My Top 250 Albums (241-250)

241. WE ARE THE OCEAN – ARK
(2015 – T12 G6 B2 UB2)

The 4th and last We Are The Ocean album was a bit of a disappointment at first for me, till i discovered the 2 gems of “Hope You’re Well” and “There’s Nothing Wrong”. As you can see I only class half the album as at least good but those 2 ultimate bangers will always remind me of playing them loud while trying to sooth 4 month old-ish Charlie’s seemingly incessant screaming (thank you colic!). They were a solid part of the playlist that seems to keep him calm (all be it briefly). This was the first album they did without the dual lead vocals and it did lose something and most of the album was a change in style, especially compared to how much I love their other 3 albums. prob a good job they called it a day after this.

242. GREEN DAY – REVOLUTION RADIO
(2016 – T12 G7 B3 UB0)

Green Day are one of the biggest bands that make the list and I didnt expect much from this album when it came out as I hadn’t liked the previous 6 efforts including the 3 albums in 4 months job they did. They have 12 albums and 4 of them make the top 250. This is the only of this century though. When I got round to giving Revolution Radio a go I actually liked it!! “Bang Bang” is like something off Nimrod, “Still Breathing” gets banger status and the end track “Ordinary World” is an acoustic affair but my personal favorite which finishes off a strong 2nd half of the album

243. ‘A’ – HI-FI SERIOUS
(2002 – T12 G6 B3 UB1)

Its the band (pre internet named) as ‘A’. Probably seemed a good idea at the time, but try searching that on the internet! “a”, “a band”… not clever. The album name “Hi-Fi Serious” was apparently derived from the name of the hi-fi electronics store Alan Partridge buys a Bang & Olufsen stereo from!! This was their 3rd album and unfortunately was the one with Starbucks on which I’ve always hated and happened to be the one that got them heard, along with “Nothing” which sounds nothing like the rest of their songs, but must admit I still enjoy. An album of songs I half love and half meh-ish. Personal fave is Pacific Ocean Blue, but here’s 2nd fave. “The Distance”.

244. THE SPILL CANVAS – SUNSETS & CAR CRASHES
(2004 – T12 G6 B3 UB1)

Emo alert! I’ve gone full softcore emo here. This is probably the type of band to make some vomit, but I likes them. Saw them in Oxford once too on a trek with fellow ex-Standoff members. The album is a 50:50 job where some of it is a bit too sensitive even for me. But the other half is grand stuff. “All Hail The Heartbreaker” (can’t get more emo than that surely, unless it had a weekday or season in the name) and “The Tide” are soft emo classics.

245. THE BLUETONES – RETURN TO THE LAST CHANCE SALOON
(1998 – T12 G6 B4 UB0)

The first foray into “brit-pop”, the bluetones were kind of a b-list level of brit pop band, but always kinda different sounding. This album is my favourite of theirs (though I have recently discovered their newer albums on spotify and am yet to listen to properly). The theme of the imagery is a mexico/arizona desert and a number of the songs have this sound, in particular single “Soloman Bites the Worm”. My favourite track though is “If….”.

246. CARRIE – FEAR OF SOUND

(1998 – T12 G6 B3 UB1)  

 

 

Our first venture into the 90s and its the band Carrie who only ever did one album. British based but with an american singer and the bassist from EMF, they made summery, vocal harmony laden songs about California, girlfriends who like to strap on (Molly) and English Cox 😉 (kind of about apples but not). All clearly influenced by the Beach Boys in song style and album title. Its a shame they did no more. Half of the album wasn’t great as you can see in the rating but when good it was great. We also come across our first “Ultimate Banger”, the video for which is below.

247. WEEZER – MAKE BELIEVE

(2005 – T12 G9 B1 UB0)  

 

 

Yes, that’s right, its the first of many Weezer albums to make the list. 8 of their 11 make the cut. (This one barely though). The ones missing out are the Green album, Maladroit and Raditude. Make Believe is Weezer’s 5th album and is the one with Beverly Hills on, which just about got onto the good list as a song (I must have been in a forgiving mood that day). The album in general saw Rivers get back some emotion in his voice (barring silly songs Beverly Hills and We Are All On Drugs), the 2 previous albums (Green and Maladroit) lacked this for me. While there are very few stand out tracks its still a solid offering but nothing compared to the glories of Blue and Pinkerton. The best track for me on this is Perfect Situation (possibly swayed by the video having Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) in it).

 

248. LOWER THAN ATLANTIS – CHANGING TUNE
(2012 – T11 G8 B1 UB0)

This is LTA’s 3rd of 5 albums and the 1st of 3 to make my top 250. Their 1st album Far Q (good for only its play on words title and a couple of tracks) and their latest album do not make the list; the 5th only just outside the 250 in 254th. Their albums in general are enjoyable but without any “socks off cocks out moments”, and they have all bunched in and around this area of the chart. Gradually getting more synthy and accessible as they went through their albums, this one is midway in that transition. I have always enjoyed LTA’s singers kinda lazy vocal sound, they just never reached full potential in my opinion. Saw them once in Oxford and stood at the back with the parents, little did we know that young Charlie was in attendance too!

249. DROPPING DAYLIGHT – BRACE YOURSELF
(2006 – T11 G8 B1 UB0)

A piano fronted mid-tempo rock thing. A bit too clean produced in places and somehow I’m not entirely happy with the album making the top 250, but when I actually listen to the songs, I can’t help enjoying them. Does that count as a guilty pleasure?. Dropping Daylight weren’t to be heard of before or after this album. I’m not even sure how I heard of them! I understand they changed there name but haven’t found anything by them. Check out the cliche “images of war, to add meaning to song” sections on the video.

250. DEAF HAVANA – OLD SOULS.
(2013 – T12 G9 B1 UB0). T=Tracks, G=Good, B=Banger, UB=Ultimate Banger)

So this is the first one on the list. A consistent album, but no real stand outs. This is DH’s 3rd album (of 5) and the transition from their early screamo beginnings to what they have become was well on its way. I hate their latest album, they have gone full synth pop and I just can’t get into it but all remaining 3 other Deaf Havana albums have got on the list. This was the weakest of what appears to be the first part of their career.