Treble Album of the Week Mix Project 2004

by Jeff Terich; Treble Staff

09.12.2004





If you've been paying attention to Treble over the last year, you will have noticed that we set aside two albums each week that we consider the cream of the crop. Hence, we call them `album of the week.' These are the albums that not only have some great singles, intros or closers, but hold together well as a whole. These are albums that demand repeated listens. And though we tend to favor 80% of what we review, we set these aside because we know that those record shopping on a budget would only want to drop their hard earned cash on something that's, as we might say, truly great.

Well, we've taken it a step further by choosing one song from each album of the week and putting them on a mix. With that in mind, these are the ultimate mixes of the year. But that isn't to say that the rest of the songs on these albums should be ignored. Quite the contrary. But this is a sampling of the greatness that we've had the chance to listen to and write about. And beneath each song selection, we've included a quote from that album's review and a link to the review, should you happen to have missed it the first time around.

Many of these songs can be found on artists' websites or their labels' websites. Though some can, unfortunately, only be found on the albums themselves. Whatever the case, we invite you to play the Treble home game and make these mixes on your own. Or any other mix you see fit. But if ya ask us, these are some of the best songs 2004 has offered.

Treble AOW Mix 2004, Vol. 1

1. Stereolab "Bop Scotch"
from Margerine Eclipse
"[Bop Scotch] is an exhilarating mix of hard-driving beats and surfy riffs."
Read Review

2. Electrelane "On Parade"
from The Power Out
"First single `On Parade' is a brief, surf-influenced dance-punk track that's as sexy as it is raw…"
Read Review

3. Your Enemies Friends "Business French Kiss"
from You Are Being Videotaped
"…when singer Ronnie Washburn duets with bassist Dana James on the sassy "Business French Kiss," one can't help but be reminded of a young John Doe singing alongside Exene Cervenka at the Whisky."
Read Review

4. Destroyer "Your Blues"
from Your Blues
"Hailing from Vancouver, this is the Canadian's sixth album under the name, and arguably the best."
Read Review

5. Franz Ferdinand "Auf Achse"
from Franz Ferdinand
"Franz Ferdinand is the next step in an evolution."
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6. TV on the Radio "The Wrong Way"
from Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
"Opener "The Wrong Way" rides a fuzzed-out, galloping bassline and funky saxophone squeals while vocalist Tunde Adebimpe sings `I woke up in a magic nigger movie…'"
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7. Sufjan Stevens "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
from Seven Swans
"To enjoy the beauty of Sufjan Steven's music, voice, and lyrics, you don't need to try very hard at all."
Read Review

8. Iron and Wine "Free Until They Cut Me Down"
from Our Endless Numbered Days
"Iron and Wine's music is so beautiful and mesmerizing that it's hard to find fault with it."
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9. Snow Patrol "Somewhere a Clock is Ticking"
from Final Straw
"The best track on the album, in my humble opinion, is the bombastic and quietly grandiose `Somewhere a Clock is Ticking.'"
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10. Madvillain "Raid"
from Madvillainy
"Madlib and DOOM have crafted what may be the hip-hop album of the year."
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11. Blonde Redhead "Messenger"
from Misery is a Butterfly
"They've taken a sound that they've developed over nearly ten years and decided to create something different altogether."
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12. Dios "Starting Five"
from Dios
"One also has to admire the balls to have a chorus of `woo-hoo-hoo's' instead of real lyrics."
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13. David Byrne "Civilization"
from Grown Backwards
"While the lyrics reveal confusion, the music, led by John Linnell's (of They Might Be Giants) mischievously gleeful accordion, is carefree and bouncy, suggesting that customs not be taken too seriously."
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14. Modest Mouse "Bukowski"
from Good News For People Who Love Bad News
"Good News For People Who Love Bad News is the record that we all knew the band was capable of but never recorded."
Read Review

15. Les Savy Fav "The Sweat Descends"
from Inches
"Jabour approximates a ballsier Edge, all digital delay and depravity until Harrington meets a crash of bass and distortion with his cry of `wake me up when we get to heaven!'"
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16. Devendra Banhart "Fall"
from Rejoicing in the Hands
"`Fall' has more instrumentation than any other song on the album and it is a wonder to listen to."
Read review

17. Morrissey "I Like You"
from You Are the Quarry
"In his own words, `You're not right in the head and nor am I / and this is why / this is why I like you.'"
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18. Hint Hint "Same Skies"
from Young Days
"Young Days isn't so much a departure but rather an exploration of the darker edges of Sex."
Read Review

19. McLusky "That Man Will Not Hang"
from The Difference Between You and Me Is I'm Not On Fire
"… the group is becoming increasingly multifaceted, throwing in new suprises and unexpected sources of inspiration."
Read Review

20. PJ Harvey "The Letter"
from Uh Huh Her
"The first single, `The Letter,' also stands out, a sensual tale of letter writing that results in the best ode to long-distance longing since The Pixies' `Cactus.'"
Read Review

21. !!! "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Gets Krayzee"
from Louden Up Now
"I'm not sure what sorts of dance parties play !!! (or entirely how to dance to them, exactly), but it's a shame there aren't more of them around."
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Treble AOW Mix 2004, Vol. 2

1. The Album Leaf "The Outer Banks"
from In a Safe Place
"[The Outer Banks] feels like it should be the soundtrack for an epiphany I had of a need for change and self-realization."
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2. Wilco "Company in My Back"
from a ghost is born
"`Company in My Back' arguably has the catchiest chorus on the record (`Holy shit! There's a company in my back')."
Read Review

3. Keane "Bedshaped"
from Hopes and Fears
"What do you call a rock band with no guitars? A welcome change to the norm, that's what."
Read Review

4. Delays "Nearer Than Heaven"
from Faded Seaside Glamour
"'Nearer Than Heaven' is, quite possibly, the perfect pop song."
Read Review

5.Animal Collective "Winter's Love"
from Sung Tongs
"Beginning simplistically and almost childlike, the song is again a complex tapestry of Animal Collective's three tools, guitar, percussion, and vocals."
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6. AC Newman "The Cloud Prayer"
from The Slow Wonder
"Everything on The Slow Wonder is simple and to the point, without being bogged down by clichés."
Read Review

7. The Killers "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
from Hot Fuss
"…the song is a perfect intro to a near perfect album."
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8. Rogue Wave "Endless Shovel"
from Out of the Shadow
"Rogue Wave is so versatile a band that they could probably make a hit song with any sort of instrument or recording device."
Read Review

9.Fiery Furnaces "Straight Street"
from Blueberry Boat
"Blueberry Boat, the band's sophomore release, has taken the band from inventive young songwriters to megalomaniacal musical mad scientists."
Read Review

10. They Might Be Giants "Some Crazy Bastard Wants to Hit Me"
from The Spine
"It seems that tales of loves lost and betrayed no longer hold a monopoly on the vocoder. Let freedom ring."
Read Review

11. Junior Boys "Teach Me How to Fight"
from Last Exit
"'Teach Me How to Fight' is the most anthemic and beautiful track on the album."
Read Review

12. Jolie Holland "Old Fashioned Morphine"
from Escondida
"'Old Fashioned Morphine''s ode to opiates falls somewhere between negro spiritual and whorehouse jazz."
Read Review

13. Adem "One in a Million"
from Homesongs
"Homesongs actually gives the listener the feeling that he's been invited inside the singer-songwriter's flat to cozy up by the fireplace on a rainy day and listen to some songs he wrote on his acoustic guitar."
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14.The Court and Spark "Suffolk Down Upon the Night"
from Witch Season
"What could have been a cool sounding southwestern rock track became a lively, strangely funky country-rock symphony."
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15. The Mendoza Line "Let's Not Talk About It"
from Fortune
"Fortune is simply put, the best and most exciting album I've heard so far this year."
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16. Gravenhurst "Bluebeard"
from Flashlight Seasons
"Like a Lithium-induced version of `Bigmouth Strikes Again,' it's yet another catchy tune that still can't shake its sinister underpinnings"
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17. Badly Drawn Boy "Another Devil Dies"
from One Plus One Is One
"'Another Devil Dies' contains enough piano and trumpet hooks for a Burt Bacharach hits album."
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18.Joan of Arc "Gripped by the Lips"
from Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain
"I honestly never thought I'd say this but the new Joan of Arc record is totally sweet."
Read Review