Albums 30-21
30. Bark Psychosis Codename: Dustsucker (Fire)
In many ways, Bark Psychosis belong to a by-gone era of cascading guitar lines that echo off each other and mop-top heads with eyes planted firmly on feet. At times, Codename:Dustsucker does come off a bit too much like a showcase for the ridiculous production skills and early ’90s nostalgia of Graham Sutton. Nonetheless, there�s plenty of beauty to be found in this album, whether it be in the glass guitar opening of �From What Is Said to When It�s Read� or the soft countdown of �Burning the City.� Then �Shapeshifting� comes along and destroys everything in its path with a rewinding blur of electric guitar that sucks up the pieces of the song, leaving a huge vacuum where drums somehow resound. It�s a killer.
29. Rodan Theophany: A Book of Elevations (Day by Day)
Rodan of the Monsta Island Czars delivers an album to separate those who appreciate rapping from those who simply listen to hip-hop for a beat to shake their pale asses to. That�s not saying the beats here are bad, but they are challenging in their dark low-fidelity griminess. That�s not saying that Rodan�s rapping isn�t challenging, either; he flows at high RPM with heavy lyrical pistons and passion caustic enough to scab the ears of the feeble-minded. Rodan�s rhyme schemes are nothing short of relentless, and the sheer hardness of the album is something to be admired in a day where hipsters jock Lil� Jon singles.
28. Masta Ace A Long Hot Summer (M3)
The contrast between this and the Rodan LP could hardly be more pronounced. A Long Hot Summer is a slickly produced affair; Ace�s lyrics are simple and measured out with a steady flow. Masta Ace and Rodan share something, though, and that�s their passion for rapping. Ace mixes his memoirs with some affecting beats (�Good Ol� Love,� �Da Grind,� �Beautiful� and �Revelations,� in particular), forcing underground poignancy and mainstream polish to intertwine and birth one of the year�s finest hip-hop releases. If this is Ace�s final album, it�s a more than sufficient swan song.
27. Tom Waits Real Gone (Anti-)
This is a solid Tom Waits album, which, of course, means that it�s pretty damn good. It probably won�t be remembered as one of his finest due to its tendency to sort of just amble along in certain sections, but the guttural vocal effects work well for Tom (where�s his guest spot on Medulla?). Here�s the thing, though:�Hoist that Rag� is an unbelievably awesome song, one of those songs that makes you ask it where it has been all your life. The fact of the matter is that Real Gone could be two hours of drunken piano smashing with Waits growling Randy Newman covers, but as long as it still had �Hoist that Rag� with its swamp funk groove, mustachioed Ribot guitar, and titular anti-anthem chorus, it would be worth the price of admission.
26. Rogue Wave Out of the Shadow (Sub Pop)
�You can all get in line and lick my behind.� This horribly unfortunate lyric does make an appearance on the Rogue Wave album, an album with a host of other lines that lack their share of luster. Compound this with a sound about as derivative of current indie pop as can be tolerated, and Out of the Shadow would seem to be too flawed a work to be making any year-end lists. However, Zach Rogue does have a keen sense for his craft, an intuition and ear that are nearly matched by his well-balanced, nicely filled production aesthetic. Sounding like late summer and early autumn, lush whimsy is the name of the game, and it�s a game rarely played this well.
25. Darren Hanlon Little Chills (Candle Records)
It�s hard to know how to feel about a song dedicated to squash, much less one that repeatedly laments that there just aren�t enough songs about that particular topic. Looking past Hanlon�s penchant for quirk, though, some of the songs on Little Chills feel as true as true can get. What poor music-loving lad can�t relate to the sentiment of �I Wish That I Was Beautiful or You� or the complete idolatry of the �Record Store�? For the most part, Little Chills moseys along on the mellow singer-songwriter bent, but its little flourishes keep the attention rapt until the big, bad payoff at the end of �Brooklyn Bridge,� an album climax that, yes, gives little chills.
24. Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Like Bad News (Sony)
Isaac Brock once asked indie kids to �do the cockroach,� and we danced like it was 1989. Now Modest Mouse performs on SNL for millions of people, many of whom never listen to their Walmart-purchased copy of Good News yet somehow stay convinced that Modest Mouse is a great band because there�s just something about that �Float On� song. What the fuck is going on? It�s almost too fitting with crossover trends that Mouse would break through with one of their weakest albums, but it�s all because of the power of the single, really; not many of the flaws of Good News can be attributed to �selling out.� Dennis Herring�s production just doesn�t fit, and the songwriting�s inconsistent enough to disjoint things. Still, the album has a nice amount of the good stuffs, including �Satin in a Coffin,� �Bukowski,� �Bury Me With It,� and, yeah, �Float On.� Brock and Co. deserve what props they get.
23. Secret Machines Now Here is Nowhere (Warner)
How do you get an album to sound this huge and majestic? The bass and drums are larger than life. The guitars soar through the air. The keys walk on water. Basically, the production on the Secret Machines� sophomore un-slump makes their alt-rock cornucopia sound positively interstellar. And while the songs lack something in concept and lyric, most of the melodies and arrangements are pure aural pleasure, the listening equivalent of a martini and Jacuzzi. Soak it up.
22. Elliott Smith From A Basement on the Hill (Epitaph/Anti-)
The fact that this album is so strong is a bit of a blessing to music critics everywhere, or at least the ones with, you know, souls; some writers don�t particularly want to nit-pick at a posthumous release from a respected songwriter. Most of the songs here are wonderful, but it�s the hushed simplicity of �Twilight� that really makes the heartache boil tears up to the ducts and blustery sighs out of enflamed lungs. When Smith cries, �But I�m already somebody�s baby,� it�s beautiful and tragic, and those two qualities, essentially, are From a Basement on the Hill.
21. Kanye West College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella)
It�s really sort of unforgivable that the release version of The College Dropout favored skits and �School Spirit� over the inclusion of phenomenal songs like �My Way� and �Homecoming.� Or at least it would be unforgivable if The College Dropout didn�t still have its bevy of great tracks and singles. Kanye�s a less talented and more inconsistent rapper than he is producer, but his flow and lyrics often achieve an organic unity with his soulful beats, and this consonance of expression makes for one of the music canon�s most compelling cases of a hip-hop artist as a singer-songwriter. Just check �Family Business� or �Through the Wire� or �All Falls Down� for the pudding�s proof.
