Category: 11-20
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14. The Streets – Original Pirate Material (2002)
“I’m not going to spoil things for you, but you’re going to have opinions about The Streets.” The words of a friend of mine who’s more familiar with their work than I am. Let’s see if he’s right. In a break from tradition, I’m not going to go through every track individually this time, because…
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13. The Cure – Disintegration (1989)
Representing my home county of West Sussex, enter The Cure. I’ve seen many labels associated with The Cure, but the predominant one is emo. Initially, it was difficult to see why. The opening track, Plainsong, begins with a couple of minutes of slow, grandiose chords, which could almost be described as ambient if not for…
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12. The White Stripes – Elephant (2003)
I hate Seven Nation Army. I don’t know why. There’s nothing, in theory, all that wrong with it. But it’s part of a short list of songs (which also includes Wonderwall and The Monster Mash) that just rub me the wrong way for some reason. I shall endure it as the first track, and then…
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11. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
Arcade Fire is the second band in a row to defy my preconceived notions of what they would sound like, though less thoroughly this time. Their sonic palette is similar, but by no means identical, to what I imagined, but their lyrical subject matter and general songwriting style is a far cry from the kind…
Nick Hoad 