Album Review: The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards

Yesterday saw the Irish release of the second album from Jack White and Alison Mosshart's Dead Weather. The album, Sea of Cowards came with four exclusive photos if you bought it at HMV (there's still some available as far as I know), and will be released worldwide early next week.

Sea of Cowards probably isn't as immediately accessible as their debut, Horehound, which launched them on the scene last year, but the highs are much higher this time around.

The album is as dirty and as aggressive as the first, and the greasy 'Blue Blood Blues' really sets the tone. It's a great, gritty opener with a fantastic repeated riff, and includes the amazing line "shake your hips like battleships" and the refrain "I sing at Sunday service". Nobody else but a Jack White band could pull this off.

'Hustle and Cuss' is the album's first Alison-fronted tune, and although it has a fantastic title, it's one of the album's weaker tracks. I probably was expecting a lot more from the song's name. It just never really gets going. You know what its problem is? It's not loud enough. Loud is exactly what you want/need (delete as appropriate) from the Dead Weather.

'The Difference Between Us' is the only song solely credited to just Mosshart and White, and is one of their finest songs yet. It's got a kind of B-movie sci-fi theme, and has the feel that it wouldn't be out of place on a White Stripes record. 'I Can't Hear You' is similar, and features fantastic guitar lines. How can you not love the squeal from White's guitar?

Some of the songs are complete throwaway tunes, 'I'm Mad' and 'Old Mary' particularly. The schizophrenic 'I'm Mad' totally interrupts the flow of the album, and is the worst song in the Dead Weather canon (and probably one of the worst things White has put his name to).

Luckily, most of the album is fantastic. Single 'Die By the Drop' (which is missing White's name in the credits) was a fantastic way to introduce the new album, but the highpoint comes later on 'Gasoline', which improves on 'Cut Like A Buffalo' in every way. 'Die By the Drop' features fantastic vocal interplay between Mosshart and White, and has a chorus that demands to be sung along with at maximum volume.

'Gasoline' is the best song so far from the Dead Weather, and would probably be in a list of the top ten Jack White songs. It's that damn good, and is worth the admission price along. Even the opening few bars are incredible. It's definitely Mosshart's best song of her career (Kills tunes included). Go and listen to it now...

List: Best Albums of the Decade 30-21

Part Nine of my countdown of the top 110 albums of the decade. You can find 110-101 here, 100-91 here, 90-81 here, 80-71 here, 70-61 here, 60-51 here, 50-41 here, and 40-31 here. But for now, here's 30-21...

30. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (2006)

We always knew former childstar Jenny Lewis had a certain sparkle, but it wasn't until her solo debut (away from Rilo Kiley) that she really shone. Together with the statuesque Watson Twins, she soothed us with this collection of 11 (technically 12) beautiful songs. The finest part was their cover of the Traveling Wilburys' 'Handle With Care', which actually outdid the stellar original.

29. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)

The best work of Harvey's career, Stories from the City... is a strangely dark but uplifting album. Not a description you hear everyday, it's an urbane record but filled with a vivid nightlife feel. Thom Yorke appears as a guest, but never overshines the artist herself. How could anyone improve on 'The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore'? I doubt it's possible.

28. Kanye West - The College Dropout (2004)

Kanye West's debut was the best thing to happen to hip-hop since the arrival of Jay-Z on the scene. It featured a massive amount of guests (none of which were major stars at the time, but are now), but it was West's fantastic rhymes which made this record. West was injured in a car crash during pre-production, and felt this album was his second chance at life. His ego has overtaken since, but with songs like 'All Falls Down' and 'Jesus Walks', isn't he entitled to be proud?

27. Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man (2000)

It doesn't get the same attention as the fourth - there's no 'Hurt' on here - but overall it is a marvellous collection of songs. He reinvents the title track, originally by Neil Diamond, as well as Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down', but the highlight has to be his take on Will Oldham's 'I See a Darkness'. Cash's finest hour.

26. The Libertines - The Libertines (2004)

Pete Doherty and Carl Barat's second album (strangely the self-titled one is the second, not the first) raised the bar even higher after their splendid debut. Sadly it was their last album together, and neither have matched the dizzy heights of the Libertines since. It was the songs the pair wrote together that really shone: 'What Became of the Likely Lads', 'Can't Stand Me Now', 'Road to Ruin', and 'The Man Who Would Be King'. The Doherty penned ones were good, but Barat added an extra dimension which is much needed now.

25. The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)

Ben Gibbard's other project was much better than his main career. They've only made one album so far, but what an album it was. Created via Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello sending each other songs for the other to finish through the mail system, they came together under the obvious title of The Postal Service. But a backstory does not an album make, and it's thanks to songs like 'Such Great Heights' and the gorgeous 'Clark Gable' that this makes the list.

24. Seth Lakeman - Kitty Jay (2004)

For me, this album arrived out of nowhere. I hadn't heard Lakeman's debut Punch Bowl or his work with Equation, but when I read that a folk album had made the Mercury shortlist after its creator had paid the entry fee, I knew I had to listen. Nothing prepared me for how gorgeous it turned out to be. Filled with Dartmoor legends, here was an album that had imagery as good as any Neil Gaiman short story, and combined it with fantastic fiddle and tenor guitar playing. Fantastic.

23. Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (2000)

The debut of the Whiskeytown frontman announced the arrival of the decade's best alt.country brat. He's been known for his tantrums ever since, but this album was a lesson in break-up albums. A bitter heartbreak record, it's filled with gorgeous tunes and some of Adams' best singing, it's a smoke-filled masterpiece.

22. Justin Timberlake - Justified (2002)

I should fell guilty ranking a former boyband member's album ahead of Ryan Adams' debut, but I don't. This album is a gorgeous danceable pop record. Immaculately produced, it features some of the finest dance-floor fillers ever. You just can't argue with 'Senorita', 'Like I Love You', or 'Rock Your Body'. Then there was the brilliant 'Cry Me A River'. The new Michael Jackson had arrived.

21. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (2005)

The fifth White Stripes album was yet another departure from their ouevre. Acoustic guitar and piano replaced electric guitar at the centre and gave it a less aggressive, softer feel. It was also quite funny, have a listen to the hilarious 'My Doorbell' if you don't believe me. Singles 'Blue Orchid' and 'The Denial Twist' were as good as anything they've done, but 'Take, Take, Take' was the album's glorious highpoint. Fantastic

The Countdown continues tomorrow...

List: Best Albums of the Decade 50-41

Getting ever nearer that final ten... Part Seven of my countdown of the top 110 albums of the decade. You can find 110-101 here, 100-91 here, 90-81 here, 80-71 here, 70-61 here, and 60-51 here. But for now, here's 50-41...

50. Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge (2007)

The fifth album from the Sheffield troubador. It's also his best work so far. Every song on here is a crooning masterpiece, but amazingly that tome of online music journalism, Pitchfork gave it 5.8. How? There's no way anyone could not like this. Beautiful, bleak, and brilliant.

49. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2002)

Is there a better rock song this decade than 'Banquet'? Regardless of what else was on Bloc Party's debut, that song alone would guarantee its brilliance. However, the rest of it is damn good too. The repetition of 'She's Hearing Voices' and the power of 'So Here We Are' are wonderful. 'Price of Gas' was the only low-point, but instead of playing that, just throw on 'Banquet' again.

48. World's End Girlfriend - Hurtbreak Wonderland (2007)

The only instrumental album to make my list, it's also the best album to come out of Asia this decade. It's a post-rock epic record, filled with songs capable of soundtracking any Tim Burton film. It's so easy to think of this record alongside those photos from the new Alice in Wonderland. Tim, if you don't already have someone in mind, snap up Katsuhiko Maeda already.

47. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova/The Swell Season - Once OST (2007)

Both this and the self-titled record deserve to be here, but since they are more or less the same album, I decided to go with the one more people own, and also the one which includes the wonderful 'Gold' and the hilarious 'Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy'. The highlights are endless, but I couldn't really talk about this album without mentioning that song. Worthy of every award, it's one of the most beautiful duets you'll ever hear.

46. The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

If you own only one White Stripes record, it's probably this one. But don't just stop after the opener, there's so much more here than 'Seven Nation Army'. The cover of the Bacharach/David classic 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself' is just as amazing as their wonderful take on 'Jolene'. Don't listen to any of that crap that you've heard. Meg White is a damn good drummer. Just misunderstood.

45. Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006)

Radiohead mainman goes it alone. Shock! But it's so much better than those who wrote it off as Radiohead-lite. Why do you think everyone went so crazy about Yorke's exploits with Flea and his odd new live band. These songs are fantastic in themselves. It's actually better than Kid A, the album it probably most closely resembles. 'Black Swan' is incredible. Listen to it. Now.

44. Muse - Original of Symmetry (2001)

Muse's second album is their best. It took what worked from the first album, Showbiz, and turned it all up to eleven. There are so many classics on here, it's hard to choose a favourite: 'New Born', 'Bliss', 'Citizen Erased', 'Plug In Baby', and that cover of 'Feeling Good'. And the solos, oh those solos...

43. Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams (2008)

Some may argue that Destroyer's Rubies is the better album, but for me this is Dan Bejar's finest hour. It's a fuller record, a more rounded album, and one that's easier to get into. You know why that is? Because it's better. A brilliant album, the perfect comfort blanket, it'll soothe you in ways you didn't know were possible.

42. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2007)

Gretchen Wilson for grown-ups, the second album from Miranda Lambert outdid her debut in every way. Opener 'Gunpowder & Lead' just tells you what type of album this is. The second song, 'Dry Town' is penned by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings too. The album is almost as good as Gillian's best work, and marks Lambert out as one to watch. Her 2009 record wasn't as good, but she'll be back better than ever.

41. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (2008)

We wondered would the DBTs be as good after the exodus of Jason Isbell. We knew they could be fantastic without him, as they had been on their first three albums, but we the jury was still out on whether they could be as good. Luckily, they proved they could be. Shonna Tucker took on writing and vocal duties alongside Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, and showed that she was damn good in her own right. It was more country than the Isbell era, but it was the rockers that shone. '3 Dimes Down', 'That Man I Shot', and 'A Ghost To Most' are among their best. Amazing.

The Countdown continues tomorrow...

List: Best Albums of the Decade 70-61

Part Five of my countdown of the top 110 albums of the decade, and we're not even half-way there. You can find 110-101 here, 100-91 here, 90-81 here, and 80-71 here. But for now, here's 70-61...

70. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)

Bruce Springsteen's most outlandish album of his career is also one of his best. A departure from everything else he's ever done, his tribute to legendary folk radical Pete Seeger showed that he could turn his hand to anything and be succesful. A compilation of ancient traditional songs, this was one of the best folk albums of the decade, and made us wonder how great Springsteen could have been had he been a folkie all along.

69. The White Stripes - Icky Thump (2007)

After the darker Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes returned to a more punky fuller sound on Icky Thump. It included songs that sounded like White Stripes classics such as 'You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)' and newer, edgier stuff like the excellent mariachi cover 'Conquest'. These were just some of many highlights, alongside a brilliant title track and the wonderful 'Rag and Bone'. It's the most recent White Stripes album, and bodes well for the next decade.

68. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (2003)

The first of his now eternally delayed Fifty States project, Michigan was one of two fantatsic albums released by Sufjan Stevens in 2003/04. The other Seven Swans was a slower, more melodic album. This one paved the way for his masterpiece Illinois, it was a series of magnificent tales about his home state, and has more references than wikipedia.

67. Warren Zevon - The Wind (2003)

The legendary Zevon's last album, released just two short weeks before his death, was also his best in a long time. Featuring a splendid duet with Bruce Springsteen as well as a tremendous cover of Bob Dylan's 'Knocking on Heaven's Door', this album featured one of the best ensemble casts of musicians ever. The fact that Zevon was able to get such respected artists as Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Ry Cooder, Don Henley, Dwight Yoakam, and Tom Petty just proves how respected he was, and how much he's missed by the musical community worldwide.

66. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

Forget about the backstory with the break-ups and log cabins, the music on here would be damn good regardless of anything surrounding it. The story gets you into it, but it's the music itself that keeps you listening. Again and again. Only nine songs long, but every one of them is hauntingly beautiful and immediately enchanting. The only problem with this is that Justin Vernon will probably never make a record like this again.

65. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008)

Sadly dropped the comma from the official release, Dear Science, is TV on the Radio's masterpiece. It's an album that should be played in clubs. It's increidbly danceable, but sadly never hit the mainstream heights it deserved. It also showed that band member Dave Sitek was one of the finest producers around. Not a blip or beep is wasted.

64. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2005)

This was Arcade Fire's first introduction to most of the world. Their self-titled EP had got a lot of good press, but with the release of Funeral, those wacky Canadians went from relative unknowns to worldwide superstars. It has sold millions of copies worldwide, and probably is the only alternative album to ever do so. You'll probably see it high on many decade-end lists, higher than on here, but it sadly never reaches the peaks of its many singles. A great album, but they may have better in them. Wait and see.

63. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (2002)

The album that confirmed Josh Homme as a superstar, Songs for the Deaf is probably one of the finest concept albums of the decade. It's easy to forget that aside from the splendid hard-rock singles such as 'Go With the Flow' and 'No One Knows', the album underneath was a commentary on listening to various radio stations while driving across the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles. It was clever, and brilliant, but mostly it rocked. Hard.

62. The National - Boxer (2007)

The National's fourth album is their best work so far. Singer Matt Beringer never sounded as good as he did on the dark melodies of 'Fake Empire', 'Mistake for Strangers' and the other ten fantastic songs here. It's bleakly beautiful, but most importantly: damned addictive.

61. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

.Muse's 2009 album was a major disappointment. It's the worst thing they've done to date. Luckily, the rest of their career is far better. This, their fourth album was a change in direction, much more spacey and out-there than their previous work. This however was no mad-scientist/UFO-sighting nonsense, but instead was a fine collection of songs (apart from the awful always-skipped 'Soldier's Poem'). Each of the singles is incredible, with the lead 'Suppermassive Black Hole' the best of them. It was totally different than anything they had done before, but also one of the most sonically pleasing, danceable tracks of the noughties.

The Countdown continues tomorrow... If I can pull myself away from X Factor, of course!

Yesterday I listened to... #1

New feature time. I'm fascinated by a topic called "Today I listened to" on a message board I use, so I thought I'd let you guys know what I'm listening to. Abuse my ears if you like, or chime in with a "Hey great album, I must listen to it". It all helps. I love the comments. So add as many as you can.

Also, check out Red for something similar:
http://theredscrapbook.blogspot.com/


Franz Ferdinand - Tonight Franz Ferdinand


Franz Nicolay - Major General


The White Stripes - White Blood Cells


The Whitlams - Torch the Moon

Yesterday I was in an alphabetic kind of mood. Starting off with the new Franz Ferdinand record, which gets better with each listen. It's still not a patch on their debut. Probably as good as the second one though. And 'Ulysses' has some wonderful lyrics.

This led perfectly into Franz Nicolay's debut record. The moustachioed keyboard player in the Hold Steady has gone solo and made a glorious record that so far is one of the best of the year. Opener 'Jeff Penalty' is as good as anything the Hold Steady have done, but the album as a whole sounds nothing like its parent band. It's kind of like a mix between The Mountain Goats, Gaslight Anthem and the Silver Jews.

I wanted to go old school next, and thus chose the White Stripes breakthrough. It's not as good as I used to think. or did I ever really love it? For me, Get Behind Me Satan is their best work. Maybe I should've listened to that instead.

Going to bed, I wanted something light, and Australia's Whitlams served that up perfectly. They're light pop-rock, but no Matchbox Twenty. But for me, their finest moment will forever be covering Divine Comedy's stellar 'Your Daddy's Car'. Unfortunately, there's no video on YouTube for the track. If anyone can point me to it, I'd be extremely grateful.