Top 20: #15 to #11

Poorly worded disclaimer #2: Dear Mr (or Miss/Mrs) Record Label. We don't post these songs to make a buck out of music, we post these to encourage people to discover new music and put these albums and singles on their Christmas lists to help support the artists. We are not doing this for no other reason than to allow others to share in the wonderous music we have been lucky enough to experience. You'll notice the sign of a true blogger is living in complete poverty, being a university student or both. We are poor because we spend all our money on your cds and seeing your bands play to allow us to review it all. See this blog for what it is and if that still doesn't suffice, all copyright holders will have their music immediately removed upon request. I hope you have a merry christmas, free from meddling, sueing and nazi censorship as I too hope for myself. All Universal artists mp3's have been removed from the Top 20 posts.

Here we come again fine people. The second installment as we make our way down to #1. This selection stinks of diversity in such a brilliant way. Could also be mistaken for the best video clip installment as almost all of these songs have got some brilliant clips. Apart from maybe Camera Obscura which is marginally dull and very smash hits-ish, but makes up for it with a brilliant track.

#15 Liars - "Lets Not Wrestle Mr Heart Attack" (Mp3)

Drums Not Dead was a stark and unsettling percussive concept album that moved Liars further and further away from their dance-punk past and into more esoteric territory. Most tracks in isolation from the album may fall slightly flat, as in the context of this LP each tracks full potential is realised, yet ‘Lets Not Wrestle Mr Heart Attack’ seems to work just fine on its own. Tribal percussion pummels throughout a relentless track punctuated by their Australian vocalist Angus Andrew wailing nearly incoherently as the chaos and texture thickens and that irrisistable high-hat semi-quaver creates only momentary gasps for breath.

Pix Said: "I still don't get it, but it is the finest state of confusion I'll ever have fully clothed"

[Buy] Liars - Drums not dead from Amazon

#14 The Knife – "We Share Our Mothers Health" (Mp3)

At home on the dancefloor as much as the iPod, The Knife realise their full potential on ‘We Share Our Mothers Health’. Equal parts danceable freak-out and eerie apocalyptic jam, The Knife manage to combine awkwardly syncopated rhythms, bizarre synth effects and frightening vocals to create this wild beast of a composition. It bounces around its padded cell, trying in vain to escape into freedom and sanity, yet is left contained where mental faculties are lost to somehow create a cohesive and beautifully ugly track.

Pix Said: "Perfect gift for King Kong this Christmas"

[Buy] The Knife - Silent shout from Amazon.

#13 Camera Obscura – "Let’s Get Out of This Country" (Mp3)

The idea of leaving a place that is suffocating and where you don’t quite fit in rings true for me, which is possibly why I love this song so much. The evocation to ‘get out of this country’ and all its connotations of escape, freedom and hope are echoed in the lush production, soaring string section and folky guitar tone. I can’t help but feeling like hopping aboard a Greyhound bus or a motor scooter and taking off down the highway into the sunset every time I hear it. This song creates the mood and paints the picture perfectly.

Pix Said: "Quote. Beautiful. End Quote"



[Buy] Camera Obscura - Lets Get Out of this Country from Amazon.

#12 Junior Boys – Count Souveneirs (Mp3)

Don’t try and resist, Count Souveneirs soars high in the heavens of sublime music and will have you swaying from side to side in the most daggy fashion. Junior Boys are simply all class, one of only a few who manage to mould electronica with real feeling and emotion. This track is vocally chilling with lyric that comes from great depths of the soul yet doesn’t meander on when it realises there is more important obstacles to encounter. Count Souveneirs finds that balance between the beauty in a subtle nuance and the craving for hook that’s still blissfully slumbering.

Chris Said: "Cohesively connects human & machine"

[Buy] Junior Boys - So this is goodbye from Amazon.


#11 Xiu Xiu – "Boy Soprano" (Mp3)

Jamie Stewart has the most horrifying voice in indie-rock, and I don’t mean that as an insult. Thematically Xiu Xiu have always been a little unsettling, and when Stewart utters ‘I wouldn’t trust me either’ on ‘Boy Soprano’ it is almost terrifying because you believe his every word. When matched with the ever abrasive, off-kilter and strangely tuneful rhythm section this songs odd beauty is realised. Despite this track being rather typical of Xiu Xiu, it still is no less amazing nor scary. Check out the video also, its pretty impressive.

Pix Said: "I still can't believe it's not butter"



[Buy] Xui Xui - The Air force from Amazon.

Enjoy once again. And it only gets better... or does it? You tell me.