I expect wonderful things. :D

Keep the list going dude it's picking up nicely.

Judging by your taste it will make you gush. If not i will make a hat then eat it. PMs if needed btw people

I could go for a PM of that last one. Sounds interesting, and I really need something entirely new. Great list, keep it up.

Ill second that if thats cool.

So, what do the guys i've given it to think?

Umm, well March Madness started today so I've given zero of my time for music lol, sorry.

ditto

I started listening to them when they released the video for scrape. Does anyone remember that? One of the coolest videos.

Ok I've listened to the Medusa Cyclone album twice now and I must say that I was left unimpressed after the first listen, and very impressed after the second if that makes any sense lol.

I would love any of these albums Stu, could u please pm them to me.
cheers

Yeah definately, its a big ol' grower.

And to people who have pm'ed me and asked on here, up's on the way.

I've been thinking about this list, and how inaccurate it actually is. I'm discovering new music every day and my taste is developing with each new album i start to love - consequently i think only a top 100 which i have deliberated upon for some time would actually suffice. I personally think this is impossible though, so i doubt it'll ever see the light of day.

So, if a moderator could close this that would be good, i just dont think this list is really reflective of my ever-evolving taste.

That said, i think every album i've listed is epic so i will try to up them for anybody who is interested.

Peace out.

it's an occupational hazard of these things, choice respected. I have missed the last few entries so shall catch up, at least they will be here for future generations of Stu-children to read.
I don't think you could ever accurately pull off a top 10 or whatever (unless you wrote it on your death bed) but it's just a bit of fun I suppose, still for those reasons I don't think i'll ever attempt one in the conventional format at least, the glaring omissions would pop up pretty quickly...

Yeah it got to the point where i was like AH, BUT THIS ALBUM AND THIS ALBUM AND THIS ALBUM CANT BE IN MY LIST BUT IT REALLY SHOULD BE blah blah blah and i couldnt be bothered anymore. They're interesting to look at but really they are as you just a bit of fun.

Happy birthday btw!

Definitely want it closed Stu?

Why not just change the thread title and put out stuff you feel like writing about as they come along?
Shame to stop now.

i agree with right track, you have at least opened me up to some different artist, I vote you remove the 25 and just make it "Stu's Tops"

I kind of feel the same way, Stu, If I could go back and re-arrange some stuff, I would have put Genghis Tron higher, and probably would've subbed in some new stuff.

I didnt actually think of that. Can you just change the thread title to 'Stu's musical cove' or something. Nice idea.

Done.

Glad you're still doing this.

Lol so much better than my flippant 'musical cove' suggestion. Yeah its quite liberating not being confined to an ordered countdown now. Thanks RT.

This has actually been one of my favotire album list threads. I'm glad that it will go on indefinetly now. That Unicrons album has become one of my favorites. It's a shame they had such a short life. Do you know any bands that have a simliar sound to them?

Yeah it would have been a shame to close it. I've picked up a few albums off this list and keep coming back to check on it.

Released in 1988, this album stands out from its peers with the milieu of influences it entwines within its 47 minute duration.

Essentially a post-punk album with industrial and surf overtones, it incorporates an assortment of ethnic music influences ranging from tribal percussion to middle-eastern mysticism and south american to eastern european folk to create this sound that never becomes formulaic, one dimensional or stagnant.

Quite often the music recedes into these hypnotic, almost numbing psychedelic jams; beautifully lumbering and sparse, before erupting with spikey, art-punk hooks and feedback - you neve quite know where its going to go next. At times it' sound is distant and cold; such as with the title song, whilst at other times it bubbles and froths with energy, as Viva La Rock'n'Roll will testify - but there is always this unexplainable, foreboding underbelly to it that has a strange ability in stirring up your adrenaline the longer it goes on.

Due to the myriad influences replete within this album i feel it somewhat transcends time and space - if you're looking for an angst-fuelled, angular post-punk album; here you have it, if you're looking for an ethereal psychedelic freak out, this'll whip you up something delighful, and if you're up for something a little different that will take you outside the monotony of convention; give this a listen. It is an album that requires your undivided attention and if you're only looking for something to put on in the background i'd stay clear.

The Velvet Underground released four spectacular albums. The first two, with John Cale, were experimental, often abrasive and sometimes deeply unsettling explorations in sound - subversions of the rock & roll formula. Then Cale left, Doug Yule came in and, coupled with Lou Reed's desire to access a mainstream audience, the third eponymous instalment came into fruition.

For the first time in a while the Velvet camp was acting as a relaxed, cohesive unit shorn of the tensions bubbling through the WL/WH sessions. This is explicated clearly in the music. It's tender, measured and full of confidence - obvious in swaggering numbers such as What Goes On and I'm Beginning To See The Light, songs that seamlessly intermingle with delicate ballads such as Candy Says and Pale Blue Eyes. Theres is a maturity to the songs as Reed really flexes his songwriting muscles; this album to me is the documentation of a journey of self discovery - lyrics often depicting a mind perturbed and conflicted; yet as it progresses clarity begins to seep and unravel from the lyrics and elegantly laid back musical arrangements - I'm Set Free serving as an exhortation for this point.

Listening to this album is a truely life-affirming experience for me personally, and it represents a band free from the shackles experimentation (which is a paradox in itself). Its difficult for me to name a favourite Velvet album - they all bring something different to the table. Yet this is the most personal listen of the lot, the one that resonates within the self most implicitly - what more could you want from music?

I've heard a different Savage Republic album, which is very good. Can you upload that one if possible?

Sure thing, give me the until the weekend.

Released earlier this year, this LP is the seventh offering in three years from Irishman Bobby Aherne, AKA Dublin Duck Dispensary.

'Luanqibazao' in Chinese means 'a complete mess'. This is quite a fitting description of the album in general - one glorious mish mash of influences and styles. Fusing folk with punk and electronica, all executed in a savage lo-fi production aesthetic, this is a piece that sounds like it has been constructed from the bedroom (which, in fact, i believe it was) of a, lets say eccentric, individual. It possesses a deeply personal quality laden with psychedelic noise and Dadaist lyrics whilst simultaneously lathering the listener in catchy melodies and guitar hooks interwoven with pummeling synth and drum machines - all drenched in acidic distortion.

Luanqibazao is an immensly energetic album; many of the songs are short, snappy bursts that still manage to completely capture the listener. Nonetheless, there is a maturity and self assurance about Aherne's delivery as the music regularly careers between meloncholy and uncontrollable joy, folk and garage punk.

For fans of Islands, Wavves and Ariel Pink.

Link to this newest one please :)

Rack & Ruin records

You'll notice i included the incorrect album art in my review, the correct art was hard to find. Just right click on the thumbnails (i strongly recommend you acquire Yykes Basket too)

Some pretty great albums in here, I'm glad you decided to continue.

I listened to it and I must say, I have no idea what I heard. Never heard anything quite like it, so it'll definitely take a couple more listens before I can really pass judgement.

Do, once you get past the quagmire of styles and noise you'll realise they're actually very well crafted songs. It took me a few litens but i love it now, best thing out of Ireland in years.

Thanks for the mention Stu!

Everything on the site is free, and Dublin Duck Dispensary have a number of other albums/EPs on there that you can download.

There are an awful lot of other bands that you may enjoy if DDD are your thing. Perhaps check out "Never mind the brollies", which is a various artists collection.

Cheers again

Dean

Havent updated this for a while, so i'll reconvene with an album i've been rinsing lately.

Now, i don't know too much about this band apart from the fact they're Japanese musicians with a penchant for 60's Garage Rock and Organs. Their influences, coupled with their own approach to musicianship and recording, make this album an enthralling album from start to finish.

As you may be able to ascertain from the album title, this is 40 minutes of acidic, fuzzy punk bordering on dementia, turned up to 11. The songs exude a dynamism, aided by simple yet measured guitar/drum salvos to the relentless drive of a throbbing bass guitar. The added pleasure of an organ mischievously twisting and weaving through, what are essentially straight up punk songs, make it an engrossing, all consuming listen.

Interspersed along the way are glitches, screeches and bleeps, as well as extented psychedelic jams, all of which are executed in the same frenetic, raucous aesthetic. this may to some be the albums downfall. For listeners who love an album to be a work of art; full of texture, mood and swoops and soars this may not appeal. It starts fast and ends fast. The lo-fi, distorted production may as well detract some listeners, it is at times too much. But if you clear your mind of all thoughts, get comfy and just play it the whole way through i believe you'll find it rewarding.

For all the fuzz, aggression and ear splitting noise there are well crafted songs underneath it all, laden with captivating hooks and riffs that will bring a smile to your face. So i dare you to give it a listen (at full volume of course).

And sadly nobody responded. But I will.

I'm terribly sorry I missed this, I love the Feelies, the Unicorns, the Kills, Autolux, Cannibal Ox, and Pavement and intend to look some more of the albums in here. I tried to do a top 100 once. Then I realized it's impossible, by the time I finished a top 100 my favorite 100 albums would have already changed. Sadly, I just stopped writing reviews altogether. Which is not what you should do, although no one's responding. I'm interested to see what else you have to put up :) Oh and I think you might be the only on other person on here that likes The Railcars.

acid eater sounds pretty sick. a large part of my favourite bands are japanese, so my expectations are high... downloading that album now.

Oh man, that organ is too cool. Everything is just slathered in a fuzz groove and brilliantly chaotic but the organ is screechy clear. That instrument is the album's hook.

Really enjoying it, although the production is so low-fi it kind of strips the songs of a unique identity.

Owen Ashworth is, in my view, an overlooked genius, deserving of the highest echelons of acclaim and reverence. Unfortunately he seems destined to skulk along the outskirts of public consciousness, much to the public's loss.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone is his solo project, and you realise the aptitude of the name after only one listen of this 1999 debut. Answer Machine Music is stark, intimate, raw and strangely ethereal. Literally utilising only a casio keyboard and drum machine, Ashworth delves deep into the human condition with tales of moribund, day to day occurences, swathed under the glow of the melancholic midnight moon. Loneliness, alienation, aspiration and despondancy are all prevalent features of the piece, told to the tune of twinkling casio parts exuding atmosphere and mood as confrontaitonal, 80's drumbeats propel the songs forward.

Interspersed with the poignancy of the lyrics is a wry humour that effectively connotes the mundaness of what Ashworth is documenting. Yet, conversely, he has the fantastic ability to conjure up a magical sentimentality, freezing the most intimate, persoinal instances of human existence like the capture of a still, black and white photograph.

If you like your music to be deeply affecting and personal, this will surely titillate. It's an album so raw and rudementary in one way, yet so melodious and beautifully atmospheric at the same time. With songs that sound like they've come from an answering machine, i defy anybody that doesnt in some way identify with what this genius of a songwriter is saying.

Do it.

The Exploding Hearts are a real tragedy. Almost immediately after releasing their one and only album, Guitar Romantic, three of the four band members died in a horrific car accident. Judging from the legacy they left behind, one can only dream of what they could have acheived. Alas, all that is left is this gloriously rambunctious album.

Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, this a rip-roaring, effortlessly energetic piece full to the brim with some of most joyous hooks and choruses you'll ever hear. Drawing influences from The Buzz****s, The Only Ones and New York Dolls, the band plays a brand of Punk Rock bordering on Power Pop with absolute abandon. There is no fear, no holding back - just the sound of sheer enjoyment and excitement.

This isnt to say the album lacks any discipline or measure. These four young guys were evidently masters of the pop song as an art-form. There isnt a wasted note as the band go straight for the gonads, pummelling the listener with distorted hook after distorted hook as lead singer Adam Cox howls licentious tales of adolescence.

Songs such as Modern Kicks and Rumours in Town are, to me, pop perfection, taking you back to the best material the Buzz****s and New York Dolls could muster.

This album will make you feel alive. There is no better way to put it.