1) Destroy Rock And Roll - Mylo (released 24 May) "It's sort of Royksopp with a smile, or an upbeat Air, or a more modern Moby, or Lemon Jelly without the quirks. Samples from acts as diverse as Prince, Kim Carnes, Scissor Sisters and Daft Punk are mixed with grooving synth beats to create one of the freshest sounds of the year. Well I reckon anyway."
2) A Grand Don't Come For Free - The Streets (released 10 May) "so there it is, a concept album for the new urban slacker, bit of a result
minor details elevated high, for there is poetry in the mundane
it's a winner, it's a soundtrack to one lost summer, nice one geezer"
3) Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (released 2 Feb) "It's not an album of cover versions but every track sounds like it was recorded this year but written by somebody famous 30 years ago. I can hear the blatant influence of David Bowie, the Bee Gees, Steely Dan, Sparks, Sylvester, at least three eras of Elton John and even some Rocky Horror Picture Show. And oh boy, against all the odds it so works."
Hmm, that's the same Top 3 I brought you halfway through the year. Has nothing better been released since June? Well, no, not really. I think this was the year that the music industry and I lost interest in each other, although not deliberately. I was planning to bring you my Top 10 albums of 2004, until I counted up my purchases and found that I've only bought 9 albums this year. I've not downloaded anything either, even though I know this is the new medium of choice. And yes, I know there have been some outstanding albums released during the last 12 months (and you may even want to tell me some of those I missed out on). But I'm hoping for better in 2005.
