Sunday, December 13, 2009

Albums of the decade #10 – British Sea Power – The Decline of British Sea Power (2003)


Over the next ten days, I will be publishing my top 10 albums of the decade, in reverse order.  Much thought has gone into this list, yet I still cannot say for certain that it will not change.  But the end of the decade approaches, so here they come.  All but numbers 9 and 7 are available for listening on Spotify.





Those who know me well may be surprised that this album is ‘only’ number 10.  Fear not – I love this album!  After the admittedly bizarre opening 3 tracks, Decline Of has an incredible 7-song sequence, including the energetic ‘Remember Me’, the mellow ‘The Lonely’ and the epic ‘Lately’.  BSP are weird, both musically and lyrically, but they are so refreshing because of this.  They sound like nothing else.  The guitars soar and pierce, the drums are just plain bizarre, and the vocals sound like a cross between a scream and a whisper.  Lyrically, they sing about everything from Fyodor Dostoyevsky to the ocean.  Truly amazing.  Decline Of also contains ‘Carrion’, a contender for the greatest song of all time.

2 comments:

Joe 50 said...

A bit disgustingly low, yes. But assure me that their place in the elite is secure?

Nice description of the vocals!

eLf ideas said...

To me, their music--at least in this debut album--is reminiscent of Cactus World News and the Armoury Show. And this is the reason I love all of their albums.

I just don't buy the claim that their music is unique and sounds like nobody else.