Before splintering off to form Sparta and The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In seemed poised to take over the world with its final release, Relationship of Command. Catchy enough to woo the MTV circuit while containing all the technical complexity and cerebral stream-of-consciousness wordplay to enthrall the prog cognoscenti, At The Drive-In's magnum opus also kept themselves from alienating their hardcore punk base by retaining their Black Flag-esque energy, effectively forming a Venn diagram of listeners that shouldn't have been possible in the early '00s. And hey, if Iggy Pop thinks it's good enough to lend his voice to, you know you've got something special on your hands. -CJ
19. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Major label blah blah sellout blah blah one hit wonder blah blah blah Kids’ Bop. Yeah I’ve heard it all before, and after spending a few hours digesting this album I remain resolutely unconvinced by all the backlash (that would be more appropriate for the album after this). If anything the mainstream came to Modest Mouse, not the other way around. As such songs like “Bukowski” and “Ocean Breathes Salty” still retain all the disaffection and bottom-of-a-bottle existentialism that defines Isaac Brock’s best efforts and would’ve fit perfectly on Lonesome Crowded West—except the music and production quality are just a little brighter this go-round with horns and other backing instruments as a reminder of where the extra money went. And “Bury Me with It” is one of their greatest jolts of neurotic energy since “Doin’ the Cockroach.” I suspect Good News would’ve placed higher on this list if it didn’t have to share real estate with its stellar predecessor. -Stephen
18. Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes
Did I mention that Death Cab For Cutie sucks? Because Death Cab For Cutie sucks. Their mix of self indulgent sentimentality, nostalgia, over-blown yet mild mopiness, it's disgusting. It is. So why is this album so far up here? Because it's amazing in every way. Because instead of quiet sadness we get quiet desperation, we get calm determination, we get smoldering fire, we get anger. We get songs about sharing cigarettes in the hallway and cursing ex's and doomed highways set over the absolute best instrumentations this side of Explosions In The Sky. It's just beautiful. -Stuart
17. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Post Nothing is obviously a high energy garage-rock two-piece type of album, so what’s the difference between Post Nothing and other albums of the same style? Post Nothing sounds triple-extra fucking fat as hell. The density of the production and the tones (Brian King uses several amps to achieve a multilayered guitar sound), and even the way the vocals are sung together under deliciously warm overdrive makes the music resonate loudly. Post Nothing in theory doesn’t do anything new: Japandroids sing about being young and energetic, but they get the point across in such an individualized way that isn’t based around channeling an emotion through a set formula, something that lots of music focusing on particular emotions seem to do (i.e punk). “I don’t want to worry about dying; I just want to worry about those sunshine girls”. -Adrain
16. The Velvet Teen - Cum Laude!
The Velvet Teen's particular brand of noise rock sets it's self apart in such a great number of ways. Their heavy distorted synth over the torrent that is Casey Deitz behind a drum set sounds so like hardcore punk subjected to weeks of harsh radiation. You FEEL this music, it moves you. It comes down on you. -Stuart
17. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Post Nothing is obviously a high energy garage-rock two-piece type of album, so what’s the difference between Post Nothing and other albums of the same style? Post Nothing sounds triple-extra fucking fat as hell. The density of the production and the tones (Brian King uses several amps to achieve a multilayered guitar sound), and even the way the vocals are sung together under deliciously warm overdrive makes the music resonate loudly. Post Nothing in theory doesn’t do anything new: Japandroids sing about being young and energetic, but they get the point across in such an individualized way that isn’t based around channeling an emotion through a set formula, something that lots of music focusing on particular emotions seem to do (i.e punk). “I don’t want to worry about dying; I just want to worry about those sunshine girls”. -Adrain
16. The Velvet Teen - Cum Laude!
The Velvet Teen's particular brand of noise rock sets it's self apart in such a great number of ways. Their heavy distorted synth over the torrent that is Casey Deitz behind a drum set sounds so like hardcore punk subjected to weeks of harsh radiation. You FEEL this music, it moves you. It comes down on you. -Stuart
15. The Mountain Goats – Tallahassee
Truth be told I’m a newbie to the Goats, and this is the only album of theirs I’ve heard straight through, so I can’t make any comparisons to the rest of their oeuvre. But I can say this—a more devastating portrait of toxic relationships and domestic trauma hasn’t been recorded since Lou Reed’s Berlin. John Darnielle’s lilting vocal and softly contemplative, mostly acoustic music does nothing to soften the brutal imagery of a self-destructive couple on the verge of an alcohol-fueled final collapse, and the black-as-coal humor sprinkled within “International Small Arms Traffic Blues,” “Games Shows Touch Our Lives” and—yes—“No Children” makes a fitting partner for the absolutely cutting and poetic desperation, angst and ultimately bittersweet redemption reflected throughout. Doesn’t come with a handle of whiskey and a Greyhound ticket, but it should. -Stephen
14. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
When one thinks of synth-based music, "tender" is not often the first word that comes to mind. Yet that's one of the only accurate ways to describe Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips' finest work and an early benchmark for both indie rock and electronica this decade. Wayne Coyne lays himself completely bare here as he finds past loves and cyborgs from space to be equally worthy foes and explores every heartfelt subject with an honesty that never becomes whiny or tiresome. Michael Ivins and Steve Dzord are also at their peak when it comes to musicianship, creating jaw-droppingly intricate and utterly overwhelming portraits of joy and crushing despair alike, creating the perfect sonic road for Coyne's vocals to travel down. It's an album that's as perfect for finding new love as it is for dealing with unbearable heartbreak-possibly, in that regard, the best since Abbey Road 35 years before. -CJ
13. Tool – Lateralus
Lateralus is a Gothic cathedral positioned on the plateaus of Mars, an aural infection that enters the ears and coasts through the blood. It takes heavy metal intensity and shadows it in a Floydian cosmic smoke circa A Saucerful of Secrets, creating an album that is as perfect for the mosh pit as it is for the meditation chamber. Tool creates a bleak landscape here, borrowing liberally from Krautrock and slamming those elements until they fit into a modern alt-metal template, bashing a square peg into a round hole until it fit so well that you'd think psychedelia had always always sounded like this, always mined that pit in your stomach for all it's worth like this album does. But it didn't. Only Lateralus did that, and whether you loved it or loathed it, Tool created one of the most unforgettable albums of all time. -CJ
12. The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
The Glow Pt 2. is The Microphones most acclaimed work up to date, and rightfully so. Raw acoustic guitar tones, soft boyish vocals that are executed without sounding overtly sensitive or conceited, in combination with out of tune upright pianos and blasts of loud and triumphant instrumental passages (including the occasional analog electronics) are amongst a few of the elements that constitute and distinguish the evocative singer-songwriter-song-soundscapes by Phil Elverum. -Adrian
11. Gorillaz – Demon Days
My friend Parker will swear that Demon Days is this generation's White Album, and he might not be that far off. This dark and crazy album shifts styles like congress switches parties, without ever coming off as a gimmick or forced in any way. And all of them are ounces of pop genius. From the cry of "Are They Turning Us In To Monsters?" to the kick of Dare, every moment is brilliantly produced and frighteningly catchy. This album is as wonderful as it is evil. -Stuart
phil elvrum is fan fuckin tastic
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