| Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Before Today | 4.5 |
| Destroyer Kaputt | 4.5 |
| The Horrors Skying | 3.5 |
| Battles Gloss Drop | 4.0 |
| Flying Lotus Cosmogramma | 4.5 |
| Cosmogramma's only fault is that it sometimes tries to hard - when noises mashed together simply aren't enough. However, it still soars higher than most electronic albums today, and paves new ground for the genre. On the whole, a VERY impressive album. |
| Deerhunter Halcyon Digest | 4.5 |
| Halcyon Digest is a tad more psychedelic than its predecessor, and is equally, if not more so, creative. |
| LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening | 3.0 |
| I'm sorry Mr. Murphy. But, apart from the actually mindblowing Dance Yrself Clean (and a few other good tracks here and there) this is not up to scratch. Same old, same old. |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz! | 4.0 |
| beautiful pop album fronted by the ever-marvelous Karen O. |
| Siouxsie and the Banshees Kaleidoscope | 3.0 |
| there's a great variety of sounds, but it just doesn't flow as an album. Its awkwardness however, is interrupted with some gems (happy house, christine, red light) |
| Gang of Four Entertainment! | 4.5 |
| spiky guitar and sumptuous bass grooves can only be good, surely? |
| Siouxsie and the Banshees Juju | 5.0 |
| Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf Big Shots | 3.5 |
| DJ Shadow Endtroducing..... | 4.0 |
| De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising | 4.0 |
| it's a long album, but so beautifully put together you would never notice. THIS is what hip-hop is about. |
| Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca | 4.0 |
| wow. intricate guitar playing and unorthodox structures make Bitte Orca an intriguing and enjoyable listen. |
| Sonic Youth Daydream Nation | 4.5 |
| Daydream Nation may be a grower, but when it gets to you, you'll be blown away by its walls of distorted, fuzzy noise stretched out over minutes of pure gold. The trip of a lifetime by the Kings (and Queens) of Noise. |
| My Bloody Valentine Loveless | 4.5 |
| a massive wave of sound which sweeps you away in its dreamy and mystic qualities. i am constantly baffled by this album. incredible. |
| The Smiths The Queen Is Dead | 5.0 |
| a divine album abundant in wit, charm, creativity, and rhythm. an absolute classic if there ever was one. |
| The Beatles Rubber Soul | 3.0 |
| it's an uninspiring genre, but full of pop gems (in my life, the word, drive my car) |
| Foals Total Life Forever | 3.5 |
| when it succeeds, TLF is a huge atmospheric force. however when it fails (which unfortunately, is common), it is limp and soulless. |
| Alexisonfire Watch Out! | 1.5 |
| Dir En Grey Uroboros | 1.0 |
| These New Puritans Hidden | 4.5 |
| An incredibly unique album that thrives on intense rhythm and percussion but also classical harmonies (we want war, hologram, white chords) |
| Nirvana In Utero | 4.0 |
| A great album - the darker side of Nirvana is revealed and the broken-amp guitar distortion can't be beaten. Cobain's love of punk shines through here, but the melody from Nevermind remains in tracks like Serve the Servants and Heart Shaped Box - especially in All Apologies (and many others for that matter). I'm torn between Nevermind and In Utero but the dark, thrashy side of Nirvana here is starting to win me over... |
| Gorillaz Plastic Beach | 3.5 |
interesting. for me, the record doesn't really flow - it tends to peak and then rapidly decrease in quality. It's good he's removed the "cartoon band" persona though; this is serious music, and in my opinion "gorillaz" should now be seen as a musical collective led by Damon Albarn.
However - the album is still a let down. |
| The National High Violet | 4.5 |
| it's not a classic - but it is inches away from being so. |
| The xx xx | 5.0 |
| this is a revolutionary indie classic that will be remembered, maybe by a cult following, for years to come. fact. |
