Even with the magnificent musical month of May still to come, with new releases from Nine Inch Nails, The Gorillaz and System of a Down among others, it's time to list the four best albums of 2005 to date. They are the breakthrough recordings that seem to get stuck in permanent iPod rotation and will likely remain so for the rest of the year. They straddle indie rock and electronica, with two debuts and two sophomore efforts from relatively new acts, with Fischerspooner being the most "established" of the bunch.
M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
Named for a galaxy in the Hydra constellation, French DJ wizard M83 (aka Anthony Gonzalez) returned with a masterpiece mix of Blade Runner type futura. With Gonzalez operating solo, following the departure of his producing partner, this is a major step forward from the 2003 debut. Thanks to classic 70s organs and low key vocals, there are organic tendencies that add a layer of depth not usually found in electronic music.
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
For good or bad, South London's Bloc Party gained attention and interest from its media billing as the "next Franz Ferdinand." But that description failed to capture the brilliant sway of their debut, which glossed post-punk, new wave and guitar rock with emotional and frantic lyrics. And that's just in the stunning opener, "Like Eating Glass." Take a listen and you will find tributes to many of the best pop bands of the last 25 years with no lack of originality. Take that The Bravery!
Fischerspooner - Odyssey
In Greek literature, "The Odyssey" was the sequel to "The Iliad," which found its hero forced to wander the Aegean Sea, encountering gods, travails and mysteries before he could return home. For Fischerspooner, this Odyssey is a journey into richer sonic and songwriting territory, with hopefully no signs of a return to their electro-clash roots. For everyone who thought the NYC art troupe were, well..., a NYC art troupe, be made aware that they are a musical force to behold. Modern, energetic, fresh and now melodic, this is an album that just may become the soundtrack for the 00's.
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Don't be fooled by the novelty hit "I Predict a Riot," because with the rest of Employment, the debut from this English quartet, they prove they are among the best of the new batch of neo-new wave acts. Songs with Beatles-esque harmonies and sophisticated songwriting betray the on-the-surface simplicity of "Riot" and singing with a heavy Brit accent.
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Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Without a doubt the best releases of the year so far have been:
Archer Prewitt: Wilderness
Andrew Bird: & The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Low: The Great Deceiver
Beck: Guero
Glen Phillips: Winter Pays For Summer
Tim Booth: Bone
These six have brought me back over and over again. What a great music-year so far - the year end round up is going to be very difficult.
2 - Temple Stark
I was wondering when that time was going to get here. :-0
Is it a coincidence most of the country has never heard of these bands much less heard their music?
Are you one of those elitist mofos (he says in jest).
3 - chip
Who's? My picks or Tom Johnson's? I haven't heard of much of his, but I wouldn't mind checking them out. M83 I'll admit is obscure. Bloc, Kaiser, FischerS have all been buzzed about, maybe too much actually, but they withstand that with good music.
4 - Temple Stark
Hah, I'm just messing with you. Tom and I posted at an almost identical time. I didn't see his.
I can't admit to have heard M83. The other three of course I have heard of and, heard. Not much a FischerS fan; Liked the other two.
5 - Robert
Excellent choices! All A-1 releases. I can't give a list of what I really think is "best" I just love music too much, but there are some others I can mention that I also LOVE that you may want to check out if you haven't yet. From your picks I am certain you will find something here you love (if you don;t already)
Over The Rhine - "Drunkard's Prayer"
Bruce Springsteen - "Devils & Dust"
Feist - "Let It Die"
Mary Gauthier - "Mercy Now"
Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Elkland - Golden
Loudon Wainwright III - "Here Come The Choppers!"
Martha Wainwright - "Martha Wainwright"
The Deceberists - "Picaresque"
Northstar - "Is This Thing Loaded?"
The National - "Alligator"
Starflyer 59 - "Talking Voice Vs. Singing Voice"
Of Montreal - "The Sunlandic Twins"
Doves - "Some Cities"
Solomon Burke - "Make Do With What You Got"
The Kills - "No Wow"
Kathleen Edwards - "Back to Me"
Geez... It just goes on and on.. I love music. There is just too musch of it!!
6 - Eric Olsen
man, I am so far behind listening to new CDS - I have about 200 sitting on the floor. Thanks for this Chip!
7 - ClubhouseCancer
The Decemberists album is particularly great, and I have raved about Martha Wainwright before here. Also, the new album by X, Live in LA, will be out soon, and is another solid back-to-the-future 80's post-punk reunion.
And:
Spoon: Gimme Fiction
Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
and especially:
Antony and the Johnsons: I Am a Bird Now.
The Antony is really quite fascinating, and hard to describe. Guests include Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and Boy George, if that helps. He's just someone you gotta try.
With these, and the Beck and the Kathleen Edwards and the Archer Prewitt (good catch, TJ), it really has been a good year for pop music so far.
8 - DJRadiohead
Don't forget Doves, Beck, and Garbage. All three are excellent. I am also really excited about the new Oasis and Coldplay albums. The first singles from both bands are great.
9 - Robert
Eric,
You can send me those CDs. I'll review em'. I can't follow the Yahoo Group.
10 - Eric Olsen
dude, once they get here, they stay here.
how would you change the Yahoo Group?
11 - Robert
The Antony and the johnsons is great! I mentioned the Doves. The Garbage is well... garbage. I have also been digging the new Dead Meadow, Blind Boys of Alabama and Ben Folds.
12 - Robert
I don't think you need to change it. I just do not have the time.
There is a ton of data flowing through your group. That's a good thing.
13 - BRICKLAYER
Where the heck is Cattle Decapitation's "Humanure" on this list?! Oh wait, that came out last year.
14 - Dave Nalle
It's April. Can I hazard a guess that the top 5 albums of the year probably haven't even been released yet?
Dave
15 - Una
Kathleen Edwards: Back To Me
Rulers Of The Planet: In 30 Minutes We Destroy The Earth
Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
The Bleedin Bleedins: Life Without Computers
Kaiser Chiefs: Employment
Mercury Rev: The Secret Migration
M.I.A.: Arular
Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
The National: Alligator
Low: The Great Destroyer
LCD Soundsystem: LCD Soundsystem
Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright
16 - Tom Johnson
Robert: good call on Antony & the Johnsons. Oddly beautiful stuff.
And I agree - I can't keep up with the Yahoo Group. Too much stuff to dig through, no threading of topics, too difficult to track down interesting releases that I want to review (I know the database is there, but I've yet to find an easy way to make use of it.) The whole Yahoo Groups thing is just a mess in general - not just Blogcritics' portion.
I REALLY wish we had a "secret" BC members-only message board or something - there's a billion of these things out there, why don't we use one? Doesn't MT have built-in messageboard capabilities? If concerns of BC going down are the reason, why not setup a separate domain and host it there?
17 - Scott
i'm surprised no one has mentioned Crooked Fingers "Dignity and Shame." I quite enjoyed it.
18 - nofrontin
Mine:
1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
2. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
?. The Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
?. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
?. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
?. Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV
?. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock And Roll
?. The National - Alligator
?. Heartless Bastards - Stairs and Elevators
?. Akron Family - Akron Family
19 - DJRadiohead
I finally posted my variation of this. It took me a long ass time to write.
I finally bought Kaiser Chiefs. 'Employment' did not hit me right away, but I am still listening to it. Bloc Party is still on my list of albums to try.
20 - DJRadiohead
Dave, the only reason I would argue that is very few albums of consequence get released late in the year. The end of the year usually has a couple notable releases but is more dedicated to 'Best Of' packages for Christmas. At leas that is the way it has seemed to me these past few years.
Besides - it is fun to start the talk.
21 - Eric
Good stuff for sure...
Here's my top 10 as of now...
1. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
2. Long-View - Mercury
3. Death Cab For Cutie â€" Plans
4. Sigur Ros â€" Takk...
5. Better Than Ezra â€" Before The Robots
6. iSOLA â€" Loud Alarms
7. Mew â€" And The Glass Handed Kites
8. Engineers - Engineers
9. Doves â€" Some Cities
10. Oasis â€" Don’t Believe The Truth
And m83 is great and all, but 'Before The Dawn Heals Us' was released in 2004... so I don't guess it qualifies.
22 - Eric
I lied... Before The Dawn Heals Us was released in the US in 2005... Europe in 2004... my bad.
23 - Tommy
Here are my five (no particlar order)
1. sufjan steves-illinois
2. broken social scene-self titled
3. spoon-gimme fiction
4. 13 & god-self titled
5. copeland- in motion