!earshot Top 200 of 2021

Most Over-rated of 2005

Also check out the most under-rated, most best of 2005 and best local releases of the year.

Sufjan Stevens and Wolf Parade come in for a drubbing more than once from our panel of music geeks. All the big names are here: New Porngraphers, Broken Social Scene, Metric, Tangiers. Of course if you check over on the Best of list they are all over there to.

Anyway, here are a few of the releases that some felt just didn’t measure up this year.

Somebody had to put the White Stripes on this list.Corb Lund- Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer - (Stony Plain).
One decent song  (The Truck got Stuck) which makes the rest of the CD so much more disappointing.

Bell Orchestre - Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light – (Rough Trade)
Talk about riding on the coattails of well-noticed friends/a hyped city.  A fairly typical post-rock outing that isn't deserving of a whole lot of attention.

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop)
Its a good record....& that¹s why its a little over-rated, or should I say...overplayed , you know...the can con thing.. Singer comes off as a natural new Iggy , great stuff really.

John Williams - War Of the Worlds – (Decca)
It’s hard to believe that this score is from the same composer as the #1 score.  Plodding and sometimes boring this War Of The Worlds is a bit of dud.  Try as they might to hype this score it just falls flat.

The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema – (Mint) Yes, this was good, so were Mass Romantic and Electric Version.  Why pour on the praise now when all they've done is release a third copy of the same sound?  Granted, a third good album, but the same album.  Where was the acclaim then?

Green Day, come on now folks, who are they trying to kid, they've gone corporate!

System of a Down ­ Hypnotize/Mesmerize ­ (Sony):
I swear, if it wasn’t for the political rants against the U.S. administration, and the fact that they spread this material out between two albums the hype machine would have overlooked this one. There are better, more interesting things happening in metal/loud rock and their name is Propagandhi.

A good record, for me, comes down to whether I like listening to it and if it makes me feel anything. Unfortunately, this one failed on both counts. - Sara Saljoughi on Sufjan Stevens' Illinois 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.

Controller.Controller - X-Amounts – (Paper Bag)
Sounds just like History. Sorry, Nirmala, but I just don't care. What else have you got

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary - (Sub Pop)
Hey man, check out this new Canadian band!!  They’re totally lo-fi and Isaac Brock produced!  He’s that dude from Modest Mouse!  Whatever happened to Sub Pop putting out wicked rock albums?  Now it’s all weepy indie rock crap; if Sub Pop didn’t have the Constantines and Mudhoney I’d say they were a bunch of Nancy boys.

a two-way tie:
Broken Social Scene S/T (Arts And Crafts):
A fine - if dense and often muddy - indie rock record, but the contents within warrant nowhere near the hyperbole foisted on this collection of Toronto 30-somethings.
Metric Live Out Loud (Last Gang)
Two words: painfully mediocre. Good thing Emily's hip and gorgeous, otherwise this banal foursome would be opening for Pilate.

Neil Diamond’s Twelve Songs. 
Proof that Rick Rubin’s Midas touch can fade now and then.

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois - Asthmatic Kitty
I like his concept of recording an album for every state and all the  Americana is very cool.  A good record, for me, comes down to whether  I like listening to it and if it makes me feel anything.  Unfortunately, this one failed on both counts. I find it too arranged  and detached.

Vienna Art Orchestra – Swing & Affairs – (Universal)
The new CD of the 25 year old legendary jazz band is a little bit disappointing and too laboured compared what they produced in the past.  I am thinking about a masterpiece like The Minimalism of Erik Satie that they made 20 years ago.

Broadcast - Tender Buttons
totally disappointing.
Saint Etienne - Tales from Turnpike House
please fuck off now as you have turned into a parody of yourselves.
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
indistinguishable from the Pooh Sticks circa 1990.

Sure, Sufjan Stevens is on the top of the charts
and many a best of list, but that hasn't stopped
a few people from thinking it's all too much.Sufjan Stevens- 'Illinois'. So he can write a catchy tune and lo and behold, he ain't bad lookin' either. But shit, his voice is god awful.

Tangiers - The Family Myth - (Baudelaire)
If i wanted to listen to the strokes and the smiths at the same time i would get 2 cd players and put them in the same room. The family myth is just a way too convenient way to do this. Their first record was great, what the shit happened?

Broken Social Scene - S/T (Arts and Crafts)
This is far too slick an album to deserve all the praise it's getting.  Broken Social Scene have got the 'indie' thing down pact.  So down in fact that they've become far to place-able and predictable to receive all the glory they have had.

The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute:
Everyone raves about it, but I just don't seem to get what's so great about it.

White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
If Jack White has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for making great albums, he needs review the terms of the contract. With the exception of the first single Blue Orchid, I was reluctant to give this album any spins.

Most overrated Jazz CD was Diana Krall's Small Room. The new Krall/ Costello makeover with little of the finer jazzy qualities of previous CD's such as Live in Paris.