10. New Order - Low-Life
New Order is one of those 80's bands that sound fairly good, but I'm not moved by the music. Everything is almost there with industrial rhythms, cold guitars and danceable melodies, but emotionally I don't feel the music. This Time of Night is probably best example of the kind of music I would want from New Order. It needs dark melancholy and cold industrialism to be interesting. Only a part of this album manages to do that. Sunrise sounds a bit like The Cure, but the emotion is not as strong. There is a lot of good in this album and if you're a bit more into electronic music and synth sounds you might like it a lot more than I do. I'm glad I can give credit to this album even though it's not one of my personal favourites, since there is certain coolness in it. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I'm not a fan of Talking Heads. Usually their music is more about sounds and rhythms than melodies and that usually puts me off. Little Creatures is a different case. This album looks more into the direction of americana. The melodies have much bigger role in this album and there is even certain melancholy in them, which is usually absent in Talking Heads' music. Little Creatures combines typical americana melodies with strong funk-elements and some African rhythms. The use of horns in many of the songs is classy element. Ending song Road to Nowhere's marching drumming reminds me of Arcade Fire's take on rhythms. Some parts fall into same mistakes of unnecessary happiness as many other Talking Heads albums, but all in all Little Creatures is a very decent album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
I have deliberately left out many great albums from this list if those albums have had lyrics in Finnish. This is just because I think so many of my readers don't understand Finnish and I don't know if they would appreciate music as much without the lyrics. Well, this album sounds great even though you wouldn't understand anything of the lyrics. Sielun Veljet plays shamanistic post-punk, which has aggressiveness and dark melodies unlike any other band in the world. The piercing guitars and pounding drums are beautifully menacing. Ismo Alanko's vocals are unique and may put some people off, but if you're used to his vocals they carry great amount of feeling with them. Listen to the album on Spotify. Some of the songs have also been published as English translations, which are not as good, but might be interesting to non-Finns.
Previously in this blog I introduced very different sound from The Waterboys, that was more folky. This Is the Sea is deep in post-punk and new wave. The sound is dark and melancholic. Opening song Don't Bang the Drum is a phenomenal song! If only the rest of the album would be as good as this, the album would go on to the first place on this list. Medicine Bow is my other favourite from the album. In the time of the release of this album The Waterboys were expected to become as big as U2, but that obviously didn't happen. The reason in my opinion is that they continued to make their own kind of good music without compromising and ended up making a lot better music, but not as successful obviously. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Kate Bush has one of the most unique vocals in the world. There are very few people who can sing as high notes as she. She made her best albums in the late 70's and the 80's albums took her sound into different direction. These sounds are full of echoes and dreamlike buzz. This makes me want to call her music dream-pop. Hounds of Love is Bush's best 80's album. Many of the songs have beautiful melodies. i still think they could sound even better if the production was a little less 80's, but there's still otherworldly beauty in them. Running Up That Hill is one of Bush's biggest hits. Cloudbusting soars beautifully with the accompaniment of strings. Hello Earth is probably my personal favourite of these songs with its massive sounds. listen to the album on Spotify.
I know it's a bit boring to see one R.E.M. album on every year's list. Still I can't help that they made good albums throughout the 80's when not many other bands did. This time actually we're talking about a really good album. Opening track Feeling Gravity's Pull advances menacingly and brings dark shades to the music. Maps and Legends is one of the best R.E.M. songs with its melancholic melodies and great background vocals. Driver 8 is an instant hit. Old Man Kensey has shamanic quality to it that hypnotises in a good way. Wendell Gee at the end of the album is a beautiful ballad with influences from country music tradition. All in all Fables of the Reconstruction is a great album and it might be even higher on this list if I hadn't included an R.E.M. album in every year's list. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The Replacements is one a great band, but they only managed to make few really good albums. This is one of them. Tim combines melodic guitar rock with punk sounds and uplifting attitude. Paul Westerberg's voice, roughed by alcohol and cigarettes, is perfect for the rock attitude of the songs. Some of the songs have influences from the 50's rock n' roll, but they still manage to sound original and new. Kiss Me on the Bus is one of the hits known to bigger audiences. Waitress in the Sky shows a folkier side of The Replacements. I haven't listened to this album as much as the band's previous album, so I don't know if it's going to become more important to me in the future, but Tim is a really good album of pure rock n' roll. Listen to the album on Spotify.
This album is often regarded as the start of the shoegazing musical style. Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album has catchy pop songs, but the sounds are filled with buzzing guitars and noise elements. I usually prefer a cleaner sound, but I must say that this album could've been less interesting if they would've just stuck to more traditional sounds. Cut Dead is a nice change in the style. The hypnotising and relaxed song makes you stare at the wall and just listen. The image of the band is extremely cool. This look, along with The Cure's look has influenced many goth and emo kids and started a whole subculture for bleak but cool appearances. More than anything Psychocandy is a part of the rock music history and I think it's necessary to be familiar with this album. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Meat Is Murder is probably my least favourite Smiths album. Nevertheless it's on the second place this year, because The Smiths was just better than almost anything else in the 80's. Like many other Smiths albums, Meat Is Murded also shows its best bits in the end half. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore is the first brilliant song only to make way to the even more brilliant How Soon Is Now. This song is pure Smiths classic. Nowhere Fast is also one of the best songs on this album. The album ends in the grandiloquent title track with mooing cows. This is a strong political statement against eating meat. The Smiths are almost the sole reason why I started to search 80's bands in the first place. Before listening to them I didn't really think of finding any new good music made in the 80's. Listen to the album on Spotify.
This year The Cure beat The Smiths in my book. This is a great accomplishment. The Head on the Door is one of the most hit-filled Cure albums. It has all the distinctive features that a Cure album should have, but almost all the songs are catchy and danceable or just brilliant otherwise. In Between Days kicks the album to start with great hit material. Dark Kyoto Song continues on different more menacing lines. Upbeat Push is a great song for dancing. Close to Me sounds like the forefather of all the hipster indie pop in the 2000's. I have a feeling that this album has worked as an influence for bands beyond count. A Night Like This is probably my favourite song on the album. It brings together everything that is good with The Cure. Great melancholic melodies, Smith's scary vocals and rhythm to dance to. Listen to the album on Spotify.
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