Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Best Albums of the 2010s (#25-1)

/ James Fenney / 1 Comment

albums2As we move into the second half of our deep dive into the finest records of the past ten years, things certainly haven’t gotten any easier. At many times this list became a real battle between head and heart; between the records with a profound personal connection and those that hold great influence and importance in the wider scheme of things. After much soul searching we’ve struck upon the right balance between the two for our final look at the best albums of the decade. (If you missed part one, you can check it out here) Continue reading →

Must Own Albums: Alternative Rock part 2

/ James Fenney

the boatman's callNick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Boatman’s Call

This marked a major change for Australia’s darkest and most influential music icon. Moving away from the fanciful character driven post-punk of his origins, Cave instead adopted a more minimalist approach with more intimate and personal lyrics. The sombre piano balladry of tracks such as ‘Into My Arms’ and ‘People Ain’t No Good’ resulted in the album received universal critical acclaim.

ManicStreetPreachers_TheHolyBibleManic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

This was the band’s final album before the mysterious disappearance of lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards. As he was dealing with severe depression and various complications at the time the subject matter is suitably dark, including serial killers, consumerism, fascism and the Holocaust. It remains one of the boldest albums ever made and is a lasting legacy to Richey’s memory.

VerveUrbanHymnsThe Verve – Urban Hymns

To this day Urban Hymns remains one of the UK’s best selling albums, thanks in part to it’s hit singles ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’. Boasting some impressively complex sonic textures in dabbles with everything from orchestral balladry, feedback fuelled rock and vivid psychedelica. It stands as one of the best British albums of the nineties and regularly appears in lists of the best albums of all time.

pj harveyP J Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

With an impressively eclectic back catalogue, multi-instrumental singer/songwriter P J Harvey remains one of the premier figures of the genre. Stories is often considered the high point of her career and earned her the 2001 Mercury Prize. She also won the prize in 2011 for Let England Shake making her the only artist to have won the prestigious Mercury Prize twice!