5. LONNIE JOHNSON, Unsung Blues Legend (Blues Magnet) A voice as distinctive, subtle, and resonantly mournful as Sinatra's croons blues and standards over simple, lo-fi guitar playing, recorded live in Bernie Strassberg's living room in 1965.
6. L'ALTRA, Music of a Sinking Occasion (Aesthetics) You know the kinds of images you have when you're drifting to sleep, half in and out of reality? Chicago quartet L'Altra are the soundtrack.
MICHAEL LAVINE
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7. BOLA SETE, Ocean Memories (Samba Moon) Deeply melancholic and ungodly pure acoustic guitar playing from the early '70s that fuses classical, flamenco, and American folk styles.
8. ESG, South Bronx Story (Universal Sound) Finally, one of the most-sampled and unique minimalist funk bands ever sees their crucial early '80s documents released. These girls are amazing—the JBs meet the Shaggs.
9. BRIGHT, Full Negative or Breaks (Ba Da Bing) Artistically, this is a total breakthrough, as Bright push dissonant yet melodic indie rock past anything Polvo, Mogwai, Pavement, or Sonic Youth ever arrived at.
10. ROBERT BELFOUR, What's Wrong with You (Fat Possum) Mississippi hill country juke joint, dirty-ass, Junior Kimbrough-like blues, pure and simple. An awesome debut from this sixtysomething gentleman.
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By Jason Hughes
1. 764-HERO, Weekends of Sound (Up) With James Bertram on bass, this record is sonically superior to previous 764-Hero albums, full of textures and nuances that help bring to life John Atkins' thoughtful and melodic tunes.
2. MODEST MOUSE, The Moon & Antarctica (Epic) Modest Mouse's major label debut defies industry standards with meandering songs and an indie-label ethic. As always, quirky and brilliant.
3. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes (Barsuk) Death Cab's sophomore release comes through. Intelligent, well-crafted, and melodic tunes that remind us why this band has such a large following.
4. SLEATER-KINNEY, All Hands on the Bad One (Kill Rock Stars) More reminiscent of their earlier work. Edgy and catchy, All Hands' intelligence is conveyed with both urgency and caring.
5. DANDY WARHOLS, 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia (Capitol) These Portlanders have grown up since their debut, Dandys Rule OK. The best British band from the Northwest.
6. POLECAT, High Pressure System (Sonic Boom) I have to admit a little bias on this one since I put it out on my label, but it is one of my favorite records of the year. With walls of guitars and pounding drums over solid bass lines, this record reminds me why I love Fugazi, Jawbox, Seaweed, and Polecat.
7. FCS NORTH, FCS North (Pacifico) FCS North is definitely not your typical Seattle band. Ambient grooves of drum-and-bass, all played live, fashioned in a jazz format, make this the local chill-out release of the year.
8. CARISSA'S WIERD, Ugly but Honest (Brown) Carissa's debut album title lets on more than you might think. This is not the slickest, best-played record of the year, but it may be one of the most honest and striking.
9. ELLIOTT SMITH, Figure 8 (Dreamworks) This may be Elliott's most accessible record yet. Top-notch production lends itself to his trademark song crafting. Lazy piano lines and haunting melodies add to already beautiful tunes.
10. I couldn't do just 10, so other contenders: Harvey Danger, Alien Crime Syndicate, No. 2, Silkworm, Mirah, Fairgrove, and Sunny Day Real Estate.
More lists, please!
