Editor's Picks - Tito Belis
5. Rilo Kiley - "More Adventurous"
4. Madvillain - "Madvillainy"
3. Interpol - "Antics"
2. Morrissey - "You are the Quarry"
1. Magnet - "On Your Side"
Avimaan Syam
5. The Bad Plus - "Give"
"Give" manages to be pop-oriented while flushing its irresistible melodies with complex jazz harmonies. The central themes of their songs noticeably stray from the key and yet the tunes sound right, hip and damn good. A difficult balance pleases easy pop listeners and jazz aficionados alike.
4. Iron and Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days"
Sam Beam knows how to keep it sweet and simple. This follow-up record was produced in the studio and thus has a richer sound than his debut "The Creek Drank the Cradle." Call it lo-fi, call it indie-folk, call it whatever you want - "Our Endless Numbered Days" is the perfect music for sleepy, sun-soaked afternoons.
3. Trey Anastasio - "Seis de Mayo"
A remarkable conception of Anastasio's true compositional talents. Known primarily as the guitar guru from the late great Phish, his album swirls from soothing adaptations of older works to frenetic string quartet pieces to the full orchestral opus of "Guyute." It's amazing to hear what he can create when not constrained by the four-man band.
2. Animal Collective - "Sung Tongs"
An unlikely combination of experimental, noise and funk, Animal Collective creates an incredibly cohesive - at points even catchy - album. Their sound is raucous for a folk setting but never challenging, and full of pleasing melodies, full harmonies and celebratory explosions. A welcome rising star in 2004.
1. Brian Wilson - "Smile"
Some may consider this a record from 1970, a sort of time capsule that Brain Wilson finally shared in 2004. But this is one of those albums that has a timeless brilliance - even 30 years after its conception, no other musician has really explored the range of harmony and varying melodies that Brain Wilson infused into "Smile," what was originally Wilson's attempt to create American pop to counter the Beatles's British Invasion.
The "School boy" Austin Powell
5. Marilyn Manson - "Lest We Forget ... The Best Of"
After almost 10 years of fearing the man whom the Church of Satan proclaimed "Reverend," I've finally come to appreciate Marilyn Manson for the works of art that embody his music and life. "Lest We Forget" properly displays the creative genius' industrial and technological advances throughout the years and also touts an impressive cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."
4. A Perfect Circle - "eMOTIVe"
In a time when the idea of a remake has become merely dropping your guitar down a couple steps and ruining someone else's song (Korn's rendition of "Another Brick in the Wall," for example), this album stands alone for its amazing artistry and vision. "eMOTIVe" brilliantly weaves diverse songs and genres of various time periods to capture the political aura of today through its question-begging delivery, which allows the music to truly speak for itself.
3. Slipknot - "Vol. 3: The Subliminal Messages"
Famed producer Rick Rubin successfully merged all eight members of Slipknot's true capabilities, creating an undeniable, defining and deafening sound previously not associated with their masked charade. Some may call it mainstreaming, but the acoustic guitar riffs, synthesized piano hooks and echo-chambered vocal harmonies prove the group's diversity, while minute-and-a-half drum and guitar solos verify the musicianship of members previously only identified by numbers.
2. Incubus - "A Crow Left of the Murder ..."
Musically speaking, "A Crow Left of the Murder ..." is Incubus' finest work to date. Guitarist Mike Einziger unleashes dynamic, virtuosic guitar solos on nearly every song, seemingly only stopping to switch to the piano on the ballad "Here in My Room."
1. Franz Ferdinand - "Franz Ferdinand"
The Scottish four-piece led the onslaught of the indie-rock wave of 2004 with their self-titled debut album. Their angular and beat-driven guitar riffs and charmingly repetitive lyrics captured not only nationwide acceptance with their first single, "Take Me Out," but also made the city of Austin dance as one at this year's ACL. The 11 tracks flow together effortlessly, creating a quick listen. Just don't expect this catchy and heavy pop record to leave your head when it's done.
Andrew Ward
5. Madvillian - "Madvilliany"
This highly anticipated collaboration between Madlib and MF Doom lives up to all the hype. MF Doom's (aka Zevlove X, Victor Vaughn, King Geedorah, umm ... Daniel Dumile?) prolific output under various guises has in no way diminished his talent for dropping the funk verse. He seems to have found the perfect counterpart in Bluenote cut-up Madlib, whose smooth production and sick beats and vocal sampling are an unqualified match for Doom's acrobatic flow. Separately, both men are at the top of the game; together, they're unstoppable.
4. cLOUDDEAD - "Ten"
The arrival of "Ten" sees the ever-so elusive trio of Dose One, Odd Nosdom and why? again squiggling free from attempts to pin them down artistically. Dose One and why? interchangeably describe surreal depictions of "arms being stripped from the tendons" and two small girls and a handful of dressed men walking a cage full of goats across a basketball court in tandem stream-of-consciousness. All of that, along with Nosdom's unique production, awash in dense psychedelic drones and various industrial noise, makes for some of the most refreshingly creative music in the bidness.
3. Animal Collective - "Sung Tongs"
Another impressive outing from a group of impressive individuals. Somehow the duo of Avey Tare and Panda Bear weave lysergic exuberance and tribal drum rhythms with mesmerizing hooks and harmonies into 12 tapestries accessible enough to warrant comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel and The Beach Boys.
2. The Go! Team - "Thunder, Lightning, Strike"
At the last moment, this Brighton-based sextet bursts into the runner-up spot for record of the year with an exhilarating nostalgic mash-up of everything from ESG and the Jackson 5 to Grandmaster Flash. In a year of tireless retro-gression, "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" sounds relentlessly fresh and innovative. Finally, a record that taps into our inner child's insatiable thirst for pixie sticks, four-square and double-dutch.
1. The Fiery Furnaces - "Blueberry Boat"
The brother-sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger follow last year's "Gallowsbird's Bark" with an artistic behemoth of "Sgt. Pepper's"-like proportions. The Fiery Furnaces find their muse rooted in songs such as "Day in the Life" or The Who's "Rael," where within the span of a single song, the group leaps from one tiny operetta to another with the luxury of a childlike light-heartedness. Resoundingly creative, playful, intricate and adventurous, "Blueberry Boat" is undeniably the best album of 2004.
Craig Whitney
5. Nirvana - "With the Lights Out"
While much on Nirvana's long-delayed box set will not be new to dedicated followers of the band, a healthy dose of B-sides, home recordings and demos makes "With the Lights Out" an essential and entertaining contribution to scholarship on the band. In addition to its three discs of rarities, an additional DVD shows Nirvana in early rehearsals and at key performances from its career.
4. Hillary Hahn - "Elgar: Violin Concerto/Lark Ascending"
Violinist Hillary Hahn continues to grow more confident and self-assured in her playing with every album. The virtuosic skill which Hahn showed on her Brahms D major concerto takes a back seat to the subtle interplay between her violin and Colin Davis' London Symphony Orchestra. Her restrained technique and lovely, if sober, vibrato combine for a brilliant interpretation of Elgar's emotive concerto.
3. The Violettes - "The Violettes"
The Violettes' self-title debut is one of the strongest and most self-assured of the decade. The band's potent mix of hard rock, dance and sitar gives the group a vast sonic range, while its ability to deftly maneuver from one musical style to another helps the album retain a consistent emotional tone.
2. Brian Wilson - "Smile"
Critics have charged that Brian Wilson's new "Smile" doesn't measure up to versions of its songs performed with The Beach Boys. While to some extent this is true, the melodic inventiveness and sheer sense of fun on Wilson's "teenage symphony to God" nonetheless place it as one of the seminal recordings in rock history, let alone of the year.
1. Wilco - "A Ghost is Born"
Wilco's move on "A Ghost is Born" to a more organic sound than its seminal "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" proves that the success of that album was no mere fluke. Jeff Tweedy's abilities as a songwriter, lyricist and guitarist continue to grow with exceptional speed, crafting an album of an almost incomprehensible profundity and depth.
Leslie Flynn
5. Bowling for Soup - "A Hangover You Don't Deserve"
Far from having grown in maturity, the new album tackles friendship, getting far from a small hometown and revenge on an ex-girlfriend, all with the same self-deprecating humor that's made Bowling for Soup one of the more entertaining punk-pop bands around. With snarky lyrics and catchy hooks abounding, the 17 tracks shine even if the band occasionally does sound a little bit drunk.
4. Charlotte Martin - "On Your Shore"
Bringing together the angst of Fiona Apple and the quirkiness of Tori Amos, Charlotte Martin's debut showcases both her operatic voice and her angst-ridden past. With songs about suicide, eating disorders and self-realization, each song hides deep emotion inside lush string arrangements, elegant piano hooks and the occasional synthesized dance beat. With her passionate delivery and understated piano playing, Martin has created a haunting album about belief and healing that breathes new life into the genre.
3. The Killers - "Hot Fuss"
With the obvious influence of '80s new-wave pop stars like Duran Duran, The Killers took over with their androgynous single "Somebody Told Me" before putting out an album full of drama and worthy of dancing to. In nearly every song someone dies, fights overwhelming paranoia or realizes their life sucks. Despite the negative mood, the sensual texture of the riffs and rhythms cleverly contradict the message, leaving each song sounding like a dance party in a psychiatrist's office.
2. Jamie Cullum - "Twentysomething"
More fun than Norah Jones but not quite as well known, Cullum bounces between updated versions of classic show tunes and strange covers of songs that no one would have thought could become piano-based jazz. His original songs, written with his brother Ben, show promise for his future as a songwriter with their sardonic take on the tribulations of being in his 20s. He's not trying to please the jazz crowd and is better because of it as he focuses on having fun while bouncing around at his piano.
1. The Rasmus - "Dead Letters"
Famous in their homeland of Finland since the band was still in high school, The Rasmus finally brought their moody rock to the States this year. With lead singer Lauri Ylönen's nasally soprano, the crunchy guitar power chords and sci-fi keyboard effects combine to create a new form of glam rock. Their songs occasionally border on arena anthems, but more often are slickly layered rock with a creative Gothic edge wrapped in despair.
Ramon Ramirez
5. Ben Kweller - "On My Way"
Kweller barely edged out Underoath's "screamo" masterpiece, two terrific Jon Brion soundtracks, Jimmy Eat World and Chamillionare for my No. 5. The little guy threw everything he had into his sophomore record, combining the pop rock sensibility of a band like Weezer with folk, which he manifests through his earnest voice to dish out some huge melodies.
4. Head Automatica - "Decadence"
Glassjaw is an amazing hardcore band with loyal fans who would pay 30 bucks for a 20-minute SXSW showcasing of front man Darryl Palumbo's side project. To see all these hardcore kids get the dance-fueled, '60s-rocking, Dan "the Automator"-collaborating outfit made me realize this was going to be a special record. Upon dropping six months later it immediately became a feel-good, crossover original.
3. Say Anything - "Say Anything Is a Real Boy"
This is a really good debut from a band that can't even buy a case of Coors yet. It rocks. It moves. It has dynamics. It has a touching acoustic ballad. It takes a swift shot at the pretentious hipster nation of i-Pod nomads. It's got great, honest lyrics. And like the aforementioned brand of beer, it's an original. It jams in the car and in the headphones, and I can't stop listening to it.
2. Kanye West - "The College Dropout"
Seeing something like this catch fire gives me hope for pop music. Kanye's debut was undeniably 2004's most undeniable album. His beats are tremendous as is his spoken word delivery. Every song contained worthwhile messages of social awareness, optimism, free spirit, love and dissent. Many tracks poked fun at themselves and West even showed us how to make a badass God song: Just rhyme "only Jesus can save us" with "rental car from Avis."
1. Recover - "This May Be the Year I Disappear"
On this, their major label debut, Recover has matured into a more straightforward rock ensemble. The emo/punk/hardcore scene's very own version of Stillwater, Recover rocks the shaggy hair, beards and retro '70s gear. The result is cock-rock with heart, big choruses, insane drumming and style to spare.
Ben Heath
5. Madvillain -"Madvillainy"
The year's most chaotic experimental hip-hop record is best described in its own words: "Sometimes they were comedic, or relentlessly horrifying ... Frequently, they mirrored our times ... Collectively, they are the components which fueled nightmares for years to come: The villains."
4. Castanets - "Cathedral"
"Cathedral" sounds like 5 a.m. after a 3A high school football game. More than a few people have done something regrettable. Off the highway, last night's beer cans lay strewn in a clearing. One day, someone will film a documentary about growing up in a small, rural Texas town. And the squall of "No Light to be Found" will play as it fades to black.
3. Drive By Truckers - "Dirty South"
This Muscle Shoals, Ala., quintet's sixth album spins captivating stories of gamblers, drinkers, moonshiners, tornadoes and railroads. To hell with New York. To hell with the Walkmen and sweater-wearing indie snobs. From Sun Studios to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, rock 'n' roll belongs in the South.
2. Mission of Burma -"Onoffon"
This band should have lost its edge by now. Some members of the reunited Mission of Burma may be old enough to remember a world before Beatlemania. But the quartet still manages to drop the most explosive punk-rock album of the year, complete with mad-scientist tape loops.
1. Cee-Lo - "Cee-Lo Green is the Soul Machine"
"The Art of Noise" is blasting music, windows down, at a red light. "My Kind of People" is carrying a joint behind the ear on a Friday night. "All Day Love Affair" is arriving an hour late to work and not caring. "Don't that sound interesting, baby? / Don't that sound like an idea?"
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