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One of the many albums I bought in 2005 was John Vanderslice's Pixel Revolt. I had picked up his previous album, Cellar Door, when I visited my brother in March 2004 and had liked the music quite a bit but was bothered by the lyrics at times. Not sure I could explain why, really. Some listens I thought they were great...others not so much. Anyway, I'd heard good buzz on the new album last year and thought he was worth another try. I listened to it a couple times and filed it away. Seemed more of the same. I was wrong.

I pulled it out in June, during a search for something I hadn't listened to in a while. This time I was hooked immediately and I could not figure out what my problem had been. Were I to go back and do my best of 2005 list again, this would definitely be on it and in a very high slot (as would the albums from My Morning Jacket and The National and Tapes 'n Tapes).

There are several songs here that should have been on my best of 2005 mix. I love the moody tones of "Continuation," a song about a serial killer and the detective out to track him down but you're not really sure who is who. "Exodus Damage" is a gorgeous pop song about the fears and anxieties of 9/11. "Trace Manual" also deals with the fallout from the day and "Radiant with Terror" adapts lyrics from a Robert Lowell poem set to a stuttering, ominous beat. Vanderslice knows his way around a melody and the songs always have interesting bits weaving in and out of the mix.

I highly recommend this album and will not let his next record pass me by. No way.