Now this blog post is going to be a difficult one, I would like to pretend my year long hiatus from writing has been in preparation for this but the truth is I got distracted by life, university and One Tree Hill reruns. The fact is simple, you never truly know someone until you know what their jam is, what music gets them, as they say, “turnt up”, the window to the soul is an iTunes library and I’m opening mine up to you now.
The difficulty in compiling this list has been simply unfathomable, I really did try to narrow it down to 10, I swear I did, but it was impossible. So I have decided to instead divide this post into three and upload each in spontaneous bursts, which will assuage my laziness and also keep you readers HOOKED IN SUSPENSE. Win win, right?
There is no method to the madness here, no definitive countdown. But numbers 1 – 5 of my top albums are as follows:
Arctic Monkeys – AM
Released in September 2013, AM is the fifth studio album from British heavyweights, Arctic Monkeys. Picking a favourite from their roster was a surprisingly easy choice, though they always provide stellar tracks, AM for me is the undisputed champion and seeing it played live at Optimus Alive 2014 was an unforgettable experience. Alex Turner is without a doubt an absolute genius, his lyrics on the record are sexy and evocative though he hasn’t lost his affinity for caustic and comedic one-liners, most evident on the catchiest track of the record ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ It’s rare to find an album with no filler, one from which every song could stand alone as a single, but I believe this album to be one of the few.
Best Tracks: No 1. Party Anthem, Arabella, I Wanna Be Yours
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Now, I cannot count on one hand how many times I’ve been discussing my favourite Foo album, and when I answer with Wasting Light, am greeted with the response “oh you’re a new fan then? you must not have listened to many of their other records”. Quite frankly I still cannot comprehend this assumption. It’s fierce and anthemic and I swear you can feel how much passion the band is throwing into it, as if you can almost smell the blood, sweat and tears. Some criticise it for its bombastic level of hardcore punk screed but its choruses soar and its melodies rock dramatically and it makes me feel indestructible. On a personal level, the record was released around the time my stepfather was in physical therapy following a leg amputation, and the track ‘Walk‘ just ripped right through my heart.
Best Tracks: Bridge Burning, Walk, Arlandria
Paper Route – Absence
Released in 2009, Absence is a melange of synthpop, alternative dance and indie rock, and an album which I believe to be wholly underrated. It’s dark and broody and whilst some of the songs admittedly have little room to breathe under the heavy synth, the subtle beats and soothing vocals just take me to another place every time. The tracks are structurally engaging and somewhat cinematic, & the lyrics are ethereal in their depiction of loss, anguish and love. I was lucky enough to see them live shortly after the album was released and they were phenomenal, I will forever remember their performance of ‘Dance on our Graves‘ as the moment I fell in love with music.
Best Tracks: Gutter, Are We All Forgotten, Dance On Our Graves
Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
Asking me to pick my favourite KoL album is pretty much my personal version of Sophie’s Choice but when it really came down to it, Only by the Night was the obvious choice. It is such a consistent album and it’s pretty faultless, I was actually quite surprised when I read that reception for their 2008 album was their most polarised to date. It’s slower and more intense than its predecessors as it delves deeper into the more brooding and darker corners of the Followill psyche with tracks such as ‘Closer‘ and ‘Cold Desert‘, though there’s still enough of the Kings’ signature blues rock swagger that fills arenas to keep it in my favourite albums some 7 years later.
Best Tracks: Can I just say all of them? Ok fine. Cold Desert, Be Somebody, Manhattan
Hozier – Hozier
A very new addition to the list, but Hozier is just phenomenal isn’t he? His performance with Annie Lennox at the Grammy Awards was on another level. I believe Hozier to be one of the best debut albums of recent years, his lyricism is romantic and soulful and his talent seems bottomless with vocals that caress everything from the seductive blues of ‘To Be Alone‘ to the intimate romanticism of ‘Like Real People Do‘. The hype surrounding the artist is truly deserved, his music transcends all generational gaps, and his understated maturity and stylistic capabilities are enough to suggest that Hozier is in it for the long haul.
Best Tracks: Take Me To Church, To Be Alone, Arsonist’s Lullaby
TO BE CONTINUED….
I always love reading about writing. I caution students about spending so much time reading about it that they never actually do it, but these books in particular have been invaluable in shaping my own approaches to writing. Some of them focus on nonfiction specifically, while many are great for any kind of writing:
bethonagillim 