Top 10 Albums of 1995

If you aren't aware that Reza Mills from Clean Sheets and Sleeping Shaman has been breaking down the decades with me to uncover our top 5 songs in pivotal anniversaries for these years, then you uare missing out. You should check out our insights here...

 

Here I am taking my top 5 choices and expanding them into the top 10 albums of 1995, and also ranking them in order of their impact and staying power, so here are my top 10 albums of 1995. Be sure to check out the episode above for a more in-depth look at the top 5 here. 

10-PJ Harvey- "To Bring You My Love." 

This album broke her through to the alternative radio market, the grooves covering the darker underbelly of her lyrics.

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9-Bjork -"Post" 

She set the standard for electronic music in the 90s 

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8-Ozzy Osbourne- "Ozzmosis" 

Darker and heavier even when it comes to the ballads on this album that shook loose to the people who bought "No More Tears" for Momma I'm Coming Home."

   

7-Dissection- 'Storm of the Lightsbane"

This found the band at the peak of Jon's original incarnation of this band before things took a darker turn in his life, which wa his destiny, only lending weight to the message the album carries. 

 

6-Deicide -"Once Upon the Cross."

The first few albums that mark a transition in the band's career step from greatness as an era ends, which is what this brutal piece of religious-inspired anger serves up.

 

5-Deftones- "Adrenaline"

For many bands on this list, an era was ending, but fot this band, one was beginning. 

4-Radiohead-"The Bends." 

The last album that would find them as the grunge cousin of Britpop and transform into depressive paranoid androids that would change music. 

3-White Zombie- "Astro-Creep 2000'

The changing of the guard theme continues, as this would be the farewell for these guys, but not before this album allowed them to rule the world and goth clubs alike, as the industrial touches crossed them over into a place where they had their claws in every alternative culture.

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2-Morbid Angel-"Domination"

The last great album of this era. The death metal bands of today are still trying to catch up with what these guys did here. 

1-Faith No More-"King for a Day, Fool For a Lifetime."  

Even the more streamlined approach without Jim Martin was changing the game . Not as dark as "Angel Dust," but it works for where they were at as a band, and head and shoulders above everyone else. 

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The Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2023

If you do not know what Indie rock means in 2023, I am not sure why you clicked on this article in the first place. The bands that made the top ten list, are of the more experimental variety, many times bordering on post-punk, but not as fully immersed in the bleakness, though more albums lean into a darker mood than not here, though given the website you are reading this on that should not be a surprise. While indie rock lends itself to hipster culture, these are not intended to be the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 indie rock albums of 2023

10- Activity - "Spirit in the Room" 

This Brooklyn-based band was produced by Jeff Berner from Psychic TV.  While the ambiance you might associate with Berner is hinted at, this is more of a hipster affair.  Minimalist arrangements bubble to life not unlike how early Fever Ray used to work. They ride the line between writing songs and focusing on just creating cool sounds.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/activity-spirit-in-room.html

  9-PAWS -"s/t" 

 This is the Scottish band's 5th album. They are an interesting blend of noisy catharsis disguised as indie rock, they gaze back fondly into the 90s sounds and touch upon a nostalgia for a time and place in music that was once dear to me

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/paws-st.html

8- Legss -"Fester" 

 London's Legss might get called a post-punk band, but there is little tension to what they do and more speculation than bleakness. Their guitars have a  jangle and poetic vocal lean into catharsis. At times they make me think of what Stone Roses might have sounded like if they had been into Sonic Youth. Their songs have impressive shift of dynamic shifts , even if it works off the loud-to-soft formula of the '90s.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/legss-fester.html

 

7-the New Pornographers - "Continue as Guest" 

The Canadian indie rock band that made Neko Case a household name is back. These guys are more interesting when they are more emotionally complex and possibly really stoned. This album is a bit of a  sonic tug-of-war that proves they are great songwriters who really excelled at crafting this. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-new-pornographers-continue-as-guest.html

6- Narrowhead-"Moments of Clarity" 

 On "12th House Rock" the Texas band busted out some post-hardcore with an emotive underpinning. Not unlike Hum or Helmet if those bands were really into their feelings. Now the glaze of shoegaze coats the songs. The vocals are more introspective. They do occasionally hit you with a harder syncopated jangle, to remind you they did not leave their distortion pedals at home. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/narrow-head-moments-of-clarity.html

5- PJ Harvey-"I Inside the Old Year Dying" 

Harvey's 10th album and first since 2016 has according to her been a long time in the making. It opens with an introspective atmosphere. For 53 her voice sounds great. The delicate melodies cast a reflection of who she is today, which might not be the same woman who has brought us gritty grunge grooves soaked in blues. She muses Elvis and Jesus on this one and I am fine with that as well. She is making attempts to blend with the current musical climate, and remains a more outsider, though one with a less street-tough exterior.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/pj-harvey-i-inside-old-year-dying.html

4-the Tubs -"Dead Meat" 

This British band formed out of the ashes of Joanna Gruesome, which is such a great name, sadly, they abandoned it, but the rollicking indie rock they jangle into is highlighted by the emotive croon of the singer. Are the Smiths an influence? Yes. Does the singer sound like Morrissey? No. His voice is a lighter more delicate plea than the more resonant voice of Morrissey, though the delicate quiver found here is unique and helps give them more of their own identity.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-tubs-dead-meat.html

 

 

3- Swans - "the Begger" 

In a world where kids are listening to pop acts with 20 songwriters and even more producers, something is refreshing about Michael Gira, as the sole producer and songwriter of Swans' new album. There is a darker tone that is also a welcome return for the band who had gotten kinda jammy on previous albums and more into the droning math of grooves than the sonic heaviness of the post-punk they rose to cult status from before their hiatus. The fact that these guys are one of my favorite bands and only made it to number three is a testament to the bands that took the top two spots. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/swans-beggar.html

2-House of Harm - "Playground" 

A lot is going on with House of Harm's new album. There is an 80s vibe to things that owes a great deal to the Cure, but there are more layers to it that than. The vocals are what separates them from post-punk bands, and lean them in the direction of poppy indie rock., which is more pronounced as the album progresses and the vocals become less pouty.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/house-of-harm-playground.html

1-Death Valley Girls - "Islands in the Sky" 

There is still a little of the 60s feel that ran through the previous album, but there is less flower power sentiment. There are catchier groove to the song that might work more at goth night than for go-go dancing, despite often stepping back into the  60's girl group pop feel. This goes in the most logical direction given the band's trajectory but is a far cry from selling out, which works for me. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/death-valley-girls-islands-in-sky.html

PJ Harvey : "I Inside the Old Year Dying"

Harvey's 10th album and first since 2016 has according to her been a long time in the making. It opens with an introspective atmosphere. For 53 her voice sounds great. The second song is more upbeat, with percussion moving it and layered vocals creating an odd harmony. Not rock, but it's an effective song for what she does so I can go with it. There is more of an Irish folk feel to "Lonesome Tonight" It is another delicate melody that casts a reflection of who she is today, which might not be the same woman who has brought us gritty grunge grooves soaked in blues. She muses Elvis and Jesus on this one and I am fine with that as well. She is making attempts to blend with the current musical climate, and remains a more outsider, though one with a less street-tough exterior. 

She begins to flirt with rock music again on "Seem an I", it carries more of a 60s folk feel. Of the first four songs, this sounds the closest to the Harvey of the 90s. The first song that feels bears Flood's touch as a producer is "The Nether-edge" which finds her vocals run through a ping-pong delay while still retaining it's clarity. The title track is her banging it out with a heavy-handed strum on an acoustic. John Parrish of the Bad Seeds, is adding ambiance throughout the album, but his thumbprint is most defined here. Not her catchiest song, but it works for what it does. "All Souls" finds her experimenting with ambient sounds to sing over. More droning than dynamic in the bleak picture it paints. 

"A Child's Question, August" has perhaps more form and function in the was it coasts almost like dream pop. It took a couple of listens to the song " I Inside the Old I Dying" to wrap my head around it. It has a little more drive, but is steeped in moodiness. If Radiohead wrote a children's song the results might be similar. 'August" works off a similar vibe, though perhaps more folky. It took a second listen to really let my ears settle into the song. You can hear not only in this song , but many others Elvis themes in the lyrics. There are many themes swirling on this album and that is just one of them. Some of them are seen in the song titles which are often variations of previous song titles that appeared earlier in the album. "A Child's Question, July" is an example of this. Her vocals patterns are more abstract than the punchy deliver of her 90s rock songs. When it comes to recalling her classic days , there is a hint of that on the last song. It took a few listens for it to click with me. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it sits with me, as of right now it finds her at a place that makes sense for who she is, and this is clearly the album she wanted to make. 

The Top 40 Female Artists of All Time : 20 - 11

It's 2020 we are making a bigger deal out of how wet the nether regions are rather than the quaity of music being made. Granted the people doing this must have never heard of Lil Kim. This also gives me the chance to take  break from the lists of androgynous guys and  makes this one.The top 40 hottest female artists, might come one day  I am bored at some point but right now we are just focusing on the music. After all if you are writing good songs that stick in my head I do not care what you look like. You are not going to see artists here that I feel are covered by those who do what they do better or are such originators in their genre why listen to imitators. Not only does this list give commonly under rated artists their proper place, but I dig into as expected from me both harder and darker artists not mentioned in the same breath as pop artists. Speaking of that is covered by a handful of ladies as more would be redundant. There is one big one here in particular that takes care of everything . Only one rapper, and they are unique , and this is about their impact on music as a whole so iconoclasts not strippers with prodiucers or entertainers alone. Since this the Abysmal Hymns list there will of course be a darker slant and singer's with any gospel leanings that are blasphemous are obviously disqualified. So here we go...




20- Beth Gibbons - Portishead




This is a case of where an artists greatness is truly revealed in the number of artists they went on to influeced. While I love Beth's haunting passion, it is the impact she has that earns her place here.






19-Miny- Parsonz-Royal Thunder

Parsonz does what Lizzy Hae does better. With has more of a Joplin like grit and one of the best female rock voices going today .


 




18-Zola Jesus


She stands alone when it comes to modern dark pop. AHer sound has evolved yet her music remains distinct. I only wish she would put out a new album sooner than later.


 



17-Anneke van Giersbergen- the Gathering


Before female sirens adding a romantic touch to things became more common place in metal Anneke was waeaving a spell without even trying to be a witch like many of today's singers do. Having her on this list elimantes the need to include singers who followed in her steps such as Nightwish or Delain


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16-Emma Ruth Rundle


This singer songwriter fronted the prog band Marriages before embarking on her darker solo venture. There is a great deal of depth to her voice, but it's her knack as a song writer that solidifies her place here





15 -Sinead O Connor



This singer become known for controversy and ecentric nature , in truth she has an amazing versitile voice and while I like the Cranberries , if Sinead is on the list then I have that base covered already and she does it better.



 



14- Chelsea Wolfe



If this was a list of todays female rock singers then she would top the list , this is more encompassing and the top ten has women who influenced her.


 

13- Taylor Swift 


She has grown past pop country and past pop stardom with her newst album really cementing her as not only some one to be taken seriously , but worthy of her place on this list.



 


12-Pj Harvey


Not punk enough to fall into the whole riot grrrl trend, too angry to fit neatly into the singer song writer thing. She has enough grunge to her sound and a dynamic enough voice to fil the gap where other people might gravitate to Patti Smith.



 

11-Jarboe - Swans


Yes she has done solo stuf, she has worked with Neurosis and other bands however her work with the Swans alone is enough to put her here. Granted the Swans are one of my top 10 bands of all times, so I might be dias but she provided the light to Gira's darkness , even Chelsea Wolfe counts her as an infuence so that why she is here and Chelsea is down where she is.

The Sound of Me Before You Part 3

Here's the 3rd installment of this series, with a theme  of if you are sharing your life with someone  once of the most important things you can share is your music. It's the pieces of me that I don’t have words for as they are an amalgamation of my thoughts and emotions relating to sonic vibrations. Music can always take me back to a place in time. This encompasses the period of time of my bottoming out from my heroin addiction and the recovery from that. So when I think of it in terms of what made me who I am today and how do I get to where I am. I can say this is the sound of where I was before I had the capacity to open my self up. This is the sound of what I had to live through to be a person capable of wanting interaction with another being. So this is a soundtrack to that.  I have organized it in terms of the year these songs are released . The story they tell is somewhat loose. This is me giving these songs as token to someone of what was inside me before they knew me. This is what my life sounded like before I met them


 the Cure - "Want"







Deftones - "Around the Fur"


 



Sunny Day Real Estate -"Pillars"



 


Ministry- "Kaif"


 
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Pj Harvey- "This Mess We're In"

 



Radiohead -"Knives Out"


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Queens of the stoneage- "No One Knows"



 


Marilyn Manson - "Para Noir"



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Morrissey- "I'm Not Sorry"



 



the Decemberists- "We Both Go Down Together"



 

The Top 100 albums of the 90s :30 to 21

30 -Darkthrone- "Total Death"

 Sure "Transylvanian Hunger" is a classic album because every black metal black born out of weather under 50 degrees imitates it, but here there are actual songs that go somewhere and not just blast beats and tremolo picked guitar for the sake of blast beats and tremolo picked guitar to drone out to.

 

 29- Madonna -"Erotica"

 Her name is Dita she will be your mistress tonight. Before Fifty Shades of Grey was a sparkle in a vampire's eye, Madonna delved into kink with this album. She even touches on trip hop before it became a thing on this album.


 

 28-Ani Difranco- "Dilate"

 While the darling of lesbians broke hearts when she married a man years later, it doesn't diminish the impact of this album that show feminist folk can rock and still have something to say. "Super-Hero" might be more popular but "Napoleon" is the best song on this one.


 

 27- Pj Harvey- "Rid of Me"

 Here is another reminder that its not about record sales as Polly Jean has sole more records, but doesn't rock as hard on or put the same malicious passion into the song. Her voice is perfect on this album, while she disappointed me going into the 2000s , I am now able to get over that and go back to listen to this again.


 


 26-The Cure- "Wish"

 This is not the Cure's best album by far, but it's their best of the 90s thought "Blood Flowers" is pretty close. It wasn't until he started messing with Korn's producer that Robert Smith started missing the mark and even then it's not that bad.

 

25- Sonic Youth - "Goo"

 Noisy indie rock , before it was called indie rock it was called punk and there is enough punk on this album to justify it , but there is also a mix of sounds that have never been captured again even by Thurston Moore.

 

 24-Ministry- "Psalm 69"

Or How to Succeed and Suck eggs if we are counting straws. Then there is this album that happened to sell well to it's demographic and help break into real industrial music tough this is more of a metal album, I wore it out at the time due to that fact.

 

 23- Emperor-"Anthems to the Welkin At Dusk"

 Yes, these guys beat out Darkthrone, while it helps them that this alum drips with King Diamond influence, its one of the best black metal albums ever made of any decade or metal albums period.

 

 22-Guns N Roses-"Use Your Illusion"

 I am counting this as a single album because did any fool buy one and not the other? There is some pretty awesome stuff on both of these that balances out the Meat Loaf like power ballads that got a little tiresome until Guns And Roses went away, then you found yourself missing even those moments. Hair metal went out on the best note possible with this one.



21-Skinny Puppy - "the Process"

Yes, I had to pick this over both "Last Rights " and "Too Dark Park" , because well the second side of "Last Rights" is just noise to do drugs to and the real songs...awesome as they are really are all in the first act. We can nit pick over "Too Dark Park" which is an amazing album as well is when it came out " the Process" sounded fresh and showed the band branch out and become actually musical.