MEIKO KAJI / Zenkyoku Shu (2004)

If you live far from the shores of Japan, then getting your hands on any of Meiko Kaji's albums can entail paying up to three, or even four, times what you'd normally fork out for a CD. That's wallet-pain, right there. However, if a 'Best of' compilation will suffice, then Zenkyoku Shu (or Zenkyokushu) will fit the bill nicely. It has her most famous works; i.e. the themes to the Lady Snowblood and the Sasori (Scorpion) films, both of which you'll find linked below. The remainder of the tracks float on similar musical waters, so if those two appeal to your secret sensual side, or your inner-samurai, then start saving your pennies.

Songs of Note: Urami Bushi; Shura no Hana

4 flowers of carnage out of 5

SUGARCULT / Palm Trees and Power Lines (2004)

Natural Selection is a process that heartlessly and efficiently tidies up every sphere. This was released the same year as MCR’s Revenge and while I still find that album every bit as powerful as it originally was, I haven’t listened to this one in years. It’s clear that it’s repeatedly avoided the knife simply out of a sense of twisted nostalgia. I have been thoroughly reminded of just HOW insipid and deluded I was at the time. Tim and Marko are perfectly capable of punching out catchy clusters of power-chords and crooning with faux-sincerity when they absolutely have to, but I can’t abide these lyrics. No slick simile, no metaphor, I just cant.

Songs of Note: No.

0 Memories Worth Remembering out of 5

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE / Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)

Some people are never going to understand what Gerard Way et al. brought to the world. That isn’t an empty teenage retort. I’m over 30 for fucks sake. This was envisioned as a concept album but became fractured somewhere between thought and execution. The cracks were filled with raucous anthems and a smidgin of their own flavor of cabaret before being brought to life by impassioned screams. MCR were never content with delivering songs to keep you sobbing in the corner. They wanted you to rise up and kick life’s ass all the way across the ball room.

Those who get it know that it’s not just about what MCR brought to the world, but what they’ve kept in it.

Songs of Note: It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish; Cemetery Drive

4½ Forcibly Vacated Graves out of 5

ASHLEE SIMPSON / Autobiography (2004)

Did Ashlee have help writing these songs? Yes. However, there’s enough charming, off-kilter wording to convince me that she was largely allowed to do exactly what she wanted. Those awkward turns of phrase and her various squeaks and off-key warbling would have been ironed out systematically if Joe and the record label were the guiding force behind this. Not every track hits the mark but the soul-bearing is nicely balanced with measured catchiness and sass. Perhaps best of all is the theme of embracing one’s flaws that’s loosely threaded throughout.

3 Girls Who Know They Like it Rough out of 5

Songs of Note: Autobiography; Love Me For Me

PIGFACE Vs DJ Linux / Dubhead (2004)

A remix album featuring songs from the Easy Listening for Difficult Fuckheads (2003) album in various states of deconstruction. Track titles are changed so you can't tell until you pop it in the player what the hell you're getting.
It's not all Dub like the title suggests, and in typical Pigface style it's not all good either. There's a stigma of laziness attached to remix albums that Dubhead doesn't completely shed, but it's Pigface, so we lap it up anyhow.
Google tells me that DJ Linux is Chris Haskett (ex- Rollins Band guitarist).

Songs of Note: Gospel of Thomas Dub; Dub Your Own Business

3 crumbs on the table out of 5

PIGFACE / Easy Listening for Difficult Fuckheads (2003)

If you're familiar with the kind of experimental weirdness that Pigface usually deliver on their studio albums, then you'll probably notice that Easy Listening... is more accessible than most. It sounds like a band effort, as opposed to a clash of different personalities. That's both a good and bad thing: good in that it's more cohesive, but bad in that the creativity of individual participants is stifled and somewhat lost under the industrial assault.
Contributors this time include members of Moby, Public Image Limited, The Clash, Ministry, Tweaker, Revolting Cocks, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Nitzer Ebb, and more that I don't have room to give credit to.

Songs of Note: Sweetmeat; Mind Your Own Business

3½ squirrel nuts out of 5

LUDOVICO EINAUDI / Una Mattina [2004]

There's a fine line drawn between "calming" and "boring". 

Italian contemporary pianist Ludovico Einaudi teeters back & forth between the two on 2004's Una Mattina.  With each track you pretty much get where it's going within 45 seconds but I suppose that's minimalism for you.  Here we focus more on whether or not Einaudi can convincingly pull of the impact or emotion through each polyphonic melody and arpeggio he plucks away at.  For the most part, he succeeds in allowing the listener to get lost in tranquil thought, however it occasionally comes off as contrived and predictably bland.  The highlights are when a subtle cello comes in serving as a backbone to the composition allowing the piano to stop and breathe for brief moments with intoxicating results. 

3½ mornings out of 5

Songs Of Note: Dietro Casa; DNA

JESU / Heart Ache E.P. (2004)

The first Jesu release is an E.P. that contains just two tracks, but it's no lazy money spinner. The two tracks combined clock in at almost 40 mins; that's longer than some bands manage to put on a full album.
I had no idea prior to hearing Heart Ache that Justin K Broadrick's voice was so well-suited to the kind of melodies offered herein. Some unexpected piano punctuates and then supports the down-tuned guitars with lush softness, helping it achieve the near impossible: atmospheric, ambient drone that's typically hypnotic but also really quite beautiful.

Songs of Note: Heart Ache; Ruined

4 (empty) pots of gold out of 5

WOVEN HAND / Consider The Birds [2004]

Still part of 16 Horsepower, Dave Eugene Edwards' focus isn't all on his solo project Woven Hand but you would never know it when listening to 2004's Consider Them Birds.

Denser in sound and more tight in songwriting, Woven Hand's 2nd original album walks further down the Southern path of the damned.  Like a sermon for the dead, Consider Them Birds is a bleak road to travel but always decorated with passionate emotion.

4 Suffocating Old Testaments out of 5

Songs Of Note:  Off The Cuff; Oil On Panel

LESS THAN JAKE / B is for B-sides (2004)

Over the years, Vinnie has contented himself with writing song after song about leaving town. In retrospect, it was the juvenile coping strategy of someone convinced that a change of scenery could fix everything wrong in their life. With this b-side collection (of all things), he seems to have realized that true change comes as a result of not running away from the one thing you cannot escape: yourself. While there is an obligatory leaving song, this effort instead skews heavily to salvos about facing oneself while in the throes of substance abuse. Along the way you’ll realize that while he hasn’t reached a final answer in any narrative sense, he has talked a big enough game of resolve to make this their most impressive effort to date. As a band, they even manage to deliver a few songs in their best template of old: socially conscious meta-musings with hooks galore.  B is for Bravo.

Songs of Note: Bridge and Tunnel Authority; National Anthem

3½ Face-down breakdowns out of 5

Nutted by (N is for) NEG

DANNY CAVANAGH / A Place to Be: A Tribute to Nick Drake (2004)

Like the title says, it's an album of Nick Drake covers by English musician Danny Cavanagh. Danny takes a break from his day job in Anathema for a solo project that's clearly one born from passion. It's an acoustic work, just the man and his guitar, a million miles away from what he's best known for. If that kind of minimal sound appeals to you, and if you like Nick Drake, you'll probably adore it. It was a limited release, so will be hard to find now, but if you see it anywhere, I would recommended throwing money at someone so you can take it home.

Songs of Note: Cello Song; Black Eyed Dog

4 silver spoons and coloured light out of 5

GREEN DAY / American Idiot [2004]

After mediocre responses to their last two records, Green Day set out to make the best damned record they possibly could. The result was the ambitious 2004 rock opera American Idiot.
They abandoned the regular song structure of their previous compositions, cranked up the guitars and thump of the drums to stadium rock grandeur and got made over into bona fide rock stars instead of the everyman look they were dissolving into.
Telling the story of everything that's wrong with America, while destroying the people who do nothing but dwell on it as well, American Idiot confirmed to both critics and fans alike, they had an instant classic on their hands.

5 Hearts Like A Hand Grenade out of 5

Songs Of Note: Jesus Of Suburbia; Whatshername

DANZIG / Circle of Snakes (2004)

It sucked being a Danzig fan for many years, but it did eventually get better. Before that, however, we got Circle of Snakes. The numbers ended (if you were counting, it's number VIII) and, yes, there's another new line-up. Jebus. Revolving-door-zig. The music is uninspired, with Glenn's vocals lower in the mix than ever before. There are times when he almost manages to be the Evil Elvis of old but it's not like coming home, it's like remembering home while being stuck in a shitty motel. The song Night BeSodom reminds of Danzig III (1992), but the new guitar sound of Tommy Victor (Prong) isn't well-suited to the vocals. I hope Fonzig regretted getting rid of Christ, Von and Biscuits all those years ago.

Songs of Note: 1000 Devils Reign; Black Angel, White Angel

2½ snakes and stuff... meh out of 5

FRANZ FERDINAND / Franz Ferdinand (2004)

The Franz Ferdinand sound is a mix of old and new. They're a guitar/rock band from Glasgow (that's in Scotland, for the benefit of people stateside) that used some vintage equipment in the recording process, resulting in a rather unique sound for this day and age. At times it's like Blondie dropped down a notch in pitch, with a Glaswegian on vocals instead of the blonde bombshell. It'd probably be a good dance floor album, if I knew what that meant. It's a great début.

Songs of Note: Take Me Out; Come on Home

4 low tides out of 5

SCRATCHING POST / This Time it's Personal (2004)

TTiP is a frustrating album. It's heavy and in your face half the time, and teenage girl Pop-rock the remainder of the time. It's the vocals that ruin it. Nicole Hughes has an admittedly decent voice, but it sits at opposite sides of the room from the thick bass and drum sound, and when they come together it's a mess. She'll occasionally let out a scream that fits better, but then fall back into Bubblegum territory for the chorus. The only track that I found to be successful was the scathing Wake Up You're On Fire, it had a brutality that everything else lacked, and that's mostly due to her not having much to do with it. It's not a keeper, but the disc won't go to waste. I'll give it to a friend's teenage daughter. She'll probably like it.

Songs of Note: Wake Up You're On Fire; Militiagan

1 pointless bonus track out of 5

SWEATSHOP UNION / Natural Progression [2004]

Coming out of Vancouver, Canada, hip-hop act Sweatshop Union is a smooth mishmash of varied vocal styles and musical backdrops. With vocal rhythms reminiscent of Heavy D, Eminem, Chali 2na and Del The Funky Homosapien, Sweatshop produces a strong musical sense of positivity while tackling some serious subjects in their lyrics.
Their sophomore album Natural Progression is a mixture of everything mentioned above, plus friendly charisma, impressive production and a firm grasp on the underground hip-hop movement.
It's only downfall is the lengthy playtime. Clocking in at over 60 minutes, Natural Progression could have benefited from maybe 4 or 5 songs cut from the playlist.

4 New World Orders out of 5

Songs Of Note: Us; The Thing About It

MORTIIS / The Grudge (2004)

If you're not aware, Mortiis is Håvard Ellefsen, the onetime bassist of Norwegin Black Metal band Emperor. The Grudge album is on the Earache label, so you'd expect some crushing heavy Black/Death/Industrial metal, right? But what you get is Mortiis pissing around with his keyboard and… I can't even… I laughed.
I didn't laugh when he wore his pointy nose and pointy ears or when he grew bat wings, but The Grudge is a musical joke. Does anyone like it?

Songs of Least Fail: Decadent and Desperate; Le Petit Cochon Sordide

0 'cos it's bad for your Elf out of 5

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS / i [2004]

After 1999's monumental 69 Love Songs, synth-pop band The Magnetic Fields had a lot to live up to. In a brave move, they ditched the synths and relied heavily on guitars and strings for the selfishly titled i, the first part of trilogy of albums called No Synth.
Like a smug hybrid of Ian Curtis, Shane McGowan and Cole Porter, Fields' frontman Stephen Merrit sounds as if he's been taking some much needed vocal lessons. The songs are friendly enough, the lyrics are fantastic and the production is top-notch, only the album lacks in enough songs to make a great record. Not to say there aren't any gems on here, because there are...just not enough.

2½ Songs that start with "i" out of 5

Songs Of Note: I Don't Really Love You Anymore; In An Operetta