Well the end of another year has come and that means it is time to assess the album situation. There were some pieces of music put out by yours truly:
In the spirit of fairness I have disqualified those from the running. Plus, honestly not many people have shown any kind of interest in those anyway, but I had to mention them. Now, on to the actual list.
(1 to 10 scale where 10 is very good, 5 is neutral and 1 is very bad)
8 – Fiona Apple 5.5 ☆
This one was not as impressive to me as some of her others but still good enough to mention. Good ol’ crazy Fiona.
7- Pinback “Information Retrieved” 6 ☆
A friend told me about this band earlier this year and their showing was good enough to get in and not be last place in my list.
6 – Mumford & Sons “Babel” 6.5 ☆
Some pretty good stringed instrument work on display here. There are some pretty powerful things they do with the instruments on this album.
5 – Band of Horses “Mirage Rock” 7.5 ☆
While not as impressive as previous work from the Horses it is well worth the listen and I recommend it somewhat strongly.
4 – Toadies “Play.Rock.Music” 7.9 ☆
This is a good strong album from a great band. There are some real nice crazy tunes on this puppy.
3 – Baroness “Yellow and Green” 9.3 ☆
The strengths of this album are guitars, guitars, guitars. It is an album with a good mix of heavy and flow and that mix with the great guitar work make this one of my faves this year. Both discs are very enjoyable experiences.
2 – Soundgarden “King Animal” 9.3 ☆
Was there any doubt that this album would be near the top of my list? Well, after Chris Cornell’s latest solo work maybe there was some doubt. But Soundgarden came back strong with another big album. King Animal doesn’t feel like a “reunion” album. It feels somewhat like they just took a long break before recording this one. It does have one glaring weakness embodied in the song “Halfway There”. This song sticks out from the rest like a sore thumb. It doesn’t match the feel of the album well at all. The demo version of this song which is available on iTunes is actually more bearable than the album version and I recommend the replacement. Other than the one problem though this is a very strong album with great tunes like “By Crooked Steps” and “Bones of Birds”.
1 – Big Wreck “Albatross” 9.5 ☆
After about a decade of not existing this amazing band got back together and made a great album. In my opinion it is not quite as great as their other albums but still great nonetheless. Big Wreck managed to hold off the very strong showing by an also reunited Soundgarden and I attribute it to the one out of place song that I previously mentioned.
As usual I am open to suggestions or friendly reminders as to why I am wrong or what I missed.
This is hardly a complete list…what about Bridgette Mendler? With lyrics like “I need you like a kid needs Reese’s Pieces” how could it not be in the top?
This is an egregious error and I feel horrible for not including it. Oh well.
I am very please to see that Big Wreck and Soundgarden took the #1 and #2 spot I have waited ten years to see that.