Looking back at the year, I have to say, it wasn't too bad for music. Sure there were some ups and downs. Sure Madonna hasn't hung up her tights for good, and sure Weezer haven't remember how to rock like they used to in '96, but still we had some amazing releases this year. I have to say that the top three were all competing for the top spot but after much deliberation I think I sorted it all out. Anyways, shall we get into it?
Note: You will see the word "psychedelic" a lot in this probably. It is really not my fault, it's just been that kind of year.
10. Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp
There is something about this album that is just impossible to not love. Maybe it's the psychedelic synthesizers, the occasional rush of crashing drums, whatever it is, this album just exudes a hazy feeling of summer. And the 1970s. Yes, it is a magnificent summer '70s album (look at the album cover, you'll understand). The big single "A&E" is an automatic favourite, "Little Birds" will enthrall you with it's churning keyboards and truly epic drum climax. "Some People" will make you want to walk into the street and sing on a car, thrusting your fists to the sky. Admittedly, this is the most pop-oriented album on the list, but there is enough aural nostalgia from the '70s pop-folk era (think Kate Bush) on this album to please even the most stuck-up indie snob. And really, who doesn't love sweeping mellotron-esque strings?
9. Hello, Voyager! - Evangelista
Two groups side-by-side both fronted by women, but Evangelista and Goldfrapp couldn't be more different. Evangelista is raw, brutally emotional, and for the most part, frightening. Nearly every song pushes you to the edge of your seat with its crackling, shrieking, recorded pain. Carla Buzolich's voice is truly the driving point of this album. Her voice makes every song that much more powerful. These aren't the kind of songs that you are going to walk down the street humming, unless you live in some kind of demeneted Southern ghost town. Never before has the line "It's gonna be swingin'" sounded so fucking scary. The title track is easily one of the most memorable of the year. Twelve minutes and 13 seconds of Ms. Buzolich preaching and screaming of the meaning of love. You have to hear it to believe it.
8. Parallel Play - Sloan
I'm just going to say it. I fucking love Sloan. I find that once you start listening to them, you can't stop. This truly Canadian band released their 9th album, and though it is not their best yet, it still sits above most rock music around today. "Burn For It" and "Otherside" are enormous rock-outs with choruses that are perfect for singing along to at the top of your lungs. "The Dogs" takes a more psychedelic take, and "Down In The Basement" is pure Dylan. Every song just seems to fit onto this album so well. If you like rock music, you will like Sloan, it just works that way.
7. Do You Like Rock Music? - British Sea Power
Speaking of liking rock music (honestly that happened by accident, really) British Sea Power may actually be "rock music". They are big and loud, and they show it on Do You Like Rock Music? in spades. Every song is slathered in a nice layer of reverb, giving it an even bigger feel. Even though the songs are so big and so injected with rock, they manage to keep an emotional side. The lyrics, though vague, are tender and feeling. Each song just flows into the other, making this album a cohesive unit instead just a collection of songs. "Lights Out For Darker Skies" is a must listen, everyone should have to hear this song. It will make you want to have an enourmous sing-a-long to the chorus.
6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Okay really, where did these guys come from. One week it was all "Vampire Weekend are the best band of the year" and then all of a sudden everyone was listening to Fleet Foxes. I'd like to keep it that way, Fleet Foxes have a way better name, and a way better debut album. Starting off with a bluegrass acapella hymn it quickly switches to the folky reverby indie whatever-kind-of-music-this-is that Fleet Foxes are. The songs are reminiscent of decades past, and lull the listener into a calm feeling with its beautiful melodies and smooth reverb. Also, sometimes the vocals remind me of the choral singing from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, (cough, "He Doesn't Know Why, cough) which is a huge bonus. There is nothing scary here, no odd time signatures or grating walls of feedback, these guys have written a truly beautiful album and deserve every bit of publicity they get. Also, it is going to be really hard to find a more beautiful song from 2008 than "Blue Ridge Mountains".
5. Dear Science - TV On The Radio
I heard about the released of Dear Science about 4 days before it was released. Needless to say I was excited, and surprised that I hadn't heard about it sooner. I went to the record store before my twelve o'clock class and bought it. When the second track hit, I ran out of my room and got my friend Emma from Jon's room. I was feverish with excitement. "Emma, they have funk riffing. Funk riffing!" They were a number of surprise in TV On The Radio's latest album. Most surprising of all, this album almost seemed... happy? Maybe hopeful. The lyrics are still dark, but the instrumentation gives a lighter feeling. "Dancing Choose" and "Red Dress" both have rap inflections that just add to the surprises, but this is still mixed with the shoegaze electronics and guitars, and the classical TV On The Radio drum machines. I think we all just need to come to terms with the fact that when TV On The Radio release an album, it is going to be one of the best of the year.
4. Third - Portishead
I am going to be completely honest here, I never have listened to any other Portishead besides this album. I know, I know. Anyways, I have no way to compare this album to their other two releases, but what I can say is that this album has haunted me for weeks. I cannot get "The Rip" out of my head, or the pounding industrial drum beats of "Machine Gun". This is an opus of the unsettling. Every song just seems menacing, save for the lo-fi old school ditty that is "Deep Water". The vocals are quivering and gothic, and contrasts but at the same time fits with the stuttering and dark music. In fact this is album is more of a psychedelic rock album than a trip-hop album. Whatever you want to call it, this album is unforgettable.
3. Parc Avenue - Plants and Animals
Okay, people, for the love of whatever giant invisible guy you pray to, listen to Plants and Animals! This is one of the best Canadian bands out there and I have met three other people who listen to them. I saw them live early this year. There were enough people crowded into the tiny room we were in that the enormous windows behind the band were wet with condensation. They played their incredible set as if they were playing for an arena of people, and no one in the room knew who the fuck they were, and it was awesome. Parc Avenue is a beautiful collection of, what the band describes as, "post-classic rock". It's got the rock, it's got the folk, it's even a song with faeries in it. What more could you want? "Good Friend" is probably my favourite song of the year. It has the most delicious reverb you will hear, anywhere, and some beautiful lyrics. In fact, the entire album is full ingenius song writing, songs about love, recording an album, and keeping it real. Montreal just seems to be a birth place of a good music, and Plants and Animals is one of them.
2. Evil Urges - My Morning Jacket
I love this album, I love My Morning Jacket, and I love Jim James. This was so close to getting the top spot, you have no idea. I listened to this album for months, over and over again, and yet it stayed interesting. It was a hard descision, but sadly, My Morning Jacket came second, but about the closest second there possibly can be. Anyways! Evil Urges shows a band at the top of their game, mastering different genres and making everything sound so god damn easy to play. Seriously, track one MMJ are Prince, track two they are the Flaming Lips, track three they are '80s glam rock. That's not an easy transition to make between track without sounding all over the place, yet it works. It works so well. "Thank You Too" is a '70s love epic, while "Look At You" is tender and intimate. "Sec Walkin'" is pure country while "Remnants" is face-melting rock 'n roll. Rarely will an album blow you away with its sheer amount of variety and musicianship. I can't much more because I will begin to drool all over my keyboard. Ah, I almost forgot to mention the hilarious placement of the song "Two Halves" (hint: check the track number). Oh shit, there I go.
1. Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. - Deerhunter
Yes, Deerhunter, the winners of this year. What made me choose this album over Evil Urges was the fact that, this album is so utterly astonishing to listen to.Every time I listen to Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. it's just so god damn interesting. There is so much going in their songs. It is hard to explain the feeling when you hear this album, it's just that Deerhunter have nailed it on Microcastle. Every song is so dense with sounds. The guitars churns and chime out, fuzzing out into a shoegazey bliss. The metronomic drums keep time perfectly. It's a fascinating, tense album that keeps you listening. This is the sort of album that will leave you feeling so fulfilled. Once the last cymbal crash fades out on"Twilight On Carbon Lake" you will sit back, breath out, and just want to start over again. But wait! It comes with the companion album Weird Era Cont. which is just as dense and enthralling as the last 12 songs. What more could you possibly ask for. Honestly, an album that has to heard to be believed, go and get it any way you can and enjoy the everliving fuck out of it.
-Lucas Thurston
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