10 Greatest Final Rock Music Albums Of The 2000s

7. Any Other City - Life Without Buildings

The only first, last, and only album on this list comes from Scottish indie outfit Life Without Buildings, who were formed in 1999 by a bunch of former students at the Glasgow School of Arts.

If you couldn't tell they were former art students from their music, there's something wrong with you.

Fronted by vocalist Sue Tompkins, the band released just one studio album, 2001's Any Other City, before they broke up the following year. Luckily, one record was enough for these off-the-wall characters to make a mark.

Their very simple musical stylings were contrasted by Tompkins' manic vocals, bordering on speak-singing, but with enough of a sweet timbre to keep listeners hooked. Any Other City was compared by critics to work by Patti Smith, The Slits, and Sonic Youth, although one notable review likened Tompkins' voice to "nails on a chalkboard."

The album has retained a strong cult following and even got re-released in 2014 as part of Record Store Day. There hasn't really been anything like it since, which some would say is a good thing, but those people are clearly suffering from a fun deficiency.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.