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SOUND
AFFECTS
Year's best CDs have offered repeated enjoyment ROSS RAIHALA Originally published December 28, 2001
Each year around about this time, music writers partake in the time-honored tradition of selecting the Top 10 albums of the past 12 months.
While some make the claim they've selected the "best" of the year, I won't fall into that trap. Instead, I've chosen 10 discs I'm comfortable only to call my favorites. These are the releases that I've returned to more than any others, the ones with the cracked cases and the most fingerprints marking up the CD surfaces.
Whittling down the list was a tough job. If I had the room to expound upon, say, my Top 30, it would certainly include the latest records from: Radiohead, Bjork, Quasi, Goldfrapp, Guided by Voices, Rufus Wainwright, Turin Brakes, Lucinda Williams, Trembling Blue Stars, the Von Bondies, New Order, Kings of Convenience, Daft Punk, the Avalanches, Beachwood Sparks, Mercury Rev, (The Real) Tuesday Weld, Slumber Party, June Panic and the absolutely astounding soundtrack to "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
10. Low, 'Things We Lost in the Fire' (Kranky)
Quite possibly the coolest trio ever to hail from Duluth, Minn., Low celebrated 2001 by releasing "Things We Lost in the Fire," the band's fifth -- and finest -- studio album to date.
While Low's famous slow, deliberate approach remains very much in evidence here, the band has grown into a comfortable place where, at times, they even come close to producing old-fashioned pop music.
And Low leaders Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker gave the world the vocal debut of their baby daughter Hollis Mae, whose squeals can be heard in the album-closing song "In Metal."
'Twas a busy year for Low, as they also released a split CD with the band K., a collaborative mini-album with the Dirty Three and a great cover version of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me."
9. Unwound, 'Leaves Turn Inside You' (Kill Rock Stars)
Longtime Olympia mainstays Unwound celebrated 10 years of making music with a special set at the summer's Yoyo A Go Go and "Leaves Turn Inside You," an ambitious double-CD set that includes lush (if damage-prone) packaging and full videos for two songs.
For Unwound's first studio album in three years, they self-produced a work of almost stunning beauty that somehow manages to acknowledge the band's earlier, more abrasive sound while taking it into new, uncharted areas.
Somewhere, reclusive My Bloody Valentine leader Kevin Shields is turning green with envy.
8. Air, '10,000HZ Legend' (Astralwerks)
A disappointment on the first, second, third -- and maybe even tenth -- listen, the French duo Air surely confounded many of the millions who picked up the band's brilliant 1998 debut "Moon Safari."
In the past, Air playfully dabbled in retro easy-listening and gentle atmosphere music, the sort of thing custom-made for trendy restaurants and coffee shops. (But it was still good, really!)
"10,000HZ Legend," meanwhile, shakes free of much of what made Air the Air we thought we knew. So instead of nice love songs such as "All I Need," we get frightening numbers such as "Wonder Milky Bitch."
What's best about the album is that Air clearly feels no need to pander to its audience, and that makes this record and whatever they come up with in the future all the more exciting.
7. The Microphones, 'The Glow, Pt. 2' (K Records)
Much like Air, Anacortes native Phil Elvrum took a dark turn with "The Glow, Pt. 2," his third album under the Microphones moniker for Olympia's K Records.
Over the course of 66 minutes, Elvrum explores any number of styles from folk to psychedelia, with a vocal and musical approach that suggests it could all fall apart at any moment.
Nick Drake or Syd Barrett comparisons might be useful for the uninitiated, but "The Glow, Pt. 2" proves Elvrum has truly come into his own as a performer.
6. The Strokes, 'Is This It' (RCA)
Endlessly controversial and not quite as popular in the mainstream as they should be, the Strokes survived the sort of year that would kill lesser bands.
The photogenic New York five-piece crash-landed into worldwide infamy earlier this year on the strength of a few remarkably supportive British journalists. The band's deft update of NYC heroes such as Television and the Velvet Underground left some listeners thrilled and others wondering, just as the album title says, "Is this it?"
Divorced from all the hype and fury, "Is This It" is one of the strongest debuts in years, with 11 songs that all could well be singles. To borrow from the far inferior pop-punk band Sum 41, this really should have been called "All Killer No Filler."
5. Spiritualized, 'Let it Come Down' (Arista)
As his former Spacemen 3 bandmate Pete Kember continued to spiral his way into obscurity (and, if you believe the rumors, is burning every last bridge on the way down), Jason Pierce nearly topped his prior triumphs with "Let it Come Down," the fourth Spiritualized album.
After 1997's epic "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space," Pierce sacked most of his band and set off to make his latest record with a cast of more than 100 musicians (including, of all people, Mimi Parker of Low).
Still, songs like "Stop Your Crying" actually benefit from the over-the-top orchestration and swelling choirs Pierce has grown to love. The recovery-sure-is-tough ballad "The Straight and the Narrow" may be his finest song to date.
4. The Gossip, 'That's Not What I Heard' (Kill Rock Stars)
On the other end of the musical spectrum comes "That's Not What I Heard," the fast-and- furious full-length debut by Olympia-by-way-of-rural-Arkansas trio the Gossip.
South Sound's fertile indie-rock scene is based on the idea that it doesn't take, say, 100 people to make great music. And like many before them, the Gossip prove that.
Led by the super charismatic and very much out-of-the-closet wailer Beth Ditto, the Gossip tear through 14 amazing songs in 24 brief minutes. The topics vary, but the trio's greatest songs concern the sort of young and hot lust that transcends sexual orientation: "Got All This Waiting," "Sweet Baby" and "Where the Girls Are."
Speaking of gossip, the word on the street is that the band has found a replacement for departed guitarist Nathan Howdeshell, so the Gossip won't be calling it a day after all.
3. The Webb Brothers, 'Maroon' (Atlantic)
A confident and swaggering debut by Christiaan and Justin Webb -- aka the Webb Brothers -- the sons of legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb.
Ostensibly a concept album about late-night hedonism and its aftereffects, "Maroon" comes off more as a song cycle about a poisoned relationship, with songs such as "I Can't Believe You're Gone" and "Are You Happy Now?" sounding almost painful in their intimacy.
And if that's not enough, "In a Fashion" is a clinical and cutting break-up song, the sort of number that provides bitter solace through gritted teeth. Not really the healthiest way to deal with matters, but it sure is satisfying.
2. The White Stripes, 'White Blood Cells' (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Along with the Strokes, Detroit duo the White Stripes have endured endless speculation among critics and fans who wonder if all the hype is just that -- hype.
"White Blood Cells," the band's third album in as many years, provides the perfect answer with its 16 immaculate tracks of gritty garage rock ("Fell in Love with a Girl"), goofy pop ("We're Going to Be Friends") and introspective near-balladry ("I'm Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman").
Stripped-down, raw and ready, the White Stripes -- at least thus far -- can really do no wrong.
1. The Pernice Brothers, 'The World Won't End' (Ashmont Records)
When Joe Pernice announced he was leaving the warm confines of Seattle's Sub Pop Records to release his own records, it seemed like an odd choice. If anything, Pernice's widescreen pop songwriting suggested a move to a larger label where he could find the sort of large cult following of artists like Lyle Lovett or Richard Thompson.
Still, "The World Won't End" -- the second album released under Pernice's Pernice Brothers moniker -- hardly comes off as a homemade production. Songs such as "7:30" and "Let That Show" would shine on adult-alternative radio if, indeed, that particular format wasn't so mired in Enya and her ilk.
Indeed, the world didn't end when Pernice struck out on his own, and "The World Won't End" is the very sweet proof.
Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send news and Top 10 lists to OlyRoss@aol.com. The Olympian Copyright 2001 back to main SOUND AFFECTS index
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