March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/31.png Two Dancers is the second studio album by British indie rock band Wild Beasts. It was released on 3 August 2009 in the UK on Domino Records, with a US release on 8 September. The track "Hooting and Howling" was released as the album's first single on 20 July. Two Dancers was very well received by critics. Aggregating website Metacritic reports a "universal acclaim" rating of 83% from notable critics. Pitchfork Media said, "Wild Beasts certainly aren't the first rock band to stand up society's dregs and outcasts, but few others immortalize them on such a wondrous, mythic scale." Drowned in Sound stated, "Two Dancers, then, doesn't so much follow up their debut as announce Wild Beasts as one of our genuinely special bands, one that can compete—in terms of both musical and lyrical ingenuity as well as sheer pop nous—with any US act you've seen talked up in the music press this year." By far my favourite song on this is Two Dancers. Edited March 23, 20169 yr by Colm
March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/30.png Ultraviolence is the third studio album and second major-label record by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014 by UMG Recordings. Despite originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The project saw additional contributions from producers including Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels. Ultraviolence received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who commended its cohesion as a concept album, compared to her previous albums, and its overall production. It has also been noted as an improvement from Del Rey's debut album Born to Die. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 182,000 copies, becoming Del Rey's first number-one album on the chart and the best-selling debut week of her career. Ultraviolence was preceded by the digital release of five singles, "West Coast", "Shades of Cool", "Ultraviolence", "Brooklyn Baby" and "Black Beauty". On December 1, 2014, she announced The Endless Summer Tour featuring shows with Courtney Love and Grimes, to support the album. While it doesn't contain anything as devastating and timeless as Born to Die (the song) this was a huge improvement on that album, music wise for me. The production on Born to Die wasn't nearly as slick as it needed to be.
March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/29.png Crystal Castles II is the second studio album by Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles released on May 24, 2010 by Fiction Records and Last Gang Records. The album was initially scheduled for release on the June 7, 2010, but the release dates were moved forward after the album leaked online, thus a digital version of the album was released on April 23, 2010. On April 25, 2011, the album was reissued digitally under the title (II), which replaced the original version of "Not in Love" with the version featuring Robert Smith. The album was recorded by Ethan Kath in a variety of locations including an abandoned church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in northern Ontario, a garage behind an abandoned drug store in Detroit, as well as Paul Epworth's London studio.[7] Of the experience, Kath said, "I recorded most of the record in the coldest winter in decades in a church without heat in Iceland. It was so cold that when I listen back I can hear myself shivering. I chose it because it felt right".[8] In December 2009, Kath gave vocalist Alice Glass a CD-R containing 70 instrumental tracks, for which she then recorded vocals on 35 tracks. In order to promote the album, the band released the first single "Celestica" in April and an EP titled Doe Deer was released only a few days later. In May the band physically released the album. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart and number 188 on the US Billboard 200.[9][10] Later on in December, the duo's cover of the Platinum Blonde song "Not in Love", featuring guest vocals from Robert Smith of The Cure, was released as the album's third single. The single became Crystal Castles' highest-charting single to date. Not as startlingly original as their debut but still a great listen and with Vietnam and Not In Love two of their very vest songs.
March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/28.png Vampire Weekend is the debut studio album by the American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released in January 2008 on XL Recordings. The album was produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, with mixing assistance from Jeff Curtin and Shane Stoneback. In the United States, the album sold over 27,001 copies in the first week of its release, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and as of 20 January 2010, has sold nearly half a million copies. In the album's 11th week in the UK chart, it peaked at number 15. The album also reached number 37 in Australia. The album's cover photo is a Polaroid picture from one of their early shows in Columbia University. The first single, "Mansard Roof", was released on October 28, 2007. The second single, "A-Punk", was released in early 2008. The album was ranked as the 5th-best album of 2008 by Time, the 56th-best album of the decade by Rolling Stone and 51st on Pitchfork's list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 430 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album was also ranked 24 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest debut albums of all time, citing them for having inspired a wave of indie bands with world music influences, despite largely criticising the album on its release. Paul Simon has spoken out in favour of the album, responding to the derision of some for perceived similarities to Simon's 1986 album Graceland Effortlessly energetic and relentlessly fun. Lots of exotics sounds but very accessible melody. The Kids Don't Stand a Chance is my fave.
March 23, 20169 yr Sorry I ended up not doing this after being enthusiastic about it :( 'Honeymoon' is my favourite Lana Del Rey album (would've included it in my list), I just love listening to it as a whole and it's the one I'm most likely to listen to right now. 'Meds' is really a good Placebo album, but I kind of forget about it for some reason in terms of actually making an effort to listen to it. Will do so soon I'm sure. And yes, I agree about 'The Kids Don't Stand a Chance' being the fave from the Vampire Weekend album, I used to listen to that a lot ^_^
March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/27.png Kala is the second studio album by English-Sri Lankan recording artist M.I.A., released on 8 August 2007 by XL Recordings. The album features musical styles including dance music and makes extensive use of South Asian music such as that of the urumee, a drum used in gaana music native to Tamil Nadu, India. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob. M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. She began recording the album in early 2006 and worked on the tracks in various locations around the world, including India, Jamaica, Australia, Liberia and Trinidad. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur, after M.I.A. was refused a long-term work visa to enter the country. Kala was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number eighteen on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart. In the United Kingdom it reached number thirty-nine on the UK Albums Chart. Kala spawned the singles "Bird Flu", "Boyz", "Jimmy" and "Paper Planes". As of 2013 the album had sold over 500,000 copies in the US. Home to the amazing Paper Planes and Jimmy. I expected this to be Top 10 as it was number 2 in our albums of the 00s chart a few years back, behind Funeral.
March 23, 20169 yr Author http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/tonyttt31/26_1.png xx is the debut album by English indie pop band the xx. After they signed a contract with XL Recordings, the band recorded the album from December 2008 to February 2009 at the record label's in-house studio in London. Audio engineer Rodaidh McDonald worked with the xx during the recording sessions and strived to reproduce the intimate, unembellished quality of their demos. The band's Jamie Smith produced xx on his laptop and created electronic beats for the songs, which he then mixed in a detailed process with McDonald. Although the xx had been strongly influenced by R&B acts, their debut album drew comparisons from music critics to alternative rock, electronica, and post-punk sounds. The melancholic songs on xx have minimalist arrangements and are built around Smith's beats, Oliver Sim's basslines, and sparse guitar figures played by Baria Qureshi and Romy Madley Croft, who employed reverb in her lead guitar parts. Most of the songs were sung as low-key duets by Croft and Sim, both of whom wrote emotional lyrics about love, intimacy, loss, and desire. An unimaginably stark and intimate set taking its cues from early Cure and primetime Tricky. An album that has cast a long shadow over pop music ushering in an era of dance music music that sounds as good in a club or on late night headphones. Brave music that doesn't hide behind very much decoration at all.
March 23, 20169 yr Loving the layouts Colm so far, fantastic work :wub: Really like Kala and Loud Places and delighted that I'm guessing it's Lana who has all 3 albums in :heart: Honeymoon is hit and miss, but when it hits I adore it; freak being my favourite! Ultraviolence is easily one of my favourite albums of the decade, I find it such an incredible and cohesive piece of work and love every single track on the album :heart: Lana sounds stunning and terrific and the songs are really beautiful, Ultraviolence and West Coast easily being two of her best :wub:
March 23, 20169 yr 'Kala' is really great, really fun, but for some reason I just never considered it my favourite or even one of my favourite M.I.A. albums :unsure: It still contains some of my favourite tracks from her tho, like 'Bamboo Banga', 'Paper Planes' and '20 Dollar'. Much love to it anyways <3
March 23, 20169 yr 'Kala' would've been #1 for me so I'm gutted I never voted as it would've boosted it up a fair bit :( loving this presentation so far and I'll actually be checking out a lot of these albums in time upon reading the commentaries.
March 23, 20169 yr Expected (and hoped for!) 'Kala' to be a bit higher, I thought it might've been top 10. One of my absolute favourites, she'll never top it. Glad to see Crystal Castles and Jamie xx feature on here too in particular.
March 23, 20169 yr Kala is gold all the way through, not another album like it, there's a magic of combining influences to all those tracks. Had thought it would be a bit higher too.
March 24, 20169 yr I approve :wub: Wouldn't have expected it to get in; many thanks :wub: Also love the results presentation Colm! Edited March 24, 20169 yr by Dircadirca
Create an account or sign in to comment