Okay, it's HOMTA time and here are the top five albums of my time away from this blog - so the best of the best from late March through April and May. Enjoy :)
5. Alex Turner - Submarine EP
In fifth place only because it's a short EP, Alex Turner delivers
another reminder of his genius with this scoring of Richard Ayoade's film Submarine. Five brilliantly sombre and fantastically written slow-ones, the highlight of which is the dreamy ballad 'Glass In The Park'. Also, look out for a slightly faster version of 'Piledriver Waltz' on the up-coming Arctic Monkeys album. This sees Turner grow fully from the sharp delivery of early Monkeys songs to a magnificent crooner.
KEY TRACKS: 'Glass In The Park', 'Piledriver Waltz'
4. Avril Lavigne - Goodbye Lullaby
A guilty pleasure I'll admit, but the Queen of punk balladry is back in fine form. Lead single 'What The Hell' is a bit of Red Herring as the rest of the album is stripped back to old-style Lavigne; a guitar, a bit of atmosphere and a cracking ballad about love. It's been a long time since 'Complicated', the pop princess' powers show no sign of diminishing just yet.
KEY TRACKS: '4 Real', 'Stop Standing There', 'Everybody Hurts'
3. Panic At The Disco - Vices & Virtues
The kings of theatrical emo rock are back after a long hiatus, and again they show no sign of slowing just yet. Although not as instant as debut effort 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out', Vices is a fine example of their lyrical and musical talents. First track 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa' is the stand-out; a brilliant, er, ballad that is one of the songs of the year; and the rest of the album works well as a collection of good, solid and inventive tunes.
KEY TRACKS: 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa', 'Memories', 'Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)'
2. The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
They ain't no one-hit wonders. The three lads that brought us 'Jizz In My Pants' and 'I'm On A Boat' are back, and with a possibly even bolder set of songs. Proclamations of joyous intercourse with Akon ('I Just Had Sex'), agreements to swap mothers for sexual relations with Justin Timberlake ('Motherlover') and sipping light beer in your favourite attire with Snoop Dogg ('Turtleneck & Chain') are just a taster of the delights that await. Not one bad song.
KEY TRACKS: 'Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)', 'No Homo', 'I Just Had Sex (feat. Akon)'
1. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
The elder statesmen of rock returned with their seventh album to reassert their place at the head of the music world. A exceptional bold and robust record, each song could be a single and is probably Dave Grohl's best one yet. Lead single 'Rope' sets the tone, then opener 'Bridges Burning' and 'Arlandria' push it through the roof. Also, we see a moment of sentimentality as Grohl aches through 'I Should Have Known'. Foo Fighters doing what they do best; guitars with soaring choruses, and it's exemplary.
KEY TRACKS: 'Bridges Burning', 'Arlandria', 'I Should Have Known'
So, there's my top five, and there were a few good'uns that missed out; with Noah And The Whale's 'Last Night on Earth', Wild Beasts' 'Smother', Fleet Foxes 'Helplessness Blues' and Gorillaz's 'The Fall'; just a couple of the names, and I'm sure there's many more. But here for your enjoyment, 'Arlandria' by the Foo Fighters.
NWR
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