Best Albums of 2014

Brief thoughts on the year in a medium of entertainment I don't devote nearly enough time to.

Best of 2014

7. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - IX


I don't love this band the way I used to, but they still can create a big rock song better than most that I've heard. They at least exceeded my expectations after I mostly enjoyed but got a little bored with their last couple albums. I can't think of a track on IX that I don't like.

6. The Antlers - Familiars


The Antlers seem to reinvent themselves with every album. That's definitely the case here, as they take on a less pop-focused, more kind of jammy or jazzy sound. It sounds like they're playing in a laid back bar with not a lot of people in it. A lot of the songs sound very similar, but if you can get into it it's a very pleasant and rewarding experience.

5. TV on the Radio - Seeds


The band comes back together after the unfortunate loss of their bassist to cancer, and prove they still know their way around their instruments. I've come to terms with the fact that they're not going to be the best band of all time, and that they're still pretty good anyway. I could have done with a bit more Kyp Malone singing, but it's overall a nicely balanced and enjoyable rock album.

4. St. Vincent


St. Vincent's fourth album sounds a lot like her third. Not like, the songs sound the same, because most of her songs don't really sound alike. But she's still doing the same thing, creating original noise/art/indie/pop/rock that's always unique and always interesting. It's always fun to hear a new song by her.

3. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2


I could have just quoted some lyrics and let that be it, but it's hard to pick what. There's just so much to choose from, and a lot of what works about it is in Killer Mike's and El-P's delivery. I've enjoyed both of these guys' work before, but I didn't even know they were working together until late last year, when I heard "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" and got hooked pretty quickly. The aggressive, clever vocals and El-P's memorable beats work together to create a great pure rap album which doesn't need to screw around with experiments or genres to succeed.

2. Sun Kil Moon - Benji


A lot of this album is one man singing about personal things (mostly death) and playing his guitar, and it's some of the most gripping music I heard all year. There's a real sense of purpose behind it, like it's something that he needed to get out of him and he cared more about being true to the emotions he was conveying than smoothing it over for broader consumption. I won't soon forget it.

1. Spoon - They Want My Soul


A longtime respect for Spoon finally manifested into true love as I listened to They Want My Soul. It's hard to explain why this album in particular worked so well for me. All I can say is that every single song on it fucking kicks ass in a way that most songs you hear just aren't able to kick ass. They all just jump out of the speakers and take over my mind. Maybe everyone has one Spoon album like that, and this one is mine.

Delayed Entry

This is the best album that wasn't released in 2014 but I didn't hear until then.

Wilco - Summerteeth

It took me quite some time to realize that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is actually a great album and not just a pretty good one, so it was nice to get another album by Wilco and realize that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. They are a really good band who knows how to craft great songs that grow in your brain and hold up to repeated examinations in ways more basic stuff doesn't. They don't go for pure catchiness, they try to find something deeper and usually do.

Best Albums of 2009

This was a bit of a boring year for my music collection, as instead of really getting to know any new bands, I mostly got albums by ones I already knew and discovered The Beatles. This carries through to all the new music I got, with the only release by a group that I didn't already have something by being satirical hip hop. Still, I mostly liked what I heard.

Best of 2009

6. The Lonely Island - Incredibad


Usually comedic albums like this seem to lose their luster after a little while, but Incredibad is still consistently fun to listen to. None of the three guys have particularly impressive rapping chops, but they stick with what they can do and back up funny lyrics with legitimately enjoyable beats. The plethora of guest appearances don't hurt either.

5. Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen


I listened to The Ugly Organ again recently and was a bit surprised by the difference in Tim's voice. Mama is less concerned with being one of the tightest indie rock albums I've ever heard and more about a precarious mix between loud and soft, but it works for the most part and has enough pleasurable moments to carry you through its run time.

4. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self


Not quite what I was hoping for (a recurring theme this year), but a darn solid rock album. I appreciated the balance between heavy and soft in the two different halves, and while there really aren't many songs I would put on a list of the band's best, it's a pretty even, balanced release. It's hard to ask for a lot more than that.

3. Brand New - Daisy


I'm still not quite sure what to think of this. It definitely didn't hit me nearly as hard as the band's last two albums, but I do find myself wanting to listen to it a lot more than I'd expect for something I only really like instead of love. At this point I really have no idea what to expect next, because we keep figuring they'll go softer and then they head the other way. Death metal maybe?

2. Dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion

Three of my favorite bands released albums this year, and none of them managed to amaze me. Oh well. This still seemed like the best of the bunch. Dredg refuses to let themselves be nailed down to a single sound, while still sounding like pretty much the same band the whole decade, a tough art to master. This seemed like their most experimental project, and a bunch of really good songs came out of it.

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion


The only band I know that managed to surpass their previous release this year. I don't feel exceptionally strongly about this as a number one, because for all of its successes it doesn't keep me gripped and listening the entire time the way a proper album of the year should. Still, it does a lot of things extremely well and is hard to dislike, unless you're someone I know. I don't think you can even call Animal Collective rock anymore, but whatever it is is pretty fun.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self

The Century of Self is a pretty solid album, although I don't find myself enjoying it as much as Trail of Dead's last few efforts. I know I'm in the minority as far as liking what they've done in the last few years, but it's the unique touches they put on the songs that seem to be missing from their latest. It's pretty loud, competent rock music, it just doesn't grab me. It's a bit of a return to their former sound, as someone besides Conrad is allowed to sing for what seems like the first time in forever, and those songs sort of feel like a back to basics thing. This is most notable in "Far Pavilions", a pretty fast-paced song after the obligatory bombastic intro "The Giants Causeway", which is at least mostly cobbled from one of the tracks on the Festival Thyme EP, leaving the title track as the only unique part of that release.

The album is pretty neatly divided into halves, with the first being loud and heavy, and "Inland Sea" begins to mark the transition before "Luna Park" goes into the full-on slow and piano-centric mode. "Ascending" doesn't quite fit but does have a slower section to it. "Isis Unveiled" is probably my favorite song, with a nice driving sound most of the time and a cool chanting breakdown in the middle. "Insatiable" parts one and two seem to be just two halves of the same song, and I'm not sure why they're broken up with a few tracks in between. Together they make a decent closing track with a nice piano part, you just hear the first couple minutes before it actually gets around to ending. All in all I liked it, just not as much as I hoped.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Festival Thyme

Festival Thyme is a quick four-song EP, a sort of preview for Trail of Dead's new album that's coming in early 2009, including a different mix of one of the songs that will appear on it. It's hard to gleam that much from less than 20 minutes of music, but I can say with some confidence that they're the same band that they've been for a few years, although they seem to be branching a bit, sometimes sounding like they have before and sometimes completely new. You hear a lot of piano here and there, something that seemed to start with Worlds Apart and hasn't left. "Bells of Creation" varies quite a bit in intensity, playing both ends pretty well. "Inland Sea" is a bit more melodic, but with a similar feel. The title track sort of sounds like something off Sigur Rós' latest, with a shuffle of plinking instruments that come together into a mass of pleasant upbeatness. "The Betrayal of Roger Casement and the Irish Brigade" is a loud, chaotic instrumental with some weird electronic effects on the guitar in spots, definitely something new to the band. Overall, it's a nice little collection of songs, something that would definitely make the cut on a full album, although it works as a cohesive EP too. I'm looking forward to their next full release for sure.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Welcoming the new year with one of my favorite bands. Although they made this album before they became what I really like.

It's not as good as some of their later stuff, but Trail of Dead's self-titled debut is still a pretty solid album. An influence that I really didn't expect to see was Sonic Youth, but it seems like it's there. You could have told me portions of it were B-Sides from Daydream Nation and I'd probably believe you. But while I found problems with that album's sprawling nature, this was more compact as an experience. There is a song that's over eight minutes, but it never gets boring. This was back when they were most famous for their chaotic live shows, and obviously you don't really get that on a studio album. But it's still pretty solid hard rock. You can see some signs of the band they'll eventually turn into, and some legitimately entertaining moments.

"Richter Scale Madness" starts with some random noises before a catchy, Daydream-esque song begins. "Novena Without Faith" is the long one, mixing distant, whispered vocals with a good melody that rises and falls in intensity. "Half of What" has a nice, driving beat. The closing song, "When We Begin to Steal..." is another good mix of wandering softness and imprecise, passionate loudness, and brings it to a close. I really don't have much else to say about it, other than it's a nice album that shows the beginnings of a good band.

Music Archive 1

I was going through my collection alphabetically writing stuff up a while ago, but I stopped and I'm pretty behind.

The All-American Rejects - The All-American Rejects


Don't listen to this expecting anything deeper than the kiddie pool or lyrics worth the manufacturing cost of the cd jacket they're printed on. This is as close to idiotic, pure, care-free pop as you can get while still being called rock.

But it's fun. Every song on the CD sticks in your brain like it was welded there, and as simple as the melodies may be, the members of the All-American Rejects (all two of them) are pretty competent musicians. My favorite tracks are the punkish "One More Sad Song" with it's high-rising guitar riff and "The Last Song" with it's anthem chorus and epic bridge.

As long as you don't think so much of yourself that you can't enjoy a little cheesecake now and then, this debut album is a pretty decent listen. Except for those awful lyrics.

Anberlin - Blueprints for the Black Market


I bought this album because of the opening track, "Readyfuels". I really loved the main guitar hook and the multi-layered chorus. I was hoping the rest of Blueprints For the Black Market could live up to its beginning.

In short, it didn't, but I like it anyway. The immediately following track reminded me lyrically of "Boys & Girls" by Good Charlotte (which is a bad thing), but at least it's more enjoyable to listen to. The rest of the album goes by pretty painlessly. It's all pretty good punk with good musicianship, but nothing that will blow you away or really affect you significantly.

A couple other standout tracks are "Glass to the Arson" with its slightly different, catchy verses and smooth chorus, and a fairly nice cover of The Cure's "Love Song", which takes the main synth hook and does it with a piano.

Anberlin has a good singer and some talented musicians, so if they could settle down and write some music that actually means something, they could be a really good band.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes


I got this album after Worlds Apart, so I kind of knew what to expect. Most critics rate Source Tags & Codes higher than Worlds, and I suppose I understand why. I can see its relative immaturity and lack of focus in comparison to Source Tags. However, I just find the enjoyability of the songs on the new album to be more consistent than on their major-label debut. Don't get me wrong, Source Tags contains 4 of 5 songs that are completely incredible, but there are a few in there that I just find irritating, while there are no tracks I dislike on Worlds Apart.

On their newest album, the singer stays mostly in a higher range of vocals, while in the old one he goes deeper more, and he also shouts more. I have nothing against screaming in music, but the songs in which he does it just seem to be less interesting. It just seems their songwriting is best when they stick to slower paced songs that focus on a melody instead of just a bunch of noise.

My favorite songs on this album are "It Was There That I Saw You", which contains an awesome soaring chorus, "Another Morning Stoner" with good drumming and a great main guitar line, "How Near, How Far", an immensely listenable song with varying moods, "Relative Ways" which is about the only time they get screaming right, and the title track, which is a pleasant way to end a great album.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart


My only experience with ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead prior to this is the faint memory of a commercial for one of their albums a few years ago that I don't recall exciting me very much. For reasons I'm not sure of, I decided to buy Worlds Apart on impulse.

The first thing you notice is the unique medieval tapestry-style cover art, but you quickly forget it as the music begins. The album starts with an epic musical overture which ends with a single female voice stating "And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead..." which announces the next track, "Will You Smile Again?", a near-two minute block of nothing but hard rocking guitars and banging drums followed by several minutes of a lone voice backed by a single drum beat. The song builds back into a wall of noise that ends just before the seven-minute mark, and it's possibly the best on the album. It's followed by the title song, which begins with some humor, expresses a vulgar, politically-charged message, and ends with a chorus of animals.

Two of the album's biggest motifs are that of an unorganized jangle of loud noise and a romantic renaissance theme expressed by the jacket art, animal sounds, and some beautiful violin and piano interludes. These two concepts mesh surprisingly well to create a cohesive sound that belongs solely to this band.

Other highlight songs include "Caterwaul", with nice vocals backed by an infectious melody; "Classic Arts Showcase", a noisy song with an incredible, epic bridge; and "The Best", a song that starts with a screeching guitar riff that turns into a lyrically driven song that seems to evoke Cursive, and ends with the haunting noise of a woman screaming and a distant reprise of the chorus from "Worlds Apart".

The album isn't perfect, none of the songs are bad, but at times the main melodies can seem a bit too repetitive. But if you're in the mood for a unique album that is both thoughtful and hard as hell, you should definitely check out ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead.

Armor for Sleep - What to Do When You Are Dead


A friend of mine recently said that Armor for Sleep was a triumph of style over substance. This may be true, but I couldn't care less when it's such good style.

What to Do When You Are Dead begins with a soft little song stating "I swear to God I'm gonna die tonight" (rewind before the first track!) before jumping into "Car Underwater", the first single from the album, which has a simple but effective guitar part and a nice chorus. It is then followed by some of the most consistently good and catchy emo/punk I've heard in a while. Nearly every song is above average.

Track 6 is another soft, vocally driven interlude that leads into "The More You Think the Less I Hear", the most aggressive song with a killer guitar hook, and is followed up by my favorite song on the disc, "Basement Ghost Singing", which has an electronic-led verse that goes into a powerful chorus. The next couple tracks are somewhat weak but are followed by another good one, "The End of a fraud," that reprises a bridge from "Remember to Feel Real", and makes it into an epic chorus, one that suitably ends a very solid album.

It's not the most original thing you'll ever hear, and perhaps it really is nothing more than style posing as substance, but this is still a very nice piece of work by Armor For Sleep.

Atreyu - Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses


Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses is the first studio album by Atreyu, and already they are showing significant musical ability. The production quality is a little low, but the talent of the guitarists shows through pretty well. The throat-shredding vocals may not suit everybody, but this is a good metalcore album.

God, I hate that word. Metal freaks (and purists of other styles) create a ridiculous heirarchy of genres and subgenres to keep anything they don't like from taking their label, but none of that matters. What matters is the quality of the music, and Atreyu is pretty good music. A few of the tracks don't do anything too special, just provide adequate headbanging material. But there are several standouts on this album. The opener, "A Song For the Optimists", kicks things off very well, and is followed by stuff like "Ain't Love Grand", which features nice punk guitar work and a cool chorus, and "Deanne the Arsonist", with a strong metal intro.

The whole album has a nice dynamic between the the lead screamer screeching out the verses as the drummer sings the choruses, and about every song has at least a couple great guitar hooks. The final track is probably the best on the CD, with a nice mix of melodies, a soft piano interlude, and a great guitar solo as it climaxes.

The whole thing, with 10 tracks and about 37 minutes of music, is a little short, but maybe that's for the best. I could see this sort of thing getting a little irritating if it lasts too long, but as it stands, this is a very enjoyable hardcore album.

Avenged Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen


What the members of Avenged Sevenfold have crafted here is an incredibly aggressive, loud, and technically impressive album; one that just fills you with energy and makes you want to punt babies over houses. It's quite long, over an hour, but it never lets up.

It starts out with a cool, slow paced build-up of an intro, which leads to a kick-in-the-pants of a first actual song. The singer screams at the top of his lungs as he is supported by pounding drums and bass and killer guitars, and Waking the Fallen never lets up after that. This album is full of great hardcore sounds, especially on tracks like "Eternal Rest"

But the vocalist can do more than just shout himself hoarse, he can also sing, surprisingly. This comes out the most in "I Won't See You Tonight - Part 1", an incredible song that eschews hardcore antics for a beautiful, epic melody with relatively thoughtful lyrics about suicide. The track clocks in at around 9 minutes and is part of a larger 14 minute, 2 part behemoth of a song. Like I said, it's a long album, and if you like this kind of stuff, it is definitely worth it.

Every song on Waking the Fallen is good, but except for a couple like "I Won't See You Tonight", they all sound pretty similar and you can lose track of where one ends and another begins. But if that's something you can handle, you can't get much better metal today.

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil


Ok, there's no screaming.

There's been some controversy about this. Avenged Sevenfold were known as much for their constant screaming vocals as much as their metal thrashing, but on this album, there's nary a shout to be heard, besides the opening growl in "Beast and the Harlot". The official explanation is that the singer's throat got seriously injured from all the shrieking he was doing and had to get surgery, and now it's too dangerous for him to continue doing so, so now he sticks to more traditional, sometimes-nasal singing. Some fans have cried conspiracy, saying it's all a lie, and that they stopped screaming because they've sold out now that they're on Warner Brothers. I have two arguments against this. One, there are thousands of witnesses from A7X concerts who can testify the singer was unable to scream properly like he used to without obvious pain, and two, if they're trying to sounds mainstream, why do they continue to make songs that regularly cross the seven-minute mark? It just doesn't make sense.

On to the record, City of Evil. It is a little different style from Waking the Fallen, in addition to no screaming, the music itself has shifted from hard/metalcore to something a little closer to speed or hair metal. It's still very enjoyable and performed admirably by the guitarists, but it's different. Another change is the lyrics. They've started to swear now for some reason, and there are some lyrics that are actually culturally relevant, like in the politically-charged "Blinded in Chains" (which also has a very cool fade-out ending) and the tributes to Hunter S. Thompson and Dimebag Darrell in the single "Bat Country" and "Betrayed," respectively.

Some other good songs are the strong, epic ballad "Seize the Day", the cool "Sidewinder" with an awesome intro, "The Wicked End", which features strong guitars and a bizarre, cheesy, but very enjoyable Lord of the Rings-esque interlude, and "Trashed and Scattered", which everyone else seems to like a little more than me.

What Avenged Sevenfold has released here is another very strong, technically incredible, and enjoyable metal album. My only complaints are that some of the songs drag on a little too long and the singer's voice tends to get a little annoying in spots.

Blindside - Silence


There's nothing too original or innovative about this release from Swedish hardcore punk band Blindside, but originality and innovation aren't what they're going for. They're going for no-holds-barred rocking to the MAX, and they definitely accomplish that here.

The first song, "Caught a Glimpse" starts things off strongly with hard guitars and a haunting chorus, and is followed up by the single "Pitiful", another very loud song about Jesus. You'll find that these guys sing about Jesus a lot. The next few songs all continue the trend set by the previous tracks, but the pattern is broken up by "Thoughts Like Flames," a slower song, which still has a loud chorus.

The next track, "Time Will Change Your Heart" is another good one, matching a fast-paced, screaming verse with a slower and calmer chorus. The following four songs are sort of a dip in the album. None of them are bad, they just don't stand out from each other and you may find yourself losing interest. The final song, "Silence" is another good one, totally breaking from Blindside's norm in a slow, soft, well-sung capper to a solid hard rock album.

Silence will probably not amaze you if you seek truly deep meaning, complex layering and composition, or natural-sounding English lyrics (they ARE from Sweden), but it is a well-played, well-executed album of its type.

Blindside - About a Burning Fire


Blindside's follow up to the solid Silence is just as pleasantly hard rocking, and more consistent throughout. They haven't changed their sound much, still pumping out very enjoyable Christian-themed hard punk, although they do take a few more chances on About a Burning Fire.

The record starts off with a few vintage Blindside tracks, "Eye of the Storm", "Follow You Down", and the single "All of Us". They all contain great hard guitars and enjoyable, catchy refrains. The next song, "Shekina", is a step in a different direction, featuring a beautiful female vocal, nice music, and some lyrics in the band's native Swedish.

The next couple songs are the most forgettable. "Hooray, It's L.A." features Billy Corgan on the guitar, but you wouldn't know if they didn't tell you. "Swallow" has a slightly infectious chorus, but these songs are merely solid, not really good. The next really good track on the album is "After You're Gone", which is a little too short. It's a great song with really haunting lyrics, and it really gets you caught up in its power.

The next couple tracks are a bit of a departure. "Where the Sun Never Dies" starts out fairly standard but ends with an unusual (for this band) techno interlude, and "Roads" is an out-of-nowhere, slow-moving song with a Western flair that's kind of hard to describe. The final song is the title track, which goes back to what Blindside does best, hard guitar riffs accompanied by towering, throat-shredding vocals. It's a good way to end an album for an album that does what they do about as good as anyone.

Best Albums of 2006

2006 was a pretty good year for music, in my opinion. I managed to listen to a decent amount of new stuff and got into some good older stuff. The bad thing about music is that there's too much stuff from the past I need to hear, but they keeping coming out with new stuff too fast as well. Muse and Incubus both had pretty good new albums in Black Holes and Revelations and Light Grenades, and I got introduced to Sonic Youth with Rather Ripped, which definitely has me interesting in checking out their older stuff.

Best of 2006

6. Cursive - Happy Hollow


Happy Hollow doesn't come close to replicating the absolute brilliance of their previous release, The Ugly Organ, but it really isn't too fair to compare anything to one of my favorite albums ever. In between records, Cursive lost a cellist and added horns to their sound, and while they still sound distinctive, it just isn't as darkly interesting. They can still do good songs they're just missing an edge musically.

Not that that edge isn't as present as ever in the lyrics. The entire album is a brutal condemnation of the hypocrisies and evils of modern Christianity, and sometimes it sounds like Tim Kasher is being controversial for its own sake. He makes good points though, and this is overall pretty good indie rock.

5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium


A bit of a letdown, to be honest. The Chili Peppers pumped out two great albums in a row with Californication and By the Way, and we've been anticipating something new for four years, and then we learn it's a double album, and it ends up being a good two hours of music, but it's lacking that something that makes it great. It's possible it's just a fault with the multi-album format, it's harder to maintain a high level of quality for something that lasts that long. There are plenty of great songs to be found, but because of the sheer number, a lot of them blend together into solid, but unremarkable funky-pop-rock-whatever. None of it's bad, it's just stretched a little thin. Flea can still play bass like no one's business, and John Frusciante continues to hone his craft as one of the best guitarists in the world, and Anthony Keidis can actually sing these days. What they need to do next is go back to focusing on a smaller, more focused project. Not that they have to, with the mountains of money they must be swimming in.

4. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere


Cee-lo, who I don't know much about, and Danger Mouse, who did the intriguing Grey Album, combine to form a band that isn't really hip-hop, but takes a lot of its best elements, adds in a distinctive, good voice and great, um... producing, and ends up making one of the best songs ever. No, really, "Crazy" is up there. It's just a good song. It's not the only one either, as every single track is at least catchy, and most are unique, well constructed, and truly interesting. I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone, but I enjoy the hell out of it.

I'll take the time now to explain how all the hip-hop-type stuff I listen too is weirdly related. Gnarls Barkley is comprised of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse. Dangerdoom is comprised of Danger Mouse and MF Doom, and their album features Cee-Lo and Ghostface Killah. Demon Days by Gorillaz was produced by Danger Mouse and features MF Doom. I've been thinking about listening to some more rap lately and the first album to get that comes to find is the acclaimed Fishscale - by Ghostface Killah. Whatever.

3. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided


Trail of Dead fell out of the cushy position they had as a critical darling with Worlds Apart, which I thought was completely great (and introduced me to the band), and I couldn't really figure out why. I can see why someone would prefer Source Tags and Codes, but to say it's great and Worlds is bad... I just don't understand it. They're the same band. A little different, with less focus on songwriting and more on loudness and a bit of oddness, but still the same. So Divided was received a little better, though they still are far from where they were publically in 2002. I just hear a really good rock album, but I guess that's just me.

2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain


This and Gnarls Barkley show me that I'm becoming more and more of a sucker for bands that aren't what I usually actually listen to. I'm nowhere near knowledgeable enough to describe what this band is like and why it's good, all I can tell you is that I just love listening to it. The mix of vocals is unique and interesting, the style totally works, and they're not half bad at just playing some rock. I really should be able to explain it better, but you should just listen if you don't. Also, make you sure you check out "Dry Drunk Emperor", which you should be able to find online for free. Not only is it a good song, it's a great condemnation of the presidency of George W. Bush (he's horrible).

1. Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me


Some feared their follow-up to Deja Entendu might be too accoustic. They were wrong.

The Devil and God is hard as hell. Except for a couple tracks, every song is a balance between soft and hard, light and dark, good and evil, as the title implies. The heavy parts are made more powerful by the contrast with the downplayed strumming before it. It's not as lyrically clever as they were previously, but it's stronger musically, in my opinion. It's definitely cemented itself in the pantheon of my favorite albums, like, ever. It helps that I first listened to it under optimal conditions, in a car with a like-minded friend as the sun went down in late Autumn. Set the tone perfectly.

I don't think it's fair that Brand New still gets lumped with other emo bands it used to be closer to musically, like Taking Back Sunday. They were like that once, but that was long ago, they started shifting a few years ago, and now they've gone even further. I'm interested in seeing how they continue to develop and seperate themselves from other bands.

Delayed Entries

Audioslave - Audioslave

I'm not a huge fan of the band, but I really do think this is a great album. It's just completely full of good, hard rock songs. People say good things about Superunknown but I'd say this is the best thing anybody in this band's done that I've heard. I guess they've broken up now, though.

Clinic - Walking With Thee

Weird band, very distinctive vocals and different kind of sound that still sounds like rock, even when their aren't guitars. I'm not always in the mood for something like this, but it's a good change of pace.

Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Their long-awaited double album, the first disk is pretty normal long, well-crafted prog metal, and the second is an epic, forty minute song (broken into several tracks) that sounds sometimes as much like the score to a musical as an album. Not really much metal there at all, but I really don't know what "normal" Dream Theater sounded like at that point, as Trains of Thought, which I got before this is supposed to be easily their hardest work. It doesn't really matter, it sounds good.

Dredg - El Cielo

I got into Dredg with 2005's Catch Without Arms, but I think I really fell in love with them with this. It has a lot of what made Catch great like the wonderful vocals and nice melodies combined with harder segments, but El Cielo is really more creative, different, and just better, I think. Just a fun listen at all times.

Gorillaz - Gorillaz

I didn't listen to Gorillaz much besides the singles until Demon Days, and that might have skewed me a bit, as a lot of people seem to prefer this, and I don't. It's still definitely very good though. It's a little less varied in sound and vocals than their follow-up, but has plenty of great hooks and sounds spread through the whole thing, and is just fun to listen to.

Longwave - There's a Fire

It's kind of hard to describe Longwave, since sometimes they're jamming in a totally dark, indie way, and sometimes it's pure pop rock. You should just listen to them and see what you think, since not many people do. They have elements of a lot of bands like U2, Interpol... I don't know, I don't really listen to bands like this a lot.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries

Between Opeth and Dream Theater, I should be able to get my fill of progressive metal for the rest of time. The guy's voice is seriously amazing, one minute he's giving you perfect death growls, and the next he's singing in a truly pleasant, normal tone. Hard, pounding metal combines with great musicianship and softer moments.

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing

They're only progressive, not metal, but since the guy produced Opeth at some point, I guess that's hardcore enough. It wasn't as well received as In Absentia, so I better check that out, since I think this is really good on its own. Some of the songs take a while but I'm never bored, it's very well crafted and plenty catchy in spots. Pretty damn good background music.

Radiohead - Kid A

I guess that since I liked this, I'll like pretty much anything Radiohead does. It's not rock music anymore, but it's still very interesting to listen to, and as electronic as it is, it still manages to seem to have a soul. I prefer their sound before the turn of the century, but it's still good now.