ALBUMS 2000 - 2009
There is no ulterior motive for these journals. This is as honest and truthful as I can be. I am not a part of some online music publication or have any desire to stick to trends or include what is currently popular, unless I genuinely feel it deserves to be (waves at Pitchfork & NME fans). I am not some budding music journalist trying to entice people with a flouncy, 'know it all' attitude. If you agree with some of my choices then that's great! If you don't then that's great too. I mean, who cares anyway? It's just a bit of fun.
Please feel free to check back over the next couple of months to see the remaining entries. I will be updating each album entry with my own little review (the top 20 more substantially).
100.
Junior Boys -
So This Is Goodbye (2006)
So we start with Junior Boys and the ‘So This Is Goodbye’ record. An album I discovered only last year, but still feel deserves a place in this relatively awe-inspiring (say what?) top 100. So surely this must be an awe-inspiring album? Well, being that we’re at the arse end of the rundown, the honest answer is no. BUT it is a damn good electro pop album with plenty of upbeat moments including the cracking single and album highlight
In The Morning. A song that even Rolf Harris (the original beat boxer) would be envious of!
Jeremy Greenspan's vocal effort is mostly eloquent and sensual, sometimes bordering on gentle whispers. It works well against the trippy beats which generate a soothing aural experience. It’s not quite the chill-out album of the decade, mainly because chill-out records and the term itself tend to suck to the high heavens (I wouldn’t dare lump it in with such a clichéd bunch of bores) but if you’re after a funky pop album with fragile Cliff Richard meets Jon Marsh alike vocals where you’re STILL able to shake your ass; then you could do a lot worse. Good shit!
99.
Ours -
Distorted Lullabies (2001)
A criminally ignored record by the big wigs of the music media world (they need new wigs, seriously). YES, it sounds like Jimmy Gnecco’s been squeezing a couple out over copies of Buckley’s ‘Grace’ and singing U2 classics in the shower but there’s a lot more on offer here than from your usual rip off rockers.
Firstly, this is no rip off. This isn’t just Buckley in eyeliner. Although there are undeniable similarities in Gnecco and Buckley’s vocal delivery, Gnecco could claim ignorance if he so wished. The guy has been making music since the late 80’s.
Secondly, this is a darkly melodic album with wonderful harmonies and heart felt lyrical content that just proves singers like Gnecco (and Buckley) are a rare breed. Listeners should be more interested in the quality on offer than comparing the two artists. Evidently, a lot of soul and hard work went into completing the thing. Gnecco’s vocal range can be quite astounding on tracks such as
Medication and
Fallen Souls. Listen to the last few moments of either to appreciate such grandeur.
You can probably buy the album for around £0.99 on amazon.co.uk. An absolute steal!
98.
Orbital -
The Altogether (2001)
I remember my uncle playing the
Snivilisation track
Sad But True on his brand new stereo back in 94. I was 14 and had never heard an Orbital track before. I was hugely impressed with how crisp and clean it sounded coming out of expensive speakers that I wouldn’t be able to afford until many years later. It sounded futuristic and exciting (curiously, I discovered Alison
Goldfrapp did the vocals around ten years later). I’ve been more than a casual listener ever since.
The Altogether released in 2001 was a record I picked up at Woolworths just because it was the only potentially good album available there that I didn’t already own (I would have had to travel to Cardiff or Newport to get to a decent music retail outlet back then – pre online music buying days, kids). I had previously read an article about it and the excitement surrounding a version of the Dr Who theme, but I was more interested in the track that sampled Tools
Sober. As it turned out, these were the weakest tracks on the album. There were far more synthetic techno pleasures to appreciate on tracks like
Oi! and
Last Thing.
Funny Break (One Is Enough) with its top-drawer female vocal prowess, became an addiction for a while.
Another point of interest - I had started crafting my own compositions using codemasters (they did the Micro Machine games!) spectacularly titled music creation software MUSIC just a couple of years before hearing ‘The Altogether’ album and was intrigued with certain tracks sounding like they had been crafted with this particular software. The bass line in
Pay Per View is almost a straight sample from the MUSIC software library. I became increasingly inspired with each listen and started taking my own compositions more seriously with the belief that quality could indeed be achieved using such limited software. For this reason alone, I hold up The Altogether as a very influential and beautifully swish record.
97.
Robots in Disguise -
Get Rid! (2005)
Produced by
Chris Corner, this second long player from the mighty
Robots in Disguise was a far bolder affair. Full bodied and funky, with more killer than filler! Tunes that made you want to get rat arsed in some gaudy bar, throw shapes like a spaz, before returning to your own abode totally steaming, waking up the following afternoon to find around fifteen people you’ve never seen before lying half naked on your unfortunately ruined new carpet from Aunt Phyllis.
Album opener
Turn It Up with its gorgeously fat sounding bass and trashy drums coupled with the trademark yelps of Sue Denim & Dee Plume made it an irresistibly childish party track (for grown ups!). It’s up there with
The Flirts best from their 1982 album
10 Cents A Dance. For Realz!
The cute, jangly robotic cover of
The Kinks favourite
You Really Got Me is mildly diverting but my own electronically charged spot light would target
The Dj's Got a Gun and the Chris Corner reworking of
Hot Gossip. It can be a sad fact when a remix is better than the original, but in the case of Hot Gossip, it is simply true!
The album can grate after repeated listens, mainly due to the vocals which are not particularly engaging, heartfelt or well executed (well duh!) but this is not an album to listen too on a Sunday evening just before Songs of Praise (maybe try
Sue and The Unicorn). It does, however deliver that ‘spur of the moment’ appeal which similar groups tend to lack. The fun factor is simply undeniable. Those who disagree are either lying or Harrison Ford.
I’m aware that a large majority of people latched onto the Robots after witnessing their contributions to the Mighty Boosh show. I admit to having never seen an episode! It is perhaps something that I will rectify in time, but at least I don’t feel a desire to see the Boosh shows to understand what these girls are about. The music says it all and that is what is most important. Great fun!
96.
Charlotte Gainsbourg -
5.55 (2006)
My boyfriend introduced this album to me in the summer of 2008, just before we started seeing each other. I was originally directed to
The Operation clip on Youtube and really liked both the visuals and music track. Before this, I’d only witnessed her acting roles in 21 Grams and The Science of Sleep. I was surprised to discover another creative side to this Intriguing woman. After learning of her esteemed lineage and that popular French duo
Air were involved in the creation of her album, I understood why following in her fathers musical footsteps was not only a good idea, but to be expected.
Although not her first foray into the world of music,
5.55 does give us our first peek into the world of a fully grown Charlotte. There are no ‘from the grave’ Serge collaborations or cheesy cover versions here. In fact, having listened to her fathers own recordings, I feel a delicate enough tribute is paid just by having Air on board as collaborator (what with Air often citing Serge as a major influence).
Of course, the high profile collaborators are not all this album has to offer.
Charlotte Gainsbourg herself shines with an impressive and distinctive vocal delivery. This is a woman whose voice exhibits a sexual intimacy with cool, well-mannered structure. It’s somewhere between whisper and breathlessness and works perfectly alongside the lo-fi production and occasional rumbled bass line. The aforementioned Operation single exudes said bass line with a simple yet catchy beat that sounds like Air at their very best. No mean feat, especially when you consider (and maybe even pout over) their own, less than glorious, recent material.
I consider 5.55 an important record. Not just because I believe it to be the first step toward more impressive releases (the new album featuring Beck is sounding very exciting) but also because it’s a part of the soundtrack to my first real love (as gooey as that sounds).
There were a few special nights spent listening to this album with my boyfriend. Whether cuddled up in bed in the early hours of the morning or being miles away from each other, synchronising our album copies so we could listen and talk about it on msn or on the phone together, it always sounded like it was made for us alone. Since then, however and wherever I listen, it makes me feel happy. Maybe an odd choice of word considering some of the song lyrics and themes but the simple truth is 5:55, along with
The Ventriloquist and
The Blue God will always be a record that makes me smile and feel special (especially after a little
Night-Time Intermission).
95.
Dani Siciliano -
Likes (2004)
94.
Anathema -
A Fine Day to Exit (2001)
93.
Sébastien Tellier -
Sexuality (2008)
92.
Kings of Convenience -
Versus (2001)
91.
Bell X1 -
Music In Mouth (2003)
90.
Coldcut -
Sound Mirrors (2006)
89.
Dogs Die in Hot Cars –
Please Describe Yourself (2004)
88.
Data Rock –
Datarock Datarock (2005)
87.
Tom Vek –
We Have Sound (2005)
86.
Róisín Murphy –
Overpowered (2007)
85.
Wildbirds & Peacedrums –
The Snake (2009)
84.
Quiet Village –
Silent Movie (2008)
83.
Jackson and His Computer Band –
Smash (2005)
82.
The Kills –
Midnight Boom (2008)
81.
Madnomad –
Tamper - Evident
(2003)
Junior Boys
