Treble Album of the Week Mix 2005, Vol. IV

by Jeff Terich; Treble Staff

10.02.2005





Hooray! It's time for another Album of the Week mix! We were certainly ready for another one, as you probably were too. We had an interesting mix of music in the time that spans from July to September, beginning with the post-punk majesty of The Wilderness and closing with the prog-rock odyssey of the Super Furry Animals' latest offering. The only drawback is that there were so many good albums that came out, we couldn't make them all album of the week. To think that two per week just isn't enough! Still, as critics, we hold ourselves responsible for making our audience aware of the most truly amazing new releases, and here are 17 songs that we chose from those amazing new releases. Get your downloading fingers ready!

Reviews of each album are linked for your convenience

Treble Album of the Week Mix 2005, Vol. 4

1. The Wilderness "Arkless" from The Wilderness
2. Juan McLean "Give Me Every Little Thing" from Less Than Human
3. Marjorie Fair "How Can You Laugh" from Self Help Serenade
4. Engineers "Home" from Engineers
5. Mazarin "The New American Apathy" from We're Already There
6. Michael Penn "Walter Reed" from Mr. Hollywood Jr.1947
7. Spinto Band "Direct to Helmet" from Nice and Nicely Done
8. Blue Scholars "The Inkwell" from Blue Scholars
9. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
10. The New Pornographers "The Bones of An Idol" from Twin Cinema
11. Bill Ricchini "Close the Door" from Tonight I Burn Brightly
12. Death Cab for Cutie "Marching Bands of Manhattan" from Plans
13. Laura Veirs "Galaxies" from Year of Meteors
14. CocoRosie "Beautiful Boyz" from Noah's Ark
15. Sigur Ros "Glósóli" from Takk…
16. Devendra Banhart "Hey Mama Wolf" from Cripple Crow
17. Super Furry Animals "Lazer Beam" from Love Kraft

The summer is usually a time to break out the singles, go to the beach, crank up the hits and start dancing. Strangely, the best records of the summer were split between more upbeat pop albums and less obvious, "headphone" albums as they're often called. The Wilderness' self-titled debut hit in July, with the ominous "Arkless" among its many highlights. Yet Juan McLean brought dance back onto the table with Less Than Human, which featured a great many robo-disco anthems, such as "Give Me Every Little Thing," containing guest vocals by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy. Slower, more atmospheric numbers were provided by Engineers and Marjorie Fair, while Mazarin gave us some socio-political food for thought as we gaze at our shoes.

Michael Penn's "concept" album Mr. Hollywood Jr. 1947 gave us many standouts including leadoff track "Walter Reed." The Spinto Band's irresistible pop left us with many awesome tracks to choose from, but we went with "Direct to Helmet," even though "Oh, Mandy" was a strong contender. Pacific Northwest hip-hop outfit Blue Scholars provided an underground masterpiece with their self-titled debut, which featured the incredible "Inkwell." And while the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah anthem "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" was certainly a fantastic moment for unsigned bands, The New Pornographers still get the award for best summertime pop album with Twin Cinema, from which "The Bones of An Idol" came.

As the summer transitioned into fall, however, the mood changed fairly dramatically from one of carefree pop (interspersed with more moody pieces) to one of atmosphere and introspection. Bill Ricchini's short, but beautiful song "Close the Door" was among the greatest moments on Tonight I Burn Brightly. Longtime Treble favorites Death Cab for Cutie made an impact with "Marching Bands of Manhattan," the leadoff track from their major label debut Plans. Singer-songwriter Laura Veirs' "Galaxies" sounds almost like the female equivalent to Death Cab for Cutie, so it's fitting that the two are positioned so closely. Antony was chosen as the Mercury Prize winner not long after CocoRosie released Noah's Ark, which features the famed crooner on melancholy, bizarre track "Beautiful Boyz." The return of Sigur Ros and their Takk… album gave us a bevy of wonderful songs, such as "Glósóli." Devendra Banhart's "Hey Mama Wolf" showed that freak-folksters can write beautiful songs too. And Welsh rockers Super Furry Animals close out this set with "Lazer Beam," a spaced-out rock tune that only proves how great the band has remained over the last ten years.

Treble's Recommended Listening for Fall 2005

Okay, so even though we made ourselves trim some of the contenders for album of the week, there was still no shortage of great music in the last couple of months, and as such, we have compiled a bonus disc of great songs from some of the albums that almost were albums of the week, but didn't quite make it. Regardless, we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on these goodies, as even though they may not be among our AOW elite, they're still really damn good.

Kiss Me Deadly "Dance 4" from Misty Medley
The Double "Idiocy" from Loose in the Air
Iron & Wine/Calexico "History of Lovers" from In the Reins
Pajo "High Lonesome Moan" from Pajo
Calla "Initiate" from Collisions
Brakes "Heard About Your Band" from Give Blood
Rosebuds "Outnumbered" from Birds Make Good Neighbors
Harvey Danger "Little Round Mirrors" from Little by Little
Richard Hawley "Coles Corner" from Coles Corner
Richard Swift "Losing Sleep" from Walking Without Effort
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals "Trains" from Jacksonville City Nights
Nada Surf "Your Legs Grow" from The Weight is a Gift
Clue to Kalo "Your Palsy Protect You" from One Way It's Every Way