best of 2005 part 2: rock

1. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens The second entry in Sufjan's 50 States project (and yes, he needs to get the hustle on) builds on the model set up in Greetings From Michigan. The same folky ballads are there, as in "Casimir Pulaski Day," but the lush arrangements are now even deeper and more complex. "Chicago" is riotous, and the title track is sort of a indie "Stairway to Heaven" in reverse. Plus, it features the scariest song written about a serial killer this decade. Musically and lyrically, a complicated masterpiece.
2. Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene Montreal's finest follow up their lo-fi The Bends with a lo-fi OK Computer (seriously, that's it for me on this one).
3. Frances The Mute by the Mars Volta Though not nearly as coherent as their debut, the Volta continue to stretch the boundaries of guitar-and-noise rock. Not prog, nor psychedelica, funk, jazz, or latin, but a sort of intergalatic sound odyssey. The storyline here is a bit more of a stretch than the first album, but still, it was the best record to lose yourself in in 2005.
4. Picaresque by the Decemberists This is what happens when English majors start rock bands. Colin Meloy hones his wordplay and characterization wonderfully, especially in songs about spies and getting trapped in whales, and the band rocks the catchy hooks to the finest possible point.
5. Superwolf by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney This album sounds more like Neil Young than Neil Young's new album does. Well, Will Oldham doesn't have the same voice or plaintive harmonica, but Sweeney's guitar licks and the melancholy/humorous lyrics recall On The Beach and Zuma like few can (and many have tried, including Oldham himself).
[I seem to no longer be able to review rock albums with the same finesse as I used to, or with which I can review hip hop.]
Honorable Mention: South San Gabriel, Eisley, M.I.A., M83, Xiu Xiu, the Mae Shi, Stephen Malkmus, Six Organs of Admittance, 13 & God, Devendra Banhart, Caribou, Doves,