Albums 40 –
31
===
40.
The Constantines: Shine a Light (Sub Pop)
The
first song I ever heard by the Constantines was “Long Distance Four” (from their debut self-titled full length) on a friend’s radio show and I
loved it enough to blindly pick up their album a few days later. I remember
thinking it was a great listen but never something that would take off and
yet, with the release of Shine A Light, their sophomore effort, they’ve
already become one of the more respected groups from southern Ontario. Though
certainly less consistent than their debut (and, I’d argue, less satisfying
overall), this is one of the year’s more interesting rock albums, making up
for its inconsistency with ready-made college radio hits like “On To
You,” “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)” and “Young Lions.”
39.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: Master & Everyone (Palace)
It’s
really impossible to describe how much I was looking forward to this release;
his pre-BPB material is scattered across my non-existent favorite albums of
all-time list, I See a Darkness is very probably my favorite album
of 1999 and Ease Down the Road is even better. Unfortunately, this
is possibly his weakest collection of songs yet, but for an artist as effortlessly
talented as Oldham, this only means a lesser production instead of a compete
bomb. “The Way,” “Wolf Amongst Wolves,” “Ain’t You
Wealthy, Ain’t You Wise” & “Lessons From What’s Poor” are
all top notch, even if the general melancholy of the album, unlike I See
a Darkness, is draped in far less affecting attire.
37.
Menomena:
I am the Fun Blame Monster (Muuuhahaha!)
Another
album that starts out strong and just begins to drag along about half-way
through, I Am the Fun Blame Monster is nevertheless a promising debut
from the Portland based five-piece. The band apparently created their own
software to help construct this record, though I still can’t really pinpoint
anything here that couldn’t have come from a bunch of takes and a “skilled”
Cubase or Pro-Tools user. The heart of this record, however, isn’t in this
sort of experimentation; rather, it comes the band’s ability to back their
approach with interesting melodies and textures. Too bad it starts to fall
off in the second half, even if “Rose” may just be its finest moment.
36.
1
Mile North: Minor Shadows (Ba Da
Bing!)
2003
was a great year for ambient records and Minor Shadows is certainly
one of the best. “Black Lines” was the first song from the record
to really hit me; subtle, tense instrumentation backing one of the album’s
several samples -in this case, that of an intense family fight, creating the
kind of awkward atmosphere one would normally find on an Xiu Xiu album or,
you know, your last family free-for-all. From there, the rest began to fall
into place, from the epic “The Manual” to my current favorite, “In
1983 He Loved to Fly.” It’s strange how something that seemed so impenetrable
on first listen could open up as much as it has, and every listen only makes
it better.
35.
The Impossible Shapes: We Like It Wild (Secretly Canadian)
This
is the album I was hoping Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci would release this year instead
of their incredibly tepid and brooding Sleep/Holiday. In its place,
though, is the fourth release from Bloomington, Indiana natives The Impossible
Shapes, playing off of E6-ish pop like Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor
Control while still finding enough space to offer up Barafundle-era
Gorky’s wholesale, pulling it all off with impressive skill. Not completely
consistent by any means, but since the bands we expect such excellent pop
from are falling by the wayside, we’ll have to make due with the new generation.
35. Super
Furry Animals: Phantom Power (XL)
SFA
albums are becoming so predictably great that they’re starting to be just
taken for granted as standard fare for the band. Of course, this band is no
well-oiled machine, either; after seeing Gruff perform solo in September and
watching him forget lyrics, chords, even complete songs with relative ease,
it becomes extremely clear that this is a band that just performs and
moves on instead of sitting around with a bunch of songs until they’ve become
boring even to them. Tellingly, Phantom Power is another SFA record
that sounds completely fresh and inspired –enjoyed just as much by the band
in its creation as the listener the first time we put it on.
34.
The Golden Dogs: Everything in Three Parts (Independent/True North)
2003
was an unbelievable year for the Toronto music scene; Broken Social Scene
breaking out into international exposure being the biggest surprise, but fully
realized records from the likes of Tamara Williamson, Do Make Say Think, Jim
Guthrie (well I guess he’s technically part of the scene now), the Constantines,
Detective Kalita and Raising the Fawn are all amongst the year’s best. Right
up there with them, though, are the relatively unknown Golden Dogs –recently
signed to True North records and soon to be released with some sort of actual
distribution, their debut full length is a relentless pop record with remarkably
few tell-tale signs of the group’s youth; from Blue Rodeo and Luther Wright
to Super Furry Animals and Guided by Voices, they take on a wide range of
styles and rarely stumble in the process (“Can’t
Get Your Face Out of My Head,” for instance, comes a little too close
to being MOR pop). Expect big things from this
band in the future.
33.
The
Books: The Lemon of Pink (Tomlab)
It’d
be foolish of me to even attempt describing this record in 150 words, so let’s
go for the brief synopsis: take hours of tape mixing intricately arranged
works and improvised sessions with a myriad of tools (an array of traditional
instruments including guitar, bass, cello and banjo, along with samplers,
computers, effects, etc.) then cut and spliced fastidiously into non-sequitur
rhythms that somehow still manage to maintain a solid and coherent feel. If
you’ve heard their debut, Thought for Food, then all you’ll need to
know is that this tops it in nearly every way. For those who still have no
idea what the fuck I’m talking about, hearing The Lemon of Pink is
the only way to begin understanding this group, and even then it’s not especially
clear.
32.
The Mars Volta: De-Loused in the Comatorium (Universal)
De-Loused is a space/prog-rock fan’s wet dream set to the kind of aggressive and inventive
songwriting that we’d expect from ex-members of At the Drive-In (the two afro-sporting “space cadets”), members of Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea plays throughout
and Frusciante guests at one point) and the production work of Rick Ruben.
It’s not surprising that so many didn’t really take to their new direction,
but the instrumentation is tight and constantly impressive and Cedric Bixler’s
vocals continue to make even their biggest detractors nod in the way that
says “fuck, this is good.” It’s a draining experience, sometimes
even teetering on becoming tedious to Lateralus proportions, but one
thing it manages to avoid is being boring –which is far more than can be
said for their friends in Sparta.
31.
Guided by Voices: Earthquake Glue (Matador)
OK,
so I liked Do the Collapse. I liked Isolation Drills. I’ll even
admit that Universal Truths & Cycles impressed me, so I’m not really
sure if I’d call Earthquake Glue the kind of surprise that most seem
to brand it as, though I will agree that this is very possibly their best
work since Mag Earwhig! “My Son My Secretary My Country”
is the kind of song I’ve been waiting patiently for him to churn out since
“Learning to Hunt” and though the rest isn’t quite as strong (save,
perhaps, “My Kind of Soldier”), Earthquake Glue remains fairly
tight throughout. I I can’t really say I’ve missed Pollard because
I’ve been one of the few still enjoying his work these past few years, but
it’s been a while since he’s had something great, and there is very
little can that come close to Bob Pollard hitting his stride.
