Tag: Titus Andronicus

Another Decade of Bests (2010-2019)

This post is the second of two parts. With hindsight and in living with particular albums for longer, we have compiled lists of our ten favourite albums for each year from 2000-2019. Perhaps these lists will be of some interest for those who wish to walk down Memory Lane, or indeed, for those who might wonder if any of these [subjective] gems passed them by (as we have discovered from comparing our respective lists). Whatever you—dear reader—might glean from our produce, we are grateful for the opportunity to indulge in our list-making and music-listening passions here.

Elijah & Greg

— E —

  1. The Age of Adz / All Delighted People EP
    Sufjan Stevens
  2. The Winter of Mixed Drinks
    Frightened Rabbit
  3. Halcyon Digest
    Deerhunter
  4. The Suburbs
    Arcade Fire
  5. Teen Dream
    Beach House
  6. InnerSpeaker
    Tame Impala
  7. High Violet
    The National
  8. This is Happening
    LCD Soundsystem
  9. Clinging to a Scheme
    The Radio Dept.
  10. The Monitor
    Titus Andronicus

— G —

  1. The Age of Adz / All Delighted People EP
    Sufjan Stevens
  2. The Suburbs
    Arcade Fire
  3. The Winter of Mixed Drinks
    Frightened Rabbit
  4. InnerSpeaker
    Tame Impala
  5. Forget
    Twin Shadow
  6. The Reluctant Graveyard
    Jeremy Messersmith
  7. High Violet
    The National
  8. Contra
    Vampire Weekend
  9. Together
    The New Pornographers
  10. So Runs the World Away
    Josh Ritter

— E —

  1. The SMiLE Sessions
    The Beach Boys
  2. Belong
    The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  3. Dye It Blonde
    Smith Westerns
  4. Strange Mercy
    St Vincent
  5. Bon Iver
    Bon Iver
  6. Let England Shake
    PJ Harvey
  7. Humor Risk
    Cass McCombs
  8. Helplessness Blues
    Fleet Foxes
  9. The Year of Hibernation
    Youth Lagoon
  10. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
    M83

— G —

  1. The Last of the Country Gentlemen
    Josh T. Pearson
  2. Helplessness Blues
    Fleet Foxes
  3. 100 Acres of Sycamore
    Fionn Regan
  4. Rapproacher
    Class Actress
  5. Build a Rocket Boys!
    Elbow
  6. Strange Negotiations
    David Bazan
  7. Making Mirrors
    Gotye
  8. Endless Now
    Male Bonding
  9. The Family Tree: The Roots
    Radical Face
  10. 12 Desperate StrAight Lines
    Telekinesis

— E —

  1. Shields 
    Grizzly Bear
  2. Bloom 
    Beach House
  3. Dept. of Disappearance 
    Jason Lytle
  4. Lonerism 
    Tame Impala
  5. Silver & Gold
    Sufjan Stevens
  6. America 
    Dan Deacon
  7. ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
  8. All We Love We Leave Behind 
    Converge
  9. Shrines 
    Purity Ring
  10. Sweet Heart Sweet Light 
    Spiritualized

— G —

  1. Fear Fun
    Father John Misty
  2. Silver & Gold
    Sufjan Stevens
  3. Break It Yourself
    Andrew Bird
  4. Tramp 
    Sharon Van Etten
  5. Port of Morrow 
    The Shins
  6. Adventures in Your Own Backyard 
    Patrick Watson
  7. The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Drive of the Screw… 
    Fiona Apple
  8. Lonerism 
    Tame Impala
  9. Through the Deep, Dark Valley 
    The Oh Hellos
  10. Who’s Feeling Young Now?
    Punch Brothers

— E —

  1. Pedestrian Verse
    Frightened Rabbit
  2. Reflektor 
    Arcade Fire
  3. Partygoing 
    Future Bible Heroes
  4. m b v
    My Bloody Valentine
  5. Big Wheel and Others 
    Cass McCombs
  6. Trouble Will Find Me 
    The National
  7. Wondrous Bughouse 
    Youth Lagoon
  8. Love’s Crushing Diamond 
    Mutual Benefit
  9. Monomania 
    Deerhunter
  10. Muchacho
    Phosphorescent

— G —

  1. Pedestrian Verse
    Frightened Rabbit
  2. Modern Vampires of the City
    Vampire Weekend
  3. Torres
    Torres
  4. The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You
    Neko Case
  5. Promises
    The Boxer Rebellion
  6. Trouble Will Find Me
    The National
  7. The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand / Threeep
    Matt Pond PA
  8. Alone Aboard the Ark
    The Leisure Society
  9. Us Alone
    Hayden
  10. Lily & Madeline / The Weight of the Globe EP
    Lily & Madeline

— E —

  1. pom pom
    Ariel Pink
  2. Burn Your Fire for No Witness
    Angel Olsen
  3. Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave
    The Twilight Sad
  4. Lost in the Dream
    The War on Drugs
  5. St Vincent
    St Vincent
  6. Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son
    Damien Jurado
  7. Some Blue Morning
    Adrian Crowley
  8. Too Bright
    Perfume Genius
  9. Owl John
    Owl John
  10. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten

— G —

  1. Heart Murmurs
    Jeremy Messersmith
  2. 1000 Forms of Fear
    Sia
  3. Second Sight
    Hey Rosetta!
  4. Brill Bruisers
    The New Pornographers
  5. Stay Gold
    First Aid Kit
  6. Upside Down Mountain
    Conor Oberst
  7. My Favourite Faded Fantasy
    Damien Rice
  8. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten
  9. The Take Off and Landing of Everything
    Elbow
  10. In Conflict
    Owen Pallett

— E —

  1. Carrie & Lowell 
    Sufjan Stevens
  2. Currents 
    Tame Impala
  3. viet cong
    Viet Cong (Preoccupations)
  4. Depression Cherry 
    Beach House
  5. I Love You, Honeybear 
    Father John Misty
  6. Vulnicura 
    Björk
  7. Weirdo Shrine 
    La Luz
  8. Fading Frontier 
    Deerhunter
  9. White Men Are Black Men Too
    Young Fathers
  10. Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
    Courtney Barnett

— G —

  1. Carrie & Lowell
    Sufjan Stevens
  2. Currents
    Tame Impala
  3. Teens of Style
    Car Seat Headrest
  4. Vulnicura
    Björk
  5. Bashed Out
    This is the Kit
  6. Dear Wormwood
    The Oh Hellos
  7. Depression Cherry
    Beach House
  8. Brother
    The Brilliance
  9. Sprinter
    Torres
  10. Times Infinity Vol. One
    The Dears

— E —

  1. Masterpiece 
    Big Thief
  2. My Woman 
    Angel Olsen
  3. Teens of Denial 
    Car Seat Headrest
  4. Painting of a Panic Attack 
    Frightened Rabbit
  5. Puberty 2 
    Mitski
  6. A Moon Shaped Pool 
    Radiohead
  7. Skeleton Tree 
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  8. You Want it Darker 
    Leonard Cohen
  9. Emotions and Math
    Margaret Glaspy
  10. Next Thing 
    Frankie Cosmos

— G —

  1. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
  2. Are You Serious
    Andrew Bird
  3. Painting of a Panic Attack
    Frightened Rabbit
  4. Puberty 2
    Mitski
  5. The Birds Outside Sang
    Florist
  6. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
  7. Arranging Time
    Pete Yorn
  8. Remember Us to Life
    Regina Spektor
  9. Front Row Seat to Earth
    Weyes Blood
  10. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver

— E —

  1. A Crow Looked at Me
    Mount Eerie
  2. DAMN
    Kendrick Lamar
  3. Capacity
    Big Thief
  4. Planetarium
    Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James McAlister
  5. No Shape
    Perfume Genius
  6. Slowdive
    Slowdive
  7. Last Place
    Grandaddy
  8. Sleep Well Beast
    The National
  9. Powerplant
    Girlpool
  10. Antisocialites
    Alvvays

— G —

  1. (I Am) Origami Pt. 2 – Every Power Wide Awake
    John Van Deusen
  2. Stranger in the Alps
    Phoebe Bridgers
  3. Pure Comedy
    Father John Misty
  4. Planetarium
    Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James McAlister
  5. Crack-Up
    Fleet Foxes
  6. Swin Inside the Moon
    Angelo De Augustine
  7. Sleep Well Beast
    The National
  8. Ruins
    First Aid Kit
  9. Mentall Illness
    Aimee Mann
  10. Painted Ruins
    Grizzly Bear

— E —

  1. 7
    Beach House
  2. Be the Cowboy
    Mitski
  3. And Nothing Hurt
    Spiritualized
  4. Only Love
    The Armed
  5. God’s Favorite Customer
    Father John Misty
  6. You Won’t Get What You Want
    Daughters
  7. Lush
    Snail Mail
  8. In a Poem Unlimited
    US Girls
  9. Singularity
    Jon Hopkins
  10. The Future Me Hates Me
    The Beths

— G —

  1. Be the Cowboy
    Mitski
  2. God’s Favorite Customer
    Father John Misty
  3. Something in the Rain (OST)
    이남연 & Rachel Yamagata
  4. Lush
    Snail Mail
  5. Boygenius
    Boygenius
  6. 7
    Beach House
  7. Big Red Machine
    Big Red Machine
  8. Love is Dead
    Chvrches
  9. You, Forever
    Sam Evian
  10. Hell-On
    Neko Case

— E —

  1. It Won/t Be Like This All the Time
    The Twilight Sad
  2. All Mirrors
    Angel Olsen
  3. U.F.O.F.
    Big Thief
  4. Remind Me Tomorrow
    Sharon Van Etten
  5. Reward
    Cate Le Bon
  6. Titanic Rising
    Weyes Blood
  7. Ghosteen
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  8. Anima
    Thom Yorke
  9. 2020
    Richard Dawson
  10. Two Hands
    Big Thief

— G —

  1. Forever Overhead
    Tim Baker
  2. Cala
    Fionn Regan
  3. Better Oblivion Community Center
    Better Oblivion Community Center
  4. My Finest Work Yet
    Andrew Bird
  5. Titanic Rising
    Weyes Blood
  6. Tomb
    Angelo De Augustine
  7. Father of the Bride
    Vampire Weekend
  8. Remind Me Tomorrow
    Sharon Van Etten
  9. Anima
    Thom Yorke
  10. Immunity
    Clairo

See our lists from 2000-2009 here.

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Band Evangelist, ch. 2

A while back, I came out as a self-proclaimed prophet of musically anointed ones…only to go into a period of silence worthy of the inter-testamental era (part of which was due to school and the other part due to a slightly incapacitating disability in my left hand which keeps me from typing with ease).  In any case, I have come back out of the wilderness, having exhausted ways to prepare locust with honey, and am here to declare some praise-worthy tunes for those with ears to hear.

To begin by updating you from my last post:

  • Lightspeed Champion:  middling effort, almost a bit too melodramatic/fussy
  • Sleeping States:  downloaded a few songs (on par with lo-fi homemade genius of former recordings), but still don’t own the whole album
  • The XYZ Affair:  unknown what will happen to the album they had in the works

What about the album from Frightened Rabbit?  Well, that brings me to the shortlist of albums that WILL LIKELY BE on my best of 2010 list.  FR’s album is INCREDIBLY GREAT–on par with their unbelievably brilliant last album & a sign of their lasting power.  So, the short list?  In no order other than as they come to me:

  1. Frightened Rabbit/The Winter of Mixed Drinks
  2. Titus Andronicus/The Monitor (these guys are like a mix of Joe Strummer/Shane MacGowan, early Dinosaur Jr., the high points of Rancid, and some kind of American conspiratorialism  welded together–it’s kind of a marriage of classic rock n’ roll and alternative/indie via a variety of road stops…the only problem is that they have an occasional tendency to repeat some lyrics ad infinitum, which is a pet peeve of mine, and the punk ethos requires that some of the singing is off key, which is hard to listen to when you have perfect pitch)–I have to give a shout out to Rob Kirkendall for hooking me up with these guys
  3. Tame Impala/InnerSpeaker:  first off: their name is lame impala.  But their sound, the tones and eras and magic and youth and coolness they emit, is so GORGEOUSLY CLASSIC (if you love the Beatles, the vocalist channels John & George’s best qualities; if you love classic rock, they have instrumentation that brings to mind the Who, Jimi Hendrix [but not the guitar], The Edgar Winter Group, etc.; definite psychedelia [though I can’t cite any particular groups), but yet in spite of all this, it doesn’t feel derivative but somehow distinctively of this time–as if all that had never existed and they just invented it…
  4. The National/High Violet:  you already have this
  5. The New Pornographers/Together:  you SHOULD already have this.  Half of it is my favorite album of the year…Neko Case IS the Midas touch, but everyone in this supergroup is talented beyond measure
  6. Owen Pallett/Heartland:  now this guy is a true discovery.  I’ve heard he did some orchestration for indie bands (Arcade Fire, etc.), but all I really know about him is from this album.  He is a musical brother to Andrew Bird, a cousin of Sufjan, from the genus of chamber-pop…lovely, fascinating, highly original.  Often, a song intentionally veers toward the brink of dissonance, but it never goes over
  7. Josh Ritter/So Runs the World Away:  I need a few more listens to definitively place this album on the list, but it has potential

Some varying levels of disappointment:  Band of Horses, Broken Bells, Jonsi (is that ok to admit?  I love him still…), Teenage Fanclub (embarrassingly weak), She & Him. Disagree?  Feel free to prove me wrong in the comments!

I don’t really have any prophecies at the moment…maybe The Walkmen, Cloud Cult, Interpol in September/October?  I could use YOUR recommendations if you have any.  Until later…