Underworld - Two Month's Off (Album Version) - (Junior Boy's Own, 2002)

Euphoric, epic, stream of consciousness, classic Underworld.

Real life got in the way and the blog took a back seat for a couple of months, so what better way to come back from two months off than with this humongous Underworld classic.

A nine minute 'journey' building from dark and long-ness to dancefloor joy to weightless breakdown to cloudsurfing and back again. Chiming bells, repetitive chanting and a cowbell outro. Immense.

Download Underworld 'Two Month's Off (Album Version)' (epic, progressive, house, mp3)

Jaga Jazzist - Animal Chin (Smalltown Supersound, 2002)

Breakneck, melodic Post Rock-Jazz madness.

A flurry of melody and breakneck rhythm, this track by Norwegian Post Rock big band Jaga Jazzist is a deliciously tricky beast. The melodic side is driven by a Cardigans-esque flute but the shifting layers of rhythms are a flood of energy and shifting directions.

It's like being thrown around in the world's first 4D helter skelter water slide. Nice.

Download Jaga Jazzist 'Animal Chin' (Post Rock mp3) (Divshare)

The Rapture - House Of Jealous Lovers (DFA/Output, 2002)

Even more cowbell.

Total classic dancefloor abandon.

Driving, euphoric, unhinged.

Download The Rapture 'House Of Jealous Lovers' (DFA, Punk-Funk, mp3) (Divshare)

New Order - Here To Stay (Full Length Vocal) (London, 2002)

The last great New Order record?

It's all got a bit messy in New Order land but this track from the '24 Hour Party People' soundtrack can hold its head up against former glories courtesy of some production magic from The Chemical Brothers.

A gleaming, chrome-plated synthesis of alternative rock and dance with no bobbins lyrics, glorious propulsive beats, Barney's trademark guitar and some fine bass runs from Hooky.

Brings a tear...

Download New Order 'Here To Stay (Full Length Vocal)' (indie dance, mp3) (Divshare)

Do Make Say Think - Classic Noodlanding (Live, 2002)

Beautiful, rolling postrock grooving.

Utterly beguiling instrumental, jazz trumpet-tinged post rock from Do Make Say Think from the heady, post-Godspeed You! Black Emporer days on Constellation Records.

A tidy drum pattern kicks things off, leaving lots of space for guitar patterns and trumpet to weave in and out. A low slung bass underpins the groove and the track gracefully unwinds, ensnaring you with gentle twists and turns.

Download Do Make Say Think 'Classic Noodlanding (Live 2002)' (Post Rock mp3, Constellation) (Divshare)

Ladytron - Seventeen (Telstar, 2002)

Seductive Electroclash earworm and savage commentary on the fashion industry in one glossy package.

Crumbs - is this really ten years old? It only feels like yesterday when you couldn't move for seductive Electroclash earworms like this...

Download Ladytron - Seventeen (Telstar, 2002)

The Shipping News 'Quiet Victories' (ATP, 2002)

Elegiac, quiet-loud postrock chunkiness from Rachels offshoot.

The Shellac-curated Camber Sands event in 2002 was my introduction to All Tomorrow's Parties. Shellac were magnificent hosts, lining up a staggering bill and giving everyone three tasty CDs stuffed with tracks by the bands playing.

Alongside discovering a load of new stuff, I got to see Rachel's who were an amazing hybrid of modern classic austerity and postrock angularity.

Rachel's bassist Jason Noble also played with The Shipping News, his other band and sent me scurrying for their back catalogue of expansive, dynamic beauty.

I also sought out the official ATP compilation album which features 'Quiet Victories'. Opens with a swirl of abused guitar, sombre bass and gently manic drums before the music dies away to cascades of sparkling guitar in the verses. Part Codeine mope, part Explosions In The Sky-scraping, a bit of Red House Painters' spartan elegance, some of Tortoise's rolling groove and just the slightest hint of Slint's unhinged 'Good Morning, Captain'.

Beautiful.

Download The Shipping News 'Quiet Victories' (post rock mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The Rapture 'Olio' (Output, 2002)

Seminal piece of dancefloor-indie hybridisation.

Check out footage of The Rapture on Youtube and you'll see a gangly, fairly conventional band line-up knocking out some machine beats and melancholy. It's a hybrid that Foals and Friendly Fires were paying attention to. It's inspiring stuff.

'Olio' is another track from the excellent 'Channel 2' complilation on Output (see previous posts on Blackstrobe and Playgroup). It's a rough-edged piece of tech-edged dancefloor misery that deserves to be segued nicely into LCD Soundsystem's 'Losing My Edge'.

It's beautiful.

Download The Rapture 'Olio (Full Length Version)' (punk funk, alternative, electronica, mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Blackstrobe 'Me And Madonna' (Output, 2002)

Edgy hybrid of punk funk, deep house and New Order.

A simmering, late night ride on a propulsive rhythm, farting bassline and sleek synths with icy, detached female vocals and an almost-rapped, almost-Europop male vocal.

A breakdown brings some Peter Hook/New Order bass guitar and it grooves, elegantly to a close.

Download Blackstrobe 'Me and Madonna' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Parlour 'Over The Under' (Temporary Residence, 2002)

More angular-but-melodic postrock grooviness from the Temporary Residence stable.

This band are only a recent find for me, despite being wise to Temporary Residence's excellent taste for a good few years now.

Parlour deal in a Ganger-esque mix of lock-groove repetition with melodic trimmings. Warm, resonant bass brings to mind the first Tortoise album and the break-beat, boxy drum figures are channelling Can's Jaki Liebzeit, but the combination of elements and adroit guitar work and production touches make Parlour very much an original.

The seven minutes of gently evolving Kraut-y, rolling Post Rock of 'Over The Under' come from their second album 'Googler' which is highly recommended as point-of-entry into this band.

Download Parlour 'Over The Under' (alternative postrock mp3) (TemporaryResidence.com)

The Notwist 'Pilot' (City Slang, 2002) (mp3 download)

A very bright and breezy piece of slightly glitchy electropop from The Notwist's 'Neon Golden' album.

A forceful drum machine keeps a metronomic beat with bass and tight, bright guitar weave around to create a propulsive groove. The almost muttered vocal seems to allude to the sabotage of public transport infrastructure - which, you have to say, is an under-used subject for alt-pop songwriting.

The chorus bursts to life with sweeping synth strings and a leap in momentum. A strangely addictive sound.

Download The Notwist 'Pilot' (mp3) (Rapidshare)

Shellac 'The Guy Who Invented Fire (Live at All Tomorrow's Parties, 2002)'

Does music get much more aggressive than this? Louder, yes, faster, yes, but more aggressive, I don't think so. Shellac are masters of lucid, focused fury and this is a marvelous example of their work.

This live version of 'The Guy Who Invented Fire' was recorded at All Tomorrow's Parties in 2002. They curated the festival that year, playing three times over the course of the weekend and inducting me and my fellow post-rockers into the wonders of ATP and a whole heap of great bands. Shellac also managed to find enough money in the budget to give everyone who attended a set of three CDs featuring tracks by all the bands playing that weekend. A very nice touch.

On 'The Guy Who Invented Fire' Steve Albini's guitar is like razorwire, Bob Weston's bass is seismic and Todd Trainer's drums are monumental. Fuck knows what the song's about though.

Awesome.

Download Shellac 'The Guy Who Invented Fire (Live at ATP 2002' (mp3) (Box)