Kablammo!

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite tracks from this year.

• «Special»—Mew.
  This is a fine example of Mew’s penchant for interesting and atypical rhythmic constructions. The song doesn’t quite go where you might expect it to, which makes it well worth a listen, particularly in its context on the album. And the Glass Handed Kites flows together so smoothly it’s hard to single out a particular song as noteworthy.
• «Godspell»—The Cardigans.
  The once-rampant popularity of “Lovefool” belies the fact that the Cardigans have been one of the most consistently good bands over the past 10 years. Nina Persson has a wonderful set of pipes and she’s not afraid to use them, as this song indicates. The way the sound keeps flirting with a nice hard-rock feeling doesn’t hurt either.
• «Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts»—Wolf Parade
  Please forgive Wolf Parade all the hype, and the band name, and the name of the song, and the fact that the first half of their album is entirely unremarkable, and the super-lo-fi sound. Just listen to this song. It’s not going to change your life, but it just may brighten your day.

More is coming, but comment if you have suggestions.

1 Comment

• Aili says:

  December 10, 2005 at 7:38

  If you’ll permit the addition of covers to this list, I’d suggest “Karma Chameleon.” Country cover in 3/4 time someone in Canada e-mailed me that’s actually good enough to listen to without the irresistible urge to commit suicide welling up. (Goddamn can I not stand Boy George!)It’s by some group called Side Project or Monkey Arms, or something goofy like that.

  Reply