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LISA TOWN'S BEST OF 2004

Best New Releases:
1		The Arcade Fire - Funeral [Merge] Each member of this group can sing and play multiple instruments.  The songs pull you into their world with the bands incredible energy.  This is a talented bunch, and Funeral is hands down the best album Ive heard this year. Buy This Album
2		Bill Santen - In the Night Kitchen [Sweatin' Betty] This album is the kind friend with an umbrella during the hardest rainstorm where Ive forgotten my jacket.  The songs are my very own pillow in a cheap motel with a lump mattress.  The music is simple yet beautiful, like the random stranger who handed me a rose on the train for no reason when I was sad.  It made my day.  Buy This Album Read LOTD's Review
3		Grails - Redlight [Neurot] First of all, let me just say that I love these guys.  Their music is passionate, emotional and driving.  I recently saw them live and they could barely contain themselves, because they obviously could feel the music through and through.  However, while this particular album in question has many shining moments, I have to admit that it is not as powerful and inspiring as their first release, The Burden of Hope.  Buy This Album
4		Pinback - Summer in the Abaddon  [Touch & Go] Sometimes it takes me a few listens to really warm up to an album, but not this one; I liked it immediately.  The boys have fine-tuned their unique sound and have delivered a great album.  Buy This Album
5		The Mountain Goats - They Shall All Be Healed  [4AD] Slightly more polished than past releases, this great lyricist continues to weave his oddly interesting musical stories. Buy This Album
6		Snow Patrol - Final Straw [A&M] Over the summer, I worked on a project that required me to put in 68 hellish hours in one week.  Then the next was 80 followed by an earth-shattering 108 hours.  Snow Patrol stood by me like a wonderful friend, encouraging me to keep going as I tried many times to pass out on my keyboard.  Buy This Album
7		Soltero - Tongues You Have Tied [Three Ring] This album was also a track on my Summer of Hell album.  I hold a special place in my heart for this group that guided me home safely on many 4 am nights.  I would listen to it as I drove the company car home on the empty streets, because public transportation was no longer running.  Buy This Album Read LOTD's Review
8		The Rhombus - Bupkes [self-released] This mixture of acoustic guitar, vocals and too many instruments and sounds to list, is definitely something to make anyone wake up and take notice.  The arrangements and details are amazingly well done.  The Rhombus is a great example of why home recording is so fantastic. Buy This Album Read LOTD's Review
9		Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic  [Polyvinyl] I have passed over these guys in the past, but this album made me take notice.  Its fun, upbeat and great for those days when you want to forget that its raining, dark and 40 degrees outside. Buy This Album
10		Wilco - A Ghost Is Born  [Nonesuch] I wavered on whether to put this album on my top ten or not. Its no Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I did listen to it a lot. Buy This Album
Honorable Mentions:
		Cantinero - Championship Boxing [Artemis] Buy This Album
		The Gamits - Antidote  [Suburban Home] Buy This Album Read LOTD's Review
		Interpol - Antics  [Matador] Buy This Album

Return to LOTD's Best of 2004

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