Adam's Top 10 Albums
Because everybody else is doing it, here's my top 10 albums of 2008. This list is purely my own opinion and it reflects my favorite albums of the year and not necessarily the best albums. I mean how is one person supposed to tell everyone else what's best??? Beats me, man. Well, here goes.
10. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings And All
We Brave Bee Stings And All is one of the most disarmingly adorable folk-pop records in recent years. Albums that are cute and folky too often get lumped in with the twee-pop junkpile and I'm glad to see that happen to this one. Unlike her more twee peers, Thao knows how to keep the cuteness in check and not overdo it. Pairing her gentle vocals with a laid-back, jazzy backing band, she found a pleasant form of indie-folk that sounds like a record that just wants to find it's way to your living room and sit down and play for you.
9. Oxford Collapse - Bits
Power pop, the slacker way - is how I've come to describe Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse. Ditching their noisy pop-punk roots for a more polished and diverse approach, this is an album of maturation for Oxford Collapse. Not matured so much that they're not getting drunk and spitting on stage anymore, but mature enough to make a more coherent and concise record than their previous attempts. Everything that was great about their older albums is still here to some degree. There's still the dueling bass and guitar parts and the sing/shout vocal delivery, but they're coupled with tight pop songwriting and more focused, incisive wit than before.
8. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - S/T
One of the more underrated albums of 2008. Helped by his roster of famous friends and guest musicians, but perhaps hurt by an inconsistent and often sloppy live show, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson never quite seemed to break out into the mainstream of indie/college-rock where it belonged this year. Perhaps Miles is nothing without his famous friends in the studio, but even so, he and his famous friends made one of the finest, most genuinely affecting records in recent years. It's true, he doesn't really sound anything like the guy on the album when he plays live, but for me, that makes the album that much more enjoyable. It's the only place you can hear Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson in top form, and for me, that makes it one the best albums of the year.
7. Beach House - Devotion
I first publicly professed my love for Beach House when I told a group of friends that we couldn't listen to it while just hanging out because it was the music I put on when it was time to woo a lady. Well, I've come to accept them as just an awesome band for any time of day since then. Devotion finds them in the same familiar territory as their self-titled debut, but with a more polished and consistent approach towards songwriting. This is still music for the quiet times with the opposite sex, but now it's also music for the quiet times when you're just showing up for work, half hungover, and you just need something pleasant to ease you into the day. It's a slow and luxurious ride, just sit back and enjoy.
6. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Microcastle made me like Deerhunter. That's actually saying a lot because I was pretty ardently opposed to this band since I first heard them. Where there previous releases have, not so subtly, straddled the line between cacophonous noise and blistering, but still noisy, guitar pop, Microcastle tones down the noise to an acceptable, enjoyable level. Culling melodies from the finest eras of pop/rock music, Deerhunter was able to show the beautiful music that was probably always there, hiding under mountains of feedback. This somewhat "stripped down" approach has brought the band into a whole new echelon in the indie-rock hierarchy and maybe one step closer to Bradford Cox's goal (I'm paraphrasing) of attracting the kids who just recently got over My Chemical Romance. Good luck, guys.
5. Nat Baldwin - Most Valuable Player
By far, the most underrated album of 2008. Most Valuable Player is a singer/songwriter album in the loosest sense of the term. What makes this record so unique and enjoyable is how Baldwin reigns in his improvisational and avant-garde chops to make what are essentially the most creative pop songs I've heard in a long, long time. I'm saying "pop" here to mean that the melodies and riffs are catchy and you'll find yourself trying to sing them in your head all day long if you give the album time to set in. Created around the same time, and at the same place as Dirty Projectors' Rise Above, MVP could be the little sister album to that sprawling, and sometimes strenuous gem of an album. For my money it's even better.
4. No Age - Nouns
What Bon Iver was to the winter of 2008, No Age was to the summer. It was impressive to see how well this two-piece wrangled their sound in from the somewhat uneven collection of singles that made up 2007's Wierdo Rippers. While there were more than a few gems on that album, Nouns showed everyone what No Age could do when the set out to make an album as a cohesive piece. The result was a record that redefined pop-punk for a new generation. Nouns transitions seemlessly from a blistering assault of noise-rock into a shimmering exploration into the world of ambient soundscapes, all the while holding to a pop sensibility that serves as the uniting force between the two seemingly conflicting territories.
3. White Denim - Exposion/11 Songs/Workout Holiday
Yeah, that's a confusing album title there, but frankly, I'm confused. From what I can tell 11 songs was a self-released CD-R, Workout Holiday was an import CD, and Exposion is there most recent, digitally released album. I don't know which one should take precedent over the other and, for the most part, their track listings overlap, so I'll just name all three as one. White Denim's music tops the pile of garage-y punk groups this year because, unlike the rest of the pack, they bring a nice helping of funk to the mix. So, while I'm still confused about which album I'm supposed to listen to, I do know that I like listening to any of the three more than most of the other albums that came out this year.
2. Dodos - Visiter
Of all the indie-rock groups that have been dubbed "eclectic" or "primitive" in the past few years The Dodos seem to me to be the only one that pulls it off without pretense. Where bands like Animal Collective, MGMT and Yeasayer all come across as groups who took too much acid and simply layered their "normal" songs with "wacky" arrangements to make them seem eccentric, The Dodos music feels more organic. Nothing about the songs on Visiter ever sounds forced. Every ewe-inspired polyrhythm and country/blues fingerpicking pattern sound as though they came together naturally in a laid-back rehearsal space somewhere in the hills of San Fransisco. Add Meric Long's unassuming-regular-guy songwriting and singing to the mix and you've got the near flawless record that is Visiter.
1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
No surprises here. I've never minced words about how much I love Bon Iver. If I had to pick a favorite album for the summer time this probably wouldn't be it, but I'm more of a winter person anyway. The way this album embodies the calming solitude of winter is enough to outweigh it's near complete inappropriateness for the other half of the year.
*Honorable Mentions*
These artists didn't quite make the top 10, but I think they're all worth mentioning as people who put out great music this year. So, in no particular order:
The Lord Dog Bird, Department of Eagles, Benoit Pioulard, Wilderness, Quiet Village, Crystal Stilts, Born Ruffians, Portishead, Black Mountain, Little Joy, The Walkmen, Flying Lotus, Ponytail, Fucked Up, Grails, Okkervil River, King Tuff, The Muslims, Rodriguez, King Khan & The Shrines, The Dutchess & The Duke, High Places, Grouper, Tape, Wale, Arthur Russell, Vivian Girls, Air France, Karl Blau, Brightblack Morning Light
10. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings And All
We Brave Bee Stings And All is one of the most disarmingly adorable folk-pop records in recent years. Albums that are cute and folky too often get lumped in with the twee-pop junkpile and I'm glad to see that happen to this one. Unlike her more twee peers, Thao knows how to keep the cuteness in check and not overdo it. Pairing her gentle vocals with a laid-back, jazzy backing band, she found a pleasant form of indie-folk that sounds like a record that just wants to find it's way to your living room and sit down and play for you.
9. Oxford Collapse - Bits
Power pop, the slacker way - is how I've come to describe Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse. Ditching their noisy pop-punk roots for a more polished and diverse approach, this is an album of maturation for Oxford Collapse. Not matured so much that they're not getting drunk and spitting on stage anymore, but mature enough to make a more coherent and concise record than their previous attempts. Everything that was great about their older albums is still here to some degree. There's still the dueling bass and guitar parts and the sing/shout vocal delivery, but they're coupled with tight pop songwriting and more focused, incisive wit than before.
8. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - S/T
One of the more underrated albums of 2008. Helped by his roster of famous friends and guest musicians, but perhaps hurt by an inconsistent and often sloppy live show, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson never quite seemed to break out into the mainstream of indie/college-rock where it belonged this year. Perhaps Miles is nothing without his famous friends in the studio, but even so, he and his famous friends made one of the finest, most genuinely affecting records in recent years. It's true, he doesn't really sound anything like the guy on the album when he plays live, but for me, that makes the album that much more enjoyable. It's the only place you can hear Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson in top form, and for me, that makes it one the best albums of the year.
7. Beach House - Devotion
I first publicly professed my love for Beach House when I told a group of friends that we couldn't listen to it while just hanging out because it was the music I put on when it was time to woo a lady. Well, I've come to accept them as just an awesome band for any time of day since then. Devotion finds them in the same familiar territory as their self-titled debut, but with a more polished and consistent approach towards songwriting. This is still music for the quiet times with the opposite sex, but now it's also music for the quiet times when you're just showing up for work, half hungover, and you just need something pleasant to ease you into the day. It's a slow and luxurious ride, just sit back and enjoy.
6. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Microcastle made me like Deerhunter. That's actually saying a lot because I was pretty ardently opposed to this band since I first heard them. Where there previous releases have, not so subtly, straddled the line between cacophonous noise and blistering, but still noisy, guitar pop, Microcastle tones down the noise to an acceptable, enjoyable level. Culling melodies from the finest eras of pop/rock music, Deerhunter was able to show the beautiful music that was probably always there, hiding under mountains of feedback. This somewhat "stripped down" approach has brought the band into a whole new echelon in the indie-rock hierarchy and maybe one step closer to Bradford Cox's goal (I'm paraphrasing) of attracting the kids who just recently got over My Chemical Romance. Good luck, guys.
5. Nat Baldwin - Most Valuable Player
By far, the most underrated album of 2008. Most Valuable Player is a singer/songwriter album in the loosest sense of the term. What makes this record so unique and enjoyable is how Baldwin reigns in his improvisational and avant-garde chops to make what are essentially the most creative pop songs I've heard in a long, long time. I'm saying "pop" here to mean that the melodies and riffs are catchy and you'll find yourself trying to sing them in your head all day long if you give the album time to set in. Created around the same time, and at the same place as Dirty Projectors' Rise Above, MVP could be the little sister album to that sprawling, and sometimes strenuous gem of an album. For my money it's even better.
4. No Age - Nouns
What Bon Iver was to the winter of 2008, No Age was to the summer. It was impressive to see how well this two-piece wrangled their sound in from the somewhat uneven collection of singles that made up 2007's Wierdo Rippers. While there were more than a few gems on that album, Nouns showed everyone what No Age could do when the set out to make an album as a cohesive piece. The result was a record that redefined pop-punk for a new generation. Nouns transitions seemlessly from a blistering assault of noise-rock into a shimmering exploration into the world of ambient soundscapes, all the while holding to a pop sensibility that serves as the uniting force between the two seemingly conflicting territories.
3. White Denim - Exposion/11 Songs/Workout Holiday
Yeah, that's a confusing album title there, but frankly, I'm confused. From what I can tell 11 songs was a self-released CD-R, Workout Holiday was an import CD, and Exposion is there most recent, digitally released album. I don't know which one should take precedent over the other and, for the most part, their track listings overlap, so I'll just name all three as one. White Denim's music tops the pile of garage-y punk groups this year because, unlike the rest of the pack, they bring a nice helping of funk to the mix. So, while I'm still confused about which album I'm supposed to listen to, I do know that I like listening to any of the three more than most of the other albums that came out this year.
2. Dodos - Visiter
Of all the indie-rock groups that have been dubbed "eclectic" or "primitive" in the past few years The Dodos seem to me to be the only one that pulls it off without pretense. Where bands like Animal Collective, MGMT and Yeasayer all come across as groups who took too much acid and simply layered their "normal" songs with "wacky" arrangements to make them seem eccentric, The Dodos music feels more organic. Nothing about the songs on Visiter ever sounds forced. Every ewe-inspired polyrhythm and country/blues fingerpicking pattern sound as though they came together naturally in a laid-back rehearsal space somewhere in the hills of San Fransisco. Add Meric Long's unassuming-regular-guy songwriting and singing to the mix and you've got the near flawless record that is Visiter.
1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
No surprises here. I've never minced words about how much I love Bon Iver. If I had to pick a favorite album for the summer time this probably wouldn't be it, but I'm more of a winter person anyway. The way this album embodies the calming solitude of winter is enough to outweigh it's near complete inappropriateness for the other half of the year.
*Honorable Mentions*
These artists didn't quite make the top 10, but I think they're all worth mentioning as people who put out great music this year. So, in no particular order:
The Lord Dog Bird, Department of Eagles, Benoit Pioulard, Wilderness, Quiet Village, Crystal Stilts, Born Ruffians, Portishead, Black Mountain, Little Joy, The Walkmen, Flying Lotus, Ponytail, Fucked Up, Grails, Okkervil River, King Tuff, The Muslims, Rodriguez, King Khan & The Shrines, The Dutchess & The Duke, High Places, Grouper, Tape, Wale, Arthur Russell, Vivian Girls, Air France, Karl Blau, Brightblack Morning Light
1 feeback:
white denim kicks ass, this is true
