One of mine is Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack. I basically took the title verbatim and know the album word for word. And while I would love if it did, the rest of MCS’s stuff just doesn’t hit the same way.
And if you’re not an album person, maybe a period of time in the artist’s work? Whatever works for you.
*Lots of mentions of hit debut albums that subsequently petered out, which follows with the dreaded sophomore slump that hits many artists. Anyone with mid or even later career albums that stand alone? Those always intrigue me.
I kind of disagree. I think Our Love To Admire and El Pintor are much more solid albums with better songs and better construction that better contend for their best. They hit the highs of TOTBL, and then some - my personal favorites are Heinrich Maneuver, Anywhere, and Everything is wrong.
That being said, that doesn’t keep TOTBL from being one of their best - it really captures that feeling of pre-9/11 indie rock with songs that are really gripping. If anything, I would say that the 10th anniversary edition of TOTBL is the best version of that album that includes their EP and demo material for the band that shows that the album wasn’t just their first album, it was an entire era for the band through the material they released around that album.