Tuesday, December 27, 2005
IAR's Albums of 2005
|
Well here it is, our list of the 40 best Long Players that 2005 has produced. In the lead up to the New Year we'll be posting various charts, including our songs, movies, TV moments, etc etc of the year which we're quite sure you will 'enjoy'.
 01. Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor
After the commercial disappointment of "American Life", Madonna certainly had a lot to prove in her 2005 comeback.
So with the help of production wizard Stuart Price, some 70's inspiration, "Saturday Night Fever" and a splice of ABBA, Madge came up with a disco sensation that would talk even the broodiest of people into dancing.
"Hung Up" is only a taste of what the album has to offer, with tracks such as "How High", "Get Together" and "Sorry" really stealing the show, whilst bonus track "Fighting Spirit" is simply sublime.
Try to avoid "Future Lovers" though. It's a bit stinky.
 02. Girls Aloud - Chemistry
Girls Aloud's latest Long Play offering is not setting the charts alight in the same fashion as their previous albums, which is a shame because this is, undoubtedly, their best effort yet. A more mature sound, the Girls attack everything from C-List celebrity, Jokeaine use ("Joke fuelled egos") and even Bondage. "Biology" is probably their best song to date, "Waiting" rips into your head and savagely throws in an infectious chorus, and "Whole Lotta History" is the ballad of all ballads. And let's not even get started on the amazing Bonus Christmas Disc.
 03. Princess Superstar - My Machine
Taking the term 'Concept Album' to a completely different level. Princess Superstar's fifth studio album surpasses most things released not only this year, but ever. "My Machine" is set in the future, where they stopped counting time, where people are without tongues, communication is done via a telepath and evil music such as Hardstyle does not exist. Perfect world? Maybe, but it wasn't all so perfect before hand. Listen to the amazing story of an obsessed Celebrity named Superstar as she creates 10,000 clones of herself to take over the world as we know it. We warn you though - The Superstar somehow manages to turn into a box of cereal before the tale is through.
 04. Rachel Stevens - Come & Get It
Poor Rachel Stevens. This year, she made a superb album that critics simply adored. Pity no one bought it though. Her first album, "Funky Dory" was a stinker of the highest order, but it did seem to sell a bit more than her second, a nicely polished pop record with all the right moves. "Come & Get It" should have propelled her to major superstardom, but instead saw her as the butt of jokes amongst many on pop culture based Internet Forums. Heralded by many as the definitive pop album of 2005, songs such as "Crazy Boys", "Dumb Dumb", "I Will Be There" and "I Said Never Again..." demonstrated, quite brilliantly, why this was the case for so many. Apparently though, it just boils down to the public not really liking Rachel that much.
 05. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
There aren't many blistering words to describe how brilliant the Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm" really is, so all we're going to say is that, although they may be the hype artists of 2005, listening to just one of their songs, it's quite easy to see why. "The Price of Gas" is simply electrifying, whilst "Banquet" just makes you want to dance. Highly Impressive and the remix album is just as good too.
 06. McFLY - Wonderland
2005 saw the 'Fly drop the words "Fun", "Smile" and "Joyous Occasion" right out of their vocabulary, and replaced them with "Misery", "Brooding" and "Xanax Addiction". This wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. "Wonderland" was obviously created to show the world that the band were now past puberty, through with singing about the colour of people's hair, and ready to tackle life head on. Suicide, death, depression and, funny thing this: girls, are just some of the topics brought up through the album. "She Falls Asleep" is mesmerizing, poetic and rather haunting. And if "Too Close For Comfort" is not the last single released off this album, then there really is no justice in the world.
 07. Robyn - Robyn
Surely you all remember Robyn. "Do You Know" and "Show Me Love" were ridiculously massive in their day, so this album was most certainly eagerly anticipated. The second most important pop comeback of the year, goose bump worthy tracks such as "Be Mine!" and "Handle Me" are just the tip of the iceberg as to how flawless this record really is. Why this has not been released to massive fanfare in Australia we'll never quite understand.
 08. Vitalic - OK Cowboy
Over three years ago we were introduced to the pulsating sounds of Vitalic. It was at a techno party in Melbourne, standing in front of a giant industrial fan, blowing us almost to the back of the venue. At the time we simply called it the "Vroom Vroom" track, which, about 6 hours later, found out was actually called "La Rock 01". So the man finally produced an album this year, and it should probably be noted that it is the Techno release of the year. "My Friend Dario" threw Vitalic into a pop music spotlight, whilst "Newman" and the legendary "Poney" managed to keep the techno elitist in us satisfied to a T.
 09. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
Swedish pop is fantastic, isn't it? And it certainly doesn't get much better than this release from Bodies Without Organs. "Sixteen Tonnes of Hardware" sticks out as the albums certifiable winner, whilst "Conquering America" and "Voodoo Magic" are sublime in their own unique ways. You really cannot go wrong when you're taking the best bits of The Pet Shop Boys, ABBA and electronica, and fusing them together on an album. This doesn't try to be anything but brilliant, and it does nothing but succeed the whole way.
 10. Kate Bush - Aerial
Bitch has kept us waiting for twelve fucking years. And although there, sadly, was no updated version of "Babushka" (her greatest recording ever), you just cannot say it wasn't worth the wait. "Mrs Bartolozzi" is a washing-up masterpiece, and lead single "King of the Mountain" sends eerie chills up the spine. It truly is a breathtaking experience, and is even more enjoyable with a bottle of red by your side. Welcome back Kate, the most consistently stoned woman alive... we've bloody missed you.
The Rest... 11. The Veronicas - Secret Life Of The Veronicas 12. Annie - Anniemal 13. Goldfrapp - Supernature 14. M.I.A - Arular 15. Fischerspooner - Odyssey 16. Patrick Wolf - The Wind In The Wires 17. Natalie Imbruglia - Counting Down The Days 18. Rogue Traders - Here Come The Drums 19. Tiefschwarz - Eat Books 20. Jay Jay Johanson - Rush
21. David Carreta - Kill Your Radio 22. Hard Fi - Stars Of CCTV 23. Mariah Carey - Emancipation Of Mimi 24. Ellen Alien - Thrills 25. Anthony Rother - Popkiller 26. Quesh - Egonomic 27. Sugababes - Taller In More Ways 28. Gorillaz - Demon Days 29. Ladytron - Witching Hour 30. t.A.T.u - Dangerous & Moving
31. Freeform Five - Strangest Things 32. Vanilla Ninja - Blue Tattoo 33. Tiga - Sexor 34. Infernal - From Paris To Berlin 35. Geri Halliwell - Passion 36. Ciara - Goodies 37. Eric Prydz - Eric Prydz 38. Alexis Strum - Cocoon 39. Tina Cousins - Mastermind 40. Melissa Tkautz - Lost & Found
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Missy Elliot "The Cookbook", Son Of Dork "Welcome To Loserville", Shannon Noll "Lift", Ben Lee "Awake Is The New Sleep", Michael Buble "Caught In The Act", Soulwax "Nite Versions", LCD Soundsystem "LCD Soundsytem", Kaiser Chiefs "Employment", Juliet "Random Order", Shelley Poole "Hard Time For The Dreamer", Samantha Fox "Angel With An Attitude", Pete Murray "See The Sun".
0 Comments:
|
|
