Stuff We've Been Listening to 2003
	Benny Benassi - Hypnotica (Zyx) Good Italo-house? Isn't that . . . you know . . . impossible? Well, if you can get past the video of nearly-naked women doing suggestive things with power tools, then this is a mighty fine album. It kind of sounds like Boards of Canada mated with the Daft Punk robots, producing something simultaneously cool, distant, minimalist, sultry and dirty. I'm sure people that don't care for hi-tech house will think this is the same song 14 times over, but to our mind it makes us dance and it makes us smile, which is no mean feat in the hottest European heat-wave in living memory.
	Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (Capitol) The perfect compromise between the melodies of The Bends, the epic grandeur of OK Computer, and the avant-garde experimentalism of Kid A and Amnesiac. In other words, a perfect album which may, in hindsight, be their most enduring calling card.
	Four Tet - Rounds (Domino) The world has been slow to catch on to Four Tet, otherwise known as Kieren Hebdan from Fridge. (And I include myself within this category.) He had already released the wonderful Pause and Dialogue before dropping this angelic, delicate, sublime album which transcends the work of almost all other laptop electrorganic recomposers. Definitely one for the eyes closed, and the expensive headphones - this is music that plucks your soul-strings as if your very tendons are part of a Chinese harp.
	Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher (Warp) I said "almost all other laptop electrorganic recomposers" in the last review, since there is one exception: Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73. And while he can be compared to several other artists, he has effectively carved out a one-man genre of glitch-hop, to which no one, I imagine, will ever come close. Again, one to be cherished via earphones, this is as architectonically astounding as Beethoven's violin concertos or DJ Shadow's Entroducing, only with the extra element of his skittish rhythms. While this could put many people off, after a few listens it is essential to the flow of the narrative (and there is a story being told here; and a heartbreaking one at that). So chapeau to the maestro of the 21st century.
	Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner (Xl) Like Roots Manuva on crystal meth instead of ganja, this is edgy, creative, and mature-beyond-his-19-years stuff. While it may not be the herald of the great UK hip hop renaissance that the critics have been waiting for, it will keep us happy until (or indeed if) this ever happens.
	Frou Frou - Details (MCA) Ironically enough, I first heard Frou Frou during an ad for Cornetto icecream in a hotel in Rome. It then followed me around in bars and cafes, confirming my suspicion that this was somehow perfect pop music. On the one hand, these songs seem to capture the essence of summer: of icecreams, first loves, and endless honey-suckle-scented evenings. However, there is another side to Imogene Heap, the smoky and emotive singer, who also caught our attention guesting with Urban Species on "Blanket" all those years ago. This is the melancholy, angsty, sarcastic, mind-fucking side. And indeed, this paradox is so strong, that I've heard this album described as the perfect winter album. But whichever season you happen to be in, Details combines the smooth sophistication of Olive, the complex production of Lamb, and . . . well . . . Imogene's vocals, which are quite simply to die for.
	Postal Service - Give Up (Sub Pop) With lyrics that swing from intriguing to embarrassing, and some Morriseyesque male vocals, it's a wonder that I like this album so much. Or rather, I find half of the songs here quite disposable, but the good ones are really good; striking an unprecedented harmony between alt.pop, electronica, and . . . well . . . just those two really, but it completely works. Worth the price of admission alone are "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" and "Brand New Colony."
	Stars - Heart & Nightsongs (Le Grand Magistery) And speaking of alt.pop, no-one does it better than Stars. I don't know much about these guys, except they are popular at Other Music , and they have this infectious boy-girl dialogue thing going on. Plus they manage to sound Californian, Parisien, and mawkishly New Yorkish at the same time. Cool lyrics too.
	Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Universal) If street cred doesn't rate highly on your list of priorities, then you may prefer the new Cardigans album, which is their best yet, incorporating folk-country-pop elements into a melancholy, wise, and autumnal heart-warming series of observations of love. ("I've found myself a good horse!") Nina could sing for me anyday.
	Chris Whitley - Rocket House (Ato) Chris Whitley has already released another album since this one, but the lack of interest in Rocket House is surely due to a lack of financial backing than any shortcomings of quality. Always something of an enigmatic outsider, despite some major label attempts to break him into the alt.country big-time, this is a vaguely experimental session of songs to support his wonderful Al Greenish voice, as well as to prop up his fantasies of flying buildings. Buy this album, and help a struggling artist get the recognition he deserves.
	Richard Buckner - Impasse (Overcoat) Speaking of underrated artists, Richard Buckner's latest album may not reach the exulted heights of Since or Devotion and Doubt, but it packs quite a punch. Indeed, if you receive it in the spirit it is intended (that is, a compressed, fly-by-night, one-take shotgun recording), then this is an excellent mood piece; equal parts Arizona desert and Bay Area balladry. Stand-out tracks are "Born Into Giving It Up," "Loaded @ The Wrong Door," and "Count Me In On This One!" (. . . although the whole thing gets better with each listen).
	Modest Mouse - Moon and Antarctica (Sony) It took a couple of years to find this, but I'm very glad I did. If Will Oldham circa 1994 hooked up with The Pixies circa 1989 to make a concept album, it might sound a little like this. The lead singer has a great voice, and some of the most surreal and insightful lyrics I've ever heard. ("Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank," or "It's hard to remember that life is such a short time . . . when it takes such a long time.") And when he sings: "our hearts are just strings to be pulled" I can hear mine being unravelled before my very ears. Essential.