| ...Of Stalwart Fads I Regret To Inform You The Boat Has Been Destroyed | 2.5 |
| The frilly hammer-ons-pull-offs rock of The Fall of Troy with some at times horribly pitchy vocals. Fortunately, 2:01 seconds into "Weirs, the Elk" makes it all worthwhile. |
| 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 2.0 |
| 65daysofstatic The Fall of Math | 3.5 |
| A City Safe From Sea Throw Me Through Walls | 3.0 |
| Aiden Nightmare Anatomy | 1.5 |
| Aldous Harding Designer | 3.5 |
| Alex Lahey B-Grade University | 2.0 |
| Alexisonfire Dog's Blood | 3.0 |
| All the Empires of the World ...Will Be Laid To Waste | 2.5 |
| All-Time Quarterback All-Time Quarterback | 2.5 |
| American Football American Football | 2.5 |
| An Emerald City An Emerald City EP | 3.5 |
Yes, New Zealand has music.
An Emerald City's first effort is an interesting affair consisting of sprawling, dynamic soundscapes littered with an incredibly varied cast of instruments which I don't even know by name. There's a huge eastern influence here and is ultimately the focus of each track. The songs themselves are presented in a post-rock format. I can't really describe the sound of this properly, so I suggest you go check them out. |
| Anais Mitchell Hadestown | 4.0 |
| Hadestown is a sprawling folk-opera fronted by Anais Mitchell's ethereal timbre and wistful performances. A cast of other musicians (including the one and only Justin Vernon) have contributed to what will surely be one of the greatest albums we'll see this year. |
| Anathallo Floating World | 2.5 |
| Anberlin Cities | 3.0 |
| Animal Collective Feels | 3.0 |
| Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion | 3.0 |
| Animal Collective Strawberry Jam | 4.0 |
| Animal Collective Bridge to Quiet | 4.0 |
| Animal Collective Fall Be Kind | 4.5 |
| Anthony Green Avalon | 2.5 |
| Anthony Green released another uninspired album full of half-finished songs and filler, with a few gems in the mix. Listen to "Slow Down (Long Time Coming)", "Devil's Song", "She Loves Me So" and "Miracle Sun" by other means and save your money. |
| Arcade Fire The Suburbs | 2.5 |
| Arcade Fire Funeral | 3.5 |
| Armor For Sleep What To Do When You Are Dead | 3.5 |
| As Cities Burn Come Now Sleep | 2.5 |
| As Cities Burn Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest | 3.0 |
| As Cities Burn Hell or High Water | 4.0 |
| At the Drive-In In/Casino/Out | 3.5 |
| At the Drive-In Vaya | 4.0 |
| At the Drive-In Relationship of Command | 5.0 |
| Avey Tare Down There | 2.5 |
| Baths Cerulean | 3.0 |
| BATS Red In Tooth and Claw | 4.0 |
| Battles Mirrored | 3.5 |
| Bear vs. Shark Terrorhawk | 3.0 |
| Belle and Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister | 3.5 |
| Best Coast Something in the Way | 3.0 |
| Bing and Ruth Species | 3.0 |
| Bing and Ruth Tomorrow Was The Golden Age | 4.0 |
| Blakfish See You In Another City | 3.5 |
| Blakfish are smart with their particular brand of stop-start post-hardcore. Combining the dissonance of early The Fall of Troy and the catchy harmonies of Thrice circa The Illusion of Safety with the technicality of Meet Me In St. Louis, See You In Another City is a record that will appeal to both ends of the hardcore spectrum. Angular drumming and impressive intertwining guitars give an impression of a much more mature outfit, and a memorable scream will keep these five songs in your head for days. |
| blink-182 Greatest Hits | 2.5 |
| blink-182 Enema Of The State | 3.0 |
| blink-182 Dude Ranch | 3.5 |
| blink-182 Blink-182 | 4.5 |
| Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks | 3.5 |
| Bon Iver Blood Bank | 3.5 |
| Bon Iver Bon Iver, Bon Iver | 4.0 |
| Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago | 5.0 |
| Box Car Racer Box Car Racer | 3.0 |
| Brand New Deja Entendu | 3.0 |
| Brand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me | 3.5 |
| Brian Eno Ambient 1: Music For Airports | 3.0 |
| Bright Eyes Fevers & Mirrors | 3.0 |
| Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground | 4.0 |
| Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning | 4.5 |
| Broadcast The Noise Made by People | 3.0 |
| Broadcast Tender Buttons | 4.5 |
| Broken Bells Broken Bells | 3.0 |
| Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record | 2.5 |
| Broken Social Scene You Forgot It in People | 4.0 |
| brokeNCYDE I'm Not a Fan, but the Kids Like It! | 1.0 |
| Brother/Ghost Black Ice | 3.0 |
| By The End Of Tonight/Tera Melos Complex Full of Phantoms | 3.5 |
| Caribou Up in Flames (as Manitoba) | 4.0 |
| Cassino Sounds of Salvation | 3.5 |
| Cassino Kingprince | 4.0 |
| Cast Spells Bright Works and Baton | 4.0 |
| Cast Spells/Good Old War Split | 4.0 |
| Two songs from each artist that are easily the best out of their respective discographies. |
| Cave In Jupiter | 3.5 |
| Circa Survive On Letting Go | 2.0 |
| Circa Survive The Inuit Sessions | 3.0 |
| Circa Survive Blue Sky Noise | 3.0 |
| Circa Survive Juturna | 3.5 |
| Circle Takes the Square As the Roots Undo | 2.0 |
| City and Colour Sometimes | 3.0 |
| City and Colour Bring Me Your Love | 3.0 |
| City of Caterpillar City of Caterpillar | 3.5 |
| City Of Ifa Black Pyramid | 2.5 |
| City Of Ifa Sketchy Youth | 3.0 |
| Coheed and Cambria Year of the Black Rainbow | 2.5 |
| Coheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness | 3.0 |
| Coheed and Cambria No World for Tomorrow | 3.5 |
| Coheed and Cambria In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 | 4.0 |
| Coheed and Cambria The Second Stage Turbine Blade | 4.5 |
| Conor Oberst Conor Oberst | 3.0 |
| Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice | 3.0 |
| Crazy Frog Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits | 1.0 |
| Crepes In Cahoots | 3.5 |
| Crepes Channel Four | 4.0 |
| Cursive Domestica | 3.5 |
| Cursive The Ugly Organ | 3.5 |
| Cursive Mama, I'm Swollen | 3.5 |
| Cynic Traced in Air | 3.5 |
| Damien Rice O | 3.0 |
| Damiera M(US)IC | 4.0 |
| Damiera have crafted a unique sound that flows throughout this record flawlessly. The technical, intertwining guitars and incredibly catchy pop hooks are endlessly fun to listen to (albeit slightly homogenous by the last track), with unpredictable song structure and multiple time signatures keeping things fresh. Fun! |
| Darwin Deez Darwin Deez | 3.5 |
| Stand up and get ready to fuckin' dance; the brightest, most infectious record of the year has arrived. |
| Dashboard Confessional The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most | 3.0 |
| Dead Meadow Feathers | 3.5 |
| Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism | 3.0 |
| Deerhunter Microcastle | 2.5 |
| Deerhunter Halcyon Digest | 3.5 |
| DeYarmond Edison Silent Signs | 2.5 |
| Do Make Say Think Other Truths | 4.0 |
| dredg El Cielo | 4.0 |
| Dungen Ta Det Lugnt | 3.5 |
| Dungen Allas Sak | 4.0 |
| Dungen 4 | 4.5 |
| Earl Sweatshirt EARL | 3.5 |
| Elliott Smith Either/Or | 3.0 |
| Elliott Smith XO | 3.5 |
| Eluvium Copia | 4.0 |
| Emery ...In Shallow Seas We Sail | 2.0 |
| Enter Shikari Take to the Skies | 2.0 |
| Envy A Dead Sinking Story | 3.0 |
| Explosions in the Sky The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place | 2.5 |
| Fang Island Fang Island | 3.0 |
| Fear Before The Always Open Mouth | 2.5 |
| Film School alwaysnever | 4.0 |
| Finch Say Hello to Sunshine | 3.0 |
| Fionn Regan The Shadow of an Empire | 3.0 |
| Fionn Regan smashes his acoustic guitar against the wall and spits out ten reckless folk numbers in quick succession. |
| Fionn Regan The End of History | 4.0 |
| The most criminally underrated folk record of the decade - this is right up there with For Emma, Forever Ago. |
| Firekites The Bowery | 3.0 |
| Fireworks We Are Everywhere | 2.5 |
| Fleet Foxes Sun Giant | 2.5 |
| Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes | 3.0 |
| Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues | 4.0 |
| Flyying Colours Mindfullness | 3.5 |
| Foals Antidotes | 3.5 |
| Foals Total Life Forever | 3.5 |
| With Total Life Forever, Foals have matured into big, sexy horses. |
| Frightened Rabbit The Midnight Organ Fight | 3.0 |
| Frodus And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea | 3.0 |
| fun. Aim and Ignite | 3.0 |
| Funeral for a Friend Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation | 3.0 |
| Ghastly City Sleep Ghastly City Sleep | 3.5 |
| There are a very small number of songs which are capable of moving me emotionally. Kayo Dot's "Wayfarer" is one, as is Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III" and mewithoutYou's "In A Sweater Poorly Knit". With this album comes the welcome addition of cold and crystal-clear "Ice Creaks", a song so devestatingly beautiful that it - in places - transcends music itself. Gorgeous falsesetto and Mia's superb violin lines make for a classic listen that sweeps you up and takes you away. It is a shame that the other three tracks on this record do not live up to the grand quality set by the opener, but they still succeed and are worthy of a listen. |
| Ghastly City Sleep Moondrifts | 3.5 |
| Giraffes? Giraffes! More Skin With Milk-Mouth | 3.0 |
| GL Touch | 3.0 |
| Glassjaw Worship and Tribute | 4.0 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor F♯ A♯ ∞ | 4.0 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada | 4.5 |
| "F# A# Infinity" had it's moment, but the ambient drone featured in every track grew extremely monotonous and took a huge amount away from the overall enjoyment of the music itself. "Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada" was the solution to this complaint, and is by far the most accessible and well produced "Godspeed You! Black Emperor" album to date. The two tracks featured here are up there with the best of their discography. "Moya" slowly builds off a gorgeous chord progression to create an epic climax, whilst "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III" is built around an old recorded interview and forms an absolutely beautiful 16 minutes. Although it's not a full length, do not let it fool you: this is a must have for your collection. |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor John Peel Sessions | 4.5 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven | 5.0 |
| Last night was the moment where I finally understood this album. It was night three of a four day camping trip, and although we were all exhausted, none of us could sleep. A storm had rolled in from over the hills frighteningly quickly, and we had only minutes to hammer in the last peg into the soft earth and crawl inside our cold, homeless tents before the wind blew in. It was relentless; gust after gust collided into the plastic wall beside me and rain hammered onto the roof above, truly cementing the solitude of such a forlorn situation. Without the promise of sleep, I took out my MP3 player and scrolled through my artist list. Only one album seemed right at that moment: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. It was only with the occasional crack of thunder and the arduous howling of the wind that I came to understand - and with understanding, love - this record, and the ninety minute epic came to an end in what felt like a minute. It might take weeks, months, and even years for each of you to find your moment, but when you do, you too will reach blissful understanding. |
| Gotye Like Drawing Blood | 3.5 |
| Gotye Eyes Wide Open | 4.0 |
| Great Lake Swimmers Lost Channels | 4.0 |
| Grizzly Bear Horn of Plenty | 2.5 |
| Grizzly Bear Painted Ruins | 3.0 |
| Grizzly Bear Veckatimest | 3.5 |
| Grizzly Bear Yellow House | 4.0 |
| Grouper Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill | 2.5 |
| Henryk Gorecki Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 | 4.0 |
| Hopesfall The Satellite Years | 3.0 |
| Horse Feathers Words Are Dead | 3.0 |
| Horse Feathers House With No Home | 3.5 |
| Horse Feathers Thistled Spring | 3.5 |
| Thistled Spring refines Horse Feathers' warm brand of folk with the welcome addition of some subtle sophomore touches. |
| Hot Cross Cryonics | 3.5 |
| Hot Cross Fair Trades and Farewells | 4.0 |
| In Pieces Lions Write History | 3.5 |
| Iron And Wine The Creek Drank the Cradle | 3.0 |
| Iron And Wine The Sea and the Rhythm EP | 3.0 |
| Iron And Wine Woman King | 3.5 |
| Iron And Wine Around the Well | 3.5 |
| Iron And Wine Our Endless Numbered Days | 4.0 |
| Iron And Wine Norfolk | 4.0 |
| Recorded during the 2005 tour supporting the Woman King EP, Norfolk contains eighteen songs that span the whole of Sam Beam's career up until that point. Produced and mixed beautifully, the set is a great look into the exceptional performances in which Sam Beam and co. are capable. Featuring a full band, new takes on old tracks and of course the wonderful "The Trapeze Swinger", this is a treat for old and new fans alike. |
| Iron And Wine The Shepherd's Dog | 4.5 |
| Jack Johnson On and On | 2.5 |
| Jaga Jazzist What We Must | 3.5 |
| Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid | 4.0 |
| Japandroids Post-Nothing | 2.5 |
| John Luther Adams Become Ocean | 4.5 |
| Jonsi Go | 3.0 |
| Jose Gonzalez Veneer | 3.0 |
| Julia Holter Loud City Song | 4.0 |
| Just Like Vinyl Just Like Vinyl | 2.0 |
| An album representing Thomas Erak's growing pains as an artist. Although awkward and over-ambitious on the whole, there are glimpses of promise for the future; "Kite" sees Erak stepping up to the plate vocally (2:14 is the best he's ever sounded), while the tail end of "It's Over" showcases a panache of jazzy avante garde songwriting that unfortunately owes itself entirely to Omar Rodriguez Lopez. But hey, at least the guitars are cool! |
| Justin Vernon Self Record | 3.0 |
| The actual title for this is 'Self Record'; it was recorded and released by Justin during 2005 before putting out an album with DeYarmond Edison. Vernon's folk roots are very apparent here, however his neo-soul leanings - which would be further explored in Hazeltons and peak with his current project, Bon Iver - begin to show in many of these songs. An incredibly long album, the bulk of it is taken by long, winding atmospheric tracks that don't really go anywhere. Although this may be frustrating, the persistent listener will find absolute gems between the rough: "Whippgrass", "Ring Out" and "Return to You" are all stand out tracks that are worthy of a listen. |
| Justin Vernon Hazeltons | 3.5 |
| Kayo Dot Coyote | 2.0 |
| Kayo Dot Blue Lambency Downward | 2.5 |
| Kayo Dot Choirs of the Eye | 5.0 |
| What is there to say about Kayo Dot's Choirs of the Eye? This record pushes the musical boundries in every direction possible, manifesting itself as the most progressive (and my personal favourite) album of the last decade. Toby Driver has composed five of the most exquisite arrangements in recent memory; from the atrociously heavy "The Antique" to the beautifully serene and ethereal "Wayfarer", every second of each song asserts itself as deeply experimental, ground-breaking, and above all, emotionally moving. Death metal; classical; jazz; instead of naming every single genre attributing to this piece of work - and trust me, there are many - it's easier to say that this is music: true, unadulterated, heartfelt music. |
| Kesha Animal | 1.5 |
| Khruangbin Mordechai | 2.5 |
| Khruangbin Con Todo El Mundo | 3.5 |
| King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Float Along. Fill Your Lungs | 4.0 |
| Kurt Vile Wakin on a Pretty Daze | 3.0 |
| Kurt Vile Bottle It In | 3.0 |
| Kurt Vile Smoke Ring For My Halo | 4.0 |
| La Dispute Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair | 2.0 |
| La Dispute Here, Hear. | 2.5 |
| La Dispute Here, Hear. II | 3.0 |
| La Dispute Here, Hear. III | 3.5 |
| Four lovely songs orientated around Dreyer's gorgeous spoken word lyrics that span a myriad of genres. |
| La Dispute Vancouver | 4.0 |
| La Dispute Untitled | 4.0 |
| Leader Cheetah The Sunspot Letters | 3.0 |
| The similarities to Neil Young are so uncanny that it's a critique more than a compliment. Nevertheless, Leader Cheetah debut strong with The Sunspot Letters; full of soulful vocal melodies and rustic songwriting, the talent of these South Australians is tangible and exciting. |
| letlive. Fake History | 3.0 |
| Lisa Hannigan Sea Sew | 3.5 |
| Local Natives Gorilla Manor | 2.5 |
| Loma Prieta Last City | 3.5 |
| Lone Wolf The Devil and I | 4.0 |
| Look Mexico Gasp Asp | 3.0 |
| Loose Lips Sink Ships Puptent | 3.0 |
| Loose Lips Sink Ships Loose Lips Sink Ships 7" | 3.5 |
| twidly twidly do bi bup *melodic run here* tap-a-tap-a-tapa *angular chord here* doobly doobly dab |
| Make Do and Mend Bodies Of Water | 2.5 |
| Manchester Orchestra Fourteen Years Of Excellence | 3.0 |
| Manchester Orchestra Mean Everything to Nothing | 4.0 |
| Maps and Atlases You and Me and the Mountain | 4.0 |
| Maps and Atlases Perch Patchwork | 4.0 |
| The humble Dave Davison quietly proves once again that he's one of the most talented musicians in the indie scene today. |
| Margot and the Nuclear So and So's Animal! | 3.5 |
| Mason Jennings In The Ever | 2.5 |
| maudlin of the Well Part the Second | 3.5 |
| maudlin of the Well Bath | 4.0 |
| Meet Me in St. Louis Variations on Swing | 3.5 |
| Melody's Echo Chamber Melody's Echo Chamber | 3.5 |
| Melody's Echo Chamber Bon Voyage | 3.5 |
| Meniscus Absence of I | 3.0 |
| Mew And the Glass Handed Kites | 3.0 |
| Mew Frengers | 4.0 |
| mewithoutYou It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright! | 2.5 |
| mewithoutYou A to B: Life | 3.5 |
| mewithoutYou Catch For Us the Foxes | 4.0 |
| mewithoutYou Brother, Sister | 5.0 |
| MGMT Oracular Spectacular | 3.0 |
| Miike Snow Miike Snow | 3.5 |
| Mildlife Phase | 3.5 |
| Miles Davis Kind of Blue | 4.5 |
| Million Dead A Song to Ruin | 4.5 |
| Mimas The Worries | 4.0 |
| The Worries really doesn't sound much like a debut. Mimas are extremely mature in their approach to the music, with multiple genres organically crafted into sprawling soundscapes that together form a very smooth album. The indie post-rock they produce is very comparable to Sigur Ros; the uplifting, soaring icelandic singing is astoundingly similar in both timbre and approach, yet the gang vocals and odd scream that the band scatter through this record certainly serves to differentiate it from others. A solid effort, that's for sure. |
| Minus the Bear Menos El Oso | 2.5 |
| Minus the Bear Acoustics | 3.0 |
| Minus the Bear Omni | 3.0 |
| Minus the Bear Highly Refined Pirates | 3.5 |
| Minus the Bear They Make Beer Commercials Like This | 4.0 |
| Minus the Bear Planet of Ice | 4.5 |
| Modern Life Is War Witness | 3.5 |
| Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica | 3.5 |
| Mono Hymn to the Immortal Wind | 3.0 |
| Mono / World's End Girlfriend Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain | 4.0 |
| Mugstar Mugstar | 2.0 |
| Mumford and Sons Sigh No More | 2.0 |
| Murder by Death Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them? | 3.5 |
| Muse Absolution | 3.0 |
| Mutiny On The Bounty Danger Mouth | 3.0 |
| My Bloody Valentine Loveless | 4.0 |
| My Kappa Roots The House of St Colme Burnt Down | 3.0 |
| Native Wrestling Moves | 2.5 |
| Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | 2.5 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Push The Sky Away | 3.5 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds No More Shall We Part | 4.0 |
| Nick Cave and Warren Ellis The Road | 4.0 |
| Nick Drake Pink Moon | 4.0 |
| NOFX The Decline | 3.5 |
| Northstar Pollyanna | 4.0 |
| O'Brother The Death of Day | 3.5 |
| O'Brother Garden Window | 4.0 |
| Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy | 3.5 |
| Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and John Frusciante Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and John Frusciante | 3.0 |
| An album composed from the incessant noodling of two premiere guitarists was always going to be a hit and miss affair. |
| Owen At Home With Owen | 3.0 |
| Owen New Leaves | 3.0 |
| Panda Bear Tomboy | 3.5 |
| Panda Bear Person Pitch | 4.0 |
| Parades Foreign Tapes | 3.5 |
| Paris Hilton Paris | 1.5 |
| Paul Marshall Vultures | 3.5 |
| Paul McCartney Ram | 4.5 |
| pg.99 Document #8 | 3.0 |
| pg.lost Yes I Am EP | 3.5 |
| Pharoahe Monch Desire | 3.5 |
| Phosphorescent Here's To Taking It Easy | 3.5 |
| Phosphorescent Pride | 4.0 |
| Piglet lava land | 3.0 |
| Pond (AUS) Frond | 3.5 |
Glamorous and funky in some places and off-the-wall rocking in others, Frond is
another brilliant piece of the Perth's '70s psychedelic rock movement that'll have your
booty shaking in no time. |
| Pond (AUS) Beard, Wives, Denim | 3.5 |
As Tame Impala's little eccentric, hyperactive brother, Pond has always had enormous shoes
to fill; sharing the same psychedelic sound space, drawing comparisons between the two is
almost unavoidable. With Beard, Wives, Denim, Pond prove they're capable of fending
for themselves. Dungen, Spiritualized and the Rolling Stones all contribute to one writhing
beast of a record that must've been as fun to record as it is to listen. |
| Pond (AUS) Hobo Rocket | 4.0 |
Hobo Rocket is the fifth installment from Perth's most talented bongtroopers and
is representative of a distinctive shift in aural attitude. This album stands far removed
from the breezy, happy-go-lucky vibes that underlined their previous full length, Beard,
Wives, Denim; Hobo Rocket is instead a dark and twisted figure, characterised by
8-bit fuzz tones and Allbrook's sprawling, disassociated vocals. In their explorations of
the darker side of psychedelia, Pond take yet another (perhaps intentional) stride away from
Parker's euphoric psych-pop vision that is Tame Impala, proving once again that they're a
band more than capable of standing on their own two feet. |
| Portugal. The Man The Majestic Majesty | 2.5 |
| Portugal. The Man Waiter: ''You Vultures!'' | 3.5 |
| Pretend Bones In The Soil, Rust In The Oil | 3.5 |
| Pretend's Bones in the Soil, Rust in the Oil was painfully overlooked in 2009. A sprawling debut that combines the beautiful subtleties of post-rock's greatest with the endearing honesty and uncertain melodies of American Football. |
| Pygmy Lush Mount Hope | 4.0 |
| Radical Face Ghost | 4.0 |
| Rage Against the Machine The Battle of Los Angeles | 3.5 |
| Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine | 4.0 |
| Refused The Shape Of Punk To Come | 4.0 |
| Regina Spektor Soviet Kitsch | 3.0 |
| Relatively Clean Rivers Relatively Clean Rivers | 4.5 |
| Richard Youngs Sapphie | 3.0 |
| Right Away, Great Captain! The Bitter End | 3.0 |
| Right Away, Great Captain! The Eventually Home | 3.5 |
| Rivulets You Are My Home | 3.5 |
| Rooftops A Forest Of Polarity | 3.5 |
| Rosetta A Determinism of Morality | 4.0 |
| Rosie Thomas These Friends of Mine | 3.0 |
| Russian Circles Enter | 4.0 |
| S. Carey All We Grow | 3.5 |
| Saetia A Retrospective | 2.5 |
| Saosin Translating the Name | 3.5 |
| Say Anything ...Is a Real Boy | 4.0 |
| Say Anything In Defense of the Genre | 4.0 |
| Seabear We built a fire | 2.5 |
| Seekae The Sound of Trees Falling on People | 4.0 |
It's almost paradoxical the way The Sound of Trees Falling on People achieves its
ethereal atmospherics with the array of harsh digital sounds and off-kilter beats as its
cornerstones; the album limps and glitches its way through eighteen tracks like a breeze - a
testament Seekae's incredible song-crafting ability - with style that'd make Boards of
Canada proud. |
| Sharon Van Etten I Don't Want To Let You Down | 3.5 |
| Short Stack Stack is the New Black | 1.0 |
| Sigur Ros Hvarf/Heim | 3.5 |
| Sigur Ros ( ) | 4.5 |
| Silverstein Discovering the Waterfront | 2.0 |
| Silversun Pickups Pikul | 2.5 |
| Silversun Pickups Carnavas | 3.5 |
| Silversun Pickups Swoon | 4.0 |
| Simple Plan Still Not Getting Any... | 1.5 |
| Skrillex Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites | 2.5 |
| Slow Club Yeah So | 3.5 |
| Snakadaktal Snakadaktal | 2.0 |
| Snowing Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit | 2.5 |
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives.
It's not worth the mounds of hyperbolic claims it receives. |
| Snowy Belfast Odds & Ends | 3.0 |
| Soulja Boy Souljaboytellem.com | 1.0 |
| Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space | 4.5 |
| Sufjan Stevens All Delighted People | 3.0 |
| Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz | 3.0 |
| sufjan serenades us during some sort of star wars battle |
| Sufjan Stevens Michigan | 3.5 |
| Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans | 3.5 |
| Sufjan Stevens Run Rabbit Run | 3.5 |
| Most of us who hail Sufjan Stevens as our indie god tend to ignore the existence of Enjoy Your Rabbit. It isn't that the record is bad on any accounts - who really knows what consists of a good electronica album anyway? - but more the fact that it's such a glaring inconsistancy in the king's acclaimed discography. There's no doubt that Stevens' newest output, Run Rabbit Run, will be suprising in two respects: firstly, that it shows it's actually possible to rearrange the sterile bleeps and bloops of the original songs into a piece that can be played by a four-piece orchestra, and secondly, that it actually sounds good. |
| Sufjan Stevens Illinois | 4.5 |
| "Come On, Feel The Illinoise" is the album Sufjan Stevens has been aiming for. His song writing skills have finally flourished to include a full orchestra which beefs up the music and makes for a much more interesting listen, the title track being a great example. Every song flows perfectly into the next, and it's clear this is Sufjan at his best. A beautiful album from a premier singer songwriter of our time. |
| Sun Kil Moon Ghosts of the Great Highway | 3.5 |
| Sunbeam Sound Machine Wonderer | 3.0 |
Post-Tame Impala bedroom psychedelia. Some genuine frontal lobe melters on the front half -
'Wandering, I', 'Real Life', 'In Your Arms' and 'Fever Dream' are all heady balls of bliss - dragged
down by a couple of paint-by-numbers jams towards the end of the record. |
| SWIMS SWIMS EP | 2.5 |
| Taking Back Sunday Where You Want To Be | 2.0 |
| Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends | 2.5 |
| Taking Back Sunday Louder Now | 3.5 |
| Tame Impala Currents B-Sides and Remixes | 1.5 |
| Tame Impala Currents | 2.5 |
| Tame Impala The Slow Rush | 2.5 |
| Tame Impala Tame Impala | 3.5 |
| Tame Impala Lonerism | 4.0 |
| I've always imagined Kevin Parker waking up with a start in the early hours of the morning, dripping with sweat and panting heavily with the cyclic psychedelia of "It Was Not Meant to Be" swirling around his mind like a carousal, beamed straight from the celestial bodies above. "Lonerism" doesn't sound like that at all; this time around Parker allows himself to confess his insecurities, his loneliness and his doubts, making this record far more poignant than the impenetrable blissfulness that was "Innerspeaker". "Solitude is Bliss" has been replaced with "Why Won't They Talk to Me" and it's now a whole lot more believable that Tame Impala is in fact just one man, locked away inside a studio for days at a time wondering if he should have approached that one girl at the bar the other night. It's also utterly brilliant, next-level pop songwriting. |
| Tame Impala Innerspeaker | 4.5 |
| Tame Impala's Innerspeaker is essentially the soundtrack to a stoner's life. |
| Tartar Lamb Sixty Metonymies | 3.5 |
| Tash Sultana Notion | 2.0 |
| Temples Sun Structures | 3.0 |
| Tenhi Maaaet | 3.5 |
| Tera Melos Drugs to the Dear Youth | 3.5 |
| Tera Melos Patagonian Rats | 4.0 |
| I'm listening to "Frozen Zoo", double-handed tapping my guitar, watching the Simpsons, eating popcorn and beating off to pictures of Nick Reinhart's moustache in euphoric delight over the release of Patagonian Rats. |
| Tera Melos Untitled | 4.5 |
| Tera Melos's Untitled (often cited as their eponymous release, or simply the Melodies) remains the best math record I've ever heard. With all four members well versed in jazz theory, the album is jam packed with irregular chord voicings, liquid time signatures, beautiful guitar phrasing and spazzy dissonant freakouts that makes each song as unpredictable as Kanye West at an award ceremony. Nick Reinhart grabs his motherfucking guitar by the neck and strangles the beast the whole time; I swear you've never heard double handed tapping until you've listened to this. Likewise, Vince's drum beats are consistantly unique and inventive, often stealing the show (see "Melody 3") with his... well, incredible drumming. No matter the amount of replays, this album still blows my mind with each listening. |
| The Antlers Hospice | 3.0 |
| The Appleseed Cast Mare Vitalis | 3.5 |
| The Ascent of Everest/We All Inherit The Moon Split | 4.0 |
| The Beatles Abbey Road | 3.0 |
| The Beatles Revolver | 4.0 |
| The Black Keys Brothers | 3.5 |
| The Blood Brothers ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn | 3.5 |
| The Fall of Troy In the Unlikely Event | 2.0 |
| The Fall of Troy The Fall of Troy | 3.5 |
| The Fall of Troy Manipulator | 3.5 |
| The Fall of Troy Phantom on the Horizon | 3.5 |
| The Fall of Troy Doppelganger | 4.0 |
| The Fall of Troy Ghostship Demos | 4.5 |
| The Hills Have Eyes Spring Demo | 4.0 |
| An adoring and overall successful tribute to Botch. |
| The Jezabels Prisoner | 2.5 |
| The Mars Volta The Bedlam in Goliath | 2.0 |
| The Mars Volta Amputechture | 3.5 |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium | 4.0 |
| The Mars Volta Frances the Mute | 4.5 |
| The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2 (Re-release) | 2.5 |
| The Middle East The Recordings of the Middle East | 4.5 |
| It's bands like these that invoke the inner patriotism inside me. "Blood" is a great example of The Middle East's overall sound: beginning with soft fingerstyle arpeggios and serene male voice, the song gradually builds into a wonderful climax complete with horns and ecstatic gang vocals. The whole album follows in a similar, dreamy folk fashion, much like fellow contemporaries Fleet Foxes. This has restored my faith in Australian music. |
| The Mountain Goats We Shall All Be Healed | 3.0 |
| The National Boxer | 3.0 |
| The National High Violet | 3.5 |
| The National Sleep Well Beast | 4.0 |
| The Radio Dept. Clinging to a Scheme | 3.0 |
| The Receiving End of Sirens Between the Heart and the Synapse | 3.0 |
| The Republic of Wolves Varuna | 3.5 |
| The Snake The Cross The Crown Cotton Teeth | 4.0 |
Eccentrically named Alabama quintet The Snake The Cross The Crown were signed - as somewhat of an anomoly - to Equal Vision in early '04, releasing two records and a documentary whilst on their roster. To me, that really begs one outstanding question: how the fuck did I not hear about them until now? The ambivalent mix of indie and americana folk pertaining to this sophomore effort rocks, grooves and croons every bit as well as its contemporaries (see: The Decemberists, The Mountain Goats, Great Lake Swimmers) and certainly never deserved to slip under the radar to the degree we've seen. Make up for lost time; Cotton Teeth is a brilliant release worthy of your attention.
|
| The Sound of Animals Fighting Tiger and the Duke | 4.0 |
| The Spill Canvas Sunsets and Car Crashes | 2.5 |
| The Tallest Man on Earth The Tallest Man on Earth | 3.0 |
| The Tallest Man on Earth Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird | 3.0 |
| The Tallest Man on Earth Shallow Grave | 4.0 |
| The Tallest Man On Earth is a fucking legend. Poetic, minimal and overall beautiful folk. |
| The Thermals The Body, The Blood, The Machine | 2.5 |
| The War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding | 3.5 |
| The Wooden Birds Magnolia | 3.0 |
| Lovely folk. |
| The Wrens The Meadowlands | 3.5 |
| Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our | 3.0 |
| Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Kollaps Tradixionales | 3.5 |
| Kollaps Tradixionales is the sixth record from ambiguous post-rock quintet A Silver Mt. Zion (or as they're called on this release, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra). This album sees major improvements in Efrim's voice; he can actually sing in tune whilst still retaining the emotional, cathartic qualities heard on his earlier work. The music itself accentuates the "rock" in post-rock, remaining rooted in dynamics-based song structure whilst incorporating a edgy, dirty quality that really sets it apart from it's contemporaries. "'Piphany Rambler" is one of the best tracks in the band's discography to date. |
| Then Falls Caesar The Dawn- EP | 1.5 |
| These New Puritans Hidden | 2.5 |
| This Will Destroy You Young Mountain | 2.5 |
| Thrice The Artist in the Ambulance | 3.0 |
| Thrice The Illusion of Safety | 3.5 |
| Thrice Beggars | 3.5 |
| Thrice Vheissu | 4.0 |
| Thursday Full Collapse | 3.0 |
| Tim Hecker Harmony in Ultraviolet | 4.5 |
| Touche Amore/La Dispute Searching for a Pulse/The Worth of the World | 3.5 |
| Trophy Scars Bad Luck | 2.5 |
| Trophy Scars Hospital Music for the Aesthetics of Language | 4.0 |
| TTNG This Town Needs Guns | 3.5 |
| Twain Harte A Sunny Place for Shady People | 2.5 |
| Tyler, the Creator Goblin | 2.5 |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra | 3.0 |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra Sex and Food | 3.0 |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra II | 3.5 |
| Unknown Mortal Orchestra Multi-Love | 3.5 |
| Various Artists (Indie) Dark Was The Night | 4.0 |
| The release of this record signified a simultaneous arousal of indie kids around the world. |
| Vincent Gallo When | 4.0 |
| Volcano Choir Unmap | 3.0 |
| Warpaint Exquisite Corpse | 2.5 |
| Warpaint's Exquisite Corpse has a lot of potential. Playing a hazy brand of indie with hints of psychedalic, shoegaze and post-rock, the female fronted band have put forward a solid debut with five songs that twist and turn with every spaced out section and sing-song melody that is thrown in the mix. Unfortunetly, this EP is much too long and completely devoid of any solid hooks or melodies, rendering the overall listen monotonous and arduous. Nevertheless, a band to watch in the future. |
| Warpaint The Fool | 3.5 |
| The Fool sees Warpaint hit their stride to the beat of some hazy, psychedelic indie-rock. |
| Wavves King of the Beach | 2.5 |
| Why? Alopecia | 3.0 |
| William Fitzsimmons Until When We Are Ghosts | 3.0 |
| Wolf People Steeple | 4.0 |
| A throwback into the psychedelic '60s that pays homage to its roots without seeming antiquated and vacuous. |
| Yellow Ostrich The Mistress | 3.5 |
| Yndi Halda Enjoy Eternal Bliss EP | 4.0 |
