JF's Best Albums of 2003

Singer-songwriters of the world unite and take over! To our ears, the finest records of 2003 have so far come from fragile white men. See for yourself...

Tracks - The Way; Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise?; Master and Everyone; Wolf Among Wolves; Joy and Jubilee; Maundering; Lessons from What's Poor; Even if Love; Three Questions; Hard Life

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham) has got the ball rolling with 2003's first great album. Master and Everyone is a poignant late night folk-set of the highest order and is also Mr. Oldham's most mature work to date. Spanning just 30-odd minutes, this is a fully realised collection of ten lovely songs, and is sure to please the bearded wonder's diehard fans and hopefully win over many new ones as well.

Tracks - Repeat; My Idea; Rancho Santa Fe; Waking Up; Hard Drive; Shots is Fired; It Looks Like You; The Same Thing You Thought Hard About is the Same Part I Can Live Without; Why Do You Do This to Yourself?; All My Life; Stop My Head; In the Grass All Wine Coloured

Tracks - Dump on Both Sides; Sisters; I Wish/You Wish; The History of Love; Basic Cable; Peggy's Blues; I'm on Your Side; Daily Affirmation; Mr. Too Damn Good; Oh Patty; Once Upon a Time; Silver Lining; Cowboy Song

Tracks - By the Sea; The Late Great Cassiopia; Our Lady in Havana; Lazy May; Southern States; Julia; Old Dominion; Sorry River; Chartiers; Whetherman; The Boo Hoo Boy; Berlin

Tracks - Caroline and I; Poison in the Walls; Mrs. Morgan; In Her Diary; Too Much of One Thing; Crooked Lines; Old Mexico; Make Her Day; Something for Myself; Unfinished Business

Drop everything...Australia's finest ever singer-songwriter's return with Bright Yellow Bright Orange, their 8th album and 2nd since their recording comeback in 2000 with The Friends of Rachel Worth. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan's new release is a more consistently pleasing record than Friends of... and confirms them (as if they needed confirmation!) as one of the finest folk-rock duos on the planet. Essential stuff.

Tracks - Now; Syrup of Tears; Mountain Top; Love Enchanted; Must; Fish; Power of Love; Forever Your Love; Love Not Dead; You Hurt Me; Wish; Living it for the Moment

Tracks - Amateur Night; Omaha; Abilene; Texas to Ohio; Window; I Can't Get Over You; Intoxicated Hands; Tether; Matinee; Bad Dreams

Tracks - Precollection; Melusina; Will My Lord Be Gardening; Mystery School Assembly; Squares; Catherine (Let a Positive Stream...); Preception Room; Meditations on Speed; The Dunes; 365

Tracks - Water and a Seat; Ramp of Death; (Do Not Feed the) Oyster; Vanessa from Queens; Sheets; Animal Midnight; Dark Wave; Witch Mountain Bridge; Craw Song; 1% of One; Us

Stephen Malkmus' 2nd solo outing is yet another terrific release from the former Pavement front-man. Malkmus weaves some more of his trademark off-kilter pop tunes ("Ramp of Death", "Vanessa from Queens", "Craw Song") in between perhaps some of the most instrumentally and structurally experimental workouts (the highlight being the 9-minute "1% of one") of his decade-plus career. Sonically unrestrained, amiable and very recommended.

Tracks - Feather by Feather; Butterflies Drowned in Wine; Morality; Ambition; Vessel in Vain; Truth Serum; Our Anniversary; Driving; A Guiding Light

Tracks - Lost at Seaflower Cove; Bedroom Eyes; The Ballad of John Vogelin; Song My Friends Taught Me; Cannon Fodder; Tom Skookum Road; Tiger Tattoos; A Shining Lamp; Ohio Clouds; Devils' Hootenanny; Midnight Singer

Tracks - Transfiguration, No. 1; Vincent O'Brien; Sad, Sad Song; Undertaker; Duet for Guitars, No. 3; Outta My Head; Involuntary; Helicopter; Poor Boy, Minor Key; Fool Says; Get to the Table on Time; A Voice at the End of the Line; Dead Man; Let's Dance; Transfiguration, No. 2.

M. Ward's first two solo albums drifted by largely unnoticed by most rock scribes. What's new?, you may ask. However, the third solo CD from this Portland-based singer-songwriter should establish him at the forefront of the alt-folk, alt-country, alt-whatever-you-wanna-fucking-call-it scene. Featuring some lovely guitar picking, concise melodies (the highlight being "Fool Says"), his endearingly fragile voice and an extraordinary cover of Bowie's "Let's Dance", "Transfiguration of Vincent" is a stunner.

Tracks - Seven Nation Army; Black Math; There's No Home for You Here; I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself; In the Cold, Cold Night; I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother's Heart; You've Got Her in Your Pocket; Ball and Biscuit; The Hardest Button to Button; Little Acorns; Hypnotize; The Air Near My Fingers; Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine; Well it's True We Love One Another

Jack & Meg's fourth record is another dynamite addition to their already impressive oeuvre. Begging, borrowing and stealing - as always - from the blues, 70's stadium rock and 60's garage rock, these crazy kids have banged out another timely dosage of their special brand of rock 'n' roll madness. Highlights include the 7-minute blues workout "Ball and Biscuit", the punk-steady "Hypnotize" and the playful closer "Well it's True We Love One Another", a 3-way duet between Jack, Meg and UK Garage icon Holly Golightly. Over-hyped, but still (way) too cool for school.

Tracks - Fruits of My Labor; Righteously; Ventura; Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings; Overtime; Those Three Days; Atonement; Sweet Side; Minneapolis; People Talkin'; American Dream; World Without Tears; Words Fell