Bandcamp
Laura Veirs – Year of Meteors (Nonesuch) | USA | Bandcamp
Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm (SuperEgo) | USA
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 – …tick…tick…tick (Redeye) | USA
John Prine – Fair & Square (Oh Boy) | USA | Bandcamp
Sam Prekop – Who’s Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey) | USA

Dance-Pop

I wasn’t a big dance-pop fan, and would at best I would tolerate the best stuff I was subjected to against my will. But a few artists really stood out of the pack for me in the 2000s, including Utada, Annie and Robyn. From Stockholm, Sweden, Robin Miriam Carlsson released three albums from 1997 to 2002 that were unexceptional to say the least. But somehow she suddenly became lit up with artistic inspiration for her fourth album, which is remarkably consistent, with no real dud tracks in between the bangers like “Konichiwa Bitches,” full of hip hop swagger without being cringeworthy, “Who’s That Girl?” and the heartsmashing “Be Mine!” She would go on to even greater global success and acclaim with Body Talk (2010).

Electropop, Dance-Pop, Art Pop, Electroclash, Synthpop | RYM #523

Robyn – Robyn (Konichiwa Records) | Sweden
My Computer – No CV (Tesla UK) | UK
The Go-Betweens – Oceans Apart (Yep Roc) | Australia
Goldfrapp – Supernature (MuteUK) | UK
Sam Prekop – Who’s Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs – Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs (Righteous Babe) | USA
Eluvium – Talk Amongst The Trees (Temporary Residence) | USA
The Shortwave Set – The Debt Collection (Independiente UK) | UK
Russian Futurists – Our Thickness (Upper Class) | Canada
Teenage Fanclub – Man-Made (Merge) | UK
Emiliana Torrini – Fisherman’s Wife (Rough Trade) | Iceland
Colder – Heat (Output) | UK
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (Sony) | USA

Non-Metal For Metalheads

I had the opportunity to see the young Pelican open for numerous bands in Chicago in the early 00s and was keenly interested to see if they could replicate the scalp-massaging low-end tones they achieved live on their debut Australasia (2003). They sure did, and kept the momentum going on their second album, which deserves props for also planting seeds for a bunch of other shoegaze and doomgaze bands who have gone heavy in the past two decades.

Atmospheric Sludge Metal, Post-Metal, Post-Rock | RYM #288

Boris – Pink (Southern Lord) | Japan | Bandcamp
The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (Universal) | USA
Pelican – The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw (Hydra Head) | USA | Bandcamp
Electrelane – Axes (Too Pure) | UK
Boris – Dronevil (Misanthropic) | Japan
Taint – The Ruin of Nová Roma (Rise Above) | UK
The Chap – Ham (Lo) | UK | Bandcamp
Oneida – The Wedding (Jagjaguwar ) | USA | Bandcamp
Old Time Relijun – 2012 (K ) | USA | Bandcamp
Sol Invictus – The Devil’s Steed (Tursa) | UK | Bandcamp
Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel (Mute) | UK
Mahjongg – Raydoncong (Cold Crush) | USA
Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth (Nothing) | USA

Reissues

The Stooges * Funhouse (Rhino/Elektra) 70
The Associates * The Affectionate Punch (Fiction) 80
Patti Smith * Horses (Arista) 75
Can * Soon Over Babaluma (Mute/Spoon) 74
Martha and the Muffins * This Is The Ice Age (Dindisc/Virgin) 81
Funkadelic * Maggot Brain (Westbound) 71
Funkadelic (Westbound) 69
The Adverts * Crossing The Red Sea With the Adverts (Devils Jukebox) 78
Can * Future Days (Mute/Spoon) 73
Motorhead * Ace Of Spades (Roadracer) 80
The Damned * The Black Album (Chiswick/Big Beat UK) 80
The Fall * Hex Enduction Hour (Castle/Sanctuary) 82
The Stooges (Rhino/Elektra) 69

Singles

The Rakes “Binary Love” (V2)
Robyn “Be Mine” (Konichiwa)
Spoon “I Turn My Camera On” (Merge)
Maximo Park “Apply Some Pressure” (Warp)
White Stripes “My Doorbell” (XL)
Dogs “Selfish Ways” (Island)
Franz Ferdinand “Do You Want To” (Domino)
The Shortwave Set “Is It Any Wonder” (Independiente)
Antony & the Johnsons “Fistful of Love” (Secretly Canadian)
Jamie Lidell “Multiply” (Warp)
Editors “Fingers In The Factories” (Kitchenware)
LCD Soundsystem “Tribulations” (DFA)
Lady Sovereign “Random” (Casual)

Videos

Shows

Walt Mink, Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis
Mastodon, Bottom Lounge
Bloc Party, Metro
LCD Soundsystem, Metro
Domenico+2, Museum of Contemporary Art
Konono No. 1, Logan Square Auditorium
Gogol Bordello, Subterranean
Seu Jorge, Grant Park
Dinosaur Jr., Metro
The Arcade Fire, Lollapalooza
Spoon, Lollapalooza
Black Keys, Lollapalooza
Billy Idol, Lollapalooza

Movies

Walk The Line
Brick
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Serenity
Kung Fu Hustle
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Millions
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Sin City
The Squid and the Whale
Batman Begins
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Family Stone

Runner-ups: Oldboy, Broken Flowers, Madagascar, 40 Year-Old Virgin, Aeon Flux, Chronicles of Narnia.

Television

I’m having trouble finding shows from that year that I watched. I would watch more TV in later years, but not just yet.

Gilmore Girls
Battlestar Galactica
Monk
Will & Grace

Books

J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter And the Half-Blood Prince (YA fantasy)
Haruki Murakami – Kafka on the Shore (magical realism)
Jonathan Safran Foer – Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (literary)
Charles Stross – Accelerando (cyberpunk)
Richard K. Morgan – Woken Furies (cyberpunk)
Markus Zusak – The Book Thief (literary)
Jonathan Stroud – Ptolemy’s Gate: The Bartimaeus Sequence (fantasy comedy)
Stieg Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (thriller)
Cormac McCarthy – No Country for Old Men (literary)
Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys (urban fantasy)
Nick Hornby – A Long Way Down (literary fiction, humor)
John Green – Looking for Alaska (fiction)
Kazuo Ishiguro – Never Let Me Go (dystopia)

Posted in: Bandcamp, Books, Features, Film, Listicles, Lucky 13, Rants, Reissues, Reviews, TV, Videos/Singles

Tagged: Best of 2005, Bloc Party, Dogs, Editors, Fester's Lucky 13: 2005, Gojira, High On Fire, Opeth, Patrick Wolf, Queens Of The Stone Age, Sleater-Kinney, Slough Feg, Spoon, The Rakes, Torche, Trail of Dead, Truckfighters, Witchcraft

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