Band: Sweet Jane
County of Origin: Dublin
Genre: Dreampop Rock 'n Roll
Album: Sugar For My Soul
The Freshly Squeezed rating? 8 drops out of 10

"Sugar for my Soul" is a crisp, melodic album from a promising group. Sweet Jane, presumably named after the Velvet Underground song, have been getting rave reviews across the board - and this is no exception. With echoes of REM's vocals and The Edge's guitar, their airy, bright sound is infused with country and rock 'n' roll. In fact, their self-descriptor, "dreampop rock 'n' roll", despite sounding contrived, is surprisingly accurate. The almost-title track, "Something For My Soul", is extremely catchy.

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A few days I pulled together the list of the highest rated albums of those reviewed on CLUAS in the last 5 years. Now it's the turn of those albums that in the same period got the lowest ratings from CLUAS reviewers. The albums listed below are those that, since 2005, have been awarded less than 4 out of 10 by a CLUAS writer. Among them you will find albums by Placebo, Van Morrison, Smashing Pumpkins, Mercury Rev and James Blunt. 

So what album was considered to be the worst of those reviewed on CLUAS? Well the honour falls into the lap of Björk whose 2007album Volta was awarded a grand total of zero out of 10 by CLUAS writer Rev Jules. It was a divisive assessment if the comments below the review are anything to go by.

Here comes the full list...

Topping the list with a rating of zero out of 10...

• Björk 'Volta' (2007 release)

1 out of 10

• James Blunt 'All The Lost Souls' (2007 release)
• Musiq Soulchild 'Luvanmusiq' (2007 release)
• The Doors 'The Very Best of The Doors' (2007 release)
• Correcto 'Correcto' (2008 release)

2 out of 10

• Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Stadium Arcadium' (2006 release)
• Placebo 'Meds' (2006 release)
• Van Morrison 'Pay the Devil' (2006 release)
• Mercury Rev 'Snowflake Midnight' (2008 release)
• Dan Black 'Un' (2009 release)
• Alabama 3 'M.O.R.' (2007 release)

2.5 out of 10

• Cute Is What We Aim For 'The Same Old Blood Rush...' (2006 release)

3 out of 10

• Smashing Pumpkins 'Zeitgeist' (2007 release)
• The Enemy 'We'll live and die in these towns' (2007 release)
• Linkin Park 'Minutes To Midnight' (2007 release)
• 'Spiderman 3' (soundtrack) (2007 release)
• Cornelius 'Sensuous' (2007 release)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 'Original Soundtrack' (2007 release)
• Taking Back Sunday 'New Again' (2009 release)
• Michael Knight (I'm Not Entirely Clear...) (2008 release)
• Panic At The Disco 'Pretty Odd' (2008 release)
• Bill Coleman 'I'll Tear My Own Walls Down' (2008 release)
• Jet 'Shine on' (2006 release)
• Josh Ritter 'The Animal Years' (2006 release)
• The Tyde  'Three's Co.' (2006 release)
• Drowsy 'Snow on Moss on Stone' (2006 release)
• Wonderstuff 'Suspended By Stars' (2006 release)
• Devendra Banhart 'Cripple Crow' (2005 release)

3.5 out of 10

• Great White (2006 release)
• Laura Izibor 'Let The Truth Be Told' (2009 release)
• The Corrs 'Dreams - the Ultimate Collection' (2007 release)

...and scraping in with a score just below 4 out of 10...

• Cansei De Ser Sexy (3.8 out of 10, 2006 release)

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There are over 500 album reviews in the CLUAS archives. While they've always been accessible via our archive pages, the way the reviews have been presented (one big long unordered list of reviews for each year) is not very user friendly. Which is a pity as there are some terrific reviews in there, as well as reviews of great albums that may have slipped under one's radar. Thankfully the chances of missing out on some such gems over the years has now decreased dramatically. Read on for the fabulous details...

The CLUAS album archive pages have now been reorganised to ensure that our album reviews are listed, for each year, in order of the rating that the reviewer gave the album out of 10. Is that a collective 'Wow' I hear?

Anyways. What's interesting to see is the albums that came out on the top of the pile each year. Most of the top ranking albums are solid but some are, ehhm, let's just say "curious". Below are listed the very top ranking albums (i.e. albums that scored 8.5 or more out of 10) as reviewed by CLUAS writers from 2005 to 2009. Are these the best albums of that period? Certainly not, although many are gems that will stand the test of time. One thing for sure is that the list of albums and their accompanying reviews make for interesting reading.

So what was the top rated album released between 2005 and 2009, according to the CLUAS writers? The answer is, of course, obvious. It has to be the, ehh, all time classic 'Holiday Mix 2005' released by DFA Records.... Read on for even more mind-bending insights revealed in the list (including releases by 10 Irish acts).

10 out of 10

• DFA Records 'Holiday Mix 2005'

9.5 out of 10

• Ray LaMontagne 'Trouble' (2005 release)
• C O D E S 'Trees Dream in Algebra' (2009 release)
• Placebo 'Battle For The Sun' (2009 release)

9 out of 10

• Biffy Clyro 'Only Revolutions' (2009 release)
• Pearl Jam 'Backspacer' (2009 release)
• Fnessnej 'Stay Fresh, Ey' (2009 release)
• Pearse McGloughlin 'Busy Whisper' (2009 release)
• Alela Diane 'To Be Still' (2009 release)
• Graham Coxon 'The Spinning Top' (2009 release)
• Julie Feeney 'Pages' (2009 release)
• Dark Room Notes 'We Love You Dark Matter' (2009 release)
• Antony and the Johnsons 'I am bird now' (2005 release)
• The Black Keys 'Rubber Factory' (2005 release)
• Go! Team 'Thunder, Lightning Strike' (2005 release)
• Joanna Newsom 'Milk-Eyed Mender' (2005 release)
• Modest Mouse 'Good News For People Who Love Bad News' (2005 release)
• Rufus Wainwright 'Want Two' (2005 release)
• David Byrne & Brian Eno 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' (2006 release)
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2006 release)
• Artic Monkeys 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' (2006 release)
• Future Kings of Spain 'Nervousystem' (2007 release)
• Alessandra Celletti 'Esoterik Satie' (2007 release)
• Electrelane 'No Shouts, No Calls' (2008 release)

Between 8.5 and 9 out of 10

• Rilo Kiley 'More Adventurous' (8.9 out of 10, 2005 release)
• Arcade Fire 'Funeral' (8.75 out of 10, 2005 release)

8.5 out of 10

• Ryan Adams & the Cardinals 'Jacksonville City Lights' (2005 release)
• Bell X1 'Flock' (2005 release)
• Bloc Party 'Silent Alarm' (2005 release)
• Martin Finke 'Crown Time' (2005 release)
• M83 'Before The Dawn Heals Us' (2005 release)
• The Frank and Walters 'A Renewed Interest in Happiness' (2006 release)
• Luxembourg 'Front' (2006 release)
• Hope of the States 'Left' (2006 release)
• Islands  'Return To The Sea' (2006 release)
• OK GO 'Oh No' (2006 release)
• Goodtime John 'I'll Sing Till The Sun Turns Cold' (2006 release)
• Neil Young 'Live At Massey Hall' (2007 release)
• 'Death Proof' (soundtrack) (2007 release)
• Jape 'Ritual' (2008 release)
• Elbow 'Seldom Seen Kid' (2008 release)
• Ham Sandwich 'Carry The Meek' (2008 release)
• Mumford & Sons 'Sigh No More' (2009 release)
• AFI 'Crash Love' (2009 release)
• Tommy Reilly 'Words On the Floor' (2009 release) 

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