Heavy Metal Mouth's Album Of The Year: 2000-2013

It seems to be a badge of honour these days to mourn the death of modern music among the current generation of listeners who've convinced themselves that they'd rather have lived in the 60's, 70's or 90's (nobody wants to live in the 80's) for the sole purpose of immersing themselves in the music scene of that time be it the hippy, hard rock, or grunge style that was dominating the airwaves throughout their respective decades. Well I'm here to argue otherwise, and tell you that I'm proud to be a product of the times that have produced the following albums and acts since the millennium year.

From the turn of the century, we've been bestowed with many a musical talent. The likes of Radiohead, Blur and Oasis continued their already established success while we were introduced to some of the biggest names in the world today with acts such as The Arcade Fire, The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys beginning to dominate after their impressive arrivals on the world stage. Each year has produced a range of outstanding albums, so let's take a look at the very finest as we count down the Albums Of The Year 00-13.

2000: Kid A- Radiohead




In 1998, a documentary was released entitled Meeting People Is Easy that followed Radiohead on the road during their Angels & Demons tour in support of the universally acclaimed OK Computer in 1997. It exposed the mental and physical strain of a world tour in a way that had never been witnessed onscreen before- Frontman Thom Yorke suffered a complete mental breakdown as he struggled to deal with the band's newfound success and for a short time it seemed possible that we'd never hear from Radiohead again.

So how exactly would the band respond to an album that many have labelled since the greatest of all time? Well, if you're Radiohead, you just create another, only this time you completely reinvent your sound and simultaneously create and perfect and style of music that would be dominate the next century of music, right to the present day. A mind-blowing electronica masterpiece that began the century in style and has dominated it since.

Best Tracks: Everything In Its Right Place/Idioteque/Motion Picture Soundtrack

Honourable Mentions: The Marshall Mathers LP- Eminem, Agaetis Bryjun- Sigur Ros, We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes- Death Cab For Cutie

2001: Discovery- Daft Punk

The opening four song combination of ''One More Time'' to ''Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger'' that kicks off Discovery is as impressive a foursome you'll ever hear in music. With Thomas Bangalar and Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo's second album, the duo redefined dance music with their blend of disco, synth and house and they have remained kings of the genre since, despite their failure to replicate the sensational dance classic that is Discovery.

Best Tracks: Aerodynamic/Digital Love/Something About Us

Honourable Mentions: Is This It?- The Strokes, Amnesiac- Radiohead, Gorillaz- Gorillaz, Vespertine- Bjork

2002: Turn On The Bright Lights- Interpol



 It's been a whole ten years since we were first introduced to Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, Carlos D and Sam Fogarino on Turn On The Bright Lights but a decade later, it sounds just as relevant and innovative as it did back then. The release of Interpol's debut was met with universal praise, introducing a new generation to the sound of post-punk as sculpted by the likes of Joy Division and Echo & The Bunnymen. The fact is though, that Interpol are a far different band than most would have you believe to Joy Divison or any of their predecessors. To compare the two is futile and insulting to the NY four piece because Turn On The Bright Lights has become a classic in it's own right, one that stands alongside Closer, Ocean Rain or The Queen Is Dead and in my opinion even surpasses them.

The beauty of Interpol's work and the reason they've always been so enjoyable live is the apparent simplicity of their work, but the fact is it took real creative and technical genius to achieve something as epic and glorious as Turn On The Bright Lights. Ten years on and for my money there hasn't been a finer album since, and I'll be surprised if I'm not saying that again in another ten.

Best Tracks: Untitled/The New/Leif Erikson

Honourable Mentions: ( ) - Sigur Ros, Sea Change- Beck, Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil Keep Your Ear To The Ground- Bright Eyes

2003: You Forgot It In People- Broken Social Scene



2003 was a year filled with impressive debuts- The Postal Service influenced a generation of synth pop dreamers with Give Up while Fever To Tell announced the arrival of The Yeah Yeah Yeah's punk pop in style. This was Broken Social Scene's second following Feel Good Lost, a mostly instrumental, post rock effort that is extremely enjoyable in it's own right, but You Forgot It In People felt like the true arrival of Canadian collective with it's flawless blend of indie rock and baroque pop.

Best Tracks: Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl/Lover's Spit/I'm Still Your Fag

Honourable Mentions: Hail To The Thief- Radiohead, Give Up- The Postal Service, Fever To Tell- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place- Explosions In The Sky, Transaltanticism- Death Cab For Cutie

2004: Funeral- The Arcade Fire



Funeral was born out of the loss of several family members for The Arcade Fire in a short space of time- Win and William Butler lost their grandfather, Regine Chassange's grandmother passed away while Richard Parry's aunt also died. But out of the darkness came the light as these combined tragedies paved the way for an album that many proclaimed the best of the decade. There will never be another Funeral, despite the countless number of acts who've tried to imitate it since, because the sheer passion, heart-on-sleeve emotion that is captured so vividly within these ten tracks cannot be recreated. Funeral's message is one of triumph in unity, and it couldn't be more fitting for the Canadian nine piece, each of whom combine with a startling range of instruments (violin, viola, double bass, cello, xylophone, glockenspiel, French horn, hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, accordion and harp are all used) to create this tender masterpiece. A one of a kind, lightening in a bottle classic that will never be matched again.

Best Tracks: Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)/Wake Up/Rebellion (Lies)

Honourable Mentions: Talkie Walkie- Air, The Milk Eyed Mender- Joanna Newsom, Soviet Kitcsh- Regina Spektor

2005: Silent Alarm- Bloc Party



It was extremely difficult for me to ignore Conor Oberst's double release of I'm Wide Awake It's Morning/Digital Ash In A Digital Urn this year, but Silent Alarm just about pips it for the influential significance that is carried right through to this day from Bloc Party's debut record. The lyrical beauty of Kele Okerere, Russell Lissack's unique guitar skills and the outstanding rhythm section of Moakes and Tong resulted in a thrilling, mature, relevant and challenging album that examined modern youth in Britain. Perhaps the most striking thing about it all was how experienced Silent Alarm sounded- these four twenty something's sounded as though they'd been playing together for thirty years and they consciously combined the themes and sounds of past decades of classic British bands from The Cure and The Smiths to Radiohead and Blur while adding themselves to the legendary line up with this instantly classic debut.

Best Tracks: Like Eating Glass/This Modern Love/So Here We Are

Honourable Mentions: I'm Wide Awake It's Morning/Digital Ash In A Digital Urn- Bright Eyes, Late Registration- Kanye West, Has A Good Home- Final Fantasy, Akron/Family- Akron/Family

2006: Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not- Arctic Monkeys



While Bloc Party were following in the footsteps of bands such as Radiohead and U2 with their penchant for intelligent indie rock, Arctic Monkeys were recreating an entirely different sound with their brand of thumping garage rock as they followed in the footsteps of Oasis and The Stone Roses. Whatever People Say I Am... was a flawlessly skilful debut bursting with unapologetic attitude, and if you even thought for a second that this was style over substance, listen to Alex Turner's brutally honest, often hilarious lyrical wordplay on tracks such as ''A Certain Romance'' and ''Riot Van'' which showcased the Yorkshireman's wry intellect. And it all sounded so very effortless.

Best Tracks: The View From The Afternoon/When The Sun Goes Down/A Certain Romance

Honourable Mentions: Ys- Joanna Newsom, Yellow House- Grizzly Bear, The Eraser- Thom Yorke

2007: For Emma Forever Ago- Bon Iver




We all know the story: heartbroken from a failed relationship, frustrated by lack of success and the break up of failed indie act DeYarmond Edison, and suffering with a severe bout of mononucleosis, Justin Vernon retreated to his father's cabin in the Wisconsin woods to ''hibernate'' for winter. The result was this spellbinding, majestic piece of acoustic music that encompassed the burning emotions (disappointment, regret, guilt, heartache, vulnerability, loss, anger, insecurity, grief) inside the songwriter all within 39 minutes. It has been said that the cabin plays as much an instrument throughout For Emma as guitar, bass or drums and to a large extent this is true; the listener is pulled inside Vernon's world in this cold, creaky space for these 9 songs, swallowed whole into the absorbing soundscape that is created by the atmospheric setting.

But as with all great albums, the real brilliance must lie in the songwriting and Vernon is abundantly gifted in this respect, exposing himself in vivid detail, word painting images of a broken man with nothing left to lose. Vernon once described the making of the album as ''the most cathartic experience'' of his life, but the real achievement of For Emma is how real it sounds to the listener- you'll feel the pain and suffering of Vernon melting away with his every word and for anyone who knows the feeling, it will resonate deeply for a long time.

Best Tracks: Flume/Skinny Love/The Wolves (Act I & II)

Honourable Mentions: Cryptograms- Deerhunter, Beyond- Dinosaur Jr, From Here We Go Sublime-The Field, In Rainbows- Radiohead, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, Love Is Simple- Akron/Family

2008: Crystal Castles- Crystal Castles



2008 was an excellent year for electronic music with the debut of Atlas Sound and Bloc Party's daring third record Intimacy, but the real success story of the year came from Alice Glass and Ethan Kath, an unlikely duo that created the innovative dance-punk styling's of Crystal Castles on their eponymous debut. Glass' distorted vocal and minimal lyrics combined with Kath's experimental hardcore production works to perfection and has continued to since with the release of the Canadian acts finest album last year in (III).

Best Tracks: Alice Practice/Crimewave/Courtship Dating

Honourable Mentions: Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel- Atlas Sound, 808's & Heartbreak- Kanye West, Intimacy- Bloc Party, The Seldom Seen Kid- Elbow

2009: xx- The xx




It was back in 2009 that we were first introduced to the sensual sounds of The xx and it's not hard to see why xx was such a critical and commercial success; in an age of increasingly complex and layered soundscapes, the simplistic yet evocative sound of the London trio's debut was a refreshing, intriguing change of pace. Their back to basics ethic consisted of a minimal guitar and bass set up backed by the synths and beats of Jamie xx, as Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim crooned their way through a series of  sexually charged, romantic tunes. The flawless beauty of these 11 tracks was a captivating examination of love, sex and relationships that the group will never quite be able to replicate again.

Best Tracks: Heart Skipped A Beat/Infinity/Stars

Honourable Mentions: Veckatimest- Grizzly Bear,Two Suns- Bat For Lashes, Its Blitz!- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bastard- Tyler The Creator, I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose- Bombay Bicycle Club

2010: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy- Kanye West



A largely lukewarm reception from die-hard Kanye fans followed the release of 808's & Heartbreak in 2008, but as you can see from my picks above, I was a big fan. The polarizing fourth effort experimented heavily with auto tune and ignored Ye's hip-hop roots in favour of a daring electro approach that was negatively received for the most part.

This time around, West was in no mood for experimentation, retreating back to his sample heavy style with glorious success, creating one of the finest rap records of the century in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and in my opinion, the best of his career so far. Collaborating with an excellent range of superstars from Rihanna and Nicki Minaj to RZA and Raekwon, Ye made great use of the talent at his disposal while remaining the undoubted centrepiece of the show. Highlights included ''Runaway'', a 9 minute masterful call back to 808's, opener ''Dark Fantasy'' and the shimmering beauty of ''All Of The Lights'' led by Rihanna's outstanding vocal. With West's sixth studio album due out this year, it's hard not to imagine another classic being produced by the icon judging from this material.

Best Tracks: All Of The Lights/Monster/Runaway

Honourable Mentions: CMYK/The Bells Sketch/Klavierwerke EP- James Blake, The Suburbs- The Arcade Fire, Earl- Earl Sweatshirt

2011: James Blake- James Blake



James Blake has never been a straightforward producer like his electronic contemporaries. Unlike say, SBTRKT, Blake falls heavily into the singer songwriter category, closer in many respects to acts such as Grizzly Bear or Bon Iver due to his minimal emotive style. The young Briton first gained attention back in 2010 with a series of EP releases, among them The Bells Sketch, CMYK and Klavierwerke, and while these were exciting, mostly instrumental efforts that marked the arrival of a young talent amongst a sea of similarly minded electro musicians, it was James Blake that set the Londoner far beyond the rest. The key difference here was Blake's distinctive, heartfelt vocal that dominated each track and breathed new life into his promising dub beats, creating a modern electronic classic and announcing Blake's true arrival in some style.

Best Tracks: The Wilhelm Scream/I Never Learnt To Share/Lindisfarne

Honourable Mentions: Section. 80- Kendrick Lamar, SBTRKT- SBTRKT

2012: good kid, m.A.A.d city- Kendrick Lamar



Lamar has been touted in recent times as the next Kanye West, Jay-Z or even Biggie Smalls and it's not hard to see why. Following the release of his acclaimed debut mixtape Section .80, Kendrick dropped good kid, m.A.A.d city in late October to near universal critical approval and rave reviews which compared the Compton rapper to the late Notorious B.I.G for his storytelling style and lyrical ability.

A concept album laden with atmospheric beats and low key production, good kid, m.A.A.d city has been rightfully ranked in several end-of-year best lists in 2012 but I see this as one album destined to stand the test of time and gain classic status as soon as it's old enough.

Best Tracks: Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe/The Art Of Peer Pressure/m.A.A.d city

Honourable Mentions: channel ORANGE- Frank Ocean, Shrines- Purity Ring, Visions- Grimes, Crystal Castles III- Crystal Castles

2013 is certainly carrying some weight already with Tyler's Wolf and James Blake's Overgrown marking recent standouts. With the impending release of Doris by Earl Sweatshirt, Random Access Memories by Daft Punk and Kanye's sixth album, we're certainly in for another excellent year and you can stay tuned at HMM for reviews and news on these records. Alternatively, have a look at our Best Of Music List 2012. Or for music reviews this year from the site, check out our thoughts on Wolf and Overgrown.

Rate The Albums: Death Cab For Cutie

This week on Rate The Albums, we're looking at indie giants Death Cab For Cutie.
                          

                          

1. We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes
The lo-fi stylings of sophomore album 'We Have The Facts' could certainly be blamed on the fact that the band were still working with bad equipment, but it's this sound that combined with Ben Gibbard's lyrical musing on his impending adulthood that created a brilliant record dealing with themes of adolescent friendships, loss of youth and (as per usual) complicated relationship situations.
The strength of Death Cab for me has always been the personal relationship I felt with them, coming from the outstanding, always relatable words of Ben Gibbard. So 'We Have The Facts' was always going to be special to me; when I first heard it, it became the soundtrack to my summer and I couldn't bring myself to listen to anything else, mainly due to the fact that I felt nearly all of the ways Gibbard was describing throughout. His disillisionment with change and moving on from simpler times was the first connection I made but it went much further than that; at times it felt as though he was speaking for me through his own words.
Aside from my own thoughts on the records meaning and my personal interpretation, much has been made of Gibbard's lyrical prowess on the album (fan speculation on the concept behind it dominates forums), having developed significantly since debut Something About Airplanes. Backed by Chris Walla's multi instrumentation approach, We Have The Facts is an assured, confident acheivement by a band at the peak of their career, as lack of expectation or responsibilty led to both critical and commercial success, earning Death Cab a well deserved breakthrough.

An album that truly defines a particular time in my life and therefore one that I'll never forget.

Best Tracks: Company Calls Epilogue/No Joy In Mudville/Scientist Studies

2. Transatlanticism
'Transatlanticism' marked a mid way point in Death Cab For Cutie's career as they began to leave the early style of 'Something About Airplanes' and 'We Have The Facts' behind them, in favour of a more pop orientated, accessible sound. 'Transatlanticism' was the intersection of Death Cab's early and late styles and they came together beautifully on this as Ben Gibbard writes a record chronicling the break up of a long term relationship with striking accuracy and a poignant touch that he had developed on 'The Photo Album', and perfected on 'Transatlancism'.
The main difference between 'Transatlanticism' and its predecessor is the records flowing style; while 'Photo Album' felt more like a collection of individual songs strung together for a track list, 'Transatlanticism' tells a story from beginnining to end in what feels like chronological fashion and it works excellently. We're taken into the highs and lows of a significant time in Gibbard's life with a suprising initimacy that few other songwriters I've heard can acheive.
It's pretty obvious from the above that I'm a huge fan of Gibbard's lyrical style, and it's always been the main factor in Death Cab being one of my favourite artists, but even for his standards this is a step up; as I've already said the greatest thing about the band has always been their ability to convey and create emotions in the listener and 'Transatlanticism' is a prime example of Gibbard's ability to cut deep and write truly relatable, affecting songs. The fact that the bands growing pop sensibilities make the backdrop to the words admittedly catchy only works in the albums favour.

A very personal favourite and impossible not to relate to and find comfort in for anyone who's ever had a similiar experience.

Best Tracks: Title And Registration/Transatlanticism/A Lack of Color


3. Something About Airplanes
If you didn't know Death Cab and listened to 'Something About Airplanes', then fast forwarded 6 albums to 'Codes And Keys', you'd think you were hearing a different band. The debut album by the group starkly contrasts with their later work; recent albums seem more than happy to produce a mainstream sound, appealing to the masses, but 'Something About Airplanes' was experimental indie rock at it's finest. The droning, detatched attitude of just about every second on the album made for a unique sound that was fearless in it's unusually apathetic approach. Nowadays Death Cab are just another indie rock band in a world filled with their kind, but back in 1999 'Something About Airplanes' was the beginning of a group who, at the time, sounded absolutely like no other and that's the main reason why it deserves to be recognised as a classic.

Best Tracks: Bend To Squares/Your Bruise/Line of Best Fit

4. The Photo Album
'The Photo Album' saw Gibbard and co. first begin to develop on their earlier sound and introduce a cleaner, guitar driven approach that created one of the band's very best. Earlier I said that 'The Photo Album' felt like a random collection of songs compared to the storytelling nature of 'We Have The Facts' and 'Transatlanticism', but that's not a bad thing whatsoever; the scrapbook nature of the record cosincides perfectly with it's title, blending an assortment of memories and experiences that come together beautifully.
Walla was at his best on tracks like We Laugh Indoors, Why You'd Want To Live Here and I Was A Kaliedoscope, all of which are filled with hooks that beg for repeated listens, while Gibbard paints vivid pictures in the listeners mind over it's ten tracks with the ease of a true poet. This was very much the sound of Death Cab in the middle of their prime.

Best Tracks: Steadier Footing/A Movie Script Ending/Debate Exposes Doubt


5. Plans
In my mind, 'Plans' was the last truly brilliant Death Cab release. An album that marked the end of a band at the height of their powers, and demonstrated for the last time, the genius of Ben Gibbard before it began to wane. Plans is dominated by themes of death and love, a simple concept but one that makes for incredible songwriting as Gibbard ponders the true nature of love and it's existence in the afterlife on affecting ballads like ''What Sarah Said'' and the magical ''Stable Song''. The album's true masterpiece however is 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark', an intimate ode to a lover of remaining faithful in death that never fails to provoke an emotional reaction in the listener. Possibly the band's best song and one of my all time favourites.

Best Tracks: I Will Follow You Into The Dark/What Sarah Said/Stable Song


6. You Can Play These Songs With Chords
Essentially a demo recorded by Gibbard before the formation of the band as we know it today, but 'You Can Play These Songs With Chords' deserves to be recognised among the rest of their releases simply because it contains a number of Death Cab classics. 'Song For Kelly Huckaby', 'Prove My Hypotheses' and 'Army Corp of Architects' stand alongside any of the band's studio recorded work, and are absolute classics within the band's catalogue that merit the inclusion of the early work of Ben Gibbard.

Best Tracks: Prove My Hypotheses/Song For Kelly Huckaby/Army Corp Of Architects

7. Narrow Stairs
I've found myself talking about the band's latest releases more than I'd like, but it all comes back to the fact that when I listen to their lastest two albums it's the sound of a very different band creating very average music. I feel as though I've lost one of my favourite artists to a mediocre substitute attempting to imitate them, but having said so, Narrow Stairs is a far step above the mundane Codes & Keys. Tracks like 'Bixby Canyon Bridge', 'Grapevine Fires' and 'Long Division' are a reminder of Death Cab's power, but even they can't make up for duds like 'Talking Bird', 'You Can Do Better Than Me', and the terribly obvious lyrics of closer 'The Ice Is Getting Thinner', which is incredible to hear from a songwriter as accomplished as Gibbard. An inconsistent record with a number of tracks worthy of listening, but ulitmately a huge disappointment for a loyal Death Cab fan such as myself.

Best Tracks: Bixby Canyon Bridge/Grapevine Fires/Long Division

8. Codes & Keys
As I've said, Narrow Stairs was a step above Codes & Keys for me, which doesn't mean much for my opinion of the band's most recent release. It's difficult to find traces of the group who wrote Something About Airplanes and We Have The Facts in this, and as such, it's an album I didn't take much away from and don't find myself coming back to often. A particular lowlight is 'Stay Young, Go Dancing', a simply cringeworthy song that serves as a damning indictment of a band past their best and happier to succeed in the mainstream media than with their original fanbase.

Best Tracks: Home Is A Fire/Doors Unlocked And Open/Underneath The Sycamore



Next Week: Bloc Party