I should mention, lest you think I’m trying to pass myself off as some sort of authority, that I’m making no claim this is a definitive list. I’m not a full-time music critic, and I don’t pretend to listen to all the albums that come out every year. These are just the CDs that I particularly enjoyed...
10.) Kasabian – Kasabian Sure, Franz Ferdinand made good on their promise to make the girls dance (more on them later). But Kasabian’s high-adrenaline beats, which sound like something the Stone Roses might have produced if they’d come up around the same time as the Prodigy, will get the men dancing – and in some ways, that’s more of an achievement.
9.) The Comas - Conductor The most boring reviews of the year were the ones written about this disc. Somehow, singer/songwriter Andy Herod managed to prompt every hack who was handed it to wax philosophical about the future of indie rock. (Example from Pitchfork: “I don't posit that the increasing permeability of the membrane between indie and mainstream is an insidious development; instead, it should be acknowledged in the interest of foiling nonsensical Puritanism.”) Too bad more of them didn’t just listen to the bloody songs. If they had, they’d have found a better version of Death Cab for Cutie.
8.) Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill Not an easy listen, to put it mildly. And truth be told, I still don’t know if it would hold up quite as well if the troubadour hadn’t (apparently) stabbed himself in the heart before he’d finished. But only those without much of a heart themselves would be unaffected by it.
7.) Stars - Set Yourself on Fire Broken Social Scene have gotten much more hype, at least until recently. But Stars are the better studio band. It’s a trick to get experimental without losing your soul, but they’ve managed to hit a broader range of emotions – and sound more sincere doing it – than anyone else this year.
6.) The Arcade Fire – Funeral It’s a little pretentious and self-aware, but this still might be 2004’s richest album, and its most rewarding when it comes to repeat listens. So dark it at points that it borders on macabre, so buoyant at others that it’ll give you shivers, Funeral is an indie devotee’s wet dream. (Pardon me while I now go off to write my Comas review.)
5.) Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand To be honest, I think Franz is a little overrated. But that’s only to say that their debut isn’t going to change music forever – not that it’s lacking in any ways that matter to normal people who don’t make their living writing for the NME. The bridge between the ’70esque garage rock that dominated 2002-03 and the ‘80sesque art rock that’ll rule the next couple of years, this disc should hold up well enough to withstand the inevitable backlash to follow. And it sounds absolutely fantastic when it’s played live.
4.) The Walkmen - Bows and Arrows. Sounding a bit like Dylan on steroids, the Walkmen have two formulas – the fragile, wounded ballad, and the piercing, wounded anthem. Depending on your mood, either – or both – will grab you. The Rat is among my favourite songs of ’04, and there’s not a weak entry among the rest.
3.) The Killers - Hot Fuss Yes, it loses steam halfway through. But you can take the breakthrough hit out of the equation, and there are still at least two tracks - Mr. Brightside and All these things that I’ve done - in the running for the year’s best pop song. And even after playing it into the ground on every extended drive I’ve had in the past six months, the whole thing still manages to get my blood pumping.
2.) Green Day - American Idiot. At best, this should have fallen into the “so bad it’s good” category. Instead, it’s so good it’s pretty close to monumental. Proof positive that troubled times bring out the best in artists, this is the album I’ll bring out when my kids ask me what 2004 was like…or, I guess, if they ask me what a rock opera is, since I like American Idiot a hell of a lot better than Tommy.
1.) The Libertines - The Libertines I loved Up the Bracket the first time I heard it; the follow-up was more of a grower. But once it grew, it grew fast. At the same time exhilarating and heartbreaking, angry and exuberant, remorseful and unapologetic, achingly beautiful and painfully ugly, this is rock ‘n’ roll as it should be. That the Libertines are unlikely to be heard from again, at least in their original form, means an awful lot of potential will be left on the table. But they’ve left us with a perfect snapshot of the most exciting British band of its generation in all its ragged glory.
