the tourist
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 27,919
01. Tame Impala Lonerism (15)
02. Twin Shadow: Confess (14)
03. Wild Nothing: Nocturne (13)
04. Lotus Plaza: Spooky Action At A Distance (11)
05. Passion Pit: Gossamer (11)
06. Stars: The North (6)
07. Poor Moon: Poor Moon (6)
08. Damian Jurado: Maraqopa (5)
09. Melody's Echo Chamber: Melody's Echo Chamber (4)
10. Grizzly Bear: Shields (4)
11. Father John Misty: Fear Fun (3)
12. Pop Etc.: Pop Etc. (3)
13. David Bazan: Strange Negotiations (2)
14. The Fresh & Onlys: Long Slow Dance (2)
15. Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (1)
And now with my comments. Probably not as eloquent as others.
01. Tame Impala: Lonerism (15)
One of the best albums of the last ten years in my opinion. I can only think of one off the top of my head that I enjoy more. The whole album is standout from start to finish, but the peaks are Mind Mischief, Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, and Elephant. My only qualm is that I wish they would have involved the bonus tracks (Led Zeppelin and Beverly Laurel). In the modern age, if the quality is still unbelievably high, there is no reason not to include everything when it fits in so well. Still holding out on actually procuring those two until I can get them in some form of lossless. Either way, a massive, wonderful, swirling album.
02. Twin Shadow: Confess (14)
I'll be the first to admit that I didn't think there was any chance that the followup would surpass Forget. And I'm happy to be wrong. The production on this album is just perfect. Some of the standouts to me are Patience, Five Seconds, and Be Mine Tonight. It's an album that I can listen to over and over in a row and not get tired of. There are few albums I can do that with and not get overly tired of - this is one of those.
03. Wild Nothing: Nocturne (13)
I remember reading about Wild Nothing on here when Gemini came out. I remember the fact that I listened to Gemini, but I can't say that I remember any of the songs, melodies, or hooks. So I almost chose not to listen to Nocturne based off of this. Glad I listened to it, because quite a bit of this album sticks with me - hooks and melodies galore, which is a bit of an anomalie for this style of music. At least in my opinion. Standouts to me are Rheya, Paradise, and Only Heather.
04. Lotus Plaza: Spooky Action At A Distance (11)
Very solid album throughout - nothing that screams single, but also nothing that could possibly be chopped. This is an album I find myself listening to with fresh ears nearly every time I hear it since I don't remember a lot of it. It's a blurry, hazy album, and I love it for that reason. Whenever I listen to it, I promise myself I'll remember the hooks, and I do some (Jets Out Of The Tundra being one in particular), but many I let myself forget until the next listen so I can rediscover them. That may not sound necessarily glowing, and almost goes against what I said about Beach House recently, but there's just something I like here more than there. Maybe it's the real drums.
05. Passion Pit: Gossamer (11)
When I first listened to Gossamer, I was a little underwhelmed because I remember how much I loved Little Secrets, The Reeling, and Seaweed Song off of Manners. But the more I listened to it, the more the hooks grabbed me. Take A Walk, Carried Away, and Constant Conversations are all very high peaks, with lower peaks being Mirrored Sea, Cry Like A Ghost, and I'll Be Alright. A very summer album despite the depressing lyrics. In many recent years, this would be a top 2 album for me and it pains me to rate it so low.
06. Stars: The North (6)
Standouts: The Theory of Relativity, Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It, Walls
07. Poor Moon: Poor Moon (6)*
Standouts: Birds, Holiday, Waiting For
08. Damian Jurado: Maraqopa (5)
Standouts: Life Away From The Garden, Reel To Reel, Everyone A Star
09. Melody's Echo Chamber: Melody's Echo Chamber (4)**
Standouts: I Follow You, Some Time Alone Alone, Quand Vas Tu Rentrer?
10. Grizzly Bear: Shields (4)
Standouts: Sleeping Ute, Sun In Your Eyes
11. Father John Misty: Fear Fun (3)
Standouts: Nancy From Now On, I'm Writing A Novel, This Is Sally Hatchet
12. Pop Etc.: Pop Etc. (3)***
Standouts: New Life, Live It Up, Communicate, Yoyo
13. David Bazan: Strange Negotiations (2)
Standouts: People, Virginia, Strange Negotiations
14. The Fresh & Onlys: Long Slow Dance (2)
Standouts: Presence Of Mind, Dream Girls, Fire Alarm
15. Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (1)
Standouts: Pyramid, Pink Matter, Sweet Life
*side project of bassist and keyboardist from Fleet Foxes
**produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala
***formerly The Morning Benders, changed to a super sugary pop band with hooks galore