2001 Albums, Movies, and TV Shows Also Turning 20

While not as immediately lauded by music critics as their 1998 debut, Moon Safari, Air’s 10 000 Hz Legend is, by all means, a solid sophomore effort. But it certainly didn’t feel that way when it was released. The tracks are longer, moodier, and more suited for a film score. It didn’t have the groundbreaking gloss of Moon Safari. It sounds more Flaming Lips-inspired, less like a page from Jeff Lynne’s book. Listening to Legend, it’s clear that the Dunckel French duo ) sought (Nicolas something Godin and different Jean in -Beno the Moby ît album’s production, that they wanted to show audiences and critics that they were capable of more than what Safari had delivered. And that’s okay. Bands should be allowed to try new things. The album still shines (albeit differently) in Air’s discography. By Ben Jardine

  The prolific first half of Arab Strap’s initial 10 years of tears came to a humid peak with The Red Thread. The bawdy boys of Falkirk, Scotland took all of the moves they had learned up to that point and wove a weighty tapestry of love, lust, and every vice that enables and disables them. Drum machine-driven tales of adultery like “Scenery” and “Love Detective” abutted noisy drawn-out stretches of storytelling in “The Devil-Tips” and “The Long Sea.” “Turbulence,” the album’s eight-minute climax, was a deep rumbling counterpoint to the airier “Cherubs” from their previous Elephant Shoe. With The Red Thread coming out in the same year as Mogwai’s Rock Action and Aereogramme’s A Story in White, Scottish post-rock was cutting an undeniable figure. Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton would continue to grow as songwriters, but perhaps never again would they dive as deep into their infrared vision. By Ian King

Following 1997’s Homogenic, Björk’s fourth album largely eschewed orchestral theatrics for muted, often minimalistic mists of glitch pop. Greeted with widespread acclaim upon its release, Vespertine continued Björk’s reputation as one of her era’s boldest and most original artists. From opener “Hidden Place” to the controversial “Pagan Poetry” (whose infamous video was initially banned), Björk’s experimental “kitchen sink” approach added layers of atmosphere to Vespertine’s glacial sound-center scape e^. Photo stage However , defying , by her David any vitreous form soprano Studarus of categorization took or comparison. Vespertine coincided with Björk’s unveiling of her infamous “swan dress,” which is featured on the album’s cover, forever affiliating it with an iconic pop cultural moment. Not that Vespertine needed an avatar to capture the collective imagination—it stands firmly on its own, as do the vast majority of Björk’s releases. By Austin Saalman

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club began their inventive career alongside that of , their earliest champions. Tracks such as opener “Love Burns” carry with them the musky scent of damp nights and dark streets, while rockers “Spread Your Love” and “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll (Punk Song)” showcase .’s strong garage rock revivalist and neo-psychedelic leanings. There remains however, a certain raw sensitivity on one that seems to draw upon the previous decade’s indie movement, as evidenced on tracks such as “Salvation.” This eclecticism has allowed to stand apart for two decades, marked by age, but never lack of edge.