Thanks for the replies
On to the next three!
25. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (2003)The first, and unfortunately for fans of the genre, also the last post-rock album on my list. Also the only instrumental album on my entire list. Well, what can I say? This thing is good, really good, else I wouldn’t have put it on here. Quite simply put, this music takes me to another place and that makes it brilliant straight away, especially considering it is an instrumental album. This is one of those albums that you can put on and just feel good to, at least that’s what it does to me. Also, this is one of those few albums of which I never listen to single tracks, only the thing in full. Hell, I can’t even name the tracks on this album, which I pretty much can do with most of the the albums on this list. While I’d occasionally make playlists with different stuff and – hence – single tracks, this is one of those albums that never gets touched. It has to be enjoyed and admired in its entirety. This is, to me, the best post-rock album ever made and, even though I’ve yet to hear lots more post-rock, for now, this is the only post-rock album I’ll need.
Favourite song: All of it
24. Porcupine Tree – Signify (1996)Signify is the first album Steven Wilson recorded under the name Porcupine Tree with a full band, rather than solo with additional musicians. Also, it was the fourth album to be released under the name Porcupine Tree and the last album that I deem to be in the less-accessible phase of Porcupine Tree’s career. Let’s just say, every album after Signify, from Stupid Dream onwards is a lot more accessible than Signify and the albums before that. Therefore, if for some reason you haven’t yet gotten into Porcupine Tree, I do not recommend you listen to this album first, because I suspect you will be put off. Anyway, the music on Signify is very unconventional. Starting with two instrumentals, the first track with vocals is the great
Sleep of no Dreaming, a slow moving, almost nihilistic track.
Waiting follows afterwards, split into a first half and an instrumental second half, consisting of mostly a guitar solo.
Sever follows, probably one of the more haunting tracks (the ‘Lalalalala’ is quite frightening in a way) and
Idiot Prayer is an amazing instrumental. Following is
Every Home is Wired, with some of the most amazing vocal harmony ‘waterfalls’ I’ve ever heard. On follow two more instrumentals, the incredibly wacky
Intermediate Jesus and the track I can’t get a grasp on,
"Light Mass Prayers". The latter is the single weirdest thing on the entire album, in all its simplicity. But then, where it all happens is with the last track,
Dark Matter. I can not express how much I love this track.
Dark Matter is probably one of the top 10 songs ever created for me and it is definitely Porcupine Tree’s best song. Starting out with a simple bass ostinato, the song gradually builds through verses and choruses into the most amazing instrumental part on the entire album and probably in Wilson’s entire discography. Although I really do think Signify is great,
Dark Matter propels the weirdness and wackiness of the previous stuff to a higher level and instantly shoots this album multiple spots higher in my top 50. This is without a doubt one of Porcupine Tree’s weirder and less-accessible albums, but when you do find yourself liking it, you’ll probably get sucked in by the sheer brilliance that flows from this disc.
Favourite song: Dark Matter
Other songs worth checking out: Sleep of no Dreaming, Every Home is Wired, Idiot Prayer
23. Jeff Buckley – So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley (released in 2007, but songs as far back as 1994)I think I’m breaking some unwritten rules here, because this is indeed not an album. It is a compilation disc of my favourite singer-songwriter (although he has a whole backing band on some tracks). I have always wondered whether Jeff Buckley would have been as well known had he not drowned in that unfortunate accident, but that’s mainly because I wasn’t around at the time. So if anyone knows the answer to that, please tell me
. Well, why did I choose So Real and not Grace, the only ‘real’ album he released? Well, while Grace is very good and without a doubt my favourite album from any singer-songwriter, this compilation has a bit more going on, more diversity, alternate takes on tracks and a couple of live recordings. This album pretty much spans across all the different things Jeff Buckley has done, from the wonderfully soft J
e N'en Connais Pas La Fin, to the harsh, almost grungy
Eternal Life (Road Version). Along come many of the songs initially released on Grace and it makes for a great mix of some very good music. What always bugs me about Jeff Buckley is that the only thing people know of his is the great cover he did of Leonard Cohen’s
Hallelujah. While it is indeed very good, he had a lot of other great stuff going on and I can only encourage people to try it all out. This compilation is a good start. It was mine and I love it.
Favourite song: Vancouver
Other songs worth checking out: Hallelujah, Eternal Life (Road Version), The Sky Is A Landfill