And another extensive Belgian album list: now for 1992 and a number of them sung in Flemish by people who can't sing but do that in a marvelous way.
Album already in my top charts:
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De Mens by De Mens
This is the first album of a band led by a former rock journalist and it's a very good one especially when you listen to their best tracks Jeroen Brouwers Schrijft een Boek (famous Dutch writer writes a book... and he does that well), Dit Is Mijn Huis and Irene. Again an album by a singer who can't sing but he does that well. Real good songs with an infectious organ. And it moves from the 23rd to the 16th rank on my year chart.
Album I own but not in my top chart so time to put it back in:
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Thirteen by Paranoiacs
verges a bit on bubblegum pop/rock but is very good anyway. It enters at the 28th rank of my year chart.
Album on my wishlist:
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Een Heel Klein Beetje Oorlog by Noordkaap
Would a little bit of war be not better than those loud words and those nights of pain. This is the second album led by another singer who can't sing but that that very well: Stijn Meuris. He is singing in a kind of oversteered way but it matches the music, which is a mixture between full-out rock songs and really good ballads, really well. The best tracks are the title track and Het Komt Voor In De Best Families (a bit in the same theme: It happens in the best families). It enters at the 24th rank of my year chart.
And then on my wishlist some trash metal I also introduced in Tilly's Metal Diary:
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Channel Zero by Channel Zero
Like this band evolved to a more classic metal style on their future albums but on this one they do trash metal (but I think the second is a bit the same style) and although they are not really original and sound a lot like Iron Maiden (and Tilly says like Anthrax on Spreading The Disease), this is a very good album and there is not a bad track on it. The album enters at the 25th rank of my year chart.
And finally in these awful times some feelgood stuff:
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Gorky by Gorky
This is the first album of a band led by Luc De Vos (they later changed their name to Gorki). The guy was a late bloomer with no good voice and not a real good guitar style but he had something and the main reason I want to introduce this album is because of one song: Mia. It was never a hit and wasn't picked up in the beginning but gradually its fame grew and it became one of the songs that was on top of those all-time best songs list radio stations do by the end of the year.
In 2014 Luc De Vos died in unclear circumstances at the age of 52 and since than he (and the song) became a national hero/hymn and I want to show that with two Youtube clips:
One at a benefit party by the Belgian rock station Studio Brussel in 2014, the year he died, where people are singing the song note for note: goosebumps!
And then something special: every single match (no matches now because of Corona) at 52nd minute of playtime (the age at which he died), the fans of the soccer club of his and my hometown, AA Gent, sing part of Mia as a homage to the man:
If you want to listen to the full album, there's more good songs on it: Lieve Kleine Piranha and Anja were the real hits of the album and the album moves from the 53rd to the 31st rank of my year chart.
Nemo by Nemo (BE)
Pixies light (hard soft and so) but it's hard to find catchier albums than this one. Nice weird lyrics and great hooks: I recommend this album which remains safely at rank 21 of the year.
An album on my wishlist:
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Stigmatized... by Channel Zero
The second by this metal band (there is debate whether its name is Stigmatized... or Stigmatized For Life, but looking at the album sleeve I think It's clear) I already introduced already. At first I thought the album would just continue what was started on the first album: the first two tracks are the same kind of inspired Metallica riffing as before. But then the tone changes into something darker (and the last tracks is the quintessence of that and is completely angst ridden) but also based on more general riffing without any purpose. In a way they are finding their own sound but it feels rather uninspired and not really my thing I have to admit. So this is an album I won't include in my personal chart but I'm sure a few of you could find this an interesting album.
Dildo Warheads by Dildo Warheads
This is one of those albums I liked very much when it came out because it fitted the spirit of the time: a bit of Weezer and some grunge but it was a long time I listened to it and rightly so because it hasn't aged well: descends from the 29th to 60th rank
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Gigant by Noordkaap
Again a very good album by this band that sings in Flemish but in my opinion is as good as any English sung album not in the least because of the special voice of the singer; and the songs are there too: Verloren Dag, the title track, Druk In Leuven, Laat Ons Bidden, etc etc; Ends up at the 47th rank of the year
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Ik Wil Meer by De Mens
This is the 2nd album of this band but not as good as the first one: still at the 75th rank.
An album I own but had not put in charts (yet):
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Hand Some by Betty Goes Green
I own two albums by the fairly standard rock band and this is the best of them. If you want to listen to the best song then take the first track: I Love It; the album is not bad but fairly standard type of music and ends up at the 59th rank.
Here are the three best albums of the week in my opinion:
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Antarctica by Flat Worms
I still can't believe their first album wasn't loved more than it was and this second one is even better. They are able to combine very nihilistic music and gritty guitar work with however catchy melodies as is proven by their best track, the Aughts.
Popmusics by Nemo (BE)
The first album is in the same vein as the first one with very catchy and at the same weird songs (goes from the 39th to 25th rank); while the second one is more experimental although it starts with one of their best catchy ones: You'll Be Sharon. This album moves from the 41st tot 33rd rank.
and also:
Surgery For Zebra by Metal Molly
This band also sounds a bit like Weezer but in my opinion its songs have a bit more quality also because of the fact that they don't take themselves to seriously. Orange is their best known songs and is a bit their answer to Peaches from The Presidents Of The USA but again better. Goes from the 42nd to the 50th rank.
And then a few albums I already owned but didn't include them in my top chart of the year and that's certainly completely my mistake for:
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The Sands by The Sands
This an album even not well known in Belgium and that's a real pity because the songwriting here is excellent with highlights like Sky Of Blue (which was a bit of a radio hit), Candy and The Season Song: a recommended very melodic album and ends up at the 19th rank of the year.
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Everyday I Wear A Greasy Black Feather On My Hat by Moondog Jr.
I haven(t discussed dEUS here yet because I already did that in former posts but this is an album of somebody who left dEUS fairly early although he had a great formative influence on the band: Stef Kamil Carlens with Moondog Jr. (later renamed in Zita Swoon) but this is his best album and completely in the style of Tom Waits. Many people even compare the best track on the album, TV Song, with Martha and it certainly has the same kind of atmosphere but is not really the same. Not all the tracks have that same quality but the album ends up at the 51st rank however.
I think there was something in Belgian water these years in the second part of the nineties with a lot of Beefheartian weirdness. There was of course dEUS but many other years like Gore Slut of which I already discussed their albums in a post of 7 November 2018.
And there were these bands releasing albums in 1996:
An album I own:
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Material Sunset by Mad Dog Loose
From that fantastic lazy singing to bursts of electric madness, this is a very good example of that weirdness and listen especially to the highlights which show all sides of their talent: Versa, Laser Advice and Back Into History: moves from the 33rd to the 15th rank.
An album I already owned but hadn't included in my year chart:
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Love Is Okay by Evil Superstars
the singer of this band, Mauro Pawlowski, has also played recently in dEUS a few years after he left the Evil Superstars. To show how crazy Belgians are: Satan Is In My Ass, which is as crazy as its title was a semi-hit here. But the most beautiful track is a ballad (sounds a bit like Back): Your Dump Or Mine. Not all songs are really my style but it finally arrives at the 58th rank of my year chart.
And two more regular albums on my wishlist both by bands singing in Flemish:
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Wil Je Beroemd Zijn? by De Mens
This band has made very good and fairly bad records but this is one of their best; all songs, both the more uptempo rock songs (listen especially to En in Gent and Maandag) and the ballads (especially Heimweeman and Sheryl Crow I Need You So) are very catchy and have good lyrics (and no the last song I quoted is not in English). It ends up at the 18th rank of my year chart.
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Monstertje by Gorki
Another good album by this band I already have introduced in a big way in a former post. In contradiction to the album by De Mens, I wouldn't maybe recommend this one who is not Dutch speaking because the childish but effective lyrics play an important part in the appreciation of these songs: although: they do rock and some are the guitar licks are great. Ends up at the 35th rank of the year.
Superflies by Triptych
The mood of this album sounds a bit like Ben Folds but the music is somewhat harder exemplified in the long piece de résistance: Pater Iratus East. Not the best album in the world but that last track deserves a listen. Moves from the 47th to the 49th rank on my year chart.
Two albums on my wishlist:
Black Fuel by Channel Zero
I already introduced this band that sounded a bit like Metallica on their first albums but here they have clearly found their own sound which I don't always completely like but on this album they do very good which is already proven by the opener and title track Black Fuel which can best be described as a cluster bomb. It has also recently been chosen as the second best metal track (after Master Of Puppet) on a Belgian radio station: maybe a bit exaggerated but in my opinion can be liked by any kind of metal fan. Also most of the other tracks are killers: another track that had a lot of airplay here were Call On Me and Fool's Parade. This album deserves your attention and it immediately goes to the 30th rank of my year chart.
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Morning Bear by Eden (BE)
To be honest I only knew that other album by this female band (Seafood) and also this one is very good with jangly rock in the style of Magnapop and so on. Not very original but veeeeery catchy as exemplified by the best two tracks: the title track and My Boat. The album immediately goes to the 17th rank of the year.
Cocoon Crash by K's Choice
This is one of the Belgian bands with the I suppose many of you could know their hit Not An Addict (with that wonderfully panted intro) which appeared on their first album Paradise In Me, but this album is much better. They are often disregarded as too poppy but they do know how to rock as well. The band's main members are brother Gert and sister Sarah Bettens who fairly changed her/his name in Sam Bettens. This album goes from the 27th to 21st rank of the year.
Much Against Everyone's Advice by Soulwax
The brothers Dewaele are mainly known because of their mashups of songs on their 2many DJs with which they played on many dance festivals, but these are their first steps in a rock band which sounds very psychedelic and excellent. Goes from the 24th to the 25th rank of the year.
Albums I own but not yet in my 1998 chart
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Berchem by Dead Man Ray
In fact I had this album in my year chart: the one 2000 but as a combined album Berchem/Trap so I deleted it there and entered Berchem in this year chart. This is a very fine example of the mix between beefhartian rock (exemplified by Rudy Trouvé who was in dEUS and Kiss My Jazz, and Elko Blyweert who was in Kiss My Jazz), jangle rock (Herman Houbrechts of Nemo) and pop (Daan Stuyven who would later go solo and would evolve gradually in dance related music). And it sounds great even if they only use one note like on the wonderful Beegee. The semi-hit was Chemical but I recommend this album strongly to everyone who is interested in experimental but still very catchy music. It ends up at the 20th rank of the year.
I won't discuss here (because I already did recently) the overall best album of 1999 which is Belgian AND the Best Belgian Album overall in my opinion: The Ideal Crash by dEUS.
But there were plenty of other Belgian albums I (re-)listened to:
And there's another album which really did a big move up:
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Seafood by Eden (BE)
I already discussed their first album but this second (and last) one is much better. The voices of the two female singers blend together in a fantastic way and both the jangly guitars and the irrresistible flow of the songs make this a fantastic and sexy (in the best way) album with the first three tracks as the highlights together with the great ballad I'll keep You Warm. But the whole album is super good. The album was originally placed by BEA in 2005 but it is a 1999 album and there it goes to the 6th rank.
The next one is an album I already owned but didn't make it yet to my year chart:
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Sex Verandert Alles by De Mens
Like their other albums maybe not an album that will appeal to non Dutch speakers (the title translates as Sex changes everything) but I like it and it enters at the 26th rank.
Then another album I already owned but didn't make it to my charts:
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The Return Of Geronimo by Fence
Another one of those many Belgian albums in the style of Weezer and the likes but features some good tracks and it moves to the 37th rank.
And then an album I hadn't listened to yet:
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Massis by Noordkaap
Maybe I should first give a bit more background about John Massis. He was a Flemish strongman which made bending iron things and pulling trains as his speciality. He was also very popular on talkshows with his image of the poor man who was able to make something about his life but finally he had a depression and sadly committed suicide. You can find a bit more details on this wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Massis
And the album is good with strong songs especially the ones at the start of the album and can in my opinion be appreciated by non native speakers. It enters at the 40th rank on my year chart.
Then an album I own already in my year chart:
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Little Things Of Venom by Arid
The singer sounds a bit like Jeff Buckley but without the intensity of Jeff Buckley and I would mainly recommend Life as the song to listen to: it moves from the 50th to the 42nd rank of the year.
These are the Belgian albums I listened to for the year 2000:
Albums I own:
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Novastar by Novastar
The singer of this band, Joost Zwegers is blessed by a heavenly voice and if that is combined by great songs it's just magic. Examples are Lost & Blown Away and the Belgian hits Wrong and The Best Is Yet To Come. But sometimes the music is a bit boring. Nevertheless rises to the 18th rank (from 42).
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Bright Lights by Orange Black
Again one of those guilty pleasure: still a pleasure but not as a good as I used to think. goes from rank 34 to 36.
An album I own but didn't appear on my chart yet:
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Trap by Dead Man Ray
Again a typical Dead Man Ray album which means great tracks Woods, Nezt and Slow Indians next to very weak ones: but still deserves the 35th rank of 2000.
And finally an album which isn't even on BEA: Electronic Jacuzzi by Ghinzu: this is the first album by this great band who would make a fantastic album a few years later. This first album already has all the elements of the great band they would become: great pianos, an experimental atmosphere and the right amount of weirdness but somehow it doesn't gel yet on this album.
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