[dihansse]

Two albums of 1990 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

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The Good Son by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I was a big fan of the predecessor of their previous album Tender Prey so when the new CD came out I bought it without hesitation and it was a serious letdown: gone was the grittiness of the former album(s) and I thought the new sound was much too clean. Of course since then I have a more balanced view of it and it's clear that that grittiness is still there in many of the new tracks, just listen to the Hammer Song. And the album is also one of the most melodic of the band. So overall a good but certainly not the best album of this band and it goes from the 41st to the 51st rank in my year chart.

And an album from my wishlist:

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Swerve by Giant Sand
A very experimental album by this band which still plays the desert rock in which they excelled but sometimes delivered in very strange ways, sometime jazzy (Some Kind) and sometimes completely off-kilter (Trickle Down System). The best track and maybe also the most typical Giant Sand track is Dream Stay. Maybe a bit too special but still good for an entrance in my year chart at the 64th rank.

[Johnnyo]

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1991 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

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Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
The first album by this great powerrock artist I bought and it's still my favorite album of his. I love his voice and I love his guitar playing and sometimes his songs can be a bit of the same all the time (maybe normal because of his already long career) but that's not the case for this album. Highlights are the title track, I've Been Waiting and Thought I Knew You and the latter is about his signature song but everything here is very good and it remains at the 28th rank of the year.

And an album from my wishlist:

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Divinity by The Gun Club
I think I would like the Gun Club even if the songs would be absolute shit because I love the voice of Jeffrey Lee Pierce. This album which is more of an EP, because it has 4 real new songs while the other 4 are live versions of ealier tracks (of which I know two) is not considered to be their best but I still like it very much: all four live versions are really good of which the freakout long version of Yellow Eyes (of which I don't know the original version) is outstanding. Of the new songs only Sorrow knows is a good outlier but in general still a good Gun Club album which enters my year chart at the 32nd rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1992 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

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Patio by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
I only know this one album from this Welsh band which sings mostly in Welsh. Not very accessible music at first sight but in some ways it has something attractive which ha sa lot to do with their psychelic and sometimes even mantric atmosphere. Not always but certainly on some tracks like Dafad Yn Siarad. This album goes from the 83rd to the 74th rank and maybe I should discover some more of their albums although I'm not sure if I will like them.

And an album from my wishlist:

Cor-Crane Secret by Polvo
Many describe this first album of Polvo (of whic Allmusic.com) as not enough song-driven and meandering but I think this is just what I like here. They sound very much like Sonic Youth in their younger days and that's a compliment. Especially the freak-out songs like Vibracrobra or Can I Ride drew my attention and the album immediately enters at the 37th rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1993 I listened to:

First and album I already own/know:

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Wild Wood by Paul Weller
This album has 4 great tracks: the title track, Sunflower, Has My Fire Really Gone Out? and Shadow Of The Sun. Because otherwise the songs are fairly average this is overall a good but not a great album which goes from the 66th to the 61st rank of the year 1993.

And an album from my wishlist:

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Today's Active Lifestyles by Polvo
And why not also the second Polvo album. In my previous post I was very positive about the first album because of it's more flee-flowing and adventurous style. This second more goes in the direction of math rock and while it's much more critically acclaimed than the first album I like it less. There's nothing really bad here but I miss that great atmosphere of the first album so this one also is part of my year chart but only enters at the 57th rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1994 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Carnival Of Light by Ride
To me Going Blank Again remains their undeniably best album but this album is more and more an more a good second choice. This is just a wonderful connection between shoegaze and Teenage Fanclub like guitar music and the highlights on this album are many: Moonlight Medicine, 1000 Miles, From Time To TimeBirdman, Crown Of Creation and especially the fantastic Natural Grace. This album receives a substantial upgrade from the 36th to the 12th rank and it is completely deserved.

And an album from my wishlist:

Unsafe by Channel Zero
This is the third album by this good Belgian metalband headed by Franky De Smet-Van Damme, a guy with a great metal voice. This album is not a masterpiece but very enjoyable, just try Suck My Energy and if you like that, You'll like the rest of the album as well. Not high but it lands at the 87th rank of my 1994 year chart.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1995 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Deep Fried Fanclub by Teenage Fanclub
Not a regular Teenage Fanclub but a compilation of two singles (God Knows It's True and great and Everything Flows is a full-out classic and just one of the best Teenage Fanclub songs), a number of good covers (of which The Ballad Of John and Yoko) and a number of outtakes and early versions of songs which ended up on other albums. In any case I like it very much and it goes from the 50th to the 22nd rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Digital Ist Besser by Tocotronic
The first album from a German band I didn't know before. The style of music is punky slacker rock and their lyrics are a bit nihilistic. The album has 18 tracks and it's clear not all of them are really good but it has enough quality to enter my year chart at the 48th rank. It seems the band has evolved a lot during its many albums which followed this debut so I think I will certainly listen to some others as well.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1996 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know

Breathe by Midnight Oil
Certainly not their best album and I think intentionally a bit more low-key than the former ones. But I had it underrated a bit before perhaps because Time To Heal and especially Bring On The Change are still as good as the best on the former albums. Some country-ish songs are maybe not in the same league as their best ones but still a good album which moves up from the 69th to the 52nd rank of the year.

And an album from my wishlist:

One Mississippi by Brendan Benson
I like his next two albums better than this debut because I have the impression here that his songwriting still needs some sharpening. Only Emma J is really good but overall it's certainly not bad so it enters my year chart at the 70th rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 1997 I listened two:

An album I already own/know:

It's Electric by Orange Black
The first album of this Belgian band, which maybe has especially Fountains Of Wayne as their peer; and it's clear they still have to grow. Only the (Belgian) hits Alaska and Summer Quest For Summer Rest are good while the rest is fairly average. But it moves up from the 70th to the 66th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

50,000 B.C. by Shudder To Think
This album has three good tracks: Red House, Beauty Strike and The Man Who Rolls; the rest is way below the quality they're used to deliver. So nearly a near miss but still in my year chart at the 62nd rank.

[dihansse]

Only an album I already own/know from 1998 (nothing on my current wishlist from this year):

Featuring 'Birds' by Quasi
A bit less special than I originally thought. The songs are not bad and a bit jangly so nothing wrong with it but you won't find a classic here either. Which means a fairly big step down from the 14th to the 29th rank.