Nothing But The Best, From 2000 To 2009
Last summer, the team at Slow Motion Panic Masters finished our biggest project yet, ranking the top 100 best albums of the 2010s (as determined by our astonishingly excellent taste). Now, we're ready for more.
From the war on terror to the global financial crisis, the 2000s began the 21st century with events of immediately seismic importance. In many ways, it's the decade most shaped by tumultuous international politics, while music changed forever as the industry finally harnessed the seismic potential of the internet. From the PlayStation 2 to Pitchfork.com, here are our selections for the greatest music of the noughties. Here are...
Slow Motion Panic Masters'
Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
Note From The Editor: - this article is dedicated to Derek.
Derek knows who he is. He's a very cool guy.
- 100-91 -
Muse can often be a little cringeworthy in their music, but kicking off our list at #100, Black Holes and Revelations remains the group's best LP. Moby-Dick and metal coalesced on Mastodon's Leviathan, while Destiny's Child started Survivor with one of the best three-song openings of the decade ('Independent Woman, Pt. 1' / 'Survivor' / 'Bootilicious'). Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand made a big Scottish splash with their debut in 2004, while Yo La Tengo's 2000 record still sounds as gorgeous now as it did 20 years ago.
At #95, Corinne Bailey Rae's debut record is still wonderful. Next, the legendary Ali Farka Touré said goodbye to the world with his final, and perhaps greatest record, Savane. Begin to Hope will not be the last time Regina Spektor appears on this list, while formative albums from Beach House and the Miles Kane x Alex Turner harmonies of The Last Shadow Puppets round out our first ten albums.
- 90-81 -
Extraordinary Machine might be the least-good Fiona Apple album, but it's still great at #90. Beyoncé's Dangerously In Love is still a startlingly good debut, while Lily Allen's Alright Still is still an essential Londoner LP. Sweden's Opeth brought incredible subtlety and dynamism to death metal with Ghost Reveries, while Musiq Soulchild produced ultimate RnB slow jams through the fantastic Aijuswanaseing.
The hipster's golden child St. Vincent lit a fuse with Actor in 2009, while The White Stripes earn our #84 spot with the tasty tunes of White Blood Cells. Yeah Yeah Yeahs made waves with It's Blitz and Dizzee Rascal's Boy In Da Corner put grime firmly on the map. Finally, one of the most influential albums of the decade comes in at #81, with Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak going on to change pop music through fantastically pop-centric electronic love songs.
- 80-71 -
Robyn is very cool, and her comeback Robyn is some of her very best work (listen to 'Cobrastyle'). At #79, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III has some of the best bars of the decade, while Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning immediately became an essential indie-folk LP in 2005. The return of Kate Bush with Aerial was worth the wait, and though Mama's Gun is certainly no Baduizm, it's still Erykah Badu - ergo, genius.
Interpol's debut record Turn On The Bright Lights made a real wave in 2001, and at #74 The Microphones' "The Glow" Pt. 2 is still quite inexpressibly wonderful music. M.I.A.'s debut album Arular announced one of the UK's most exciting voices in 2005, and Modest Mouse's The Moon & Antarctica is still brilliant. Finally, at #71, MF DOOM adopted a brand new persona as King Geedorah, mixing reliably genius bars with some of the best self-produced beats of Dumile's career.
- 70-61 -
To American high-schoolers in particular, few albums have resonated more than Kid Cudi's Man On The Moon: The End of the Day. Portishead and The XX represent the UK with stellar releases, before the orchestral scale of Canadian post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor made spacey suites on Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. At #66, I implore you not to overlook Radiohead's return to rock on Hail To The Thief - it's an incredibly overlooked LP ('Myxamatosis'? Fire).
My Morning Jacket's Z is wonderful as is Death Cab For Cutie's magnum opus Transatlanticism. With I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose, one of the more unique voices in British indie rock emerged with Bombay Bicycle Club, featuring horrendously underappreciated drum performances from Suren de Saram. Panda Bear's Person Pitch is exceptional, but though Eminem's reputation has nosedived following consistently awful projects, The Marshall Mathers LP is still undeniably energetic and defiantly brilliant hip-hop vulgarity.
- 60-51 -
The last ten albums just missing out on our top 50, both Fugazi's The Argument and Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele demonstrated two 1990s icons that still had gas in the tank for the early 2000s. Damon Albarn legitimised his inventive "virtual band" Gorillaz with Demon Days and Jay-Z's The Black Album toyed with retirement through one of the rapper's best efforts to date. At #56, Kings of Leon landed on the international stage as four preacher's boys with an energetic, though often unintelligible brand of guitar rock.
Songs: Ohia made pretty music with Steve Albini (he's a surprise tool that will help us later!) on The Magonlia Electric Co. and Freeway made an often forgotten, star-studded hip-hop classic on Philadelphia Freeway in 2003. Aphex Twin made astonishingly impressive music, as ever, on Drukqs, while 50 Cent made something big, intimidating and unerringly fantastic on the floor-filling Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Lastly, at #51, Animal Collective produced a record equal parts perplexing, vibrant, chaotic and compelling with their 2007 LP Strawberry Jam.
- 50 -
What should we have expected from the lovechild of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse but sheer perfection?! St. Elsewhere was among the most exciting things to happen in 2006, and while I was far too young back then to discern a guitar from a trumpet, this genre-bending record was taking the rest of the world by complete storm. 'Go Go Gadget Gospel' kicks the album off at full steam, with Cee-Lo yelling “I’m free!” from the deep depths of his belly, as soul horns kick and hand-clapping beats clatter below. Danger Mouse's eclecticism continually amazes; creating a melting pot of Flamenco, Funk, Motown and Dub without ever overcooking the broth. Picture this: two guys fooling around and accidentally creating a musical masterpiece. In the words of Marie Kondo, “this one sparks joy”.
- TARA CHOUDHARY
- 49 -
The Black Parade is angst in its purest form, and an unbelievable collection of relentless bangers from emo rock masters My Chemical Romance. While remaining unabashedly playful, however, lyrically this is an album tied together with an overwhelming sense of disillusioned apathy. The resentment and hopelessness embedded into the lyrics of each and every one of these songs speaks to the psyche of a dejected generation, one faced with a post-9/11 world of economic collapse, environmental catastrophe, and adults who tell them they’re weak for feeling like shit.
It is freeing to listen to such an unapologetically self-pitying album every once in a while, one that will never sugarcoat modern tragedies just for the sake faux positivity. That being said, one should also note that its most hopeful song is also its most popular. 'Welcome to the Black Parade' defined a generation, and for good reason. Simultaneously optimistic, tragic and rebellious, it is the band, and the album, distilled into a single track; defiantly "a cheer for all the broken."
- AINHOA SANTOS GOICOECHEA
- 48 -
It’s OK. You’re safe here. You might not want to come clean for fear of the repercussions, but don’t worry. Maybe there’s nothing “cool” about admitting it (which I’ve learned the hard way) but everybody loves Coldplay really.
2002’s A Rush of Blood To The Head is some of their best pre-Britain’s-biggest-pop-sensation work, catapulting their brand of mellow and wholesome “soft rock” to new heights. International recognition had come two years earlier with ‘Yellow’, but big hitters ‘The Scientist’ and ‘Clocks’ meant they were here to stay. Not just on these songs but throughout the record, the velvety smoothness of Chris Martin’s emotional outpourings are held together by a succession of madly catchy hooks and stunning chord progressions.
While debut album Parachutes proved a little sleepy and innocuous, it clearly showed an adept capacity for songwriting which set them apart from their contemporaries in the gentler group of 21st century British bands. Its follow-up is more urgent, more confident, and gripping, clear as day within the first minutes of thunderous opener ‘Politik’ to the gorgeously understated, and under-appreciated closer 'Amsterdam'. ‘Rush of Blood’ has a great deal more diversity than it’s given credit for. Its songs have a lot of breathing room and permitted Coldplay an opportunity to explore variations on their style and, ultimately, just how powerful and entrancing their music could be.
- ANTHONY FORD
- 47 -
Florence + the Machine’s debut album Lungs is iconic. I’ve listened to this album way too many times during my teenage years. Somewhere between the raw emotion and the elaborate musicality, it really made me feel like an indie teenager. From ‘Dog Days Are Over’ to ‘Kiss with a Fist’ and ‘Cosmic Love’, there really isn’t a single skip in this album that I hold very dear to my heart since the first time I listened.
Lungs lives in a dimension where the night-time is always illuminated by the light of a full moon. You're in the middle of some mystically mysterious forest, and you feel some type of dark magic increasingly surrounding yourself. Blending baroque-pop and indie-rock, Florence Welch's impeccable vocals combine time and time again with undeniably brilliant choruses, communicating through Lungs in the cathartic release of complicated emotions. For a debut record in particular, this record is truly remains an exceptional accomplishment in the establishment of Welch as one of the UK's most significant contemporary voices.
- GUILLE FERNANDEZ
- 46 -
Back when the mic was his humble pulpit and the beats were the lavish robes, Late Registration was the album that solidified Kanye West’s ascent on a sprawling sophomore project that crested hip-hop and pop’s most cinematic production while turning on a dark, relatable sensibility as he relayed the temptations and tribulations of the excesses he unapologetically indulged in.
Steeped in influences and faced with the pressure of following up 2004’s College Dropout, Kanye did the only thing he could— he made something timeless. With the help of Jon Brion’s lush orchestral arrangements, Kanye’s ear for soul samples and addictive hooks culminated in what would become his production’s signature Midas touch. And the bars ain’t bad either. Soul-searching to breezy pianos and Adam Levine’s croons on ‘Heard ‘em Say’ and striding over Curtis Mayfield’s horns on ‘Touch the Sky’, Late Registration basks in the voices and instrumentals that accompany Kanye’s reflections on fame, debauchery and mistrust — reaching peak irony on the brassy reversals of 'Gold Digger'. But between all the sermonising and douchebag punchlines, here is an artist still grounded by his come-up, making space for gold-rimmed storytelling on ‘Drive Slow’ and sentimental realism on tracks as incredible as ‘Roses’ and ‘Hey Mama’. On an album foregrounded by samples of past legends like Etta James and Gil Scott-Heron that pits ‘Ye alongside the veteran features of Nas, Common and Jay-Z, Late Registration establishes Kanye as in his own lane on the way to the throne— except he’s not in a hurry getting there, too busy savouring these extravagant heights.
- SAM HARDING
- 45 -
Grizzly Bear’s sophomore piece, Veckatimest came hot after the successes of 2006's Yellow House, but emerged clearer, accessible and much more refined - helping solidify Grizzly Bear’s recognisably collaborative sound.
Opening with 'Southern Point', Grizzly Bear lyricised location through a haphazard rhythm of climaxes and denouement. Then, 'Two Weeks': it moves at a familiar beat. Those oh’s and ah’s go where you expect them to go. Upbeat, for the soundtrack of a relationship coming apart. 'All We Ask' and 'Fine for Now' get reflective and slightly absurd. 'Cheerleader' feels like an internal conversation, made collective by how the band echoes each other. The glue that holds the songs from 'Cheerleader' to 'Hold Still' together is a little looser. They bleed into each other, without standing out too much. It's all fantastic.
Grizzly Bear managed such a solid, well-crafted album with Veckatimest. They have anger, thought, and process. This whole album feels good. It’s got solid indie-pop pieces and meanders into wisps of indie sound. Somehow, despite (or rather because of) this, it holds together as a paradox: well structured and yet it flows oh so effortlessly.
- MARIA ORLANDO
- 44 -
If you take anything from our list today, please listen to 'Red Sun.' A moment of genuinely astonishing musical brilliance, the second track from Anoushka Shankar's Rise captures precisely why this is an unmissable album from the 2000s. That drone, the rollllllll of percussion, the syncopation of bass and extraordinarily complicated rhythmic layerings. All of it combines into this mammoth achievement of connected styles, and by the time the drum kit starts taking the piss at [3:13] it's clear just how genius this album really is.
Anoushka Shankar is so, so much more than the daughter of Ravi Shankar. She is a fantastic musician wholly in her own right, and Rise remains her best work. An ambitious project, the new age and jazz fusion connections that this record weaves into the tones of Indian classical music make for some of the most compelling musical experiences the 2000s have to offer. Listen to Rise and lose yourself in a cacophony of creativity.
- BEN WHEADON
- 43 -
"I am an American aquarium drinker
I assassin down the avenue"
The first lines of Wilco’s 2001 alt-rock masterpiece are garbled and totally vivid, introducing an album of crossed-wires, tongue-tied emotions and a foggy mental skyline lit up by bolts of lightning from the frayed coils of Jeff Tweedy’s lyrical circuitry. Moving away from their alt-country beginnings and facing massive label resistance, the experimental tracks of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot cohered into Wilco’s most endearing and prophetic record.
Opener 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart' is song-written to perfection. From the shy intimacy of lines like "let’s undress just like crosseyed strangers" to Tweedy’s weather-beaten delivery, it’s a 7-minute ballad that rises in a sea of bells and plinking keys before crashing into fluorescent static. Buildings collide, stars blink and dissolve, it’s a dizzying orbit of America that trawls an expanse of lo-fi static and radio frequencies, picking up the melancholy interference of a million other lost souls looking for answers, wandering through the washed-up scraps of American flags, spent dollar bills and smoked cigarettes. Released in the immediate aftermath of 911, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot found a way to make sense of the chaos kicking off the decade by making its dazed gestures towards peace and human connection sound like individual heartache and national odyssey all at the same time.
- SAM HARDING
- 42 -
The Breeders' Title TK as the name suggests ("title to come", shorthand) is messy by design. Littered with mistakes, left in by the creative choice of lead singer and songwriter Kim Deal, with Title TK we see the Pixies-alum presenting a direct response to her distaste at the ultra-clean sound of rock at the time. Legendary rock engineer and producer Steve Albini is on hand to perfectly realise Deal's intention for a minimal, stripped back instrumentation that contrasts her delivery so, so well.
Harmonies between Kim and twin sister Kelley become a focal point of the album and their chemistry is undeniable. In the standout track, the crushingly angelic 'Off You', a simple chord pattern proves genius underneath Kim’s soft, grungy delivery. The album jumps from one sound to the next with each track, but in a quirky rather than awkward way it keeps you immersed from start to finish. The minimalistic, mistake ridden approach makes this album sound like an incredible demo tape from some new band you’ve never heard of, and this really feels like the intention. An album created by The Breeders, for The Breeders and for The Breeders only, with seemingly incoherent lyrics that mean nothing to the listener but everything to its author. It’s an album that doesn’t care what you or Pitchfork think of it, it’s just happy to exist.
- JOE DAVIS
- 41 -
WELL… The opening of Under Construction really won me over, and as Missy Elliot states "You
don’t see Bill Gates and Donald Trump arguing with each other ‘cause both of them got
paper, and they got better shit to do, get more paper" drove the point home from the
beginning. A powerful statement of the stark difference between economic and racial
communities in the US, and, I would add, a stronger statement in the aftermath of the 2020
US presidential election in which THE Donald Trump refuses to admit his defeat.
Regardless of this contemporary political commentary, Under Construction is an amazing
album that switches between old school hip hop and R&B flawlessly.
Again combining Miss Demeanour with the unspeakably talented Timbaland, Under Construction features a variety of very skilled and talented artist that bring constantly unique flares to the album. Beyoncé, Jay Z, Ludacris and TLC are only a handful of the amazing featured artists that rounds this album out as a real 'who's who' of the early 2000s American hip-hop/RnB scene. Missy Elliot’s lyricism, her tone and superb production make Under Construction a unique expression of how black female rappers and singers should not be underappreciated within an industry that is seemingly dominated by their male counterparts.
- GUILLE FERNANDEZ
- 40 -
In the wintering months of 2006, Justin Vernon hoped to be alone. With a band that had parted ways due to creative differences and health complications that were stifling his creativity, Vernon sought the solitude of his father’s cabin in the woods of Wisconsin as a last ditch attempt at reconnecting with his music. With For Emma, Forever Ago, the resulting songs from this experiment are both reflections of an uncertain state of mind, as well as the serenity of the artist's reclusive retreat into nature.
With songs ruminative and distinctly Thoreauvian in their lyrics, there’s this sense of isolation to the production that at the time went profoundly against the grain of records being distributed at the time. Many musicians believe your “big break' lies just beyond the moment you decide you might walk away from it all (a sentiment shared by Vernon himself). It’s true that For Emma, Forever Ago feels like an atonement with his musical identity: there’s an authenticity to the music that feels
like it can only be achieved when you’re saying goodbye. Poetically, this album served as the genesis for Vernon’s lucratively successful musical career since, and amidst the increasingly obnoxious crowd of coffee shop indie-folk stars that emerged in the late 2000s, Bon Iver remain one of the few to stand the test of time.
- TOM KEOGH
- 39 -
Robert Glasper makes jazz music, but with 2007's In My Element, what 'jazz' really is became the subject of experimentation. A generationally talented jazz pianist, Glasper's third release is in many ways his most impressive. Fusing hip-hop, gospel, and Radiohead while still remaining a fundamentally exceptional jazz record, In My Element may be one of the best introductions to jazz music a new listener can hope for.
Just listen to Glasper's reimagining of Herbie Hancock and Thom Yorke on 'Maiden Voyage / Everything In It's Right Place'. Tell me its not fantastic. Hear Glasper pay his respects to the late J Dilla on 'J Dillalude' with a gorgeous re-imagining of Dilla's trademark rhythmic style. This album is one born out of the very best that 2000s music had to offer combining a multitude of different styles into an unmistakeably brilliant jazz LP.
- BEN WHEADON
- 38 -
System Of A Down’s theatrical, gothic brand of alt-metal, on paper, never should have worked. But ten seconds into 2001’s Toxicity and it will all make sense. A cacophony of chugging riffs and back-and-forth vocals between frontman Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian, Toxicity is a rage-fuelled, politically charged behemoth.
Released precisely a week before 9/11, Toxicity would in many ways go on to emblemise the crushing anxieties of islamophobia during the War on Terror, particularly in America. Looked to as a radical group, allegedly monitored by the CIA, the pronounced political lyricism of System of a Down in spite of an increasingly hostile American environment to Middle-Eastern people remains remarkably brave.
But forgetting the lyrics, Toxicity remains excellent in just how unique its fusion of Middle-Eastern melodies and metal instrumentation sounds. No-one has, or ever will, sound like this band. With 'Toxicity', 'Chop Suey' and 'Aerials', even without the political context Toxicity remains an essential album for the decade. Breaking through what is almost certainly one of the least appealing rock sub-genres in recent memory, Toxicity's genius is even more impressive given that it is one of the very few nu-metal albums really worth revisiting in 2020.
- JAMES MELLEN
- 37 -
Regina Spektor is one of the most fearless vocalists working today, and her major label debut album proves it. In terms of its production, Soviet Kitsch is simple. Barring ‘Your Honor’, which incorporates British rock band Kill Kenada, most of its songs consist of just a piano, some basic percussion, and Regina’s voice. But my God, what a voice.
As versatile as it is beautiful, Spektor’s vocal range in this record is something to behold. The control she displays as she sings the last verse of ‘Sailor Song’ is masterful, as is her inventiveness during the last minute of ‘The Flowers’. Spektor’s voice can switch from a series of quick staccato notes to a breathy whisper in a second, it can shoot up and down like it’s nothing, and all the while Regina plays with rhythm like a kid left unsupervised in a park: jumping about, cartwheeling from track to track just because she can, and so she will. But make no mistake: this album is quirky, but never aimless. A highly satirical, politically charged record, Soviet Kitsch shines the most when Spektor’s voice and her spectacular songwriting work towards a common goal. From the personal to the societal, the funny to the tragic, Soviet Kitsch sells every subject matter it addresses. Uniquely varied and excellently performed, this album is truly one for the ages.
- AINHOA SANTOS GOICOECHEA
- 36 -
Icelandic ethereal post-rock. ‘Nuff said.
With fourth album ‘( )’, Reykjavik’s Sigur Ros craft haunting and dreamlike soundscapes. Feeling cinematic in parts, and then melancholic in others ‘( )’ in one word is beautiful. ‘Untitled #3 - Samskeyti’ loops a nostalgic piano motif over rising and falling textures made up of strings, percussion and god knows what else. Closer ‘Untitled #8 - Popplagio’ shows a stark change in emotion from the first half. The outro, while retaining an aura of beauty, is noisy and chaotic. Lead singer Jon Por Birggison sang the entirety of this LP in a made-up language - 'Hopelandic.' Divided into two halves, separated by a thirty second window of silence, ‘( )’ is ambiguous and essentially meaningless. Sigur Ros’ intention was for the listener to determine their own meanings behind each of the untitled tracks.
‘( )’ is no ordinary album. It is more an experience of celestial feelings than a conventional album. For me, ‘( )’ is no easy listen. It evokes nostalgia and resurfaces memories, from the happiest to the most painful. What Sigur Ros achieved with this album is truly incredible.
- JAMES MELLEN
- 35 -
If you’re looking for 74 minutes of sheer liquid wonderment, just put on Illinois by Sufjan Stevens. Let yourself get lost in the strange and lush musical abyss of this record, the egregiously long titles; the sheer achievement of it all.
Illinois presents no shortage of immediate and sustained pleasures—the recorder that opens 'The Black Hawk War' with a flourish, the anthemic chorus of 'Chicago' that just demands to be sung along to, but it is ultimately the type of complex, challenging project that demands to be played on repeat until you’ve exhausted yourself engaging with it. But the true highlight of the album still stands in 'Casimir Pulaski Day', a song capable of smiles and tears simultaneously. Among Sufjan Stevens' magnificent career, it is still Illinois that perhaps stands as his most essential record, and though granted, appreciating Illinois can be a bit of a commitment, it is a commitment I can promise you won’t mind making.
- TARA CHOUDHARY
- 34 -
What can I say about Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut album? Very few genres are capable of topping truly great indie-folk. There is something about recording live instruments combined with minimal post-production musical editing that just feels right to me. I have always tried to explain this phenomenon (although it might just be a phenomenon in my mind) of music feeling full. In other words, there is nothing that you could add to any of these songs to make them feel any more or any less perfect.
Combining intricate, Brian Wilson layers of gorgeous vocal harmonies with more than a hint of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Fleet Foxes were never produced for mass-consumption like most of modern pop is, but the songs featured on their debut album are just as catchy simply by sounding so full and complete. ‘Sun It Rises’, 'White Winter Hymnal', 'Ragged Wood', ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ and ‘Meadowlarks’ make up a list of countless highlights on this album, exemplifying what this album is at its core. Fleet Foxes are simply amazing at expressing emotions. The album is warm and welcoming, almost like a nostalgic nod to the past whilst at the same time it keeps modern and nuanced. Like For Emma, Forever Ago, Fleet Foxes proves an album far beyond its initial comparisons to The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons, and remains a quintessential album for its decade.
- GUILLE FERNANDEZ
- 33 -
For those unfamiliar, Nujabes is the legendary Japanese music producer. The godfather of ‘lo-fi chill beats’, the impact of the late Jun Seba on music really cannot be quantified. His ability to fuse together beautiful samples (usually of harps, jazz and airy instrumentals) with old school hip-hop beats is testament to his pioneering lo-fi production. This is the lo-fi hip-hop album. It is the point of genesis for beats to study to and that iconic pairing of a hard working student and her calmingly inseparable cat.
Modal Soul is Nujabes' finest record. Taking you on a wonderful journey through atmospheric, ethereal sounds, jazz, hip hop and so much more, there is perhaps no beatsmith with quite as recognisable a style as Seba. During these boring lockdown times, I’ve really enjoy taking long walks and I’ve found that Nujabes is great company. Whack on Modal Soul and just enjoy it for what it is: it’s an experience that I really can’t recommend enough.
- ALEX KUTSCHER
- 32 -
When neo-psychedelic pop group MGMT created Oracular Spectacular, they weren’t interested in reinventing the proverbial wheel. In our presence stood two Brooklyn boys, armed to the teeth with college laptops, cheap synths and a whole lot of fluorescent war paint. They weren’t out to shock the world with some bombastic new sound. Quite the opposite: many different influences are present on the album, from the 70s shimmer of the guitars, the analogue punch and bite of the drums, the colourful synths a-la Animal Collective, fit for a space opera OST.
This duo largely wrote the songs that shaped this album in their dorm rooms, with the only quality
control seemingly applied to the album being "is this a bop?" It could be argued that the album’s sonic vision consequently lacks focus at times, but this could also be construed as missing the point. The group’s prescience lay in their ability to repurpose pop tropes of the past into feel-good musical nostalgia. With three of the biggest tunes of the decade in 'Time To Pretend', 'Electric Feel' and 'Kids' with Oracular Spectacular there's something here for every listener to pull something out of, no matter where you're from.
- TOM KEOGH
- 31 -
MM…Food is easily MF DOOM’s most thematic album experience, a creatively woven together collection of food obsessed rap songs, working in a sense of humour and paying absolutely no attention to what a rapper is supposed to sound like. His sandpapered, gravelly voice spills over his own drums and looped samples, from the oddly stark keys over a beatboxed rhythm on ‘Hoe Cakes’ to ‘Deep Fried Frenz’, a song with a cheerful backing that wouldn’t sound out of place as a theme song for a sitcom.
The erratic quality of DOOM's self-production is pivotal to the brilliant bizarreness of the project: ‘Beef Rap’ somehow manages to pull off samples of a 1983 cartoon Wild Style, Frank Zappa’s ‘Would You Like a Snack?’ and the score of ‘Canon of Doom’, from a 1981 Spider-Man episode.
Mos Def has practically the entire song memorised, as a YouTube video made clear, featuring the hip-hop legend cracking up at line after line as he recites them, displaying the immense impact and respect that DOOM has commanded throughout the world of hip hop, both in the booth and behind the mic.
The odd subject matter is a way to anchor his artistry to one simple statement of intent: DOOM is extremely talented, and he knows it. Rap’s most quotable artist hammers the message home with dense lyrical content and one liners, all while maintaining such a strong focus on the backdrop of food that blogs have actually created genuine recipes based on the project. Only DOOM could intricately dissect other rappers by referring to them inadvertently as “wrappers”. It’s a testament to the ridiculous amount of creativity possessed by one of history's most unique rappers.
- FIN COUSINS
- 30 -
On the follow up to the highly acclaimed underground 1999 release The Soft Bulletin, frontman Wayne Coyne proved himself to be something of a genius. Coyne built on the approach of the previous project; the synthetic strings and strangely philosophical lyrics, but focused on genre-pushing synthetic qualities and electronic manipulation. The resulting project Yoshimi borders on being a concept album, as Coyne explained in 2017, the idea built on Yoshimi P (of Boredoms fame), as they had been sprinkling her singing through the songs, and a random comment noted she sounded like she was being “attacked by a giant robot”. The loose theme was born, although the project often floats into a diverse array of subject matter, with wide meditations on love and mortality.
Coyne’s vocals travel over psychedelic backing, with hazy electronic synth pop, sometimes interrupted by disorienting detours into orchestral notes on a project that is very sci-fi, and extremely ambitious. The tracks are often beautifully catchy and intricate; ‘One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21’ bristles with falsettos and strange surges of tapping electronic drums, and ‘Do You Realize’ was an instant hit, drenched in strange percussion and chords, featuring the famous line “do you realise that everyone you know will someday die?”. There is a mass of beautiful material here, so much in fact that the album was adapted into a musical in 2012. The project is lush and contemplative techno pop folk, featuring well crafted melodies and some stunning choruses. Coyne outlined it perfectly, stating that the thought process was effectively “why don’t we put all this weird quirky backing to some songs about robots? Could be interesting”. He was pretty spot on. Yoshimi is a beautifully peculiar project, as the vocals lament on the opener, it’s all a "gorgeous mystery", waiting to be solved.
- FIN COUSINS
- 29 -
"Something filled up my heart with nothing!" and with that the kids were not alright and the sound of a band crashing in from their lost childhood was spilling its candle-wax all over the indie scene, writing grandiose anthems to rail against some lie their generation were told. As guitars thrash, organs swell and strings quiver in the air with all the friction of lighting a match, Montreal's Arcade Fire let loose an earnest and despairing requiem for youth that set fire to disillusionment, heartbreak, and I’m assuming, some arcades.
There’s not a single bad track or dry eye on Funeral. Win Butler’s vignettes are instantly familiar, his voice tremulous with an emotion burnished by partner Régine Chassagne’s fevered cries. 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)' is easily one of the best album openers in damn history dammit; an escapist adolescent romance set to snow, pianos and the shadow of mid-life. Arcade Fire would go on to depict wide panoramas of ennui and faith on Neon Bible and The Suburbs, but their debut project is a memorialising epic that deals in fleeting vistas of loss and change. On 'Wake Up', they turn the line "I guess we’ll just have to adjust" into the unlikeliest and most revelatory sensation-seeking chorus— inflaming the lighters of stadium crowds the world over and securing their place as the decade’s most impassioned rock outfit.
- SAM HARDING
- 28 -
Music, particularly in the UK, could be divided broadly into two eras. Before 2006, and after it. The impact this record had here in Britain is incalculable, perhaps representing the most important shift in the history of the UK music industry. Ultimately, it was four lads from Sheffield that forced the whole industry to finally get to grips with the uncontrollable potential of internet buzz.
Arctic Monkeys are a once in a generation band, and Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was a phenomenon. It's still the fastest selling debut album in the history of British record sales, and thanks to the band's trailblazing effort to capitalise on digital distribution, it might keep that record until the end of time. UK music changed in 2006, both with Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' and this record, blowing the doors open to finding success through the power of internet distribution and promotion, and scaring the shit out of the institutional gatekeepers at the head of the countries' major labels.
Oh, and it's also one of the best indie albums to ever come out of the UK. This album is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the sheer depth of its quality, from 'Dancing Shoes' to 'Mardy Bum'. The importance of Whatever People Say... cannot be understated, and though it holds a couple of underwhelming tracks in its rough and unrefined style of noisy Sheffield music-making, it remains an essential album to the world of indie rock.
- BEN WHEADON
- 27 -
A “saga” modelled as a radio experience on a drive through the California desert, Queens of the Stone Age's phenomenal third album Songs For The Deaf immediately explodes into life with an unmatched four-song masterclass in musical tone-setting, and barely stops to catch its breath. From the initial dirty-blues swagger of lead single ‘No One Knows’ and its crowning moment ‘Song For The Dead’, the album descends into a haunting darkness reflective of the drive deeper into the desert, culminating in the wonderfully sinister ‘Song For The Deaf’. In fact, Queens stomp from great song to great song with an effortless consistency, everything executed flawlessly. A cycle of three lead vocalists keeps things fresh, with Mark Lanegan’s signature raspy drawl a perfect fit, and Dave Grohl’s work behind the kit is his finest ever.
There aren’t really enough accolades befitting of this album, perhaps the only one of its kind, a ferocious hour of hard rock with just enough varnish and nuance to have it stuck in your head for weeks on end. Songs For The Deaf is an ensemble cast at their creative apex: there’s a brass band buried deep in ‘No One Knows’, sweet orchestral arrangements on ‘Mosquito Song’, a Spanish folk touch on ‘First It Giveth’, and ‘Six Shooter’ is borderline lunacy. Yet Josh Homme somehow ties it all together through his crisp and clever songwriting. “Here is something you should drop to your knees for and worship,” declares a radio host towards the end of the record. And she’s right.
- ANTHONY FORD
- 26 -
PJ Harvey’s 2001 Mercury Prize winning album demonstrated the artist’s ability to move beyond the captivating noise-rock of previous albums, crafting great, tuneful songwriting. A more polished approach and style resulted in her most accessible album with appeal to a wider audience but doing this without losing any quality or creativity in her music is what makes Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea just so good.
Influenced by her experience of living and loving in New York, as reflected in the iconic album cover, the album is essentially a “love” album. However, it’s notable that for a love album it’s incredibly stark in its often-painful associations with love, at times being even brutally cynical. But the album is not without genuinely happy emotional moments, for example the hauntingly beautiful 'You Said Something'. A highlight of the album is the 7th track 'This Mess We’re In', featuring a back and forth between herself and Thom Yorke, with Yorke’s harmonies perfectly complimenting PJ Harvey’s dry and sombre delivery.
For an album she intended to contain beauty, she certainly succeeded, although certainly not without the darkness and uncomfortableness typical of a PJ Harvey record, and this combination makes for one of the best rock albums of the 2000’s. Consider this required listening for any alt-rock head.
- JOE DAVIS
- 25 -
Very few artists have managed to maintain the consistency in rap as long as Jay-Z, with one of the most celebrated discographies in hip-hop history. However, it was 2001’s The Blueprint that cemented his legacy. A rap-revolutionary's indisputable classic, The Blueprint still stands one of the most influential albums in the genre's history. Hov’s New York bravado and carefully crafted lyricism were elevated to new levels on this album, and two decades on you’d still struggle to find a more complete and impressive collection of instrumentals.
A producer battle for the best beats between Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Bink culminates in an incredibly rich and luxurious backdrop for Jay-Z’s rapping, with a stellar singular guest feature from Eminem (haven’t heard that in a few years have you). The lead single 'Izzo (H.O.V.A)' launched Kanye West’s career and was at the time Jay-Z’s highest selling single, with a catchy hook and a Jackson 5 sample, the song is one of Jay-Z’s best. This powerful and persuasive album marked a new era for Jay-Z, providing the blueprint for a decade of rap dominance.
- JOE DAVIS
- 24 -
With just that solitary cover and a single word, Burial's Untrue casts the listener into a nocturnal world of falsehood, where from the first muffled footfalls you’re hit with a rush of someplace else. It’s a recording from some dead-night alley, a dark wind tunnel inhabited by bodiless voices where emotions become lost and obsessive. Song titles linger on these elusive shapes, from the fleeting drones on 'Etched Headplate' and 'Ghost Hardware', to the ethereal vocals on 'Shell of Light'.
Spent shells and murmurs coalesce on 'Near Dark', roused by the anaesthetised repetition of "I can’t take my eyes off you" above a skeletal drum loop flanked by haunted synths and sawn-off currents of air. The phantom allure of this album was underlined by the anonymity of this still reclusive artist, who crafted his own plaintive, secretive sound from obscure vocal samples while taking inspiration from the UK’s rave scene as well as the murk of jungle and garage. The results were some otherworldly DIY beats scrounged from lonely drives at midnight and the glint of video game SFX, primed for the AM slot of your own solitude.
- SAM HARDING
- 23 -
Common’s four-time Grammy nominated Be is often regarded as the greatest comeback in Hip-Hop history. Coming off the back of the critically and commercially unsuccessful Electric Circus, Common returned to the roots of his MC’ing on Be, providing typically rich, intimate storytelling about his home city of Chicago, the complexities of love, and as always with Common, politically driven commentary.
At times feeling more like a documentary of Chicago, Common doesn’t waste a spare minute on this album, delivering 11 songs and 42 minutes of un-skippable music, almost entirely produced by a little known producer called Kanye West, who lays down exquisite College Dropout era soul sample based beats, whilst also pitching in with the occasional verse or hook adding a freshness to the project. Be also hosts some of the last work of the legendary producer J-Dilla, who contributes two stunning instrumentals for the album with 'Love is…' and 'It’s Your World'. Be is arguably Common’s magnum opus, and fully deserves its high-ranking spot on our list.
- JOE DAVIS
- 22 -
From techno to punk and diving deep into dance rock, LCD Soundsystem’s 2007 album houses a bit of everything - and it’s all spectacular. ‘Get Innocuous!’ is a slow-building, confidently layered techno opener that gradually gets you on your feet before seeing you off with some downright eerie violins. But before you can sit back down, ‘Time to Get Away’ hits you with its funky vibes and that’s it: you’re officially in for Sound of Silver.
Pretty much every song in this record is a musical gem that ought to be celebrated. The bittersweet ‘Someone Great’ with its heavy, harmonious synths; the playful ‘Watch the Tapes’ with its 70s rock-tinged vocals; the droning ‘Us V Them’ with its earworm of a chorus and, of course, the absolute hipster dance classic that is ‘All My Friends’ are all analogue musical treasures put together by the one and only James Murphy – y’know, that walking, talking musical encyclopedia. Needless to say, Sound of Silver’s production quality is astounding.
Lyrically, this album is also phenomenal. I will never fail to snicker at the fourth-wall break that are the lines “And for those of you who still think we're from England / We're not, no” in ‘North American Scum’, nor have I managed to hold in my tears upon hearing the sincerity in Murphy’s ‘New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down’. And the lines “But they shuttered your stores when you opened the doors/ To the cops who were bored once they'd run out of crime”? Truer now than ever.
From mass media and politics to lost love and aging, Sound of Silver rides the line between upbeat dancefloors hits and depressing real-life happenings with prowess, and that goes both instrumentally and lyrically. This record is a varied, beautiful artistic feat that deserves to be spun years into the future.
- AINHOA SANTOS GOICOECHEA
- 21 -
There’s little to be said about this record which hasn’t been said before. The eighth in a long line of Animal Collective albums - some bizarre, some beautiful, most both - Merriweather Post Pavilion is their foray into a friendlier pop that may not grab you on first listen, but the irresistible energy and sheer originality of it will draw you back in over and over again.
“Pop” is a label Animal Collective probably never wanted to earn - often bleating or shrieking over otherwise innocuous music to push it into the “experimental” realm. The group once allowed a quarter of an album of campfire folk to be absorbed by (virtually) two droning chords - but how could the playful melody of ‘Summertime Clothes’ and the lovelorn nostalgia of ‘Bluish’ have adorned them anything else?
The group’s spirit is still ever-present and this is a record only they could have made. The nonsensical poetry of ‘Lion In A Coma’, the layers of harmonies in ‘Guys Eyes’, and the swelling noise that drives ‘Brother Sport’ are all creative hallmarks. Drenched in lucid psychedelia, washed in warm reverb, the highest praise for this record is in its achievement of balance between inimitability and infectiousness, or perhaps the journey every listener undertakes from bewilderment to addiction, to eventually know every twist and turn like the back of their hand. Merriweather Post Pavilion is still a truly unique record with enough dizzying brilliance to make anything else of its ilk feel timid and toothless both upon its release and years later.
- ANTHONY FORD
- 20 -
Rock duos are an interesting study. They’re often efficient, relying on a bare-bones approach, or they go overboard, supplementing their work with electronics, ambience, or samples. Sometimes, though, less is more. The White Stripes are the less-is-more band, and Elephant their most polished work. Relying on old school recording techniques and musical chemistry, this project is a throwback to the blues and garage rock of the 60s and 70s, usually welding these two inspirations together. This is the sound of the White Stripes, characterised by the contrast between Meg’s rudimentary drumming and Jack’s total virtuosity.
The kick-snare-kick-snare beat of ‘Black Math’ races alongside galloping guitar, ‘The Air Near My Fingers’ is a jolly country-blues stomp, and ‘Seven Nation Army’ is so infectious it has climbed to the summit of European football culture. Jack White’s greatest advert is the 7 minutes of ‘Ball and Biscuit’, sitting in the middle of the album. It’s an homage to tradition, a simple 12-bar-blues piece whose nuts and bolts any old apprentice guitarist could have dreamed up. Yet the hot lava flow of White’s face-melting, room-shaking, mind-bending solos is unequivocal mastery, as he does more with his hands, his guitar, and a whammy pedal than any of us could dream of. If Jack’s guitar screamed for half an hour longer, I wouldn’t complain, which is perhaps Elephant’s best legacy: how much fun it is to listen to this pair play off each other without trying to do too much, managing to retain their core simplicity without once venturing into tedium.
- ANTHONY FORD
- 19 -
Fever To Tell is one of the very best indie rock debut LP's in history. It really is that simple. From the trendy alt-indie circuits of the early 2000s where Yeah Yeah Yeahs cut their teeth, the buzz that had accumulated over a handful of songs released to the world almost set the group up to fail, hype-overloading in preparation for a band to finally release their debut. What followed was an album equal parts cool, nonchalant, effortless and emphatic. A rough, meaningful sound of youthful arrogance and impactful songwriting.
Fever To Tell was more than a good album, it was the delivering of a promise; the realisation of potential. Crudely drawing a garage-punk mess of incredibly cool guitar-rock, 'Rich' is still great, 'Black Tongue' still has Karen O embodying full rock-goddess eroticism and 'Maps' still makes me cry. Yeah Yeah Yeahs are precisely the band that everyone in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World are trying to be: effortlessly cool, resoundingly confident and phenomenally cathartic, Fever To Tell is indie rock refined into a perfect mould for future bands to emulate.
- BEN WHEADON
- 18 -
Kala is M.I.A’s second album, and takes its name from the artist’s mother. Rich with strong influences from South Asian music, it samples from Bollywood and Tamil cinema as album opener 'Bamboo Banga', apparently sparse with its repetitive hook, celebrates the image of a kid running alongside a Third World tourist’s Hummer and banging on its doors.
Already from its first track M.I.A. is toying with the tricky and racialised divide of capital. 'Birdflu' has M.I.A. dissing her haters unabashedly over a filmi sample. It’s an attack that sounds haphazard and yet feels specific, especially when she refers to her not being granted a Visa to work on the record in the USA. This hiccup proved to be beneficial, as the artist ended up hopping from India to Angola, Trinidad, Liberia, Jamaica and Australia. And Kala only benefited from it.
'Boyz', 'Hussel' and mega-hit 'Paper Planes' stand out as the album's most cohesive highs, but in truth, M.I.A. does it all. She manages this weaving in 'Jimmy', a cover of a Bollywood disco number. She’s playing with the players, and definitely having fun with it. Like the rest of Kala and M.I.A.’s music they are energetic, eclectic, and call you to dance, and it's a call that is very hard not ignore.
- MARIA ORLANDO
- 17 -
After producing hit after hit with albums like OK Computer and Kid A, the Oxfordshire band had already established themselves as a household name. They’d set the bar so high, that even before it was released you just knew that Radiohead’s seventh studio album In Rainbows would be nothing short of a triumph. And what a triumph it was. Some of the songs on the album were new, some were up to ten years old, and many had been played live before- but they all came together to form one of the strongest collections of songs that Radiohead had assembled for a decade.
‘Nude’, for example, had been written about 10 years before In Rainbows even came out, and with its swooning guitars and Thom Yorke’s gentle croon, went on to become a lushly romantic fan-favourite. But you go through the tracks, and dear lord, many of Radiohead's all time greatest tracks are found in this 2007 outing. '15 Step', 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi', 'Reckoner', amazing. Add to that the revolutionary distribution of In Rainbows as the first major pay-what-you-want digital release, the freedom afforded by Radiohead's first post-Parlopone LP proved monumental in so many different ways.
Perhaps the most brilliant thing about In Rainbows can be found in its exploration of emotional territories, almost wholly new for the band. It was a very different kind of Radiohead record for sure- it felt like they were liberated from the shackles of their self-imposed need to innovate and stand out, and they sounded, for the first time in a long time, liberated; spreading hearty dollops of reverb, strings, and melody throughout this hauntingly gorgeous record.
- TARA CHOUDHARY
- 16 -
Dilla likes donuts. Anyone needing more of an explanation than the one given by his mother after the release of his 2006 classic hasn’t listened to the record in its entirety, where 31 bite-sized tracks come full circle into one sweet eternal flow— pivoting around the absent figure at its centre. Produced mostly from his hospital bed as he battled Lupus and the blood disease that would make this album his last, the physicality of these vinyl sounds bore J Dilla’s painstaking touch as he opened up the pathways of his Boss SP-303 sampler, driven by perfectionism against a body wracked with pain.
On Donuts, voices gasp and ricochet and sirens burn tyre-marks through the air. It’s a heady, ebullient album lit up by fanfares and reverberating refrains that stir up the crowded rapture of bodies moving and live instrumentals sweltering. Dilla manoeuvres the shit out of these samples, delivering a virtuosic performance that scuffs, skirts and polishes sounds till they shine the way only grooves on wax can. These songs let you hear music the way Dilla did, and their brevity only adds to the resonance of his legacy— carried from one tune to the next in a never-ending rhythm that peaks with ‘Time: The Donut of the Heart’ and then again with ‘Lightworks’. And then again with ‘Walkinonit’. And then again with ‘Light My Fire’. And then again…
- SAM HARDING
- 15 -
This record may just be the soundtrack of my adolescence- and I feel a lot of others’ too. I don’t think this album is a particularly impressive technical achievement, but the seismic impact of this record on shifting modern notions of Rock is immeasurable. The Strokes captured so much emotion through raw delivery and angsty lyrics. Julian Casablancas’s laboured vocals, invited in almost like a close friend going through a tough breakup or some other young-people-problems, pair so effectively with the purposefully rough guitar rifts and basslines.
I read somewhere that Casablancas hoped to achieve ‘raw efficiency’ and well, he achieved it. Personal favourite track ‘Soma’, finds creative parallels through the drug found in what also happens to my favourite book, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Is This It is a record I can't separate from my own personal experiences, but that's a feeling shared by all who become attached to this magnificent record. Somehow, everyone's memories seem mirrored in the youthful impetus of 'Last Nite', 'Someday' and 'Hard to Explain'; a testament to the sheer universality of this landmark rock album. The Strokes are the essential 2000's rock band and this being their first album, it is an essential experience for any music lover.
- ALEX KUTSCHER
- 14 -
"…my album is so addictive" Missy Elliott stated several times, obviously not only as
part of the title of the album, but, also featured in the opening song of the album ‘…So
addictive’. Not only is this album so addictive, more importantly it is carefully constructed
and composed. Missy Elliott proved once again that black female artists are capable of
producing, singing and rapping at extremely high standards. The first time I listened to this
album I genuinely could not stop grooving and dancing alone in my bedroom to the
R&B/hip-hop songs that are featured within the album.
Whilst it might almost feel like cliché to point out hits from Miss E… So Addictive like ‘One Minute Man’, ‘Get Ur Freak On’ or ‘4 My People’, I think they are some extremely emblematic songs from the really early 2000s that will forever live as some of the best club anthems. That said, my
preferred songs within the album are definitely ‘Scream a.k.a. Itchin’, ‘Old School Joint’
and ‘Step Off’ all standing out from their unique early 2000s feel to them. Missy Elliott did
not come to play when she released Miss E… So Addictive, an album that set the tone for
the R&B/hip-hop of the 2000s.
- GUILLE FERNANDEZ
- 13 -
If there is one band from this era who’s influence still shines through today, it has to be Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys. With their debut they blended witty, rapid fire lyrics with punk-y undertones and Strokes-style guitars, leading to a sophomore LP that totally outshined the first.
Without Favourite Worst Nightmare, the UK indie band scene would probably look a lot different right now. ‘FWN’ boasts some of the most entertaining and hard-hitting indie rock the UK has ever seen. From earth-shattering opener ‘Brianstorm’ to the moody, yet arena ready anthem, ‘505’, Arctic Monkeys hit a home run with almost every track. Falling just under forty minutes, this is all killer and no filler. Even Mike Crossey’s production credits are still as relevant as ever (The 1975, Pale Waves, LANY). The riffs are bold, Matt Helder's drumming is an all-time achievement and Alex Turner’s vocal performances are equal parts swagger and hilarious. If you still haven’t checked this LP out, grab a pack of Marlboro, a polo shirt and a pair of Adidas trainers and you’ll be good to go.
- JAMES MELLEN
- 12 -
Tool’s ongoing love affair with musical complexity has never seen them far away from a pretentious tagline. Lateralus, released at the peak of the sweeping nu-metal craze, is more of a Tool suite rather than a Tool album, staying true to the band’s progressive creative ethos in defiance of how the times could have reshaped them. Its loudness is juxtaposed with sparser passages and instrumental interludes rather than being a constant fixture. The riffs aren’t chugging double-guitar blasts but a driving force beneath shifting song structures. It’s clear to see where and how the pseudo-intellectualism blossoms in the caricature of a Tool fan, as their music has an undeniably inquisitive quality, but there’s no need to look too far into these things. Tool needn’t be a philosophical band, they can just be a great band.
Above all, Lateralus is perfectly paced, balancing its momentum from the first moments of ‘The Grudge’ (a great opening track) until its 76 minutes have passed. The strategy is clearest with ‘Parabol’ which sets up its successor ‘Parabola’ after slowing the tempo following ‘Schism’, two full-throttle metal songs. Longer songs go through these motions too, like the title track and the monolithic ‘Reflection’, not fully bursting into life until eight-ish minutes of (largely) tribalistic drumming and eerie bass have built up to the song’s end. All four members perform to an excellent standard in their own right, but it’s their understanding of one another and how well they have honed their craft which make Lateralus such a good listen. A testament to the group's incredible creativity, just try and listen to the record's title track with the term 'fibonacci' in mind, you will not be disappointed.
- ANTHONY FORD
- 11 -
OutKast’s Stankonia is undeniably a staple of hip-hop culture and one of the most iconic albums from the turn of the millennium. It feels like an oral documentary of late 1990s America as the formidable genre-bending duo of Eric 3000 (your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper) and the criminally underrated Big Boi began the 2000s with pushing the boundaries of what 'hip-hop' was.
The album begins with ‘Gasoline Dreams’- a particularly political track in which the violent, almost rock ’n’ roll production is met with equally damning lyrics of the structures of American society. Seemingly out of nowhere, the album meanders to the track’s funkiest and most commercially popular tracks, ‘So Fresh, So Clean’ and ‘Ms. Jackson’- two certified bangers, fit for any occasion.
The instrumentals throughout this record are still outstanding. From the head-bobbing, boot-rocking, non-stop hip-hopping from tracks like ‘Spaghetti Junction’ to funkalicious guitar licks like on ‘Humble Mumble’ (ft. Erykah Badu!). Between all the classics, ‘B.O.B. – Bombs Over Baghdad’ stands out the most to me; 20 years on, it’s still a uniquely insane piece of music. At a warp speed 155bpm, the track delivers an intensity that matches its topic: war. OutKast’s ability to deliver strong, political messages without compromising the quality of musical production, originality and delivery is something to be admired. Stankonia may have been released two decades ago, but its topics remain entirely relevant. Not only is it an incredible musical experience, but it is an important political one too. Sit back and enjoy OutKast’s bumpy ride.
- ALEX KUTSCHER
- 10 -
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela
OK, stop me if you've heard this one before: Its the late 1990s. Two Mexican guitarists have decided to quit their heavy metal band and emigrate to Dublin. They take a couple of guitars with them, and start busking to pay their bills in a brand new country. They self-record a demo, before re-recording it into a debut album, all while quietly amassing a quiet, but entranced followership of fans between Ireland and the UK. By 2006, Rodrigo y Gabriela's sophomore record arrives as an expertly crafted fusion of flamenco and heavy metal, and stands out as the most unique guitar album of its decade.
What followed was a meteoric rise, seemingly unthinkable for a group as niche as the distinctly acoustic recontextualisations of Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero's astonishing technical ability. From busking on the streets of Dublin, to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. From a dissolved Mexican metal band to playing 'flamenco metal' for President Barack Obama at The White House, it is incredible to chart the careers of this duo through international acclaim, collaborations with Hans Zimmer and a (long overdue) Grammy award win in 2020. The genesis for all of Rod y Gab's success is found here, in 2006's Rodrigo y Gabriela. The music truly defies description. Every song is beautiful, composed wonderfully across the two musician's nylon strings. It is metal-tinged, playing with Kirk Hammett and Jimmy Page through two breath-taking covers of 'Orion' and 'Stairway to Heaven', but while Rodrigo's lead melodies weave between flamenco and rock influences, the staggering ability of Gabriela shines brightly.
For me, Gabriela Quintero is unquestionably the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time. That might seem an odd title, given the typical power dynamic between lead and rhythm in typical groups, but Rodrigo y Gabriela are no normal group. Quintero plays the guitar like no-one I have ever seen, because nearly every moment of percussion on this album is played, by her, simultaneously to her playing the guitar. It must be seen to be understood, but even now the seemingly erratic, yet laser precise Quintero continues to floor me. No-one else is capable of doing what she can, and when combined with another guitarist of incredible skill, this duo is capable of a sound that shouldn't be possible for two guitarists to make on their own, crafting a style totally and unmistakeably theirs and some of the most impressive instrumental performances of the 21st century.
- BEN WHEADON
- 9 -
D'Angelo - Voodoo
D’Angelo dug deep into his soul influences to create this project, as he and Questlove of The Roots studied endless bootlegs of the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Prince and James Brown to provide an alumnus of artists for inspiration. The likes of Erykah Badu, Raphael Saadiq, Mos Def and Common dropped in frequently throughout the recording sessions, and this time spent in Electric Lady Studios in New York would be the beginning of some very significant projects for these artists, and the magnum opus of them all? It has to be Voodoo.
D’Angelo attempted to break down soul and R&B on his second project, removing the machismo of hip-hop while preserving it’s rough edges. As a result, many of the songs use boom bap production tropes (‘Chicken Grease’, ‘The Line’) to create a sultry and brooding aesthetic, while some are more soothing throwbacks (‘Send It On’, the Roberta Flack cover ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’). But this juxtaposition is not evident, instead of creating borders, the influences drag into each other, with basslines constantly relocating themselves as the grooves are loose, unsyncopated, drunk, yet very much concentrated on delivering a smoothness which perfectly matches the reverberating vocals of D’Angelo. Questlove and the plethora of talent involved were able to walk this line between classic soul and boom bap, in order to make a project that situates itself as both classic and avant-garde. ‘The Root’ is a prime example, a song of morose exorcism which links to the overall idea of Voodoo, a reference to uncovered religious undertones, strewn throughout the project, religiously connected to the root of ‘Africa’, the emotive and intricate closer.
The hugely successful ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ is a ballad that is esoteric and lucid, mirroring the texture of the rest of the project. Yet it was the accompanying music video of a camera panning down over D’Angelo’s naked body that was the main reason for the massive commercial success of the album. D’Angelo was not an extroverted person and the magnitude of the reaction to his body contributed to his decade-long disappearance until the release of Black Messiah in 2012. In that time, he struggled with his image as a sex-symbol, was involved in a car accident, substance abuse and was subsequently arrested, his mugshot strewn throughout headlines across the US.
The song and video are lustful, of course they are, but there’s a quality that is extremely vulnerable and aching. It’s not in the slightest bit braggadocious, as many R&B songs at the time were, and there is something different about the video; it’s not just about the beauty of him, there is something slightly uncomfortable, slightly vulnerable, as he seems to wilt under the lights a little. Voodoo was a meditation on masculinity and black male sexual representation, positing sensitivity and self-awareness as components of love, and it appears the world wasn’t ready for it. The saddest part is, it seems like he wasn't either. D’Angelo’s vision was multifaceted and challenging, on an album that has a history muddied by the darkness of the decade that followed, with an artist disparaged by its release. His disappearance shouldn’t fool you, it’s a project that finds intense power in it’s smooth musical texture and intense vulnerability. Voodoo is decade defining in every sense of the phrase.
- FIN COUSINS
- 8 -
Kanye West - The College Dropout
In the late 90s, a 20 year old Kanye West was a young producer at Roc-A-Fella Records, his Beat Tape from the period since gaining notoriety for displaying his attentive ear for old school soul and vocal inflections that would come to define his debut album and would reshape modern hip hop. His attempts to break into rap were often laughed at, as he was labelled a "producer turned rapper" (and not helped by the fact he was a failed English major). The success of ‘Through the Wire’, a song written in hospital following a severe car crash, suddenly made it all seem possible.
The College Dropout carefully dissects the idea of college with thoughtful tracks interspersed with skits, palpably demonstrating the mindlessness of a generation, on one of the best concept albums in the history of rap music. The beats and production across the record are a glorious mixture of gospel hymns, drums and dusty soul samples lovingly unearthed and thrust to the forefront of the mixes. ‘Jesus Walks’ is a desperate masterpiece of voice manipulation, choir fervour, and a shift in the subject matter that could be found on a rap song, from a young artist who was strikingly pious and reflective. Kanye West was even able to examine his own materialism with the scathing self admission “we’re all self conscious, I’m just the first to admit it” on ‘All Falls Down’. He presented his own vulnerability like a badge of honour; walking on stage at the Def Poetry Jam in 2004 to perform verses under the revamped title ‘Self Conscious’, wearing Adidas trainers with the receipts still attached, and an ironically bedazzled Chicago belt buckle.
Kanye started his career battling for his vision on this project, transcending what was normally commercially appealing for a rapper at the time - the album art is, after all, a teddy bear looking mournfully at it’s feet. His ability to sell a rap project on which he is preppy, faithful, pacifistic, and oddly charming was absolutely unprecedented. It is perhaps this persistent quality of complete commitment to his artistic vision which prompted Nick Cave to write in January 2020 that Kanye West is our greatest artist, because “there is no musician on Earth that is as committed to their own derangement”. ‘We Don’t Care’ was his first of many middle fingers to the system, with an eerily joyful chorus of children singing about the issues of pushing drugs, borne out of the 'war on drugs' a generation had sadly been born into. Kanye spoke from the position of a person who no one listened to, or took seriously, and he did it unashamedly, it’s the raw beginning of an artist who would become obsessed with pushing against the grain.
As problematic and controversial as he has become, it is refreshing to return to this record and remember why it all started. Kanye West was a fresh faced and unapologetic dropout, brimming with confidence, talent and artistic vision. This was the inception of one of the most important artists of the 21st century so far, the result of a teenager from Chicago dreaming out loud, starting his audacious and incessant knocking on the door to greatness.
- FIN COUSINS
- 7 -
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
With Amy Winehouse, the world lost one of the most monumentally significant vocalists of a generation. Her passing at the culmination of years of disgraceful behaviour from intrusively parasitic paparazzi and 'journalists', represented so much in the loss of a woman so young, and a sad end to what is already one of the most iconic voices of the 21st century.
Back to Black is a love letter to such a gorgeous variety of music makers. Across rich horn lines, doo wop and a love for 1990s RnB, this album will always remain timeless. It is nostalgic, but omnipresent; immediate, yet wistful. Winehouse lyricises her struggles in such unrelenting detail, repurposing sounds of the past into this utterly modern expression of love, excess, difficulty and joy.
I'm incredibly irritated by a legacy of journalism happy to declare Winehouse as a 'troubled superstar', particularly when so much of that 'trouble' can be sourced to the very individuals that made money reporting on it. Songs like 'Rehab' became jokes, points of legitimacy in the establishment of a narrative of Amy Winehouse a silly girl responsible for her own downfall, rather than a clear indication not only of the music industry's own negligence, but also of the utter failure of the international 'war on drugs.' Amy Winehouse should *still* be with us, and within Back to Black it is clear to see just how malleable her outrageous talent was.
Inarguably one of the finest vocalists the UK has ever produced, the astonishing variety exhibited through 'You Know I'm No Good', 'Tears Dry On Their Own' and 'He Can Only Hold Her' demonstrates just how much was lost with the untimely death of this iconic musician. Part Lauryn Hill, part Tony Bennett, there will never be another Amy Winehouse, and Back to Black stands as the greatest possible tribute to an all-time great.
- BEN WHEADON
- 6 -
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Since I Left You is joyous music, and from a technical level it could be the decade's most impressive achievement. One of the essential records in the broad genre of 'plunderphonics', the instrumental mish-mash of (what was for over a decade) The Avalanches' only LP sounds as trailblazing in 2020 as it did twenty years ago, and is still overflowing with sonic treats to discover.
Made up almost entirely of 'plundered' samples, ranging from spoken word to ground-shaking bass, the seamless transitions of Since I Left You's 18 track instrumental album are offensively perfect. It's an album with such a beautiful sense of vibrant sincerity, gorgeously melting between scenes like a hazy dream of inventive instrumentation. The way in which The Avalanches' thousand strong list of samples are all stitched together is the work of techno wizardry, and even more impressive when remembering that the album is twenty years old.
Since I Left You is a benchmark. The 'sample' had never, and still hasn't been explored in such a creative and extensive way. From the warm buzz of party chatter (God do I miss social gatherings) to a strange man exclaiming "that boy needs therapy!" the potential of the sample as a revolution in music-making was realised in such a unique way on this record.
But disregarding the impressive manner in which this record was created, fundamentally these songs are just perfect. So captivating, Since I Left You builds a world for its songs to inhabit with hypnotic appeal. 'Since I Left You', 'Two Hearts in 3/4 Time', 'Frontier Psychiatrist', its all phenomenal, but for me, nothing is as essential listening as 'Electricity'. Go find it, try not to get caught enjoying yourself and one of the best instrumentals ever made.
- BEN WHEADON
- 5 -
Björk - Vespertine
Sprinkled with magical harps, bold vocals, and mystical chorales, Icelandic icon Björk made
something truly beautiful when putting Vespertine together in 2001. A delicate creation, a minimalist production full of cool, clear sounds infuse Vespertine with the pristine beauty of a snowy Scandinavian mountain top, or the soft glow of the Aurora Borealis. Appropriately, Björk sings about being absorbed into the aesthetic bliss of the Northern Lights in ‘Aurora’, a track whose beats are made up of a person walking on snow.
As experimental as it is intimate, there is a lot to love about Vespertine. The calm, glitchy
beats in ‘Cocoon’, the lovely string section at the end of ‘It’s Not Up to You’, and the
stunning vulnerability of Björk’s “I love him” near the four-minute mark of ‘Pagan Poetry’
are just a few of the record’s highlights. In lyrical terms, this is an introverted album whose
thematic interests revolve around sex and the tenderness of love. Opening track ‘Hidden
Place’ is about finding safety with another person, leading perfectly into the
aforementioned ‘Cocoon’, a celebration of gentle sex with a sensitive lover. Other tracks like
‘Undo’ centre around a simple kind of companionship, reminding the listener that love “[Is]
not meant to be a strife / It's not meant to be a struggle uphill”. As she sings, her voice
sounds like a warm, encouraging hug.
It is the combination of such heartwarming lyrics with Björk’s masterful arrangements that
make this album as inviting and comfortable as it is. And this is no small feat for such an
experimental record. Amidst all of its art pop innovations and electronica beats, Verspertine
is transcendent because it still manages to feel like home.
- AINHOA SANTOS GOICOECHEA
- 4 -
Daft Punk - Discovery
In 2001, foreign dance music had not yet fully assimilated into the indie circles of the time, Pitchfork in particular stated that they perhaps hadn’t taken “enough ecstasy and horse tranquilizers” to enjoy Discovery. But Daft Punk managed to infiltrate the broader cultural consciousness, transcending the opinions of many critics at the time to become nothing less than genuinely iconic.
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter entered the music scene riding an explosion of 90s electronica, with a dreamlike spectacle of dance music. They were not making music solely to be enjoyed when completely anaesthetised, they were genuine pioneers of a dance music craze that would consume the landscape of modern music. The Parisian duo were able to reinvent themselves on subsequent projects, but this was their first reinvention, their first big concept. Discovery is a shift from the frenzy of their acid house into slick disco, with a focus on songwriting and concise production.
Smash hit opener ‘One More Time’ blended horns with bass thuds and Romanthony’s gorgeously vocoded vocals, on a track that remains irresistible and outrageously recognisable. They didn’t throw away all of the blueprints from the acid house of their earlier work though, ‘Aerodynamic’ and ‘Superheroes’ draw on this quality a little, but the album remained focused on the more glamourous era of Euro disco and late R&B, digging up a reformed sound for electro-pop technicians like Todd Rundgren and Giorgio Moroder (who would have his own tribute song on 2015’s Random Access Memories). The pair proved themselves as unparalleled dance music producers, pulling off every sound they drew on immaculately and displaying unbelievable dexterity. ‘Digital Love’ and ‘Something About Us’ are spotless tracks that hark on 80s soul and funk with beautiful watery drums and riffs spanning the entire lengths, including androgynous vocals with lyrics about heartbreak and intimacy, sounding close and strangely endearing, a testament to their ability to create genuine bliss for a listener. ‘Harder Better Faster Stronger’ remains absolutely legendary, enlightening, uplifting, and anthemic. It’s a song that begged to be replayed, and given how prevalent it remains two decades later, it’s a quality that shone through.
Discovery is instrumentally buoyant and dense with influences, as samples dance in and out of the mixes, turning between the qualities of the tracks, some sounding slightly adolescent, some audacious, some melancholic. It’s an album that blooms and flourishes from the root of the memories of it’s creators, and established the duo as true pop visionaries. Daft Punk asserted that club music can possess a rich depth of sound and the pair pulled it off with irrefutable flair. In its fusion of glittering nostalgia and futuristic robotics, the album remains utterly timeless; a paradox of past and distant future that proved the naysayers of the time to be so very, very wrong.
- FIN COUSINS
- 3 -
Radiohead - Kid A
Kid A. An album so surprising, so polarising, that its presence in the music industry kickstarted a revolution in the media, forcing journalists to reconsider their entire approach to music criticism. Already crowned as the new princes of alt-rock after the dizzying success of 1997's OK Computer,
Radiohead's late 90s behemoth was largely heralded as a masterpiece by critics and fans alike at the end of the decade. Yet, with this momentum, Radiohead moved into the new millennium and did the unthinkable: the six-stringed instruments that defined their magnum opus were tossed to the side in a defiant gesture, a statement in itself to the stagnant instrumentation of rock music in the post-Britpop era.
At the time, many music journalists criticised the band’s sonic progression as a misstep. Embracing synthesisers, experimentation and largely dispensing with Jonny Greenwood’s main musical broadsword was a perplexing one for much of the musical community. It was not until Pitchfork – still in its infancy – stunned the world with Brent DiCrescenzo’s gushing, unequivocal appraisal of the album. Following this, Kid A topped many music zines’ “best music” end of year lists and charted at no. 1 in the US and the UK for weeks. There was a clear misalignment between critical and public opinion.
The transfixing effect Kid A has managed to retain two decades beyond its conception is largely due to the civil war that ensued in the world of music journalism upon its release. This polarising swathe of differing opinions if nothing else marked just how different Radiohead’s effort stacked up against contemporary music of its time. Its critical reception became iconic, a moment in history when there was a seismic shift in the way people approached music and music criticism. But more so than being simply polarising, Kid A stands as a work of sheer brilliance.
In many ways, Kid A served as a lighting of the beacons, calling music lovers to a sonic revolution. The ushering in of a new millennium didn’t just have to be symbolic for Yorke, Greenwood(s), O’Brien and Salway – it was an open invitation to fans of the rock genre to hit the reset button, to redesign the boundaries of what defined contemporary music masterpieces and very, very few albums have managed to repeat or exceed Kid A’s influence in the year 2000.
- TOM KEOGH
- 2 -
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Joanna Newsom is the world's most famous harpist. More than that, she may be America's most gifted songwriter. Eloquent, experimental, expressive and excruciatingly talented, Ys announced Newsom to the world as a sophomore album of peerless innovation, while still tied beautifully to the pastoral, and even medieval aesthetic of her astonishing compositions.
Only five tracks in length, the fifty five minutes of Ys open up like the most heavenly of story books. Her songs are charming, narratively constructing fantastical realms to fall into headfirst, losing your grip on reality against the barrage of Newsom's mesmerising lyrical ability. Detailing her songs with a remarkable ability to construct rhyming patterns, syllabic metre and storytelling, with each additional listen her beautiful scenes only gather in vibrancy and wonder. The record's involvement with Steve Albini and Jim O'Rourke as recording and mixing engineers, respectively, when also seeing Van Dyke Parks name appear as the orchestral arranger it is unsurprising just how magnificent Ys becomes rendered in both the quietest headphones, and the biggest speakers.
Each song is a masterpiece. Each line? Each melody? A triumph. Hearing the purposeful astronomical mis-rememberings of 'Emily' remain as captivating now as ever, hearing Newsom deliver:
"That the meteorite is the source of the light
and the meteor's just what we see
and the meteroid is a stone thats devoid
of the fire that propelled it to thee"
still rings true as utter lyrical genius in the wonderful distinction between an astrologist and her songwriter sister, entranced, yet forgetful. But after the stunning perfection of 'Emily', each and every one of Ys' mammoth tracks are as deserving of being lovingly pulled apart.
'Monkey & Bear' invited Marxist analysis to an astrological fable-making of revolution and farmyard radicalisation. 'Sawdust & Diamonds' speaks of desire and death in astonishingly beautiful lyrical passages, while the outrageously long 'Only Skin' continues to be utterly perfect for every second of its sixteen-minute run time, before closer 'Cosmia' closes the fairytale with an almost-Björkian hush amidst some of Van Dyke Parks best string arrangements.
While the deliberate archaisms of Ys's lyrics might put some listeners off, as Newsom's quirky vocal style has often done too, Ys is simply undeniable as a project of magnificent design, and quite probably the greatest harp-led album ever made. It is incomprehensibly well-crafted, and is constantly giving more and more to its listeners each time one revisits her fantasy. Newsom is perhaps the last artist to refuse the exploitative grip of Spotify, so buy her on vinyl, or listen to the album in full here. She deserves your full attention.
- BEN WHEADON
- 1 -
Madvillain - Madvillainy
"How DOOM hold heat and preach non-violence?
Shh... he 'bout to start the speech, c'mon silence."
What happens when the world's greatest MC teams up with the world's greatest hip-hop producer? History. Ascending to legendary status, not only is Madvillainy the greatest album of the 2000s, it might be the greatest hip-hop album ever made.
The quintessential underground hip-hop record, what MF DOOM and Madlib achieved in their 2004 masterpiece is now a myth of seemingly effortless perfection. No one can build beats like Madlib, and noone can rhyme better than DOOM on this work of utter lyrical genius. The ingenuity of the artist's vocabulary and rhymes defy description. He is an English student's best dream, and a transcriber's worst nightmare. Every song is fantastic, every line a classic. As a hip-hop album with barely a single chorus, Madlib's ultra-refined production style created several songs less than two minutes long in a perfect balance of invention and precision. The album is one that constantly picks up new ideas, playing with them and then cutting it off before a listener even has the chance to get bored. Through deeply interwoven samples that careen into each other through a milieu of influence, Madlib here demonstrated himself as more than a producer, unearthing consistently propulsive, unrelenting gems to form a project that displays a relationship between producer and rapper that has remained entirely unparalleled.
There's the accordion sample from Daedelus' 2002 track 'Invention', acknowledged by both the title of the track, and DOOM's hook, and the piano and flute on the spell-binding 'All Caps'. There's even the sample of Steve Reich’s 'Come Out' from 1966 on 'America's Most Blunted', as the harrowing recording of a testimony from one of the Harlem Six is looped against a second recording, developing into a blur of noise. Madlib's sample creates a scathing juxtaposition with the disorientating effect of getting high, as DOOM writes that it becomes “a whole new world", perhaps a better one, in an pertinent moment of commentary on the need for escapism. They are viciously focused and chillingly poignant, a quality that only deepens the more you dig with them.
There is a reason why this album has acquired the reputation it possesses. In all sincerity, believe the hype. Delivered through DOOM's immediately recognisable supervillain exterior and interspliced with gaudy 1960's superhero dialogue, nearly line of Madvillainy is artistic genius, every beat iconic in its own right. Try and pick out a highlight and you'll quickly realise that nearly every song seamlessly blends into the next, continuing an impossibly fantastic batting average of relentless success in production and lyricism. 'Accordion' goes into 'Meat Grinder' goes into 'Bistro' goes into 'Raid' goes into 'America's Most Blunted'. 'Money Folder' goes into 'Shadows of Tomorrow' goes into 'Operation Lifesaver aka Mint Test' into 'Figaro'. It's fucking outrageous. It's an impossible expectation to go into an album expecting every single tune, every single second to be perfect, but Madvillainy somehow achieves it.
Any self-respecting hip-hop head should've heard this album by now, but it is an album that absolutely demands respect, even for those not well-versed in the genre. Though a few stellar features perfectly serve the album (not least by several of DOOM and Madlib's own alter-ego-alter-egos) this is the MF DOOM and Madlib show. On top of genius instrumental after genius instrumental, hearing the sheer witchcraft of DOOM's ability to rhyme like
Hold the cold one like he hold a old gun
Like he hold the microphone and stole the show for fun
Or a foe for ransom
Flows is handsome, O's in tandem,
Anthem, random, tantrum
Phantom of The Grand Ole Opry, ask the dumb hottie
Masked, pump shotty, somebody stop me
Man. I'm not even going to bother tracking all the internal rhymes and ludicrous flow that DOOM spits relentlessly. He is the greatest. Of all time. No debates, no rapper has ever built bars like MF DOOM. Add Madlib to the mix and you have the greatest one-and-done collaborative album of all time. Madvillain were a staggering duo, and Madvillainy remains utterly inimitable as one of the greatest albums ever made. Two outstanding geniuses working at the height of their powers, building an icon out of a dirty hotel room, beer and superhero cartoons. It is an indescribable feat of creativity and skill, and deserves its recognition as the greatest album of the 2000s. But just remember; it's all caps when you spell the man's name: MF DOOM.
- BEN WHEADON
Slow Motion Panic Masters' Top 100 Albums Of The 2000s:
listen to a spotify playlist with one song from each album with the link below:
[ LINK ]
If you liked this list, make sure to check out Slow Motion Panic Masters' Top 100 Albums of the 2010s with this link. It it also very, very good.
Thanks for reading! Slow Motion Panic Masters is a music, arts and culture blog created and co-edited by Ben Wheadon, a literature student and musician based at the University of Oxford. He is also a Fleet Foxes shill.
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Ainhoa Santos Goicoechea (pronounced "I-know-ah") is a culturally confused Creative Writing postgraduate student from the Basque Country, Spain. She is passionate about film, music and politics, and she should probably know more than she does about all three.
Alex Kutscher is an English Literature graduate from King’s College London and founder of TPLC Sports. He plays basketball and watches Chelsea on the weekend while praying that Kepa never plays for them again.
Anthony Ford is a Maths student, spending every Saturday watching Burnley attempt to avoid relegation. He calms himself down by listening to music, playing guitar, or shouting at people on the TV.
Fin Cousins is a postgrad literature student studying at King’s College, London. He loves sport, music and writing and he is still waiting for Love Island to accept his application. He also made our logo.
Guille Fernandez is a music lover who studied the cello for almost 10 years before moving to the UK to study English literature at King's College, London.
James Mellen is currently studying songwriting and production and is based near Bristol. Interests include silly effects pedals, Yorkshire tea and 100 gecs.
Joe Davis is a Cardiff University graduate currently doing a panic masters in Public Policy. He procrastinates religiously via music, politics and football. Find him on insta.
Maria Orlando is a writer that traded Italy's mild weather for London's constant drizzle. Oh well. She can especially be found writing about anything even remotely queer.
Sam Harding is a student at York and an enthusiast of mosh pits. He is trying to marry music with writing but is running out of onomatopoeia. Life soundtrack includes underground rap and electronic bleep bloops.
Tara Choudhary is a third-year student at King’s College London, who euphemises her indecisiveness by saying she studies the Liberal Arts. She enjoys music, theatre and basically anything she can categorise as “not math”.
Tom Keogh is an English Literature graduate from King’s College, London. He enjoys making music, visiting the bin and supporting shit football teams because he got into the sport late.
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