The best albums of 2005: #1-25

20. Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)

Even if Broken Social Scene's third album occasionally sounded as if the band was on the verge of becoming a literal interpretation of their name, they still held it together enough to create a worthy follow-up to You Forgot It In People.

(Stream songs on New Music Canada, and buy Broken Social Scene from Amazon!)


19. Controller.Controller, X-Amounts (Paper Bag)

Where some dance-punk acts simply aim to make you, well, dance, Controller.Controller want to made you feel afraid, too. Lead by frontwoman Nirmala Basnayake they achieve this and then some, with X-Amounts being one of the spookiest albums to ever fill a dancefloor.

(Download songs here, and buy X-Amounts from Amazon!)


18. Deadly Snakes, Porcella (Paper Bag)

Doors-y blues-rock, Mellotron-driven pop, pre-rock'n'roll R&B, surf guitar, gospel, garage rock: you name it, and it's probably somewhere on Porcella. The Deadly Snakes may not have much of an attention span, but their fourth album certainly proves they're great at whatever genre they decide to try.

(Stream songs on New Music Canada, and buy Porcella from Amazon!)


17. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Broom (Self-released)

Contrary to some claims, "indie pop" is not a narrowly-defined genre. It can manifest itself in a variety of ways, and most of them are present on Broom. Whether it's melancholic chamber pop, upbeat power pop, or any of the myriad variations in between, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin use their debut to show they can do any of them equally well.

(Stream songs on Myspace, and buy Broom from the band!)


16. The Constantines, Tournament of Hearts (Three Gut)

It was only fitting that Three Gut chose Tournament of Hearts to be their final release. After all, it was The Constantines' debut album that helped launch the label into the consciousness of the Canadian indie community a few years ago -- and, by extension, helped kickstart the indie rock boom that followed. While this may not have been The Cons' best album, it's definitely the one with the most emotional weight, and every moment where the band rocks out is tinged by an air of sadness. The band will, hopefully, go on, but Tournament of Hearts serves as the ideal valedictory for a label that will be sorely missed.


15. Bell Orchestre, Recording A Tape The Colour Of Light (Rough Trade)

Though the words "Arcade Fire side project" undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention to Bell Orchestre, anyone who went into Recording A Tape The Colour Of Light hoping for Funeral II would have been sorely disappointed. The band specializes in beautiful, distortion-free instrumentals, and every moment of Recording A Tape... captures (as one friend put it to me) the feeling of Montreal in the middle of the night, when the streets are deserted and you're left feeling the magic and kinetic energy the city seems to emit, even when there's no one around.

(Stream songs on New Music Canada, and buy Recording A Tape The Colour Of Light from Amazon!)


14. Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck (Dependent)

Holy Fuck may sound like a northern version of LCD Soundsystem, but what set their self-titled debut apart was the fact that it was the product of a real, live band, rather than the work of a studio wizard. This gave it a heaviness that James Murphy's act (for better or for worse) lacks, and ensured that the drums on a song like "Tonebank Computer" were enough to pound any listener into submission.

(Stream songs on New Music Canada and Myspace, and buy Holy Fuck from Amazon!)


13. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (Asthamtic Kitty)

There really isn't much to say about Illinois that hasn't already been said -- the media barrage that accompanied the album fleshed out pretty much every possible theme you could take from the album, from the "50 states project" aspect of it, to its beautifully-orchestrated chamber pop, to the way Sufjan seamlessly weaves religious and historical imagery into his lyrics. It was a bit of an overload, but six months later, the striking thing is how much of what was said about Illinois has held up.

(Stream songs on Myspace, and buy Illinois from Amazon!)


12. Mike Doughty, Haughty Melodic (ATO)

It's telling that Mike Doughty's third album came out on ATO Records, Dave Matthews' vanity label. After all, Doughty basically strips away all the stuff that makes Matthews' work so unpalatable to so many people (the endless solos, the slightly creepy come-ons, etc.) and places more emphasis on writing catchy folk rock tunes. This comes through consistently on songs like "Busting Up A Starbucks" and "His Truth Is Marching On", and, as a result, Haughty Melodic is always fun and engaging.

(Download "Looking At The World From the Bottom of a Well", and buy Haughty Melodic from Amazon!)


11. Bloc Party, Silent Alarm (Vice)

Bloc Party's eponymous EP may have set the bar for their full-length debut pretty high, but Silent Alarm more than fulfilled the promise they displayed on that first album. The guitars were jittery, the melodies (especially on "This Modern Love" and "Like Eating Glass") were irresistable, and, best of all, frontman Kele Okereke showed he had one of the best voices in music, jumping from frantic yelps to breathless moans without ever losing anything in the process. As an added bonus, Silent Alarm Remixed showcased how malleable the band's sound really was.

(Download songs here, and buy Silent Alarm from Amazon!)


10. The Diableros, You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts (Self-released)

With a name like The Diableros, you'd think this Toronto band would be leaning towards the alt-country end of the spectrum. Within moments of You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts' opening tune "Working Out Words", however, it quickly becomes apparent that this isn't the case. In fact, by the end of that song it's apparent that The Diableros are the rarest of creatures: a band that not only aims to make big, soaring rock tunes, but also back it up with emotional heft. You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts may only be nine songs long, but they're nine great songs.

(Stream songs on the band's Myspace page, and buy You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts from the band!)


9. The Most Serene Republic, Underwater Cinematographer (Arts & Crafts)

The Most Serene Republic may have been overshadowed this year by labelmates Stars, Feist and Broken Social Scene. But, as Underwater Cinematographer showed, simply being better known doesn't equal being better. The band's debut may have been all over the place at times, but you could hear the joy and sense of fun bursting through the speakers on every song. If the follow-up, due out next year, is anywhere near as good as this one, The Most Serene Republic could soon be getting stepping out of the shadows and creating a name for themselves, too.

(Download "Content Was Always My Favourite Colour", and buy Underwater Cinematographer from Amazon!)


8. Rogue Wave, Descended Like Vultures (Sub Pop)

Descended Like Vultures was one of the most perfect pop albums of the year. As I said when I reviewed it, I loved this album so much that I couldn't think of any way to talk about it other than saying to go and buy it, and I still stand by those words now.

(Download "Publish My Love" and "10:1", and buy Descended Like Vultures from Amazon!)


7. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (Saddle Creek)

Yes, Conor Oberst may be a huge jerk. Yes, the "new Dylan" comparisons only made it easier to dislike him. And yes, he was egotistical enough to release two new albums on the same day. But I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning suggests that -- just maybe -- Oberst's talent is enough to compensate for his personality. "First Day of My Life" is a beautiful love song, "Lua" captures loneliness and heartbreak as well as anything else out there, and "Road To Joy" is an explosive album closer. It may not have been enough to hide how average Digital Ash In A Digital Urn generally was, but I'm Wide Awake, It's Mourning certainly came close.

(Download songs here, and buy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning from Amazon!)


6. LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem (DFA)

I was so looking forward to hating this album. After all, James Murphy was the man largely responsible for the New York City dance-rock explosion from a few years ago, and I'm still getting over my hatred of The Rapture and hipsters (not that the latter will ever really go away).

The thing is, as LCD Soundsystem Murphy also mocked hipsters, as evidenced by "Losing My Edge". And he had a great ear for a dance tune, as "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" proved. In fact, the two CDs here comprise one of the strongest collections of dance songs to be found anywhere.

Darn hipsters. They get you every time.

(Stream the album here, and buy LCD Soundsystem from Amazon!)


5. Iron & Wine, Woman King / In The Reins (with Calexico) (Sub Pop and Overcoat)

Admittedly, both of these could've been on my list of the year's best EPs. But, given that Sam Beam released a full album's worth of songs in 2005, and that together they added up to be a great collection of songs, it seemed only fitting that they be judged as one album released over the span of several months. Woman King showed Iron & Wine edging slowly towards a more plugged-in sound, while on In The Reins he showcased a hitherto unknown country side. In both cases the changes suited him well, and helped prove wrong any doubters who believed his standard "quiet man sings quiet songs over a quiet guitar" didn't leave much room for expansion.

(Download "Woman King", and buy Woman King and In The Reins from Amazon!)


4. OK Go, Oh No (EMI)

Ok Go's video for "A Million Ways" may have been more known than the band themselves, but as Oh No showed, OK Go deserved to be all over the radio with their second album...and they probably would've been, if radio actually played power-pop. Instead, Damian Kulash will have to be content with the fact that songs like "Invincible", "Do What You Want" and "No Sign Of Life" are among the catchiest songs never heard.

(Stream a few songs, and buy Oh No from Amazon!)


3. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-released)

Face it: if it hadn't been for that Pitchfork review, the backlash against Clap Your Hands Say Yeah probably wouldn't have happened. They'd be a New York band with buzz, a group MP3 bloggers were fawning over and the rest of the world ignored, and without their unique distribution deal.

But they'd still have "Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth". And "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away". And "Heavy Metal". And, of course, one of the best albums of the year.

(Download "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood", and buy it from Amazon!)


2. The National, Alligator (Beggar's Banquet)

If The National only wrote songs like "Lit Up" and "Mr. November", they'd basically sound like any other garage band from a few years ago. A garage band with some of the best songs you've ever heard, of course, but still ultimately a band that could be easily categorized.

But they're more than that, of course. They also have songs like "Looking For Astronauts" and "Karen" and "Daughters of the Soho Riots", wherein Matt Berninger conveys sadness, and loneliness, and all those other emotions that you can't quite get across with three chords and a nice leather jacket. Alligator showed that a band can do the dirty, bluesy rock thing and still fill it up with more emotional heft than any heart-on-sleeve singer-songwriter could ever hope for.

(Download some songs here, and buy Alligator from Amazon!)


1. Wolf Parade, Apologies To The Queen Mary (Sub Pop)

To get an idea of how good Apologies To The Queen Mary is, just consider that this is the worst that can be said of it: its version of "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" isn't quite as good as the version that was on Wolf Parade's self-titled 2004 EP.

Mind you, it's still one of the most thrilling rock songs of the year. Put that together with songs like "Shine A Light", "Grounds For Divorce", and "Modern World", and you have one of the most thrilling rock albums of the year. And then factor in "I'll Believe In Anything", which was probably the best song of 2005, and you have a recipe for the best album of the year.

(Download "Shine A Light", and buy Apologies To The Queen Mary from Amazon!)