| 4.5 superb |
| Anathema Judgement |
| Anathema Alternative 4 |
| Anathema We're Here Because We're Here |
| Blackfield Blackfield |
| Brand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me |
| Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head |
| Coldplay Parachutes |
| Cult of Luna Somewhere Along the Highway |
| Doves (UK) Lost Souls |
| Elbow The Seldom Seen Kid |
| Elbow Asleep In The Back |
| Elbow Cast of Thousands |
| Emperor Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk |
| Gazpacho Night |
| Gazpacho Demon |
| Gazpacho Tick Tock |
| Insomnium Above the Weeping World |
| Iron Maiden Powerslave |
| Iron Maiden Somewhere in Time |
| Iron Maiden Seventh Son of a Seventh Son |
| ISIS Oceanic |
| King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King |
| Leprous The Congregation |
| Leprous Tall Poppy Syndrome |
| Leprous Bilateral |
| Leprous Live At Rockefeller Music Hall |
| Lunatic Soul Walking on a Flashlight Beam |
| Lunatic Soul Lunatic Soul |
| Moonsorrow Verisäkeet |
| Muse Origin of Symmetry |
| Muse Absolution |
| My Dying Bride The Angel and the Dark River |
| Neurosis Through Silver in Blood |
| Oceansize Effloresce |
| Oceansize Music for Nurses |
| Oceansize Everyone Into Position |
| Pain of Salvation The Perfect Element, Part 1 |
| Paradise Lost Draconian Times |
| Porcupine Tree Signify |
| Porcupine Tree Stars Die: The Delerium Years |
| Porcupine Tree Stupid Dream |
| Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet |
| Porcupine Tree The Sky Moves Sideways |
| Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring |
| Primordial To the Nameless Dead |
| Ride Nowhere |
| Riverside Out of Myself |
| Riverside Anno Domini High Definition |
| Rosetta The Galilean Satellites |
| Steven Wilson The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) |
| Steven Wilson Grace for Drowning |
| Steven Wilson Insurgentes |
| Steven Wilson Get All You Deserve |
| Strapping Young Lad City |
| Sufjan Stevens Carrie and Lowell Live |
| Quite an unfortunate album name.rOk, jokes aside, this is a really special live album, most live albums are a nice bonus for the enthusiasts, but they are rarely essential. They get high ratings mainly because they are primarily rated by the fans of an artist. This one is however something different, Sufjan puts a new spin on every track here and in all cases the new version is superior to the studio one, the major highlights here are Fourth of July with its wonderful outro, Drawn to the Blood with added electronic beat and Blue Bucket of Gold, which is stretched to incredible 18 minutes.rAnd the cover of Hotline Bling is a nice bonus too, it might seem awkward and out of place, but it just works somehow.rThat doesn't make the original album obsolete though, in fact this live album made me appreciate it even more. |
| Sufjan Stevens Carrie and Lowell |
| Sufjan Stevens Illinois |
| Sylvan Posthumous Silence |
| The Chameleons What Does Anything Mean? Basically |
| The Chameleons Strange Times |
| The National Boxer |
The National are so much better than all the other white indie rock bands that it's not even
funny. I used to dismiss them as another overhyped pitchfork band, but once I listened to them
more I realised how great they are. Unlike basically every other indie rock band that made great
debut and then kept getting mediocre, they released a mediocre debut and kept improving, though
their last album sounded a bit stale. There are however other reasons why they beat almost every
band at their game. Matt Berninger's baritone vocals are awesome. They are a breath of fresh air
compared to all those whiny voices in your typical indie band. He even sounds good when he gets
drunk at every live show. Matt also writes much better and more interesting lyrics about personal
struggles. While instrumentally basic, all pieces fit together perfectly. Almost every song has a
very well played and memorable bass line, Bryan Devendorf is a really tight drummer, he can pull
off some really sweet grooves (Brainy, Squalor Victoria, Apartment Story). The spare use of piano
is always well executed (Fake Empire, Green Gloves, Slow Show, Ada). Also, I don't quite get the
comparisons to Interpol or Editors, they remind me way more of Wilco and Elbow in style of music
and lyrics. |
| The National High Violet |
