LISTED: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009)
*As the year 2010 is about to draw its curtain close, it is the time of the year (of any year) for many music sites and blogs to come up with a top list of albums of the year. Yes indeed the year 2010 has seen many interesting releases worthy of at least a top 20 list. But here at The Genuine Mind Zine we decided to do things a bit different and take a look at some of the best (of the best) releases throughout the last decade. This may not be the most comprehensive list around, lack of hip hop records for one, but all the albums listed here are indeed the most precious of last decade's precious gems.
18. Vetiver - Vetiver (2004)
It's very rare actually to get a band or artist who keeps on getting better on towards from their debut album (a point which you will see appear again somewhere higher up the number in this countdown). Usually things will start to go downhill, or in some case horribly wrong, if and when a band or artist came up with a gem of a debut. Some people say it's the case of breaking down from the immense weight of lofty expectation from the fans, which actually is kind of naturally expected since ideally speaking, things should only get better as it progress.
Which is why one of the most surprising (and consistent - consistently getting better) act of recent year, Vetiver, made it into this list. Surprising because despite a brilliant debut album, they did not break down from the immense expectation gained from it. And when I said consistently getting better, it is actually the band's third album, Thing of the Past, released in 2008, is the band's best album in their entire career so far. So why is their self-titled debut is on this list then?
In the already freakish world of the freak folkists, or so called the New Weird America movement, Vetiver is like a breath of fresh air on a crispy Spring morning. This is because of the perplexing nature of this movement, listening to other hardcore acts like Devendra Banhart or Joanna Newsom feels like being trapped in a small room with no window in the middle of a very hot afternoon. Well perhaps wrong imagery because it is not entirely unpleasant from the start, just that it will grow unpleasant slowly, uh from the start.
A really nice thing about Andre Cabic's outfit's self-titled debut here is that it does not sound too alienating to a listener like me, who admittedly still has to warm myself over with the movement. It is not, how do I put it, too self-celebrating. There is a lot of room and air in the album - it feels spacious. It does not focus too much on itself (when it might actually be true). It is wintry, childish, naive, fun, and sweet. It's very much like skipping gently over a field full of buttercups with winds softly blowing onto your face.
This album made it as the best album of the last century, and not their third one, solely on the strength of that - the first time discovery. It's like falling in love for the first time with the girl of your dream - everything is perfect. But after a while being together, one by one pieces of reality starts to kick in and the magic is no longer there. Both of you might still be in love with one another, but the excitement, the naive charm is no longer there. Same goes with between the self-titled debut and their third album. The third one might be perfect in many way, but the debut will always warm your heart and charm you by its sweetness.
*As the year 2010 is about to draw its curtain close, it is the time of the year (of any year) for many music sites and blogs to come up with a top list of albums of the year. Yes indeed the year 2010 has seen many interesting releases worthy of at least a top 20 list. But here at The Genuine Mind Zine we decided to do things a bit different and take a look at some of the best (of the best) releases throughout the last decade. This may not be the most comprehensive list around, lack of hip hop records for one, but all the albums listed here are indeed the most precious of last decade's precious gems.
18. Vetiver - Vetiver (2004)
It's very rare actually to get a band or artist who keeps on getting better on towards from their debut album (a point which you will see appear again somewhere higher up the number in this countdown). Usually things will start to go downhill, or in some case horribly wrong, if and when a band or artist came up with a gem of a debut. Some people say it's the case of breaking down from the immense weight of lofty expectation from the fans, which actually is kind of naturally expected since ideally speaking, things should only get better as it progress.
Which is why one of the most surprising (and consistent - consistently getting better) act of recent year, Vetiver, made it into this list. Surprising because despite a brilliant debut album, they did not break down from the immense expectation gained from it. And when I said consistently getting better, it is actually the band's third album, Thing of the Past, released in 2008, is the band's best album in their entire career so far. So why is their self-titled debut is on this list then?
In the already freakish world of the freak folkists, or so called the New Weird America movement, Vetiver is like a breath of fresh air on a crispy Spring morning. This is because of the perplexing nature of this movement, listening to other hardcore acts like Devendra Banhart or Joanna Newsom feels like being trapped in a small room with no window in the middle of a very hot afternoon. Well perhaps wrong imagery because it is not entirely unpleasant from the start, just that it will grow unpleasant slowly, uh from the start.
A really nice thing about Andre Cabic's outfit's self-titled debut here is that it does not sound too alienating to a listener like me, who admittedly still has to warm myself over with the movement. It is not, how do I put it, too self-celebrating. There is a lot of room and air in the album - it feels spacious. It does not focus too much on itself (when it might actually be true). It is wintry, childish, naive, fun, and sweet. It's very much like skipping gently over a field full of buttercups with winds softly blowing onto your face.
This album made it as the best album of the last century, and not their third one, solely on the strength of that - the first time discovery. It's like falling in love for the first time with the girl of your dream - everything is perfect. But after a while being together, one by one pieces of reality starts to kick in and the magic is no longer there. Both of you might still be in love with one another, but the excitement, the naive charm is no longer there. Same goes with between the self-titled debut and their third album. The third one might be perfect in many way, but the debut will always warm your heart and charm you by its sweetness.
Labels: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009), vetiver
posted by Hafeez at 8:13 AM
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