Most bloggers/reviewers publish a list along these lines at some point so I may as well get it out of the way.
5. Sleaford Mods "Key Markets" 2015
Sleaford Mods are two middle aged men from Nottingham with eight albums and a lifetime of anger under their belts. The latest album by the duo came into the UK album chart at number 10, much to everyone's surprise (and my delight), front-man Jason Williamson also recently featured on a Prodigy track titled "Ibiza". The lyrics are by far the most striking feature on this album, a personal favourite of mine has to be "Boris on a bike?/Quick, knock the cunt over". This is but one gem in an album full to the brim with gems. Williamson spits pure anger and hatred, cloaked in incredible satire, towards every last bit of the establishment and society on the whole. There aren't many (if any) acts in music today that are willing to make their opinion so public in such a brutal fashion, the delivery of every point Williamson makes is shrouded in colloquialisms and profanity. And it is glorious. Every single track on the album is marked "EXPLICIT". The music that backs these lyrics is dirty and grimy, loud thundering bass lines supported by clanging drum machine beats and the occasional synthesiser. Not only is this album funny and entertaining to listen to but as it goes on you find yourself agreeing with the lyrics, by the end you find yourself sitting in your room absolutely infuriated at every single piece of your day to day life.
4. Arcade Fire "The Suburbs" 2010
This is the third album by Canadian indie/rock band Arcade Fire, they immediately made a name for themselves with their 2007 debut "Funeral". However, it was this L.P. that launched them into the spotlight. It provided them with a chance to headline Reading and Leeds festival 2010 and scored them Album of year at the 2011 Grammy Awards as well as a BRIT award for best international album. The album is 16 tracks long, which may seem a little daunting but it flows incredibly well, songs blend into each other before changing direction drastically. Musically it has everything we've come to expect from an Arcade Fire album, a fairly typical indie sound backed by orchestral scores and the poetic lyrics and voice of Win Butler. But it is the overall message of fleeting youth and how people look back on it that is a thing of beauty. A particularly good example of this is the 13th track "We Used To Wait" in which Butler sings "Now our lives are changing fast/hope that something good can last", this pretty much sums up the album and the reasons why I love it.
3. Kanye West "Yeezus" 2013
I think it's fair to say that almost everybody who has been living on planet earth for the last ten years or so knows who Kanye West is. Very few artists have completely reshaped their particular genre in the way that this man has, every album he has released has had a huge impact on the way rap music is performed and produced worldwide. However, in my opinion this is by far his greatest work. "Black Skinhead" is probably the most commercially successful track from the album, peaking at number six in the UK R&B chart but it is far from the best on the album. "New Slaves" and "Blood On The Leaves" steal the show for me. Kanye uses "New Slaves" to vent his frustrations concerning racism in America and the paparazzi he is constantly contending with amongst other things. "Blood On The Leaves" is probably the most controversial track on the album as it samples Nina Simone's rendition of "Strange Fruit", originally a poem written by Abel Meeropol in 1937 to protest racism in America. The reason this caused controversy is because it is sampled behind lyrics describing relationship problems. This is hardly a fair comparison but that is why I find it so intriguing, it works very well alongside the auto-tune feature which Kanye uses almost like an instrument throughout the track. The music on the album is very industrial and electronic, which, coupled with the lyrics cements the L.P. at the number three spot on this list.
2. Tame Impala "Innerspeaker" 2010
Australian psych outfit Tame Impala are one of the biggest names in alternative music right now, topping the first ever prog-rock chart earlier this year with their latest and third full length album "Currents". However, this album stands out to me as their best for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that front-man Kevin Parker writes, records and produces the music completely alone, spending many months putting together the complex layers of sound that can be heard on the album. The album uses classic psychedelic instruments and patterns but somehow makes itself sound new and fresh, something which is rarely seen, notably the bands use of guitar pedals and synthesisers which come together in such a harmony that I am yet to hear work on this level. The song "Solitude Is Bliss" is a personal highlight of mine, providing the listener with a shameless "Lucy In The Sky.." style reference about drug use: "There's a party in my head/and no one is invited" followed by the chorus in which Parker sings the phrase "You will never come close to how I feel".
1. Sun Kil Moon "Benji" 2014
For those of you who don't know, Sun Kil Moon are an American indie/folk act fronted by original Red House Painter's member Mark Kozelek. Benji is the sixth studio album by the group and is regarded by many as the best album of 2014. It was the group's big break and received rave reviews across the board, pulling in a 9.2 rating from Pitchfork. The sheer brutal honesty on the album is what makes it for me, the lyrics cut deep. The usual rhyming patterns go out of the window and I'm not even sure most of the audio is what you'd call singing, it has more in common with cinema or literature. However, it tells some of the most true to life and harrowing accounts of personal experience I've ever heard. The song "I Can't Live Without My Mothers Love" simply describing the emptiness and sadness Mark will feel when his mother dies (sounds a little morbid I know but it's crafted beautifully). The song "Jim Wise" describes the story of one of Mark's father's friends being stuck on house arrest for killing his terminally ill wife. It's not all doom and gloom though, songs such as "I Love My Dad" and closer "Ben's My Friend" take some of the overall heaviness of the album away. Musically the album has some of the best acoustic guitar pieces I have ever heard, backed by soft drum beats and the occasionally saxophone the music suits the tone of the album perfectly.
Words: Liam Navey.
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