5. The Ambition Of Humbug
'Humbug' is the tricky third album after the acclaimed first two (three in Alex's case). It's a sprawling desert-rock epic guided by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Joshua Homme that most critics and fans alike passed off as being a pretentious, indulgent disappointment. But in many ways, 'Humbug' is the best of the bunch; all good bands make good records under pressure to evolve - see Radiohead, Blur, Primal Scream, etc. - and 'Humbug' is no different. Suddenly the band couldn't be boxed: tunes would no longer dance from chorus to verse expectedly, and songs would build to crescendo like fires ripping through a mansion. Alex stopped analysing culture, but more said more about human nature than ever before, as every song was embellished with vivid imagery and sweet melancholy. For a transition into more "American" music, the record definitely has a very British uncertainty; the band were trying to make sense of the world around them both lyrically and musically, and that was an exciting thing to hear in a young band. It might not be everyone's favourite, but it's note for note more ambitious than the first two by a mile.