Numbers 50 - 11...
I wrote this list for my
facebook group where members are encouraged to share their top 10 of the decade, join it pleeeeeease
10.
Baroness -
Blue Record (2009)
This one's quite difficult to write about in the context of the entire decade as it was released in October 2009, is it too soon to declare this the 10th best of the decade? I can hardly believe it's only been 2 months since it came out but I have truly listened this one to death, and it still satisfies every time. It's comfortably the best album released in 2009, managing to out-Mastodon
Mastodon in a year where that band released the follow-up to two of my top 5 choices. As a start-to-finish experience it can't be faulted, and it makes great use of recurring motifs, which always goes down well with me.
Blue Record seems to channel the highest points of 1970s rock and metal excess, with gratuitous nods to
Black Sabbath,
Rush and
Pink Floyd among others, yet the biggest touchstone is undeniably
Thin Lizzy. There's a very celtic flavour to moments such as
Blackpowder Orchard bringing to mind Lizzy's
Black Rose album, while twin guitar harmonies fly around all over the place but are always underpinned by the solidest of grooves. Vocally the harmonies are spot on as well, with some surprisingly ambitious arrangements. In fact, the vocals do a great job of accentuating the more emotional aspects of the music - at times the whole experience can seem far more profound than should be expected from a record whose songtitles include the likes of "
A Horse Called Golgotha".
Ultimately though, it's uplifting, fun, and it rocks like a motherfucker.
9.
Dizzee Rascal -
Boy in Da Corner (2003)
I can't believe this album made Dizzee Rascal famous, it beggars belief... it's hands-down one of the most antisocial albums I think I've ever heard and if the the cover seems to suggest a leave-me-the-fuck-alone attitude, then the music contained within confirms that 10 times over. OK,
Fix Up Look Sharp is a certified banger, I can see why that one caught on. But the lead-off single from Boy in Da Corner (and the first Dizzee song I ever heard) was
I Luv U, a hellish, squelchy nightmare of a tune. Dizzee's affronted vocal on this track is revelatory: the way the inflection rises to bizzare levels at times, the pissed off yet strangely apathetic vibe... it's astonishing. If it sounds like I'm laying on the praise a bit thick at this point, I should point out that I Luv U is comfortably in my top 3 songs of the decade, and an absolute masterpiece.
That it did make a worldwide impression is a testament to the prodigious talent on display - the album came out before Dizzee had even turned 18. For me, the best tunes are easily the most hectic, chaotic, grimy ones (I Luv U,
Stop Dat,
Seems 2 Be). Ironically, the grime genre which was kick-started by this album seems to have been crippled by the towering standard that it sets. That's not to say there hasn't been plenty of good grime releases since, it's just that to me they all pale in comparison to what's on offer here.
8.
The Streets -
A Grand Don't Come for Free (2004)
In music criticism, the word "rewarding" usually applies to the most inaccessible works; impenetrable jazz, prog or avant garde albums. As long as you're paying attention, A Grand Don't Come For Free dishes out the reward on the first play-through. Yeah, that's right, you get an ending. A proper ending! With a twist and everything! The plot's hardly remarkable, but it doesn't need to be, Mike Skinner revels in finding poetic meaning in the minutiae of modern life. And anyway, the thrill of hearing a fully formed, cinematic narrative running through what is already a great album, easily outweighs any desire for a more eventful storyline.
The beats on A Grand Don't Come For Free are less arresting than those on Original Pirate Material, but there are clear highlights.
Not Addicted has a brilliant hook, which can sound obscenely heavy when the bass is cranked.
Blinded by the Lights which follows is arguably the best track on the album, hypnotic, trippy and slightly sinister, it's vivid to an absurd degree. Target audience: any young male who's been to a British nightclub, it was always going to resonate with a vast number of people. The album covers most aspects of the prevalent lad culture of the decade, but doesn't pass judgement on it, it just observes. By the time the credits have rolled so to speak, it's clear that this record is a one-off. An acutely plotted realist drama, if great music tells a story then this is the most obviously great album of the decade.
7.
The Paper Chase -
God Bless Your Black Heart (2004)
The highest of 4 Paper Chase albums in my top 50, God Bless Your Black Heart is probably the most complete, straightforward and therefore accessible example of the astonishing work of John Congleton & co. The Paper Chase is practically a one-man project, Congleton writes, produces, sings, and plays the most astounding guitar lines this side of Zappa. He writes albums as opposed to collections of songs, making judicious use of recurring motifs which, if you read the Baroness review, you may have already realised excites me. Lest we forget that Congleton produced Blue Record as well, the man's had a very good decade indeed.
The genius of the Paper Chase lies within the ability to seemingly pass the most straightforward of pop chord progressions through a twisted, misanthropic filter and create something at once recognisable and totally alien. The aforementioned guitar work routinely drops in deliberate off-key notes, at one point playing the album's central theme in a completely different key to the bassline. This creates a totally unhinged sense of randomness that ties in nicely with the central concept of all Paper Chase albums; paranoia. And these albums are shot through with a totally straight-faced fatalistic outlook, an obsession with the futility of life in the face of an inevitable death. In its own strange way, the music is cathartic and uplifting, helped along by the tried and tested chord progressions, and song structures which typically build to an orgasmic burst of bizzarre, wailing guitar over lushly orchestrated strings. Congleton's production is crucial to the overall effect, often overloading what would be quiet moments with a barrage of twisted samples, samples which may seem corny if the technique wasn't used so consistently across his body of work. In short, it's a breathtaking experience that seems to gather a ton of negative energy and craft it into something strangely beautiful and uplifting.
6.
The Streets -
Original Pirate Material (2001)
Much in the same way that I said Dizzee Rascal's Boy In Da Corner makes all other grime seem redundant, Original Pirate Material completely transcends the garage genre. Debut single
Has It Come To This is the weakest track in my opinion, Skinner's voice sounding timid and teenaged. Thankfully that's track 2, which allows the album to kick off with
Turn the Page, a 3 minute masterpiece that sets the scene with bravado and intelligence. What follows these tracks is an astonishingly consistent collection of succinct snapshots of life in 2001 Britain. As I've said before, Skinner doesn't tackle big issues, as his talent is getting under the skin of everyday life and everyday things. To use a cliche, he tells it like it is, and as a young white Brit it offered me a reality that the big hitters of US rap couldn't.
Musically, the beats on offer here are the best of Skinner's career.
It's Too Late is the most emotionally powerful track on the album, and the string arrangement is beautiful. The strings "rising higher" on Turn the Page is another highlight. Even the throwaway
Who Got the Funk? is brilliant, one of many danceable moments. The mood shifts from track to track, but Skinner always nails it;
Weak Become Heroes is disorientating but euphoric, so no surprise that it's about 90s rave culture.
The Irony of It All takes a much-needed look at the relative dangers of alcohol and cannabis, and is about 10 times cleverer and funnier than I probably just made it sound. Album closer
Stay Positive is an unironic sermon about keeping calm and carrying on. If this was the first Streets song you ever heard you would be forgiven for writing it off, Skinner's voice reverts to the young and vulnerable sound heard on Has It Come To This and the chorus isn't the strongest. Having won the respect of the listener over the course of the album however, I think it's fair to say that by the time this song rolls round, he has a captivated audience. Overall it's a classic, and if what you're looking for is a time capsule moment from an album of the decade then this record has all the best.
5.
Mastodon -
Leviathan (2004)
For me, this record totally raised the bar when it came to what could be expected from a modern metal album. Leviathan is slick, fluid, and classy, bursting with ideas and executed flawlessly. Matt Bayles' (see also:
Isis -
Oceanic) cements his reputation as the go-to guy for watery prog-metal production jobs and each member of the band excels himself, particularly Brann Daillor whose spastic drumfills roll like waves. In the context of their back catalogue, I think Leviathan is the most mature Mastodon record, and probably the most consistent too. Highlights abound, but particular mention must be made of
Megalodon, which fires out about 5 or 6 different riffs in the first couple of minutes, all of them amazing. The intro to
Aqua Dementia is a thriller too, revelling in the sort of guitar playing that makes Mastodon untouchable. This track is followed by
Hearts Alive, a song that doesn't waste a second of its 13.40 minute running time. Skillful, epic, and utterly sublime, it's the monolithic high point of this incredible album. It's the sort of thing they've been trying to top on their most recent album
Crack The Skye, but to my ears they fall short. Hearts Alive is a one-off, and I can't help but wonder if it would be a better idea for Mastodon's next move to be something more along the lines of...
4.
Mastodon -
Blood Mountain (2006)
A sillier, more playful album than Leviathan; if that record makes you stroke your chin and nod your head in appreciation, Blood Mountain makes you bang your head and smash up the room. Here, the band indulges their grandest excesses in a very different way - no song breaks the 6 minute mark - by cramming as many ideas as they can into psychotic 4-minute bursts... and then cramming some more in for good measure. This is an album that it is seemingly impossible to become bored by, it's completely ADD and all the more exciting for it. By no means is it incoherent, there's a plot running through it that most 13 year-old roleplayers would dismiss as "daft", but it all hangs together surprisingly well.
Blood Mountain also has the distinction of containing my favourite song of the decade, in the shape of
Capillarian Crest, where about 1 minute and 35 seconds into it the band casually drop in the most impossible, piss-taking passage ever commited to record and then shrug it off like it never happened. There's more going on in this song than 60 seconds of accelerated proto-psychedelic wizardry, but you'd be hard pushed to look past it, and to be quite honest, to me it's the sound of a band in ascension to dizzying heights of greatness.
Circle of Cysquatch contains a robotic vocal section that wouldn't work if it wasn't underpinned by such staggering riffing. This section is followed by the ONLY Neurosis-rip-off riff that I have ever heard that matches
Neurosis for heaviness and sheer quality.
Bladecatcher which follows, yet again sounds like a pisstake, or rather it would were it not so incredible. The sheer speed at which these classic moments are delivered is unbelievable. And Bladecatcher, like so many of the great moments on Blood Mountain, is the sound of a band having an obscene and infectious amount of fun.
The first half of Blood Mountain is so stuffed with these heart-stopping moments, that it's easy to overlook the second half. The highlights here are of a different variety; the solo at the end of
Pendulous Skin is surprisingly tasteful and restrained (compared to what's gone before anyway) and the wailing climaxes of
Siberian Divide (featuring the vocal talents of him from
At the Drive-In) are emotionally powerful to an extent never before heard on a Mastodon record. To me, this is the quintessential Mastodon record, with each member at the height of their powers, and seemingly unconstrained by the desire to do anything other than have fun.
3.
Stars of the Lid -
and Their Refinement of the Decline (2007)
Ways to describe the experience of listening to this album: Like coming out of a coma, like being shagged by a ghost, like being carressed by soundwaves. Reluctant to describe it in blunt, scientific terms for fear of underselling it, attempting to describe how this music makes me feel can only result in me coming across like a pompous, pretentious twat. But I owe it to an album that makes number 3 in my decade list... so here goes.
Part of the problem of explaining exactly how an album of classical drones has elbowed its way into my top 3, is comparing it with my other favourite albums. Refinement of the Decline is, its fair to say, not going toe to toe with any other ambient drone records. I saw a TV show the other night called "Top 20 TV shows of the noughties", and sticking out like a sore thumb among the Doctor Who's and Top Gears was David Attenborough documentary series Planet Earth. That's the kind of space this record occupies in my list. Despite there being no reasonable explanation as to why this should be the case, it just seems to carry a significantly greater emotional and intellectual weight than anything else on the list. Perhaps it's the stripped back nature of the music, simple and nakedly heartfelt. I like this quote, which I got from their Wikipedia page, and thanks to my lacking powers of research, I can't attribute to anyone: "divine, classical drone without the tedious intrusion of drums or vocals".
Every note is crushingly profound, and the entire 2 hour experience takes you to another world, moreso than anything else listed here. Although undeniably meditative, it's not confusing or disorientating. Each song is uniquely memorable, and while it's easy to let the whole thing wash over you, over time it all becomes beautifully familiar. Disc 1 is what I would describe as more of a "quick fix" than disc 2, with slightly more colour and variation, and slightly busier arrangements. Disc 2 takes on a slightly different shape, building to the devastating finale "
December Hunting For Vegetarian Fuckface". This track is nearly 18 minutes of pure tension and release, with 14 minutes of ebb and flow over 1 held note followed by a heartbreaking 4-note melody to end the song, and album. The 14 minute build is calming and warm, and sounds oddly like an orchestra tuning up at times, but the beauty present in this track really must be heard to believed. Much like the rest of this masterpiece, words can't do it justice.
2.
Drowningman -
Rock n' Roll Killing Machine (2000)
The true joy of this record comes down to the juxtaposition of some of the most intensely violent music I've ever heard with some genuinely heartfelt emotional moments. To steal a phrase from some guy who writes for Decibel, Drowningman are all about "sugar and slime". It's about a 70/30 split in favour of the violent stuff, but the songs shift seamlessly from battering assault to heartbreak in a split second. This is an album in a hurry, over in under half an hour, but not a second wasted. There's a real gung-ho attitude at the heart of it, and there's also something strangely slick and cool about these guys. This isn't neanderthal brutality, it's punishing, but intelligent and charismatic. When I listen to it I always seem to get a vision of people firing machine guns in the air out of the windows of speeding cars in the desert, make of that what you will. The guitar parts are intricate, and the stuttering drum patterns propel the whole thing forward. As a fully complete start-to-finish listening experience it's breathtaking.
It makes number 2 on my list because, as implied above, there isn't a wasted opportunity on the record. It's the shortest album in my top 10, but the trade-off is that it's quite simply perfect. Not one weak track. Not even the faintest chance of getting bored at any moment. A statement as raw and powerful as being bare-knuckle-boxed to death. It's hardcore bliss from beginning to end, with a deft emotional touch that adds a surprising amount of depth. No single track stands out, the album is the star. And I can't think of a single more appropriate album title than Rock n Roll Killing Machine.
1.
Fear Before the March of Flames -
Art Damage (2004)
This trendily haircutted, fashionable shirt-wearing group of whippersnappers served up a predictable debut with 2003's
Odd How People Shake, which sounded like
Thursday mixed with the Solid State hardcore sound of the late 90s, somewhere between
From Autumn to Ashes and early
Funeral for a Friend. For reasons unknown to me, they dropped all pretences of being melodic and followed it up with the most explosive, single-minded, creative and satisfying record of the decade, before changing as quickly again for an underwhelming 3rd album. That's the context out of the way, lets concentrate on the album. Album opener
Hey Kid, I'm a Computer. Stop All the Downloading explodes out of the trap with a virtuosic drumming performance and in the space of 3 minutes tell you all you need to know about this album. Absolutely no bullshit, innovative song structure, massive riffs with real intent. Also, with its hint of melodic vocals, it amusingly wrongfoots the listener into thinking there may be more... no, this album is owned by a growl part
ZAO, part
Converge, all demonic. Following the opener, the closest you'll get to a melodic vocal is an atonal yell that will no doubt introduce some house-sized riff or other.
The Long Road to the Middle is one moment you won't forget, an audaciously bouncy riff with a sarcastic "Well Done" gang chant over the top, it may sound cheesy, but it's the only gang chant on the album (everything in moderation here) and it's so well placed that you're powerless not to chant, or at least mouth along. This is a band unafraid to drop everything to introduce a HUGE riff, here referenced for the discerning reader with media player: Track 5, (2:00), Track 11 (1:32) and my own personal favourite, Track 9 (1:04).
Quite simply, Fear Before The March of Flames perfect the tight, brutal, mathy, inventive hardcore sound that is characterised by my all time favourites (
Screamin With The Deadguy Quintet etc.) To my ears, this record delivers everything that the most hyped and revered hardcore albums of the decade promised. To illustrate my point, this band whose other records I really don't rate all that highly, somehow made an album better than anything ever put out by:
Converge,
The Dillinger Escape Plan,
Botch,
Cave In,
Everytime I Die (all of whom are great reference points for this record). I know I've probably lost the room now, but Art Damage really is upsettingly good. And I love all those bands I mentioned, but they pioneered rather than perfected. Art Damage is the mathcore classic that brings nothing new to the table, but creates the most streamlined, exquisite listening experience. As with my number 2 album, this is a defiantly perfect record. No bad tracks, not one moment wasted. Pure hardcore heaven from front to back. Flawless. If you're in any doubt as to whether you should seek out a copy of Art Damage, cast your eyes back up my list over numbers 2-10. This is better than ANY of them.
Stars of the Lid
