938. Beth Orton - Daybreaker

This is Beth's most fully realized album - the songs are epic and wistful making you happy to be alive even if you are in line at Starbucks... it's a confident, strong release that pleases through and through.

8 out of 10

937. Beth Orton - Stolen Car

I wonder what's written on her shirt? Sort of an unnecessary single except for the fact that I love "Touch Me With Your Love" and it's live at Maxwell's, a place I've been to a few times.

5 out of 10

936. Beth Orton - Central Reservation

On Central Reservation Beth inches herself so close to perfection, the album starts by sucking you into a world that is soo fucking seductive you wonder how she can keep you in - well she doesn't for too long, but long enough to get you hooked.

7.3 out of 10

935. Beth Orton - Trailer Park

I really like Beth Orton for her mix of folk, pop and electronic florishes - she often pulls them all off brilliantly, but on Trailer Park for some reason the mix doesn't sound as organic as on later releases - maybe it's because this was the first...

6.9 out of 10

934. Everything but the girl - walking wounded

Having almost fully embraced their new digital sound EBTG do a good job in balancing the electro soft rock line by adding beeps and pops and witty lines to what could have been lackluster tracks.

6.3 out of 10

933. Everything but the girl - amplified heart

To the best of knowledge there are only three songs my brother has ever liked: "Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey, "Blackout" by Lil Louis and "Missing" by EBTG, which at the time I thought was the dumbest song I'd ever heard. So what happened? I'm not sure, I had just moved into a small place and I think the non electric portion of the album really appealed to me in a background music sort of way - so now I know the disc inside out and can't seem to trash talk it if I tried - plus I love her voice. As we all know the band has adopted the electronic aspects of "Missing" to be their own now which is a shame because there is something very warm about this record.

7 out of 10

932. Dido - No Angel

If all I listened to was adult soft rock this would be my Ok Computer. Dido has made a compelling soft rock record - as soft as one could get back in 2000 with all the Y2K talk and infinite possibilities on the computer - 20 years prior Michael MacDonald probably made the softest rock record. Still the album is just too soft to really maintain any relevance despite whatever guilty pleasure "Here with me" can posses.

2.5 out of 10

931. Alana Davis - Blame it on me

Traveling can mess with your head. I was here with a ton of friends and we had just had some drinks and food - granted it is an open air mall in Ecuador, but still the vibe was right and I heard "32 Flavors" and thought "What? This is Ani De Franco! But wait it isn't, its different... and not too bad". Fast forward to a few years later and I see it in the used bin and figured that a family relative couldn't be too far off musically especially since they chose such a great cover. Well needless to say I was wrong. Alana's voice sounds a bit soulfully forced, the songs are sort of Norah Jones'y but not as natural.

2.5 out of 10

930. Lida Husik - Joyride

I used to listen to this a lot - I heard a track off of a CMJ sampler and decided to make the $15 purchase back in the day. Indie pop went through an awkward stage in the 90's where bands couldn't really sing but did more of a story telling approach narrating their way through it all. Lida is still more of a singer but her style is very conversational and sometimes the story can get boring and other times not - still she fits nicely into that indie electro pop nook.

7 out of 10

929. Bjork - Live Box (bootleg)

I know this isn't a bootleg, but the copy I have is - I copied it off of a friend, Sebastien. I finally got around to listening to it. Live albums can be really tricky - making a box set of live recording from each album you've released is even trickier. Even for non major Bjork fans this release is pretty amazing - the quality of the audio and performance gets better with each disc. If you're a fan seek out the real deal and pick it up - I know I am.

8 out of 10

928. Bjork - Hidden Place [Disc 2]

After a slew of poorly reviewed singles it's nice to hear a good one again. The title track here is reduced to an acappella version (a hint at her next release perhaps?), the lullaby esque "Mother Heroic" and the solid "Foot Soldier".

6.5 out of 10

927. Bjork - Vespertine

After a long break (that included a film and soundtrack) Bjork returned with Vespertine - a less overtly electronic album, but overall more subtle and nuanced.

8.1 out of 10

926. Bjork - Homogenic

I remember when this came out I was really hoping for Post 2 and I was disappointed. I couldn't get my head around it - thankfully I am a quick learner and realized that this is the perfect follow up. Bjork expands her verbal imagery lyrically here beautifully and has complete confidence and mastery when assembling her songs.

9 out of 10

925. Bjork - Telegram

Bjork follows up the success of Post with this 'Telegram' - a collection of the best remixes from all her singles (and there were plenty). The tracks are interesting and serve as an alternate universe version of the album, but chances are in the end you'll still just want to hear the old LP.

7 out of 10

924. Bjork - Hyperballad [Single #1]

Here's an easy lesson - if you love a song, never buy a cd that has nothing but remixes of that song - it'll break your heart.

1 out of 10

923. Bjork - Post

Post is such a spectacular landmark album for Bjork and the genre. She manages to fully utilize every sound to her full advantage and creates an amazing expression. It ranges is styles and themes but holds itself together remarkably well.

9.2 out of 10

922. Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line

Oh boy.

1 out of 10

921. Zero 7 - Simple Things

If Air ever worried about crossing the line into cheese commercial lounge, Zero 7 continue to cross it on this release. I first heard about them after they remixed a Radiohead track... the album has aged a bit sounding more like Starbucks than anything innovative or exciting. Is it bad? No. But I can easily live without it.

5.5 out of 10

920. Air - Vienna, Austria 11.24.2001

This is a great double live bootleg disc. If you ever wondered if you'd be bored at an Air show the answer is NO! Most of the tracks are slightly reworked so that they aren't traveling with a cast of thousands, but each song still sounds as fresh as when you first heard it. The marks aren't higher just because it's a bootleg and the audio is pretty poor - though the banter in Vienna is better than in Brooklyn.

8 out of 10

919. Air - Talkie Walkie

Talkie Walkie was anticipated as a return to form for Air - and it isn't - because by now we've realized that Air doesn't have a form it subscribes to, the band is with every release updating, changing themselves into a new version of themselves. The band here explores the gap between electronic and folk music creating a drinking, lonely man's digital piece.

7.8 out of 10

918. Air - Everybody Hertz

This remix cd has 5 remixes of "Don't be light", 2 of "How Does It Make You Feel ?" and 2 of "Peope In The City" - the problem is that the originals never warranted remixes to begin with. So, even though most are very original in their own right, they still are random and unnecessary.

5.3 out of 10

917. Air - Radio #1 (EU E.P.#1)

Well this is a weak single disc - contains the title track, a remix version of it by JP Cristal and the b-side "Flowerhead".

5 out of 10

915. Air - Playground Love

Falling in love with this single was easy, so picking up this single was even easier. There are three remixes of the title track - all different and interesting plus the demo version of "Bathroom Girl". Worth it for any serious fan.

7 out of 10

914. Air - Premiers Symptomes

By the time this came out I was chomping at the bit to hear some new Air - despite revealing some the origins of Moon Safari's best tracks the ep was a let down - a collection of odds and sods that never painted a perfect picture.

7 out of 10

913. Air - The Virgin Suicides

Air was hand picked to create the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's debut film. Although the film featured other classic tracks from the 70's, the soundtrack is entirely composed by Air. It's difficult to make a good soundtrack with tracks from various artists and even more difficult to do so by one band and Air are able to pull it off by mixing instrumentals with a few standout vocal tracks - they also don't overuse the films voice over saving it for a prominent role at the end. What surfaces is an exotic mix of warm soulful soundtracks from the 70's with the cold synth heavy soundtracks of the 80's.

8.4 out of 10

912. AIR - Sexy Boy

Most remix cds can be a waste of space and money - but this one manages to delivery on the promise of the format. The obligatory radio edit is featured on the cd, the Cassius remix is decent, but the real gems are the "Sexy Boy (Étienne de Crécy et Les Flowers Pistols Remix)", which deconstructs the original track into a smooth deep groove and the unexpected bside, "Jeanne" which has Air sounding like a back up band to the amazing vocalist on the track.

8 out of 10

911. AIR - MOON SAFARI

I love this cd. It all started when I saw this video:



It was just so different from what else was out there that i wasn't even sure if it was a video... then I picked up the disc and it is in the best sense of the word, perfect lounge music but with added wit, charisma and sexiness. I think some pegged the band as a lounge music act that could only serve as a backdrop to some cheesy bar in Miami or in a Banana Republic. Air are really so much more than that and this disc is a classic.

9.4 out of 10

910. Erlend Øye - DJ-Kicks

I am not sure if you noticed but we haven't covered any compilations yet because I actually have them all grouped into a section towards the end of this mad journey... with that said, I've added this in here because it was curated by Erlend and features a few of his tracks too. The CD is a great mix of dance electro tracks blending seamlessly yet distinctly from one song to another. Having recently dj'd at Ed's place I can say it is a TON of fun, and it seems like Erlend enjoyed it too.

7.9 out of 10