Albums 10 –
6

===
 
10.
Gordon Downie: Battle of the Nudes (Wiener Art)
Like
Leonard Cohen before him, Gordon Downie pivots nearly every aspect on his
solo albums around his brilliant lyrics; they are both the focus and point
at which Downie is most capable of captivating his audience.
As can be expected, Downie’s poetry is in top form and his schizophrenic musical
arrangements make for an album just as over the map as the original review archive,
but also noticeably more accessible. “We’re Hardcore” offers a snarky
sense of humour that was almost completely absent on CMG, even if it is
preceded by what is possible his most “serious” and poignant ballad
yet, “More Me Less You.” The spoken word material that gave much
of CMG a distinct feel isn’t so prominent here as Downie opts instead
to take on brand new avenues; the full-band pop charge of “Pascal’s Submarine,”
for instance, or the bouncy abrasive rock of “11th Fret” take musical
turns that are new to his nearly two decades in music. He still comes across
as a matured poet with a severe case of ADD, but the fact remains that there
is no one else out there that approaches music like Gordon Downie and, really,
few would even attempt to plow through an album like this, let alone pull
it off with as much success.

9.
Radiohead: Hail to the Thief (EMI)
There
is some credence to Amir’s take on the ongoing backlash against Hail to
the Thief, though I suspect the basis for much of it is simply rooted
in frustration of the band’s well documented era of self-discovery and finding
a balance between their artistic progression and a listenable/enjoyable product.
I never understood “Kid A is a masterpiece” mentality and
I surely didn’t understand anyone who thought Amnesiac was anything
more than a handful of fantastic songs surrounded in pointless filler and
b-side fodder (the ironic part being that Amnesiac‘s b-sides actually
bettered most material on the album). It was getting tiring to listen to such
a talented group lose focus at the height of their career, and in many ways,
HttT was the album that would finally let us know if they were planning
on continuing in their already vague direction or just dig out a new one.
In the end, of course, Thief is just as much about regression as it
is progression, and though while it is, stylistically,
probably as close to OK Computer as we’ll ever hear from the band again,
the quality of songwriting is really all over the map; “2+2=5” was
a welcome surprise, as were “We Suck Young Blood,” “There There”
& “A Woof at the Door” (the finest songs the band has written
in half a decade), but then there were the “look, we’re artistically
progressive” cuts that, though interesting enough, remind us that
Radiohead remain in flux with exactly what sort of group they’re aiming to
be. I still love enough of the disc to have it land in my top ten, even if
large sections are starting to wear old rather quickly and the sense that
this is no longer a band its prime continues to grow stronger.

8.
Cat Power: You Are Free (Matador)
The
first 2003 album I really “loved,” I guess you could say. Before You Are Free, Chan Marshall was the type of artist that would tease
you with a couple of terrific songs and then bound them with tedious filler;
it says quite a bit that her most consistent album before this year had been
her Covers Record. I figured YAF was going to be the album to
confirm Chan as one of the leading female songwriters of her time or, perhaps
more likely, remind us that she’s an emotional wreck with the attention span
of a three year old that can write just enough quality songs to continually
sucker us into buying her full lengths. Thankfully, she opted to make a record
I never really believed her possible of. It’s uniform without ever feeling
monotonous, and though she retreads herself several times in the process (“Maybe
Not” and “Fool,” for instance, share the exact chord progression), You Are Here gives hope to Marshall’s future endeavors and proves herself
as much more than just a touring psychotic breakdown.

7.
The New Pornographers: Electric Version (Mint)
On
paper, this should be the best band in the universe; Destroyer’s Dan Bejar
is the closest any artist has come in the last ten years to getting top of
the year honours two years in a row (This Night was my favorite of
last year and Streethawk: A Seduction made top three of 2001), Carl
Newman fronted one of the best pop acts of the nineties with Zumpano and their
other enigmatic leader, Neko Case, is an unparalleled force in modern alt-country.
Of course, Neko’s contributions are pared down to vocal duties only and Bejar
only penned three of these fourteen tunes, making this more of Newman’s pet
project with guests; hell, even Bejar has now been demoted to a “secret
member.” Still, Newman’s formula is a winning one: write copious amounts
of clever pop hooks and then cram them into semi-congruent structures. Pause.
Repeat. Let Bejar do his thing, let Neko do hers. Repeat. Hopefully Newman
also realizes why this record works: without the variety given by Bejar’s
art-pop or Case’s vocal gymnastics, this record would grow old fast and, judging
from the responses of the writers for this site, for some it already has.
But for me, at least, it’s still a perfectly balanced pop record that sounds
as fresh now as it did eight months ago, and that’s a rare thing, indeed.

6.
Eluvium: Lambent Material (Temporary Residence)
Far and away my favorite
ambient release of the ’00s so far, Lament Material works
through sparse piano-based compositions, post rock-ish repetitive
drones (“Under the Water it Glowed,” which is easily in my top five
songs of the year) and an epic, brooding static-soaked centerpiece while irregular
clicks burrow beneath. I wrote this in my review and still feel it sums
up the album in the best way I possibly could: “Lambent Material is able to work so well because of the simplicity of the arrangements and
the strength of the moods created. Within each song, Eluvium (aka Matthew
Cooper) uses the repetitive drones to manipulate subtle shifts in intensity,
allowing the music to completely overtake the listener with even the most
minimal level of active participation.” Only five albums moved me more
all year and yet none of those did it in the same manner –or even close to
the same manner –as Eluvium.