Albums Of The Decade : 8 - Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (2005)

After the sustained excellence of 2002's You Forgot It In People, sprawling Canadian collective Broken Social Scene returned with a third album that was defiantly non-commercial, leader Kevin Drew telling MTV "We made a dirty-sounding, right/wrong record. We [eliminated] the catchiest singles from the record. We don't live up to what label and promotion people want us to be — we're not about that". The production on Broken Social Scene was overwhelmingly dense and cluttered on first listen, layer upon layer of instrument upon instrument smothering whatever tunes existed underneath and resulting in a melange of disorientating sonics. However, as one stuck with it, the genius of the album began to emerge: tracks like 'Hotel' and 'Bandwitch' lay down haunting, evocative rhythms that owed as much to electronica as post-rock, 'Swimmers' and 'Major Label Debut' created a hazy, dreamy mood, 'Ibi Dreams of Pavement' and 'It's All Gonna Break' rocked out in shambolic fashion, while the extraordinary 'Handjobs for the Holidays' began sounding like an out-of-focus, brass-infused Dinosaur Jr track and ended sounding like a long-lost track from Loveless. You know, I don't believe I have any higher praise.

Albums Of The Decade: 10 - Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)

Following hot on the heels of fellow NYC sensations The Strokes, Interpol were a more austere, moody bunch, creating a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere on their debut album. The levels of tension rarely let up throughout, from the stabbing guitar lines and urgent vocals of 'Obstacle 1' to the frantic, Smiths-referencing squall of 'Say Hello to the Angels' to the menacing-sounding closer 'Leif Erikson'. 'PDA' remains the group's finest moment, a relentlessly sinister rocker that gives way to a glorious coda around the three-minute mark, although not far behind it is the graceful, elegiac sweep of 'NYC', a conflicted paean to their hometown.