2008

i would like to say that my best of the year 2008 is only seeing the light of day in February because i take the job of compiling the list very very seriously and that i needed some additional time to work my way through of the stacks of albums released. or that i wanted some more time to see if first impressions really last. but in reality i've just busy with other things. like watching tv. although i do get bothered by end of the year lists appearing early december with 1/10th of the year left. perhaps another reason i didn't get my shit together earlier was because 2008 was a pretty lame year and there were very few albums that i got excited about. indeed, it was hard to find albums deserving a place on the list.

the top three:
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles although i got excited by hearing crystal castles first singles and remixes i couldn't help feel it was just a little bit of 8-bit gimmickry. so it was surprising to see the one trick pony run the length of a full album and come out ahead of much of the rest. turns out there is more to their songs than 8 bits.





These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid admittedly the name of the band almost kept me away but thankfully bandwidth is cheap. TNP is postpunk in the way that battles are postpunk only that they look to joy division for inspiration (or at least sound like they do) rather than whoever battles took after. so perhaps a dadaist version of joy division updated with sharper sounds. maybe not. but definitely worth the listen.





Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies i admit that i was a bit disappointed when i first heard afterparty babies as it struck me sounding too simply. repeated listen, however, changed all that and in the end this is a killer and clever hip hop album that received far too little attention.






The other good ones:

Dungen - 4 well, nothing really new here and probably not Dungen's best but i still find it very enjoyable







The Kills - Midnight Boom the kills go from being grimy, bluesy to being sexy. it suits them better.







Wolf Parade - Mount Zoomer by no means as good as their debut but still a pretty solid. that's all i ask for this year






Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel sort of this years Klaxons. it is loud, obnoxious, and all over the place but most of all it is just a fun ride







Spiritualized - Songs in A&E i really didn't think i would be listening to the spiritualized ever again. at least not any new stuff. i was wrong. this is probably better than anything they have every done before.






Ten Kens - st kinda old school indie rock, kinda lo-fi, kinda loud (not that loud really). the cute generation could learn a thing or two here.






No Age - Nouns i would probably say the same thing about this album.







Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements parenthetical girls go chamber pop, which, of course, will not sound anything like it.






Let's Wrestle - Let's Wrestle fantastically catchy and superbly lo-fi. kinda like pre-slanted and enchanted pavement but probably a good deal sillier. i hope these guys never stumble upon a 'good' producer.






fuck buttons - street horrrsing strangely pretty







honorable mentions:
deerhunter - microcastles
the gutter twins - saturnalia
fucked up - the chemistry of common life
vast aire - dueces wild
duke spirit - neptune
the big sleep - sleep forever
gang gang dance - saint dymphna


the disappointment:
TV on the Radio - Dear Science ok, not a bad album by any means but expectations where pretty high after cookie mountain. first, where are the effen guitars? second, what is with the canned beats? i hate to say this but with the middle aged production i can't help but think terrence trent d'arby and seal. i know that is mean but that's just how disappointed i am with this album.

the disgust:
Vampire Weekend - st wtf! if i caught my girlfriend listening to this that would be the end of the relationship.