2002 Review – Albums #140 – 131
2002 Year-in-Review
Albums #140 -131
By Matt Ashworth, Editor-in-Chief
140. Come with Us – Chemical Brothers (Astralwerks)
Unless you’ve been locked in your basement for the past half decade or detest even the best electronic music, you probably already know that the Chemical Brothers are the goods, and that you should own this album.
139. Tomorrow Never Comes; Murder License – Xinlisupreme (Fat Cat)
As music critics, we hear a whole lot of music. So it’s rare when an album startles us. When I put Tomorrow Never Comes on for the first time I nearly jumped out of my window. This may be the most bludgeoning noiserock record I’ve ever heard. Not recommended for dinner parties.
2002 Year-in-Review
Albums #140 -131
By Matt Ashworth, Editor-in-Chief
140. Come with Us – Chemical Brothers (Astralwerks)
Unless you’ve been locked in your basement for the past half decade or detest even the best electronic music, you probably already know that the Chemical Brothers are the goods, and that you should own this album.
139. Tomorrow Never Comes; Murder License – Xinlisupreme (Fat Cat)
As music critics, we hear a whole lot of music. So it’s rare when an album startles us. When I put Tomorrow Never Comes on for the first time I nearly jumped out of my window. This may be the most bludgeoning noiserock record I’ve ever heard. Not recommended for dinner parties.
138. Oceanic – Isis (Ipecac)
Why all the loud, aggressive music last year? Maybe it was post 911 frustration that made 2002 such a good year for metal. Or maybe we all just paid a little bit more attention to the loud stuff like Oceanic, a psychotic, riff-heavy album from Connecticut metal collective Isis, which features members of that features members of fellow Boston bands Old Man Gloom and Cast Iron Hike.
137. Jennie Bomb – Sahara Hotnights (Jetset)
With The Hives and Division of Laura Lee picking up where the Hellacopters left off in Sweden’s attack on rock music listeners, it’s no surprise there’s a female version. Sahara Hotnights are a four-piece garage punk band whose second album, Jennie Bomb, was a favorite of our listeners in 2002. Is it just us, or are girls who play punk rock totally hot?
136. 1-2 – Dishes (No 89)
Great fuckin’ record from Chicago’s Dishes, punk chicks who take their cues from Wire and The Slits in delivering raw, energetic blues-punk. Kudos to the anonymous reader who turned us on to these gals.
135. In the Zone – The Capricorns(Paroxysm)
“The New Sound,” the opening track on the second release from Grayslake, Illinois’s Capricorns, is an appropriate title. I’ve never heard anything like the female two-piece’s geeky keyboard pop. Picture the organ sound from old horror movies played at double speed and paired with lyrics about Nintendo and stalking boys. The Capricorns wanna “go, they wanna play for the hip kids.” Do yourself a favor and try to be a hip kid this year. For once? Please?
134. Jimmy Carter Syndrome – Jay Munly (Smooch)
Jimmy Carter Syndrome is a rare disease effecting the stomach’s ability to process salted peanuts. Symptoms include indigestion, cramps, wooziness, and explosive diarrhea. Consult a physician immediately. Oh, and It’s also the name of the excellent album released by 16 Horsepower’s Jay Munly in 2002. If you like spooky alt-country then you’ll want to order this yesterday.
133. Last Call for Vitriol – Superdrag (Arena Rock)
The Snizz periodically reminds me that we didn’t catch Superdrag open for Weezer at Seattle’s DV8 in 1997 because I mistakenly told him it was going to be Super Deluxe. Last Call for Vitriol – filled with the catchy alt-rock hooks Superdrag have made into an art form over the past six years – served as a nice reminder. Assholes.
132. Life and Death of an American Fourtracker – John Vanderslice (Barsuk)
This third album from the singer/songwriter who brought us “Bill Gates Must Die,” Life and Death of an American Fourtracker was one of several great releases last year from Seattle’s uber-hip Barsuk Records. Highlights here include “The Mansion,” with its joyous chamber pop chorus.
131. And the Surrounding Mountains – Radar Bros. (Merge)
Speaking of cool labels, Merge released music last year by Spoon, Crooked Fingers, Superchunk and The Clean, not to mention Nada favorites Imperial Teen and Stephen Merrit. Oh yeah, the also just released the first Buzzcocks record in 20 years. With that lineup, we never would have guessed that the label’s second best album of 2002 would have been this one, from unassuming California indie pop/alt-country/Pink Floyd soundalikes Radar Bros.
See #’s 150 – 141
See #’s 130 – 121
