Top 100 Albums of 2000-2009: #95 - #91
Five more of the decade's best under the cut...
---#95---
Racoo-oo-oon - Behold Secret Kingdom
(experimental-rock, free-folk)
2007
There's an almost shamanistic quality to Behold Secret Kingdom, the 2007 release by psychedelic freak-rockers Racoo-oo-oon. Blending together a combination of druggy basslines, guitars that bounce from melodic lines to seeming random clashes (there's definitely some early Sonic Youth influences in there), nonsensically chanted vocals, krautrock rhythms and hazy, primitive production, and then channeling it all through a lost-in-the-woods-at-night-but-quite-happy-to-be-there kind of vibe, the group manage to achieve a sound that feels ritualistic and quite Earthy. It's the type of sound that free-folk and New Weird America groups like Sunburned Hand of the Man and Jackie-O Motherfucker would produce if you were to push their free-flowing musical aesthetics to their logical extremes. While the album sports a bit of a crazy, untamed sound, to the listener's benefit it all falls on the accessible side of sheer madness, and there's even some nice segments like the crescendo at the end of "Visage of the Fox" which feel like clever twists on the familiar post-rock playbook. It's a must-hear for any fans of instrumental, guitar-based music who'd like to try something a little stranger than the norm. Face paint, bonfires and howling at the moon are optional, but recommended.
---#94---
Frog Eyes - The Golden River
(indie-rock)
2003
One of the more overtly unusual albums to fall under the very expansive umbrella known as "indie-rock", The Golden River is a trip quite unlike any other. Frog Eyes' lead singer and principle songwriter, Carey Mercer, carries the image of something of an indie elder statesman or mentor, notable for having taken critical-favourite Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) under his wing, and his passionate, deformed-Bowie delivery is going to be the first hurdle most listeners encounter. If his all-over-the-shop whimper-hollering and bizarre lyrical imagery aren't enough to scare you away, then all that's left is to get a feel for the haunted funhouse on acid instrumentation and totally unpredictable song structures that blur and creep and wind through the album like hallucinations. If you manage all this, then you're all set to experience and enjoy one of the genre's most truly unique groups. This isn't quite their creative peak - that came with the 2007 song "Bushels", which is just devastatingly good, although this album's "One in Six Children Will Flee in Boats" comes close - but as far as I'm concerned it's their finest album overall.
---#93---
Sonic Youth - Murray Street
(indie-rock, noise-rock)
2002
With Murray Street, Sonic Youth released one of the most restrained, low-key and blatantly non-experimental albums of their career, one that's accessible in a way that seems almost out of character for the band. Sure, there's a handful of experimental bits and pieces - the most obvious being the lengthy squall of guitar noise tacked onto the end of "Karen Revisited" - but for the most part the album is driven by highly melodic guitar lines and consistent percussion that allows pretty much every song to settle into a nice groove that's catchy and effortlessly listenable. It's particularly apparent on the opening trifecta of "Disconnection Notice", "The Empty Page" and "Rain on Tin", as Thurston Moore's vocal stays constantly in second-gear, and the guitar melodies are foot-tappy and mellow in a way that signifies an unmistakable maturity that really suits the group. Thankfully, none of this makes Murray Street any less engaging than Sonic Youth's other albums, as the combination of intensity, tight playing and fine songwriting that has always been their trademark remains well-and-truly intact. There's no denying, though, that Sonic Youth sound comfortable and confident here in a way that's not quite like anything they've done before, and the result is one of their best releases in over a decade.
---#92---
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
(metal)
2005
After I finished listening to this album for the first time, I immediately awarded it a high rating and put it on my "best of the decade" shortlist. Every subsequent listen, I've started out by second-guessing that initial judgment. I think to myself, "Why did I rate this so highly? I don't really dig this kind of metal." Then I get a few tracks further in, and it all becomes clear again - High on Fire deliver a gutsy, technically brilliant, adrenaline pumping rock-fest that does so many things exactly right, that any silly, negative genre preconceptions just fade into insignificance. The vocals are arguably the lone chink in the trio's armour, as Matt Pike's constant monotone growl sounds consistently ridiculous while never really displaying anything close to what you'd call "range". It suffices, but never really shines. The sheer, fiery assault delivered by the instruments, though, is another matter entirely. The band display epic power coupled with impressive versatility, alternating between short, sharp bursts of chugga-chugga-chugga riffage that are immediately reminiscent of classic Motohead, and long, bluesy passages in which they allow the guitars to breath for a more spacious sound. Deep down, albums like this one are really all about fun and excess - I can assure you that Blessed Black Wings delivers both in spades.
---#91---
of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
(indie-pop, psych-pop, glam-rock)
2007
At the time of its release, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? really surprised the hell out of me. of Montreal were a band I'd come to consider reliable for releasing solid, "B+" albums year after year, so for them to drop such an awesome album this far into their career was something I would never have expected. Kevin Barnes has earned a place amongst this decade's best songwriters, with a conceptual magnum opus of depression, fear, confusion, anxiety and post-relationship meltdown, expressed through witty, striking lyricism and bouncing-off-the-walls vocal delivery. The switch to a jittery electro-pop aesthetic was another surprise, and the group deserve kudos for creating their best work under the risk of a major stylistic shift. Sprawling centrepiece "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" is deserving of special mention - the 11 minute cathartic outpouring is easily the most ambitious song the group have ever recorded, and it's arguably their best.
---#95---
Racoo-oo-oon - Behold Secret Kingdom
(experimental-rock, free-folk)
2007
There's an almost shamanistic quality to Behold Secret Kingdom, the 2007 release by psychedelic freak-rockers Racoo-oo-oon. Blending together a combination of druggy basslines, guitars that bounce from melodic lines to seeming random clashes (there's definitely some early Sonic Youth influences in there), nonsensically chanted vocals, krautrock rhythms and hazy, primitive production, and then channeling it all through a lost-in-the-woods-at-night-but-quite-happy-to-be-there kind of vibe, the group manage to achieve a sound that feels ritualistic and quite Earthy. It's the type of sound that free-folk and New Weird America groups like Sunburned Hand of the Man and Jackie-O Motherfucker would produce if you were to push their free-flowing musical aesthetics to their logical extremes. While the album sports a bit of a crazy, untamed sound, to the listener's benefit it all falls on the accessible side of sheer madness, and there's even some nice segments like the crescendo at the end of "Visage of the Fox" which feel like clever twists on the familiar post-rock playbook. It's a must-hear for any fans of instrumental, guitar-based music who'd like to try something a little stranger than the norm. Face paint, bonfires and howling at the moon are optional, but recommended.
Click to view---#94---
Frog Eyes - The Golden River
(indie-rock)
2003
One of the more overtly unusual albums to fall under the very expansive umbrella known as "indie-rock", The Golden River is a trip quite unlike any other. Frog Eyes' lead singer and principle songwriter, Carey Mercer, carries the image of something of an indie elder statesman or mentor, notable for having taken critical-favourite Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) under his wing, and his passionate, deformed-Bowie delivery is going to be the first hurdle most listeners encounter. If his all-over-the-shop whimper-hollering and bizarre lyrical imagery aren't enough to scare you away, then all that's left is to get a feel for the haunted funhouse on acid instrumentation and totally unpredictable song structures that blur and creep and wind through the album like hallucinations. If you manage all this, then you're all set to experience and enjoy one of the genre's most truly unique groups. This isn't quite their creative peak - that came with the 2007 song "Bushels", which is just devastatingly good, although this album's "One in Six Children Will Flee in Boats" comes close - but as far as I'm concerned it's their finest album overall.
---#93---
Sonic Youth - Murray Street
(indie-rock, noise-rock)
2002
With Murray Street, Sonic Youth released one of the most restrained, low-key and blatantly non-experimental albums of their career, one that's accessible in a way that seems almost out of character for the band. Sure, there's a handful of experimental bits and pieces - the most obvious being the lengthy squall of guitar noise tacked onto the end of "Karen Revisited" - but for the most part the album is driven by highly melodic guitar lines and consistent percussion that allows pretty much every song to settle into a nice groove that's catchy and effortlessly listenable. It's particularly apparent on the opening trifecta of "Disconnection Notice", "The Empty Page" and "Rain on Tin", as Thurston Moore's vocal stays constantly in second-gear, and the guitar melodies are foot-tappy and mellow in a way that signifies an unmistakable maturity that really suits the group. Thankfully, none of this makes Murray Street any less engaging than Sonic Youth's other albums, as the combination of intensity, tight playing and fine songwriting that has always been their trademark remains well-and-truly intact. There's no denying, though, that Sonic Youth sound comfortable and confident here in a way that's not quite like anything they've done before, and the result is one of their best releases in over a decade.
---#92---
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
(metal)
2005
After I finished listening to this album for the first time, I immediately awarded it a high rating and put it on my "best of the decade" shortlist. Every subsequent listen, I've started out by second-guessing that initial judgment. I think to myself, "Why did I rate this so highly? I don't really dig this kind of metal." Then I get a few tracks further in, and it all becomes clear again - High on Fire deliver a gutsy, technically brilliant, adrenaline pumping rock-fest that does so many things exactly right, that any silly, negative genre preconceptions just fade into insignificance. The vocals are arguably the lone chink in the trio's armour, as Matt Pike's constant monotone growl sounds consistently ridiculous while never really displaying anything close to what you'd call "range". It suffices, but never really shines. The sheer, fiery assault delivered by the instruments, though, is another matter entirely. The band display epic power coupled with impressive versatility, alternating between short, sharp bursts of chugga-chugga-chugga riffage that are immediately reminiscent of classic Motohead, and long, bluesy passages in which they allow the guitars to breath for a more spacious sound. Deep down, albums like this one are really all about fun and excess - I can assure you that Blessed Black Wings delivers both in spades.
---#91---
of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
(indie-pop, psych-pop, glam-rock)
2007
At the time of its release, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? really surprised the hell out of me. of Montreal were a band I'd come to consider reliable for releasing solid, "B+" albums year after year, so for them to drop such an awesome album this far into their career was something I would never have expected. Kevin Barnes has earned a place amongst this decade's best songwriters, with a conceptual magnum opus of depression, fear, confusion, anxiety and post-relationship meltdown, expressed through witty, striking lyricism and bouncing-off-the-walls vocal delivery. The switch to a jittery electro-pop aesthetic was another surprise, and the group deserve kudos for creating their best work under the risk of a major stylistic shift. Sprawling centrepiece "The Past is a Grotesque Animal" is deserving of special mention - the 11 minute cathartic outpouring is easily the most ambitious song the group have ever recorded, and it's arguably their best.