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Top Albums of 2008: #20 - #16
And now, we move on to the actual list...
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
(experimental-pop/rock)
The first five tracks on Dear Science make for one of the best first-half runs of any album released in 2008. "Halfway Home", "Crying" and "Stork & Owl" would definitely hold up against any of the better songs in the group's catalogue, while the infectious "Dancing Choose" and "Golden Age" - the album's first two singles - rank amongst their finest work and the year's very best tracks. TV on the Radio are yet to better their amazing Young Liars EP, but by injecting their trademark, densely produced sound with a lively new edge (put simply, "less gravitas, more pop"), this album winds up being the closest they've ever managed to get to that lofty benchmark. The second half lags a tiny bit (although "Shout Me Out" is great, and "Lover's Day" closes the album on a high note), but the looser, brighter, more streamlined approach really suits them, and gives the entire package a vibrancy and sense of playfulness that was sorely lacking from both of their previous albums.
Highlight Tracks: "Dancing Choose", "Golden Age"
Pocahaunted - Island Diamonds
(psychedelic-folk, drone)
Island Diamonds was my first and, thus far, only experience with Californian drone duo Pocahaunted. They're certainly a prolific little unit, having churned out an album in 2006, two in 2007 and a whopping seven in the past year. As far as I can tell, this release seems to come the most highly recommended, and it makes for a really beautiful, almost hypnotic listening experience. The album contains only four tracks, all around 7-9 minutes long, of spacey guitar drone, mellow chanting and atmospheric backing instrumentation. The first couple of minutes of each track are spent settling into a consistent groove, and once they hit their mark they can become downright mesmerising. Island Diamonds can be quite a haunting listen, and is also one of 2008's best headphone albums.
Highlight Tracks: "Ashes is White", "Riddim Queen"
Thomas Function - Celebration
(power-pop, indie-rock)
Celebration, the debut from Alabama quintet Thomas Function, is filled with the sort of infectious, highly energetic indie-rock songs that get under your skin and stuck in your head with incredible ease. Fans of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah should adore these guys, as they trade in the same sort of exuberant rhythms, dizzy melodies and intelligent songwriting, not to mention that vocalist Joshua Macero happens to sound an awful lot like Alec Ounsworth. There's a distinct southern twang running throughout the record as well, with strands of country and bluegrass winding their way through the tunes, yet never saturating them enough to threaten pigeonholing the group. Like many debut albums, it's a little uneven, but when Thomas Function hit the mark and come together perfectly ("Can't Say No", "Snake in the Grass", "Swimming Through a Sea of Broken Glass") the results are some of the catchiest I've heard all year.
Highlight Tracks: "Can't Say No", "Snake in the Grass"
Mount Eerie (featuring Julie Doiron) - Lost Wisdom
(singer/songwriter, lo-fi)
This is the most straightforward music Phil Elverum has created since 2000's It Was Hot We Stayed in the Water (if not earlier), far from the tangled, obscure introspection of No Flashlight and the thematic enormity of (the Microphones album) Mount Eerie. Lost Wisdom is personal, subtle and lyrically-direct, full of warmth and humanity, and is made utterly exquisite through the chemistry of Elverum and Doiron's delicate alternating vocals and the perfect backing provided by Fred Squire's sparsely played guitar. Admittedly, the album is insanely short (it's all over in 22 minutes), but I'm willing to forgive that simply because Lost Wisdom contains more beautiful, affecting music than most albums twice that length.
Highlight Tracks: "Lost Wisdom", "What?"
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
(americana, baroque indie-pop)
Some albums just melt your cynicism away. Despite being a debut album by a trendy new band of critical darlings, accompanied by the obligatory levels of hysterical hype, Fleet Foxes self-titled debut is one such album. You tell yourself it can't possibly be as good as it's made out to be by the bloggers and the online music press, but then you give it a listen and it's just So. Damn. Pretty. There's nothing here but note-perfect, sun-soaked Americana with gorgeous Beach Boys vocal harmonies and wonderfully lush production that simply hits all the right spots, all the time. It's the perfect soundtrack to a sleepy summer afternoon, relaxing on the porch with a glass of lemonade (or feel free to insert your own set of cliched listening circumstances). Fleet Foxes have shown themselves to be a band of immense promise, and I for one can't wait to see what they do next.
Highlight Tracks: "Sun It Rises", "White Winter Hymnal"
Stay tuned for #15 - #11, which should hopefully be appearing sometime tomorrow :)
---#20---
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
(experimental-pop/rock)
The first five tracks on Dear Science make for one of the best first-half runs of any album released in 2008. "Halfway Home", "Crying" and "Stork & Owl" would definitely hold up against any of the better songs in the group's catalogue, while the infectious "Dancing Choose" and "Golden Age" - the album's first two singles - rank amongst their finest work and the year's very best tracks. TV on the Radio are yet to better their amazing Young Liars EP, but by injecting their trademark, densely produced sound with a lively new edge (put simply, "less gravitas, more pop"), this album winds up being the closest they've ever managed to get to that lofty benchmark. The second half lags a tiny bit (although "Shout Me Out" is great, and "Lover's Day" closes the album on a high note), but the looser, brighter, more streamlined approach really suits them, and gives the entire package a vibrancy and sense of playfulness that was sorely lacking from both of their previous albums.
Highlight Tracks: "Dancing Choose", "Golden Age"
---#19---
Pocahaunted - Island Diamonds
(psychedelic-folk, drone)
Island Diamonds was my first and, thus far, only experience with Californian drone duo Pocahaunted. They're certainly a prolific little unit, having churned out an album in 2006, two in 2007 and a whopping seven in the past year. As far as I can tell, this release seems to come the most highly recommended, and it makes for a really beautiful, almost hypnotic listening experience. The album contains only four tracks, all around 7-9 minutes long, of spacey guitar drone, mellow chanting and atmospheric backing instrumentation. The first couple of minutes of each track are spent settling into a consistent groove, and once they hit their mark they can become downright mesmerising. Island Diamonds can be quite a haunting listen, and is also one of 2008's best headphone albums.
Highlight Tracks: "Ashes is White", "Riddim Queen"
---#18---
Thomas Function - Celebration
(power-pop, indie-rock)
Celebration, the debut from Alabama quintet Thomas Function, is filled with the sort of infectious, highly energetic indie-rock songs that get under your skin and stuck in your head with incredible ease. Fans of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah should adore these guys, as they trade in the same sort of exuberant rhythms, dizzy melodies and intelligent songwriting, not to mention that vocalist Joshua Macero happens to sound an awful lot like Alec Ounsworth. There's a distinct southern twang running throughout the record as well, with strands of country and bluegrass winding their way through the tunes, yet never saturating them enough to threaten pigeonholing the group. Like many debut albums, it's a little uneven, but when Thomas Function hit the mark and come together perfectly ("Can't Say No", "Snake in the Grass", "Swimming Through a Sea of Broken Glass") the results are some of the catchiest I've heard all year.
Highlight Tracks: "Can't Say No", "Snake in the Grass"
---#17---
Mount Eerie (featuring Julie Doiron) - Lost Wisdom
(singer/songwriter, lo-fi)
This is the most straightforward music Phil Elverum has created since 2000's It Was Hot We Stayed in the Water (if not earlier), far from the tangled, obscure introspection of No Flashlight and the thematic enormity of (the Microphones album) Mount Eerie. Lost Wisdom is personal, subtle and lyrically-direct, full of warmth and humanity, and is made utterly exquisite through the chemistry of Elverum and Doiron's delicate alternating vocals and the perfect backing provided by Fred Squire's sparsely played guitar. Admittedly, the album is insanely short (it's all over in 22 minutes), but I'm willing to forgive that simply because Lost Wisdom contains more beautiful, affecting music than most albums twice that length.
Highlight Tracks: "Lost Wisdom", "What?"
---#16---
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
(americana, baroque indie-pop)
Some albums just melt your cynicism away. Despite being a debut album by a trendy new band of critical darlings, accompanied by the obligatory levels of hysterical hype, Fleet Foxes self-titled debut is one such album. You tell yourself it can't possibly be as good as it's made out to be by the bloggers and the online music press, but then you give it a listen and it's just So. Damn. Pretty. There's nothing here but note-perfect, sun-soaked Americana with gorgeous Beach Boys vocal harmonies and wonderfully lush production that simply hits all the right spots, all the time. It's the perfect soundtrack to a sleepy summer afternoon, relaxing on the porch with a glass of lemonade (or feel free to insert your own set of cliched listening circumstances). Fleet Foxes have shown themselves to be a band of immense promise, and I for one can't wait to see what they do next.
Highlight Tracks: "Sun It Rises", "White Winter Hymnal"
Stay tuned for #15 - #11, which should hopefully be appearing sometime tomorrow :)