10 Massively Underrated Albums From The 2000s
We let these albums down in the 2000s, it's now time to change that.
The 2000s were a great time for music lovers and the last decade in which rock, metal, pop, hip hop and R&B acts were all able to live alongside each other in the charts and popular spaces. We were inundated with brilliant music whether it was the female pop takeover of Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani and Beyonce, the success of R&B artists like Usher, the indie British takeover, the reign of Nu Metal or the sweeping of emo that took over a whole generation.
There were massive movements within music, places where people could belong and so much good stuff going on that it was no wonder we were left with so many underrated gems. These come in the form of records that time forgot, stuff the world wasn’t ready for and albums that we didn’t give enough of a chance to.
However it’s never too late to start appreciating more excellent music from the 00s, and here are some of the records that you should start with...
10. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock And Roll (2005)
Art Brut released their first album Bang Bang Rock and Roll in 2005 when British indie-rock was coming to the peak of its popularity, however if anything they’re more vital than ever now. Perhaps the band were ahead of their time or perhaps they’ve gone on to influence the boom of modern British indie punk, but regardless Art Brut are sorely underrated.
Bang Bang Rock and Roll saw Art Brut cleverly jab at the music industry and how serious it had all become and with three chords and a whole load of attitude wrote the prototype for what bands like IDLES would come to popularise. Full of clever observations, brilliant one liners (like “We're gonna be the band that writes the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along”) and sweet optimism, the band embodied the best of British attitude.
Art Brut should have been massive and they probably know this however when the album came out in 2005, people wanted their British poetry in the form of Arctic Monkeys and the consequent bloated rock of Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis. Nothing will take away the brilliance of Bang Bang Rock and Roll though, give it a listen, hear their rants and listen to the sweet simplicity that comes with being that smart.