Top 50 Albums of 2003

The top 50 albums of 2003, finally reclaimed from the Internet ether.

. . .

50. Frank Black & The Catholics
"Show Me Your Tears"
(SpinArt)

"The Artist Formerly Known As Black Francis’ latest release would seem to be the next step in Charles Thompson’s rehabilitation from alt.rock pioneer to country-rock maestro. Never fear though, because Black has drawn together his country inspirations and combined them with a satisfyingly meaty, rough-hewn rock’n’roll rumble. His past is never too distant with awesome tracks like Massif Centrale, but the overall direction of the album is geared towards showing off Black’s increasingly skilful songwriting: witness Manitoba, Coastline and Everything Is New. After a patchy double release last time round, SMYT is a tremendous return to form, and up there with his best work." - Simon Briercliffe

. . .

49. Sylvain Chauveau
"Un Autre Décembre"
(Fat Cat)

"What's remarkable about Un Autre Décembre is the dedication to keep music to an absolute bare minimum. You'll spend much of this album waiting for the next note, as Chauveau teases astonishing emotional depths from an art of silence, measure and stillness. Nothing's wasted, nothing's unnecessary, and the overall effect is breathtaking. " - Ben Bollig

. . .

48. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
"Take Them On, On Your Own"
(Virgin)

"'Difficult Second Album' syndrome goes right out of the window for California's very own mono-clad trio. Taking the best bits from the debut album (countless guitar effects, murmured vocals) and adding strength to the all round songwriting - We're All In Love is an instant modern classic. They surprised us with a bit of social comment in Generation and U.S. Government and possibly even shocked by picking up acoustic guitars for And I'm Aching. B.R.M.C. may well have left their cult roots behind now for the big time, but Take Them On, On Your Own shows how fun narcissism can be." - Peter Mattinson

. . .

47. Deerhoof
"Apple 'O"
(5 Rue Christine)

"My first encounter with the alarmingly unpredictable beast that is Deerhoof offered immediate affirmation that it wouldn’t be my last. Apple ‘O might not make sense straight away, but that’s neither here nor there. What matters is that the twelve tracks on offer pack easily enough melody and sheer exuberance to capture the attention of any suitably open-minded listener. A couple of spins later and you’ll be firmly under Deerhoof’s spell." - David Coleman

. . .

46. Evan Dando
"Baby I'm Bored"
(Setanta)

"A reflective daydream of country-tinged indie pop, Evan Dando’s Baby I’m Bored saw the ex-Lemonheads frontman finally emerge from the post-grunge chaos with his vocal chords and songwriting skills intact." - Sally Pryor 

. . .

45. Autechre
"Draft 7.30"
(Warp)

"In Draft 7.30, the mathematicians deconstructing Confield's logarithms have no new meat to dig their teeth in to, but those of us who baled out when the structure was completely lost, finally have the smallest of opening back into Booth and Brown's electronic world. For once, Autechre haven't leapt forward; they're sufficiently ahead of the competition to be able to stand still a while, and let the song's they left behind catch up." - Sam Draper

. . .

44. Mojave 3
"Spoon & Rafter"
(4AD)

"When this list was published 12 months ago, one album sat somewhat uneasily in our top 10 – Neil Halstead’s Sleeping On Roads. Although it’s now quite clear that we overcooked our praise for that particular record slightly, it’s far too late to make amends. It simply doesn’t matter now. What is important, however, is that you acknowledge the following, crucial fact: in 2003 Neil Halstead reunited with his buddies in Mojave 3 to release a far more accomplished album, the divine Spoon & Rafter. Superficially a simple collection of pretty melodies, repeated listening is the key to appreciating this subtly brilliant tour de force." - David Coleman

. . . 

43. The Great Depression 
"Unconscious Pilot"
(Fire Records)

"An album that undoubtedly slipped past many undetected, blipped up strongly on the No Ripcord radar. Frontman Todd Casper put together a collection of songs that would have been filed under 'shoegazing' 13 years ago; now, thankfully, they can be appreciated for being more. Dense productions and murmured vocals may well be the focus, but never at the expense of a great melody. Those who buy up Mojave 3 albums with relish couldn't do much better then to add Unconscious Pilot to their shopping list." - Peter Mattinson

. . .

42. Do Make Say Think
"Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn"
(Constellation)

"Winter Hymn... is a warm and introspective work that returns to the impressionistic and loose territory of DMST's earlier album Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead. It's an album of firesides and bedside tales, yet one driven by rock guitars and passionate percussion, close musically to contemporaries and peers like Hope of the States and Godspeed You!, but with a unique hymnal quality all of their own." - Ben Bollig

. . .

41. Rachel's
"Systems/Layers"
(Quarterstick)

"As outstanding as a red dot on a blue screen, Rachel’s neo-classical instrumentation, allied with an intuitive and years-honed sense of collaborative discretion, produced one of the year’s most enigmatic and rewarding albums. A group that can switch from pastiche Debussy to Piazzolla tango to Reichian arrhythmics to laptop ambience without breaking stride, and yet still leave space for the superimposition, here, inside, where it matters, of its listeners’ own personal narratives. Systems/Layers is a unique album from a uniquely experimental group. When o when are they going to tour the UK? (And who on earth could support them?) " - Paul Roylance

. . .

40. Shack
"...Here’s Tom With The Weather"
(North Country) 

"With their seventh album, ...Here's Tom With The Weather (a reference to a skit by late comedian Bill Hicks), the Head Brothers have returned to the modest production measures and refocused their sights on eloquent pop songs. Generating a sensation that hasn't been felt since 1998's Magical World Of The Strands (one of the best albums written by anyone), Shack's selection of twelve songs couldn't feel more at home for longtime fans." - Cam Lindsay

. . .

39. Smog
"Supper"
(Domino) 

"Another year, another fantastic Smog record. Some critics seem to be taking the consistently impressive work of Bill Callahan for granted nowadays; please ignore them, they’re imbeciles. For my money at least, Supper is Callahan’s finest album since 1999’s glorious Knock, Knock. Come to think of it, Butterflies Drowned in Wine is arguably his finest track. Count this as one of the most criminally overlooked outings in 2003, and blame us in part for failing to review it." - David Coleman

. . .

38. Outkast
"Speakerboxxx / The Love Below"
(Arista)

2008 note: We didn't actually get around to commenting on this one. Perhaps we were embarrassed at placing what was clearly a pretty great album at a rather unflattering number 38?

. . .

37. Richard Hawley
"Lowedges"
(Setanta) 

"This year saw long-time indie also-ran Richard Hawley follow up his fine debut Late Night Central in world-beating style with Lowedges, an album of subtle lyrics and occasionally big productions (see Run For Me). Some people may sneer at Hawley’s Roy Orbison-esque croon and the 50's style guitar. But some people are also complete culture snobs who don't know a classic three-minute pop song when they hear one. On current form, Hawley is the best singer/songwriter in England. This is the proof." - Peter Mattinson

. . .

36. Clearlake
"Cedars"
(Domino) 

"Getting the thumbs up from the likes of Jarvis Cocker and REM rounds off 2003 pretty well for Clearlake. Cedars is an essentially English piece of work, featuring as it does songs about the weather, the landscape and that particular streak of nastiness only found on our fair isles (I'd Like To Hurt You). Add to that two of the year's top singles in the chugging Almost The Same and Can't Feel A Thing. Whether recent personnel changes will have an adverse effect on Clearlake's future remains to be seen. What is known for sure is that Cedars is legacy to a burning talent that deserves to be heard by a large a group of people as possible." - Peter Mattinson

. . . 

35. A Silver Mt. Zion
"This Is Our Punk Rock"
(Constellation) 

"As much as I have always held Godspeed, and especially Silver Mt. Zion in high regard, never before has a record of theirs felt so complete. Yanqui U.X.O., whilst good, felt as if GY!BE had hit a brick wall adhering to the common definition of 'post-rock', as in epic instrumental music. With the inclusion of voice, however, this collective has managed to reach new heights. " - Sam Draper

. . .

34. Mira Calix
"Skimskitta"
(Warp) 

"Skimskitta is the most revelatory example of what an artist can achieve when they ignore everything but their own instinct, and the strongest argument for labels allowing their promising roster to develop at its own pace. Mira’s first album was distinctly average, and the follow-up has rewarded Warp’s belief with a collection that is both indifferent and unyielding to current trends, and which reveals a beautifully hypnotic world entirely of its own making." - Pat Harte

. . .

33. The Forms
"Icarus"
(Three Spheres) 

"Syncopated guitar riffs and razor-sharp time signature shifts predominate, and for the first few sittings at least, Icarus makes for disorientating listening. But the beauty of such a succinct record – a mere 18 minutes from start to finish – is that after an hour of solid listening (an experience which I can highly recommend) a certain understanding develops, after which you’ll never look back. This fantastic debut album may be short, but it could never be described as slight." - David Coleman

. . .

32. why?
"oaklandazulasylum"
(anticon) 

"It came as a shock to me too. cLOUDDEAD were good, but I’d never expected anything like this to emerge from the strangely generic obtuseness of left-of-centre hip hop. oaklandazulasylum features an inventive eclecticism that introduces more ideas in one song than many groups can muster in a whole career. An album of inspired 4-track wanderings that inherits the crown left by early De La Soul, and one that is destined to be criminally and undeservedly overlooked." - Pat Harte

. . .

31. Black Dice
"Beaches & Canyons"
(Fat Cat) 

"From generic noisecore to wantonly experimental, slightly more varied noise with seashore ambience doesn’t seem like such a great step, and Black Dice seem doomed to poor sales and great acclaim despite the fact that Beaches and Canyons is a wilful jump into musical oblivion, and a strangely compelling one at that. That they probably won’t make one penny from their attempts can only enhance the heroic appeal of one of the most fearless and inventive bands to emerge in the last few years. " - Pat Harte

. . .

30. Grandaddy
"Sumday"
(V2)

“After an initial period of disappointment, Sumday stayed on my personal stereo for the next three months solidly. Although, admittedly, it’s no Sophtware Slump, there are a multitude of reasons within as to why Jason Lytle remains one of the most affecting songwriters in America right now, despite sporting a beard that would make ZZ Top laugh.” - Pat Harte

. . .

29. The White Stripes
"Elephant"
(XL)

"Elephant is The White Stripes finest album to date. It's simple, basic, brutal, honest and perverse. No one else is covering the same lyrical territory as Jack White, and no one has such a pure musical vision as he and Meg. Whether there's much more that can be done with the tripartite formula is a question that's yet to be answered. On the evidence of this brilliant, old-fashioned yet formidably modern record, the answer is yes. But it's not really a question that matters. For the time being, and probably for a long time in the future, Elephant is an album that sets the benchmark for rock and roll." - Ben Bollig

* I replaced my lukewarm take on the record for Ben's glowing summary as it seemed more fitting for an end of year round-up. It is a great album and I don't know why I didn't accept that at the time. -- David Coleman
. . .

28. Rufus Wainwright
"Want One"
(Dreamworks) 

2008 note: Again, no comment on this one. I don't know why, and, as I'm not particularly a fan of Mr Wainwright's work, I'm not particularly bothered. 

. . .

27. The Raveonettes
"The Chain Gang Of Love"
(Columbia) 

"Compatriots Junior Senior may have stole the headlines (and shifted the units), but looking back over 2003, there is only one genuine contender for Best Danish Album of Year. The 50s-tinged rock n’ roll of The Raveonettes’ major label debut easily overshadows the band’s previous effort, Whip It On, and finally proves what we’ve suspected all along – that this stylish duo have bags of substance to back it all up." - David Coleman

. . .

26. Mars Volta
"Deloused in the Comatorium"
(Island) 

"Everything about this album is wrong. Just as At the Drive-In were about to go stellar on the back of the astonishing Relationship of Command, creative maestros and hairy beasts Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler Zavala split the band up, disappeared, and then returned playing dreadful cod ska and prog jams that left audiences yawning into their handlebar moustaches. Then came the news that their first opus together as The Mars Volta was indeed a prog epic (yikes!) and it was a concept album (yowzer!!), based on an imaginary book (help!!!). Everything spelt disaster – even the artwork is pretentious and phenomenally annoying, but with producer Rick Rubin and sadly deceased box-wizard Jeremy Michael Ward, Bixler and R-L’s record takes astonishing sounds into the most bewildering, compelling, astral spaces. Tracks like Inertiatic Esp [sic, as ever] are blinding rock epics. So it doesn’t make any sense, and some of the cuts are twelve minutes long, but music this ambitious, this assertive, captures all the power and joy that rock can hope for. How can it be wrong when it feels so right. A masterpiece." - Ben Bollig

. . .

25. Super Furry Animals
"Phantom Power"
(XL) 

"They can do Glam Stompers. They can do off-kilter eclecticism. They can do delicate folk excellence. But Super Furry Animals' problem has always been managing to fit it all onto one album. Not so with Phantom Power, a record which manages to blend the Furries' finer points into something they have never quite managed on their previous efforts: total clarity. From the deranged brilliance of Golden Retriever to the hushed beauty of Sex, War & Robots, the Super Furries have managed to repay their fans continued faith in them by producing their most complete album to date, and also their most listenable." - Ben Stroud

. . .

24. Elbow
"Cast of Thousands"
(V2) 

"It was always going to be a win-some-lose-some with the sophomore album - Asleep in the Back had connected deeply with many people's angst-gland, and any hint of the patient's improvement was the last thing they (we? hands up! I confess) really wanted to hear about. They won us over though, didn't they? With that hirsute northern charm and a bagful of bloody lovely songs that describe a rising arc of lyrical self-satisfaction until - kaboom - Grace Under Pressure bursts into your consciousness like the holy grenade it is and puts everything into perspective. (And just how many of the gazillion names in the artwork of people at the Glasto gig were really there? Hands up!)" - Paul Roylance

. . .

23. Broken Social Scene
"You Forgot It In People"
(Arts & Crafts / Paper Bag) 

"All over the map, it’s almost guaranteed that even the snootiest indie fan will enjoy something this band has to offer, whether it is the circus freak-out vocals of Anthems for a seventeen year old girl, the delicate instrumental Capture the Flag or superb rockers like KC Accidental and Almost Crimes. The most successful music is often the kind that is able to unite familiarity and experimentation, building songs on customary foundations before driving them into the stratosphere. That being said, You Forgot It In People is easily one of the most successful albums of the year." - Brian Graham

. . .

22. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
"Master and Everyone"
(Domino) 

"When compiling my top twenty albums of 2002, there was one record that I found myself desperate to include - a record that despite only dropping through my letterbox a month or so before the official deadline, had gone on to almost single-handedly soundtrack my December. Much to my dismay however, the album in question (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's achingly beautiful Master and Everyone) was rendered ineligible by its January release date. And thanks to that stupid January release date, I figured it would most likely miss out this year too. Wrong again. Thankfully." - David Coleman

. . .

21. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
"Pig Lib"
(Matador / Domino) 

"With the prog-tinged rock of Pig Lib, Stephen Malkmus, along with his new band, the now fully-integrated Jicks, made his first great post-Pavement record. It’s not without its flaws, sure, but with tracks like (Do Not Feed The) Oyster and 1% of One you’ll hardly notice, let alone care. A welcome and fully expected return to form." - David Coleman

. . .

20. My Morning Jacket
"It Still Moves"
(BMG / RCA) 

"It Still Moves is the kind of album that can inspire both wonder and respect in equal measures. Once you hear the wonderful, lilting Mercury Rev-go-to-Hawaii opener that is Magheeta, it's almost as if you are listening to a transmission direct from a world that we've never visited before. In the case of Dancefloors, it's clearly a world where The Band are still performing The Last Waltz." - Ben Stroud

. . .

19. Buck 65
"Talkin' Honky Blues"
(Warner) 

"In 2003 no one made a better hip-hop/country crossover record than Buck 65. Talkin’ Honky Blues may have initially surprised (or even disillusioned) fans of Buck’s earlier, more traditionally leftfield work, but its crisp, surprisingly effective sound is hard to dismiss. Throw into the mix a string of vivid character portraits and tales of life on the road and you’ve got the recipe for arguably one of the finest hip-hop and country albums this year. " - David Coleman

. . .

18. The Rapture
"Echoes"
(Strummer / Universal) 

"The sheer veracity and abandon of what is, astonishingly, their debut album, brings what is important in music into such focus that denial is futile at best, and stubbornly contrary at worst. A rhythmically overwhelming poisoned apple of sharp-edged, clear-eyed post-punk that betrays a clutch of influences, and yet sounds like nothing else around. Consider the hype justified. " - Pat Harte

. . .

17. Prefuse 73
"One Word Extinguisher"
(Warp) 

"Even though the last fifth of the album, excepting the metallic lurch of Choking You and the hypnotising vocal repetitions of Styles That Fade Away With a Collonade Reprise, is largely disposable, 16 good tracks (plus the amazing hidden 23rd track, wherein acoustic guitar is interspersed with staccato female jolts) equals an album by an artist that you'll be claiming you heard of long before you actually did, so start revising now before people start telling you what I'm telling you now - that if you give a damn about hip hop you need to hear this. " - Pat Harte

. . .

16. The Decemberists
"Her Majesty The Decemberists"
(Kill Rock Stars) 

"This year I was fortunate enough to review not one but TWO albums by Portland’s – no, make that America’s – most prolifically brilliant new band. Their accomplished debut, Castaways and Cutouts, certainly impressed, but it was the band’s sophomore outing, the sublime Her Majesty The Decemberists, that truly confirmed the arrival of one of the year’s hottest new talents. If you can find the time to fully investigate only one new band in 2004, you could do a lot worse than The Decemberists. " - David Coleman

. . .

15. The Hidden Cameras
"The Smell Of Our Own"
(Rough Trade) 

"Despite containing at least 2 songs about being pissed on, Joel Gibb’s happy clappy collective have produced on of the strongest and most touching sets of songs this year with their Rough Trade debut. Strong, engagingly melodic and blinkered with the self-belief of people who seemingly don’t care about anything except their own convictions, this is as invigorating as an, erm, cold shower." - Pat Harte

. . .

14. TV on the Radio
"Young Liars EP"
(Tough & Go) 

"Without a doubt the finest record Nick Zinner and Brian Chase have appeared on in 2003. And if you think you've heard a more accomplished EP this year... well, you're just plain wrong. Such is the magnitude of Young Liars' swagger, the five track EP has marched confidently into an end of year list it's technically not even eligible for. How's that for a breakthrough? Expect very big things. " - David Coleman

. . .

13. American Analog Set
"Promise of Love"
(Tiger Style) 

"Every two years, we get another American Analog Set album. And while some bands grow, change, try new thing - Andrew Kenny and AAS are content to churn out similar sounding dreamy pop based on spacey keyboards, gentle drums and breathy vocals. The benefit of this place-holding style of songwriting, though, is that with each successive recording, AAS perfect their trademark sound. Thus it follows if you enjoyed 2001’s Know By Heart (and you certainly should have) then this is the disc to tide you over until American Analog Set repeats the whole process over again." - Brian Graham

. . .

12. The New Pornographers
"Electric Version"
(Matador) 

2008 note: How could a staff of indie-obsessed writers fail to comment on this record? It's still a mystery five years on.

. . .

11. Mogwai
"Happy Songs For Happy People"
(Rock Action) 

"Mogwai’s latest disc marks a diversion for the Scottish rock gods only in the title, and while shifting from the Abaddon-on-guitar fatalism of My Father My King, continues in the pensive major-key that dominated Rock Action. So Hunted By a Freak or Moses? I Amn’t [sic] may seem surprising to those brought up on the murderous axes and crunching chords of Young Team, but in fact continue the subtle directions suggested by their collaborations with Gruff Rhys. Still though, Killing All The Flies has huge wig-out moments, and Ratts of the Capital marks a more traditional slab of death-explosion rock. In all it’s an album that sees Mogwai doing all of what they’ve done well over the years – endorphin-guitars, strange yet fascinating avant-garde percussion, and spiralling, complex song-structures. Perhaps, with their experience, they’re taking on a greater range, and maybe, just maybe, they’re a bit cheerier than before. Regardless, Mogwai are an institution, and unlike the Royal Family, they don’t need to be put up against the wall. Happy Songs for Happy People shows them at the top of their form." - Ben Bollig

. . .

10. The Postal Service
"Give Up"
(Sub Pop) 

"The debut album from electro-blip king Jimmy Tamborello and Benjamin Gibbard is just like that manic-depressive girl/boyfriend you don’t know quite what to do with – when it’s good, it’s very good, and when it’s bad, it’s all you can do to keep from bashing your skull in with a sledge hammer. Give Up may fail to sustain the enigmatic beauty of 2001’s single (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan for an entire album, but they still come away as skilled and complementary collaborators, rarely allowing one partner to overshadow the other. The album opens with its strongest track, The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, where the tempos shift to match lyrics concerning the dissolution of a long-term relationship. Clark Gable is sugary, danceable synth-pop and This Place is A Prison comes closest to replicating the slow-burning magic of Evan and Chan. As Indie Rock and music technology both progress, look for Postal Service to be near the forefront of each. Right where they belong." - Brian Graham

. . .

9. The Shins
"Chutes Too Narrow"
(Sub Pop) 

"As Chutes Too Narrow is the only bona fide indie-pop record to make our top ten, you can safely assume it’s the finest that much-loved yet oft-maligned genre has spewed forth this year. As they first demonstrated on 2001’s mighty Oh, Inverted World, The Shins are the current masters of the (superficially) simple three minute guitar-pop song, squeezing as they do, more twists and turns into their joyous compositions than you’ll find in many an admirable band’s entire back catalogue. Think I’m exaggerating? Don’t be so cynical. Download the album’s glorious centrepiece Saint Simon or the pint-sized ray of sunshine that is So Says I and, unless you’re immune to genius songwriting, I’m confident you’ll want to hear more of this fantastic album" - David Coleman

. . .

8. Dizzee Rascal
"Boy In Da Corner"
(XL) 

"It's staggering to think that this time last year one Dylan Mills was a relative unknown to most of the country. But with the juddering, sonically frightening thump of tracks such as I Luv You, Jus a Rascal and Fix up, Look sharp, Mills has, under his moniker Dizzee Rascal, created a so-called 'UK Garage' album that has more in common with the sonic terrorism of Aphex Twin than the boorish, swaggering tripe pedalled by acts such as So Solid Crew. Shockingly lucid and scarily honest, Dizzee Rascal is the Byron to Mike Skinner's Keats: mad, bad, and dangerous to know." - Ben Stroud

. . .

7. Cat Power
"You Are Free"
(Matador) 

"At last the promise is fulfilled, and overwhelmingly so. An album that can break hearts so beautifully that you’ll not only understand why heartbreak exists, but be glad that it does." - Pat Harte

. . .

6. The Microphones
"Mt. Eerie"
(K Records) 

"In my humble opinion Mount Eerie is the finest record released in 2003. It’s not an opinion I share with many, but Phil Elvrum’s 5-track-life-and-death-concept-album has the edge over every other long player I’ve heard in 2003 bar none. Maybe it’s the sheer ambition of it all? Maybe it’s the fact that my girlfriend absolutely hated it? Or maybe it’s the fact that it sounds nothing like ‘2003’ – the year of dancepunk, novelty bands and Justin-fucking-Timberlake? I don’t know for sure but I can tell you this - it’s the only January release to see stereo action in my house all year round. And for a record that demands your full, undivided attention, that’s really saying something. " - David Coleman

. . .

5. Radiohead
"Hail to the Thief"
(Parlophone) 

"When the end comes strolling by, to the sounds of Yorke's frank rantings on A Wolf at the Door, HTTT feels like a million miles away from any other Radiohead album. Maybe it's simply modernity behind it that gives it that sense or maybe it's just better songs, HTTT seems to be the exact album Radiohead and just plain music fans wanted overall. Whatever the difference is, it's brought back that loving feeling I had for them six years ago, and I can honestly say, it's great to be mad about Radiohead again" - Cam Lindsay

. . .

4. Four Tet
"Rounds"
(Domino) 

"It's very late. Practically everyone's staggered off home. Pissed-off drummer starts to thrash out a desultory rock 'n' roll riff. In the smoky cone of light thrown beneath the one green-shaded lamp. a slumped pianist begins picking out an extended phrase. It's mournful, elegiac, and about to turn obsessive, as he repeats it, over and over, riding the choppy crests of that marginally inappropriate rhythm. It's a bit Keith Jarrett, a bit Edmund Hopper, a bit amateurish, a bit brilliant. The drummer, there in the shadowy corner - sister? lover? wife? - some story. We're all past caring. A naff old wind-chime tinkles in the breeze somewhere. What breeze? It goes on just a bit too long. Inside the pianist's head: clouds, a name, something overheard, the smell of lilac - a long time ago - what was it - on the tip of - gone. Back to here. The wordless now. The chime, the drum-riff, the piano. Really late. Time to go." - Paul Roylance

. . .

3. British Sea Power
"The Decline Of British Sea Power"
(Rough Trade) 

"It's been something of a good year for everyone's favourite paramilitary look-alike band. A couple of singles barging into the top 40, an appearance on Jools Holland and a debut album that justifiably boasts to be a 'classic'. Recent single Remember Me and the epic Lately go far to transfer their live intensity onto record while The Lonely is the best song ever about drunken nights on a Casio keyboard. The beauty of The Decline Of... is that it shows a band with the potential to go in any direction they wish, which makes awaiting the follow up all that more exciting. " - Peter Matinson

. . .

2. Manitoba
"Up In Flames"
(Leaf) 

"This year’s Summer soundtrack, no question. Dan Snaith ditches the pretty post-rock of his debut in favour of head-swimming psychedelia and creates an album so irrefutably wondrous that its power to soothe drug-addled clubbers and persuade indie kids to seek out daylight is possibly infinite. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess." - Pat Harte

. . .

1. M83
"Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts"
(Gooom / Labels) 

"Without a doubt, the most deserved success story of the year belongs to M83. With their celestial second album, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, the French electronic duo burst out of obscurity, garnering near-universal acclaim and a hundred or so comparisons to My Bloody Valentine in the process. That Dead Cities... actually tops this list is testament to the power of the music contained within; after all, the band hardly received the biggest media push of the year. And while some acknowledged the album’s undeniable genius, the majority of music magazines preferred to regale their readers with stories of debauched (read clichéd) rock ’n’ roll antics on the road with Jet, or print mini-essays on Kings of Leon’s wacky retro appearance, than to discuss the majestic layering of sound on tracks like Run Into Flowers and America. But none of that matters now. Despite the odds being stacked against them, M83 have prevailed. Add this essential record to your collection and you’ll soon discover why." - David Coleman

. . .