Top 5 - Chris Hill
1) Wheat,- Hope and Adams (Sugar Free). Their debut, Medeiros, concealed pop romanticism behind cloudy skies of hazy guitar - splendid in its restraint and the tenderness under the heavy woolen clothing. Enter superproducer du jour Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mogwai, Mercury Rev) for Wheat's second. Near perfect, and the only album this year where each song makes me forget the previous in the rush of elation. I'm particularly fond of the Simon and Garfunkel reference in "Body Talk (Part Two)", but picking a favorite is a harder choice than Sophie's.
2) Lullaby for the Working Class, Song (Saddle Creek / Bar None). With a name inspired by a Tolstoy essay and mature songwriting that belies their youth, Lullaby for the Working Class appeals to the Faulkner fan in me. Their lyrically-rich and musically-innovative sound resonates and amplifies with each listen. The Nebraska group combines guitar, violins, cellos, banjo, glockenspiel, drums, and an upright bass, for a blissful romp through Elysian fields. A band I hope lasts for decades.
3) Mogwai, Come on Die Young and EP + 2 (Chemikal Underground). '99 saw two releases from the mighty Scotsmen. "Burn Girl Prom Queen" off the EP is phenomenal: who'd have thought a band that mentions (and has covered) Black Sabbath as an influence would produce an eight minute exhalation of brass? Mogwai is the calm before the storm, then the storm itself. Music by which to levitate. CODY, notably, sees Dave Fridmann (of the above Wheat cd) at the helm - who will the Good Witch Glinda touch next?
4) Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada (Kranky). Their previous album should have been on '98's best list, had I gotten it in time. This is the perfect disc to play, walk out of the room, then race back in to check what song (or more accurately, what point in the 17+ minute song) is playing. A soundtrack without a movie, in its moments of pure string/guitar/drum incandescence, I see ballerinas, iced-over lakes, fast-riding cavalries, and Jimmy Cagney gangster films. Discover your own visions.
5) Sparklehorse, Good Morning Spider (Capitol). Utter despair and impish glee meets studio wizardry and inventiveness. GMS was a '98 U.K. release and inexplicably delayed until '99 in Mark Linkous' homeland, so it makes my list. Linkous' near- fatal accident brought a resonance to this album that turned out to be happenstance - just two of the songs were written post- paralysis (and recovery). "Saint Mary" still tugs at the heart, eleven months after first listen. Many singles from both sides of the happy/sad fence.
