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 | Album: 1 of 50 Artist: Animal Collective Title: Merriweather Post Pavilion Released: 2009-01-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 54:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In the Flowers (05:22) 2 My Girls (05:41) 3 Also Frightened (05:14) 4 Summertime Clothes (04:30) 5 Daily Routine (05:46) 6 Bluish (05:14) 7 Guys Eyes (04:31) 8 Taste (03:53) 9 Lion in a Coma (04:12) 10 No More Runnin (04:23) 11 Brother Sport (05:59) |
| Merriweather Post Pavilion : Allmusic album Review : Animal Collective have brought the celestial down to earth with each record, but theyve never sounded simultaneously otherworldly and approachable quite like they do on Merriweather Post Pavilion. Their eighth studio LP, it finds them at their best -- straining farther away from conventional song structure and accompaniment, even while doubling back to reach lyrical themes and modes of singing at their most basic or child-like. Where before AC expertly inserted experimental snippets into relatively straight-ahead songs, Merriweather Post Pavilion sees them reach some kind of denouement where pop music ends and pure sonic experience begins -- the sound is the only structure. Dismantling the framework of a pop song almost entirely (but using recurring passages in a very poppy way), the group offer a series of overlapping circular elements, all of which occasionally come together for a chorus but then break apart just as quickly. The music itself, at least whats describable about it, consists of deep bass pulses and art-damaged guitars with overlapping vocal harmonies that rise in a holy chorus. This may sound much like previous Animal Collective highlights, but where those records seemed like a series of accidental masterpieces -- the type of work that sounds brilliant only because its been culled from hundreds of hours of tape -- Merriweather Post Pavilion is a perfectly organized record, not a note out of place, not a second wasted. It has the excitement and energy of Sung Tongs, the ragged sonic glory of Feels, and Strawberry Jams ability to make separate parts come together in a glorious whole. Like the best experimental rockers surging toward nirvana -- from the Beach Boys to Mercury Rev -- Animal Collective have not only created a private soundworld like none other, theyve also made it an inviting place to visit. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 50 Artist: Super Furry Animals Title: Dark Days/Light Years Released: 2009-03-16 Tracks: 12 Duration: 59:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Crazy Naked Girls (06:15) 2 Mt. (04:25) 3 Moped Eyes (04:13) 4 Inaugural Trams (05:19) 5 Inconvenience (03:42) 6 Cardiff in the Sun (08:16) 7 The Very Best of Neil Diamond (04:14) 8 Helium Hearts (02:50) 9 White Socks/Flip Flops (05:09) 10 Where Do You Wanna Go? (02:28) 11 Lliwiau Llachar (03:12) 12 Pric (09:52) |
| Dark Days/Light Years : Allmusic album Review : Longtime Super Furry Animals album artist Pete Fowler collaborated with Keiichi Tanaami, the designer responsible for their 2007 album Hey Venus!, for the cover art for SFAs ninth album, Dark Days/Light Years, and its a fitting gesture for an album that connects the focused, revitalized band of the late 2000s with the renegades of the late 90s. A cursory listen reveals Dark Days to be considerably wilder than Hey Venus!, whose primary charm was its streamlined efficiency, showcasing the band at its tight, melodic best. Elements of this remain -- its hard to strip the Day-Glo pop out of SFA, and they do not deny themselves, or us, this candied pleasure -- but the opener, "Crazy Naked Ladies," makes it plain that this is a buoyant, electrified, psychedelic affair, as much about texture as it is about sound. In that sense, it has a kindred spirit in Guerrilla, the third album that found SFA getting elastically electronic instead of precisely pop, but if anything, the groups two sides are integrated seamlessly here with the band shifting gears almost imperceptibly, transitioning smoothly from fuzz-flaked guitars to pulsating electro beats. This liquid ease distinguishes Dark Days/Light Years as latter-day SFA, as does their continued reliance on showcasing each of their main singer/songwriters, giving this a bit of a democratic heft, but SFA avoid any of the respectable middlebrow bloat that taints the worthy Rings Around the World period. Dark Days is vibrant and alive, an ever-flowing, ever-shifting, carousel of sound -- some might miss the emphasis on song, but its a ride thats hard to resist. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 50 Artist: Dirty Projectors Title: Bitte Orca Released: 2009-06-08 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Cannibal Resource (03:55) 2 Temecula Sunrise (05:05) 3 The Bride (02:49) 4 Stillness is the Move (05:14) 5 Two Doves (03:41) 6 Useful Chamber (06:28) 7 No Intention (04:17) 8 Remade Horizon (03:55) 9 Fluorescent Half Dome (05:45) |
| Bitte Orca : Allmusic album Review : Dirty Projectors mastermind David Longstreth appears to be attracted to sounds that will simultaneously draw in and confound the average listener; he has a clear, sweet voice and a gift for well-crafted harmonies and melodies that bring out the innate beauty of his music, but he often weds them to fractured time signatures that cause the songs to shift gear at the least expected moments, and he tosses in sudden bursts of atonal skronk that are either bracing or puzzling, depending on your point of view. 2009s Bitte Orca certainly follows in this tradition, and theres enough aural shapeshifting on this set to keep anyone guessing on first listen. Despite that, in many respects, Bitte Orca is one of Dirty Projectors most accessible efforts to date; the slinky "Stillness Is the Move" could almost pass for mainstream R&B with its potent groove, lush harmonies by Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, and elegant string coda, though with Longstreths wiry juju guitar leads floating over the top, this aint quite Beyoncé, and the placid semi-folkie grace of "Two Doves" (which bears a certain melodic resemblance to a-has MTV-driven hit "Take on Me") is truly lovely even when the dramatic dynamics of the string section seem intent on calling attention to some darker undercurrents. On the other side of the coin, theres "Useful Chamber," which combines bent vocal samples, wheezing synthesizers, steadily chugging beatboxes, and sudden blasts of overdriven electric guitar to form a pocket concerto of beauty and noise, and "The Bride," where Longstreths guitar hops back and forth between polite acoustic strum, bluesy slide work, and shards of noise while the rhythm section ties to keep up and the vocals drift past the foreground like a cloud. Bitte Orcas nine tracks all seem to be bursting with ideas that they can barely contain, but despite the sometimes fractured synapses of this music, the songs are at once surefooted and agile, and "Remade Horizon" and "No Intention" are joyous and funky in their own curious way, and you can dance to them if youre in the right frame of mind. David Longstreth isnt quite trying to make things easy for his listeners on Bitte Orca, but theres far too much pleasure in this music for its eccentricities to put off anyone who is open to its gleeful, eclectic, internationalist heart. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 50 Artist: Bob Dylan Title: Together Through Life Released: 2009-04-23 Tracks: 10 Duration: 45:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ (03:50) 2 Life Is Hard (03:39) 3 My Wife’s Home Town (04:15) 4 If You Ever Go to Houston (05:48) 5 Forgetful Heart (03:42) 6 Jolene (03:50) 7 This Dream of You (05:54) 8 Shake Shake Mama (03:37) 9 I Feel a Change Comin’ On (05:25) 10 It’s All Good (05:27) |
 | Album: 5 of 50 Artist: Wild Beasts Title: Two Dancers Released: 2009-08-03 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Fun Powder Plot (05:35) 2 Hooting & Howling (04:35) 3 All the King’s Men (03:59) 4 When I’m Sleepy (02:09) 5 We Still Got the Taste Dancin’ on Our Tongues (04:36) 6 Two Dancers (i) (04:06) 7 Two Dancers (ii) (02:37) 8 This Is Our Lot (04:32) 9 Underbelly (01:54) 10 Empty Nest (03:24) 11 Through the Iron Gate (05:42) |
 | Album: 6 of 50 Artist: The xx Title: xx Released: 2009-08-14 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro (02:07) 2 VCR (02:57) 3 Crystalised (03:22) 4 Islands (02:41) 5 Heart Skipped a Beat (04:02) 6 Fantasy (02:38) 7 Shelter (04:30) 8 Basic Space (03:08) 9 Infinity (05:13) 10 Night Time (03:36) 11 Stars (04:22) 12 Hot Like Fire (03:33) |
| xx : Allmusic album Review : Debuts as fully formed and confident as the xxs self-titled first album are rare, but then, there is very little that is typical about this band or their music. Their influences are wide-ranging -- traces of post-punk, dream pop, dubstep, indie pop, and R&B pop up at any given moment -- but are focused into songs that are as simple as they are unique and mysterious. These tracks are so sleek, theyre practically sculptural, and they boast impeccably groomed arrangements. The beats pulse rather than crash; the guitars are artfully picked and plucked; and the vocals rarely rise above a wistful sigh. This restraint and sophistication make the fact that the xxs members were barely in their twenties when they recorded the album all the more impressive; artists twice their age would be proud to call the maturity and confidence that flow seemingly effortlessly through the xx their own. Even their song titles are the perfect mix of concise and evocative: "Stars," "Shelter," "Night Time" (actually, all of their songs could be named this -- theyre that intimate and sleepily cool). The moody, monochromatic sound the xx sets forth on "Intro" is lovely enough, but its how the band subtly shifts and tweaks it on each track that makes the album truly special. "VCR"s innocent guitars hint at the bands fondness for Young Marble Giants radically simple indie pop, while "Infinity" leans more heavily on their post-punk roots, and "Heart Skips a Beat" underscores its name with wittily fractured rhythms. And while singers Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim sound good on their solo turns (Sim particularly shines on the spacious "Fantasy"), together theyre truly inspired -- the aloof sensuality they generate makes romantic intrigue actually intriguing again. "Crystalised" might be one of the more intense songs here, but it still carries the confessional quality of a conversation between lovers, reaffirming what "heart-to-heart" really means. The standout "Basic Space" takes Croft and Sims push-pull chemistry in an even more pop direction, but its still awash in subtly fascinating details like its exotically rolling beat and Durutti Column-esque guitars. While the bands subtlety and consistency threaten to work against them at times, XX is still a remarkable debut that rewards repeated listens and leaves listeners wanting more. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 50 Artist: Wilco Title: Wilco (The Album) Released: 2009-06-26 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Wilco (the Song) (02:59) 2 Deeper Down (02:59) 3 One Wing (03:42) 4 Bull Black Nova (05:39) 5 You and I (03:25) 6 You Never Know (04:21) 7 Country Disappeared (04:02) 8 Solitaire (03:04) 9 I’ll Fight (04:23) 10 Sonny Feeling (04:13) 11 Everlasting Everything (04:00) |
 | Album: 8 of 50 Artist: Grizzly Bear Title: Veckatimest Released: 2009-05-22 Tracks: 12 Duration: 52:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Southern Point (05:02) 2 Two Weeks (04:03) 3 All We Ask (05:21) 4 Fine for Now (05:31) 5 Cheerleader (04:54) 6 Dory (04:26) 1 Ready, Able (04:17) 2 About Face (03:21) 3 Hold Still (02:24) 4 While You Wait for the Others (04:29) 5 I Live With You (04:57) 6 Foreground (03:35) |
| Veckatimest : Allmusic album Review : Its hard to decide what the most impressive thing about Veckatimest is: Grizzly Bears ambition, which is seemingly boundless, or the fact that this boundless ambition never eclipses these songs. The band already made such an impressive leap from Horn of Plenty to Yellow House that an album to catch their breath would have been understandable. However, Grizzly Bear are most comfortable when theyre challenging themselves, and Veckatimest delivers everything that Yellow House did and more. Just as that album blew off the dust and noise that covered Horn of Plentys lo-fi sketches, this albums production clears away any remaining cobwebs, revealing these songs in all their intricate detail. That detail includes string quartet and choral arrangements by composer and conductor Nico Muhly on some tracks, but all of Veckatimest has a more rarefied air than any of Grizzly Bears previous work. The band hints at the just how big the albums scope is with its first two tracks: "Southern Point"s psychedelic folk-jazz throws listeners into its bustling acoustic guitars, piles of vocal harmonies, swishy drums, and various sparkling sounds, making it a disorienting and dazzling opening salvo. The gorgeous "Two Weeks," by contrast, is the albums most immediate moment, its "Would you always? Maybe sometimes? Make it easy? Take your time" chorus teetering elegantly between pleading and reassuring as its buoyed by backing vocals courtesy of Beach Houses Victoria LeGrand. From there, Veckatimest ranges from Yellow House-like rambles such as "Hold Still" and "Dory" -- which plays like a kissing cousin to "Little Brother" -- to elaborate, quicksilver suites like "I Live with You," which builds from the Brooklyn Youth Choirs vocals into skyward-climbing chamber pop, to "While You Wait for the Others" and "Cheerleader"s deceptively simple pop. At the heart of all these songs are negotiations with someone close, as on "All We Ask"s admission "I cant get out of what Im into with you." Though the sheer heft of songs such as "Fine for Now" could easily topple the albums balance between ambition and intimacy, Grizzly Bear knows when to come in for close-focus moments like "About Face" and the final track, "Foreground" which, with its plaintive vocals and simple piano melody, is one of the bands most beautiful ballads yet. Its clear that Veckatimest was made for a lot of listening. Nearly every song feels like the musical equivalent of a big meal: theres lots to digest, and coming back for second (and thirds, and more) is necessary. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 50 Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Title: It’s Blitz! Released: 2009-03-08 Tracks: 15 Duration: 59:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Zero (04:25) 2 Heads Will Roll (03:42) 3 Soft Shock (03:53) 4 Skeletons (05:02) 5 Dull Life (04:08) 6 Shame and Fortune (03:31) 7 Runaway (05:13) 8 Dragon Queen (04:02) 9 Hysteric (03:52) 10 Little Shadow (03:57) 11 Hysterick (acoustic) (03:52) 12 Soft Shock (acoustic) (03:25) 13 Little Shadow (acoustic) (02:53) 14 Skeletons (acoustic) (03:30) 15 Faces (03:33) |
| It’s Blitz! : Allmusic album Review : Never content to stay in one musical place for very long, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs take their restlessness to the limit on Its Blitz! -- and wind up making some of their most contented-sounding songs. As if to prove one more time that theyre not just the architects of New Yorks early-2000s rock renaissance, Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase strip away the guitars and explosive dynamics of their early work even more thoroughly here than they did on Show Your Bones. In their place are shiny keyboards, synthetic sounds galore, and a very different kind of energy. Its Blitz!s images of a womans hand bursting an egg and fleshy tomatoes and mushrooms spread across an otherwise empty pizza box are surprising, immediate, and strangely sensual, and that goes double for the actual music. The albums first three songs are a blitz of bliss, especially "Zero," which kicks things off with blatantly fake beats, revved-up synth arpeggios, and Os command to "get your leather on." Radiating joy and confidence, she and the rest of the band couldnt be further from Show Your Bones introspection as the song climbs to ecstatic heights. "Heads Will Roll" shows just how ably the Yeah Yeah Yeahs blend their rock firepower with dance surroundings, as Zinners prickly guitars get equal time with spooky synth strings and O makes "you are chrome" sound like the coolest compliment ever. Meanwhile, "Soft Shock"s dreamy, almost naïve-sounding electronics make Os vocals -- which are much less affected than ever before -- feel even more natural and vulnerable. Elsewhere, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and producers David Sitek and Nick Launay find other ways to shake things up, from the disco kiss chase of "Dragon Queen," which features Siteks fellow TV on the Radio member Tunde Adebimpe on backing vocals, to "Shame and Fortune," which pares down the bands tough, sexy rock to its most vital essence and provides Chase and Zinner with a showcase not found anywhere else on the album. However, Its Blitz!s bold moments are a bit misleading: the albums heart is often soft and searching, offering some of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs quietest work yet. This approach doesnt always work, as on the too-long "Runaway," but when it connects, the results are gorgeous. "Skeletons" is luminous with an oddly Celtic-tinged synth part; "Hysteric," a love song about being happy with someone rather than trying to make him or her stay, feels like the mirror twin of "Maps." The serenity in Its Blitz!s ballads feels worlds apart from Show Your Bones in a much less obvious way than the albums outbursts. But between the violently happy songs and the softer ones, this is some of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs most balanced and cohesive music. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 50 Artist: Phoenix Title: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Released: 2009-05-22 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Lisztomania (Home demo) (01:54) 2 1901 (Home demo) (03:05) 3 1901 (LAiglon remix) (03:11) 4 Lisztomania (A Fight for Love / 25 Hours a Day remix) (05:39) |
 | Album: 11 of 50 Artist: Bill Callahan Title: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle Released: 2009-04-14 Tracks: 9 Duration: 48:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Jim Cain (04:39) 2 Eid Ma Clack Shaw (04:19) 3 The Wind and the Dove (04:34) 4 Rococo Zephyr (05:42) 5 Too Many Birds (05:27) 6 My Friend (05:12) 7 All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast (05:52) 8 Invocation of Ratiocination (02:41) 9 Faith/Void (09:44) |
 | Album: 12 of 50 Artist: Fever Ray Title: Fever Ray Released: 2009-01-12 Tracks: 10 Duration: 48:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 If I Had a Heart (03:49) 2 When I Grow Up (04:31) 3 Dry and Dusty (03:45) 4 Seven (05:10) 5 Triangle Walks (04:23) 6 Concrete Walls (05:40) 7 Now’s the Only Time I Know (03:59) 8 I’m Not Done (04:19) 9 Keep the Streets Empty for Me (05:39) 10 Coconut (06:48) |
 | Album: 13 of 50 Artist: White Denim Title: Fits Released: 2009-06-22 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Radio Milk How Can You Stand It (03:53) 2 All Consolation (02:55) 3 Say What You Want (02:51) 4 El Hard Attack DCWYW (01:58) 5 I Start to Run (02:52) 6 Sex Prayer (02:04) 7 Mirrored and Reverse (03:54) 8 Paint Yourself (03:25) 9 Id Have It Just the Way We Were (02:19) 10 Everybody Somebody (02:53) 11 Regina Holding Hands (03:29) 12 Syncn (04:19) |
 | Album: 14 of 50 Artist: The Flaming Lips Title: Embryonic Released: 2009-10-09 Tracks: 36 Duration: 2:20:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Convinced of the Hex (03:56) 2 The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine (04:13) 3 Evil (05:38) 4 Aquarius Sabotage (02:10) 5 See the Leaves (04:24) 6 If (02:04) 7 Gemini Syringes (03:41) 8 Your Bats (02:34) 9 Powerless (06:57) 1 The Egos Last Stand (05:39) 2 I Can Be a Frog (02:14) 3 Sagittarius Silver Announcement (02:58) 4 Worm Mountain (05:21) 5 Scorpio Sword (02:01) 6 The Impulse (03:29) 7 Silver Trembling Hands (03:59) 8 Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast (03:44) 9 Watching the Planets (05:16) 1 Convinced of the Hex (03:56) 2 The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine (04:13) 3 Evil (05:38) 4 Aquarius Sabotage (02:10) 5 See the Leaves (04:24) 6 If (02:04) 7 Gemini Syringes (03:41) 8 Your Bats (02:34) 9 Powerless (06:57) 10 The Egos Last Stand (05:39) 11 I Can Be a Frog (02:14) 12 Sagittarius Silver Announcement (02:58) 13 Worm Mountain (05:21) 14 Scorpio Sword (02:01) 15 The Impulse (03:29) 16 Silver Trembling Hands (03:59) 17 Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast (03:44) 18 Watching the Planets (05:16) |
| Embryonic : Allmusic album Review : Christmas on Mars might be the Flaming Lips bona fide sci-fi epic, but Embryonic is the musical equivalent of the final scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey: transformative chaos that results in a new start. From The Soft Bulletin onward, the Lips seemed focused on tidying the loose ends of their earlier work, almost to the point of constraining themselves. Their wilder side is unleashed on Embryonics 18 tracks, and the band sounds more off-the-cuff than it has in years -- some tracks are barely longer than snippets, others are rangy epics, and it all holds together so organically that listeners might wonder just how much these songs were edited. Musically, Embryonic is the least polite the Flaming Lips have been in nearly two decades, mixing in-the-red drums, blobby, dubby bass, squelchy wah-wah guitars, and sparkling keyboards into a swirl of sounds that are strangely liquid and abrasive at the same time. Occasionally, the band uses noise in an almost ugly way, as on "Convinced of the Hex," which scrapes eardrums with static and distortion before falling into a loose but driving Krautrock groove that adds to the songs tribal pull (complete with growling and wailing in the background). The Miles Davis-inspired "Aquarius Sabotage" opens fuzz bass and keyboards so chaotic, it isnt just free jazz, its free-for-all jazz, while "Your Bats" is as soulful as it is noisy, piling roomy drums atop more delicate hand percussion, strings, and brass. The Lips balance these confrontational tracks with calmer moments like the vocodered loveliness of "The Impulse " and "Gemini Syringes," an expansive respite that features "additional spoken announcements" by mathematician Thorsten Wormann. Embryonic might not be a literal concept album, but it often plays like one. An astrology motif runs through the ultra-spacy "Virgo Self Esteem Broadcast" and the tumbling instrumental "Scorpio Sword," another track that suggests that the albums ultimate concept may be that chaos is a profound agent of change. Its also the Flaming Lips most emotionally raw album, despite -- or perhaps because of -- its free-flowing nature. Wayne Coyne often sounds like hes singing from another dimension, musing on humankinds frailty with the wonder of an alien or a newborn on "If" and "The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine." This is also some of the bands most bittersweet work; on the beautiful "Powerless," Coyne sings "no one is ever really powerless," but the music dwells on the weighty implications of that thought rather than its potential freedom. Even the playful "I Can Be a Frog," which features Karen O as a one-woman noisemaker, is minor-key. Then again, little about Embryonic is clear-cut or straightforward -- these noisy, pensive, sometimes meandering songs take awhile to decipher and often feel like theyre still in the process of becoming. These very qualities, however, make these songs some of the Flaming Lips most haunting and intriguing music in some time. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 50 Artist: Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba Title: I Speak Fula Released: 2009-09-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 53:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Speak Fula (03:41) 2 Jamana Be Diya (04:59) 3 Musow (For Our Women) (05:26) 4 Torin Torin (04:47) 5 Bambugu Blues (05:04) 6 Amy (04:31) 7 Saro (03:48) 8 Ladon (05:31) 9 Tineni (04:55) 10 Falani (05:45) 11 Moustapha (05:01) 12 Senufo Hunter (?) |
 | Album: 16 of 50 Artist: Florence + the Machine Title: Lungs Released: 2009-06-13 Tracks: 13 Duration: 46:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dog Days Are Over (04:12) 2 Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (03:52) 3 I’m Not Calling You a Liar (03:05) 4 Howl (03:34) 5 Kiss With a Fist (02:04) 6 Girl With One Eye (03:38) 7 Drumming Song (03:43) 8 Between Two Lungs (04:09) 9 Cosmic Love (04:15) 10 My Boy Builds Coffins (02:56) 11 Hurricane Drunk (03:13) 12 Blinding (04:40) 13 You’ve Got the Love (02:48) |
| Lungs : Allmusic album Review : Precocious Brit Florence Welch fired a bullet into the head of the U.K. music scene in 2008 with the single "Kiss with a Fist," a punk-infused, perfectly juvenile summer anthem that had critics wiping the names Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and Kate Nash from their vocabularies and replacing them with Florence + the Machine. While the comparisons were apt at the time, "Kiss with a Fist" turned out to be a red herring in the wake of the release of Lungs, one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerizing albums of 2009. With an arsenal of weaponry that included the daring musicality of Kate Bush, the fearless delivery of Sinéad OConnor, and the dark, unhinged vulnerability of Fiona Apple, the London native crafted a debut that not only lived up to the machine-gun spray of buzz that heralded her arrival, but easily surpassed it. Like Kate Bush, Welch has little interest (for the most part) in traditional pop structures, and her songs are at their best when they see something sparkle in the woods and veer off of the main trail in pursuit. "Kiss with a Fist," as good as it is, pales in comparison to standout cuts like "Dog Days Are Over," "Hurricane Drunk," "Drumming Song," "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," and "Cosmic Love," all of which are anchored to the earth by Welchs knockout voice, a truly impressive and intuitive trio of producers, and a backing band that sounds as intimate with the material as its creator. [Lungs was also released in a Deluxe Edition that included Lungs: The B-Sides, a bonus disc featuring studio tracks like “Swimming,” “Falling,” and “Heavy in Your Arms,” the latter of which appeared on the soundtrack for Twilight Saga: Eclipse, as well as live cuts (“Youve Got the Dirtee Love"), demos (“Ghosts”), and remixes (the "Yeasayer Remix" of “Dog Days Are Over").] | ||
 | Album: 17 of 50 Artist: Doves Title: Kingdom of Rust Released: 2009-03-30 Tracks: 2 Duration: 14:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Kingdom of Rust (05:11) 2 Push Me On (Playgroup megamix) (09:29) |
 | Album: 18 of 50 Artist: Graham Coxon Title: The Spinning Top Released: 2009-05-11 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:08:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Look Into the Light (03:18) 2 This House (02:53) 3 In the Morning (08:17) 4 If You Want Me (05:42) 5 Perfect Love (02:51) 6 Brave the Storm (05:19) 7 Dead Bees (03:24) 8 Sorrows Army (04:19) 9 Caspian Sea (04:54) 10 Home (04:21) 11 Humble Man (03:43) 12 Feel Alright (04:36) 13 Far From Everything (04:08) 14 Tripping Over (04:52) 15 November (05:40) |
 | Album: 19 of 50 Artist: Sonic Youth Title: The Eternal Released: 2009-06-03 Tracks: 25 Duration: 1:53:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sacred Trickster (02:11) 2 Anti-Orgasm (06:07) 3 Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso) (03:32) 4 Antenna (06:13) 5 What We Know (03:54) 6 Calming the Snake (03:36) 7 Poison Arrow (03:42) 8 Malibu Gas Station (05:39) 9 Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn (02:38) 10 No Way (03:52) 11 Walkin Blue (05:21) 12 Massage the History (09:51) 13 Pay No Mind (03:17) 14 No Garage (03:53) 1 She Is Not Alone (06:10) 2 The Sprawl (07:46) 3 World Looks Red (02:57) 4 Jams Run Free (03:43) 5 Hey Joni (04:19) 6 The Wonder (04:08) 7 Hyperstation (05:50) 8 Bull in the Heather (02:59) 9 100% (02:57) 10 Making the Nature Scene (03:14) 11 Silver Rocket (05:18) |
| The Eternal : Allmusic album Review : If anyone thought Sonic Youth were getting a little too comfortable, The Eternal proved they werent afraid of change, even as they closed in on 30 years of making music together. The Eternal is Sonic Youths first album for legendary indie label Matador Records after a nearly 20-year stint with Geffen Records, which dovetails nicely with the fact that this is also the bands first album with former Pavement bassist (and Matador alum) Mark Ibold. Sonic Youth even changed their usual songwriting approach, writing and recording tracks in quick batches instead of planning an entire song cycle at once. Dust wasnt allowed to settle on these songs, nor could it -- the most striking thing about The Eternal is how hard it rocks. The contemplative haze that drifted over Murray Street, Sonic Nurse, and to a lesser extent Rather Ripped is blasted away by opening track "Sacred Trickster"s lunging, massive guitars and Kim Gordons demand to be pressed up against an amp. The rest of the band sounds revitalized, too: Lee Ranaldos excellent "What We Know" is a furious yet complex rocker, and Thurston Moore sounds like the leader of the gang on "Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn," which name-drops the Heavens Gate cult and the alias of Germs singer Darby Crash between its "whoa-oh" and "yeah yeah"-fueled choruses. This is the heaviest Sonic Youth have been since Sister, and its fitting that their return to the indie world touches on their SST days. Thats not the only era they revisit, however. "Poison Arrow"s skronky grind evokes Dirtys sexier moments; "Antenna"s radio love turns Murray Streets sun-streaked drones into epic pop; and "Calming the Snake"s tumbling, atonal riffing suggests summery menace as much as it does Sonic Youths no wave roots. While theres a little bit of almost everything that has made Sonic Youth great over the years, the band hasnt put these elements together in precisely this way before. Considering how expansive their last few albums for Geffen were, The Eternals relatively concise songs also set it apart, but when Sonic Youth do stretch out, its with purpose. "Anti-Orgasm" begins as a duet/duel between Gordon and Moore, who trade challenges and come-ons over free-falling guitars that become a rolling, slow-motion excursion; the tracks instrumental interplay is more violent, and more sensual, than its words. "Massage the History" is even more vast, encompassing fragile acoustic strumming, distortion storms, and dead calm over its nearly ten-minute expanse. While The Eternal doesnt flow quite as effortlessly as some Sonic Youth albums, its perfectly balanced, its raw moments tempered by the subtle "Walkin Blue" and "Malibu Gas Station," which creeps so imperceptibly toward its raging guitars that theyre almost unnoticed until youre caught in their undercurrent. Sonic Youths freedom to follow their bliss is what holds The Eternal together; just as paradoxically, the changes they make on this album not only bring excitement to their music, they reaffirm just how consistently good the band has been -- and continues to be -- over the years. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 50 Artist: The Horrors Title: Primary Colours Released: 2009-05-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mirrors Image (04:50) 2 Three Decades (02:49) 3 Who Can Say (03:41) 4 Do You Remember (03:28) 5 New Ice Age (04:25) 6 Scarlet Fields (04:42) 7 I Only Think of You (07:06) 8 I Cant Control Myself (03:27) 9 Primary Colours (03:01) 10 Sea Within a Sea (07:58) 11 You Could Never Tell (03:31) 12 Whole New Way (04:59) |
| Primary Colours : Allmusic album Review : A four-on-the-floor beat with a wash of synths isnt exactly the expected way for a Horrors album to begin, but thats exactly how "Mirrors Image" kicks off Primary Colours, which is such a big departure from the bands debut, Strange House, that its fitting its on a different label. Though Strange Houses final tracks suggested that the band was looking for ways to expand on its resurrection of freakbeat and garage rock, very little suggested that its next album would be the triple point where goth, post-punk, and shoegaze met. This time out, Faris Badwan sings more than he screams, Spider Webbs keyboards sparkle rather than stab, and the guitars bend and blur instead of slamming out power chords (Primary Colours out-of-focus cover photo even upholds the rule that shoegaze-inspired albums have to have hazy artwork to match the sounds within). Even their attitude is completely different: rather than dismissing an ex by snarling "She was the new thing," Badwan sighs, "I know youre better off this way." Then again, the Horrors always seemed artier and more ambitious than a lot of garage rock-inspired bands, from their cartoon-goth look to collaborating with visionary director Chris Cunningham. Now, Cunningham acts as one of Primary Colours co-producers, along with Portisheads Geoff Barrow; having masters of sophisticated spookiness like these in their corner helps the Horrors make such a drastic change to their sound convincing. While Strange Houses sound was fun and distinctive -- and that campy glee is occasionally missed here -- it might have also been limiting, something that cant be said of the bands experiments with these songs. The albums epic lead single, "Sea Within a Sea," is also its most stunning track, traveling through a motorik beat, taut keyboards, and massive guitar drones that suggest whale cries before it opens into a sparkling, arpeggiated coda. Several other songs are nearly as exciting, even -- or maybe especially -- when they keep some of the pop structures from the Horrors previous incarnation. The excellent "Three Decades" sounds a little like a song from Strange House being played underwater, with busy drums the only constant as everything else billows and blows around them. "Who Can Say" pays homage to the bands enduring Joe Meek fetish with "Telstar"-like synth tones, and to their fondness for 60s pop in general with a spoken word bridge that puts the lyrics from Jay & the Americans "She Cried" to a Phil Spector-inspired boom-boom-boom-crash! beat. This mix of 60s meets 90s sounds fresher than the moments where the Horrors try to re-create the shoegaze sound more faithfully, as on the title track and "Do You Remember," both of which sound, for better or worse, like the work of one of the many forgotten bands that popped up after Loveless was released. Their forays into post-punk (or maybe post-post-punk) are also mixed: "I Only Think of You" doesnt quite live up to its seven-minute length, but "Scarlet Fields," which sounds like Kevin Shields guesting on an Interpol song, is one of the albums highlights. The Horrors fare better when they bare their teeth on the violent, hypnotic "New Ice Age" and "I Cant Control Myself," a piece of strung-out dream blues that gives Spiritualized a run for their money. As bold and listenable as it is, Primary Colours is occasionally scattered, giving the impression that the band is trying on different sounds for size -- although the fact that most of it works so well is actually more surprising than how different it is from their earlier work. At its best, it shows that the Horrors can do far more than what anyone expected from them. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 50 Artist: The Low Anthem Title: Oh My God, Charlie Darwin Released: 2008-09-02 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Charlie Darwin (04:32) 2 To Ohio (03:19) 3 The Horizon Is a Beltway (02:51) 4 Home Ill Never Be (02:43) 5 Ticket Taker (03:07) 6 To the Ghosts Who Write History Books (03:29) 7 (Dont) Tremble (04:39) 8 Music Box (01:52) 9 Champion Angel (05:34) 10 Cage the Songbird (04:02) 11 OMGCD (02:08) 12 To Ohio (reprise) (03:42) |
 | Album: 22 of 50 Artist: Alela Diane Title: To Be Still Released: 2009-02-16 Tracks: 11 Duration: 47:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dry Grass & Shadows (03:11) 2 White as Diamonds (03:36) 3 Age Old Blue (03:59) 4 To Be Still (05:26) 5 Take Us Back (04:43) 6 The Alder Trees (03:27) 7 My Brambles (04:58) 8 The Ocean (03:42) 9 Every Path (04:12) 10 Tatted Lace (04:47) 11 Lady Divine (05:12) |
| To Be Still : Allmusic album Review : Like THE PIRATE’S GOSPEL, her debut, TO BE STILL, the follow-up release from alternative folk artist Alela Diane, is an intimate, haunting affair that showcases her songwriting and singing skills. Focused chiefly on Diane’s voice and acoustic guitar, TO BE STILL recalls both the classic female folk singers like Karen Dalton and the spookier, more associative dimensions of contemporary artists like Marissa Nadler and Nina Nastasia. But while her voice lilts and lulls, it’s the poetry of her lyrics and their evocative narratives that make this sophomore effort truly shine. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 50 Artist: Manic Street Preachers Title: Journal for Plague Lovers Released: 2009-05-13 Tracks: 15 Duration: 52:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Peeled Apples (03:32) 2 Jackie Collins Existential Question Time (02:24) 3 Me and Stephen Hawking (02:44) 4 This Joke Sport Severed (03:02) 5 Journal for Plague Lovers (03:45) 6 She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach (02:17) 7 Facing Page: Top Left (02:40) 8 Marlon J.D. (02:50) 9 Doors Closing Slowly (02:51) 10 All Is Vanity (03:34) 11 Pretension/Repulsion (02:04) 12 Virginia State Epileptic Colony (03:25) 13 Williams Last Words (04:17) 14 Alien Orders/Invisible Armies (02:36) 15 Primitive Painters / Bag Lady (10:13) |
 | Album: 24 of 50 Artist: Micachu Title: Jewellery Released: 2009-02 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Vulture (02:49) 2 Lips (01:20) 3 Sweetheart (00:52) 4 Eat Your Heart (02:21) 5 Curly Teeth (02:26) 6 Golden Phone (02:43) 7 Ship (01:54) 8 Floor (01:23) 9 Just in Case (02:46) 10 Calculator (03:08) 11 Wrong (03:34) 12 Turn Me Well (02:57) 13 Guts / Hardcore (24:24) |
 | Album: 25 of 50 Artist: Sunn O))) Title: Monoliths & Dimensions Released: 2009-05-18 Tracks: 4 Duration: 53:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Aghartha (17:34) 2 Big Church [megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért] (09:42) 3 Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia) (10:02) 4 Alice (16:20) |
| Monoliths & Dimensions : Allmusic album Review : Sunn 0)))s Greg Anderson and Stephen OMalley began their career as an Earth cover band, and explored the extremes of the low-tuned electrics guitars drone capability at maximum volume on The Grimmrobe Demos. Later albums, such as 2005s Black One, showed the duo expanding its sonic extremes, engaging a deep love of black metal by adding shrieking, growling vocals by Wrest, as well as additional instruments (like drums) by Oren Ambarchi. Altar, their collaboration with Japanese rockers Boris, provided them with a wider textural and ambient canvas to explore. Their vinyl-only release Dømkirke, recorded in a 100-year-old cathedral in Norway, utilized the building itself as an instrument, where its nooks and crannies echoed back microtones of the bands own high-powered drones on tape. That said, nothing could have prepared listeners for the wide-ranging adventure that is Monoliths and Dimensions. This 53-minute set contains four tracks. OMalley and Anderson utilize more guests and collaborators than ever before, including vocalist Attila Csihar, who gives his greatest performance since Mayhems De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas; Ambarchi; Earths Dylan Carlson; trombonists such as jazzman Julian Priester and the Deep Listening Bands Stuart Dempster; trumpeter Cuong Vu; multi-instrumentalist Steve Moore; male and female choirs; other reed and wind players; and violist Eyvind Kang as an arranger. While Sunn 0))) sound exactly like themselves, they seem to approach the music of composers such as Arvo Pärt and John Cage; they utilize the formers tintinnabuli (three bells) theory as well as engage the latters notion of silence as a process. If all this sounds pretentious, think again about who were talking about: the kings of wearing black hooded robes to perform. The set begins with "Aghartha," full of power drone low-tuned guitars, as one might expect. Slow and plodding for five and a half minutes, it pummels on until Csihar enters in a lower than low yet barely audible voice speaking a long poem about the creation of a new Earth. Priester later enters playing a conch shell, two acoustic double bassists come in on the low end, Ambarchi plays a second electric guitar and effects, a piano sparingly adds both chord and single-note lines, and other horns and reeds flit about the background even as the piece remains unchanging in its focus. "Big Church" is the biggest shock. Commencing with an a cappella female choir, its soon intruded upon by four electric guitars; Csihar eventually enters in throat-singing overtone mode, as does a synth, and the tension becomes unbearable before the tune stops in dead silence. Then, bells, an organ, Kangs viola, and trombone all find their way through the immense space provided by the slow droning yet extremely heavy riffs. Feedback screams in and then the bells enter again before power riffs crush them out. A "man choir" participates on "Hunting & Gathering (Cydonia)," with percussion, a huge Moog Voyager, electric tamboura, and horns amid the droning guitar mayhem slowly penetrating the listeners skull like a giant worm. By the time the set ends with "Alice," featuring a trio of trombones, woodwinds, reeds, ambient sounds, enormous guitars, and oscillators, the effect is complete. Monoliths and Dimensions succeeds because it is the sound of a new music formed from the ashen forge of drone, rock, and black metal. In its seemingly impenetrable, slow, spacious, heavy sonic darkness, this is the new way forward for not only Sunn 0))), but for extreme rock music and possibly even whats left of the avant-garde. Brilliant. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 50 Artist: The Unthanks Title: Here’s the Tender Coming Released: 2009-09-14 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Because He Was a Bonny Lad (02:36) 2 Sad February (04:36) 3 Annachie Gordon (08:15) 4 Lucky Gilchrist (04:51) 5 The Testimony of Patience Kershaw (04:05) 6 Living by the Water (06:08) 7 Where’ve Yer Bin Dick? (00:47) 8 Nobody Knew She Was There (05:53) 9 Flowers of the Town (03:05) 10 Not Much Luck in Our House (00:47) 11 At First She Starts (03:38) 12 Here’s the Tender Coming / Betsy Bell (09:43) |
| Here’s the Tender Coming : Allmusic album Review : It could have been commercial suicide. In the wake of a breakthrough success, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset have not only changed the bands name to the more encompassing and curate the Unthanks, theyve also made huge personnel changes. Its certainly not a strategy a marketing man would recommend, but this is a band thats always been about the art, not the commercial success. The basis remains folk music from the Northeast of England, and the fuller sound of a nine-piece band changes the backing and fills it out splendidly, with bass and drums giving a firm foundation. The focus on the singing of sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank is, if anything, firmer than before, and nowhere is that clearer than on the harrowing "The Testimony of Patience Kershaw," about child labor in the Victorian mines, or the heartbreaking beauty of the traditional "Annachie Gordon." However, although theres plenty of gloom and doom on this disc, its leavened by some lighter spots, such as "Betsy Belle." For the most part, it works, the only real failure coming with a cover of Lal Watersons "At First She Starts," a piece so personal that outsiders trying to find a way into it are largely doomed -- but its a brave attempt, and says a lot about the scope and confidence of the group. Musically, theres much greater richness and variety in the arrangements now, heightening the shadings that have always been there, and bringing them to the fore, while also making it easier for a wider audience. | ||
 | Album: 27 of 50 Artist: Yo La Tengo Title: Popular Songs Released: 2009-09-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:12:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Here to Fall (05:45) 2 Avalon or Someone Very Similar (03:17) 3 By Two’s (04:29) 4 Nothing to Hide (02:46) 5 Periodically Double or Triple (03:53) 6 If It’s True (02:43) 7 I’m on My Way (04:36) 8 When It’s Dark (03:55) 9 All Your Secrets (04:27) 10 More Stars Than There Are in Heaven (09:39) 11 The Fireside (11:25) 12 And the Glitter Is Gone (15:54) |
| Popular Songs : Allmusic album Review : Whether or not Yo La Tengo are being tongue in cheek with the title of their 14th album, Popular Songs does find Hobokens finest embracing pop song structures with a renewed degree of enthusiasm -- this isnt quite the Yo La Tengo "loaded with hits" album, but for a band thats shown an increasing willingness to explore the outer limits of its music in the studio, Popular Songs features nine tunes you can hum along with and sometimes even dance to. Those who got high marks in math will notice that Popular Songs has 12 selections, and as befits a band that covered George McCraes "You Can Have It All," on the second half of this set YLT take the opportunity to stretch out and invite the spirit for a while -- the total time of the first nine tracks on Popular Songs is roughly the same as the last three, which should tell you something about the albums dual nature. "Periodically Double or Triple" and "If Its True" in the first half are two of the most user-friendly songs this band has recorded in quite some time, the former a playfully funky R&B number with a killer bassline and the latter a slice of sweet uptown soul complete with a Hammond B-3 and a polished string section, while "Im on My Way" and "All Your Secrets" are low-key but beautifully crafted examples of smart pop for grownups that wont insult your intelligence or your imagination. If "By Twos" and "Here to Fall" reflect YLTs trippier inclinations, the melodies give them a firmer backbone than many of their previous gestures in this direction, and "Nothing to Hide" is a bracing and joyous dose of rock & roll. The first half of the album is smart enough and strong enough that the final three cuts almost seem like a letdown; "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven" is lovely, but sounds like a rehash of the ideas the band worked out so well on And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, and the minimalist acoustic guitar textures of "The Fireside" are almost too fragile to support its 11-minute length. Popular Songs closes with the usual Ira Kaplan guitar freakout; "And the Glitter Is Gone" is a fine plunge into the valley of skronk, with Georgia Hubley and James McNew bashing away with equal fervor and giving this album a typical but rousing finale. But as fine as those nearly 16 minutes of controlled chaos are, its the first half of Popular Songs that youre more likely to come back to, where by thinking in a small space Yo La Tengo have challenged themselves a bit and beautifully risen to the occasion. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 50 Artist: Madness Title: The Liberty of Norton Folgate Released: 2009-03-23 Tracks: 22 Duration: 1:25:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Overture (01:07) 2 We Are London (03:39) 3 Sugar and Spice (02:51) 4 Forever Young (04:36) 5 Dust Devil (03:44) 6 Rainbows (03:21) 7 That Close (04:10) 8 MK II (02:26) 9 On the Town (04:32) 10 Clerkenwell Polka (04:20) 11 The Liberty of Norton Folgate (10:13) 1 Lets Go (03:30) 2 Idiot Child (03:19) 3 Mission From Hell (03:49) 4 Seven Dials (02:54) 5 Hunchback of Torriano (03:12) 6 Fish and Chips (02:42) 7 Bingo (04:08) 8 NW5 (04:14) 9 One Fine Day (03:58) 10 The Kiss (04:06) 11 Africa (04:19) |
| The Liberty of Norton Folgate : Allmusic album Review : Madness never disappeared but they faded away, spending years playing summer festivals and other oldies venues befitting an act specializing in nostalgia -- an impression that 2005s covers album, The Dangerman Sessions, did nothing to assuage. All this makes The Liberty of Norton Folgate, the bands first album of original material in ten years, and their first in more than a quarter-century, feel fully realized, even surprising. The element of surprise is not in the music, which is firmly within the 2-Tone tradition they laid down in the early 80s -- and indeed, is produced by their longtime collaborators Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley -- but rather that theyve found a way to deepen their nutty sound, to offer nothing less than a mature, middle-aged spin on Presents the Rise & Fall. Like that 1982 new wave classic, The Liberty of Norton Folgate is about London and steeped in classic British pop, using the Kinks as ground zero for a series of wry, keenly observed pop songs about the people and places in London Town. Madness never try to update their sound -- they never dabble in electronica or ragga -- instead they dig deeper, finding new musical wrinkles within tightly written three-minute pop tunes and stretching out on the astonishing title street that concludes the record. While Madness may be trading on the sound that brought them to the top of the charts, it never sounds like a vain, desperate stab at reviving their youth; they play and write as the middle-aged men they are, finding sustenance within the music of their youth, then adapting it to their lives now, finding as much mirth as melancholy in what they see. Also befitting a middle-aged Madness, The Liberty is an album of craft -- so much so that the album has no such stand-out hit single as "Our House," but then again, those were different times -- but the true testament to the value of that craft is that The Liberty of Norton Folgate is as rich and rewarding in its deluxe double-disc incarnation as it is in its simpler, single-disc set, something that speaks volumes to the extent of the bands unexpected revitalization here. | ||
 | Album: 29 of 50 Artist: PJ Harvey & John Parish Title: A Woman a Man Walked By Released: 2009-03-27 Tracks: 10 Duration: 38:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Black Hearted Love (04:40) 2 Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen (03:35) 3 Leaving California (03:56) 4 The Chair (02:29) 5 April (04:41) 6 A Woman a Man Walked By / The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go (04:47) 7 The Soldier (03:55) 8 Pig Will Not (03:50) 9 Passionless, Pointless (04:19) 10 Cracks in the Canvas (01:54) |
 | Album: 30 of 50 Artist: Jim O’Rourke Title: The Visitor Released: 2009-09-08 Tracks: 1 Duration: 38:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Visitor (38:03) |
 | Album: 31 of 50 Artist: The Dead Weather Title: Horehound Released: 2009-07-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 60 Feet Tall (05:33) 2 Hang You From the Heavens (03:37) 3 I Cut Like a Buffalo (03:27) 4 So Far From Your Weapon (03:40) 5 Treat Me Like Your Mother (04:10) 6 Rocking Horse (02:59) 7 New Pony (03:58) 8 Bone House (03:26) 9 3 Birds (03:44) 10 No Hassle Night (02:55) 11 Will There Be Enough Water? (06:20) |
| Horehound : Allmusic album Review : Expectations for a project featuring members of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Kills, and Queens of the Stone Age would almost have to run high. After all, these are all bands that find ways to draw on the classic tenets of rock without sounding completely indebted to the past. Yet the Dead Weather -- which combines the talents of Jack White, Jack Lawrence, Alison Mosshart, and Dean Fertita -- arent so much concerned with living up to expectations as they are about defying them. Theres a different kind of alchemy on Horehound than on any of the bandmembers other projects. Not only does White returns to his first instrument, the drums, he also trades in the high-pitched yelp he uses with the Stripes and Raconteurs for a deeper, at-times unrecognizable, voice on "I Cut Like a Buffalo," the lone Horehound track he wrote by himself. The Dead Weathers sound isnt so much heavy as it is thick with a tense atmosphere thats sustained throughout most of the album, and the group shuns the tighter structures of their other bands for a bluesy, jammy grind. Horehounds opening track, "60 Feet Tall," shows just how explosive this sound can be, from the teasing guitars and percussion that begin it to its lunging climax. Sexual tension is one of the few constants between the Dead Weather and White and Mossharts other bands, and they use it particularly well on "Hang You from the Heavens" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother," where their vocals and the lyrics "left, right, left, right" suggest a dance, or a fight, or something in between. Despite all the star power in this project, Mossharts vocals are the main attraction: she snarls, croons, and sighs, displaying all the charisma she has in the Kills plus more nuance. She takes her voice to places she hasnt explored with her main project: "So Far from Your Weapon," which she wrote on her own, boasts an hypnotic groove and an oddly jazzy undercurrent, thanks to her smoky singing and Whites rolling drums. Indeed, her voice and Whites are usually the loudest elements on the album, with Fertita and Lawrence ably filling in the gaps between the pairs towering presences. Horehounds loose-limbed immediacy often feels like a particularly inspired rehearsal, especially on the cover of Bob Dylans "New Pony," which gets amped up with huge grungy riffs and shouted backing vocals. This looseness also allows the band to indulge flights of fancy like the instrumental "3 Birds" and "Rocking Horse"s menacing surf-jazz. However, the Dead Weathers chemistry fizzles on the more unfocused tracks, and as gripping as their sound is, it can get claustrophobic. The songs that break from the pack are among the best. "Bone House" layers programmed and live drums with creepy falsetto vocals and some great guitar work from Fertita, and "Will There Be Enough Water?"s drifting acoustic blues provides the calm after Horehounds storm. Given the fact that the Dead Weather formed on a whim and recorded these songs in a matter of weeks, Horehound is a compelling album, and one that shows that the bands members bring out the best in each other, albeit in unexpected ways. | ||
 | Album: 32 of 50 Artist: Iggy Pop Title: Préliminaires Released: 2009-05-25 Tracks: 12 Duration: 36:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Les Feuilles mortes (03:55) 2 I Want to Go to the Beach (02:52) 3 King of the Dogs (02:01) 4 Je sais que tu sais (03:11) 5 Spanish Coast (03:58) 6 Nice to Be Dead (02:49) 7 How Insensitive (03:02) 8 Party Time (02:08) 9 He’s Dead/She’s Alive (01:59) 10 A Machine for Loving (03:15) 11 She’s a Business (03:10) 12 Les Feuilles mortes (Marc’s Theme) (03:53) |
 | Album: 33 of 50 Artist: The Duke & The King Title: Nothing Gold Can Stay Released: 2009-07-20 Tracks: 10 Duration: 34:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 If You Ever Get Famous (03:47) 2 The Morning I Get to Hell (03:27) 3 Still Remember Love (03:22) 4 Union Street (04:51) 5 Lose My Self (02:48) 6 Suzanne (03:28) 7 Summer Morning Rain (03:14) 8 Water Spider (02:34) 9 Ive Been Bad (01:12) 10 One More American Song (05:18) |
 | Album: 34 of 50 Artist: Trembling Bells Title: Carbeth Released: 2009 Tracks: 9 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 I Listed All of the Velvet Lessons (?) 2 I Took to You (Like Christ to Wood) (?) 3 When I Was Young (?) 4 The End Is the Beginning Born Knowing (?) 5 Summers Waning (?) 6 Willows of Carbeth (?) 7 Your Head Is the House of Your Tongue (?) 8 Garlands of Stars (?) 9 Seven Years a Teardrop (?) |
 | Album: 35 of 50 Artist: Tinariwen Title: Imidiwan: Companions Released: 2009-06-29 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:02:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Imidiwan Afrik Tendam (03:32) 2 Lulla (03:49) 3 Tenhert (05:28) 4 Enseqi Ehad Didagh (05:40) 5 Tahult In (04:10) 6 Tamodjerazt Assis (04:51) 7 Intitlayaghen (04:49) 8 Imazeghen n Adagh (03:46) 9 Tenalle Chegret (05:43) 10 Kel Tamashek (03:16) 11 Assuf Ag Assuf (04:53) 12 Chabiba (03:21) 13 Ere Tasfata Adounia (09:16) |
 | Album: 36 of 50 Artist: Fuck Buttons Title: Tarot Sport Released: 2009-10-12 Tracks: 7 Duration: 58:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Surf Solar (10:34) 2 Rough Steez (04:44) 3 The Lisbon Maru (09:19) 4 Olympians (10:54) 5 Phantom Limb (04:49) 6 Space Mountain (08:44) 7 Flight of the Feathered Serpent (09:31) |
 | Album: 37 of 50 Artist: Dinosaur Jr. Title: Farm Released: 2009-06-19 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:15:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pieces (04:31) 2 I Want You to Know (04:30) 3 Ocean in the Way (04:20) 4 Plans (06:41) 5 Your Weather (03:06) 6 Over It (03:47) 7 Friends (04:32) 8 Said the People (07:41) 9 There’s No Here (03:39) 10 See You (05:47) 11 I Don’t Wanna Go There (08:43) 12 Imagination Blind (03:21) 13 I Dont Wanna Go There (03:52) 14 Tarpit (04:21) 15 Whenever You’re Ready (02:55) 16 Houses (03:40) |
| Farm : Allmusic album Review : If Farm lacks the element of surprise of Dinosaur Jr.s 2007 comeback, Beyond, thats just about the only thing it lacks: in every other respect it is its equal, a muscular, melodic monster that stands among the best albums the band has made. Again, what impresses is a combination of vigor and consistency, consistency not only in regards to the songs on Farm, but how it picks up on the thread running throughout the bands career, feeling as if it could have arrived in the early 90s, minus some subtle distinctions in production and attitude. As on Beyond, Dinosaur Jr.s assuredness is striking; Mascis may drawl that he "did it wrong" on the pre-chorus of "Theres No Here," but once again his tongue is firmly in cheek, and any traces self-mythologizing slackerdom are steamrollered by the bands roar. As good as the songwriting is -- and its as strong as it was on Beyond, as Mascis alternates between molten rock & roll ("Pieces"), fuzzy pop gems ("Over It" and "I Want to Know"), and churning slow burns ("Ocean in the Way"), while Lou Barlow throws in two strong numbers -- the real rush of Farm comes from the bands interplay, how the group locks together and rides the wave, sometimes taking upwards of seven or eight minutes to get where theyre going. Although there have been imitators and disciples, this is a sound thats utterly unique to Dinosaur Jr., and whats different about them in their reunion is that the group not only realizes their individuality, they revel in it, getting lost in the noise, and its hard not to get swept up with it, too. | ||
 | Album: 38 of 50 Artist: Arctic Monkeys Title: Humbug Released: 2009-08-19 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 My Propeller (03:27) 2 Crying Lightning (03:43) 3 Dangerous Animals (03:30) 4 Secret Door (03:43) 5 Potion Approaching (03:32) 6 Fire and the Thud (03:57) 7 Cornerstone (03:17) 8 Dance Little Liar (04:43) 9 Pretty Visitors (03:40) 10 The Jeweller’s Hands (05:42) 11 I Haven’t Got My Strange (01:29) 12 Red Right Hand (04:19) |
| Humbug : Allmusic album Review : Facing the third album blues, the Arctic Monkeys turned to Josh Homme, the Queens of the Stone Age mastermind renowned for his collaborations but heretofore untested as a producer. On first glance, its a peculiar pair -- the heirs of Paul Weller meet the heavy desert mystic -- but this isnt a team of equals, its a big brother helping his little siblings go wayward and get weird. Homme doesnt imprint his own views on the Monkeys but encourages them to follow their strange instincts, whether its a Nick Cave obsession or the inclination to emphasize atmosphere over energy. Wading into the murk of Humbug it becomes clear that the common ground between the Monkeys and Homme is the actual act of making music, the pleasure of not knowing what comes next when an entire band is drifting inside a zone. Since so much of Humbug is about its process, its not always immediately accessible or pleasurable to an outside listener, nor is it quite the thickly colored freakout Hommes presence suggests. The Monkeys still favor angular riffs and clenched rhythms, constructing tightly framed vignettes not widescreen epics, but theyre working with a darker palette and creating vaguely abstract compositions, sensibilities that extend to Alex Turners words too, as he trades keen detail for vivid scrawled impressions. Every element of the album reflects a band testing its limits, seeing where they could -- not necessarily will -- go next; its a voyage through territory thats new to them as musicians (which doesnt necessarily mean that its also new to their audience), offering at a peek at what lies beyond via three songs cut after the desert sessions, songs informed by what they learned during their sojourn with Homme. This trio of tunes, highlighted by "Cornerstone," arent as darkly as evocative as the rest of the dense, gnarled Humbug but theyre among the best songs the album has to offer suggesting that the record may mean more in the long-term that it does on its own. Nevertheless, Humbug makes two things clear: Arctic Monkeys are serious about being in a band, about making music, and they are the first major British band in generations unencumbered by fear or spite for America. Humbug was not done with hopes of breaking the American market or reacting spitefully against it, it is solely about big, loud, dark noise. No wonder Josh Homme sensed he had a band of little brothers in Arctic Monkeys. | ||
 | Album: 39 of 50 Artist: Cornershop Title: Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast Released: 2009-07-27 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:00:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Who Fingered Rock ’n’ Roll (03:47) 2 Soul School (03:32) 3 Half Brick (00:52) 4 Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast (05:15) 5 Shut Southall Down (01:13) 6 Free Love (05:37) 7 The Roll Off Characteristics (Of History in the Making) (04:38) 8 Operation Push (04:17) 9 The Mighty Quinn (03:31) 10 The Constant Springs (04:09) 11 Chamchu (03:24) 12 The Turned on Truth (The Truth Is Turned on) (16:43) 13 Waterloo Sunset (03:28) |
 | Album: 40 of 50 Artist: The Felice Brothers Title: Yonder Is the Clock Released: 2009-04-07 Tracks: 13 Duration: 54:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Big Surprise (04:22) 2 Penn Station (03:58) 3 Buried in Ice (03:11) 4 Chicken Wire (02:43) 5 Ambulance Man (05:26) 6 Sailor Song (03:30) 7 Katie Dear (03:59) 8 Run Chicken, Run (04:59) 9 All When We Were Young (03:25) 10 Boy From Lawrence County (05:21) 11 Memphis Flu (03:02) 12 Cooperstown (06:13) 13 Rise and Shine (04:25) |
 | Album: 41 of 50 Artist: Van Morrison Title: Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl Released: 2009-02-06 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:11:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Astral Weeks / I Believe Ive Transcended (09:55) 2 Beside You (05:59) 3 Slim Slow Slider / I Start Breaking Down (07:44) 4 Sweet Thing (05:37) 5 The Way Young Lovers Do (03:18) 6 Cyprus Avenue / You Came Walking Down (05:59) 7 Ballerina / Move On Up (09:45) 8 Madame George (08:43) 9 Listen to the Lion / The Lion Speaks (07:44) 10 Common One (06:39) |
 | Album: 42 of 50 Artist: Richard Hawley Title: Truelove’s Gutter Released: 2009-09-18 Tracks: 8 Duration: 51:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 As the Dawn Breaks (04:36) 2 Open Up Your Door (04:43) 3 Ashes on the Fire (04:25) 4 Remorse Code (09:51) 5 Don’t Get Hung Up in Your Soul (04:17) 6 Soldier On (06:51) 7 For Your Lover Give Some Time (05:38) 8 Don’t You Cry (10:42) |
 | Album: 43 of 50 Artist: Bruce Springsteen Title: Working on a Dream Released: 2009-01-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Outlaw Pete (08:00) 2 My Lucky Day (04:00) 3 Working on a Dream (03:30) 4 Queen of the Supermarket (04:39) 5 What Love Can Do (02:56) 1 This Life (04:30) 2 Good Eye (03:00) 3 Tomorrow Never Knows (02:13) 4 Life Itself (04:00) 5 Kingdom of Days (04:02) 6 Surprise, Surprise (03:24) 7 The Last Carnival (03:29) 8 The Wrestler (03:50) |
| Working on a Dream : Allmusic album Review : From its bright, brittle production to its tossed-off postage stamp cover art, Working on a Dream is in every respect a companion piece to Magic, an album thats merely a set of songs, both sprawling and deliberately small, songs that dont necessarily tackle any one major theme but all add up to a portrait of their time. Magic chronicled the dog days of Bush where Working on a Dream is designed as a keynote to the Obama age, released just a week after the inauguration of the U.S.s 44th president and not coincidentally containing not a little optimism within its 13 tracks. This sense of hope is a tonic to the despair that crept into the margins of Magic but its easy to posit Working on a Dream as pure positivity, which isnt exactly true: a hangover from W lingers, most vividly in the broken spirit of "The Wrestler," and Bruce mourning departed E Street Band member Danny Federici with "The Last Carnival." Springsteen peppers his tribute with images recalling the early days of the E Street Band but saves a revival of their wild, woolly sound for the opening "Outlaw Pete," a cavernous, circular, comical epic reminiscent of Springsteens unwieldy portraits of rats on the Jersey Shore. "Outlaw Pete" is Working on a Dream at its best, playing like nothing less than The E Street Shuffle as reflected and refracted through Arcade Fires naked hero worship, casually highlighting how producer Brendan OBrien has gently nudged the Boss toward new musical avenues. Many of these new sounds are drawn from the past, often feeling informed by Little Stevens Underground Garage -- Van Zandt and Nils Lofgrens guitars chime like the Byrds; the band knocks out a tough little blues number on "Good Eye"; and Springsteen shows a knack for pure pop on "Surprise, Surprise" and indulges his ever-increasing Brian Wilson fascination on "This Life," whose percolating organs and harmonies rival the High Llamas. All this rests nicely alongside the Boss trademarks -- galloping rockers that fill a stadium ("My Lucky Day") and their polar opposite, his intimate acoustic tunes ("Tomorrow Never Knows") -- which all make Working on a Dream read like a rich, inventive, musical album...which it is, to an extent. The ideas and intent are there, but the album is hampered slightly by the overall modesty of Springsteens writing -- by and large, these are small-scale songs and feel that way -- and hurt significantly by the precise, digital production that muffles the musics imagination and impact. A large part of Springsteens appeal has always been how the E Street Band has sounded as big and open as his heart, but Working on a Dream, like Magic before it, has a production that feels tiny and constrained even as it is layered with extraneous details. Its possible to listen around this production and hear the modest charms of the songs, but the album would be better if the sound matched the sentiment. | ||
 | Album: 44 of 50 Artist: Reigning Sound Title: Love and Curses Released: 2009-08-11 Tracks: 14 Duration: 35:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Break It (02:24) 2 Trash Talk (02:33) 3 Call Me (02:18) 4 The Bells (02:28) 5 If I Cant Come Back (02:27) 6 Something to Hold Onto (03:12) 7 Dangerous Game (01:36) 8 Broken Things (02:22) 9 Debris (02:40) 10 Stick Up for Me (03:11) 11 Love Wont Leave You a Song (02:28) 12 Polly Ane (02:59) 13 Is It True? (02:18) 14 Banker and a Liar (02:36) |
 | Album: 45 of 50 Artist: Richmond Fontaine Title: We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River Released: 2009 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River (03:26) 2 Northwest (00:30) 3 You Can Move Back Here (02:46) 4 The Boyfriends (03:27) 5 The Pull (04:04) 6 Sitting Outside My Dads Old House (01:03) 7 Maybe We Were Both Born Blue (02:43) 8 Watch Out (02:42) 9 43 (03:33) 10 Lonnie (04:01) 11 Ruby and Lou (02:50) 12 Walking Back to Our Place at 3 a.m. (02:23) 13 Two Alone (05:59) 14 A Letter to the Patron Saint of Nurses (03:24) |
 | Album: 46 of 50 Artist: Broadcast and The Focus Group Title: Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age Released: 2009-09-22 Tracks: 23 Duration: 48:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Intro / Magnetic Tales (00:38) 2 The Be Colony (04:31) 3 How Do You Get Along Sir? (01:10) 4 Will You Read Me. (01:20) 5 Reception / Group Therapy (01:20) 6 A Quiet Moment (00:58) 7 I See, So I See So (02:08) 8 You Must Wake (01:35) 9 One Million Years Ago (02:16) 10 A Seancing Song (02:19) 11 Mr Beard, You Chatterbox (01:24) 12 Drug Party (01:28) 13 Libra, the Mirrors Minor Self (02:45) 14 Loves Long Listen-In (01:47) 15 We Are After All Here (02:32) 16 A Mediums High (02:29) 17 Ritual / Looking In (04:20) 18 Make My Sleep His Song (02:41) 19 Royal Chant (02:14) 20 What I Saw (01:02) 21 Let It Begin / Oh Joy (03:28) 22 Round and Round and Round (01:39) 23 The Be Colony / Dashing Home / What on Earth Took You? (02:30) |
 | Album: 47 of 50 Artist: Alasdair Roberts Title: Spoils Released: 2009-04-27 Tracks: 8 Duration: 45:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 The Flyting of Grief and Joy (Eternal Return) (07:06) 2 You Muses Assist (04:31) 3 So Bored Was I (Dark Triad) (05:36) 4 Unyoked Oxen Turn (05:47) 5 The Book of Doves (04:32) 6 Ned Ludds Rant (For a World Rebarbarised) (04:40) 7 Hazel Forks (05:26) 8 Under No Enchantment (But My Own) (08:09) |
 | Album: 48 of 50 Artist: Raphael Saadiq Title: The Way I See It Released: 2008-09-16 Tracks: 13 Duration: 42:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sure Hope You Mean It (03:40) 2 100 Yard Dash (02:18) 3 Keep Marchin (02:37) 4 Big Easy (03:18) 5 Just One Kiss (02:32) 6 Love That Girl (03:04) 7 Calling (03:44) 8 Staying in Love (02:53) 9 Oh Girl (03:34) 10 Lets Take a Walk (02:28) 11 Never Give You Up (04:12) 12 Sometimes (04:06) 13 Oh Girl (remix) (03:41) |
 | Album: 49 of 50 Artist: Jay‐Z Title: The Blueprint 3 Released: 2009-09-08 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:00:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 What We Talkin’ About (04:03) 2 Thank You (04:10) 3 D.O.A. (Death of Auto‐Tune) (04:16) 4 Run This Town (04:27) 5 Empire State of Mind (04:36) 6 Real as It Gets (04:12) 7 On to the Next One (04:17) 1 Off That (04:06) 2 A Star Is Born (03:48) 3 Venus vs. Mars (03:10) 4 Already Home (04:29) 5 Hate (02:31) 6 Reminder (04:18) 7 So Ambitious (04:12) 8 Young Forever (04:13) |
| The Blueprint 3 : Allmusic album Review : When Jay-Z first made a series out of his best album, 2001s The Blueprint, it became a game of high expectations. The Blueprint of the first volume was Jay-Z as vital as hed ever been, storming back to the hardcore after a few years of commercial success. The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse was a complete turn, a set of half-cocked crossovers, bloated to bursting with guest features that obscured his talents. The Blueprint 3 is somewhere between the two, closer to the vitality and energy of the original but not without the crossover bids and guest features of the latter (albeit much better this time). Kanye West is in the producers chair for seven tracks, and its clear he was reaching for the same energy level as the original Blueprint (which he produced). "What We Talkin About" begins the album with a wave of surging, oppressive synth, while Jay-Z enumerates (with an intriguing lack of detail) what hes said and whats been said about him, ending with a nod not to the past but the future (and Barack Obama). West also produced the second, "Thank You," and while it starts with typical Jay-Hova brio, the last verse piles on the unrelenting criticism of unnamed rappers doomed to weak sales. Theres plenty more lyrical violence to come, but most of the targets are much safer than they were eight years earlier. (Jay doesnt sound very convincing when he claims in "D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]" that its not "politically correct" to rail against one of the most reviled trends in pop music during the 2000s.) From there, he branches out with a calculating type of finesse, drawing in certain demographics via a roster of guests, from Young Jeezy (hardcore) to Drake (teens) to Kid Cudi (the backpacker crowd). The king of the crossovers here is "Empire State of Mind," a New York flag-waver with plenty of landmark name-dropping that turns into a great anthem with help on the chorus from Alicia Keys. The Blueprint 3 isnt a one-man tour de force like the first. Jay is upstaged once or twice by his guests, and while the productions are stellar throughout -- Timbaland appears three times, and No I.D. gets multiple credits also -- its clear theres less on Jays mind this time. Not tuned out like on Kingdom Come, but more content with his dominance as a rap godfather in 2009. | ||
 | Album: 50 of 50 Artist: Kurt Vile Title: Childish Prodigy Released: 2009-10-05 Tracks: 11 Duration: 49:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Hunchback (04:49) 2 Dead Alive (03:46) 3 Overnite Religion (05:15) 4 Freak Train (07:18) 5 Blackberry Song (03:26) 6 Monkey (03:43) 7 Heart Attack (03:09) 8 Amplifier (04:01) 9 Inside Lookin Out (06:38) 10 Hes Alright (04:35) 11 Goodbye Freaks (02:54) |