1 nick cave - abbattoir blues / the lyre of orpheus
balding, mulleted, antipodean, black-tie-wearing miserabilist in gospel-tastic return to the glory days. THE album to make love to of 2004.
2 mark lanegan - bubblegum
back in he early 90's everyone loved seattle, even men with groomed ponytails. now the people that they loved are either dead or beloved of nobody over the age of 18. except for mark lanegan. moody bluesy rocky countrifaction that even the cat-squawls of pj harvey can't ruin.
3 tom waits - real gone
so sandpaper laughs at his voice for being too husky. so he uses the words "moon", "dogs" and "barn" more than is healthy. so parts of this album are like listening to a troupe of laden waiters falling down the stairs. so it's not his best. but even when not at his best, he shows more balls and conviction than the endless pretty-boys wanking into the history books that make up the hot bands of the moment.
4 tanya donelly - whiskey tango ghosts
former throwing muse, breeder and belly lass gives up the fuzz and sings quaint folky tunes to a piano. if ye had a heart, it would melt.
5 the national - cherry tree
more a mini-album than an album, but 2004 was shite for music, so it has to go in. an angry, misanthropic tindersticks.
6 iron and wine - our endless numbered days
normally one would advise everyone to stay well clear of bearded, quiet men. they stroke those beards, they close their eyes and they nod gravely in time to the music. iron and wine do that too, only they're good.
7 the streets - a grand don't come for free
i woke up and peeled off me socks and they were crusty, had a cup of cha, told 'er i didn't wan't none of her shit, aggro aggro aggro, where's me fuckin' thousand quid, ohhhhh maaaaaaaan i'maaaassshhhhhed. and yet despite sounding like a cup, it turns out a fine bit of social commentary. just don't believe the new joyce or elliot-spouting reviews.
8 leonard cohen - dear heather
like tom, laughing lenny cohen's voice has seen better days and he almost whispers his songs behind the female vocalists. but like he says, because of a few songs, he's slept with half the world, so he can't be going that far wrong.
9 nirvana - with the lights out
even if the pre-bleach era songs are pretty amateurish crunchy guitar shouty shouty nonsense the rest ensures that this still wanks from high over the tosh fawned over by the nme over the past five years.
10 johnny cash - unearthed
old, hardened country soul, or marketeer maestro? doesn't matter, this is ACE. not many laughs, not many smiles, but then when was the last time a song with a smile was halfway decent?
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