It’s been more than a year since I last contributed to my Decades series. To refresh your memory, this is where I highlight albums from a specific year across four decades. I started with 1972 before covering 1982, 1992 and 2002, then moved to 1970, 1980 and 1990. Which brings me to 2000.

As always, I will feature my own top five albums of the year before exploring songs from ten celebrated albums I’ve never heard. All clear?

My #5 album of 2000 is (Breach), the third album by The Wallflowers. This album was released four years after the band’s breakthrough, Bringing Down the Horse, and while it didn’t reach that record’s commercial heights (nothing by the band ever would), it is the better album.

A mix of up-tempo rockers and lovely acoustic ballads, (Breach) showcases the band’s strengths, from Jakob Dylan’s evocative lyrics and husky vocals to the tight instrumentation and infectious melodies. There’s nothing as instantly hooky as ‘One Headlight’ here but every song is a winner. ‘Hand Me Down’ seems to address Dylan’s growing up in his famous father’s shadow, ‘Murder 101’ is a muscular rocker featuring backing vocals by Elvis Costello, ‘Up From Under’ is a lovely and melancholy weeper that’s easily among the band’s best work.

(Breach) was very well-received by critics but managed only a fraction of the previous album’s sales. The band faded into relative obscurity in subsequent years, with the next three albums each performing worse than the last. It’s a shame to see a talented band devolve into little more than one-hit wonder status.