The first adjective that comes to mind when I listen to Witching Hour is icy. The album is a dark and brooding affair, full swirling glacial effects and textures, which doesn't seem that special until you find out that it's also an electroclash album. But then again, Ladytron has always had a lot of dream pop in them, and maybe even a little shoegazing mixed in their too, but all that is just a little seasoning for the main ingredients. Some tracks go along at a haunting pace, like "High Rise" with its creepy organ parts, while others are upbeat but still gloomy and robotic like "Weekend". Lyrically, the band uses a lot of futuristic imagery but not to the point of dorkyness like Styx or the likes. Witching Hour is a many layered and intriguing album, and one that contains some of the best and most innovative keyboard work in recent history, though much of it isn't up front.59. Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain
Hypermagic Mountain is Lightning Bolt's fourth album, and although it doesn't change the bands signature drum and bass setup, it's a lot more experimental than past albums. And although some of you might be thinking "More experimental?!? Is that even possible?!?" but rest assured it is. The whole album is recorded live on a 2 track DAT master tape, and there are very little production or effects used, if any. The reason the album is Lightning Bolt's best is because it emulates the band's live "guerrilla gig" live shows perfectly. All the chaos of their insane sets is here in spades and it gives the album such irresistible energy that you can feel it flow through you when you listen to it. As always, Brian Gibson's insane bass playing is a pleasure to listen to and Brian Chippendale's tight drumming and tongue-in-cheek vocals always bring a smile to your face. If Hypermagic Mountain is anything like this album, it's probably the place I belong.58. Los Campesinos!: Hold On Now, Youngster...
Perhaps this is a bit of a premature selection, seeing as the album has only been out for less than a month but I'm willing to risk that since I can safely say there hasn't been this perfect a mixture of smart, witty songwriting and irresistible poppiness in a long time. This is also perhaps the most quotable album on this list: "Send me stationary to make me horny" "And every sentence that I spoke began and ended in... ellipsis" "This is how you spell 'HAHAHA, I've destroyed the hopes and the dreams of a generation of faux-romantics' and I am pleased. I am pleased" and the ultimate "I'm not Bonnie Tyler, and I'm not Toni Braxton, and this song is not going to save your relationship. Oh no shit! And if this sentimental movie marathon has taught us one thing It's the opposite of true love is as follows: Reality!" to name a few. Laced with sarcasm and indie pop goodness, this album will certainly stand for years as one of the funnest and smartest albums of all time.57. Akron/Family: Akron/Family
If you stripped down Akron/Family's self-titled debut, you'd have a pretty standard freak-folk album, but once you add in all the gospel and Appalachian influences plus all the other little touches, you get a one of a kind album. It's the little left-field things that really stand out: the blips in "Before and Again" the peaceful ending of "Suchness" after a guitar freak out etc. Each track has something (or somethings) in it that makes it stand out from most run of the mill acid folk tracks and I think that, though most of the credit certainly goes to the band, some of it can be attested to Producer Micheal Gira, the prolific maniac behind Swans and Angels of Light. If you listen to the band's pre-Young God demos, the lack a lot of the aforementioned little things. But that doesn't really matter. What really matters is the finished product, which is one of the best albums of the folk revival era.56. Joanna Newsom: And the Ys Street Band
There's not really much you can say about Joanna Newsom. Everything that makes her amazing, everything that makes her revolutionary, everything that makes her Joanna Newsom, can only really be accurately relayed by listening to her. This may be a simple EP, but it's also concentrated dose of two of her best songs (and an absolutely fabulous new song) performed in some of the most exciting arrangements you'll hear from Newsom. The two old songs are put in more solid arrangements courtesy of her touring band; "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" from The Milk-Eyed Mender and "Cosmia" from Ys swell with banjos, guitar, accordion, tambourine, percussion, and of course the signature harp. But the true standout is "Colleen", a new song that, if it's any sign of things to come, will make Newsom's next album the best yet. Which is really saying something.55. The Decemberists: Castaways and Cutouts
Of The Decemberists albums, Castaway's and Cutouts is the oldest and best. It was before the band decided to get fancy with their sound (not that that's a bad things) and it's their most pure songwriting album, which is the band's strongest asset by far. Colin Meloy's songs are actually songs, not ballads or stories like that he became obsessed with in later albums. Again, that's not a bad thing, but in this stage in Meloy's career this is the type of songs he needed to be writing and when combined with the band's stripped down, but no less complex albums, you get some classic songs: "Leslie Anne Levine" "July! July!" "Grace Cathedral Hill" and "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect".54. Architechture in Helsinki: In Case We Die
In Case We Die really came out of nowhere. Sure, Architechture in Helsinki had already released an album, Fingers Crossed, but it didn't really gain much attention until after In Case We Die came out. But perhaps it's more an illusion that they came out of nowhere perpetuated by how great the album is. How on earth could a band hardly anyone had ever heard of release such a perfect indie pop album? Unlike most young indie bands, Architechture in Helsinki didn't need several albums of practice to get their formula down right (they didn't even need one, Fingers Crossed is another great album, and it narrowly missed this list) they already had it all: great songwriting and structuring, plenty of bizarre instruments and just the right kind of experimentation. It's a densely fun album that will make you think, a dying breed.53. Broken Social Scene: You Forgot it in People
Broken Social Scene's second album is infinitely more complex than their debut, but it lacks the extreme experimentation of it's follow up; it falls in the middle, but instead of siting around there, it pushes forward and perfects it's baroque indie rock sound to the point of a nearly flawless album. Broken Social Scene's two main members, Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, orchestrate the band's other, more famous, members perfectly, using them in exactly the right situations and songs. Take the choice of Feist instead of Amy Millian (of Stars) or Emily Haines (or Metric) in "Almost Crimes" for example; Feist's strong set of pipes are perfect for the upbeat, guitar jam, while Millan's or Haines wispy vocals would get lost in the distortion. Conversely, album standout "Anthems For a 17 Year-Old Girl" wouldn't work with anyone but Haines singing it. The whole album is full of perfect choices for songs; to the tune that the album has no weak tracks.52. Angels of Light: We Are Him
Michael Gira has been in the music business over 25 years yet he still keeps finding ways to stay fresh and relevant. Starting out with the incredible No Wave group Swans, then moving on to his own solo folk work before founding another group, The Angels of Light. We Are Him is the sixth Angels of Light release and though it owes some of it's sound to those albums, it really branches of on its own for the most part. Much of the albums new freakout sound it due to Gira's backing band on the album, Akron/Family. The opening track, "Black River Song", is a psychedelic rock stomp while other tracks drift into alt-country territory, and even bluegrass in "Goodbye, Mary Lou". Gira's lyrics draw on new things to, for the most part it's spirituality though sometimes love creeps in the equation. This is Angels of Light's most exciting album, that occasionally slows down like Gira's solo work and has the blackhole dark flashes of Swans.51. Shearwater: Winged Life
Shearwater has always been Jonathon Meiburg's show. Sure it was started as a way for both him and Will Sheff to record some gentler tunes than the ones they make in Okkervil River, but even before Meiburg took over all songwriting and singing duties on Palo Santo, and things were split between the two, Meiburg still lead the show with seven songs to Sheff's five. It's interesting because if you compare the duo's tracks, Sheff's are better overall, but Meiburg's not quite as mature songwriting is equaled out when he's given more tracks. Both men's songs are excellent, from the Meiburg's dark banjo waltz "Whipping Boy" to Sheff's lyrical masterpiece "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up...", which is the clear album standout, along with the magnificent closer "The Set Table" which starts and ends simply but swells to epic proportion in the middle.
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