Treble Album of the Week 2005, Vols. I-III

by Jeff Terich

07.10.2005





Congratulations, you have made it to the middle of 2005! It's the dead of summer. The 4th of July has already passed and it's almost two months until Labor Day, the next holiday your employer will recognize. Well, at least you have the weekend. And to while your time away, you'll need some good driving/lounging/hanging out music. We've got just the ticket. While many other magazines are doing a quick round-up of their favorite releases of the year, we're doing it with mixes. Going chronologically from the beginning of the year, we're selecting one song from each record that blew us away, or at least really impressed us. So, if you feel so inclined, go ahead and tape/burn these songs onto your own mix. Or mix and match. Either way, we guarantee good listening.

Reviews of each album are linked for your convenience

Treble Album of the Week Mix, 2005, Vol. 1
1.Lowcloudcover "Menace" from I Took a Second Too Long
2.Jennifer Gentle "Liquid Coffee" from Valende
3.Innocence Mission "Edelweiss" from Now the Day is Over
4.I AM KLOOT "A Strange Arrangement of Color" from I AM KLOOT
5.And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead "The Best" from Worlds Apart
6.Bright Eyes "First Day of My Life" from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
7.Low "On the Edge Of" from The Great Destroyer
8.Ani DiFranco "Studying Stones" from Knuckle Down
9.Ed Harcourt "Loneliness" from Strangers
10.Graham Coxon "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" from Happiness in Magazines
11.Hood "The Lost You" from Outside Closer
12.Eisley "Telescope Eyes" from Room Noises
13.Klang "Waiting" from No Sound Is Heard
14.Sage Francis/Will Oldham "Sea Lion" from A Healthy Distrust
15.Doves "One of These Days" from Some Cities
16.Andrew Bird "Opposite Day" from The Mysterious Production of Eggs
17.Ben Lee "Get Gotten" from Awake is the New Sleep
18.LCD Soundsystem "Tribulations" from LCD Soundsystem
19.Josh Rouse "Streetlights" from Nashville

The first record of the year that turned our heads was a local release by Lowcloudcover, a band that clearly hasn't earned the attention they deserve. With driving rhythms and a combination of post-punk, shoegazer and goth they opened the mix with a bang. From there, things get a little weird with the psychedelic Italian folk duo Jennifer Gentle, but return to a more sweet, serene place with The Innocence Mission's rendition of "Edelweiss."

Winter 2005 offered much in the way of good Britpop. The stateside release of I AM KLOOT brought us the group's fine songs like "A Strange Arrangement of Color," while Ed Harcourt, Graham Coxon and the awe-inspiring Doves each gave us some great selections on their own. Meanwhile, singer-songwriters were in full-effect. Ani DiFranco, Bright Eyes, Andrew Bird, Ben Lee and Josh Rouse are heard with some of their best material to date on this compilation.

Experimental types should look no further than Hood for glitchy electro-pop, while those who prefer Krautrock will take to Klang's "Waiting." Trail of Dead's epic rock, Low's slow-core, Sage Francis' collaboration with Will Oldham, Eisley's Texas-bred Britpop and LCD Soundsystem's irresistible dance pop round out this compilation with some instant classics. As an early showing of Best Of contenders for 2005, Winter didn't disappoint.


Treble Album of the Week Mix, 2005, Vol. 2
1.Stars "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" from Set Yourself on Fire
2.Bloc Party "Price of Gas" from Silent Alarm
3.Kaiser Chiefs "I Predict a Riot" from Employment
4.Decemberists "16 Military Wives" from Picaresque
5.M.I.A. "Amazon" from Arular
6.Mahjongg "Stubborn Horse" from Raydoncong2005
7.Out Hud "Old Nude" from Let Us Never Speak of It Again
8.The Bravery "An Honest Mistake" from The Bravery
9.The National "Mr. November" from Alligator
10.Okkervil River "For Real" from Black Sheep Boy
11.British Sea Power "Please Stand Up" from Open Season
12.Love as Laughter "In Amber" from Laughter's Fifth
13.New Order "Turn" from Waiting for the Siren's Call
14.Caribou "Barnowl" from The Milk of Human Kindness
15.Patrick Wolf "The Libertine" from Wind in the Wires
16.Eels "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)" from Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
17.Spoon "My Mathematical Mind" from Gimme Fiction

Stars' "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" opens not only their recent Set Yourself on Fire, but our second installment of the Treble mix as well. It's a powerful, yet beautiful statement that opens the gates for some of the year's best music, all packed on one compilation. Bloc Party made the Iraq War and conspiracy theories palatable with some Bauhaus-inspired rock, while The Kaiser Chiefs channeled the Jam through their tale of urban decay.

The Decemberists and Okkervil River both released adventurous indie-folk, selections from each of which are seen here. Sri Lankan electroclash diva M.I.A. made her full-length debut, from which the exotic "Amazon" is pulled, and Mahjongg make the best use of horse samples since the Avalanches' "Frontier Psychiatrist." Out Hud continues with the dancey vibe, while Caribou turns it into something more experimental and psychedelic.

New Order's return this spring didn't disappoint, and "Turn" showed that they still got it. The Bravery, however, got it too, just in the form of much younger, Killers-hating, bodies. For sheer intensity, not much beats The National's pick, a rocker amongst an album full of downtempo, dark Nick Cave-inspired tunes. British Sea Power make Britpop respectable again in their wonderful single "Please Stand Up," while Love As Laughter make borrowing from Neil Young respectable, and ass-kickin' again.

Mark Oliver Everett had a good spring with his double disc set, from which "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)" is pulled, as did Patrick Wolf, who is younger than the majority of Treble's writers. And Spoon closes off our set with a song that makes two-chord piano sound cooler than it ever has before. Britt Daniel seems to have that quality with most of his projects.


Treble Treble Album of the Week Mix, 2005, Vol. 3
1.Ryan Adams "Let It Ride" from Cold Roses
2.Nic Armstrong and the Thieves "Broken Mouth Blues" from The Greatest White Liar
3.Sleater-Kinney "Jumpers" from The Woods
4.Maxïmo Park "Apply Some Pressure" from A Certain Trigger
5.Johnathan Rice "My Mother's Son" from Trouble is Real
6.Annie "Helpless Fool For Love" from Anniemal
7.Emiliana Torrini "Sunny Road" from Fisherman's Woman
8.Amusement Parks on Fire "Venosa" from Amusement Parks on Fire
9.Art Brut "Bad Weekend" from Bang Bang Rock & Roll
10.Jamie Lidell "Newme" from Multiply
11.Black Mountain "No Satisfaction" from Black Mountain
12.White Stripes "The Nurse" from Get Behind Me Satan
13.Sufjan Stevens "Chicago" from Illinois
14.Xiu Xiu "Muppet Face" from La Forêt
15.Kinski "The Party Which You Know Will Be Rocking" from Alpine Static

The only way we could possibly think to begin our third AOW mix of the year is with Ryan Adams' barn-burning single "Let It Ride," a perfect road trip song and an extended middle finger to the Ryan-haters, though that was from us, not him, mind you. Nic Armstrong follows with a bouncy, fun British blues rock song. And Sleater-Kinney take their two-guitar/no bass sound to another level, thanks to a lack of restraint and some unbelievably loud production from Dave Fridmann.

We're still clinging to "Apply Some Pressure" as one of the best singles of the year, but there are plenty of worthy contenders. Johnathan Rice and Emiliana Torrini, two extremely talented singer-songwriters wowed us with surprisingly elaborate and stripped-down productions, respectively. Norwegian pop-princess Annie made dancing fun again, albeit with a fair share of ambient and unusual effects to back her up.

For sheer noise's sake, instrumental combo Kinski and new Englanders Amusement Parks on Fire create hefty walls of feedback, though the Stones and Sabbath-loving Black Mountain make a fine ruckus on their own. Art Brut doesn't know to what genre they belong, but we file them under "awesome," with this rocking track.

Jamie Lidell brings the funk while The White Stripes bring the Beefheart-isms. Sufjan Stevens re-routes his 50 States trip to Illinois, "Chicago" being an anthemic centerpiece to the album. And Xiu Xiu, in spite of many quiet, introspective songs, found time to rock out here and there, "Muppet Face" being one of the best examples.

And that concludes our newest installment of the Treble Album of the Week Mix. If you can track down these songs, or albums for that matter, please do. They're some of the best tunes you'll hear in 2005.