The Top Fifty Favorite Albums Of 2005 - Pt.3

30. Josh Rouse – Nashville, (Rykodisc) 73.80
This is the second best Ryan Adams record released in 2005. Nashville is a misleading title, but that may be the point. One would think that if Nashville provided the inspiration or locale for the record, a healthy dose of country would be injected into the tunes. This really isn’t the case, as the record is full of mature and classic pop songwriting referencing 60s baroque pop, 80s brit pop, and a myriad of classic songwriters more than country songsmiths (although the record contains elements of the country sound: a yawning slide guitar, a moaning pedal steel, a mellow honky-tonk piano). This is Rouses’ sixth record and a complete step forward in quality. The biggest problem with Rouse is he’s a nostalgia hound (his previous record 1972 was an emulation of the sounds of the 70s – fun, but imitation doesn’t last), singing about a specific experience (the under-the-radar 80s kid-geek, the heartbroken-down-in-the-mouth dude). His melodies are absolutely top-shelf with plenty of hooks, so classic that the music undoubtedly has the qualities to be a timeless record. “Carolina”, “Winter In The Hamptons” (this is amazing pop), “My Love Has Gone”, “Sad Eyes” (an absolute epic track with a string flourish that would make Joe Pernice proud), and “It’s The Nighttime” are all hits (sheepishly, I admit, I overlooked Mr. Rouse on my year-end song list).

29. The Ponys – Celebration Castle, (In The Red Records) 74.68
I’d lump The Ponys in with this whole crazy post-punk revival jive, yes, I know they’d most likely hate it, but … that’s how it goes. I will say one thing, they are one of the most unique – incorporating 60s garage, early-80s XTC, and mid-80s jangle pop – kind of like lumping Mudhoney with grunge. It’s a compliment. Celebration Castle is a definitive step forward from their debut, Laced With Romance (a pretty damn good record too). The songwriting is more concise and catchier, while retaining that sloppy-idiosyncratic brilliance heard on the debut. The group benefits from three members who can assumed lead vocal duties (guitarist Jered Gummere, now-ex-Pony, multi-instrumentalist Ian Adams, and bassist Melissa Elias) which adds a nice diversity to the songs. Elias’ vocals on “She’s Broken” are part Sleater-Kinney, part-Throwing Muses. Like many of the songs on Celebration Castle, the track is marked by a slinky lead guitar line, jittery rhythm, and catatonic drumming. “Another Wound” has such a great sound, from the “Just Like Heaven” guitar riff to Gummere sending his vocals into the stratosphere, teetering on chaos on the chorus … hot! “Ferocious”, “Shadow Box”, “Get Black”, and “Discoteca” shake, shudder, and shriek with a hooky recklessness that can only be called super. Throughout the record, the appeal lies not only in their tense-pop (there are plenty of hooks), but also in the guitar work. All Music Guide’s Mark Deming describes them wonderfully, “[the guitars] are fused with a precision that makes the hedonistic abandon of their music all the more stunning.” Steve Albini recorded these ten tracks and really brings out the noise while keeping the oddball melodies out front.

28. Pernice Brothers – Discover A Lovelier You, (Ashmont) 76.38
The first three tracks of this Pernice Brothers record are what I call a set of mind-blowing pop. As Pernice goes further away from the orch-pop of his earlier work, he puts a stake in the heart on these three tracks. “There Goes The Sun” has a mid-80s new wave moodiness, “Saddest Quo” is one of the five best songs Pernice has written, and “Snow” is one of his most unique (the herky-jerky rhythm, the vocals-through-nearly-clenched-teeth), probably the best three-track sequence of any record in 2005. “My So-Called Celibate Life”, “Dumb It Down”, “Say Goodnight To The Lady”, and “Pisshole In The Snow” are all great tracks, but they are what one can expect from Pernice: strong melodies, good hooks, and his trademark breathy-but-heavily-enunciated vocals. I mean, I love this kind of shit! Love it. For whatever reason, I didn’t listen to this record as much as I have past Pernice releases. Maybe I’m too familiar or as a friend said, “Chris, you are spoiled.” And I think I agree – I’ve been tuned into Pernice since 1998’s Overcome By Happiness and he continues to put out quality release after quality release. Lately, he’s been easily flirting with different instrumentation and genres, but it’s all based in great pop songwriting. I sit here listening, and the response is, “Yeah, another great Pernice Brothers record. What else is new?” I guess, I’m not listening as much … actually, I spun Overcome By Happiness a lot this year. Hmm.

27. Fine China – The Jaws Of Life, (Common Wall Media) 74.17
The excellent opening track, “Rated R-Movie”, of the new Fine China record begins with an exhausted and mournful organ riff, on the chorus Rob Withem sighs, “All the others wear black and I want to be cool like that”. On the second track, “Don’t Frown”, he tiredly complains, “The radio has got my ears/ringing, I gotta get away from here/the people of the town/don’t seem to hear the same sound” which seems about right. It also sets the mood for The Jaws Of Life – the record is full of irritation, weariness, frustration, jealousy, paranoia, even anger. If that isn’t enough, there are addictive melodies, solid hooks, and sing-along choruses. Withem’s lead guitar riffs jangle like mad, and his rhythm stabs at the eardrums while Greg Markov and Thom Walsh provide a solid rhythm section (Markov with extremely deft bass lines, and Walsh with a steady beat, perfectly placed fills and cymbal crashes). While they are still deeply mining mid-80s Brit pop, there is a more distinctive voice on this record. This is easily, easily Fine China’s best record and it’s a shame if you haven’t heard it (because you probably haven’t! And you think you are a discerning music listener!). In addition to “Movie”, check out “Are You On Drugs?”, “The Cells Divide”, “I Can’t Fall Asleep”, and “My Worst Nightmare”.

26. Oranger – New Comes And Goes, (Eenie Meenie) 74.21
Everyone knows that I’m a Power Pop geek-freak, so it’s no surprise that Oranger find themselves hanging out near the halfway point of my countdown. There is definitely a heavy late-70s/early-80s classic Power Pop vibe to the record (with some more modern sounds like those from Superdrag, Sloan, Velvet Crush, and Ted Leo), but the songs are really hot – awesome melodies, hooks, hooks, and more hooks, crazy guitar solos, and whacky drum rolls. “Sukiyaki” is a rollicking foot stomping jam (see my Top 50 Songs List, #30), a quirky bass and mod guitar rhythms drive the awesome “Crooked In The Weird Of The Catacombs”, “Outtatoch” is like Lou Reed fronting ELO, “Radio Wave” has classic Power Pop verse/chorus dynamics complete with huge guitar riffs and cheesy keyboard riffs. The flow from start-to-finish is nearly perfect.

25. Mando Diao – Hurricane Bar, (Mute) 74.61
As I said in my review of “You Can’t Steal My Love”, on Mando Diao’s debut (Bring ‘Em In), the band aped Oasis, Tom Jones, and The Stones, now we find a heavy Libertines’ influence. The melodies are as reckless as Doherty and Barat wrote ‘em (who really were tapped in to Jones and Strummer and Jagger/Richards, but who’s keeping track). The thing about Mando Diao is the vocal delivery (Gustaf Noren and Björn Dixgård handle the duties), especially those from Dixgård (he’s the one with the eerily Tom Jones-like voice). It’s sad how often these guys are compared to The Hives and The Strokes (although, like The Hives, they are from Sweden and play exuberant Nuggets inspired dirty rock; and like The Strokes, they look fucking cool), because they write some amazing tunes. You can probably detect what I think makes a good song – yeah, 1) melody, 2) hooks, 3) big choruses. These Swedes take it to the next level with a reverence to the roots of rock (not just The Beatles and The Stones, but Motown and Buddy Holly) and then take them up about 20 notches. The guitars are dirty, distorted, and played with a ferocity reserved for the most earnest punk rockers and metalheads of years gone by. Check “Clean Town”, “God Knows”, “Down In The Past”, “This Dream Is Over”, and “White Wall”. By the way, the album cover design for Hurricane Bar is just terrible; I think it’s the baby poop/brown/orange tint.

24. 13 & God – 13 & God, (Anticon/Alien Transistor) 74.65
Even ten-fifteen years a collaboration between an American and a German group seemed unlikely – especially to pull it off relatively quickly. A politician once told me, “Things are different In the Internet age.” His profoundity haunts me. This left-field collaboration of Anitcon/American rappers, Themselves, and German glitch-pop guru’s Notwist is 13 & God. There has been speculation on how much collab was in the boration, and I have no real idea; I can only guess. All I do know is what the songs, themselves, tell me. The most striking things about the record are the dark ambience and the application of various samples (lyrical and sounds). It isn’t until about the 17th listen, you start to pick up the complexity of the record – combining elements of electronic music, weirdo hip-hop, and straight up melody. This is a mood record, but one that demands to be played straight through. I love the moody-pop of “Perfect Speed” and “Men Of Station” as much as Doseone’s unique delivery on “Ghostwork” and “Tin Strong”. There is plenty of sound experimentation that oddly complements the melodic passages in a really unique and interesting way. An aside of sorts: I was able to catch 13 & God on tour and watching the members of both acts switch instruments, perform the vocals, and feed off each other seemed to make the songs richer much fuller, much more complete, and even weirder in the live setting.

23. Brakes – Give Blood, (Rough Trade) 70.26
There is nothing I hate more in rock n roll more than the ironic/joke band. The Darkness (no thanks), They Might Be Giants (not for me), Ween (forget it), etc. etc. etc. Even some of Beck’s goofiness scratches my nerves raw. I just can’t stand it. So when I first heard Brakes song “Heard About Your Band”, I was, “Oh fucking hell.” Then, the Problem. For no particular reason, I woke up one morning humming the melody. I shook this off and a week or so later I was at the local record store and Give Blood was on a listening station. I put on the headphones and skipped through the tracks and liked what I heard. I didn’t buy it. Yet, I was still curious because the record was put out by Rough Trade (a pretty reliable label), so I put in my Insound shopping cart. Sure, there is plenty of jokey songs on the record (from the thirty second “Pick Up The Phone” to the ten second Cheney bashing “Cheney” to the unfortunate single “All Night Disco Party”), but there are some actual bonafide songs. “NY Pie” is a country-jangle tune that isn’t too far from Belle & Sebastian or The Boy Least Likely To. “Heard About Your Band” is a great kiss-off to careerist young bands that don’t understand what it means to play rock because you have to. “I Can’t Stand Beside You” is like The Fall doing 80s metal. “Sometimes Always” is a slow-building Velvets-JAMC rocker. “You’re So Pretty” is a lovely piece of twee-jangle-pop with a tremendous hook. Overall, this is a fun record and I even warmed up to some of the silliness … just don’t play “All Night Disco Party” around me.

22. The Fall – Fall Heads Roll, (Narnack Records) 75.29
Last year saw the stateside release of The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country On The Click), which was the best Fall record in years. Fall Heads Roll fails to live up to its predecessor’s greatness. The problem is difficult to peg. The rules of what makes a good record don’t really apply to Mark E. Smith. First off, I want to say Fall Heads Roll is not a bad record (hence, the ranking you see), but it lacks the energy and twisted genius that saturated The Real New Fall LP. I think the most glaring deficiency is the lack of MES proto-poetry, it seems like there aren’t as many words on this record. The best Fall records are where the band’s music plays the perfect foil to MES ruminations and proclamations – the words and music battle each other creating tension and/or release. Now, we do have a few of these moments, “Pacifying Joint”/"What About Us", “Assume” (a great tune with a brilliant line, “If you assume, then you are Hume” – referring to Scottish philosopher David Hume), “Blindness” (I prefer the version on the Narnack Records sampler), and “Midnight Aspen”. Another area where The Fall have succeeded beyond belief is when they take on conventional pop songcraft (in The Fall lexicon, this is typically referred to as The Brix Years or Brix-era Fall), and there are two excellent instances of this, on “Breaking The Rules” (a wonderful indie-pop jaunt) and “Clasp Hands” (a track that finds MES in a very good mood). There is no real standout experimentalism either (I should clarify, it’s there, it just doesn’t standout), perhaps because MES has delved deeper into what some Fall geeks refer to his most recent “Garage Rock Era” (see the cover of The Move’s 60s garage rock classic, “I Can Hear The Grass Grow” included on the record). Maybe the most eye-opening is the loose theme of part of FHR, an anti(?)-drug (not limited to illicit drugs, but the proliferation of pills as solution to a myriad of ailments) message. “Pacifying Joint” is an indictment of bleary eyed stoners that fill Manchester’s streets (MES talked about this a couple interviews, - one in Pitchfork where he said, “… there's a lot of skunk damage in Manchester, I'll tell you that.” And later, “Well, I've got a lot of young mates, and the skunk is like 30 times more powerful, isn't it... I'm not a pothead, you see, so I don't fucking know about it, I'm just commenting on it.” In another interview – which I cannot locate, when asked if he did drugs, MES replied, “I have a pint.”), and “What About Us” shakes a finger at doctors giving out pills to old ladies (an aside: it’s odd how both tracks utilize basically the same melodic/rhythmic elements, they almost seem to be covers of one another. This finds me vacillating between believing it’s a genius move or just plan lazy songwriting … I’m inclined toward the former, especially taking in the lyrical themes). “Midnight Aspen” is a loose tribute to Hunter S. Thompson, and one can’t help but wonder if MES was annoyed at HST’s excessive drug use that contributed to his deteriorating health which has been cited as the major reason he shot himself. Or maybe MES sees HST as lucky to leave this world of suffering and injustice. Or maybe it’s none of that. Nevertheless, Fall Heads Roll found plenty of time pricking through my eardrums and scratching my grey matter.

21. The Decemberists – Picaresque, (Kill Rock Stars) 75.45
The best thing about this release by The Decemberists is the evidence that Colin Meloy has grown into a tremendous songwriter. It’s unmistakably a Decemberists record, but the vaudeville/depression (or whatever) era novelty is gone. Curiously, I hear, like, mid-80s R.E.M throughout this (especially see “We Both Go Down Together”). “The Engine Driver” is stellar; “On The Bus Mall” has great melody drenched in melancholy and loneliness; “The Sporting Life” resonates with any sport-challenged-anti-jock; “The Infanta” is a bold, driving song stocked with tension and weirdness. Meloy has also reigned in his trebley-warble-croon, so that it doesn’t overtake the tunes and weigh down the melodies. It’s this balance between a more universal or even timeless sound with the quirkiness of past Decemberists records that makes Picaresque their most compelling record.
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