Top 98 Greatest Music Albums by 
DriftingOrpheus 
Subject to change (often). These are my personal favorite records...not necessarily a reflection of an objective musical hierarchy. (Wow. These write-ups have grown like weeds, particularly as you descend through the list. Only the slightest bit proud. ?)
- Chart updated: 07/04/2025 00:15
- (Created: 04/25/2020 20:18).
- Chart size: 98 albums.
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Throughout their extensive history, alternative rock pioneers Swans have made a habit of metamorphosing, trading in bone-crushing no-wave anthems for folk-inspired, religiously-tinged ballads. In 2010, Swans emerged once more with My Father will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, another drastic change in form and direction, prioritizing prolonged excursions drenched in post-rock fueled repetition. This formula was the basis for 2014's To Be Kind, an album that championed the creative advantages of welding moments of ear-splitting fortissimo and hair-raising delicacy. Take A Little God in My Hands for example. Even the most well-traveled listeners have to be taken back by the atomic force of the horn-powered flurry that kicks off the middle of the track. To Be Kind showcases Swans not merely dabbling in a musical style unseen in their discography, but perfecting it.
The centerpiece is the 34 minute odyssey, Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture. A track detailing a Haitian slave revolt with all the ferocity one could imagine. It carries guitar hits that resemble facial punches that only cease once the skull has caved in. Incorporating horse whinnies and tribal chanting, the track dares one to ponder the music's inspiration, or even the headspace of the men crafting it. The most "straight-forward" rocker on the album is Oxygen, a song detailing an asthma attack with inertia that never ceases until the horn-soaked climax.
Rarely has an album embodied both a densely visceral and well-realized existence. The frightening aspect behind it all is that it seems to flow through the band so effortlessly, almost as vessels for transcendent music powered by an unseen force. While it's not a record for the conventional listener, you'd be hard-pressed to find an audiophile not displaced by To Be Kind's translucent beauty, or not horrified by its unfettered explicitness.
"May planets crash, may god rain ash, to sear our skin, to fold us in
Kneeling close, seeking hands, our blood is warm, but what comes next?"
-Kirsten Supine
Standout Tracks:
1. Oxygen
2. She Loves Us!
3. Bring the Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture
100.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The centerpiece is the 34 minute odyssey, Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture. A track detailing a Haitian slave revolt with all the ferocity one could imagine. It carries guitar hits that resemble facial punches that only cease once the skull has caved in. Incorporating horse whinnies and tribal chanting, the track dares one to ponder the music's inspiration, or even the headspace of the men crafting it. The most "straight-forward" rocker on the album is Oxygen, a song detailing an asthma attack with inertia that never ceases until the horn-soaked climax.
Rarely has an album embodied both a densely visceral and well-realized existence. The frightening aspect behind it all is that it seems to flow through the band so effortlessly, almost as vessels for transcendent music powered by an unseen force. While it's not a record for the conventional listener, you'd be hard-pressed to find an audiophile not displaced by To Be Kind's translucent beauty, or not horrified by its unfettered explicitness.
"May planets crash, may god rain ash, to sear our skin, to fold us in
Kneeling close, seeking hands, our blood is warm, but what comes next?"
-Kirsten Supine
Standout Tracks:
1. Oxygen
2. She Loves Us!
3. Bring the Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture
100.4 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,645
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
101
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2016's The Glowing Man was intended to be the final stop for post-rock icons Swans. Even though it was not their final record, in many ways it feels like an ending, musically embodying a purifying crescendo. It's no secret that the band played their hand in a few false finishes in the past. 1996's Soundtracks for the Blind was a haunting, alluring attempt to combine Swans' music with a score to a film that did not exist. This also was planned to be the band's final musical epitaph. 2010 brought a new sound and a new Swans lineup and The Glowing Man was seen to be the concluding artistic flourish and what a flourish it turned out to be.
While the previous record, 2014's To Be Kind conveyed a seething, scathing critique of human indecency, The Glowing Man is a far more reflective and anguished experience, almost communicating that the emotional toll of the journey that this era of the band went through was a soul-altering odyssey. Take second track Cloud of Unknowing for instance, a 25 minute, bone-rattling lead up to a midpoint climax that I have yet to see duplicated. After the storm passes, the track slinks back into the bowels of darkness from which it was conceived, hissing chants of "Monster eater" and "Jesus feeler". The second half of the record commences with the towering Frankie M, a 20 minute pulse-pounding journey dedicated to a battle lost to drug addiction. An abridged version was featured in Swans' live sets as early as 2014 but the final form of the song serves as a moment of tempestuous strength and intense catharsis on the album. When Will I Return? details a horrifying rape-attempt that befell Michael Gira's wife Jennifer. Possibly the album's most gentile track, Jennifer claims to "Still kill him in her sleep". The penultimate track here is the title track, The Glowing Man. The most extensive cut on the album, clocking in at nearly 30 minutes, is the most chameleonic, beginning as an avalanche of bruising guitar hits. The track then simmers before swelling again into a furiously paced proclamation of bodily manifestation. Vocalist Michael Gira cries, "Joseph is moving his tongue in my neck, Joseph is riding a vein in my head, Joseph is cutting my arm on his bed, Joseph is making my body fly". After having listened to it, you'd be liable to admit to an out-of-body experience.
The Glowing Man only consists of eight tracks, eight tracks spanning nearly two hours with enough vexation, desperation and despair to rival a lifetime of alcoholic's anonymous meetings. I've stated in earlier write-ups that the band incorporates their music with a staunch focus on the dichotomy of sound decibles. The Glowing Man seems to consummate this idea with the concept of emotional contrast. Moments of exhilaration lap on the shores of severe hysteria and dejection. Additionally, It shines through in practice as well as from the listeners point of view. At times the album ceases to be organized sound, but instead formulates as a raw force of nature. Put simply, it sounds like a human soul crying out for liberation.
"I beat him on his face
And I stab with all my strength
And I scream until he goes
I scream until he's gone
Then I crawl across the road"
-When Will I Return?
Standout Tracks:
1. The Glowing Man
2. Cloud of Unknowing
3. Frankie M
97.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
While the previous record, 2014's To Be Kind conveyed a seething, scathing critique of human indecency, The Glowing Man is a far more reflective and anguished experience, almost communicating that the emotional toll of the journey that this era of the band went through was a soul-altering odyssey. Take second track Cloud of Unknowing for instance, a 25 minute, bone-rattling lead up to a midpoint climax that I have yet to see duplicated. After the storm passes, the track slinks back into the bowels of darkness from which it was conceived, hissing chants of "Monster eater" and "Jesus feeler". The second half of the record commences with the towering Frankie M, a 20 minute pulse-pounding journey dedicated to a battle lost to drug addiction. An abridged version was featured in Swans' live sets as early as 2014 but the final form of the song serves as a moment of tempestuous strength and intense catharsis on the album. When Will I Return? details a horrifying rape-attempt that befell Michael Gira's wife Jennifer. Possibly the album's most gentile track, Jennifer claims to "Still kill him in her sleep". The penultimate track here is the title track, The Glowing Man. The most extensive cut on the album, clocking in at nearly 30 minutes, is the most chameleonic, beginning as an avalanche of bruising guitar hits. The track then simmers before swelling again into a furiously paced proclamation of bodily manifestation. Vocalist Michael Gira cries, "Joseph is moving his tongue in my neck, Joseph is riding a vein in my head, Joseph is cutting my arm on his bed, Joseph is making my body fly". After having listened to it, you'd be liable to admit to an out-of-body experience.
The Glowing Man only consists of eight tracks, eight tracks spanning nearly two hours with enough vexation, desperation and despair to rival a lifetime of alcoholic's anonymous meetings. I've stated in earlier write-ups that the band incorporates their music with a staunch focus on the dichotomy of sound decibles. The Glowing Man seems to consummate this idea with the concept of emotional contrast. Moments of exhilaration lap on the shores of severe hysteria and dejection. Additionally, It shines through in practice as well as from the listeners point of view. At times the album ceases to be organized sound, but instead formulates as a raw force of nature. Put simply, it sounds like a human soul crying out for liberation.
"I beat him on his face
And I stab with all my strength
And I scream until he goes
I scream until he's gone
Then I crawl across the road"
-When Will I Return?
Standout Tracks:
1. The Glowing Man
2. Cloud of Unknowing
3. Frankie M
97.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2016
Appears in:
Rank Score:
992
Rank in 2016:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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97.3
[First added to this chart: 05/28/2022]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,026
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The halls of Columbia University birthed Vampire Weekend, a baroque pop outfit with a pension for utilizing world music. They were critically lauded soon after, but in the eyes of those who equate surroundings to people, they were little more than privileged rich boys who gained the favor of those with power in the industry. The band shrugged such ridiculous claims off and just kept on keeping on. In other words, they kept making some of the best pop music of the decade. Nevermore was their genius more validated than with 2013's Modern Vampires of the City. Sporting a crystalline sheen and drastically more sinister tone, Vampire Weekend concocted its best collection of tracks to date.
Seemingly alternating between uptempo, positively-charged romps and sentimental, breezy ballads, Modern Vampires of the City prioritizes balance far more than the band's prior work. The first landmark comes in the form of third track Step, which twinkles triumphantly leaving Rostam Batmanglij's production as the hallmark of the sweepingly gorgeous cut. The album soon receives an adrenaline shot in the form of Diane Young, a full-gear stomper which emphasizes a desire to live life at its fullest, with no regrets about being rebellious or young for that matter. One of the album's most audacious excursions comes in the form of tenth track Ya Hey. Frontman Ezra Koenig's vocal delivery is in stark contrast to the rest of the album, invoking religious fervor at a subdued pace.
As convention would have it, Modern Vampires of the City is indeed a pop record. It's one that takes risks, nudges away stereotypical classification and entrenches Vampire Weekend as a prominent force in modern music. Provocatively written, skillful executed and exquisitely produced, the album is a testament to the blossoming creativity of a young group on the rise, with much success predicted to follow. The album has a warm quality and has effectively become a comfort piece for me, calling back to better times. It's a record for those with youthful flesh and minds with temperaments far beyond their years.
"Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife"
-Step
Standout Tracks:
1. Step
2. Finger Back
3. Don't Lie
96.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Seemingly alternating between uptempo, positively-charged romps and sentimental, breezy ballads, Modern Vampires of the City prioritizes balance far more than the band's prior work. The first landmark comes in the form of third track Step, which twinkles triumphantly leaving Rostam Batmanglij's production as the hallmark of the sweepingly gorgeous cut. The album soon receives an adrenaline shot in the form of Diane Young, a full-gear stomper which emphasizes a desire to live life at its fullest, with no regrets about being rebellious or young for that matter. One of the album's most audacious excursions comes in the form of tenth track Ya Hey. Frontman Ezra Koenig's vocal delivery is in stark contrast to the rest of the album, invoking religious fervor at a subdued pace.
As convention would have it, Modern Vampires of the City is indeed a pop record. It's one that takes risks, nudges away stereotypical classification and entrenches Vampire Weekend as a prominent force in modern music. Provocatively written, skillful executed and exquisitely produced, the album is a testament to the blossoming creativity of a young group on the rise, with much success predicted to follow. The album has a warm quality and has effectively become a comfort piece for me, calling back to better times. It's a record for those with youthful flesh and minds with temperaments far beyond their years.
"Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife"
-Step
Standout Tracks:
1. Step
2. Finger Back
3. Don't Lie
96.8 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,657
Rank in 2013:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
When Fishmans signed with Virgin Records Japan in 1990, drummer Kin-ichi Motegi thought that the band would sell 50,000 copies of their debut record, 'Chappie, Don't Cry'. In reality, the album didn't even sell 5,000. Fishmans, despite their brilliance, weren't able to boast any kind of monetary success, not that this ran parallel to the quality of the music, which was often stratospheric. These days, their performances and reissues are labors of love and honor while thoughts of economic prosperity from the music seem irrelevant. The remaining men from the band's heyday occupy a very different headspace than the young kids that broke into the Japanese music scene at the dawn of the 1990's. Then, they were wide-eyed, ambitious and fully unaware of the rigors and crushing distresses that the music industry offers with little clemency. Frontman Shinji Sato, particularly, foresaw a future bedecked with a rock star effigy and he worked tirelessly on his craft to feed the fires of his vision. Not to undermine the disappointment of any of the members who gave their all to the now legendary Japanese unit, but the fruits of a belatedly-adored discography feel all the more tragic in a world without Sato in it. Outside of Japan, few could squint and regard the band as "rock stars", however, whenever the group took the stage, the quality of their live showcase anointed them as a force with no equal.
'Long Season '96' contains material from Fishmans at their peak. Recorded in the Winter of 1996, its release in 2016 came as a welcomed surprise for loyal fans who had long waited for a companion piece to the seismic '98.12.28' (1999). It's safe to say that '96' wades effervescently through the same hallowed passage of celestial bodies. The LP commences, the only way it could, with a Fishmans live staple/calling card. 'Oh Slime' starts with the shrill, unmistakable wail from Shinji Sato, a sort of auditory autograph, as the unit uncorks their customary, preliminary track. This version of 'Oh! Slime', is more barebones than the epic, arena-filling version found on '98.12.28'. What this rendition lacks in polish, it makes up for with heavy helpings of charm. Notably less formidable than its evolution, the playful keyboarding of secret weapon member, Honzi, colors the track beneath Sato's half-spoken/half-sung vocals. Before you can blink, the band slips into second track 'Go Go Round This World!', as declared by Yuzuru Kashiwabara's heartbeat, sub-aquatic bass line. This iteration of 'Go Go' vastly differs from its original life as a single from Fishmans in 1994. Where the single was direct, melodic and firmly colored in from within the lines, the live equivalent is comparative free jazz and borderline improvisational. It's an eight-minute, kaleidoscopic safari that reorients itself compulsively between canorous wobbler and prog-rock bouncer. It's one of the record's more intriguing forays, especially when holding it up to the light, parallel to the prototype. Putting new coats of paint on compositions should always be in play on stage and the band successfully touches up their prior handiwork. Third track, なんてったの, is an early career standout, as pointed out by Sato himself. The swirling track retains most of the properties of the studio cut. In other live iterations, there's a warmth present from Honzi's keys. Here, chilly tones return, leaving the warmth to Sato's vocals as Kin-ichi Motegi's drums dance around both elements. It's a track that undeniably circular, leaving the listener in dizzy, joyful bewilderment. The aura of merriment extends to fourth entry, '土曜日の夜', however, shy basslines are shown the door. Kashiwabara's buoyant work on the track provides a smooth surface for others to effectively ad-lib on top of. This bravado is most extroverted during the song's mid-section, when Honzi's cosmic flourishes play tag with the unshackled guitar of Darts Sekiguchi. '土曜日の夜' is a ringing endorsement of the sturdiness of Fishmans' sonic foundations and gives credence to the notion that any additional musical adornment would homogenize seamlessly.
The LP takes its foot off the pedal with fifth track, 'バックビートにのっかって', a tranquil transcription of one of the more serene moments from 'Uchu Nippon Setagaya' (1997). Here, in its live reincarnation, the song is willing to unbutton its collar and let loose, if only marginally. The dotting of the outer edges propagates renewed vigor without parting with its aboriginal appeal. Extended drum installments and brighter keys illuminate a track that's far removed from a Monday morning shift and is comfortably enjoying Friday night cocktail hour. The airy waltz advances with 'エヴリデイ・エヴリナイト', which also isn't afraid to step out of its comfort zone. This chapter is still chiefly captained by the soothing coos of Shinji Sato, but exits stage with a Sekiguchi guitar extension that shakes your hand firmly before leaving, making sure you commit the name to memory. It's just then, when all things passive are expunged as 'Sunny Blue's' agitated riff splits the silence. The dichotomy between Sato's vocal delicacy and some of Fishmans' more combative instrumentation never ceases to marvel with its ability to harbor such consonance. Despite the truth behind the melody section hording the spotlight, Kin-ichi Motegi's dexterous drumming straightens the spine of the rebellious episode. The track, potentially more than the others, best displays a group who have fully found their technical confidence. With 'Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday', the band re-up on their opportunity to cast out any lingering kinetic energy. Another piece that has been embedded with new life on stage, 'Smilin' Days' is, at times, formless and polychromatic. However, the tune never veers into a place of ostentation and retains its sense of self. Still a down-to-earth celebration of life's little delights, this 'holiday' champions childlike innocence. Sato sings, "Like how a puppy and a child are understandably good friends; I'm sure the person with the foreign hairstyle is thinking the same thing."
As the LP approaches its coda, Fishmans graciously send off the observational, tenderhearted canticles of their formative years and invite the space rock, dream pop stylings of "すばらしくてNice Choice" in to close the loop. The track whirrs in, akin to a hovering flying saucer. The slightly shrouded perspective and auditory ambiguity point to a freshly charted course on the back half of 'Long Season '96'. This is not to dye the objectively benign lyrics as deceitful, but it does, however, cause them to land with alternate reverberations. Honzi's violin further implicates the cut as one with nebulous sensibilities, both literally and figuratively. 'Nice Choice' is one of the album's more arresting tangents, one that's markedly nihilistic as evidenced by Sato's declarations of, "Gently meet fate and laugh at it". Fishmans continue to live in the world of the incorporeal with '夜の想い', which translates to 'Thoughts of the Night'. Although the track has more swagger in its step, it still wrestles with headier themes than previous pop belters. This introspection isn't just contained to the setlist, the emotion found in this recitation is noticeably impassioned, as highlighted by the carefully weighted playing of its authors. Still, these are just precisely situated cultivations in service of the gut punch to come. The penultimate, 'ナイトクルージング', is to my ears, the finest arrangement the song has ever adopted, with its captivating allure pausing, smelling the flowers and then departing, clearing a path for the colossus. The finality of 'Long Season' never loses it's potency and while its more famous exhibition brandishes more emotion, this offering is more cavernous. The stellar percussion of Motegi and Asa-Chang at the track's axis is triumphant, eliminating any hint of a mid-point lull. This perpetual momentum steers the listener headfirst into the brunt of the song's unrivaled emotional endgame. Sato long wished for he and his cohorts to become "rock stars". Fortunately for them, the term "deities" would have to suffice.
95.7 [First added to this chart: 07/17/2022]
'Long Season '96' contains material from Fishmans at their peak. Recorded in the Winter of 1996, its release in 2016 came as a welcomed surprise for loyal fans who had long waited for a companion piece to the seismic '98.12.28' (1999). It's safe to say that '96' wades effervescently through the same hallowed passage of celestial bodies. The LP commences, the only way it could, with a Fishmans live staple/calling card. 'Oh Slime' starts with the shrill, unmistakable wail from Shinji Sato, a sort of auditory autograph, as the unit uncorks their customary, preliminary track. This version of 'Oh! Slime', is more barebones than the epic, arena-filling version found on '98.12.28'. What this rendition lacks in polish, it makes up for with heavy helpings of charm. Notably less formidable than its evolution, the playful keyboarding of secret weapon member, Honzi, colors the track beneath Sato's half-spoken/half-sung vocals. Before you can blink, the band slips into second track 'Go Go Round This World!', as declared by Yuzuru Kashiwabara's heartbeat, sub-aquatic bass line. This iteration of 'Go Go' vastly differs from its original life as a single from Fishmans in 1994. Where the single was direct, melodic and firmly colored in from within the lines, the live equivalent is comparative free jazz and borderline improvisational. It's an eight-minute, kaleidoscopic safari that reorients itself compulsively between canorous wobbler and prog-rock bouncer. It's one of the record's more intriguing forays, especially when holding it up to the light, parallel to the prototype. Putting new coats of paint on compositions should always be in play on stage and the band successfully touches up their prior handiwork. Third track, なんてったの, is an early career standout, as pointed out by Sato himself. The swirling track retains most of the properties of the studio cut. In other live iterations, there's a warmth present from Honzi's keys. Here, chilly tones return, leaving the warmth to Sato's vocals as Kin-ichi Motegi's drums dance around both elements. It's a track that undeniably circular, leaving the listener in dizzy, joyful bewilderment. The aura of merriment extends to fourth entry, '土曜日の夜', however, shy basslines are shown the door. Kashiwabara's buoyant work on the track provides a smooth surface for others to effectively ad-lib on top of. This bravado is most extroverted during the song's mid-section, when Honzi's cosmic flourishes play tag with the unshackled guitar of Darts Sekiguchi. '土曜日の夜' is a ringing endorsement of the sturdiness of Fishmans' sonic foundations and gives credence to the notion that any additional musical adornment would homogenize seamlessly.
The LP takes its foot off the pedal with fifth track, 'バックビートにのっかって', a tranquil transcription of one of the more serene moments from 'Uchu Nippon Setagaya' (1997). Here, in its live reincarnation, the song is willing to unbutton its collar and let loose, if only marginally. The dotting of the outer edges propagates renewed vigor without parting with its aboriginal appeal. Extended drum installments and brighter keys illuminate a track that's far removed from a Monday morning shift and is comfortably enjoying Friday night cocktail hour. The airy waltz advances with 'エヴリデイ・エヴリナイト', which also isn't afraid to step out of its comfort zone. This chapter is still chiefly captained by the soothing coos of Shinji Sato, but exits stage with a Sekiguchi guitar extension that shakes your hand firmly before leaving, making sure you commit the name to memory. It's just then, when all things passive are expunged as 'Sunny Blue's' agitated riff splits the silence. The dichotomy between Sato's vocal delicacy and some of Fishmans' more combative instrumentation never ceases to marvel with its ability to harbor such consonance. Despite the truth behind the melody section hording the spotlight, Kin-ichi Motegi's dexterous drumming straightens the spine of the rebellious episode. The track, potentially more than the others, best displays a group who have fully found their technical confidence. With 'Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday', the band re-up on their opportunity to cast out any lingering kinetic energy. Another piece that has been embedded with new life on stage, 'Smilin' Days' is, at times, formless and polychromatic. However, the tune never veers into a place of ostentation and retains its sense of self. Still a down-to-earth celebration of life's little delights, this 'holiday' champions childlike innocence. Sato sings, "Like how a puppy and a child are understandably good friends; I'm sure the person with the foreign hairstyle is thinking the same thing."
As the LP approaches its coda, Fishmans graciously send off the observational, tenderhearted canticles of their formative years and invite the space rock, dream pop stylings of "すばらしくてNice Choice" in to close the loop. The track whirrs in, akin to a hovering flying saucer. The slightly shrouded perspective and auditory ambiguity point to a freshly charted course on the back half of 'Long Season '96'. This is not to dye the objectively benign lyrics as deceitful, but it does, however, cause them to land with alternate reverberations. Honzi's violin further implicates the cut as one with nebulous sensibilities, both literally and figuratively. 'Nice Choice' is one of the album's more arresting tangents, one that's markedly nihilistic as evidenced by Sato's declarations of, "Gently meet fate and laugh at it". Fishmans continue to live in the world of the incorporeal with '夜の想い', which translates to 'Thoughts of the Night'. Although the track has more swagger in its step, it still wrestles with headier themes than previous pop belters. This introspection isn't just contained to the setlist, the emotion found in this recitation is noticeably impassioned, as highlighted by the carefully weighted playing of its authors. Still, these are just precisely situated cultivations in service of the gut punch to come. The penultimate, 'ナイトクルージング', is to my ears, the finest arrangement the song has ever adopted, with its captivating allure pausing, smelling the flowers and then departing, clearing a path for the colossus. The finality of 'Long Season' never loses it's potency and while its more famous exhibition brandishes more emotion, this offering is more cavernous. The stellar percussion of Motegi and Asa-Chang at the track's axis is triumphant, eliminating any hint of a mid-point lull. This perpetual momentum steers the listener headfirst into the brunt of the song's unrivaled emotional endgame. Sato long wished for he and his cohorts to become "rock stars". Fortunately for them, the term "deities" would have to suffice.
95.7 [First added to this chart: 07/17/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
When you think of jazz, what comes to mind? Is it the image of a smokey club amidst the throes of a liquor-soaked evening where men and women who have nothing left to lose congregate bombastically with sullied but exotic instruments that light their path to the night's end? Is it more akin to a visage of a smooth, sagacious individual whose jib is cut in the fashion of someone who's seen and done it all with only the sound of a perfectly crafted note proving enough to catch him off guard? Perhaps your perception of this often misunderstood and under-appreciated genre takes the shape of a dinner party, stiff upper lips or imperceptible elevator music more akin to ambient soundscapes than anything else? However you may frame it, there's one definition that most who have lived and died, scratched and clawed, inhaled and exhaled jazz's rich, fertile terrain can come together on. Jazz, simply put, is religion. In addition to being a way of life, the genre is immaterial, fluid and ever-evolving. Kamasi Washington's approach to jazz is not exactly aligned with your grandfather's retelling of it. That's not to say one is superior to the other. It more plainly proves that this genre, more than any other, reflects the hearts, minds and temperaments of its craftsmen. In the case of Washington, his heart bleeds for a frenetic, emotionally swelling, ancestral tribute version of the eclectic genre, best synthesized on his 2015 aptly-named odyssey, 'The Epic'.
Kamasi Washington has spent his life honing his one-of-a-kind, God-given talent in preparation for a grand statement on the pageantry of jazz, the glory and tribulations of his ancestors and the beauty of music at large. He studied at UCLA, with the focus of his education centered around Ethnomusicology, which would play an integral role in crafting his first, proper label LP in 2015. Additionally, his experiences flanking artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nas, Run the Jewels and most notably, Kendrick Lamar, on his 2015 record 'To Pimp a Butterfly', have allowed the saxophonist to absorb a variety of styles and musical ideas while also contributing to an ocean of outstanding music without most listeners being particularly privy to his contributions. On the mammoth undertaking that is 'The Epic', Washington establishes an unmistakeable, idiosyncratic grandeur and deconstructs and subverts anyone's expectations on what a Jazz record should be. His saxophone glides over the entirety of the nearly three hour journey, shepherding its chapters through frantic bursts of brassy elation and breezy, idyllic, reflectionary traverses. Evidence of the album's supernatural power for vehemence can be found on its introduction. 'Change of the Guard' features a bevy of woodwind fury as Washington's tenor sax sets the stage for a cosmic, interstellar journey of incalculable potency. The record is also distinctive for its use of choral backing, a resource put to glorious effect during 'Askim', which pairs its angelic choir with breakneck but respectful drum passages from Ronald Bruner Jr. and Tony Austin. This is nothing less than hymnal music fit for a final performance at world's end or, perhaps more fittingly, during an ascension into the clouds.
One would be remiss without touting the contributions of bass maestro, Thundercat, whose patient diligence acts as the heartbeat for 'The Rhythm Changes', which comes equipped with a lavish lead vocal from Patrice Quinn. As the track swells her vocals begin to soothe as she states, "Daylight seems bright because of night;
It's shade we need so we can see." Kamasi's exploits return to center stage on the deliciously untamed, comparatively chaotic 'Miss Understanding', which quickly forms into a showcase for Washington's saxophone and Thundercat's bass to continuously dance circles around each other. It's another dizzying height for the 'The Epic' and leaves room for contemplation regarding its ability to exist in the first place. The next monolithic instillation comes in the shape of 'The Magnificent Seven', a stirring, towering work that's propelled like a jazz fireball and remains the most baronial entry on the LP. The track comes into focus on the horizon with Thundercat's swaggering bass tones only to proceed to sweep you into zero gravity on a rising tide of choir voices sent skyward by Washington's billowing sax. The keyboard-piano partnership between Cameron Graves and Brandon Coleman never ceases to lag behind the weighty punctuality of the rhythm section as they provide a healthy injection of sprightly luminescence amidst the quickly forming volcano of sonic aggression. 'The Magnificent 7' brandishes a western sheen (not just in name), as its driving momentum recalls horses galloping into town with riders hell bent on making their conclusive stand. These are the kind of harmonies that comprise the entirety of 'The Epic', notes that resonate far beyond the sheet music and into the collective consciousness of all who listen. Its pension for imagery is undefeated, its brush strokes unclouded and it carries an earthly, human spontaneity. Despite the record's modern sensibilities, Washington still finds time to tip his cap to the artisans of yesteryear. His cover of 'Claire de Lune', made famous by Claude Debussy, is just as romantic but seamlessly repackages the piece in a manner that's languid, yet expressive, like an autumn wind through leaves that are destined to change their shade. The labyrinthian LP ends with 'The Message', a final explosion of intention and a rallying cry which ensures that all that came prior is capped with suitable vigor. The track may represent Washington's finest saxophone exhibition as the pulses cascade over one another with considerably ferocity; a manic addendum on previous endeavors.
Whether honoring those who gave their life for equality on 'Malcolm's Theme' or turning in a jazz Rembrandt inspired by 1960's celluloid on 'The Magnificent 7', it's transpicuous to this listener that Kamasi Washington doesn't believe in presenting his illustrious art without carefully affixed ethos. This ethos stems from a decisive adoration for the beauty of jazz, the African American spirit and the inextinguishable fire that burns within each and every human being with hearts that beat with love. Though 'The Epic' is an undeniable championing of innumerable ideas, there are those who will look upon it with skewed gazes, no doubt viewing its cinematic presentation too far flung from the often purist genre sensitivities. No, this is not an attempt to make a commercial jazz record or appeal to a younger generation categorically. 'The Epic' is, however, an acknowledgment of the perseverance of mortal men and the actions, documents and legacy they leave behind. The instructions are to love all, even in the face of scrutiny and danger. Great men and women have chosen to express this universal truth through countless different vessels. Poems, stories, sacrifices and demonstrations dot the course throughout the history of human kindness. Kamasi Washington chooses to transmit this message from an entirely different cosmos, equipped with his Saxophone at the ready, sonically willing and able to provoke change from within and vibrate the very air you breathe.
"Our love, our beauty, our genius
Our work, our triumph, our glory
Won't worry what happened before me
I'm here."
- The Rhythm Changes
Standout Tracks:
1. The Magnificent 7
2. Change of the Guard
3. The Message
95.6 [First added to this chart: 11/26/2021]
Kamasi Washington has spent his life honing his one-of-a-kind, God-given talent in preparation for a grand statement on the pageantry of jazz, the glory and tribulations of his ancestors and the beauty of music at large. He studied at UCLA, with the focus of his education centered around Ethnomusicology, which would play an integral role in crafting his first, proper label LP in 2015. Additionally, his experiences flanking artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nas, Run the Jewels and most notably, Kendrick Lamar, on his 2015 record 'To Pimp a Butterfly', have allowed the saxophonist to absorb a variety of styles and musical ideas while also contributing to an ocean of outstanding music without most listeners being particularly privy to his contributions. On the mammoth undertaking that is 'The Epic', Washington establishes an unmistakeable, idiosyncratic grandeur and deconstructs and subverts anyone's expectations on what a Jazz record should be. His saxophone glides over the entirety of the nearly three hour journey, shepherding its chapters through frantic bursts of brassy elation and breezy, idyllic, reflectionary traverses. Evidence of the album's supernatural power for vehemence can be found on its introduction. 'Change of the Guard' features a bevy of woodwind fury as Washington's tenor sax sets the stage for a cosmic, interstellar journey of incalculable potency. The record is also distinctive for its use of choral backing, a resource put to glorious effect during 'Askim', which pairs its angelic choir with breakneck but respectful drum passages from Ronald Bruner Jr. and Tony Austin. This is nothing less than hymnal music fit for a final performance at world's end or, perhaps more fittingly, during an ascension into the clouds.
One would be remiss without touting the contributions of bass maestro, Thundercat, whose patient diligence acts as the heartbeat for 'The Rhythm Changes', which comes equipped with a lavish lead vocal from Patrice Quinn. As the track swells her vocals begin to soothe as she states, "Daylight seems bright because of night;
It's shade we need so we can see." Kamasi's exploits return to center stage on the deliciously untamed, comparatively chaotic 'Miss Understanding', which quickly forms into a showcase for Washington's saxophone and Thundercat's bass to continuously dance circles around each other. It's another dizzying height for the 'The Epic' and leaves room for contemplation regarding its ability to exist in the first place. The next monolithic instillation comes in the shape of 'The Magnificent Seven', a stirring, towering work that's propelled like a jazz fireball and remains the most baronial entry on the LP. The track comes into focus on the horizon with Thundercat's swaggering bass tones only to proceed to sweep you into zero gravity on a rising tide of choir voices sent skyward by Washington's billowing sax. The keyboard-piano partnership between Cameron Graves and Brandon Coleman never ceases to lag behind the weighty punctuality of the rhythm section as they provide a healthy injection of sprightly luminescence amidst the quickly forming volcano of sonic aggression. 'The Magnificent 7' brandishes a western sheen (not just in name), as its driving momentum recalls horses galloping into town with riders hell bent on making their conclusive stand. These are the kind of harmonies that comprise the entirety of 'The Epic', notes that resonate far beyond the sheet music and into the collective consciousness of all who listen. Its pension for imagery is undefeated, its brush strokes unclouded and it carries an earthly, human spontaneity. Despite the record's modern sensibilities, Washington still finds time to tip his cap to the artisans of yesteryear. His cover of 'Claire de Lune', made famous by Claude Debussy, is just as romantic but seamlessly repackages the piece in a manner that's languid, yet expressive, like an autumn wind through leaves that are destined to change their shade. The labyrinthian LP ends with 'The Message', a final explosion of intention and a rallying cry which ensures that all that came prior is capped with suitable vigor. The track may represent Washington's finest saxophone exhibition as the pulses cascade over one another with considerably ferocity; a manic addendum on previous endeavors.
Whether honoring those who gave their life for equality on 'Malcolm's Theme' or turning in a jazz Rembrandt inspired by 1960's celluloid on 'The Magnificent 7', it's transpicuous to this listener that Kamasi Washington doesn't believe in presenting his illustrious art without carefully affixed ethos. This ethos stems from a decisive adoration for the beauty of jazz, the African American spirit and the inextinguishable fire that burns within each and every human being with hearts that beat with love. Though 'The Epic' is an undeniable championing of innumerable ideas, there are those who will look upon it with skewed gazes, no doubt viewing its cinematic presentation too far flung from the often purist genre sensitivities. No, this is not an attempt to make a commercial jazz record or appeal to a younger generation categorically. 'The Epic' is, however, an acknowledgment of the perseverance of mortal men and the actions, documents and legacy they leave behind. The instructions are to love all, even in the face of scrutiny and danger. Great men and women have chosen to express this universal truth through countless different vessels. Poems, stories, sacrifices and demonstrations dot the course throughout the history of human kindness. Kamasi Washington chooses to transmit this message from an entirely different cosmos, equipped with his Saxophone at the ready, sonically willing and able to provoke change from within and vibrate the very air you breathe.
"Our love, our beauty, our genius
Our work, our triumph, our glory
Won't worry what happened before me
I'm here."
- The Rhythm Changes
Standout Tracks:
1. The Magnificent 7
2. Change of the Guard
3. The Message
95.6 [First added to this chart: 11/26/2021]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,078
Rank in 2015:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Natalie Mering is a bit of a nostalgic, in the finest way possible. This doesn't seem to be a blinding nostalgia that reflects the allure of contemporary music. This is a kind that serves as the heartbeat of her work, a tender nucleus that she builds around with expert craftsmanship (or craftwomanship). It's not hard to see what her strengths are. She wields a voice powerful enough to disrupt fault lines and agitate prospective avalanches. In short, she's a beautiful singer who's designed an album perfectly engineered around her vocal dexterity. Weyes Blood's fourth record is entitled Titanic Rising, which is fitting considering many of the tracks here call upon the past, through both Mering's personal experience and her music's sonic disposition. The result is a dreamy, aqueous take on different kinds of love, self-satisfaction and loss. The album art refers to Mering's creative subconscious from the comfort of her bedroom. The metaphor couldn't be more appropriate given that the young songstress' portrays her innermost sentiments flawlessly and with vivid explicitness on Titanic Rising.
The LP begins with A Lot's Gonna Change, a track that starts with a series of fragile piano key strikes. The track quickly escalates with the introduction of Mering's stirring voice. Her voice washes over every inkling of the track like a soothing breeze, starkly opposite of bracing drumbeats. The track finishes amongst lush backing vocals that play off of Mering's sympathies, "Let me change my words, show me where it hurts." The track exemplifies the term "grand opening" and provides a blueprint for ambitious soundscapes to follow. Second track Andromeda, the first single off of the album, sports a western-tinge blended with psychedelia, embodying equal parts Dolly Parton and Iron Butterfly. If you haven't listened to the track, please take a moment to imagine that sonic cocktail in your mind. Mering laments, "Treat me right, I'm still a good man's daughter, let me in if I break, and be quiet if I shatter." The song paints a portrait of unrealistic expectation and subsequent emotional investment. Sixth track, Movies, stands as the album's artistic centerpiece. It's also the most pioneering cut from Weyes Blood so far, submerged in synthesizer arpeggios that are just as delectable as they are alien. The vocals lacerate the wall of electronics with ease as she announces, "I'm bound to that summer, big box office hit, making love to a counterfeit." The poetry points to an endless wave of typicality when it comes to romance and a distinct longing for a love-affair fit for the silver screen. The track ends with a cello barrage capping the whimsical, serene track supported by Mering's heavenly bellows. The penultimate, Picture Me Better, is a likely candidate for the most straight-forward cut of the lot. The instrumentation is heavily stripped back incorporating pacifying strings that play shyly behind Mering's vocals. Her hair-raising falsettos quickly supplant the strings and aid the notion that she could create transfixing serenades if rendered acapella. The song itself is a poignant memorial to a friend lost to suicide's destruction. "If I could have seen you just once more, tell you how much you are adored, there's no point anymore," she details. The track winds down into a final instrumental entitled Nearer to Thee, a reference to the final song played during the demise of the unsinkable ship.
Titanic Rising's artistic vision is crystalline and unalloyed. The thematic framework is a thunderous damnation of monotony and all things ordinary relating to modern life and romance. It's a testament to the artist's admiration of true love in its purest form. Furthermore, the album is a musical mission statement pleading the listener to refuse social conventionality. As emotional as the record is, it's also a vehemently liberating experience. Much of its power is drawn from the sun-dwarfing brightness of its vocal standard-bearer. These tracks are crafted around Natalie's Mering's voice as opposed to common music-making methodology. After all, a traditional approach would just be too run-of-the-mill for Weyes Blood. We can thank her ambition, emotional insight and angelic vocal register for her ever-growing collection of winsome work.
"Lost and tangled up in you,
Everyone knows you just did what you had to,
Burning much more than ever before,
Burning down the door,
It's a wild time to be alive."
-Wild Time
Standout Tracks:
1. A Lot's Gonna Change
2. Andromeda
3. Picture Me Better
92.5 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
The LP begins with A Lot's Gonna Change, a track that starts with a series of fragile piano key strikes. The track quickly escalates with the introduction of Mering's stirring voice. Her voice washes over every inkling of the track like a soothing breeze, starkly opposite of bracing drumbeats. The track finishes amongst lush backing vocals that play off of Mering's sympathies, "Let me change my words, show me where it hurts." The track exemplifies the term "grand opening" and provides a blueprint for ambitious soundscapes to follow. Second track Andromeda, the first single off of the album, sports a western-tinge blended with psychedelia, embodying equal parts Dolly Parton and Iron Butterfly. If you haven't listened to the track, please take a moment to imagine that sonic cocktail in your mind. Mering laments, "Treat me right, I'm still a good man's daughter, let me in if I break, and be quiet if I shatter." The song paints a portrait of unrealistic expectation and subsequent emotional investment. Sixth track, Movies, stands as the album's artistic centerpiece. It's also the most pioneering cut from Weyes Blood so far, submerged in synthesizer arpeggios that are just as delectable as they are alien. The vocals lacerate the wall of electronics with ease as she announces, "I'm bound to that summer, big box office hit, making love to a counterfeit." The poetry points to an endless wave of typicality when it comes to romance and a distinct longing for a love-affair fit for the silver screen. The track ends with a cello barrage capping the whimsical, serene track supported by Mering's heavenly bellows. The penultimate, Picture Me Better, is a likely candidate for the most straight-forward cut of the lot. The instrumentation is heavily stripped back incorporating pacifying strings that play shyly behind Mering's vocals. Her hair-raising falsettos quickly supplant the strings and aid the notion that she could create transfixing serenades if rendered acapella. The song itself is a poignant memorial to a friend lost to suicide's destruction. "If I could have seen you just once more, tell you how much you are adored, there's no point anymore," she details. The track winds down into a final instrumental entitled Nearer to Thee, a reference to the final song played during the demise of the unsinkable ship.
Titanic Rising's artistic vision is crystalline and unalloyed. The thematic framework is a thunderous damnation of monotony and all things ordinary relating to modern life and romance. It's a testament to the artist's admiration of true love in its purest form. Furthermore, the album is a musical mission statement pleading the listener to refuse social conventionality. As emotional as the record is, it's also a vehemently liberating experience. Much of its power is drawn from the sun-dwarfing brightness of its vocal standard-bearer. These tracks are crafted around Natalie's Mering's voice as opposed to common music-making methodology. After all, a traditional approach would just be too run-of-the-mill for Weyes Blood. We can thank her ambition, emotional insight and angelic vocal register for her ever-growing collection of winsome work.
"Lost and tangled up in you,
Everyone knows you just did what you had to,
Burning much more than ever before,
Burning down the door,
It's a wild time to be alive."
-Wild Time
Standout Tracks:
1. A Lot's Gonna Change
2. Andromeda
3. Picture Me Better
92.5 [First added to this chart: 04/26/2020]
Year of Release:
2019
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,437
Rank in 2019:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
'High Violet' represents the artistic zenith for The National, an indie act bathed in the streets of New York City but with homeland hearts rooted in woebegone Cincinnati, Ohio. It's a quintet made up of two sets of brothers, the Dessners and the Devendorfs, who routinely cook up emotional setpieces that only those bounded by blood could conjure. Still, the spiritual core of The National resides with Matt Berninger, the band's crooning, unclad, undiluted frontman determined to forever expose his soul on stage. Berninger is the antithesis to the prototypical visage of a rock figurehead. He refuses pontification, confronts his weaknesses and flaunts fallibility as the new gospel. There is something genuine about Berninger's approach to music that serves as a rising tide to those with delicate hearts and conflicted minds. The National used to address their dissatisfaction with the pounding of a gavel, with early tracks such as 'Available' and 'Mr. November' serving as rallying cries for the double-crossed and those who feel that their glory days are behind them. On their fifth album, they scale back the heavy artillery and emerge with an exercise in surgical melancholy, with whispers that obliterate the silent air.
The album begins with the apropos, 'Terrible Love', a document of a relationship on its way to disaster. It's a scenario that Berninger is clearly familiar with and it's a fragile union bound together by alcohol, sleeping pills and bits of string. "And I can't fall asleep without a little help; It takes a while to settle down my shivered bones until the panic's out," Berninger laments. Maybe he finds solace in carrying on, riding a freight train to anguish if only to know he's stuck it out and not thrown in the towel. It takes a special kind of pride to willingly fall on the sword and both parties are willing to do so, even if it means confronting the specter of failure once again. Sonic standouts here emanate from the progressively distorting guitar work from the Dessner brothers and the powering percussion of Bryan Devendorf. 'Terrible Love' epitomizes the championing of imperfect relationships amongst imperfect beings. Second track, 'Sorrow', occupies a far more straight-forward thematic headspace. The band played the song for six hours straight at the MoMA PS1 as part of a collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson aptly titled, 'A Lot of Sorrow'. Berninger's poetry is in top form on the cut, with an assist from Aaron Dessner. Berninger testifies, "I live in a city sorrow built; It's in my honey, it's in my milk." Anyone can write a song about a former flame, but to describe the inner workings of one's plight with such malaise, with the presence of profound wounds paved beneath a concrete shell of numbness is certainly no easy feat. Gentle keyboard flourishes usher the song out to a chorus of angelic coos communicating the saintly nature of quiet suffering.
Fourth track, 'Little Faith', is the only track on the LP to feature a writing credit from Carin Besser, Matt's wife. With the compositional brain trust swelling to three, the prose undergoes a cinematic makeup, straying away from the hyper-introspectiveness of early tracks. "You'll find commiseration in everyone's eyes; The storm will suck the pretty girls into the sky," Berninger howls. This is the first of 'High Violet's' tracks to craft an image of a tangible, sensory experience rather than a prolonged sense of yearning. 'Little Faith' buzzes in a fashion similar to that of an AM radio coupled with sopping bass plucks that arrive in lock-step with Berninger's bellows. Strings anchor the track and prevent it from flying away with the twinkling guitar arpeggio that introduces itself during the second half. 'Little Faith remains one of the LP's unsung heroes. On the other hand, 'Afraid of Everyone' often stares down the barrel of consistent praise for its brilliance and its star-studded feature. Sufjan Stevens provides harmonium and offers backing vocals. Stevens also composed the vocal arrangements for the track, which becomes more apparent when you listen to the cascading voices falling over each other like rolling waves. 'Afraid of Everyone' is certainly one of the LP's more graceful excursions, something that could be seen as a harbinger for Stevens' 'Carrie and Lowell' in 2015. The context of the song deals with aversion to social interaction and the struggles of managing anxiety. Consequently, the narrator must navigate the rough seas to provide emotional stability to his young family as he rapidly and consciously ages. It's a banner moment for sure. However, the emotional heart and soul of all things 'High Violet' resides squarely within 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'. The record's sixth and most sensational track, is a ode to copious amounts of debt, the sentimental nature of one's hometown and a stirring promise of a comeback story yet to be written. If one examines closely between the lines, there's a sense that this comeback will never come to fruition. It's more of a portrait of a character on an endless losing streak with hope being the only thing driving him forward. He's a slave to his patterns, his habits, and his demons. His ambition has been chiseled away by disappointment, his potential, squandered by alcohol and his treasured and downtrodden home state, both a sanctuary and a prison. As Berninger puts it, "Ohio is in his blood." 'Bloodbuzz' is the most poetic statement on 'High Violet' and it's also a wolf in sheep's clothing. It harbors the album's most infectious, progressive momentum while staying unflinchingly defeatist, forever resigned to lose. The track is a proper masterpiece and one of the grandest statements of the 2010's. "I still owe money to the money to the money I owe; I never thought about love when I thought about home," Berninger admits.
The album recedes back into itself with 'Lemonworld', and the band evidently reembraces reservation after the emotional exertion of 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'. The seventh track concerns escape from the urban jungle of New York City and all of its obligations and burdens. The subject dreams of a lavish desertion, adorned with idyllic summer afternoons highlighted by pairs of alluring women. Eighth track, 'Runaway', elongates the solemnity of 'Lemonworld'. The track itself is a tributary branching off from the record's pension for promoting the acceptance of subpar situations. 'Conversation 16's' instrumentation swirls around Berninger's baritone serenades like a warm breeze. The drum kit finds itself ushered forward in the mix, acting as the catalyst for the track's success. Another song concerning rupturing foundations, this 'Conversation' concerns a married couple carrying on the facade of stability. The record finishes with 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks', a track that features backing vocals from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The track serves as a mournful sendoff for an LP drenched in emotional heft. It passes on a message that we are all susceptible to love's cruel nature and it's this pain that unites us, certainly a lesson the band's fanbase can revel in.
The National continued to elevate their indelible status in the coming years with critical successes at every turn, yet, none of them feel as essential or as crucial to the band's identity as 'High Violet'. It's 11 tracks of unabashed turmoil paired with the courage to parade it with unlimited vulnerability. Some would argue that the strength of music is grounded in the sense of catharsis that it can inspire, but 'High Violet' doesn't repurpose that pain, it merely acts as a conduit between beating hearts. The album classifies fallibility as a redeeming quality and helps us understand why we hurt but not necessarily how to heal. After all, to completely recover from our intangible scars would be distinctly inhuman. It's true that we find a picturesque beauty in incalculable jubilee, but sorrow is a phenomenal, soulful achievement in its own right. 'High Violet' lets us know that it's okay to cherish it.
"I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees."
-Bloodbuzz Ohio
Standout Tracks:
1. Bloodbuzz Ohio
2. Sorrow
3. Conversation 16
91.61 [First added to this chart: 04/30/2020]
The album begins with the apropos, 'Terrible Love', a document of a relationship on its way to disaster. It's a scenario that Berninger is clearly familiar with and it's a fragile union bound together by alcohol, sleeping pills and bits of string. "And I can't fall asleep without a little help; It takes a while to settle down my shivered bones until the panic's out," Berninger laments. Maybe he finds solace in carrying on, riding a freight train to anguish if only to know he's stuck it out and not thrown in the towel. It takes a special kind of pride to willingly fall on the sword and both parties are willing to do so, even if it means confronting the specter of failure once again. Sonic standouts here emanate from the progressively distorting guitar work from the Dessner brothers and the powering percussion of Bryan Devendorf. 'Terrible Love' epitomizes the championing of imperfect relationships amongst imperfect beings. Second track, 'Sorrow', occupies a far more straight-forward thematic headspace. The band played the song for six hours straight at the MoMA PS1 as part of a collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson aptly titled, 'A Lot of Sorrow'. Berninger's poetry is in top form on the cut, with an assist from Aaron Dessner. Berninger testifies, "I live in a city sorrow built; It's in my honey, it's in my milk." Anyone can write a song about a former flame, but to describe the inner workings of one's plight with such malaise, with the presence of profound wounds paved beneath a concrete shell of numbness is certainly no easy feat. Gentle keyboard flourishes usher the song out to a chorus of angelic coos communicating the saintly nature of quiet suffering.
Fourth track, 'Little Faith', is the only track on the LP to feature a writing credit from Carin Besser, Matt's wife. With the compositional brain trust swelling to three, the prose undergoes a cinematic makeup, straying away from the hyper-introspectiveness of early tracks. "You'll find commiseration in everyone's eyes; The storm will suck the pretty girls into the sky," Berninger howls. This is the first of 'High Violet's' tracks to craft an image of a tangible, sensory experience rather than a prolonged sense of yearning. 'Little Faith' buzzes in a fashion similar to that of an AM radio coupled with sopping bass plucks that arrive in lock-step with Berninger's bellows. Strings anchor the track and prevent it from flying away with the twinkling guitar arpeggio that introduces itself during the second half. 'Little Faith remains one of the LP's unsung heroes. On the other hand, 'Afraid of Everyone' often stares down the barrel of consistent praise for its brilliance and its star-studded feature. Sufjan Stevens provides harmonium and offers backing vocals. Stevens also composed the vocal arrangements for the track, which becomes more apparent when you listen to the cascading voices falling over each other like rolling waves. 'Afraid of Everyone' is certainly one of the LP's more graceful excursions, something that could be seen as a harbinger for Stevens' 'Carrie and Lowell' in 2015. The context of the song deals with aversion to social interaction and the struggles of managing anxiety. Consequently, the narrator must navigate the rough seas to provide emotional stability to his young family as he rapidly and consciously ages. It's a banner moment for sure. However, the emotional heart and soul of all things 'High Violet' resides squarely within 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'. The record's sixth and most sensational track, is a ode to copious amounts of debt, the sentimental nature of one's hometown and a stirring promise of a comeback story yet to be written. If one examines closely between the lines, there's a sense that this comeback will never come to fruition. It's more of a portrait of a character on an endless losing streak with hope being the only thing driving him forward. He's a slave to his patterns, his habits, and his demons. His ambition has been chiseled away by disappointment, his potential, squandered by alcohol and his treasured and downtrodden home state, both a sanctuary and a prison. As Berninger puts it, "Ohio is in his blood." 'Bloodbuzz' is the most poetic statement on 'High Violet' and it's also a wolf in sheep's clothing. It harbors the album's most infectious, progressive momentum while staying unflinchingly defeatist, forever resigned to lose. The track is a proper masterpiece and one of the grandest statements of the 2010's. "I still owe money to the money to the money I owe; I never thought about love when I thought about home," Berninger admits.
The album recedes back into itself with 'Lemonworld', and the band evidently reembraces reservation after the emotional exertion of 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'. The seventh track concerns escape from the urban jungle of New York City and all of its obligations and burdens. The subject dreams of a lavish desertion, adorned with idyllic summer afternoons highlighted by pairs of alluring women. Eighth track, 'Runaway', elongates the solemnity of 'Lemonworld'. The track itself is a tributary branching off from the record's pension for promoting the acceptance of subpar situations. 'Conversation 16's' instrumentation swirls around Berninger's baritone serenades like a warm breeze. The drum kit finds itself ushered forward in the mix, acting as the catalyst for the track's success. Another song concerning rupturing foundations, this 'Conversation' concerns a married couple carrying on the facade of stability. The record finishes with 'Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks', a track that features backing vocals from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The track serves as a mournful sendoff for an LP drenched in emotional heft. It passes on a message that we are all susceptible to love's cruel nature and it's this pain that unites us, certainly a lesson the band's fanbase can revel in.
The National continued to elevate their indelible status in the coming years with critical successes at every turn, yet, none of them feel as essential or as crucial to the band's identity as 'High Violet'. It's 11 tracks of unabashed turmoil paired with the courage to parade it with unlimited vulnerability. Some would argue that the strength of music is grounded in the sense of catharsis that it can inspire, but 'High Violet' doesn't repurpose that pain, it merely acts as a conduit between beating hearts. The album classifies fallibility as a redeeming quality and helps us understand why we hurt but not necessarily how to heal. After all, to completely recover from our intangible scars would be distinctly inhuman. It's true that we find a picturesque beauty in incalculable jubilee, but sorrow is a phenomenal, soulful achievement in its own right. 'High Violet' lets us know that it's okay to cherish it.
"I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees."
-Bloodbuzz Ohio
Standout Tracks:
1. Bloodbuzz Ohio
2. Sorrow
3. Conversation 16
91.61 [First added to this chart: 04/30/2020]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,807
Rank in 2010:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
91.5
[First added to this chart: 03/25/2021]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,259
Rank in 2011:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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Colorado native Winston Yellen's LP debut, 2013's Country Sleep, comes parceled with a distinct visage of a muggy, summer evening complete with a chorus of crickets heard through screen doors and fireflies that illuminate the periphery. As a humble fire smolders and crackles, Yellen's voice emanates soulfully conjuring emotions no doubt aided with liquid courage. As remarkable as his voice is, it's the insight he provides through his poetry that paints Yellen as a troubadour wise beyond his years. There's an intrinsic sense of forsaken, romantic languishing running through the album like a submerged river that's just as devastating as it is beguiling. Still, it's the authenticity of Country Sleep that sets it apart from its melancholic peers. It's a fully exposed, armorless logbook of soreness that exudes unyielding fragility at every turn. Seemingly medicinal for the youthful artist, the album purges the poison that torments him, repurposing it as propellant for something uniquely gorgeous. In other words, a wildfire that produces a wonderfully fertile soil.
Country Sleep commences in the most unguarded of ways. Faithful Heights, an a capella vocal track, is a declaration of support, almost in an attempt to reach out to the listener as a plea to remain hopeful and use the tracks that follow as emotional support. It's a wondrous foreward serving as instructions to learn from anguish rather than have it anchor you. Yellen's voice is soaring here and needs no instrumental buoying. He howls, "And in the morning light, we'll be sure to find, a kind of love so strong, It will make us cry faithful heights." Faithful Heights is the most confident of openers, simultaneous announcing itself in the most humble of fashions. The album's largest injection of energy comes in the form of second track, Ramona. The track, certainly the most conventional of the LP, is fueled by a resilient drum beat and supported by a full band backing. Even Yellin's voice receives reinforcement here from a fellow Yellin, Abe, and Alyson Holland. The track evokes visions of the American heartland and sun-swept memories of simpler moments. Despite an uptempo, cheerful timbre, the lyrics detail a declaration a love and a promise of a brighter future that seemingly remains unrequited. Subsequent track, Even If We Try, arrives as a swaying, violin-soaked bubbling crescendo that evolves into a rhythm-heavy, country-tinged outro. It's a track that can be best described as baroque-folk and there is no better talisman for the term. Yellin coos, "Even if we try, to make ourselves alright, to mend our severed lives, while all the rivers rage, descend upon the sage, alone on willowed eves, I lift my voice to sing." Something truly heavenly radiates here, shimmering in and out with subtle grace.
Fourth track, the numerical '22', may be the most all-encompassing track from the record, existing as the sonic footprint for Country Sleep. The piece is a stirring partnership of Yellin's woebegone vocals and a twinkling organ that gives the impression that the track will dissolve at any given moment. Much like the preceding Even If We Try, '22' is often overwhelming in its aesthetic beauty, almost weeping throughout. "A part of me, I call a stranger, this part of me, I found in danger, we saw the night, you fleshed it out, across time, wearin' my heart’s smile," Yellin details. The most unabashedly southern outing on the LP would most certainly be fifth track, Borrowed Time. Billowing out at a subdued rate and punctuated by extroverted bass, the song wouldn't be out of place in a Texas tavern nearing midnight. However, unlike the twangy karaoke ballads, the track has deep-rooted sentiments. Yellin croons, Now the sky unfolds it's blackened roads, life as it was never known, go on, see your part and see this through, maybe, maybe it might move you." Cherry Blossoms follows as another exhibition of restraint that results in a spring-loaded release of tension in the shape of twelve consecutive shouts of "Take me home". Wanted_You in August is an example of a straight-forward composition acting as a showcase for Winston Yellin's magnetic vocals. Recalling either a missed opportunity or an unreciprocated adoration, he sings, "My love is wrong, he's set it wrong, how do we..never again."
The album hits another creative high with eighth track, Lost Springs. Yellin rhapsodizes on anxiety-riddled self-accusations which results in a track that's effortlessly human. He asks questions and jumps to conclusions before answers can be heard. Sonically, the track is warm and inviting but the chill of the violin features emphasize the presence of nervous doubt before Yellin himself asks his flame, "How are you going to live your life alone?" and "I will never leave you." The final respite comes in the form of a final confirmation, a firm promise amidst a haze of doubt. Penultimate track, Was I for You?, introduces a folk-infused acoustic guitar arpeggio before an astonishing organ passage that remains one the finest moments on the record. TENN ends the album with a more traditional folk effort, acting as an epilogue to the stories of crippling sorrow and unflinching devotion. It's not so much what Yellin has learned that is noteworthy but rather his ability to remain as he is throughout his tribulations. He's acknowledged his shortcomings and is well-aware of his misfortunes but his heart remains open, willing to love while adrift in a sea of loneliness. "Floating on lost springs, to faithful heights I cling, sorrow stole my youth, what's left I'll give to you."
Country Sleep is part Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan, so evocative and yet so ethereal. The record is supremely delicate and never attempts to shroud or recast the precise order of events in question. Comparable to Joy Division's Closer in regards to just how personal of a testimony it is, Country Sleep packages long-form meditations into controlled bursts of ornamental beauty, both poetic and sonic. After the critical misfortune surrounding second LP, Ivywild, one could be lead to believe that Country Sleep was just lightning in a bottle for Winston Yellin, however, it more likely chronicles a slow burning candle, representative of a distinct mood during a place and time that cannot be reached again. A candle that burns once and only once.
"Oh God, I've forgotten how to pray,
Make me a man like you did with Abe,
Faith can carry a man to his grave,
Would you bury my bones by the garden gate?"
-Borrowed Time
Standout Tracks:
1. Even If We Try
2. 22
3. Lost Springs
90.8 [First added to this chart: 10/24/2020]
Country Sleep commences in the most unguarded of ways. Faithful Heights, an a capella vocal track, is a declaration of support, almost in an attempt to reach out to the listener as a plea to remain hopeful and use the tracks that follow as emotional support. It's a wondrous foreward serving as instructions to learn from anguish rather than have it anchor you. Yellen's voice is soaring here and needs no instrumental buoying. He howls, "And in the morning light, we'll be sure to find, a kind of love so strong, It will make us cry faithful heights." Faithful Heights is the most confident of openers, simultaneous announcing itself in the most humble of fashions. The album's largest injection of energy comes in the form of second track, Ramona. The track, certainly the most conventional of the LP, is fueled by a resilient drum beat and supported by a full band backing. Even Yellin's voice receives reinforcement here from a fellow Yellin, Abe, and Alyson Holland. The track evokes visions of the American heartland and sun-swept memories of simpler moments. Despite an uptempo, cheerful timbre, the lyrics detail a declaration a love and a promise of a brighter future that seemingly remains unrequited. Subsequent track, Even If We Try, arrives as a swaying, violin-soaked bubbling crescendo that evolves into a rhythm-heavy, country-tinged outro. It's a track that can be best described as baroque-folk and there is no better talisman for the term. Yellin coos, "Even if we try, to make ourselves alright, to mend our severed lives, while all the rivers rage, descend upon the sage, alone on willowed eves, I lift my voice to sing." Something truly heavenly radiates here, shimmering in and out with subtle grace.
Fourth track, the numerical '22', may be the most all-encompassing track from the record, existing as the sonic footprint for Country Sleep. The piece is a stirring partnership of Yellin's woebegone vocals and a twinkling organ that gives the impression that the track will dissolve at any given moment. Much like the preceding Even If We Try, '22' is often overwhelming in its aesthetic beauty, almost weeping throughout. "A part of me, I call a stranger, this part of me, I found in danger, we saw the night, you fleshed it out, across time, wearin' my heart’s smile," Yellin details. The most unabashedly southern outing on the LP would most certainly be fifth track, Borrowed Time. Billowing out at a subdued rate and punctuated by extroverted bass, the song wouldn't be out of place in a Texas tavern nearing midnight. However, unlike the twangy karaoke ballads, the track has deep-rooted sentiments. Yellin croons, Now the sky unfolds it's blackened roads, life as it was never known, go on, see your part and see this through, maybe, maybe it might move you." Cherry Blossoms follows as another exhibition of restraint that results in a spring-loaded release of tension in the shape of twelve consecutive shouts of "Take me home". Wanted_You in August is an example of a straight-forward composition acting as a showcase for Winston Yellin's magnetic vocals. Recalling either a missed opportunity or an unreciprocated adoration, he sings, "My love is wrong, he's set it wrong, how do we..never again."
The album hits another creative high with eighth track, Lost Springs. Yellin rhapsodizes on anxiety-riddled self-accusations which results in a track that's effortlessly human. He asks questions and jumps to conclusions before answers can be heard. Sonically, the track is warm and inviting but the chill of the violin features emphasize the presence of nervous doubt before Yellin himself asks his flame, "How are you going to live your life alone?" and "I will never leave you." The final respite comes in the form of a final confirmation, a firm promise amidst a haze of doubt. Penultimate track, Was I for You?, introduces a folk-infused acoustic guitar arpeggio before an astonishing organ passage that remains one the finest moments on the record. TENN ends the album with a more traditional folk effort, acting as an epilogue to the stories of crippling sorrow and unflinching devotion. It's not so much what Yellin has learned that is noteworthy but rather his ability to remain as he is throughout his tribulations. He's acknowledged his shortcomings and is well-aware of his misfortunes but his heart remains open, willing to love while adrift in a sea of loneliness. "Floating on lost springs, to faithful heights I cling, sorrow stole my youth, what's left I'll give to you."
Country Sleep is part Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan, so evocative and yet so ethereal. The record is supremely delicate and never attempts to shroud or recast the precise order of events in question. Comparable to Joy Division's Closer in regards to just how personal of a testimony it is, Country Sleep packages long-form meditations into controlled bursts of ornamental beauty, both poetic and sonic. After the critical misfortune surrounding second LP, Ivywild, one could be lead to believe that Country Sleep was just lightning in a bottle for Winston Yellin, however, it more likely chronicles a slow burning candle, representative of a distinct mood during a place and time that cannot be reached again. A candle that burns once and only once.
"Oh God, I've forgotten how to pray,
Make me a man like you did with Abe,
Faith can carry a man to his grave,
Would you bury my bones by the garden gate?"
-Borrowed Time
Standout Tracks:
1. Even If We Try
2. 22
3. Lost Springs
90.8 [First added to this chart: 10/24/2020]
Total albums: 20. Page 1 of 2
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 17 | 17% | |
| 1970s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2000s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2010s | 20 | 20% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans] | 10 | 10% | |
| Radiohead | 7 | 7% | |
| Bob Dylan | 5 | 5% | |
| Swans | 5 | 5% | |
| Vampire Weekend | 4 | 4% | |
| Charles Mingus | 4 | 4% | |
| Scott Walker | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
57 | 58% | |
 |
19 | 19% | |
 |
10 | 10% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 98 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 98 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums ratings
89/100 (from 35 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 35 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 03/27/2025 14:41 | DrewHamster | | 79/100 |
| 85/100 | 01/25/2025 14:15 | SomethingSpecial | | 86/100 |
| 90/100 | 08/21/2024 05:59 |  pedro1976 | | 85/100 |
| 70/100 | 06/23/2023 05:13 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
| 85/100 | 03/27/2023 17:55 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.9/100, a mean average of 88.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.1.
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Top 98 Greatest Music Albums comments
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85/100
From Johnnyo 03/27/2023 17:55
Exceeding chart and a great read.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Moondance 12/08/2022 00:11
We are 2 generations apart, so no surprise that our musical tastes/album preferences are not going to align. Totally respect your selections and appreciate your commentary - this chart is a definite labour of love. BTW - our one common album ~ Dark Side Of The Moon. BTW2 - thank you for introducing me to Night Beds' Country Sleep album - a future inclusion in my 2013 year chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
Larcx13 07/20/2021 15:00
I guess youre a fan of radiohead.
Hard work on the descriptions good stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
DriftingOrpheus 04/27/2021 22:55
@StreakyNuno: Your statement is demeaning to every individual who's ever experienced an inkling of an original thought...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
60/100
From StreakyNuno 04/27/2021 19:23
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
DommeDamian 04/27/2021 13:50
*shocked emoji* this is ridiculously great.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From leniad 10/21/2020 23:28
Like your taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Strangel 06/17/2020 10:18
Saw your comments on Syro which intrigued me enough to wander over here and read a bit more. I’ve always rated charts that offer explanations for each choice. So far you have gone above and beyond, plus I tend to agree with your love for many of these albums (Smiths aside). Look forward to seeing the finished version!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
55/100
From mianfei 05/14/2020 02:18
Even with very many “stereotypical” choices, this is not that bad a list.
Although I have never heard their music, Acid Bath is a wonderful surprise, as is the Misfits. I heard of both bands in the middle 2000s from one writer on Amazon.com called “janitor-x”, whose musical taste I cannot relate to but whose virulent criticism of ‘Rolling Stone’ I have never doubted nor seen refuted.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.