She Wants Revenge

After about the third listen I have finally put my finger on why these guys seem to fall short. In the same way Interpol is a perfect blend of Joy Division and The Smiths, these guys blend Joy Division and Depeche Mode. The former is a more organic blend, but the latter isn't like peanutbutter and sardines. The problem is the early minimalist (not on purpose) Depeche Mode that they ape in order for it to mesh with the now ubiquitos Ian Curtis impression. Even DM didn't want to use that style. It was the limitation of the technology at the time. They are now full and rich and push the threshhold of being over the top. That is good music. I hope these guys ditch the monotone drone and go full on WuDM for their sophmore effort. Right now this guy's vocal talent is almost on par with my own impressive one octave range.

Top 100 New Rules Picks

Since we have now changed the rules to essentially be any recording with more than 4 songs, here are some revisions to the list:

37. Nine Inch Nails - Broken (replaces Pretty Hate Machine)
81. Squeeze - Singles, 45's & Under
68. Billy Bragg - Back to Basics (replaces Life's a Riot w/ Spy v SPy)
82. Echo & the Bunnymen- Songs to Learn and Sing
23. Joy Division - Permanent (replaces Closer)

also

24. Matthew Sweet - Altered Beast (compromise between Girlfriend and 100% Fun)
79. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute (replaces Deloused)
83. They Might Be Giants - Flood
84. Ian McCollough - Mysterio

And the current working top 10 countdown:

10. The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
9. U2 - Achtung Baby
8. The Cure - Disintegration
7. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
6. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
5. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
4. Depeche Mode - Violator
3. The Clash - Combat Rock
2. The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
1. Radiohead - Kid A