Your favourite records of 2008

[rudi]

Chand: I'm with you on the Subtle love.

Brand: It was one of my favourites of the last year. Yeasayer came out in 2007 and I included that too.

[Vitalstatistix]

Doseone's voice really gets on my tits. I don't mind him on cLOUDDEAD's first album, which is stunning, but nearly everything else I have to pass on. Maybe I'll give Subtle's new stuff another shot...

[Lee]

Cats Against The Bomb - Attack Of The Bunny Boilers From The Nth Lagoon The Musical Original Soundtrack Recording
Al Duvall - Recluses Unite
The Stranger - Bleaklow Expanded
Solypsis - Denouement 1998-2008
Daft Punk - Alive 2007 (no link here - it's in HMV)
Chumbawamba - The Boy Bands Have Won
Portishead - Third (as above)
...and everything Gaeoudjiparl van den Dobbelsteen (formerly known as Goodiepal, Mainpal Inv., blah blah blah) has released this year under the banner of Mort Aux Vaches Ekstra Extra as part of his Radical Computer Music educational program, including Den 11 Time/Circular Saw Blade, Emo Teardrop, Black Dystopian Swiss Cheese, Car, at least 10 other shaped and etched records of varying sizes, and of course The Official Mort Aux Vaches Ekstra Extra Walkthrough cassette released on Evol's Alku label.

And if it counts, the Rephlex reissue of 808 State - Quadrastate.

[brand_new_modems]

YES,

but no Autechre? Confounding.

quaristice is so inconsistent, the best bits from that, the versions cd, and the quadrange downloadable ep would be pretty good, but you might as well just listen to one of the live recordings. most of quaristice sounds like they don't give a fuck if anyone even listens to it, they just switched some loops on the machines and farted around with them for a few minutes, which is interesting in itself but makes for a fairly 'meh' listen. the new NHK 12" on raster noton does a better autechre than quaristice, and the SND release shits all over them both

lee did you like the new one by the caretaker? the twin peaks 12" thing was ace too.

[purlieu]

I forgot all about Quaristice as well.

I think I've listened to it twice.

[jamiefairlie]

Excellent, time for my annual post from the wilds of Vancouver.

Agreed that it's certainly not been a great year (too many high expectation albums misfiring badly) but there's still been some nuggets and here's my personal favourites (plus for extra amusement/naffness/bafflement, the two most popular 'LastFM' genre tag in brackets):

Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees (singer-songwriter, folk)
Idaho - The Forbidden EP (slowcore, indie)
James Yorkston - When the Haar Rolls In (singer-songwriter, folk)
Kelli Ali - Rocking Horse (trip-hop, electronic)
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (electronic, shoegaze)
Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling (post-rock, instrumental)
Neil Halstead - Oh! Mighty Engine (singer-songwriter, indie)
Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (folk, indie)
Peter Broderick - Home (ambient, contemporary classical)
Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (post-rock, ambient)
Windsor for the Derby - How We Lost (post-rock, indie)
Woodpigeon - Songbook (folk, canadian)
Wye Oak - If Children (indie, shoegaze)

[alan nagsworth]

Hmmm. It's tricky, I'm awful at remembering what albums came out in the past 12 months. And I STILL haven't heard Deerhoof's new album, despite my flatmate a) owning it, and b) telling me it's a lot better than Friend Opportunity.

Beck - Modern Guilt
Poops all over Radiohead's album in my opinion. I kinda consider them on a par, artistically, and Beck delivered the goods to me in a style I'm more into these days. Not a lot of people dig Danger Mouse too much but I think he's great. In some places he's a good embodiment of soul and surf music whilst combining his love for distortion and little quirks. He has a keen eye for a pretty melody. Anyway this album is fantastic, it's taken ages to even listen to it but I can't stop now. Fantastic.

Ratatat - LP3
Continuously becoming more adventurous, as though it's some kind of pre-planned musical evolution, now they're using mellotrons and harpsichords and everything. Not as good as Classics, but it's a lot more varied and I highly respect that extra effort.

Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop And Roll!!!
Frankly I'm just glad it was nothing like American Idiot. Turns out it's really fun and catchy, just like the ol' Green Day I remember.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
It's Elbow innit, that reet good band wot win prizes. Rightfully so, aswell.

Caspa & Rusko - Fabriclive.37
The basslines just get crazier as the mix goes on, and this is one fucking exceptional mix. Dubstep is a key feature in my musical tastes this year. Just not Burial, for the love of god... I fucking hate it. Same applies for Benga with his dull approach to the whole thing: Sub-par more often than not, and just really lazy.

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
A fucking triumph. Loads better than the first album, Danger Mouse settling into his style nicely and Cee-Lo pouring his troubled soul all over it. It compliments the music so well, it was a match made in Heaven and this has to be my favourite album of the year.

Roots Manuva - Slime And Reason
Thank you Rooty Toot for this great comeback! Awfully Deep was pretty damn poor to be honest, but this is yer Rodney back on form. It's very danceable and it doesn't fall lazily into any UK hip hop subcategories like so many other artists' efforts shamelessly do.

Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist
Ohhh yeeeaaahhh, my most-listened album of the year... this album has kept me awake on the bus journey home from work many a time. Snares went for the full-on rave approach with this album, it's a real floor-filler effort and while there's not as many kooky samples and nowhere near as many frantic schizo beat ventures as stuff like Rossz or Doll Doll Doll, it's still fucking ace. One of my favourites from Snares, in fact.

Stuff I've not properly listened to, but from what I've heard, I really like:
MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Flying Lotus (I love this dude, dunno why I've not got around to Los Angeles yet), Oneida (one of my favourite bands, how come I've not dived head-first into Preteen Weaponry yet?! ARGH)...

phew. That'll do for now.

[Lee]

lee did you like the new one by the caretaker? the twin peaks 12" thing was ace too.

Yes, but I still prefer A Stairway To The Stars, and yes, but I've not included it as it's something I could have done.

[23 Daves]

it hasn't been a bad year for music, in fact there's never actually a bad year for new music. i can only assume the people who say that just haven't looked hard enough.  

Ha!  That's usually my argument, except this time I seem to have triggered it from somebody else.

I will agree that there is no such thing as a bad year for new music, but sometimes the politics of the music industry or predominant trends will interfere with the quality of the recorded output.  The mid-eighties, for example, saw production techniques for guitar based music dampening any energy the bands had, and tons of clinical or messy sounding records came out by bands who were actually supposedly fantastic live (Taylor Parkes recently argued that this applies to The Smiths, although I wouldn't go that far).   

In terms of 2008, I still think there are loads of exciting bands out there, but in terms of albums, there weren't really many that floated my boat, despite me actually enjoying a great many singles.  I do think we're possibly moving towards a single-based (or, in this case, mp3 track based) industry again - people are cherry-picking tracks from iTunes more than before, listening to music on the move, and forgetting about the idea of an album being an experience from track 1 to 12.  To my ears, very few CDs this year sounded "right" when listened to as a whole, even if they did have their moments.  For instance, The Last Shadow Puppets album had strong pieces of work on it, but as a whole sounded like a compilation of some flop sixties bands lost material, B sides, out takes and all.

I could be mistaken (or unlucky), mind you...

[poloniusmonk]

Along with Why?, and No Age, and Cut Copy, I really really enjoyed Afterparty Babies by Cadence Weapon, and I thought the Magnetic Fields album was underrated as well.

[actwithoutwords]

it hasn't been a bad year for music, in fact there's never actually a bad year for new music. i can only assume the people who say that just haven't looked hard enough.  

in reverse alphabetical order:

women - women
wale - the mixtape about nothing
vivian girls - vivian girls
ponytail - ice cream spiritual
no age - nouns
little - little
johnny foreigner - waited up til it was light
HEALTH - DISCO
fuck buttons - street horrrsing
deerhunter - microcastle
crystal castles - crystal castles
beach house - devotion
abe vigoda - skeleton

I didn't say it was a bad year, I'm not sure what a 'bad' year would look like, I just don't think it was particularly strong. It's all relative to the stuff that I listen to anyway. There was lots of good stuff yes, but there weren't terribly many full albums I got properly excited about. And it's hardly like I haven't looked, I have 7 of those 12 albums you've listed. Deerhunter and Vivian Girls records are both great. Beach House is lovely, though I need to listen to it more. No Age, Ponytail, Fuck Buttons and Women had some great songs, but I don't find myself listening to the albums too much. TV on the Radio was possibly the 'biggest' release of the year, but they leave me completely cold. For Emma Forever Ago is lovely, but was a 2007 record also. Vampire Weekend was initially great, but I found the songs have very little sticking power. Skeletal Lamping was my most anticipated record of the year, and that fell a bit flat for me. And while I enjoy the Why? album in bursts, I can't really listen to it for terribly long.

Anyway, there's still lots I have to listen to. But my overriding feeling of the year is only alright, thus far. Compared to this time last year, there were a bunch of really big albums floating around: Hissing Fauna, Person Pitch, Strawberry Jam, Sound of Silver, Untrue, Mirrored, Boxer, In Rainbows etc etc. I don't think the best of this year's stand up with the best of last year's.

EDIT: Oh, CG, I've finally been listening to that Radioclit mixtape thing over the last few days, it's great. You were bigging that up on here a few months ago if I remember correctly?

[trotsky assortment]

I've thought about it some more and 99% of everything I bought on CD this year was either a back catalogue item, or an expanded reissue of some kind.

[Vitalstatistix]

I don't know why, but I haven't found myself returning to TVOTR's Dear Science as much as I thought I would. I had high expectations, and the record seemed to live up to them at first, but after a while.... I don't know, maybe it's missing something. Not as bad as Skeletal Lamping mind...


Edit - I've thought of a few more I should mention as being quite excellent: Convivial by Luomo, Virginia EP by The National, new Notwist album, The Tallest Man on Earth, Lost Wisdom by Mount Eerie, Parallax Error Beheads You by Max Tundra, Rabbit Habits by Man Man.



Biggest disappointments: The new ones from Tapes n Tapes, Wold Parade, and Oizo.

[purlieu]

I've thought about it some more and 99% of everything I bought on CD this year was either a back catalogue item, or an expanded reissue of some kind.

Me too.  I'm so tired of this MGMT/Why?/Times New Viking/Frightened Rabbit/No Age/Black Lips/other latest indie crap with gimmick stuff I get forced down my throat online and in real life that I've decided it's more worthwhile buying older stuff.  There's so much music from the last thousand years I've not heard which does appeal to me it's hard to get too excited about new stuff when I seem to dislike everything new I hear.  Even new albums I buy tend to be from bands I've already got albums by.
Hmmm.  With a record collection the size of mine, I really shouldn't be so bitter about new stuff, but I've tried, I really have.

[trotsky assortment]

Even with my collection the size it is, I'm still finding stuff from the late 60s/early 70s to discover.  It's fab. 

[Marty McFly]

no love for The Major Labels trotters?

I'll do my list later..

[trotsky assortment]

I'd forgotten about that.  The good bits of The Major Labels LP are fab, the not so good bits are easily forgotten, I find.

Overall, not as good as Mike Viola's 'Lurch' solo album from the end of '97 (now available on lovely 180g vinyl with bonus 7", if you've not seen it).

I still want that Candy Butchers 'Blue Thumb' album, dammit!

[Cack Hen]

almost forgot Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

like snow patrol but good. i'm seeing them at the windmill next week, i can't wait for that, it's a tiny tiny venue. i think they'll be playing shepherd's bush empire type places soon enough.

[daimoniac]

Anne Clark - Smallest acts of kindness

without a doubt - the only thing released this year that ive really savoured.

im gutted that i managed to get fired and not be able to go and see her TWICE in 6 months though :(

always next year though...

[El Unicornio, mang]

Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

_{and my own new record}

[trotsky assortment]

A couple of people have recommended me the Fleet Foxes album and now I've spotted it in this thread a few times.  What's it sound like?

[Cack Hen]

i got a bit bored of it, but i expect it'll be one of those pleasant-to-return-to one day type things

[Johnny Yesno]

mika vainio (null) - oleva

I was a bit disappointed with that after the impressive Katodivaihe. I'm not a big fan of his ∅ stuff anyway but it sounded to me like a compilation of tracks that didn't make it onto previous ∅ albums.

[CaledonianGonzo]

A couple of people have recommended me the Fleet Foxes album and now I've spotted it in this thread a few times.  What's it sound like?

Someone who posts as much as you do in the Neil Young thread should probably check it out, Trotters.

EDIT: Oh, CG, I've finally been listening to that Radioclit mixtape thing over the last few days, it's great. You were bigging that up on here a few months ago if I remember correctly?

I love it to bits, Michael Jackson and all.  It even finds a decent use for Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.

[trotsky assortment]

Someone who posts as much as you do in the Neil Young thread should probably check it out, Trotters.

I have a feeling that was all I needed to know!  I'll put it on my 'to check out' list.

[mayer]

Jonathan Richman - Because Her Beauty Is Raw And Wild



I'd only ever heard The Modern Lovers, Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers begininng-to-end and some Jonathan best-of, so it's not like I'm some mega-fan who's been lapping up all of Richman's solo records, but this album is absolutely fantastic. Most of it's quite stripped-down acoustic stuff, almost skiffly, but with really addictive rhythm and brilliant lyrics. It shows how little you need in terms of production and polish to make an album that sounds timeless and current - even if the artist has been around forever.

My favourite track is No One Was Like Vermeer - which is the first time I've heard something that's basically art appreciation 101 ("Vermeer was eerie/Vermeer was strange/ He had a more modern colour range") sound so flipping catchy!

It has two versions of a track called When We Refuse To Suffer, about the acceptance of pain and hurt as feelings, no matter how horrible they are sometimes because if we don't embrace them and dull ourselves to the world with air freshener and prozac we just lose out anyway. The second version is one of the few tracks with a bit of electric guitar on it, and it jumps out and is thrilling, even though I'm not sure if I agree entirely with the sentiment. It's probably a sort of sister piece to I'm Straight, the more I think about it... advocating that it's better to face the world with a bit of sobriety, no matter how daunting that may seem.

The LP also has a Leonard Cohen Cover on it. Here It Is was originally on (the underrated) Ten New Songs and even though that version was pretty perfect, Richman's take on it wrings out even more emotion from the song till you're swimming it. Even though they aren't his words, you still totally believe them when Richman sings them.

[TheWizard]

Singles wot I liked

20 Metromony - Heartbreaker

Just something about the feel of this song that chimes with the concept of the parent album being in Joesph Mount's words a "Half-arsed concept album about going out and having a crap time!" more so than anything else on it.

19 MGMT - Electric Feel

Not a big fan of the band, only have four really good songs on OS and that one that's not on the album but this is the one moment from them (helped by a plethora of remixes) that I'm not fed up with. I'm guessing if not "Sex On Fire" then "Time To Pretend" or this will win NME's track of the year this week.  

18 Elbow - Grounds for Divorce

Opening line of the year. band now as big as that booming, bending riff that's underpinning this.


17 Hercules & Love Affair feat. Antony Hegarty - Blind

Proper disco, not DFA disco (nttawwt) but not quite as late 70's as the album. More of a snappy twang to it that makes it sound more Chicago feel to it (the city) and more soulful then your LCD Soundsystems.

16 Mumford and Sons - Love Your Ground EP

Named on BBC's Sound of 2009 and one of the genuinely talented acts on there, not just promoted by some A/R men blogsphere. First EP from the summer was good, this is great. Seen them play many times over the past 12 months, mainly supporting Laura Marling, and last night as it happened. "Little Lion Man" is the stand out on here if you want to google that and the letters hypem.
 
15 Lykke Li - Breaking It Up

The vikings are coming. "Little Bit" was technically '07 even though I missed it last year but this on some days I'd call better with it's muppet opening (cf. The Flaming Lips - "The Gash") and hand clapping chant simpleness.

14 Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down

Very repetitive, fantastic video and should have been the (UK indie rock) song of the summer. In my ears it still was.

13 Veronica Maggio - Stopp

Swedish Grammy winner of Italian descent, pure pop but what a pop song. It's in Swedish which shouldn't but does add to it's sexiness. Maybe we'll see it covered in English by some popette one day soon?

12 Portishead - Machine Gun

Stunning comeback, I take back my repetitive comment on #14 when you look at how this song is made up; not much too it structurally on a surface level but it makes it sound so important and grandiose. Lyrics and vocals performance that leaves you feeling bruised inside. Chilling.

11 Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Another gloriously simple, short song, thankfully nowhere near as dark.

10 The Week That Was - Scratch The Surface

I've listened to this a couple of dozen times and every time I expect the opening line to have "your crying like a little girl" when in fact there's no little in that sentence. Perfect economic angular pop / rock.

9 Wiley - Wearing My Rolex

A novelty song but who hasn't found Timmy Mallett doing the Rolex Sweep funny?

8 Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan/Trick For Treat

Mainly for the lead of the AA side. Has anyone written as many great songs as Gruff in the past 2 years?

7 Mystery Jets ft. Laura Marling - Young Love

I don't know exactly what M Jets were listening to the past 2 years but I bet they've had some early Police records on rotation

6 Radiohead - Nude / Down Is The New Up / 4 Minute Warning

Don't need to say much on this, probably the best tracks off In Rainbows bonus as well.

5 Eugene McGuinness - Moscow State Circus

Like a little wee Arctic Monkey on his own. This like most of his best songs has a habit of going on for minutes after it's finished (in a good way though)

4 Pete & The Pirates - Mr. Understanding

Under-appreciated Libertines esque music. Just makes me grin to hear any of the several great sections in it.

3 Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor

Seems like it was out over 12 months ago and it probably did leek that long ago but as much as I thought the album was a step down this is tremendous fun.


2 British Sea Power - Waving Flags / Everybody Must Be Saved / Elizabeth and Susan Meet The Pelican / Ooby Dooby Doo

"No Lucifer" is boss but that 10" single was daft so I will go for this epic immigration loving, windswept A**** F*** a-like festival anthem. B-sides up to the normal ultra high standards of this band.
 
1 Late Of The Pier - Heartbeat

No single this year more perfectly served as an advert for the album it came from better than this one.


Albums

20 Neon Neon -  Stainless Style
19 Deerhunter - Microcastle
18 Lykke Li - Youth Novels
17 Johnny Flynn - A Larum
16 Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
15 Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
14 Mystery Jets - 21
13 The Bug - London Zoo
12 Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til It Was Light
11 Eugene McGuiness - Eugene McGuiness
10 The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
9 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
8 Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7 Glasvegas - Glasvegas
6 Late of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
5 Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
4 That Was The Week - That Was The Week
3 British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
2 Portishead - Third
1 Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim

[purlieu]

Hold on, people over the age of 17 take Late Of The Pier seriously?

[TheWizard]

Not in a chin stroking way. I'm not expecting a great 3rd album from them.

[j_u_d_a_s]

And if it counts, the Rephlex reissue of 808 State - Quadrastate.

Oh shit yes! I forgot that was due out soon! Oh man, I had some good times with the vinyl. Firecracker still gives me chills up my spine the same it did when I first heard it over 10 years ago!

Anyway I'm nowhere near as cool as you lot but here's my choices anyway


Couples - The Long Blondes
Took a while to grow on me but Kate Jacksons voice is like having honey and golden syrup poured into my ear. That and I would marry her in a heartbeat.


Box of Secrets - Blood Red Shoes
Not bad stuff, nothing earth shaking but nicely polished.

Monkey - Journey to the west soundtrack
Just excellent stuff all round and makes me green that I'll probably miss seeing the full show :(

Off the top of my head, I quite liked Cage the Elephant when I saw them live but I suspect they'd get very thin after a few listens. And there's loads of odd songs that came out but never really convinced me to buy the whole album.