Albums of the Year, part II

To see the first part, click here.

#8 Postcards from a Young Man

Manic Street Preachers

The last year saw the Manics dealing with past on an album that also may be considered a comeback. Behind Postcards is a completely different story. Prior to the release, the band had announced this would be their last shot at mass communication, which is why it's a pop album to the core, aimed at the widest audience. But that doesn't matter since it's nothing short of powerful rock anthems and guitar solos. I didn't use to be a huge Manics' fan but Postcards changed that in an instant.

Best tracks: (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love, A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun, Don't Be Evil

#7 Interpol

Interpol

Another album I had been impatiently waiting for and still, I was surprised after I gave it the very first spin. It wouldn't be hard to doom Interpol's latest effort. The songs are seemingly heading nowhere as if the band were lost in their own world. Paul Banks' voice may sound distant and bored. But things are not so simple this time around. The album is a grower. All the band's trademarks are still present here and it's their most consistent work to date. It certainly stands as an important milestone in their career, and not just because the bassist Carlos D left after completion.

Best tracks: Success, Barricade, Always Malaise (The Man I Am)

#6 Congratulations

MGMT

Oracular Spectacular had some great singles. On the contrary, MGMT's sophomore album lacks them altogether. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's worse. In this case, it means the exact opposite. I'm an album listener, I like to play them from beginning to the end and hardly ever skip any tracks. Congratulations is just the sort of record, that aims at listeners like myself. It's forty-four minutes long, coherent body of work that flows smoothly towards the end, which comes just when you realise you want to hear more.

Best tracks: Flash Delirium, Siberian Breaks, Congratulations

#5 The Betrayed

Lostprophets

My first highly anticipated album of the year. A long story, spanning over three years, preceded the release, which was delayed numerous times due to problems with labels and producers. That being said, Lostprophets without wavering lived up to my expectations. The Betrayed is a rare case of a record, where a band succeeds at combining elements of all its previous efforts while accomplishing to sound renewed and different. This time, it's angrier, heavier, darker and with their best song since Last Train Home (Where We Belong).

Best tracks: Where We Belong, For He's a Jolly Good Felon, Sunshine

#4 American Slang

The Gaslight Anthem

It certainly wasn't easy living up to everyone's expectations after The '59 Sound. Fortunately, The Gaslight Anthem proved their previous effort didn't happen by chance and were able to create arguably even a better album. Every time I listen to American Slang, I have to admire the flawless production and Brian Fallon's heartfelt lyrics and singing. When it comes to incorporating past influences and inspiration and blending punk with 1960's rock n' roll while sounding utterly present and relevant, The Gaslight Anthem have no equals.

Best tracks: Stay Lucky, Boxer, The Spirit of Jazz

#3 High Violet

The National

There really isn't much to say about High Violet, except that it's damn good. In the competition for the best indie album of the year, it came close second. It's a typical grower. Initially, the songs hardly ever caught my attention as they're rather slow and seem to never take off. But once I gradually began to immerse into the captivating tunes and Matt Berninger's voice, I realised there's a lot going on underneath. High Violet is a very personal record, as well as it's mature. Plus, it features my favourite cover art of the year.

Best tracks: Anyone's Ghost, Bloodbuzz Ohio, Conversation 16

#2 Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

My Chemical Romance

It had been four long years of waiting for the band to release a follow-up to the highly ambitious Black Parade. After a long touring, contribution to the Watchmen soundtrack, scrapping of a completed album and yet another radical change of image (and haircuts), Danger Days finally arrived.

Because of the long wait, I wasn't sure if I cared about the band anymore. But then the trailer campaign struck and My Chem released the first single, Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), and I was again on board with them. Danger Days sounds like a band having more fun than ever. From the tight production to Gerard Way's affective singing, the album sounds both typical MCR and completely different from what we used to hear from these guys. It's one hell of a ride and easily the best rock n' roll album of the year.

Best tracks: Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), Bulletproof Heart, Summertime

#1 The Suburbs

Arcade Fire

To be honest, I was mildly disappointed when I first heard The Suburbs back in the summer. At that time, it didn't seem to be a worthy follow-up to Funeral or Neon Bible. Fortunately, it grew on me like any other album, surpassing everything that's been released this year. Although, it's a concept album, where everything is heading towards the monumental peak on the closing track Sprawl II, each song works just as good on its own, mixing musical ambition with mainstream accessibility. The Suburbs may be the most epic effort of Arcade Fire's career, compelling, enthralling and gripping.

Best tracks: City With No Children, We Used to Wait, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

"I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see. And then, one day... I got in."

It certainly won't fit everyone but I honestly think that Tron: Legacy is a great movie. The most remarkable thing about it is the combination of dazzling visuals and perfectly fitting music. It's definitely hard to say which of those two elements is dominant here. Daft Punk blended orchestral and electronic music in order to create a unique movie score and delivered one of the most captivating listens in 2010.

The Grid

The Game Has Changed

Tron: Legacy (End Titles)

 
Wikipedia
IMDb

Tired Pony

There is a band I discovered just today...

"Tired Pony is a new supergroup, led by Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody and featuring Peter Buck from R.E.M. and Richard Colburn of Belle and Sebastian. If the band's actual lineup didn't have enough starpower already, debut album The Place We Ran From also features contributions from folks like M. Ward, Editors frontman Tom Smith, and some lady named Zooey Deschanel." (Pitchfork)

Band's MySpace
Band's YouTube channel
Official website

Conan, the Musician

Whether you're on team Coco or not, I hope you'll enjoy these videos.

Albums of the year 2010, part I

Since every other major site is revealing their own lists of this year's best albums, I decided to do it as well. The year might not be over yet, but I don't expect anything groundbreaking to appear in the remaining few weeks. I hope you will agree with me at least on some of those choices. Also be sure, that I'd be extremely interested in opinions (or lists) from all of you. What albums rocked your world in 2010?

Here's the first part of my list. Expect the other one next week...

#16 Would It Kill You?

Hellogoodbye

This album was quite a surprise. It was just as good as people said. Filled with power pop gems, it races towards the end never loosing pace and for the most part, it's pure fun. Ideal record when you're feeling down.
Best tracks: Finding Something to Do, Betrayed by Bones, When We First Kissed

# 15 Wreckorder

Fran Healy

It would've been foolish to expect the new solo album from Travis' frontman to sound fundamentally different from Travis. It would be stupid to slam it because of that.
Best tracks: Sing Me to Sleep, Buttercups, Holiday

#14 Invented

Jimmy Eat World

What can I say? If there was a single most anticipated record of the year for me, it would be Invented. Jimmy Eat World can do no wrong so there had been no doubts they'd eventually end up on my AOTY list. Fans, including me, were pleased, even though this album doesn't essentially bring anything new to the table in terms of musical progression. But that doesn't matter, since it's a collection of beautiful tracks, some of which will surely become Jimmy Eat World classics.
Best tracks: It's Hard to Find, My Best Theory, Movielike

#13 White Crosses

Against Me!

New Wave came out of the blue back in 2007 and gained them considerable success, critical acclaim and a plenty of new fans (also aggravating many of the former ones, but who cares). It was a reasonable change of direction. Thus, unsurprisingly, they go even further on White Crosses bringing arena-ready rock and big choruses. More than enough to keep me stoked.
Best tracks: I Was a Teenage Anarchist, Spanish Moss, Bitter Divisions

#12 My Dinosaur Life

Motion City Soundtrack

Best pop punk record of the year. Because it's clever, it's honest and sometimes, it just gets fucking loud.
Best tracks: Her Words Destroyed My Planet (Need a Little Help), Disappear, The Weakends

#11 Odd Blood

Yeasayer

I would've probably missed this if it wasn't for Kristen Bell in the music video for Madder Red. If only all the pop albums sounded at least half as interesting as Yeasayer's sophomore effort.
Best tracks: The Children, Ambling Alp, Madder Red

#10 No Ghostless Place

Raised by Swans

On very rare occasions, there comes a record which is so intensely atmospheric, it's able to take you to places out of time, far from all your pressures, worries and cares. No Ghostless Place is pretty much the definition of such a record. The songs weightlessly float around setting the mood to sentimental and the last thing you'd want to do is to try to resist.
Best tracks: We Were Never Young, Hail of Arrows, Longer Shadows, Shorter Days

#9 Volume Two

She and Him

Let's be realistic. If it wasn't for the adorable half of the duo (and the so-called “Summer effect”), this album might've passed me by unnoticed. And that would be a huge mistake. Zooey Deschanel's voice and M. Ward's arrangements and sensitive production put together an irresistible combination that showers you with a contagious summer feeling.
Best tracks: Thieves, In the Sun, Ridin' in My Car

Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood is an indie rock band, who released their debut album Astro Coast just this January. Pitchfork compared their sound to bands like Weezer, Pavement or Built to Spill. Swim is probably their best known song.



Floating Vibes

Standard Thompson - Fireworks

A music video by my friends Standard Thompson. It was recently featured on Fuse TV's Noise Blog as video of the day. Enjoy!



Standard Thompson's Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/standardthompson

Standard Thompson's website has some free downloads!
http://standardthompson.bandcamp.com/

Hum - Stars

Another great song introduced to me by the local indie station. From their 1995 album "You'd Prefer an Astronaut", here's the classic song Stars:



Their Myspace page is pretty much nonexistent, so if you wanna hear more, ask me.

Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

Amazingly enough I first heard this song on the local indie rock station, even though it came out in 2000. From the "Loser" movie soundtrack, here's Teenage Dirtbag:



Visit their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/wheatus

Neon Trees

Another great band I discovered thanks to my local indie station. Here's my favorite song by them:



Visit their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/neontrees

Phoenix

I first heard this band on my local indie station. Here's my favorite song by them, called "1901":



check out their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

Inhuman - This is Not a Warning

Inhuman is a German rock band that I recently discovered on youTube. Here's their lead single, "Another Gun"



Album Track Listing:

1. Not a Warning
2. Mighty Lies
3. Silence Is Over
4. Another Gun
5. The Mafia
6. Golden
7. Photograph
8. What You Get
9. Bad Bad Baby
10. Goodbye
11. Roll The Dice/This Is The End

Genre: Rock

"We are here to make money and sell out and stuff"

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a good, funny movie. It may be a box office disappointment, it may not be the stunner I've been hoping for, but it's worth seeing nonetheless. However, I dare to say it's even better when we figure in the music. The soundtrack features bands like Metric, Broken Social Scene, T. Rex, or The Rolling Stones as well as two fictional bands, most notably Sex Bob-Omb, in which Scott plays bass.

Metric
Black Sheep
In the movie, the song is sung by Brie Larson, who is playing Scott's ex-girlfriend, leading the band The Clash at Demonhead, and it's the main reason why I'm praising the soundtrack.


Sex Bob-Omb
Garbage Truck


Crash and the Boys
We Hate You Please Die


Wikipedia
IMDb

Middle Class Rut

I recently discovered this band thanks to my local indie/alternative station. Their most popular song is "New Low"... Enjoy!



Visit their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/middleclassrut

Sing

I'm loving MCR's advertising campaign for the new album set in a post-apocalyptic world. They've just released another trailer for a new song, called Sing, and yet again it sounds completely different from what we were used to hear from these guys.



Listen to the whole song here:

On an unrelated topic, Good Charlotte's new album Cardiology can be considered a return to form, since it contains a bunch of pretty solid tracks. If you want to know what is the story behind all of them, look here.

Serpents In Solitude

Finally, a brand new music video from Funeral for a Friend. They've gone a lot heavier since Tales Don't Tell Themselves and that's good. This is a song from their last EP The Young and Defenceless, released in September.

The Fratellis

I discovered this band thanks to a review in local newspaper in which the reviewer was comparing them to Beatles on weed. That was something I simply couldn't resist.
Before disbanding earlier this year, The Fratellis were a three-piece Scottish rock band, which released two albums, Costello Music and Here We Stand. The first one was a surprising hit in the UK and sold over 1,5 million copies worldwide. Personally, I prefer the latter.

Although there were some reports concerning the future of the band, due to their cryptic nature, it still remains unclear, whether the members will play or record together again or what is the state of their next projects.


My Friend John

Babydoll

Band's MySpace
Official Site

Infant Sorrow

To be honest, I never liked neither Russel Brand nor Jonah Hill and I still don't. Therefore, I was quite staggered to find their last movie, Get Him to the Greek, really entertaining. The most surprising fact though, was the unexpected quality of its soundtrack.

The soundtrack is compiled as a CD from the fictional group Infant Sorrow, lead by Brand's character, Aldous Snow. It features songs written by Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and Carl Barat (The Libertines) among others and if it wasn't for the pleasantly improper lyrics, I could see them easily getting lots of radio and TV airplay.

Going Up


Gang of Lust


Furry Walls

Where else do you get so many well-crafted, funny songs created just for the needs of a film, which, at the same time, could work well on their own?

Official Site
Band's MySpace
Wikipedia
IMDb

Sparkle's little movie corner

Boy Kill Boy

Back Again

On My Own

Boy Kill Boy split up in 2008. Civilian was a great album.

Streaming Invented

 
Finally, Jimmmy Eat World are streaming their new album. I won't say any more, head to their MySpace to make an opinion for yourself.

Jimmy Eat World will also be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman this Friday.

Keep Me Conscious

A couple years back, I discovered a little-known band called Cherry S/T who had just released new album A Diary to Burn By. It was a pleasant mix of hard rock and electronica and I gave it a humble amount of spins back in the day. Especially the song "Nightmares in 3D" got stuck in my head.

When listening to the song again today, I payed a visit to their last.fm profile to find whether they're still releasing music. To my surprise, they are. Although under a new name Keep Me Conscious. Last year, they've released Sounds of Rescue EP, which is difinitely worth checking out. Hopefully, they are currently working on new songs for their next album.




Cherry S/T
Nightmares in 3D


Band's MySpace

"Na Na Na Na Na"

My Chemical Romance are currently finishing new record, possibly scheduled for a November release and you can now see the first trailer. The album's gonna be called Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and the tracklisting hasn't been revealed yet. However, the song you can hear is clearly the album opener "Na Na Na Na Na" (or something like that). It's weird, addictive and quite awesome.




Official website

"We don't update our blogs, we are trainwrecks."

Releasing new albums once a year? Why not. Especially when they sound like Hurley. The Red Album wasn't a complete disaster, Raditude, on the other hand, was. Anyway, Weezer finally decided to go back to their roots and are about to release a record that pretty much resembles their debut and Pinkerton. And it's arguably the best thing they could've done.

Weezer are streaming the new album in its entirety on their MySpace.

Your thoughts?

Idlewild

I stumbled across the name Idlewild quite a few times in the past. A Scottish band similar to Ash couldn't be bad, I thought, but never truly gave them a shot. Until last week. And what has been heard, cannot be unheard. I don't understand how this band could be escaping my attention for so long.

Their sound cannot be easily described since they've moved from punk rock roots to alternative and indie rock with occational folk influences throughout their prolific career. However, you can clearly hear the inspirations they took from bands like R.E.M., Blur or Fugazi.

They've released one mini-album, six full-length and two compilation albums since formation in 1995. The band rose to wider attention with critically acclaimed sophomore album 100 Broken Windows and continued their success with The Remote Part, Warnings/Promises and Make Another World. Idlewild's latest record Post Electric Blues was released in 2009.


You Held the World in Your Arms



No Emotion


Little Discourage


American English


In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction


Band's MySpace
Official Website

Their Best Theory

Jimmy Eat World will release their new album Invented on September 28th, meanwhile you can listen to a new song in its entirety here. I'm getting a little Bleed American vibe. Your thoughts?

Suggestions

Anberlin
We Owe This to Ourselves

Biffy Clyro
God & Satan


Kids in Glass Houses
Artbreaker


The Drums
Forever & Ever Amen


We Are Scientists
Rules Don't Stop Me


The Automatic
Interstate


Young Guns
Sons of Apathy

My first post in a month or so...

For the past few weeks, I've been listening to The Killers immensely. But they are currently on hiatus and their frontman Brandon Flowers is releasing his own solo material. The new album is due out September 14. You can watch the first music video below. The song is great but the video takes it into a whole new level, because Charlize Theron and Ninjas are in it!


It quite surprises me, that it doesn't sound like The Killers at all.




On a related topic, Linkin Park announced, that they'll be releasing new album A Thousand Suns on September 14 too.


Edit: You can listen to new Anberlin's song here.

Gin Blossoms

At the request of our friend and collaborator Sam, here's the discography of this group of rock in the best quality (320 kbps).



Band's Myspace

ALBUMS

(1989) Dusted + (1992) New Miserable Experience + (1996) Congratulations I'm Sorry Link

(1999) Outside Looking In - The Best of Gin Blossoms + (2006) Major Lodge Victory Link

OneRepublic

If a group like us all without exception this is undoubtedly OneRepublic. It's amazing how he knows how to combine the sounds and how he can make you feel intensely melodies, both the sad and the joyful. I know that everybody have their albums, but this is their entire discography to 320 kbps, which I'm sure you will miss something. You enjoy it! Olé!

Band's Myspace

EP/Singles/Others:
(2008) Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) / (2007) Apologize + (2008) Mercy + (2008) Say (All I Need) + (2008) Stop And Stare + (2009) All The Right Moves + (2009) Come Home (feat. Sara Bareilles) + (2009) Everybody Loves Me + (2009) Good Life + (2009) - Secrets / 4 Tracks Link
Albums:
Dreaming Out Loud (13 tracks) + iTunes Extended Version (8 extra tracks) + Japanese Edition (7 extra tracks) Link
Waking Up (11 tracks) + International Edition (3 extra tracks) + Target Deluxe Edition 2CD (4 extra tracks) Link

Stanfour

Looking the other day a group similar to one recommended by Sparkle I found this group. I love their sounds, their melodies, their ... In a word: AWESOME. I hope you enjoy too.

Band's Myspace
ALBUMS: Rise And Fall + Wildlife Link

Unexpected Guests

These 2 tracks are so far the only songs released by the band from their upcoming CD, Starting from the End. I hope you will like them as much as I do.

1. Company Ink
2. Falling Into You

I am posting these songs with permission from the band, in order to help get their name out there. Enjoy!

Just a few of electronic sounds

To my misfortune, synthpop music is disappearing but, fortunately, more and more groups indiepop-rock are incorporating in his melodies the electronic sounds of the synthpop. These are just some examples. I Hope you like it.

Moonlight Cove

Orphans of the storm Link
Band's Myspace

Lorraine (Now named Black Room)

Pop Noir Link
Band's Myspace

Northern Kind

53 Degress North + Wired + Xerotic Link
Band's Myspace

HURTS

Wonderful Life Link

Band's Myspace

Free She & Him

She & Him are awesome. Not only is She cute, but they also give away songs for free. Download their cover of Rube Bloom's and Johnny Mercer's classic Fools Rush In here.

Warming up engines for tomorrow

Hi Sparkle. I'm having trouble uploading everything I have for you. Little by little I'll put the missing links. Get ready for tomorrow's big surprise awaits you.

Declan Galbraith

Band's Myspace


(2002) - Declan Link
(2006) - Thank You Link
(2007) - You And Me Link
3 Singles and Other Link

Ivoryline

Band's Myspace

(2005) - The Life You Have (EP) + (2008) - There Came a Lion (CD) Link

Daphne Loves Derby

Band's Myspace

ALBUMS (2005) - On The Strength Of All Convinced + (2007) - Good Night, Witness Light Link

EPs (2003) - The Wonder Years + (2004) - Post Post + (2005) - Closing Down the Pattern Department + (2006) - Acoustic + (2007) - Changing Fashion + 2007 - Changing Hairstyle Link

Prefélicitations (Precongratulations)

Hi Sparkle. Ha, ha, ha; Josh Canova wasn't the only surprise that I had reserved for you on your birthday. You deserve more. So I'll surprise you from here until 3rd of june. I hope you don't bite your nails waiting for my next surprise. Well, my surprise today is John Mayer's Deluxe Version Album in the best quality and one bonus tracks and four demos.

Band's Myspace

Battle Studies (Deluxe Version) - iTunes LP.itlp Link

Aleksander With

Hi Sparkle. A little birdie told me that this guy you really like, so here's my special gift for you: his discography in the best quality.

Band's Myspace

Aleksander With - Coming Home Link
Aleksander With - Still Awake Link

Just a few of the best animations

No comment.

PIXELS


KSIDIGARBHA


EDGE OF THIS WORLD

New Nada Surf's music video

Streaming Skeletons

Finally, Hawthorne Heights are back with a brand new album, now streaming on their MySpace. Thoughts?

Czech Republic wins world ice hockey championship!

In dramatic fashion, the Czechs have returned to the top of the hockey world. On Sunday night, they ended a 27-game Russian win streak at the IIHF World Championship, holding on for a 2-1 gold medal victory, and claimed the crown for the first time in five years.



Sorry, I had to... :P

The Gaslight Anthem

American Slang, new record from this New Jersey quartet, is due out in June and you can hear acoustic versions of few songs from the upcoming album here, as they were recorded by the lead singer and guitarist Brian Fallon.
The Gaslight Anthem gained their well deserved success after releasing The '59 Sound in 2008. On American Slang they've once again proved, why they're everyone's favourite punk rock band.



Band's MySpace

note: if you want to download the acoustic songs, just right-click on them and save as on to your computer ;)

#edit: Some behind the scenes footage...

Innerpartysystem

As you know, I love synthpop, so I also like indie music with electronic sounds, for example, "Black Room (before Called Lorraine", "IAMX", "Empire Of The Sun", "Emmon" "Northern Kind," "Shiny Toy Guns", "The Rosebuds" ... I'm sure that you already have "All The Rest (2009)," "Heart Of Fire EP (2009)" Innerpartysystem (2008) and "The Download EP (2007)," so I will just share with my friends three things that may not have them.


Band's Myspace

Thousand Foot Krutch

Although you know I don't like hard rock, I must admit that this group suggested by Sam has many songs that don't sound too bad. Here is his entire discography on the best quality (320 kbps).

Band's Myspace

Augustana

Undoubtedly, this is one of those bands that everyone likes. Why is that?I like it because the sound is clear, simple and straight to the heart. It fills me with optimism and joy. I am sure that everybody and their albums and EPs, so I just share with you a few things you may not have them.

Band's Myspace

Vib Gyor

Indeed, this group has some of the melancholy songs that I like so much. I think They has very much potential to edit great albums, but that time will tell. I love how they combines the traditional sounds with electronic ones. In a word, awesome. I haven't "White EP" or "The Secret EP". This EPs are almost impossible to find on the web, so to seize the opportunity!

Band's Myspace