Three is, indeed, a pretty reasonable number. And since I've really only been listening to three albums lately -- all filling various needs, and not counting some random MP3s here and/or there -- it's even more reasonable for me. In alphabetical order:
1.
Agalloch / The Mantle:
What can I say? If there's been an album released this year that better reflects the rapidly-approaching autumn season, I haven't heard it yet. Agalloch's work here feels an awful lot like autumn leaves drifting through a grey November sky. I also add that -- with the advent of this semester's classes at the end of August -- I haven't had time to sit down and really
listen to this album. But it does make for exceptional background music, if nothing else.
2.
Aimee Mann / Lost in Space:
Indisputably on my year's best-of list. I've said it before in other places, and I'll repeat myself again here: this is everything a great pop record should be -- bittersweet, sad, insanely tuneful, and obsessive in all the right ways. There's almost something sexual about the way Mann's airy voice rubs up against her languid, laid-back sonic tales of addiction, obsession, and cynicism. Comes very, very highly recommended from me.
3.
Stone Sour / Stone Sour:
Another out-of-left-field choice, I'm sure. Yeah, this band does feature Slipknot's Corey Taylor and Jim Root, which means they're nu-metallic.
Sincere nu-metal, to be honest; in a genre populated entirely by angry young men, Taylor is the angriest, and -- on this record -- actually the easiest to believe in. It ain't all great, and Taylor's clean voice sometimes lacks the necessary punch to get the point across -- c.f.: "Orchids," where I actually wish he'd opted to do more screaming -- but it doesn't ever come close to sucking, either. Not if you're into this style, anyway, and on occasion I've been known to be.
Anyway, I think I've probably just sparked enough controversy with the albums chosen for this one small post to give this board something to talk about for months to come... so I'll just step back into the shadows and see what develops.
--Brian