The End Is The Beginning Is The End

I've always been a fan of well crafted albums and one thing that can really influence my view of an album as a whole is the song sequencing. In my opinion it is one of the most important decisions an artist can make, and when i'm listening to an album I find it easy to tell who does, and doesn't care about the order in which they present their music. Well planned sequencing is what distinguishes an album from a collection of songs.

With that on my mind, i've decided to do a themed post today. Below I'm sharing several of my favourite closing tracks of the last year or so. All of these songs come from great albums, and their placement was well planned. In the future I think i'll revisit this theme with some of my favorite albums of all time, but for now enjoy these.

Wolf Parade - This Heart's On Fire

>>>>Wolf Parade's debut album Apologies To The Queen Mary justifiably made them one of 2005's biggest buzz bands. There is not a weak track on the album, and the collection is closed off with the epic "This Heart's On Fire". It's the best Springsteen song that The Boss didn't write.

The Constantines - Windy Road

>>>>The Constantines are masters of contrasting their numerous styles through song sequencing. With "Windy Road", the closer to 2005's Tournament of Hearts, the band is heard at it's most delicate and wistful moment to date.

Iron & Wine/Calexico - Dead Man's Will

>>>>Last year Iron & Wine and Calexico proved that the sum truly is greater than it's parts. As much as I love both bands, I was not prepared for just how great the collaborate EP In The Reins would be. If not for being just 7 songs, it would have no doubt been my #1 album of the year. "Dead Man's Will" provides the perfect ending both musically and lyrically to what will hopefully be the first of many collaborative efforts from these artists.

Jack's Mannequin - La La Lie

>>>>Something Corporate singer Andrew McMahon had a busy 2005, before spending a large portion of the year beating Leukemia, he released a solo project under the monicker Jack's Mannequin. Leaving some of the angst of his other band behind, McMahon crafted a remarkably upbeat album of songs, ending with the anthemic "La La Lie". Some may consider this band to be a guilty pleasure, but there's no reason to feel guilty for enjoying fun pop music if it's good.

The Hold Steady - How A Resurrection Really Feels

>>>>It took me a long time to appreciate The Hold Steady's 2005 LP Seperation Sunday. The first few times I listened to the album I didn't even make it all the way through. It wasn't until I let myself get all the way to the album closer "How A Resurrection Really Feels". Not long after realizing that this was my favourite song title of the year, I found it was also one of my favourite songs of the year, and it helped me to go back and appreciate the rest of the album. Though they often come off sounding like the band that should be playing your local dive bar, the epic Jim Steinman-like instrumentation on this track shows just why they were one of 2005's most talked about indie bands.

Lydia - December

>>>>At times while listening to Lydia's debut album This December; It's One More and I'm Free it becomes hard to tell when one song ends and another begins. Though this is usually just the sign of a derivative band, Lydia manage to weave the lyrical and musical themes of the album in and out of songs in a way that keeps it interesting and engrossing. The album closer "December" does a good job of wrapping together all of these themes and giving the album a grand sense of finality.