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You have likely heard a lot of bitching and moaning about 2005's musical soul. Many feel this was a down year for music. If you ask us, compared to last year, 2005 was great. But, looking at the big releases this year, people may have a point. As you can see by the list below, we don't spend too much time on the big releases. One can find a lot of really great music where you least expect it. We have hilighted the best we could find, and we feel like we dug underr a lot of rocks. So take a look, and maybe you'll be so inclined to take a listen too. We'll be back with the second part of year-end wrap up the first week in January.

The definition of experimental metal, if indeed there was such a genre, Pelican push the limits of post-rock. There is melody here, but with the instruments, not voices. It is unfair to lump Pelican with Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky; what they do is different, and harder. Yet, you can still find yourself using it to fall asleep on a regular basis. And yes, this is a good thing.

The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
Pelican

The seminal Australian nine-piece band. And some of the nicest folks you will ever meet. This is what makes AIH so special. They are genuine, and their music, however as eclectic as it seems, is genuine as well. Anyone following the band in the press will constantly read abut new artists influencing their song-writing. This is the sign of musicians who are really trying to improve themselves, and learn new things. Something too rarely seen in this day and age.

In Case We Die
Architecture in Helsinki

Ah, Canada. A Northern Chorus proves that not every Canadian band has something to do with Broken Social Scene or Arts and Crafts Records. Okay, neither does Wolf Parade or the Constantines, but A Northern Chorus doesn't fall for that jangly-pop sound either. Post-pop? Perhaps. The heavy orchestral sound even manages to come across with their live show, even if some of their catchiness does not. Dare we say it, another group of really nice people. Is this a trend?

Bitter Hands Resign
A Northern Chorus

Nobody liked this album. At least, no one who was a big fan of ...Trail of Dead previously. Maybe that explains why we like it. Truely more accessible than previous albums (can we stop saying that), it is also their best written musically. Noise is traded in for harmony, chaos for beauty. We don't care what you think, you ...Trail of Dead fan club members, this was one of the best top to bottom albums of the year, hands down. Not a lot of filler on this album. Perhaps that's what makes it so damn good.

Worlds Apart
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

Three years is a pretty long time to wait for a follow-up album by normal rock standards. In the world of electronica, less emphasis is placed on album output than on vinyl singles, though when an artist puts out something extraordinary, there are usually considerable expectations for the next record. Sometimes these fall short (Roni Size anyone? ) and sometimes they move in more interesting directions while still maintaining the spark of the original. The Campfire Headphase falls into this category. With their lo-fi/dub approach to IDM, the duo managed with this release to maintain a tether to both the electronic and Indie communities, something not easily accomplished without drifting off into heavy avant-garde acrobatics. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the songs are just plain catchy. Boards of Canada have proven themselves once again to be able to produce a broad appeal while still maintaining credibility.

The Campfire Headphase
Boards of Canada

As out there as an electro-pop outfit can get, there is no formula here. No "add a dash of Killers and a table-spoon of the Faint." Aluminum Babe have been the called the Blondie of the retro movement, and it isn't hard to understand why. Their debut is chock full of different genres and concepts. And the jumping around works together as a whole, without leaving you sick to your stomache due to motion-sickness. You can find this album in the dramamine aisle.

vit*ri*fied
Aluminum Babe

Yeah, go ahead and poke fum at the album cover, this foursome mean business. Simple pop at its best, their is nothing taken for granted here, it is as basic as it looks. But it is that stripped down approach that works, especially with the vocals, which drive the sound for the entire album. As we've already pointed out, neither Acid nor House, you can still dance to it, though having a elementary school student as a partner might make the best sense.

Sing Along with Acid House Kings
Acid House Kings

Opeth has been known to favor the progressive side of aggressive metal, but nowhere is this more evident than on Ghost Reveries. A truly innovative piece of work that effortlessly blends skull-crushing force with acoustic passages, the album is as much haunting as it is heavenly... as menacing as it is melodic. Vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Mikael Åkerfeldt has honed his formula as only the best of the Swede’s can, and continues to wield the torch for the rest of the genre.

Ghost Reveries
Opeth

Josh Homme and crew come back with an album no where near as good as Songs for the Deaf, but it isn't a dissapointment, it was expected. Drawing upon many of the same characters (Mark Lanegan, Brody from the Distillers, Shirley Manson, etc., though missing former-Queen Nick Oliveri) the sound is not all that different, and neither is the tone. While we miss Nick's occasional screams, everything else is on the same plane as their previous album, making this a very solid release.

Lullabies to Paralyze
Queens of the Stone Age

Low continues to get more rock with each ensuing album. The trend continues with The Great Destroyer, which quietly came out in January and managed to miss finding itself on a lot of best of lists because of that. People forget, and with some of Low's work that is understandeable. But not with this album, which easily ranks among the finenst they have recorded.

The Great Destroyer
Low

All hail Xiu Xiu and their burning desire to stand out from the crowd. La Foret is deliciously abstract, and yet shows maturation by Xiu Xiu and a gradual progression towards, dare I even say it, accessibility. Forever pushing the buttons of the mainstream, Xiu Xiu tiptoe ever closer to winning the hearts of a wider audience. Intensely recommended for anyone who likes a challenge, and a little bit of dissonant yet beautiful noise.

La Foret
Xiu Xiu

How can a band get any weirder, but never abandon their distinctive sound and personality? When the answer is Animal Collective's latest, the question become rhetorical. The boys have once again created a masterpiece of pieced together nonsense. The lyrics are as ingenious as ever, the melodies are as infectious as the equally heralded Sung Tongs, and the strange noises and change-ups of the past are back in even stranger and noisier ways never before imagined -- and yet Feels may be the band's most accessible and easily enjoyable album yet. From the peaks and valleys of "Did You See the Words," and "Daffy Duck," to the raucous scream-alongs of "Grass," Animal Collective hasn't repeated their tried and true formula, but revamped and renovated it to create an entirely fresh and new album. Somehow Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deaken have taken what they do best and turned it on its ear.

Feels
Animal Collective

Edan is in a class of his own, on all fronts. Beauty and the Beat remains one of the most amazing records I have heard to date. Rock and roll themes slither and slide in between the slickest hip hop production in the business. He produces, he raps, he DJs. He does everything but balance spoons on his nose. He's nicknamed "The Humble Magnificent" for a reason,
you know. The release marked his success both in the UK, where he was first widely noticed, and in his native USA, furthering the opinion of a growing list of contemporaries that he's one of the best about. His flow is poetic and smooth, as he mocks modern hip hop megastars in "Fumbling Over Words
That Rhyme." The stand out track remains "Promised Land," as he skips backwards and repeats lines to create a hypnotic and beautiful finale. Hendrix and The Beatles run throughout as clear influences to the whole affair. Edan, I take my hat off to you. Who needs Kanye?

Beauty and the Beat
Edan

Anyone familiar with the previous work of Mr. Bryan Hollon would no doubt concur that this album, at this point in his career, represents his magnum opus. Following up a critically acclaimed album can be tricky, particularly when the follow-up moves further and further away from genre definition. Yet, with catchy breakbeats and electro styling, Blue Eyed In The Red Room gave us a pleasant surprise, and a great summer groove in "The Move." Boom Bip has definitely earned our respect as a musical chimera.

Blue Eyed in the Red Room
Boom Bip

Quibbles with the album title aside (i.e. shouldn’t it be Do What You Love?), the guys have done well expanding into folk and hippie jams, all while maintaining their respect for bluegrass. “The Parking Lot Song” and “Cannonball” (aka the Most Fun, Danceable Celebration of the End of the World Through Nuclear War, etc.) are the first tracks to successfully capture the energy of their live show. “Fiddle My Blues Away,” written by former member Tom Peloso, currently of Modest Mouse, will creep in, pitch a tent, and make itself at home in your head for months.

Love What You Do
Hackensaw Boys

Another musical collective, this time from Chapel hill, NC, Old Ceremony would have also been one of the finalists for best album cover, if we had such a contest. Cartoon jungle cats having sex are always a treat. As is this very poppy, very layered band. While their sound is less quirky than their Austrailian counter-parts on this list, that also have nine regular members. Maybe that's why they don't play outside of NC all that often?

S/T
Old Ceremony

While the various incarnations of Will Oldham (here, Bonnie “Prince” Billy) have always maintained an album-a-year work ethic, it hasn’t seemed like he’s released anything new -- or rather, anything that "feels" new -- for some time now. Fortunately, things have changed for the better on Superwolf, a collaboration with guitarist and former Chavez frontman Matt Sweeney. The two share songwriting credits and Oldham’s trademark back-porch musings over fragile guitars are braced by Sweeney’s robust accoutrements. The result is a set of direct, frank Americana that is equally haunting and satisfying, book-ended by two of the more impressive songs in either man’s repertoire: opener “My Home is the Sea,” a playful and beatific romp, and the finale “I Gave You,” one of the most devastating lovelorn songs ever laid to tape. Here’s hoping this partnership has more than just one album up its sleeve.

Superwolf
Matt Sweeney and Bonnie Prince Billy

The Radar Bros. are adept at two things: making anytime of year feel like a Spring thaw, and creating some of the most lush and expansive music since the days of the Beach Boys. While the Radar Bros. could be written off as just another tribute to the sounds of 60's sunny California, they are a much darker and more intriguing bunch than The Byrds, Paco, or Michael Nesmith ever hoped to be during the glory days of surf, sand and slide guitar. Moreso, this trio isn't afraid to tackle death, change, and loss with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility. The Fallen Leaf Pages is a twisted fairy tale consisting of 13 devilish tracks, though the gentle breezes of slide guitars, forlorned organs, and lazy riffs would have you believe you're in the brightest and sunniest heaven.

The Fallen Leaf Pages
Radar Bros.

I'd call it a pastel-pop revival but the band would argue that sound never really went away. Consistently hummable, playful but honest, DHU is aural confection at its finest. Catchy choruses and the down-to-a-science jangle guitar action will have you craving the sweet twee, but the private journal-meets-pop culture lyrics won't leave you feeling guilty of the album's sugary exterior.

Disenchanted Hearts Unite
Tullycraft

Ladytron… that band of identical plastic mannequins that use cheesy keyboards on songs about shopping, right? Not anymore. Witching Hour was a shocker, with its heavy drums and guitars draped over super-catchy, well-written tunes. Plus, Helen Marnie’s creamy girlish vocals (in marked contrast to Mira Aroyo’s icy robotic chant) actually injected real emotion into such highlights as "Destroy Everything You Touch" and "Last One Standing." Closer to Garbage than Stereolab, Ladytron took a turn that allowed listeners to see the band as actual people instead of the storemodels of previous releases. Ladytron rocked the house, and who ever thought those words would be written?

Witching Hour
Ladytron

This one almost slipped under the radar. Though the album review has not appeared on the website, songsmith Cris Miller's one-man extravaganza definitely deserves a place on this list. With his soft, ethereal tones and skillfully crafted production elements, Cris masterfully blends dream-pop, shoegaze and traditional Britpop in a compact, 35 minute package. Comparisons to the Cure and Cocteau Twins will no doubt be plentiful, but Miller manages to keep it fresh by tossing in enough 50s and 60s pop sentimentality to keep the listener attached. It's true that a number of strong debuts sprang up this year, but this one holds a special place in our collections by reminding us of our first listening experiences with those bands.

The Greatest Story Never Told
Silver Screen

Eluvium's third album Talk Amongst the Trees elevates Portland, Oregon's Matthew Cooper into the upper eschelon of electronic noise/drone artists. Eluvium now stands alongside the likes of Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi and Stars of the Lid at the cutting edge of the genre. The album Talk Amongst The Trees, much like its album artwork, reveals layer after layer upon further inspection. Looking through the dense, snowy, foggy haze, the subtle whites and grays, to make out the shadowy figures on the album cover is much like listening to this album and finding nugget after nugget of sonic bliss. Talk Amongst The Trees features beautiful melody, noise, fuzz, processed guitars and enough tension to create as visceral of an experience as can be expected from electronic drone. It's hard to imagine saying a seventeen minute song isn't long enough, but the track at the centerpiece of the album, "Taken," is just that, seventeen minutes of pure building fuzz nirvana circulating around a guitar loop that couldn't be simpler. That Eluvium can keep you wanting more after seventeen minutes is testament in itself why this is one of the best albums of the year.

Talk Amongst the Trees
Eluvium

While the electronic beats and blips on Digital Ash in the Digital Urn at times seems forced, It's Wide Awake, It's Morning found the 24 year old Conor Oberst perfecting the tormented voice he had been developing over the past few albums. With the help of rent-for-hire backing vocalist Emmylou Harris (see also Neil Young 's Prairie Wind ), Oberst's album speaks to what it feels like to be young and disillusioned in New York City during the first half of this decade.

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Bright Eyes

Way back in January, Josh Rouse quietly released this gem, chock-full of gorgeous melodies and plaintive, lovelorn lyrics. From the Johnny Marr-esque guitar jangle on "Winter in the Hamptons" to the quiet, understated epic "Streetlights" which slowly builds to an orchestral crescendo, this is easily Rouse's best album to date. A great album to curl up to on the couch with your sweetie.

Nashville
Josh Rouse

Not Seachange, this a return to quirk for Beck, as he draws from many of the same bags of tricks he used on his earlier work. Hard to tell whether he is completely over all the heart-ache in his life, but it certainly isn't all that evident in this album. Also check out the new remix version of this album, Guerolito which just came out.

Guero
Beck

A friend of mine once told me that the Constantines were the soundtrack to her breakdown. Listening to Tournament of Hearts, it's easy to see how she could come to that analogy. There is some chaos and distortion, and "Hotline Operator" sounds like the vocals are sung through a broken megaphone. But as always with the Constantines, the beauty is in the small stuff. The subtle guitar blasts and pounding drums that mark the opener, "Draw Us Lines," and the elegiac simplicity of the closer, "Windy Road." It's a great band at the top of their game, and an album that stays with you. Also, it's proof that
those Canadians are making great music in more places than Montreal these days.

Tournament of Hearts
The Constantines

Despite reports that Antony & the Johnsons have been working NYC’s clubs for over a decade, I am a Bird Now seemed to come out of nowhere to capture the hearts and minds of misfits, lovers and Mercury Prize voters everywhere. The songs were somewhat slight and the arrangements sparse, but what divided the lovers and the haters was that voice. All over the map of notes and keys, Antony wailed, moaned, quivered and sighed – often on the same line. In the end, guest turns by Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright and Boy George weren’t what made people love this record. It was Antony’s voice, torch-singing about his personal tragedies, heartbreaks and confessions. For many, “I am a Bird Now” is a record that will be pored over, wept over and slept to for years to come.

I am a Bird Now
Antony and the Johnsons

Making music together for so long might make the writing process easier for Teenage Fanclub, but it doesn't make the recorded product contrived or any more repetitive. On the contraary, this is yet another great album by Teenage Fanclub that is chock full of catchy singles. All of which also translates very well into their live show.

Man-Made
Teenage Fanclub

Every so often, a record is made that completely reaffirms my faith in music. This year that album was made by Maximo Park. Full of youthful exuberance yet mature beyond their years, this bunch of Britpop-loving scamps from Newcastle carry the banner for great British bands with gusto and panache. A Certain Trigger is among the best debuts of recent years, and carries with it the promise for much bigger things for the lads of Maximo Park.

A Certain Trigger
Maximo Park

Hands down the best bar rock album of the year. Separation Sunday found Craig Finn and the boys continuing the beer soaked template put forth on their debut, Almost Killed Me . Peppering early Springsteen poetics with Catholic imagery, the album flows like a compelling novel, masterfully weaving a rich tapestry of reoccurring characters and places.

Separation Sunday
The Hold Steady

It's not clear what was harder for Franz Ferdinand: writing a hook laden follow up to their hugely successful post-punk debut, or somehow managing to stay likeable despite selling millions of albums and having their hit single "Take Me Out" overplayed everywhere from MTV to sporting events. Somehow Franz Ferdinand succeeded on both fronts and You Could Have it So Much Better contains more hooks than most bands' greatest hits packages.

You Could Have it So Much Better
Franz Ferdinand

The first most people had heard of the Shout Out Louds was single "Very Loud," with its insistent marching band drumming, layered guitars and whiny pleading vocals about crying. And with track names like “Oh Sweetheart,”“Please Please Please” and “Go Sadness,” it was safe to think this was international emo. What listeners found though was fun jangly pop with Cars-like synthesizer lines and hooks aplenty. Plus, it was a record that maintained quality through to the last song.

Howl Howl, Gaff Gaff
The Shout Out Louds

Yes, it came with a pile of hype. Yes, it was produced by Isaac Brock and you can play spot the influence all day long, especially on "Grounds For Divorce," which is a dead ringer for a Modest Mouse tune. However, don't hold that against Wolf Parade, who with Apologies to the Queen Mary have fashioned a remarkably strong debut record. All the bands strengths come together in "I'll Believe in Anything," a catchy, intense
song featuring the hints of unique instrumentation that help set Apologies to the Queen Mary apart from the standard indie rock fare. Overall, a great debut from a band to watch for years to come.

Apologies to the Queen Mary
Wolf Parade

We are half expecting to find "Oh Canada" on our year end best tracks list the way things are going. Stars took this year and really ran with it. Set Yourself on Fire is really full of catchy tracks, from start to finish. The vocals blend perfectly with the understated pastoral instrumentation. This is an album that is really sold by hearing it live.

Set Yourself on Fire
Stars

After a somewhat lackluster decade (at least creatively), Depeche Mode has spawned its best album since Violator. Playing the Angel hits on all levels -- the music is tight and innovative, the lyrics and vocal performance are top-notch, and the disc's brooding vibe is more palpable than anything in the band's catalogue. Depressing, you ask? Hardly. Fans will rejoice when they spin this album, and newcomers will start to realize just how profound an impact this almost 30-year-old band continues to make.

Playing the Angel
Depeche Mode

In 1966, voiceover artist and "word jazz" auteur Ken Nordine was commissioned by Fuller's Paint to compose a series of songs based on colors. The results were one of the artists most well-known and respected albums. Fresh off of a number of highly respectable hip-hop projects, DJ Dangermouse and MF Doom have paired their talents for an album commissioned by Cartoon Network's Adult Swim project. Though the samples and songs undoubtedly have more appeal to those familiar with the non-stop pop culture references and character guest appearances, the overall talent poured into each construction simply cannot be denied. Add to that guest spots by Ghostface, Cee-Lo and Talib Kweli (on the excellent "Old School") on top of Doom's smooth monotone rhymes and you've got another solid Doom/DM release, lending more salience to the theory that MF Doom will one day rule the world.

The Mouse and the Mask
DangerDoom

No one can deny the beauty of Sigur Ros. Making music that transcends language, the band continues to make albums that grow from one song to the next. There are jokes that this is their most "rocking" album to date, but these comments are not lost completely. The chorus' play louder, the crescendos break harder. There is a big difference between the darkness of () and the hope of Takk, and much of it is because of the tone of the guitar.

Takk...
Sigur Ros

Production values went up with this effort, sure, but the theatricality was really cranked to 11. “The Beast and the Dragon, Adored” and “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine” kick the album off with a slow-building, mature evolution of their signature stoner rock. The somewhat overrated Prince tribute “I Turn My Camera On” could get a person or two out on the dance floor. Musically, if not lyrically, “I Summon You” and “Sister Jack” are a nice break in the dark proceedings and help solidify this as a great album.

Gimme Fiction
Spoon

In which Will Sheff and company finally release the end-to-end masterpiece they've been hinting at. Intellectual but bloodily visceral, pretentious but earthy and with some of the most complex lyrics you could hope for coupled with Sheff's passionate vocal delivery. Like In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, this is a dense, major statement that will only grow in stature and influence with time. Oh, and their live show kills too.

Black Sheep Boy
Okkervil River

Following a breakout album such as You Forgot it in People; can’t be an easy task, but Toronto-based collective Broken Social Scene is up to the job, broadening its already expansive palette by adding more musicians (including members of Stars, Do Make Say Think and Metric, to name a few) and a heavier focus on experimentation. Each song takes its own unexpected path, as rock anthems sway and turn unpredictably and lilting soundscapes morph into brash exultations. Whereas many of their burgeoning countrymen are busy perfecting the off-kilter pop song, BSS seeks to dissect and rebuild it. The ideas and production are massive, and as such the album is constantly threatening to escalate out of control; that it never actually does is utterly exciting.

S/T
Broken Social Scene

On to the The Top Ten --------->