Best releases of 2005 so far?

[Slim]

The Fiery Furnaces - EP
Great singles and b-sides collection, including a fantastic reworking of Tropical Ice-Land. Probably my favourite.

Lou Barlow - Emoh
Of Sentridoh and Sebadoh fame, great singer/songwriter in the vein of Nick Drake

Iron And Wine - Woman King
Review in the MAT. Beam keeps getting newer, without changing.

Meshuggah - Catch 33
Not for those who can't withstand monotony, but the last third is some of their best work.

Strapping Young Lad - Alien
While again, not up to the exceptionally high standard they set with City, another great industrial influenced death metal album. Awesome drums and vocals.

John Petrucci - Suspended Animation
Waaay too much wankery and Satch influence, but there's still a lot of great material. Lost Without You especially.

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning/Digital Ash In A Digital Urn
Would have made a killer single disc, but there's still some great walbering tunes, as you would expect from one of the most prolific songwriters of our time.

Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives
Great 7 song EP from the guy who introduced me to the wonders of hip hop.

Ones that are out/leaked and I really want to hear
General Patton Vs The X-Ecutioners
Decemberists - Picaresque
Fantomas - Suspended Animation
Unicorn - Playing With Light
Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Allat Sz�letett
A Silver Mt Zion - Horse In The Sky...

[Solitude]

The Fiery Furnaces - EP
Great singles and b-sides collection, including a fantastic reworking of Tropical Ice-Land. Probably my favourite.

Lou Barlow - Emoh
Of Sentridoh and Sebadoh fame, great singer/songwriter in the vein of Nick Drake

Iron And Wine - Woman King
Review in the MAT. Beam keeps getting newer, without changing.

Meshuggah - Catch 33
Not for those who can't withstand monotony, but the last third is some of their best work.

Strapping Young Lad - Alien
While again, not up to the exceptionally high standard they set with City, another great industrial influenced death metal album. Awesome drums and vocals.

John Petrucci - Suspended Animation
Waaay too much wankery and Satch influence, but there's still a lot of great material. Lost Without You especially.

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning/Digital Ash In A Digital Urn
Would have made a killer single disc, but there's still some great walbering tunes, as you would expect from one of the most prolific songwriters of our time.

Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives
Great 7 song EP from the guy who introduced me to the wonders of hip hop.

Ones that are out/leaked and I really want to hear
General Patton Vs The X-Ecutioners
Decemberists - Picaresque
Fantomas - Suspended Animation
Unicorn - Playing With Light
Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Allat Sz�letett
A Silver Mt Zion - Horse In The Sky...

I agree with more or less everything there...also:
Shining ~ In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster [Finally, i'm giving jazz the respect it deserves]

The Flaming Lips ~ Late night tales [ I CANNOT believe nobody follows lips here.I mean they are EASILY the best band in the world right now, absolutely peerless.Anybody who disagrees seriously needs to attend a Zaireeka party.A cover album.Only for the fans.]

Andrew Bird ~ The Mysterious Production of Eggs [Awesome solo artist.]

Bob Drake ~ The Shunned Country[52 friggin' tracks in a 40 minute CD. Check him out. For curiosity's sake]

Spoon ~ Gimme Fiction[Not released yet.But easily the best i've heard so far.]

Patrick Wolf ~ Wind in the Wires[I don't know why, but this album keeps throwing images from the movie The Headless Horseman in my head.The Johnny Depp one.I think thats the title....er....yes.]

M.i.a ~ Arular[Finally somebody from the indian peninsula is making incredible music at the international level.GO GO GO!!!]

Alog ~ Miniature[from the same label as Shining(Rune Grammofon)...one of the best electronic albums i've heard in a long time.]

M83 ~ Before the Dawn Heals Us[The famous duo finally splits.Anthony Gonzalez retained the name though.]

LCD Soundsystem ~ LCD Soundsystem[you know whats the great thing, about living in India.You live away from all the hype.So, i can still so confidently, without being influenced at all, that this is a good record.But not a great one.]

Bloc Party ~ Silent Alarm[Nice guitar album.]

Edit 1: Oh one more thing, horses in the sky, does it also feature the tra-la-la band?.....'coz then my copy is mislabelled.On insound, they've included TLL, but none of the advance copies i've seen have.

Oh btw,Decemberist's CD is awesome.IMO, their best so far

Edit 2: @Venetian snares, you're talking about Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole, right?

[Howie]

Let's see here, I'll probably forget some releases (so far, 2005 has been awesome), but whatever, here 'tis, in no specific order;

* Dark Tranquillity - Character (Melodeath with balls. Go home, Flaymz.)
* Kreator - Enemy of God (Awesome comeback)
* Judas Priest - Angel Of Retribution (They still got "it")
* Strapping Young Lad - Alien (Best SYL-album in my opinion)
* Taake - "... Doedskvad" (Great way to say goodbye, hopefully not forever though)
* Equilibrium - Turis Fratyr (Fuck yeah, bitches! One of the better debuts I've heard!)
* Suidakra - Command To Charge (Another excellent Suidakra-album)
* Fant�mas - Suspended Animation (Crazy, just the way I like it!)
* Antestor - The Forsaken (Christian meloblack metal with... balls!)
* Immolation - Harnessing Ruin (Hell yeah, bitches! They've done it once again!)

That's all I can remember. All we need now is a "Most Dissapointing Album So Far 2005"-thread.

[Soeru]

Dark Tranquillity - Character
Nile - Annhialation of the Wicked(sounds promising)
Immolation - Harnessing Ruin

I'll come up with more, I just can't remember what albums I've listened to are from 2005...

[Slim]

I agree with more or less everything there...also:
Shining ~ In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster [Finally, i'm giving jazz the respect it deserves]

The Flaming Lips ~ Late night tales [ I CANNOT believe nobody follows lips here.I mean they are EASILY the best band in the world right now, absolutely peerless.Anybody who disagrees seriously needs to attend a Zaireeka party.A cover album.Only for the fans.]

Andrew Bird ~ The Mysterious Production of Eggs [Awesome solo artist.]

Bob Drake ~ The Shunned Country[52 friggin' tracks in a 40 minute CD. Check him out. For curiosity's sake]

Spoon ~ Gimme Fiction[Not released yet.But easily the best i've heard so far.]

Patrick Wolf ~ Wind in the Wires[I don't know why, but this album keeps throwing images from the movie The Headless Horseman in my head.The Johnny Depp one.I think thats the title....er....yes.]

M.i.a ~ Arular[Finally somebody from the indian peninsula is making incredible music at the international level.GO GO GO!!!]

Alog ~ Miniature[from the same label as Shining(Rune Grammofon)...one of the best electronic albums i've heard in a long time.]

M83 ~ Before the Dawn Heals Us[The famous duo finally splits.Anthony Gonzalez retained the name though.]

LCD Soundsystem ~ LCD Soundsystem[you know whats the great thing, about living in India.You live away from all the hype.So, i can still so confidently, without being influenced at all, that this is a good record.But not a great one.]

Bloc Party ~ Silent Alarm[Nice guitar album.]

Edit 1: Oh one more thing, horses in the sky, does it also feature the tra-la-la band?.....'coz then my copy is mislabelled.On insound, they've included TLL, but none of the advance copies i've seen have.

Oh btw,Decemberist's CD is awesome.IMO, their best so far

Edit 2: @Venetian snares, you're talking about Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole, right?

Heh, I'll be fucked if I'm typing out the whole ASMZ name . Also Aquarius lists the Venetian Snares album as that. Maybe it's a translation or something?

Btw, I've only heard Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but I don't like it at all. They are really love-or-hate...

[Solitude]

Heh, I'll be fucked if I'm typing out the whole ASMZ name . Also Aquarius lists the Venetian Snares album as that. Maybe it's a translation or something?

Btw, I've only heard Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but I don't like it at all. They are really love-or-hate...

Not really...flaming lips as a band went through 3 phases.First was the guitar oriented indie style(the best of that phase is easily Clouds Taste Metallic), second was their bizarre experimental phase, during which they recorded Zaireeka, which is arguably one of the best records of all time (you can't even call that damn thing an album, it transcends the notion of an album-believe me, if you ever visit a Zaireeka party, it'll be an experience that'll stay with you for the rest of your life). Their latest phase is their pop phase(a.k.a the much celebrated(overated,imo) Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi-which you say you don't like.)

@Venetian Snares.Click here. Same cover?

[Slim]

Nope, this is the cover



Description from AQR

We've come to expect a lot of things from Aaron Funk and his Venetian Snares. But not this. In the past Funk was the master of splattery, maniacal drum and bass, all chopped up and poundingly complex, relentless and completely brain frying. Which we obviously love, but on this here new record, everything has changed. There's still plenty of maddeningly complex drum programming, but now it's merely a framework for actual songs, gorgeous, achingly mournful and surpsrisingly melodic songs. Piano, soaring strings, delicate pizzicato melodies, horns, moaning cellos, even occasional smokey torch song vocals. Remember the Aphex Twin song "Boy/Girl", quite possibly our favorite Aphex track ever, and rightfully so, a totally catchy, immediately memorable string section, wrapped in spikey swaths of drill and bass. Well, this is basically a whole record like that, but with a decidedly more Eastern European vibe, minor key and melancholy, with entire tracks of just strings and piano, NO rhythms. It sounds a bit like Arvo Part jamming with Aphex Twin if you can imagine that. One of the highlights is track three, a cover of Rezso Seress' notorious "Hungarian Suicide Song" which ends up sounding like some lost track from Portishead or Lamb. Slinky and sexy and so so good. The whole record is just amazing, every track offers up something new, whether it's dark doleful gypsy strings, mournful minimal piano, ridiculously intricate drum programming or all three somehow perfectly melded together. Haunting, deeply emotional and totally intense...

[Solitude]

Nope, this is the cover



Description from AQR

We've come to expect a lot of things from Aaron Funk and his Venetian Snares. But not this. In the past Funk was the master of splattery, maniacal drum and bass, all chopped up and poundingly complex, relentless and completely brain frying. Which we obviously love, but on this here new record, everything has changed. There's still plenty of maddeningly complex drum programming, but now it's merely a framework for actual songs, gorgeous, achingly mournful and surpsrisingly melodic songs. Piano, soaring strings, delicate pizzicato melodies, horns, moaning cellos, even occasional smokey torch song vocals. Remember the Aphex Twin song "Boy/Girl", quite possibly our favorite Aphex track ever, and rightfully so, a totally catchy, immediately memorable string section, wrapped in spikey swaths of drill and bass. Well, this is basically a whole record like that, but with a decidedly more Eastern European vibe, minor key and melancholy, with entire tracks of just strings and piano, NO rhythms. It sounds a bit like Arvo Part jamming with Aphex Twin if you can imagine that. One of the highlights is track three, a cover of Rezso Seress' notorious "Hungarian Suicide Song" which ends up sounding like some lost track from Portishead or Lamb. Slinky and sexy and so so good. The whole record is just amazing, every track offers up something new, whether it's dark doleful gypsy strings, mournful minimal piano, ridiculously intricate drum programming or all three somehow perfectly melded together. Haunting, deeply emotional and totally intense...

Hotdamnshit. Another album to look forward to. I mean, ok i knew 2005 was going to be a great year for music.....but this is getting ridiculous.

[Hangman]

Errrr, so far there hasn't been that much released that appeals to me...

Daft Punk - Human After All
Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute (I like even the bits where it's just random sounds...)

I guess I should pick up the Kaiser Chiefs + Chemical Brothers new albums, but just can't be arsed...

[Cosmic]

So far, only the new albums from Bright Eyes and Black Label Society have really caught my attention. I haven't heard the new Mars Volta album, yet but I'm also interested in hearing that when the opportunity arises. I'll post my most anticipated albums later...

[Edgecrusher]

Strapping Young Lad - Alien
While again, not up to the exceptionally high standard they set with City, another great industrial influenced death metal album. Awesome drums and vocals.

I guess I must be one of the few people who thinks that SYL is their best album, although City is fucking awesome.

[Solitude]

I guess I must be one of the few people who thinks that SYL is their best album, although City is fucking awesome.

Nah,SYL's my fave too

[artist088]

the only 2005 cd i heard so far is Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta. it's fucking sweet.

[Deathcrush]

children of bodom - trashed, lost and strungout (i just like the added videos on the cd )
kreator - enemy of god (what can i say? its kreator!)

[Skinner8]

So who else likes Garbage - Bleed Like Me and NIN - With Teeth?...