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Contrary to opinion, I also hold many other bands dear to me who do not bear shaggy haircuts and have been together longer than I’ve been on this planet. As much as I love the New Jersey rockers, the latest album doesn’t hold a patch on any in the top 10 and any credibility I had would come tumbling down in king kong style proportion. So to blow those rumours out the water, my final choice for top album 2005 is…

#1
Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger

Surprised? This album for me has captured the essence of the 2005 brit rock scene and led the following army into battle. Admittedly they weren’t the first onto the battlefield, beaten to it by The Futureheads amongst others. However their presence has bolstered a great year in rock for the uk hoards. Maximo have the whole package, rocksteady riffs, driving basslines, jerky guitars and an image more inline with boy in the corner dunces than rockstars (clearly Paul Smith has taken style tips from Jarvis Cocker).

Back to the music, this album goes through all ranges of tempo and style, from the midtempo ‘Going Missing’ to the giddy riffing of ‘Apply Some Pressure’ and back with the mellow ‘I Want You To Stay’. Also picking up on the latest trends in pop they have their own Synthesiser, clearly shown on the rather oddball track ‘Limassol’ which adds charm to the track list. The classics keep on rolling in with the awesome sing-along ‘Graffiti’ which is bursting with enough energy to power Newcastle for years to come. Their crowing moment and my favourite track is the superb lyrically driven ‘The Coast Is Always Changing’. This is full of strong Geordie lingo with language like ‘yoong’, ‘aweey’ and ‘looost’, which adds to the character of the track. A mellow verse and explosive chorus pulled off a treat here, the lyrics somehow feel heartfelt, “I am young and i am lost, every sentence has it’s cost” looking at the man I can see why he’s lost…easy on the sideparting Paul! Still a great track and epitomises what a great album this really is.

As with most albums here a slow track has managed to creep in, ‘Acrobat’ has a strange effect which makes you listen to it in it’s entirety every time. The spoken poem verses, pounding drums with many layers of sound this track stands out as not just an illustration of ‘Look! we can do it too!’. This album is definitely not the most original album in the current wave, but it certainly has more than its fair share riffs and classic melodies. I was lucky enough to see these guys in the first half of the year and they have transferred al the energy of the stage performance into the final album which is the essence of this amazing new band. Not Quite The Favourite Track: Acrobat – Oddball Glorification

2005 New Years Honourable Mentions List:

Funeral For A Friend – Hours
LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
The Rakes – Capture Release
Editors – Back Room
Architecture In Helsinki – In Case We Die
Acceptance – Phantoms
Oasis – Don’t Believe The Truth
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl
Tom Vek – We Have Sound
Wolf Parade – Apologies To Queen Mary

Now turn the speakers up to ’11’ and roll on 2006!