1) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant EP
Without a doubt, I listened to Fleet Foxes self-titled debut and its accompanying EP, Sun Giant, more than anything else this year. This is one of those rare cases where a band/album strikes me so hard in all the right ways that I’m sort of at a loss for how to articulate my love and admiration without verbally tripping over myself. I’ve been living with these songs all year long and I have yet to tire of hearing their golden harmonies and labyrinthine folk-rock wrapped in Phil Ek’s immaculate production. I will say this: I have very little doubt that Robin Pecknold and the Fox-boys will continue to prove themselves a force to be reckoned with - as songwriters, singers, performers and all-around lovable dudes.
2) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
This album (which has been billed as "acoustic-industrial rock") made me a diehard fan of Nick Cave. I had been slowly getting into him over the past few years via Grinderman and his last tour de force, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, but Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! sealed the deal unequivocally for me. Cave, now 50, managed the rare feat of delivering a devastating masterpiece 30 years into an already storied career. Who else writes lines as poetically lecherous as “..he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams" anymore? Perhaps the most impressive achievement on Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is the epic closer "More News From Nowhere" - Cave's very own "Desolation Row."
3) TV on the Radio - Dear Science,
In 2006, Return to Cookie Mountain was my album of the year. Dear Science doesn't quite match the boundless eclecticism and mind-blowing consistency of Cookie Mountain, but it's still another amazing record from one of the best bands of this decade. Dear Science is bookended by two of the band's best songs to date: opener "Halfway Home" is a propulsive synth-doo-wop tune that builds into a blistering rave-up, and closer "Lover's Day" is an ode to euphoric sex built as a jingling, swaying march. Overall, Dear Science exhibited a more upbeat and funkier side of TV on the Radio, and that may have been just what we needed this year.
4) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Justin Vernon a.k.a Bon Iver completely captured my heart this year, and I know I wasn’t the only one. There’s no need to rehash the already mythologized origin story of this record. Besides, the songs speak for themselves. When you have tunes as immediately entrancing as “Flume”, “Skinny Love” and “The Wolves (Acts I & II),” you really don’t need a cool back story to attract listeners. If push came to shove, I'd probably call "Skinny Love" my favorite song of the year.
5) The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave
After Fleet Foxes, The Tallest Man On Earth is probably my favorite new artist of 2008. The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson - a Swede with an uncanny ability to channel all the American folk and country-blues traditions of the last 100 years like it was his second nature. He also happens to sound and play quite a bit like Bob Dylan - specifically the young, earnest, acoustic Dylan. Somehow, it never feels derivative - instead, he comes across like a masterful student coming into his own.
6) Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
This was probably my most anticipated album of the year, and I have to admit I felt a bit letdown. As with TV on the Radio, I had insane expectations for Wolf Parade. Apologies To The Queen Mary is one of my favorite albums of the decade and I wanted something on par with it. Regardless of its shortcomings, At Mount Zoomer is still head and shoulders above the majority of offerings this year or any other. Another thing is for sure: Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are two of the greatest and most prolific songwriting talents this decade has produced.
7) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
I don't think I have anything new to say about these guys. There has been an unending stream of hype and press for Vampire Weekend this year, and I think it is all well deserved. I've had this album since January and I'm still not sick of it. This album is insanely, retardedly infectious. Denying that you enjoy it is as absurd as claiming you don't like water and happiness.
8) No Age – Nouns
After last year's compilation Weirdo Rippers, I was very excited to hear No Age's Sub Pop debut, and I must say all expectations were met. If anything, No Age's scuzzy, lo-fi punk just got even better. Their fabulous balancing act of pop melodies, looped samples and uncorked andrenaline is a thing of beauty. Also, their live show wins the award for "most fun concert" I saw all year.
9) Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Head Silver Jew David Berman is the kind of guy I will never get sick of and always root for - the best kind of underdog. He is also one of the great lyricists of my generation. Case in point from "My Pillow Is The Threshold": "What looks like sleep is really hot pursuit." Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea picks up where Tanglewood Numbers left off, and expands the Joos' sound even further. David's wife, Cassie, also has a more pronounced role in the band which I'm all in favor of. I've said it before and I'll say it again: they are the new Johnny and June Carter Cash.
10) The Dodos – Visiter
Without a doubt, I listened to Fleet Foxes self-titled debut and its accompanying EP, Sun Giant, more than anything else this year. This is one of those rare cases where a band/album strikes me so hard in all the right ways that I’m sort of at a loss for how to articulate my love and admiration without verbally tripping over myself. I’ve been living with these songs all year long and I have yet to tire of hearing their golden harmonies and labyrinthine folk-rock wrapped in Phil Ek’s immaculate production. I will say this: I have very little doubt that Robin Pecknold and the Fox-boys will continue to prove themselves a force to be reckoned with - as songwriters, singers, performers and all-around lovable dudes.
2) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!This album (which has been billed as "acoustic-industrial rock") made me a diehard fan of Nick Cave. I had been slowly getting into him over the past few years via Grinderman and his last tour de force, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, but Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! sealed the deal unequivocally for me. Cave, now 50, managed the rare feat of delivering a devastating masterpiece 30 years into an already storied career. Who else writes lines as poetically lecherous as “..he opens her up like a love letter and enters her dreams" anymore? Perhaps the most impressive achievement on Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is the epic closer "More News From Nowhere" - Cave's very own "Desolation Row."
3) TV on the Radio - Dear Science,In 2006, Return to Cookie Mountain was my album of the year. Dear Science doesn't quite match the boundless eclecticism and mind-blowing consistency of Cookie Mountain, but it's still another amazing record from one of the best bands of this decade. Dear Science is bookended by two of the band's best songs to date: opener "Halfway Home" is a propulsive synth-doo-wop tune that builds into a blistering rave-up, and closer "Lover's Day" is an ode to euphoric sex built as a jingling, swaying march. Overall, Dear Science exhibited a more upbeat and funkier side of TV on the Radio, and that may have been just what we needed this year.
4) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever AgoJustin Vernon a.k.a Bon Iver completely captured my heart this year, and I know I wasn’t the only one. There’s no need to rehash the already mythologized origin story of this record. Besides, the songs speak for themselves. When you have tunes as immediately entrancing as “Flume”, “Skinny Love” and “The Wolves (Acts I & II),” you really don’t need a cool back story to attract listeners. If push came to shove, I'd probably call "Skinny Love" my favorite song of the year.
5) The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave After Fleet Foxes, The Tallest Man On Earth is probably my favorite new artist of 2008. The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson - a Swede with an uncanny ability to channel all the American folk and country-blues traditions of the last 100 years like it was his second nature. He also happens to sound and play quite a bit like Bob Dylan - specifically the young, earnest, acoustic Dylan. Somehow, it never feels derivative - instead, he comes across like a masterful student coming into his own.
6) Wolf Parade - At Mount ZoomerThis was probably my most anticipated album of the year, and I have to admit I felt a bit letdown. As with TV on the Radio, I had insane expectations for Wolf Parade. Apologies To The Queen Mary is one of my favorite albums of the decade and I wanted something on par with it. Regardless of its shortcomings, At Mount Zoomer is still head and shoulders above the majority of offerings this year or any other. Another thing is for sure: Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are two of the greatest and most prolific songwriting talents this decade has produced.
7) Vampire Weekend - Vampire WeekendI don't think I have anything new to say about these guys. There has been an unending stream of hype and press for Vampire Weekend this year, and I think it is all well deserved. I've had this album since January and I'm still not sick of it. This album is insanely, retardedly infectious. Denying that you enjoy it is as absurd as claiming you don't like water and happiness.
8) No Age – NounsAfter last year's compilation Weirdo Rippers, I was very excited to hear No Age's Sub Pop debut, and I must say all expectations were met. If anything, No Age's scuzzy, lo-fi punk just got even better. Their fabulous balancing act of pop melodies, looped samples and uncorked andrenaline is a thing of beauty. Also, their live show wins the award for "most fun concert" I saw all year.
9) Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea Head Silver Jew David Berman is the kind of guy I will never get sick of and always root for - the best kind of underdog. He is also one of the great lyricists of my generation. Case in point from "My Pillow Is The Threshold": "What looks like sleep is really hot pursuit." Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea picks up where Tanglewood Numbers left off, and expands the Joos' sound even further. David's wife, Cassie, also has a more pronounced role in the band which I'm all in favor of. I've said it before and I'll say it again: they are the new Johnny and June Carter Cash.
10) The Dodos – VisiterThe Dodos are another new band that took my life by storm this year. It still amazes me that just two guys, singer/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber, are responsible for an album so full and complex. The meshing of Long's country-blues fingerpicking and Kroeber's tribal drumming never results in anything less than mesmerizing. These 14 songs bring to mind such disparate influences as Animal Collective, John Fahey, Led Zeppelin and The Magnetic Fields - sometimes all in the course of one song.
***Like last year, I've opted to not rank albums #11-20.***
Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
The Walkmen - You & Me
Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista
Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
Black Mountain - In The Future
The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Beach House - Devotion
