Here is my ranked list of albums I have got in 2013.
Unranked
Editors - The Weight of Your Love
Although I got this album in the last year, I don't think I know it well enough to rank it yet.
17. Keston Cobbler's Club - One, For Words
I saw these guys supporting To Kill a King. They were really fun live, but their album is quite boring. The music gains a huge amount when played live.
16. Cathy Burton - Source of Every Hour
Meh. S'ok. Not much more to say.
15. Treacherous Orchestra - Origins
Very different, quite entertaining. Hard to listen to a whole album though, it's pretty intense.
14. Rend Collective Experiment - Homemade Worship by Handmade People
Some ok stuff, some really good stuff. The style isn't really my thing though.
13. Lifehouse - Almeria
It's fine, but not much more. Lifehouse's first two albums were incredible. The next four were fine, but far less impressive.
12. One Sonic Society - Forever Reign
Good, especially the title track. I should keep following this band.
11. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
I bought this out of curiosity. It is Oasis-y, but I like that. Decent album.
10. Matt Redman - Your Grace Finds Me
Not one of his best, but still fairly good. Even a weak album from Matt is better than most other worship albums.
9. The Killers - Battle Born
Strong. Some great tunes.
7=. To Kill a King - Cannibals with Cutlery
This band has real quality. Some excellent songs on here. Deep stuff.
7=. Switchfoot - Oh, Gravity
I got five Switchfoot albums at the start of this year, and the weakest of them is in joint 7th place. Ths is an excellent band, an this is a very good album.
5=. Bastille - Bad Blood
Surprisingly mainstream for me. This album doesn't really have a weakness.
5=. Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound
More good quality music. Simple as.
4. Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
A bit of a leap, I think, from the previous 2 Switchfoot albums, to the next 3. This is a mint album.
2=. Switchfoot - Vice Verses
This really has been Switchfoot's year.
2=. Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
I really like this album. And it doesn't decline in the second half.
1. Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane
To be honest, all five Switchfoot albums on this list are very good. The order could change on another day, but Hello Hurricane currently tops the list.
Showing posts with label The Killers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Killers. Show all posts
Saturday, January 04, 2014
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A Great Album
I was asked the other day what I look for in an album. What makes an album great? Here are my thoughts, based partly on thinking about my favourite albums.
• The music must be interesting (this discounts almost all of Green Day, for example), to my taste (if you don’t know, this is generally indie/rock-ish), and must have some oomph. By this I do not mean it must be heavy – A Day Without Rain by Enya has plenty of oomph. But I don’t like anything floppy or incidental (Jamie Cullum, for example).
• The lyrics must be inventive, poetic and purposeful (this immediately discounts most pop)
• The themes or message of the album must be something I really agree with. This is a difficult one, because it generally takes me a lot of listening to an album, and quite a bit of research, to work out all the themes. Therefore my appreciation of the music and lyrics tends to come before an appreciation with the theme. This is one reason why a Best Of album could never be a favourite of mine, no matter how good the songs are – a Best Of album is never a complete piece of work, precisely because it is amalgamated.
• The album must hang together well as a whole, rather than being disjointed (the main weakness of Mezzamorphis by Delirious). The whole should also be greater than the sum of its parts (the problem for How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2).
• X factor – the indefinable thing that makes the album special. Sometimes it’s a unique vocal style, sometimes it’s a particular run of songs, sometimes it’s the memories attached to the album.
• Strong ending – the vast majority of albums start relatively strongly and then tail off in the second half (Californication by RHCP and Hot Fuss by The Killers are great examples). A great album is as strong, or stronger, in the second half.
The single album that most completely hits all these points for me is No Name Face by Lifehouse (which I’ve written about before) – my all-time favourite album. The music and lyrics are inspired and inspiring, the theme is superb, the album hangs together brilliantly, and it has a superb second half. I think the X factor is probably the honesty and rawness of the album.
• The music must be interesting (this discounts almost all of Green Day, for example), to my taste (if you don’t know, this is generally indie/rock-ish), and must have some oomph. By this I do not mean it must be heavy – A Day Without Rain by Enya has plenty of oomph. But I don’t like anything floppy or incidental (Jamie Cullum, for example).
• The lyrics must be inventive, poetic and purposeful (this immediately discounts most pop)
• The themes or message of the album must be something I really agree with. This is a difficult one, because it generally takes me a lot of listening to an album, and quite a bit of research, to work out all the themes. Therefore my appreciation of the music and lyrics tends to come before an appreciation with the theme. This is one reason why a Best Of album could never be a favourite of mine, no matter how good the songs are – a Best Of album is never a complete piece of work, precisely because it is amalgamated.
• The album must hang together well as a whole, rather than being disjointed (the main weakness of Mezzamorphis by Delirious). The whole should also be greater than the sum of its parts (the problem for How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2).
• X factor – the indefinable thing that makes the album special. Sometimes it’s a unique vocal style, sometimes it’s a particular run of songs, sometimes it’s the memories attached to the album.
• Strong ending – the vast majority of albums start relatively strongly and then tail off in the second half (Californication by RHCP and Hot Fuss by The Killers are great examples). A great album is as strong, or stronger, in the second half.
The single album that most completely hits all these points for me is No Name Face by Lifehouse (which I’ve written about before) – my all-time favourite album. The music and lyrics are inspired and inspiring, the theme is superb, the album hangs together brilliantly, and it has a superb second half. I think the X factor is probably the honesty and rawness of the album.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)