My favorite records of 2005, thus far

M.I.A. - Arular. A lot of ink spilled about this one, and I've delivered enough half-drunken encomiums; still a damn fine party record.

Go-Betweens: Oceans Apart. God bless these guys. David Byrne writes Keatsian sonnets, demands Haydn-esque strings, and tells Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth to shut the fuck up about Tom Tom Club and play.

The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree. Confessional singer-songwriter music doesn't get better than this, without drip, clean: the truth shall set you free. "This Year" is the song of the year.

New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call. Just cuz they got paunches don't mean the music isn't punchy. Very much New Order-by-numbers, but every NO album, even the great ones, feels both absolutely necessary and perfunctory.

I am mighty disappointed in Sleater Kinney's The Woods. Self-consciousness leads them to bloat, un-rousing invective, and retreads.