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!earshot year-end picks 2005

Michael Gerbrandt
Michael Gerbrandt
Michael Gerbrandt

Michael Gerbrandt. I host the Downbeat Years heard every Saturday afternoon from 4-5:30 on UMFM in Winnipeg. We hope to continue to be one of the first places to play all the new British bands and this year we may actually get around to finally doing an interview with someone.
The Downbeat Years
Saturdays, 4-5:30PM CST
www.umfm.com
www.myspace.com/downbeatyears

Top 3 records:

1. British Sea Power-Open Season - (Rough Trade):
The second CD put out by British Sea Power is almost perfect. They have streamlined their sound from their debut without losing any of their eccentricness. It is one of the few CDs where the first half is good and the second half is even better. From the anthemic "Please Stand Up" to the country twang of "Victorian Ice" to the lyrical curiosity "Oh Larsen B", in 2005 BSP jumped from strength to strength.

2. Kaiser Chiefs-Employment - (B-Unique/Universal): "I Predict a Riot" was the first track I played in 2005 way back in January and then throughout the year The Kaisers kept on releasing fantastic single after single.
Definitely not the most "artistic" CD of the year but it was the one disc that I kept on coming back to time and time again. They brought back the Brit Pop sound of 1994 and they actually had fun in the process. Nice one lads!

3. Editors-The Back Room - (Kitchenware Records Ltd): Message boards are lighting up these days comparing them to Interpol and Joy Division. These comparisons are not too far off the mark. They manage to bring anthem like choruses to their somewhat doom and gloom sound. One day other bands will be compared to Editors.

Most over-rated record of the year
Broken Social Scene-Broken Social Scene (Arts and Crafts):
This is not a bad CD at all and most of the reviews have correctly been generally favourable, however, it just feels like it should have been so much better.
From reading the interviews and having seen them in concert, I just get the feeling this band (or just Kevin Drew) think they are the greatest thing in the world. Celebrated by too many indie hipsters, BSS should stop believing their own hype. This wasn't even the best CD from Ontario this year.

Most under-rated record of the year
Code Pie-This Habit (Flagless Records):
Just being from Montreal this year helped many bands get a leg up, however, Code Pie seemed to fly under everyone's radar. They have a slightly eccentric Arcade Fireness about them mixed in with early 90s college rock. Their music would be at home in the worst dive bar in the city or in the most elegant theatre. A true gem of a disc.

Best local release
The Perms-Better Days (Hugtight Records):
Their sound is straight up rock with melodic pop hooks. Definitely hands up in the air, shake your tail feather music. Check out "Bring You Down" to get your head nodding and to start rocking out. Then wonder how they imported the horns from X-Ray Spex into the mix.

Best experiences of the year:
Most of the best experiences this year has been discovering all the new bands releasing absolutely fantastic debut CDs. Kaiser Chiefs, Editors, Maximo Park, Code Pie, Wolf Parade, MIA, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Ladies and Gentlemen, Bloc Party, The Rakes, etc. Also enjoyed drunkenly going on to Barry Hyde from The Futureheads about how great they are when they came through Winnipeg. The best thing about this year was definitely the rise of the Arcade Fire and watching them become one of the most important bands on the planet. The fact that they played in Winnipeg on my birthday weekend was a bonus as well.

Most anticipated record for 2006:
Hard to narrow down to just one. I'm looking forward to hearing what Yeah Yeah Yeah's have been upto after they ran down a lot of other bands second CDs last year. Also looking forward to hearing new music from Belle & Sebastian and Muse. The one CD I'm most looking forward to though is The Arctic Monkeys. Shouldn't be too long before we finally get to hear the album even if everyone has been listening/trading the demos for months.
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