5 Outstanding Albums Released 20 Years Ago This Month

What was going on in the music world in August 2004? Well, a lot, as it turns out. As we look back at that time and the albums released that month, it’s clear that it was a prime era for alt-country/Americana-style music, as four of the albums on this list could be roughly categorized as such.

But there’s also room for some garage rock/Britpop in this bunch as well. Here is what fans were hearing 20 years ago this month. Considering the quality of this quintet, they’re probably still listening today.

The Dirty South by Drive-By Truckers

Jason Isbell’s time with the Truckers was relatively brief, only three albums’ worth before he went solo. The Dirty South, the second of the three, represents the sweet spot, when all three songwriters (Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and Isbell) were hitting on all cylinders. It’s a rough concept album that ties together a series of fresh perspectives on iconic figures from the South (everyone from Elvis to Sheriff Buford Pusser). Highlights from Hood (“Tornadoes”) and Cooley (“Carl Perkins’ Cadillac”) mix beautifully with two Isbell instant classics (“Danko/Manuel” and “Goddamn Lonely Love”).

More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley

Rilo Kiley flamed out not long after they hit their peak with this, their third album, as lead singer/chief songwriter Jenny Lewis’ solo career beckoned. (They’d release just one more album of originals, Under the Blacklight, in 2007.) More Adventurous is the ideal title here, because this four-piece (rounded out by Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel) effortlessly takes on a wide variety of genres: rock (“Portions for Foxes”), soul (“I Never”), and Beatlesque balladry (“It Just Is”), among others. The standout: the stunning “Does He Love You?” that is part cutting character sketch, part twisty soap opera, and 100% compelling.

The Revolution Starts Now by Steve Earle

Ever the firebrand, Earle came forth with one of his most charged efforts, alternating smoothly between thundering rockers and quieter reflections. The title track, which bookends the record, calls every listener to action. In between, he gives the reasons we need such vigilance by telling intimate stories of soldiers missing home in far-flung locales. “Rich Man’s War” collects several of these stories and delivers a pointed message. As the album progresses, matters of the heart start to invade on “I Thought You Should Know” and “Comin’ Around,” the latter a beauty of a duet with Emmylou Harris.

Soviet Kitsch by Regina Spektor

This one comes with a bit of an asterisk, as the album was first independently released a year earlier by Spektor. But once she was signed to a major label, it received a rerelease in August 2004 and came to the attention of a much bigger audience. What that audience heard was an artist who was a complete original, using bare-bones piano and vocals to launch off into all kinds of lyrical and melodic tangents, all while the centers of the songs always hold. Tracks like “Chemo Limo” and “Carbon Monoxide” are fearless and biting. Even when the songs are bit more structured and sentimental, as on “Us” and “The Flowers,” Spektor’s idiosyncratic brilliance still emerges.

The Libertines by The Libertines

Due to the volatility of the personalities involved, it was pretty much predetermined The Libertines would self-destruct. (That they’ve been able to pull it back together occasionally, including earlier this year with the hit UK album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, shouldn’t be taken for granted.) Arguably their artistic high point, their self-titled second album possesses just the right mix of songwriting acumen, plentiful hooks, and of course, raucous irreverence. The rockers barge straight ahead and blast away any doubts, but it’s the quieter stuff, like Pete Doherty’s “Music When the Lights Go Out” and Carl Barat’s hidden track “France,” that might surprise the uninitiated.

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