I was a latecomer to this album — after being rather unimpressed with 2005’s Twin Cinema I was not terribly interested in hearing this album. First few tracks I heard seemed to reinforce that view. Then, I found myself whistling “All the Old Showstoppers” I got the urge to give it another listen. This truly is a great, infectious pop album. Most of the songs have grown on me, and I’ve listened to the album at least once or twice a week for the past month. Some of the standout tracks include “All the Old Showstoppers”, “Challengers”, and “Myriad Harbour”, but none of the tracks are bad.
This is probably my favorite album of the year. Boxer is drenched in atmosphere. Dark, lush, alienated, forboding, and terribly good. My favorite tracks are “Fake Empire”, “Squalor Victoria”, and “Start A War”. My only concern with this album is that it suffers from a sameness at points; I find myself zoning out, (or paying attention to work instead of my music) and it takes me a few seconds or a glance at my iPod to figure out what track is currently playing. This doesn’t bother me much, because I like the sound of the album, but it may be drawback for others who enjoy a bit more varied album listening experience.
If the year had ended before I found Boxer, this would have been my favorite album. Like the National’s disc, this one is highly atmospheric, unlike it however, it is much more varied. The use of the huge organ sound is what drew me to this disc. It gave the band a truly epic (and somewhat gothic) feel to the record. By far, my favorite track is “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, but this video gave me a new appreciation for “My Body Is A Cage”, the whiny closing track.
This was a big year for me in music, I found several acts that I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of before, got some good first albums, and was satisfied with several new albums from groups I dig. This post (along with the assumed sequels) will go over some of my favorite stuff that was released in the last year.
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
This album (like everything from the Spree) puts a smile on my face that doesn’t really go away until long after the album ends. The Polyphonic Spree are a band that seems to polarize people. You either love them or can’t believe that anyone could love them. To check to see which you might be, I suggest checking out Section 30: Watch Us Explode (Justify) and Section 22: Running Away.
This album was my introduction to The Polyphonic Spree. I have since went back and acquired all the previous records. Hearing more of their catalog makes me think this isn’t as strong an album as I originally thought, but it is still one of my favorites this year. Running Away: the Music Video
This is a very atmospheric album from the creative mind behind the Gorillaz. While this disc reminds me quite a bit of the Gorillaz’ last release, Demon Days, there are significant differences between the two. While Demon Days (sounds like it) made extensive use of sequencers and drum machines (in addition to rappers), this one sounds more like a straight rock album. Some tracks to check out include: History Song, Kingdom of Doom and The Good, The Bad and the Queen.
This disc was actually made better by my “forgetting” it. I listened to it quite heavily right after it was released, but it was eventually booted from the CD player by some other excellent discs. It fell off my radar for a few months, but I am happy to report that I enjoyed “discovering” it the second time as much as (if not more) than did the first time.
Kingdom of Doom: the Music Video
Metal, as presented by the Muppets. I’m not a big fan of metal (or muppets, for that matter), but the concept required at least a listen, and I was really surprised. The juxtaposition and quality of both components really made me dig this. It isn’t often that a metal album will bring a smile to my face, but this album manages. This album is pure story/concept album; there is brief narration over many of the tracks, and the tracks themselves are clearly parts of a story. As such this is definitely something to listen to as an album. It seems much less satisfying as individual tracks, but if I was pressed and you only had time to check out a few tracks, I would point you toward Ziltoidia attaxx!!! and Planet smasher.
NOTE: In the episode, I said that all the tracks were licensed under a creative commons license. I mispoke; clearly the misere&cordes album is not. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.
