Feature

2003: Albums Of The Year
counterculture's most wanted

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Sometimes it's difficult to be objective about the quality of a year's releases until to reached the end and allowed the dust to settle. As always, the counterculture Albums Of The Year list is a democratic effort, and the more writers who come on board, the more quality releases get squeezed out of our end of year chart.
    The Thrills, The Strokes, The Darkness, Sarah McLachlan, Richard X, Outkast . . . all missed out by the narrowest of margins. If albums of this quality don't make the cut, 2003 must have been a great year for great music. These are the releases that rocked counterculture's world:

The White Stripes : Elephant
XL Recordings

#1

The band that makes the bass-playing community fear that the game may finally be up . . . Two people with more talent than most of the current throng of chart-dwelling quartets, The White Stripes have excelled themselves once again.

The White Stripes : Elephant

Radiohead : Hail To The Thief
Parlophone

#2

In which Thom Yorke comes clean about his dystopian vision of the future, the band rediscover tunes and the whole thing sounds oddly cheerful. The best thing we've heard since OK Computer.

Radiohead : Hail To The Thief

Kings Of Leon :
Youth & Young Manhood
Handmedownrecords

#3

The finest debut of the year by a mile, Youth & Young Manhood is a powerhouse of an album full of ridiculously good songs. Just make sure Delilah doesn't get into the hairy quartet's dressing room . . .

Kings Of Leon : Youth & Young Manhood

AFI : Sing The Sorrow
Polydor

#4

Sing The Sorrow is a dramatic leap forward for the veteran punk group; adding electronic and goth dynamics to their trademark melodies and scathing guitar hooks to make for a groundbreaking release.

AFI : Sing The Sorrow

Placebo : Sleeping With Ghosts
Elevator / Hut

#5

Gloriously glacial and succinct, Placebo made Muse look like prog-rock windbags with this masterpiece of understated angst. It even came with a bonus CD of unlikely covers, from Kate Bush to Boney M.

Placebo : Sleeping With Ghosts

Billy Talent : Billy Talent
Atlantic

#6

At The Drive-In and AFI in a fight with The Dickies? Billy Talent's over-the-top sound may be an acquired taste, but this adrenaline infused outing is the most energizing thing we've heard all year.

Billy Talent : Billy Talent

Jane's Addiction : Strays
Parlophone

#7

Dave's got out his feathers and chiffon, Perry's back with Lollapalooza and Jane Says . . . rock 'n' roll. After 13 years away, the legend splashes down in style. Worth the price just for Navarro's joyous guitar.

Jane's Addiction : Strays

The Hitchers : Unspoken Truths
Toddler Records

#8

Rockabilly punkers The Hitchers surpassed all expectations with the release of Unspoken Truths. A winning formula of punk rock, smart lyrics and a 1950s' sound all worked together to give the small-label Teesside rockers a truly dazzling debut.

The Hitchers : Unspoken Truths

Bell X1 : Music In Mouth
Universal Island Records

#9

While Damien Rice got all the plaudits, his former band fired back with Music In Mouth. Truly one of the year's unheralded gems, there's no filler and enough killers to give genre kings Radiohead and Coldplay a real scare.

Bell X1 : Music In Mouth

Rancid : Indestructible
Hellcat Records

#10

So much more than 'just another Rancid album'. Indestructible sees the Californian stalwarts come full circle and back to true form with irresistably sour punk hooks and
hints of sun-soaked reggae.

Rancid : Indestructible
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