the obvious
1. Sonic Youth Murray Street
Actually, it was quite a surprise to see this in so many end of year polls. although it was definitely my most-played album of the year. Sonic Youth were growing old gracefully with a collection of songs which ranged from near dinosaur-rock to familiar dischord. Notable also for the very definite presence of Jim O'Rourke as a full member since this album's conception. Live, these songs were also a joy to behold - I saw them play a colossal version 'Rain on Tin' which I would have gone to see them later on the tour just to hear again.
2. Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man Out of Season
Someone (i think it was Mojo) added to Beth's sales when they called this 'one of the greatest albums ever made'. I wouldn't go that far but this is a wonderful album of modern folk-rock, Beth's dramatic vocals blending perfectly with the intimate musicianship of the Rustin Man collective (led by Paul Webb, ex Talk Talk and Orang). With obvious influences like Billie Holliday and Nina Simone (particularly on 'Tom The Model'), English folk ('Sand River') and an overbearing atmosphere as strong as any of their previous bands - this is a stunning debut.
3. Godspeed You Black Emperor! Yanqui u.x.o
It took a while to convince me of this - on initial listens I thought that Albini's production has removed a lot of the band's dynamics. I was familiar with the tunes from shows they played early in 2002 so I was just slightly thrown by the recorded versions.
A couple of months later I find that I love this album - less of a sprawl than its preceeding 'Skinny Fists' and it has many stunning moments, the likes of 'Motherfucker: Redeemer' as good as anything they've done. It could almost be described as devotional music - worth returning to again and again. More overtly political artwork than before - hitting out at the current world security situation and linking corporate rock to the global arms trade.
DJ Shadow the Private Press
Although he hasn't been idle, DJ Shadow let six years slip by before issuing this follow-up to 'Endtroducing'. 'The Private Press' may have disapoointed some people at the time but I thought it was worth the wait. It didn't have an awful lot to do with dance music, rather it was an extension of the ambient textures and moods he had hinted at on earlier records. 'You Can't Go Home Again' was probably the outstanding track, while 'Six Days' sampled prog-rock so extensively I thought it was Yes on first hearing. A long wait, but well worth it in the end.
Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Another album that I played a lot during the year - sometimes I loved it, other times I winced at the similarlity of 'Fight Test' to Cat Stevens/ Boyzone's 'Father and Son'! Veering more towards mid-paced melodic ballads than robot-fighting sci-fi blowouts, this carried on from 'The Soft Bulletin' but didn't really break any new ground for me. it only takes a few mments of 'Do You Realize??' to convince of Flaming Lips greatness though.
Bright Eyes Lifted
When this emerged this summer I was disappointed and thought it was a step back from 'Fevers and Mirrors'. All the angst ridden stuff seemed to have been off-loaded onto their sister band Desaparecidos, leaving this sounding a bit less passionate. Five months later I'm still listening to this, intrigued by a lot of the songs. This is the album where Conor Obherst and Bright Eyes grew up, and I get the feeling that other critics who have compared this to Big Star's disjointed masterpiece 'Sister Lovers' and "this generation's Blonde on Blonde" (Delusions of Adequacy webzine) may have a point. I keep returning to this again and again.
Various - Too Many DJs: As heard on Radio Soulwax pt 2
The point when bootlegs started to make sense to album buyers. Belgian collective Soulwax reclaimed their mp3 mash-ups from the obscurity of the internet and placed them in the context of an irrestistable mix album. Flicking between garage punk, electro and the potentially frightening (10cc for one!) with complete disregard for genre. The best compilation of the year.
Lambchop Is a Woman
The first good record I heard in 2002 and one that stayed with me throughout the year. 'Is A Woman' proved to be too subtle and quiet for a lot of fans who picked up on them with 'Nixon'. The band is still there but they play very very quietly, with the overall result that the voice and piano are to the fore. A much more introspective release than any of their previous albums, and it doesn't suffer from that at all.
Low Trust
Another great album from Low - bleak but soulful with a very obvious religious element. '(That's How You Sing)
and the not so obvious
Yo La Tengo The Sounds of the Sounds of Science
Not obvious for the fact that hardly anyone has heard it. A companion piece to their mesmerising instrumental live show where they accompany the science films of Jean Painleve. This is more of an extension of their main body of work rather than some sort of throwaway side project, and I can't see too many fans being disappointed, particularly if you like their material like 'Sleeping Pill' and 'Night Falls on Hoboken'. Worth seeking out - I think it's still available on www.yolatengo.com.
Desert Hearts Let's Get Worse
Desaparecidos Read Music, Speak Spanish
This is where Bright Eyes asumed a different name and delivered an album of Pixies-style hard rock. A good companion piece to 'Lifted...' and on initial listens I preferred this. Lyrically, it's a punk rock album about marriage and mortgages which, amazingly, sounds convincing. More politically obvious than this year's Bright Eyes album - check 'The Happiest Place on Earth' for comment on our current geopolitical mess.
GBV Universal Truths and Cycles
Olympic Lifts Do One
Jacob Golden Hallelujah World
Piano Magic Writers Without Homes