Sorry this wasn’t ready on Friday like i’d hoped, I had a bunch of various work projects to finish up before I could put the finishing touches on this.
As I stress every year, this list is simply my FAVORITE records of the year, not what I’d try and claim as the absolutely “best” albums of the year. That’s the great thing about personal preference. That being said, here’s the 10 records that brought me the most joy this year:
10. Constantines – Kensington Heights
One of the hardest working bands in all of Canada just keeps churning out great heavy working class guitar rock. Although the band has often been compared to Fugazi meets Bruce Springsteen, they’ve provne over the last two records that in addition to bringing the rock, they can also write one hell of a ballad too, ‘Soon Enough’ from 2006′s Tournament of Hearts and ‘Time Can Be Overcome’ on Kensington Heights. The band will be touring all across Canada early next year with The Weakerthans for a tour dubbed ‘The Rolling Tundra Revue” an obvious nod to Bob Dylan’s famed tour from 1975-1976. There’s currently no Thunder Bay date, making the closest stop Winnipeg (the Weakerthans hometown).
Favorite Songs: Our Age, Brother Run Them Down, Time Can Be Overcome
9. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Regardless of your thoughts on TVOTR’s music, whether you find them overrated or one of the best bands of the 2000′s (i’m somewhere in between), this record was a huge step forward sonically and style-wise and it’s obvious this is a band not destined to rest on their laurels. If nothing else you’ve got to appreciate bands that are always experimenting, for better or worse, and tinkering with their formula. I still recall the first time I heard ‘Golden Age’ and how much it reminded me of something that might have been cut from Michael Jackson’s 1979 breakthrough album Off The Wall.
Favorite Songs: Golden Age, Lover’s Day, Halfway Home
8. The Dodos – Visiter
One of the more hard to describe albums/bands in my top 10, but i’d best describe The Dodos as VERY upbeat folk rock. As with their live show, they employ percussion via trashcan drums giving the album a very unique sound on the low end. The vocals range from crooning to all out shouting at times, giving the record a very wide range. The opening track ‘Walking’ is easily one of the more enjoyable songs that I heard all year. An interesting aspect of the record is many of the songs have a few distinct parts/movements to them, making it hard to even tell when one track ends and another begins, which makes the album much more enjoyable as a full listen all the way through.
Favorite Songs: Walking, Fools, Park Song
7. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
Of all of the UK post-punk/rock acts that have cropped up in the 2000′s, British Sea Power are easily one of the strongest and most consistent. Their debut, The Decline of British Sea Power was a fiery blast of punk & brit-pop featuring vocals that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a David Bowie record (ie: ‘I Remember’). While they lightened up a bit on their second album Open Season, they more than made up for it with an album that is definitely worthy of it’s cheeky title. The answer is a 100% resounding yes, yes I do like rock music. Sounding like a blend of The Pixies and Echo & The Bunnymen on Red Bull, the band put on a blast of a show at the Triple Rock this past summer as well.
Favorite Songs: A Trip Out, No Lucifer, Atom, Down On The Ground
6. Sigur Ros – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
After being fairly disappointed with their last album Takk, I’d wondered if maybe my interest and love for this band’s music had diminished. One full listen to this new album however proved that theory totally off base. Not only do I love this album, it may be my favorite Sigur Ros album to date, followed closely by ( ). Who would have guessed that Sigur Ros would make an album so upbeat and fun? ‘Inní mér syngur vitleysingur’ is one of the most stunning songs I heard in all of 2008 as well. While this band has yet to make the same album twice, I really hope they experiment more with their more melodic & pop side on the next record, as the results this time around were a huge success.
Favorite Songs: Inní mér syngur vitleysingur, Vid Spilum Endalaust, Festival
5. The Black Keys – Attack & Release
After Magic Potion, a very disappointing release and quite possibly their weakest album to date (sure Your Touch was great, but overall, too mellow), the Akron duo teamed up with hot-shit producer Dangermouse. What seemed like a very odd combination prior to hearing the album, I can safely say that it worked 100%. The album doesn’t really mess with the bands tried and true formula of blues rock, but whether it was the influence of Dangermouse or not, the results ended up being a much more refined and mature sound, without sacrificing the rock of records like Rubber Factory or The Big Come Up. Sadly the new songs added a bit too many elements for the band to recreate many of the songs live. I’d hope in the future they decide to hire a touring keyboard/organ player for songs like ‘Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be’. What’s most interesting about this record is that most of the songs were written for Ike Turner, but sadly he passed away before he was able to record them.
Favorite Songs: Oceans & Streams, Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be, I Got Mine
4. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
What more can be said about Fleet Foxes debut album that hasn’t already been written 100 times before? Gorgeous four part harmonies and sunny pop melodies written by 22 year old Robin Pecknold make this not only the best debut album I’ve heard in some time, but also one that shows incredible promise for this very young Seattle band. As great as the record is, their live show is even more impressive. Despite the great production by Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Modest Mouse), they’re able to pull off the four part harmonies with ease and gel much like the great harmonizing bands that have come before them (The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, etc.). It should be noted, if you buy the LP version you also get the exquisite Sun Giant EP, which was also released very early this year.
Favorite Songs: Oliver James, Ragged Wood,
3. Sun Kil Moon – April
How does Mark Kozelek do it? That was my first thought after one full listen to the second proper Sun Kil Moon studio album (I don’t really count Tiny Cities, as it was all covers). Ghosts of the Great Highway was not only my favorite album of 2003, but remains one of my favorite album of the last 10-15 years, maybe beyond. While I still prefer that record to April ever-so slighty, the fact that he recorded another record even close to that quality just blows my mind. You won’t find a better late night record in 2008 than April, I guarantee you that. In a way this record almost feels like a sequel to Ghosts in both tone & themes. Now if only Mark would FINALLY do a full band Sun Kil Moon tour someday.
Favorite Songs: Lost Verses, Tonight The Sky, Tonight In Bilbao, Moorestown.
2. The Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave
This record would also qualify for the most underrated album of the year by music fans. It was described to me prior to my hearing it as Bob Dylan if he was from Sweden, and I can say that description was not far off base. However, as easy as it is to pigeonhole Kristian Matsson’s music as an obvious not to Dylan, there’s a very natural and catchy melodic sense to his songs that was not nearly as evident during the period of Dylan’s folkier period that his music is reminiscent of. It’s worth noting that the record features some absolutely stellar fingerpicking, both on banjo & guitar. While choosing a single favorite song of any given year is a nearly impossible task, if I had to pick one for 2008, i’m pretty sure ‘The Gardener’ would be at the top of that list. Kristian is currently on tour with Bon Iver, and HOPEFULLY I will be able to see them together in Madison this coming Friday (weather permitting)
Favorite Songs: The Gardener, The Blizzard’s Never Seen The Desert Sands, This Wind, Into The Stream
1. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
This band also wins my “Most Improved” award for 2008. Not that last year’s Wild Mountain Nation was a bad record by any means (it made my top 15), it’s just that the songwriting on Furr is so much more mature and impressive. It’s also a much more cohesive record than the fairly mix & match approach they applied on WMN. While it’s not an album that anyone will pick up on first listen and be utterly blown away, much like a fine wine Furr rewards the patient listener by revealing it’s true greatness over time like most great records often do. The album offers up many different styles over it’s 13 track showing influences ranging from Grandaddy (Sleepytime In The Western World), The Kinks (Furr), Neil Young (Not Your Lover), Wilco / Pavement / The Flaming Lips (War On Machines) & Bob Dylan (Black River Killer). Months later I’m still discovering new things I missed initially with this record, and It’s certainly been one of the most rewarding records of the year for me, making it an obvious choice for my favorite record of 2008.
Favorite Songs: Furr, God & Suicide, Not Your Lover, Black River Killer, Gold For Bread
