Twenty for 2005 The best of the year's local releases BY SAM PFEIFLE

I love this list. I love making this list. I love that Portland makes it so easy to generate this list. Well, it’s easy to come up with the contenders, anyway. Putting them in order is the hard part.

This year, qualifying albums were down just a hair from 2004, from 52 last year to 48 this year, with "qualifying" meaning full-length studio efforts, all by one artist or band hailing from the general vicinity of Portland south to Portsmouth, in proper packaging (no CD-Rs), and available for purchase by the general public either through online distribution or a retail establishment. This means that the Greetings series, Beautiful Locals, all live albums, and EPs are disqualified from consideration. Otherwise, Greetings and something like Locals would likely be in the top 10 every year, and what’s the fun in that?

In publishing the 2005 list, it strikes me that just four of those with albums on the 2004 list made the cut for a second year (Cerberus Shoal, Headstart!, Paranoid Social Club, and Micah Blue Smaldone), and that no Spencer Albee-fronted project has made the list for the first time since I started doing this at the end of 2000 (although it’s possible an Albee impersonator may appear on certain records in this list). Also, hip-hop continues to grow in influence. The local beat proprietors placed one disc on the top-10 list in 2003, three in 2004’s top 20, and now four in 2005.

Otherwise, we’ve got another stand-out and diverse list of local releases. Narrowing to 20 was particularly difficult this year, and some great records didn’t make the cut (see the honorable mentions), so maybe we’ll do 30 in 2006. As always, albums are ranked by originality, musicianship, how long something from the disc lasts in my head, the number of plays they got on the iPod, and whether or not they contain a truly outstanding song. Per last year’s lead, I’ve included pithy comments for each top-20 record.

1. Satellite Lot, Second Summer — An album with heart, creativity, and plenty of singalongs, but it’s depth of feeling and thoughtfulness that sets this apart.

2. Tree By Leaf, Of the Black and Blue — Garrett and Sirii Soucy’s harmonies are matched locally only by the husband-and-wife team of Nate Schrock and Sara Cox. Combined with Garrett’s thrilling songwriting, they make this album just about timeless.

3. Nobis, A Blurred Sense of the Divine — A rare hardcore album that transcends its genre to evince mainstream appeal (well, maybe not mainstream).

4. Jon Nolan, When the Summers Lasted Long — The former Say Zuzu frontman isn’t quite done with alt-country yet. His brand of feel-good melancholy is delicious.

5. Paranoid Social Club, Paranoid Social Club — Slightly overlooked at home, this record has PSC on the national prowl, for good reason.

6. Loverless, Loverless — One of the year’s best surprises, Elijah Ocean has established himself as a member of Portland’s premiere frontmen.

7. A-Frame & Mike Clouds, Life on a Barstool — Portland’s most-prolific rapper’s coming out party — just slightly better than Life with a Hangover. But that seems to go without saying.

8. Pete Kilpatrick, Yesterday Love — Winsome, and cute as a button, too, Kilpatrick’s huge charisma is married to some great pop songwriting.

9. Bread, Peasant — One of those puzzles that’s wrapped in an enigma, Bread gives you some clues on an album that doesn’t really unfold until listen number 10.

10. Cosades, A Lack of Heroine — The closest thing we’ve got to Nirvana.

11. The Coming Grass, Beauty of a Heart — For the guitar tone aficionado, especially.

12. Headstart!, Sincerely Yours — A story of jilted love we can all relate to (and with great packaging to boot).

13. X-Ray Actress, Weird Box — With one of the most genuinely original sounds on the local scene, Actress’s pop/electronica perfectionism was worth the wait.

14. Cerberus Shoal, The Land We All Believe In — There is no limit to this band’s creativity. If you don’t like their sound, wait a few months. It’ll change.

15. jdwalker, Them Get You, Them Got You — There are couplets on this album you’ll be singing to yourself six months later.

16. Covered in Bees, Portland Death Punk, Vol. 1: Portland Is for Lovers — This is proof positive that punk and virtuosity can coexist on the same album.

17. Micah Blue Smaldone, Hither and Thither — Fine fingerpicking with a sound that’s as stripped-down as you’ll find anywhere.

18. Brzowski, MaryShelleyOverdrive — A monster of a hip-hop epic, you’ll discover something new here every time you listen.

19. Subject Bias, It Takes One to Know One — Indie rock that’s unconcerned with being indie rock.

20. The Hot Tarts, The Hot Tarts — Straight up two-gal rock and roll, with the scene’s greatest sex appeal.

The Next 10 (in alphabetical order):

A-Frame & Mike Clouds, Life with a Hangover; Joyce Andersen, Love & Thirst; Jordan Benissan, Fame Without Fortune; Dave Rowe Trio, Rolling Home; Adam Flaherty Noise Machine, Goodbye Spaceman; Andy Happel, Dreaming by the Sea; The Leftovers, Stop, Drop, Rock N Roll; Ocean, Here Where Nothing Grows; Percy Hill, After All; Sidecar Radio, Soundtrack from the Upside.

Also receiving consideration:

B-Movie Extras, Godzillian Complex

Blue Collar Product, Pledge of Resistance

Cindy Bullens, Dream #29

The Half Moon Jug Band, Jug Band Army

Scott King, Portrait

The McCarthys, ...And Then Some

Moshe, Tending to the Sheep

The Mutineers, Where Mockingbirds Roam

Pondering Judd, Lonesome Heart Strangers

The Pubcrawlers, Another Night on the Floor

The Sauce, Elk Patrol

The Screen, Anti-Trust

Matt Shipman, Highway Shoes

The Top 5 EPs:

1. Animal Suit Driveby, 100 Miles

2. In the Arms of Providence, Left My Voicebox in a Seaside Town

3. Dead Season, The Fight

4. By Blood Alone, Eternally

5. Twisted Roots, The Seed

Sam Pfeifle can be reached at sam_pfeifle@yahoo.com