Friday, December 19, 2008

You Set the Scene's Best Albums of 2008


1) Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes / Sun Giant EP (Sub Pop) – 2008 was a very good year for Fleet Foxes. In six months, they went from opening up for Blitzen Trapper at the Troubadour to selling out a couple of nights at El Rey. Robin Pecknold’s still a kid, but appears to have the whole package – musicianship, songwriting (including good lyrics) and a great voice. A few of the songs on the LP kind of just sit there – but if you factor in the EP and cherry pick the best 11 or 12 – you’ve got an amazing album. Standout tracks: MP3: “White Winter Hymnal” and “Myknos”

2) Everest: Ghost Notes (Vapor Records) – They were number one on my local list. As I said, the songs sound effortlessly timeless; the product of talented musicians who have absorbed rock ‘n’ roll history (Neil Young, the Beatles, the Byrds, etc.). Throw in Mike Terry’s warm ass production and you’ve got a fantastic debut. It’s a really consistent album. Standout tracks: “Rebels in the Roses” and “Into Your Soft Heart”

3) Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar) – Originally self-released in 2007, most of us didn’t hear it until Jagjaguwar gave it widespread distribution in 2008. It’s really overdubbed and layered, but he pulls it off pretty well live. Great heartbroken, winter album. Standout tracks: MP3: “Skinny Love” and “Blindsided”

4) The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely (Warner Bros. / Third Man) – You could pluck pretty much any song off this record and it would fit right in on a classic rock station’s play list. Great production and fantastic musicianship. It was a huge improvement over their debut album. Standout tracks: “Salute Your Solution” and “The Switch and the Spur”

5) TV on the Radio: Dear Science (Interscope) – If you’re not Radiohead, this is about as critic proof as you can get with a record; it’s political and arty but accessible. For me, the Tunde Adebimpe songs are where it’s at. Standout tracks: “Family Tree” and “Halfway Home”

6) Le Switch: And Now…Le Switch (Autumn Tone) – This record was number two on my top local releases. Without being overtly retro, it’s a modern take on the music I love from the early 1970s. Standout tracks: “Smile Away” and “Simple Gifts”
MP3: “Pristine

7) Spiritualized: Songs in A&E (Fontana) – I’ve been a huge Spiritualized fan since the last 1990s. Kinda lost interest over the past seven years, but this is a return to form. I just wish the vinyl had come with a download. Bastards. Standout tracks: “Death Take Your Fiddle” and “You Lie You Cheat”

8) Neil Young: Live at Canterbury House 1968 (Reprise) – Recorded on the heels of leaving Buffalo Springfield and right before his debut solo record came out, this is another important live release from the Neil Young archives. Great anecdotes, fantastic song selection and a compelling performance make for a worthwhile purchase. Standout tracks: “The Loner” and “Birds”

9) David Vandervelde: Waiting for the Sunrise (Secretly Canadian) – This one was not well received by the critics, but the more I listen to it, the more I love it. There are Neil Young moments, soft rock moments and even an Elliott Smith moment. In an alternate universe somewhere, Vandervelde is appreciated. Standout tracks: MP3: “Someone Like You” and “Need for Now”

10) Radar Bros.: Auditorium (Merge) – Number three on my local list, it took a rainy December day to remind me how much I love this record. These 12 songs are perfectly layered and warm, and if you listen closely, you’ll still hear some occasionally depraved lyrics. Standout tracks: MP3:“Warm Rising Son” and “Morning Bird”

11) The Movies: Based on a True Story (Self-Released) – Number four on my local list. When you boil it all down, there’s a deep sense of longing and loss on this record; but this ain’t Hank Williams, it’s the Movies. When Timothy James sings about heartbreak he quotes Pedro Martinez, uses obtuse Vietnam metaphors and accuses the one who got away of going to Rio and sucking a million -----. Standout tracks: “Missed Opportunities” and “Monumental Life”

12) The Broken West: Now or Heaven (Merge) – This was number five on my local list. This made Nic Harcourt’s top 10 list this year and got a great review from the Onion. Standout tracks: MP3:“Perfect Games” and “House of Lies”

13) The Henry Clay People: For Cheap or For Free (Autumn Tone) – This was number six on my local list. Between the record and the live shows, I might have gotten the most joy out of these guys in 2008. Standout tracks: “Fine Print” and MP3: “Working Part Time

14) Okkervil River: The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar) – This was a little bit of a letdown given how much I loved The Stage Names, but there’s enough quality to warrant inclusion. Standout tracks: “Singer Songwriter” and “Pop Lie”
MP3: “Lost Coastlines”

15) The Moondoggies: Don’t Be a Stranger (Hardly Art) – This record got slept on a bit, but if you’re into boogie rock give it a listen. Has the same sort of 1970s influences as a lot of these other bands. Standouts: MP3: “Changing” and “Ain’t No Lord”

16) Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend (XL Recordings) – 1980s-inspired acts dominated the critical favorites this year, but this is the only one I really got in. Their whole preppy, Ivy League shtick is nauseating and totally contrived, but damn if they didn’t write some of the catchiest pop tunes all year. Standout tracks: “Mansard Roof” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”

17) The Dodos: Visiter (Frenchkiss) – Strummy guitars and propulsive drums. There are about five songs that would have benefited from some serious editing, but the strong songs are really fantastic. Standout tracks: “Fools” and “Red and Purple”

18) Sigur Ros: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (XL Recordings) – Too intense to listen to on a regular basis, but another strong release. Standout tracks: “Gobbledigook” and “Festival”

19) Bonnie “Prince” Billy: Lie Down in the Light (Drag City) – I really could have used a download card for this record. It got filed away shortly after buying it and scarcely listened to. Standout tracks: “Easy Does It” and “What’s Missing Is”

20) Dungen: 4 (Kemado) – Largely instrumental and jazzy. There’s nothing else remotely popular that sounds like this. Standout tracks: “Det Tar Tid” and “Samtidigt 1”
MP3: “Satt Att Se

21) Dr. Dog: Fate (Park the Van) – I love the first half of the record, but the second half gets weighed down a bit. Still a strong release. Standout tracks: “Hang On” and MP3: “The Old Days

22) Kelley Stoltz: Circular Sounds (Sub Pop) – This one’s not quite as much fun to listen to as Below the Branches, but I still dig his songwriting. Standout tracks: “Everything Begins” and MP3: “Your Reverie

23) Throw Me the Statue: Moonbeams (Secretly Canadian) – These guys bring sex to indie rock. Extra points for the album cover too. MP3: “Lolita” and “Young Sensualists”

24) Jay Reatard: Matador Singles ’08 (Matador) – Labeled a punk, few bands incorporate Aussie and New Zealand influences as well as Jay Reatard. Very melodic stuff. Standouts: “See Saw” and “Painted Shut”

25) Wye Oak: If Children (Merge) – Classic indie rock sounds done deceptively well. Stnadouts: MP3:“Warning” and “Family Glue”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fleet Foxes at number 1, how Pitchfork of you.

Duke said...

we only had four records in common and that was one of them (vampire weekend, tv on the radio and bonnie 'prince' billy being the others).....