191. BETTER OFF – MILK
(2015 – T13 G9 B2 UB1)

Better Off are a new band to me, though this album came out 4 years ago. I heard them via Spotifys release radar as they must have some new stuff coming out soon. They are a kinds Hot Rod Circuit / Jimmy Eat World / Nada Surf type band. The main song which dragged me into the album was “Dresser Drawer”, which is the sorta song I’d love to make if I was in a band again. it just sounds as if it just happened without too much effort, or trying to force bits in, it just flows along beautifully. The rest of the album is still growing on me, but doesn’t come close to that song.

192. LOWER THAN ATLANTIS – LOWER THAN ATLANTIS
(2014 – T12 G11 B2 UB0)

This is the 2nd LTA album to make the list and was their penultimate in their career. This album felt like they were trying to be more expansive by adding samples in places and orchestral moments, but overall it didnt work as well as it should have. There’s still some very catchy tunes, but can’t help but feel overall it could have been better if they kept it simple. “Words Don’t Come So Easily” would have been so much better if kept as the acoustic track it starts out as, before too many clicks and whistles kick in later on. “English Kids In America” is indie pop goodness and “Ain’t No Friend” is probably the best example of how they used the new sound. As said though, overall it could have been so much better.

193. TAKING BACK SUNDAY – NEW AGAIN
(2009 – T11 G10 B2 UB0)

Taking Back Sunday were one of the premier bands when emo broke through to the semi-mainstream in the earluy 00s. They now have 7 albums, but only their first 4 make my list. I still like parts of the other 3 but not quite enough to make the list. This is maybe their poppiest album but didn’t have the commercial success of their earlier stuff. There was only one video released for this album for “Sink Into Me”, them along with a lot of bands at the time had dropped making vids and relied on promotion on myspace etc for albums, this is pre-Youtube on everyones phone. My other fave on the album is “Summer, Man” with its nice grungy chuggy riff.

194. ANBERLIN – VITAL
(2012 – T11 G10 B2 UB0)

at 194 we find the 2nd Anberlin album on the list. This was their 2nd to last album before calling it a day and is their 3rd best according to my list. This album is probably the darkest sounding (dark being a relative term, this is Anberlin we are talking about). The album also has a lot of production on there which in places adds appropriately to the atmosphere but on song “Type Three” it sounds like the entire song was sung in a fish tank, though i still like the song. “Other Side” is the biggest sounding song echoey piano/keyboard strikes and downtuned chorus riff. This along with “Little Tyrants” and “Someone Anyone” which is the most traditional Anberlin song on the album.

195. NUMBER ONE GUN – PROMISES FOR THE IMPERFECT
(2005 – T10 G9 B2 UB0)

This was going to be another album, but upon listening to it this morn that has disappeared further up the chart, so your stuck with another lame pop-punk band. Looking at it of the remaining 194 albums there are only about 6 or 7 which you’d class as pure pop-punk, so its clearly reached its peak likability other than a few exceptions. Number One Gun are another Tooth & Nail product, and on a sunny day in the car I can proper enjoy this, (well as much as a late 30s man should, which is probably not at all by now), but its also the type of album you turn down at the traffic lights. They are like a poppier and less classy version of Acceptance / Jimmy Eat World at times. “Pretend” sets the album off as it means to go on, with catchy choruses and boppy verses. This won’t be for everyone, I know… perhaps not even for me for much longer in truth, but its made the chart for now. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a nice melody at times. Lucky for you there are no videos for this album, no doubt they would have added to the cheese with some touring video with band members pulling faces at the camera and falling off skateboards or something

196. ONLY RIVALS – LIFE IS PERFECT
(2015 – T10 G9 B2 UB0)

I would describe these as brit-rock but that would be geographically inaccurate as they are from Ireland so it’s more Ire-rock or something. Either way they are pretty much a solid (insert shortened country name here)-rock with no real quirks to them. The album is kinda forgettable and when I saw it coming up could not remember it at all. But when listened to it’s probably in the right spot. The most memorable song is “Spin” with its catchy chorus. “Dearest Brother” is the other banger, overall it’s all good stuff. I have no idea what they have done since as their Facebook and Twitter seems to just stop in early 2016… with no mention of the end. So all they have is this album and an EP.

197. DECADE – GOOD LUCK
(2014 – T10 G9 B2 UB0)

Decade sound like a bang that should have been around 20 years ago, sounding like a late 90s indie pop band such as Bennet, Supernaturals, Midget, Wannadies etc. They kinda combine that with a more modern Lower Than Atlantis sound. Its a good record, but very much still in the 7/10 range. The issue with my “good” song rating is that its quite a wide definition. Probably a lot of the tracks classed as good on this one are in the lower area rather than close to bangers. The best tracks are definitely the singles, so they chose well there. This is their 1st of 2 albums they did, the other didn’t make the cut but is very much along the same lines.

198. WEEZER – HURLEY
(2010 – T10 G6 B3 UB1)

Hurley is not an album about a cheery fat guy in Lost, unfortunately, though his lovely squishy face does adorn the cover. Its the 2nd Weezer album on this list and ranks 7th in their 11 albums (12 as of next Friday 1/3). It kicks of with “Memories” which featured in the movie Jackass 3D and it an ultimate banger, esp for the cracking middle 8, the video also kicks off with the immortal (but badly bruised) line of “Hi I’m Jonny Knoxville, Welcome to Jackass!”. “Ruling Me” is an underrated song and in general the first half of the album is good stuff, bar the slightly awkward “Where’s My Sex?” which i can enjoy sometimes, the time change and key change do put me off though. “Hang On” sounds like a Christmas song at the beginning for some reason but is a solid song. The album ends tamely with a distortion recording of “Time Flies” that if recorded normally could have been a decent song. In the bonus tracks is the USA Football teams song for the 2010 World Cup (yes the one where Rob Green and ITV had their howlers)

199. A STATIC LULLABY – RATTLESNAKE!
(2008 – T10 G7 B3 UB0)

ASL (as nobody calls them) were an average run of the mill screamo band as far as I was concerned, until checking out bands full catalogs in the last year or 2 I discovered their last and 4th album, Rattlesnake!. Its way better than their other stuff as far as I’m concerned and has a kind of rock ‘n’ roll-core feel to it (if that can be a genre for 5 mins). It was a much more riff focussed album and kicks off with 3 bangers. The album loses a bit of momentum towards the end but this has been a nice surprise. My only issue is the vocals go a bit Atreyu-esque in places. The album had a cover of Britany Spears – Toxic as a bonus track. Check it out if thats your kinda thing, for me most covers usually are a bit of a let down

200. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – I BROUGHT YOU MY BULLETS, YOU BROUGHT ME YOUR LOVE
(2002 – T10 G7 B3 UB0)

Now I know what your thinking “WTF Phil, MCR are like totes shite” and yes in general you may be right, but there first album, before they became mega emo super fake goths, was pretty darn good and time has not altered that for me. I saw them way back in early 2004 2 months before their massive 2nd album came out and at the original Bar Academy in Brum, which was basically a room with a pool table and bands would play at floor level in a little alcove in the corner. Who knew then how big they would become. Anyway the album… the first half has some great songs, “Honey, this Mirror….” and “Vampires Will Never Hurt You” are belters which hang on the edge of unhinged-ness with growing urgency. The 2nd half of the album was a bit rank though, other than “Cubicles”. Overall erase your mind of what was to follow, these songs are good (IMO)….. or just pure hate them, either way its in my top 200.

201. TRASH BOAT – NOTHING I WRITE YOU CAN CHANGE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH
(2016 – T10 G7 B3 UB0)

Terrible name. I can’t stop calling them Thrash Boat. Also they are English and we don’t really use the word trash. Not even Tex-Phil. It’s also got a terribly wordy album title, so we’re not off to a good start. This is their debut album and the 2nd was out last year (too fresh for the chart though). This is good but could have been better. Their staple is to do the skate punk fast drumming and vary it from there. I like that to some extent but prefer a little more variation or breakdowns. Sometimes they hit the right stuff in the latter parts of songs, such as “Eleven” and “You Know, You Know, You Know”. Opener “Stranger” also peaks at the end with guest vocals from the Wonder Years front man. His appearance only highlights the singers limitations though. Can only feel this album would be better with more prominent 2nd vocals. Still its a good album, but could be so much better, based on initial listens to their 2nd album, not much has changed either.

202. THE ROCKET SUMMER – HELLO GOOD FRIEND
(2005 – T13 G9 B3 UB0)

The Rocket Summer is the solo project of Bryce Avary, where he plays every instrument and produces the record himself also (or so legend has it). He has 6 albums, with the earlier stuff being the better, the first 2 make the list. To describe the sound, its like a white Michael Jackson (oh hang on?!) who picked up a guitar and piano (not literally) and based out some proper happy tunes (sometimes sad ones but they still sound happy). (way too many brackets in that sentence). My enjoyment of his music is very much dependent on my mood and prevailing weather conditions. On a sunny day this could be way higher up the list, top 80 even, then sometimes I’m like this is way to cheesy. To be honest he should have more albums in my list and this should be higher. Its not going to be for everyone, its not remotely cool, it makes you feel like an honorary member of the disney club, but I can’t help enjoy the music. “Brat Pack” is a joy of a song and “goodbyes waves and driveways”, takes emo-pop upto 12!

203. UNDEROATH – DEFINE THE GREAT LINE
(2006 – T10 G6 B3 UB1)

Underoath are what I guess would be classed as “scr-emo” but they have had much more conventional heavier moments. I am more into their more melodic stuff in the mid 00s. This is their 3rd of 6 albums and 2 make my list. The other is very high up indeed. This album took the style developed on “They’re Only Chasing Safety” and in general removed the catchier choruses, as a result its a lot harsher. The singles are my favourite songs on the album as they are closer in sound to “They’re Only Chasing Safety”. “A Moment Suspended In Time” is a belter and may be about someone getting caught up in an office based active-shooter event, or thats my interpretation (lyrics aren’t my strong point). Drummer/clean/scream vocalist Aaron Gillespie has had decent sucess on his own also in The Almost (which ironically almost made the top 250), and under his own name. This work is more openly god-bothery though, which is fine as long as not too blatant.

204. THE SPILL CANVAS – ONE FELL SWOOP
(2005 – T13 G7 B4 UB1)

This is the 2nd Spill Canvas album on the list and their 2nd album overall. No more make the cut though. They moved away from acoustic more on this album and in general it’s a lot better, though there are still some more skipable songs. The best 2 songs though are pure acoustic in “Dutch courage” about a drunk and “self conclusion” which I adore. It’s a song which tells a story about a girl about to jump off a building who is talked down by someone you find out at the end was doing the exact same thing just before but didn’t jump. Tonight’s album would have been a different album but due to one track jumping to a banger it’s jumped about 40 places. This shows how much this part of the chart is all very tightly rated. 2moros album is very much at a different end of the noise scale.

This is also the 2nd album in a row to not be on Spotify. shocking

205. AUTOPILOT OFF – MAKE A SOUND
(2004 – T12 G10 B2 UB0)

Autopilot Off had a short career, they released a dodgy recording quality debut which weren’t much good and then did a pretty good ep, before releasing their 2nd and last album “Make A Sound”. Its fairly standard punk pop but done well. “Blessed By A Nightmare” being my favourite song on there, its not trying to be clever or anything it just straight up races along. there’s a couple of nice acoustic songs on there too to mix it up. The only video I could find is for “what I want” which isn’t a great example, “Nothing Frequency” off their EP was a pop punk joy and its a shame it wasn’t on the album

206. AUDIO KARATE – SPACE CAMP
(2000 – T12 G7 B2 UB2)

We’ve already seen the follow up to the album from Audio Karate and their debut. It is dominated by the 2 absolute bangers (which i realise is probably a better term than ultimate bangers) in “Nintendo 89” and “Halfway Decent”. I love the noodly lead guitar on the latter especially. the rest of the album is much of a muchness and this album could have easily found itself outside of the chart if one or 2 of them dropped off the good list. The next few albums in the list are a bit like that and probably not solidly in their position but thats were we find them for now.

207. SENSES FAIL – STILL SEARCHING
(2006 – T12 G8 B2 UB1)

This is the 2nd Senses Fail album to appear on the list and the highest. Given time it may slip out of favour but for now its hanging on. The album has some heavier songs more along the lines of their other album “Renacer” which made the list. It also has some attempts at anthem style big chorus songs in the form of “Can’t Be Saved” and “the Priest and the Matador”. the Senses Fail i prefer though is the heavier faster variety with “Shark Attack” qualifying as an ultimate banger. A great moment in an otherwise mess of a song occurs in the badly named “All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” but love the riff that kicks off about 2:30 in.

208. ANBERLIN – BLUEPRINTS FOR THE BLACK MARKET
(2003 – T11 G9 B2 UB0)

Anberlin have always been a band I’ve liked and never really loved. I find I like their music but little things hold them back from being right up there. Sometimes songs are over produced, sometimes its the vocals slight Morrissey/Cher twinge, sometimes the lyrics, live they were too perfect they may as well have played the CD. Having said that I have all 7 of their albums and 4 of them make the top 250. This is their debut album and kicks off with “Ready Fuels” which has always been a fave, but until yesterday I had no idea there was a video for it (which hasn’t aged overly well). My other favourite song on the album “Love song” also happens to be a cover of a Cure song which I didn’t know till quite a long time after having the album. Other faves include “Change the World” but as mentioned, the way the singer says “Lost” (lowwwest) is a tad annoying. Still I do like the album, despite me mainly slagging it off just now. PS I absolutely hate “Foreign Language”, unbearably cheesy in lyrics and sound, such an odd choice to follow the opener.

209. THRICE – MAJOR/MINOR
(2011 – T11 G9 B2 UB0)

This band appear on my chart, not once, not twice, but Thrice!! The other 2 albums are much higher up. They have done 10 overall and all have their moments, but only 3 make my list. This one represented a return to “form” (“form” being my liking of the album, the few before were more critically acclaimed but it all went a bit too much clicks and whistles for me, as I stated initially, i’m not that classy). The follow up to this, after a short hiatus, “To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere” was just outside my top 250. This album is mostly mid paced (and a long way from their earlier punk-post hardcore stuff) but has its big moments like the chorus of “Treading Paper” and it kicks off with a dirty riff on “Yellow Belly”. Given more listens this may climb my chart but it came out in a time in my life when listening to new music had gone on the back burner (for no obvious reason), its only recently I’ve found how much stuff I missed being released around then. Thanks to Spotify’s release radar, that will happen no more, probably hear too much stuff now.

210. THE FRONT BOTTOMS – GOING GREY
(2017 – T11 G9 B2 UB0)

 

Oooo Front Bottoms, a naughty name, the type you’d associate with a generally crap low level punk band. These sound nothing like that however, on wiki they are described as folk, but I don’t here that one. To me they sound like a modern They Might Be Giants (of “Birdhouse In Your Soul” fame), with nearly spoken word singing in parts. This is their 4th album and I’m yet to properly check out their earlier stuff but a few tracks I already like. Each song on the album has its own character from the horns during the chorus of “Vacation Town” which stick in your head to the more upbeat “Bae” and the synth lead “Trampoline”. I’m liking it, its odd and it grows on me each listen.

211. FREEZE THE ATLANTIC – SPEAKEASY
(2011 – T11 G9 B2 UB0)

Freeze the Atlantic were a sort of brit rock super group started up in 2008 with members of Hundred Reasons, Reuben (both of whom feature very high in this list) and Archie and the Instincts (who only ever did one ep but was pretty good, though it did sound like a Saves The Day cover album)). This is their first album and only one I like. The following 2 albums they had as different singer who sounded more like he should be in a Metallica tribute band with his slightly cheesy rawk twang going on. This one though has a cracker to start off with (“Shivering & Dazed”) and later has one with the singer from Hundred Reasons guesting on (“Loses All The Romance”). A solid enough album but never reaches any true heights.

212. BAYSIDE – KILLING TIME
(2011 – T10 G8 B2 UB0)

Bayside have always been seen as an influential emo-punk band, but I’ve never really got into them. I had copies of their first 2 albums but only ever liked a couple of tracks and still do. (“Masterpiece” does what it says on the tin though). But due to hearing singer Anthony Raneri appear on countless other bands songs (Say Anything, I Am The Avalanche, Punchline, Silverstein….), due to his unique sounding voice, I thought I’d give the rest of their catalog a whirl only to find in general I like it. Every album has its banger on it but on the whole none other than this has enough songs that i like to make the list. The album starts with my 2 faves, but is good throughout.

213. DON BROCO – AUTOMATIC

(2015 – T10 G8 B2 UB0)

 

 

First thing, this is not a solo artist called Don, they are a band who have done 3 albums which all have had their own particular style. this is their 2nd one, the other 2 are much higher in the chart. This one is styled like an 80s Miami Vice kinda thing and many songs have kinda a modern take on an 80s ish sound. This album would be higher if I were to include bonus tracks as they are 2 of the best on the album (“Money Power Fame” and “You Wanna Know”), but as they are not technically on it then they don’t. The Don are great live and the songs on this album sound much heavier, they still have a nice funky feel to them though as they are. Not everyones cup of tea maybe, def the mrs’ though as I think their her favourite band. Prob one of my favourites who started up in the 2010’s.

214. THE STORY SO FAR – THE STORY SO FAR
(2015 – T10 G8 B2 UB0)

It was only 2 weeks ago we had the other Story So Far album on the list and this is their highest entry and is their 3rd album (of 4 so far, the 4th coming out towards the end of last year and I haven’t had chance to properly check out yet, initial impression is it won’t make the list). Again like their other album in the list it can be accused of being very samey and is all over in 30mins without leaving many lasting marks. If you like one track you’ll like them all, the standouts for me being “How Are You” and “Nerve”. On their latest album they appear to have a bit more range, but poss not in a good way. We’ll see when I get round to it.

215. BIFFY CLYRO – ONLY REVOLUTIONS
(2009 – T12 G8 B3 UB0)

Mon the Biffy part 2. This is their most recent album to make the chart, the 2 after this don’t make it. As you can see from the stat, I like ⅔s of the album and it has some bangers on it, but its nowhere near the level of their first 2. Perhaps I am harsh on their newer albums as a result of liking their early stuff so much, but thats the way it is. The album starts with “Captain” which I have never liked, the song is not helped by the eye shadow, topless sweatiness and piratey-ness of the video for it. 3 things that I am not into. The next 2 though are bangers in also singles “That Golden Rule” and “Bubbles” which have the traditional Biffy big ending. This album also features “Many of Horror” made famous by being an X-factor winners single by Matt Cardle but called “When We Collide” as thats more chart worthy.

216. NADA SURF – LET GO
(2002 – T12 G7 B3 UB1)

Last night when I was looking for vids for this album I found a live one and by christ they looked old, turns out the singer is now 52! and the bass player would be similar and still has dreads (not a good look). Anyway Alt-Rockers Nada Surf are most famous for 1996 hit “Popular” off their 1st album (you’ll see that appear later). This album is their 3rd of 7. (only the first 3 make the list), they still do the odd good song but overall not great. This album in general is a chilled out affair, but my faves are the ones with a bit more about them, but I still enjoy songs like “Inside of Love”, but not too sure about the french language song on here. “The Way You Wear Your Head” and “Hi-Speed Soul” being 2 of my faves with there constant driving beat, probably good jogging songs if I was into such a waste of time!

217. TUSKY – RATED GNAR
(2018 – T9 G6 B3 UB0)

If you’re fed of of emo related stuff this should be refreshing. This is a odd-tinged, rock n rolly, knackers to the wind punk band from Holland. Yesh Punk Euro Party Timesh as they would probably say. In parts Hives-ish but punkier and rockier but with the occasionally harmony thrown in there. Hard to describe as you can probably tell. give them a whirl I guess. Below is the video for “You Will Not Regret This (Please Hold Still)” which kinda combines all their styles in a more accessible way

218. TROPHY EYES – CHEMICAL MIRACLE
(2016 – T9 G7 B2 UB0)

This is Australian semi-punk band Trophy Eyes’ 2nd album (the 3rd could possibly end up above this on the list but is too new for now). I say semi-punk as they kinda dip in and out of being a straight up punk back to being nothing like that between tracks or during. This album continues to grow on me but for now is at number 218. The singer is a lanky bean of a thing and from what I’ve seen so far is terrible at miming on their videos and has a strange way of moving. That aside, I’m very much liking what I’m hearing. The track below “Chlorine” has a nice floaty sorta rhythm and chorus to it, similar to track “Breathe You In”. Whereas “Nose Bleed” is a bit more ‘on the nose’ with gang chants and a big chorus.

219. WHALE BONES – ISLAND FIRE

(2018 – T9 G7 B2 UB0)

 

Another New “Phil-band” (which I’m told is it’s own genre). Whale Bones kinda sound like an emo-rock REM. The albums not perfect but shows potential for their future. Love the song “Inaction” and their ep before has the cracker “Hiding From the Sea”. I’m not really sure what else to say about these, so … Whale Bones. (odd name again)

220. MONUMENT MONUMENT – AT LEAST WE’RE HERE
(2017 – T9 G7 B2 UB0)

The next few albums on the list happen to all be stuff i’ve got into in the last year, so are possibly in a temporary position and could drop out or climb as time goes on. They also all happen to have only 9 valid tracks which is the cut off from being classed as an EP. To be a valid track any obvious filler track (like 50 secs and not really a song) or instrumental is ignored. The awkwardly named Monument Monument are a gentle emo type band along the lines of Spill Canvas and Copeland. As far as I can tell this is there first full length release, previously they just did EPs. Theres no videos for this album at all so it’s just album sleeve vids but give it a whirl if it might be your bag. The “I think we’re falling apart” in the track below is sure to get stuck in your head.

221. GREEN DAY – DOOKIE
(1994 – T14 G7 B3 UB2)

Is this controversially low? It’s seen as an important album, as it was one of the albums that broke punk (or rather punk pop) into the mainstream after the cock-rock into grunge years of the late 80s, early 90s; but important doesn’t always equate to good overall. Green Day have 2 better albums than this in my opinion in the 2 that directly followed this. Obviously it has its great songs in terms of “Basket Case”, “When I Come Around” and “Longview”, the latter two driven by great and iconic bass lines, but there’s also a fair chunk of filler which has not made it onto my good list, such as “Chunk” and “Sassafras Roots”. So Green Day’s “Dookie” remains in the Good not Great region of my list, but does still bring back memories of the tape player in the 6th form room belting it out. I also enjoy the mushroom cloud on the cover, but who doesn’t enjoy a good mushroom cloud of doom?!

222. BRING ME THE HORIZON – THAT’S THE SPIRIT
(2015 – T11 G7 B2 UB1)

I will caveat this review by first stating I’m not a hardcore Bring Me The Horizon fan, as in I am not into their early more Metal-core albums. I like the odd song like “Visions” and “The Sadness Will Never End” but as you may have picked up by now thats not really my jazz. I got into them on the album prior to this “Sempiternal” and “Shadow Moses” is an immense song, but “That’s The Spirit” is the only BMTH album that makes my list. (PS, the new album “amo” is basically a Justin Bieber album, so that’s not touching the top 500, let alone 250. It’s a very extreme and odd career path. How do you fit both styles in at a gig and keep everyone happy, in particular the guitarists and drummers, who won’t have much to do!?). Anyway as for this album, on some songs you can see the future change in style beginning but done better, for example the ballad “Follow You” is my favourite on the album and also has an awesome video combining a tonne of gore filled apocalyptic events. “Drown” is also a belter and “Happy Song” has a cheerleader chant throughout most of the song which gets stuck in you’re head. I tried to like “True Friends” but the lyric “True friends stab you in the front” is pure cheese, but then lyrics have never really been their forte. 

223. AUDIO KARATE – LADY MELODY
(2004 – T11 G7 B2 UB1)

Audio Karate are a Californian punk band of Mexican decent (probably Donald Trumps favourite kind). They did 2 albums in their career and both are coming up in a similar area of my chart. They have suddenly re-appeared with 2 songs so I guess there is an album 14 years after on the way. In most of their songs I have no idea what the singer is saying but his voice makes their sound fairly unique and add an urgency to them. “Gypsy Queen” is my favourite on the album with its noodly guitar bridge (see commets). The only video from the album is below and is also a banger and further emphasises the Mexican heritage in cliche style.

224. BIFFY CLYRO – INFINITY LAND
(2004 – T12 G7 B4 UB0)

Mon the Biff as they say. This is the 1st of 5 biffy albums to make the list (the most recent 2 being the absentees) and represents the end of the first (and far superior) part of their career. This album though on some songs took the oddity to its extreme, so a couple of the newer albums do appear above it in the chart. I never got on with first single and opener “glitter and trauma” for example, and it took me a long time to appreciate a lot of this album. The album takes the odd time changes and harmonies to the max in songs like “there’s no such thing as a jaggy snake” and “the kids from kibble and the fist of light” which features a calming horn section before the mental heavy end. This wasnt always done successfully, but it’s the sorta stuff that now seems forced into their newer songs if it’s there at all. The song that best represents their eventual transition to more straight forward stuff is “only one word that comes to mind” but it still has that classic biffy 1min 40sec breakdown ending from 3 mins in. (This was cut short in the single version though). That, “Strung to Your Ribcage” and “My Recovery Injection” are my faves on the album, which as a whole grows on you as you get to know to what to expect round the next corner.

 225. ASH – 1977
(1996 – T12 G7 B4 UB0)

10% of the way through the list and this time we are going back 23 years to the height of Brit-pop. Ash became associated with this movement but really they make more sense when not thought of in that way. They are much more american sounding really bar tracks like “goldfinger” (with lyric thats sounds like “when I was waiting for a poo”) and “oh yeah”. The highlights on the album for me are the faster ones, like “lose control” and “girl from mars”, the slower more 90s indie tracks don’t fit as well. Ash probably wouldnt have appeared on this list if it hadn’t been for their new album “Islands” which is good stuff, and made me re-visit them, as was some of their mid to late term back catalog which was largely off the radar. “1977” is named as 2 of the band were born that year making then 18ish when they recorded it, they are also obsessed with Star Wars which came out that year, also shown in the opening sound of the album being a Tie Fighter (awaits Star Wars nerds correction if wrong, just “live long and prosper” as they say”) The track below “Angel Interceptor” is nothing to do with Star Wars (though until this second I had assumed it was), its to do with Captain Scarlet.

226. SENSES FAIL – RENACER
(2013 – T12 G9 B2 UB0)

Senses Fail have knocked around for a surprisingly long time. They’re debut ep in 2002 kicked off on the bright note of a song about a dead friend called Steven. They are now up to 7 full albums and their sound has not really changed at all despite changing the band entirely over time apart from front man Buddy Nielsen. Renacer is by far their heaviest album though and 2nd best in my list. The opener and title track sets the tone and the single below has scream vocals in Spanish for some reason and a video with some voodoo using a panda bear toy.

227. THE DANGEROUS SUMMER – THE DANGEROUS SUMMER
(2018 – T10 G7 B2 UB0)

This is another band I only got into in the past year, thanks to the release radar on spotify. All the new bands I was hearing and loving is what had partly lead me to do this list. It was a way of comparing the new music to what I had listened to for years and got a bit stale with. The Dangerous Summer are one I have now listened to their who back catalog and liked most of what they have done. This is their most recent and 4th album, another 2 appear on the list. This would be the slowest pace wise of their albums, and has plenty of room to grow on me with more listens. For now though it is at #227. Love the dudes gruffly voice and also how he doesn’t look like the traditional “emo” band singer. ie. he’s a bit porky with shit hair he doesn’t stare in the mirror at trying to make it “elegantly disheveled”. I usually hate tour videos too, but this is actually a really good one. below is “This Is Life”.

228. FAR – AT NIGHT WE LIVE
(2010 – T11 G7 B3 UB0)

This is another Jonah Matranga band and probably his most famous or influential, particularly with another Far album we are yet to see in the chart. This album though I only heard about existing just over a year ago. Thanks Spotify! Turns out it has several belters on it, not the classics their 1998 album had though and it has a much more accessible sound in general. It even has a bonus track which is a cover of Genuwine (or someone) and their song “Pony”. PS. bonus tracks and instrumentals or short filler tracks get ignored in the album ratings, unless they really add something on their own.

229. THE STORY SO FAR – WHAT YOU DON’T SEE
(2013 – T11 G10 B1 UB0)

This is the 2nd Story So Far album, they are now up to 4. Though I enjoy their stuff in the main, its all very samey, which leads to a score as above. I like all the album, but only one makes banger grade, which happens to be the well chosen single. They are basically pop-punk but with kinda strained shouty vocals. There isn’t much range in the vocals though which doesn’t help for variability, hence the 200+ ranking. I like it, I like it a lot, but could be better. The single “Empty Space” is below as a sample.

230. MICROWAVE – MUCH LOVE
(2016 – T10 G7 B2 UB0)

The oddly named Microwave are a band I got into last year, their debut album will be appearing in the list in a few months. This is their second which isn’t quite as cracking but still good. Their style broadly speaking would come under the emo umbrella, but they do a wide range of that as demonstrated in the song “Vomit” which goes from Eels sounding alternative indie to full screaming noise. Below is favourite track “Homebody” (which is a more straight forward affair)

231. MILLENCOLIN – HOME FROM HOME
(2002 – T13 G8 B3 UB0)

Millencolin are a punk band who in their early days were predominantly ska based but their 3 albums that make my list are from the middle of their career when they were a bit more straight forward melodic punk rock. “Home From Home” starts off with a couple of bangers including my favourite off the album “Fingers Crossed”, it then drops off a bit before a strong end which includes “Afghan” about the war in Afghanistan. Below is “Man or Mouse” which is the albums opener and midway has a bit of a fellow Swedish band Hives feel about it.

232. DEAF HAVANA – FOOLS AND WORTHLESS LIARS

(2011 – T13 G11 B1 UB0)  

 

 

We have our first band to appear twice in the chart. They made up the illustrious 250th spot with “Old Souls” and are now back with the album prior to it in “Fools And Worthless Liars”. This is the first album after losing their screaming vocalist and was a bit of a jolt at first but gradually this album grew on me, and probably still has room to grow more. It has a lot of good tunes but rarely dips into banger territory. 

 233. EMERY – YOU WERE NEVER ALONE
(2015 – T12 G8 B2 UB0)

Emery were my favourite screamo type band at the height of that genre’s powers in the mid 00s. All 6 of their albums make the top 250 (barring their 7th one released last year which hasn’t been through “the process” yet). Their albums have gradually regressed over time and stat fans will find it interesting that their chart positions for the 6 albums, in order, almost make a straight line. This album has plenty of nice songs on but not enough strong ones to push it higher. Emery are another band with dual vocals but they both share the screams and the melodic vocals and often have overlapping melodies which is most appealing. This albums just not as good as their others.

234. YELLOWCARD – Ocean Avenue
(2003 – T13 G7 B4 UB0)

Probably the most stereotypical pop-punk band on my list and they at least have the quirk of a violin player. I can’t help but enjoy this album though. There’s some nice “middle 8’s” and changes to keep it interesting and though it might not be every discerning listeners choice, its made the list. There’s some big misses like “Life of a Salesman” which says “dad” way too much to be enjoyed, but there’s a couple of bangers to start and then later in the album the near acoustic “View From Heaven” with added female vocals is a nice song with a little beautiful section about 2 mins in. Enjoy if you want. watch out for the so-2003 hair styles too. (please note i noticed my overlord spreadsheet had gone a bit to cock and this should have been 237, but not time to fix that now… on we must plough, its all much the same anyway, as song rank change can sometimes shoot you up or down the chart by up to 20 places)

235. NEW END ORIGINAL – THRILLER
(2001 – T11 G5 B3 UB2)

New End Original are one of Jonah Matranga’s approx 132 bands he is a part of. They only did one album and half of it I adore, the rest is generally meh. The half I adore has one of my favouritst ever songs in “Hostage”. It starts with a haunting drum roll and guitar scale, and gradually builds and builds to the screaming “back off or someone will die” repetition at the end. love it. Most of the good and bangers occur early in the album, just a shame the 2nd half couldnt match the first.

236. MY AWESOME COMPILATION – FRONTIERS
(2008 – T10 G8 B1 UB0)

MAC are definitely one of the smaller bands on the list. They are a band of the mid-2000s which remind me of bands like Bennet from the late 90s. I managed to see them 3 times always inadvertently as a support act (to Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack and Hell Is For Heroes) and was always enjoyed them. I only had their debut EP though until Spotify enlightened me to the presence of 2 albums 10 years too late. Yesterday I discovered they were from Leicester which nearly booted them off this list. Anyway here’s the only video off their 2nd and final album. 1st album will appear further up the list.

237. I AM THE AVALANCHE – AVALANCHE UNITED
(2011 – T12 G7 B2 UB1)

Another classic east coast US style punk band, I Am The Avalanche were created by the singer of The Movielife after they split in 2003 (recently reunited). I quickly fell in love with “Brooklyn Dodgers” when I heard it a only a year or so ago and like the majority of this album, especially the first half. Their other 2 albums spread 9 years apart aren’t as good, so this will be their only appearance. In case your wondering “Whatever happened to the Brooklyn Dodgers?”, as mentioned in the song… they became the LA Dodgers in Baseball in 1958.

238. THE MENZINGERS – RENTED WORLD
(2014 – T12 G8 B2 UB0)

The Menzingers are a band I only stumbled upon recently, when I heard their latest album “After The Party” which will appear later in the chart. this is their prior album and 4th one. They have that east coast US punk sound to them and are based in Philadelphia with references to the area and other east coast locations just to add to it. As I’m fairly new to them I can sense their albums will eventually climb the chart, but this one for now is at 238. Opening track “I Don’t Want To Be An Asshole Anymore” sets the tone (great vid below), and in the comments another fave and softer sound on “Where Your Heartache Exists”.

239. OZMA – SPENDING TIME ON THE BORDERLINE
(2003 – T12 G8 B2 UB0)

What an appropriate title considering my initial post on this list. Geek-rock outfit Ozma were a band that filled the gap Weezer took post-Pinkerton and their first album could almost be considered as Weezer’s 3rd it was so close in style and vocal sound. By the time Ozma got to their 3rd album though with “…. Borderline”, the quality had dropped off a tad. The first half of the album is disappointing but the 2nd still had some good songs on here including the long awaited “Game Over” which was hovering around for a couple years before appearing on an album (though it wasn’t as good when recorded in the end). Ozma dropped off a cliff after this album and then reappeared even worse (IMO) in 2014. Here are 2 songs from this one though, “Turtleneck Coverup” with its over the top solo towards the end and “Utsuk… (something Japanese) which steadily builds and includes a flute solo of sorts.

240. SMASH MOUTH – FUSH YU MANG
(1997 – T12 G8 B2 UB0)

Its that band what gone did “Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star”, the latter isn’t on this album and both songs are nothing like the rest of the album. No other Smash Mouth album makes the list and I did have a snoop on Spotify at what they had been up to since and wasn’t interested. Fush Yu Mang is mainly a ska/punk and straight up punk album. I used to enjoy it a lot more than I do now but it still has a couple of high paced tracks which made the banger list.in “Heave-Ho” and “Pet Names”. The album also includes what I believe was the closing track to BASEketball “Why Can’t We Be Friends”

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.