My discoveries per year

[dihansse]

Two albums of 2001 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Dog In The Sand by Frank Black And The Catholics
A very underrated album by Frank Black Francis and the Catholics. There a number of countryish songs on this album on this album which prevents it from being very great but songs like Blast Off and St Francis Dam Disaster are highlights in his career. The album rises from the 33rd to the 22nd rank. And it made me realise that I haven't even listened to the three albums coming after this one so again some additions to my ever growing wishlist.

An album on my wishlist:

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Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi by Camera Obscura
The first album of this Glasvegian band which has a lot of other things in common with Belle And Sebastian not in the least that this album was produced by Stuart Murdoch. And I suppose the link is the most obvious on this first album of theirs where songs like Eighties Fan and Swimming Pool can't hide being influenced by the B&S sound which doesn't prevent them from having their own character. A very decent album immediately entering at the 19th rank of my favorite albums of 2001.

[dihansse]

These are two albums of 2002 I listened to:

A album I already own:

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It's A Love Cult by Motorpsycho
I always had a love/hate relationship with this band. Sometimes they get a little bit too proggy but I generally even like also those ones. This is one of these albums where they really do a good mix of everything they can from jazz, to pure pop to hard rock to prog. Serpentine which is a bit a mix of everything is also the best song on the album. I also discovered that I still have to listen to a lot of their albums but this one goes from the 41st to the 23rd rank.

An album on my wishlist:

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Let Go by Nada Surf
Yes, I have also been biased a long time by Popular, a song I came close to hating. So when I first heard Never Not Together, one of the best albums of the year 2020 I had to put that bias aside so I already listened to a few of their earlier albums and I still don't like the first ones like The Proximity Effect but this is the first in which they are getting rid of that juvenile spirit and get serious. I generally like this one especially Blonde On Blonde but still like the more recent ones more. Nevertheless a good entry in my top chart of 2002 at rank 14.

[dihansse]

These are the two albums of 2003 I listened to:

First an album I already own:

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The Decline Of British Sea Power by British Sea Power
This is an impressive upgrade: from rank 55 to 6 of 1993. Because it is a wonderful album, not only because of the long Lately I have always appreciated but lately I also started to appreciate the rest of the album and in particular The Lonely.

Then an album on my wishlist:

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A Natural Disaster by Anathema
Normally the kind of band I tend to avoid (think Marillon) but this is an exception. The emotional grandeur feels a lot less artificial as on similar bands/ambums and emotional grandeur is everywhere here: sometimes on harder songs like Pulled Under at 2000 Metres A Second (which has lots of similarities with Sheep by Pink Floyd) but especially on the softer songs like Are You There? It's overall a beautiful album which is neither prog (although it very much sounds like it) nor hardrock (although there are some very heavy pieces) and which might grow with more listens. Immediately good for the 19th rank.

[dihansse]

Two choices of albums of 2004:

An album I already own:

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50 Foot Wave by 50 Foot Wave
There is a bit of a flaw in my scoring system because EP's (here 6 tracks) with one very good songs (here Clara Bow) tend to be overweighted compared to regular albums. But that's life. This band shows the very raw side of Kristin Hersch and it suits her well so the album stays at the 8th rank of the year.

An album on my wishlist:

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One Plus One Is One by Badly Drawn Boy
As simple and good album by Badly Drawn Boy and nothing much more to say about it. It comes in at the 26th rank.

[dihansse]

Here follow two albums of 2005 I listened to:

First an album I already own:

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Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
This is an album I own since when it was released but never really liked and I still don't. It has a lot of the features I like in this kind of music but somehow the songs miss their target. They're just not very good. It still remains in my top chart an even rises from the 72nd to the 44th rank but still not very high in this not very great year in rock.

Then an album on my wishlist:

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City Fallen Leaves by Comet Gain
This is a bit the opposite: this album was destroyed by Pitchfork and Popmatters for harking back to previous years without adding something but I really liked it. It's indie in the style of Go-Betweens and just has a treasure trove of good songs. And the album (I had to find on Youtube because isn't available on Apple Music) enters at the 17th rank.

[dihansse]

Two albums of 2006 I listen to:

An album I already own:

Rather Ripped by Sonic Youth
In fact one of the better latter albums of Sonic Youth which is not so heavy as their others but still contains gems like Incinerate (one of the heavier ones), What A Waste Turuoise Boy, Lights Out and Pink Steam. A very good one by one of the best bands ever and it goes from the 11th to the 7th rank.


An album on my wishlist:

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So Divided by ...And You Will Know Us B...il Of Dead
I like a lot of their albums but this one is just too over the top. Everything here is heavily orchestrated (they even succeed in ruining a DIY song of Guided By Voices) and the song quality just not on par with that. The exception is the Beatle-esque Eight Days In Hell. So overall not one for my top chart.

[dihansse]

These are two albums of 2007 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Zeitgeist by The Smashing Pumpkins
In fact this is not a bad album... if you only listen to the first half because the second half is rubbish. But some good songs than can match with the best songs on all their records (except for Siamese Dreams of course which is still a masterpiece for me). The album goes from the 68th to the 55th rank.

An album on my wishlist:

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Weirdo Rippers by No Age
They would perfect their sound on nouns but on this compilation of five EP's they already started in an impressive way. There are noisy landscapes interspersed with bad-ass rhythms and everything is done in a very lo-fi way but they kick ass so you forget about the weaker parts which are very present as well. If you're prepared for a special ride please board and let the surf waves come over you. An album good for the 37th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

These are the two albums of 2008 I listened to:

An album I already own:

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Madrugada by Madrugada
They recently released a new (in my opinion not so good) album but this album was supposed to be their last because of the death of one of the two main contributors to the band during the recording process, guitar player Robert Buras. He wasn't the main songwriter but nevertheless got the last song (he also was the singer) as a commemoration of his death but it's clear that the actual singer Siver Hoyem did a much better job at both. And the voice of Hoyem is indeed one of the assets (although not everybody agrees of this band and this album. In a few songs he even has the timbre and the way of delivering his songs of Nick Cave but with a distinct emo side to it. In any case this band is one of the two Norwegian bands (together with Motorpsycho) everybody should at least know (no: forget about A-ha, Royksopp and the black metal bands for which Norway is also famous but are a bit too extreme for me).
This album is not regarded as one of their best but to me it has all the qualities this band is famous for: good songs, intelligent lyrics and kind of emotional depth without getting too emo. The best track is Highway Of Light and the album goes from the 25th to the 20th rank.

An album on my wishlist:

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The Stand Ins by Okkervil River
Definitely not as good as their best albums and especially at the beginning the album drags on a bit but gets better afterwards. Good for the 41st rank.

[dihansse]

Two album choices of 2009:

An album I already know/own:

Is And Always Was by Daniel Johnston
Maybe a freak and his music is sometimes more lofi than lofi but if you can make gems like Light Of Day it's clear that there is something. The rest of the album is ok but not as good as that one fantastic song. The album rises from the 31st to the 17th rank.

An album on my wishlist:

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Childish Prodigy by Kurt Vile
His music can be a bit boring because of that lazy voice and equal guitar play but there's enough interesting to be found on most of his albums to enjoy his music. This is also the case for this album which doesn't score very high but is good enough to enter my year chart at rank 20.

[dihansse]

And two albums of 2010:

An album I already know/own:

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American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem
An album good enough to be in my year chart but in fact I don't have much more to say than the fact that it's perfectly listenable.
And rises from the 47th the 32nd rank on my year chart.


And an album on my wishlist:

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We're Here Because We're Here by Anathema
I'm gradually discovering a number of Anathema albums and some of them I like. But this album which was released after a 7 year hiatus is at the same time very ambitious but also sounds very saltless and bloodless. I know that getting into these kinds of albums sometimes takes some time but I have the feeling that this won't be the case for this one. This album has very ardent fans and very ardent haters and I think I tend towards the second. I won't include it in my year chart.