TRAAMS‘ top five albums they’ve never heard

Slint - Spiderland

This record has been calling out for me as soon as I reached that age where I foolishly gave up on chart music. The fact that the artwork looked ambiguous was cool and that I never once spotted it in my local record shop was enough for me to keep it on my radar. However, I never did anything about it. I kind of preferred just thinking about it.

Is this record like Meet Me In St. Louis or Sigur Rós? I thought. Do Make Say Think or Don Cab? Yndi Halda? Múmford & Sunn O)))? Everyone loves a mystery.

When Stu recently learned that I’ve never heard this record he nearly laid an egg. He reckons I’ll really enjoy it. After all, it’s a sophomore album and they tend to be my favourite.

From my five choices it is Spiderland that bugs me the most as it reads as a bit of a blueprint for a lot of the music I’ve enjoyed ever since it apparently set the forward thinking Alt-world in motion in the early 90s.

I might save it for my deathbed so I will have something to regret.

At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command

I bloody love The Mars Volta. They were one of the only bands that had the full package for me growing up. Storm Thorgerson sleeves, title tracks as B-sides, Flea often on bass duties and above everything, impeccable musicianship.

Rarely as the case may be, sometimes it is the destination not the journey wherein lies the fruit, the latter days, not the early.

“These TMV albums are clearly the be-all-and-end-all to good music, it never stopped at The Wall,” thought 18 year old me to himself.

I stubbornly assumed this mode of thought when contemplating picking up this album.

Pennywise the clown? Nah I’ll take the hotel chappie from Home Alone thanks. Tommy DeVito? Nah I’ll take the endearing criminal bloke from Home Alone thanks. The past is scarier than the future and I’m skeptical of ruining the magic.

What’s that? The driving couplet were in a decent band before? Forget it, I’ll stick with 13 Songs, The Color And The Shape & Band On The Run thanks.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

One of the only iconic pieces of cover art I have no idea about and I rarely see on a t-shirt. This is probably a good thing.

I imagine Loveless to be noisy, laced on thick, all encompassing and a bit of a challenge. I listened to m b v when that came out and I really liked it.

I imagine Loveless is a more cohesive version. After all, it can’t be that much of a departure as m b v didn’t seem to piss anybody off, and not many of us fanatical purists like change.

I reckon it’s concise, immersive and yet a handful. Bold, brutal yet soothing. I’m sure guitarists love it, and people lucky enough to have seen them live. Can you really trust a gig-goers praise when in the same breath they complain about their tinnitus? Probably yeah, sounds good to me.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Aeroplane Over The Sea

I haven’t got a scooby about this one. There’s a person donning a tambourine on the cover and it is revered by everyone from my old school teacher to (according to the sticker) a bloke in Franz Ferdinand. What could it be?

Stu lent it to me once but I couldn’t stop listening to Yeezus at the time. I was feeling upright and sure in 2013 and I assumed that Neutral Milk Hotel wouldn’t fit the bill in complimenting my long awaited, brash, cocksure phase. Maybe I was wrong?

I also remember the internet almost blowing up not many moons ago when they announced a few shows so they’ve got to be a special bunch. I reckon it could be an emo tinged indie-rock record? Possibly a concept record about being scared of both heights and water? I hope so, that sounds badass.

Portishead - Dummy

I have no idea what this record may be about. It tends to be spoke of as a bit of a game-changer. I’m familiar with Third, that record is outstanding. I’ve just never got around to this one.

Is trip-hop a predominantly electronic genre which is as heavy as it is chilled? A slippery notion which intrigues and bores me in equal measure. What do I know? I’ve not even heard its spearheading pioneer.

By the love this record is shown, I’m led to believe Dummy is much, much more than a genre defining classic. But for me, this one is the biggest mystery of all.

So there we have it, Dummy is my number one album I’ve never heard of all time. Christmas list sorted.

Disclaimer: Stu has heard all of these records, plenty of times. No one knows if Adam has.