Top 20 Albums of 2008
by Benn Ray
1. ICE CREAM SPIRITUAL by PONYTAIL
Noisy, non-verbal, challenging, and different from everything else that came out this year in all the right ways yet Ponytail still reminds me of much of what I love about bands like Pylon and Deerhoof at their best.
On their sophomore release, the band presents a string of punch you in the face songs with guitars switching modes between rapid fire chords to cascades to riffs. Meanwhile, I could swear vocalist Molly Siegel is using actual words in a couple places - but not enough for me to worry about what the vocals are about (a big plus). In fact, her yelps take on more nuance, with chants, barks, chirps, singing. At times, her squeals almost seem sexual, which is weird as I've always thought of Ponytail as an art punk band, not sexy rock.
Ponytail delivers a great album that not everyone will be willing to put the time in to get, and so much their loss for it, because every time I listen to it, I find something new to work through - and isn't that the hallmark of a great album?
[mp3] Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)
2. IN THE FUTURE by BLACK MOUNTAIN
Heady, woozy, druggy, soaring, and a little clunky. A plead to sweet Lucifer? Check.
This album was released early in 2008, but I found myself going back to it again and again.
The songs contain enough variety from track to track (some bring to mind Bowie, some Zeppelin, some Sabbath - all without ever actually sounding derivative) while still maintaining a consistent tone - these Canucks know a song cycle!
Black Mountain almost makes me like classic rock again without forcing me to listen to played-out crap that belongs to other generations. Black Mountain delivers fresh new goods.
[mp3] Tyrants
3. FLEET FOXES by FLEET FOXES
Beautifully constructed orchestral pop in the Brian Wilson arena. Sounds like what you always want Animal Collective to get to before their drugginess unwinds their compositions. Simply beautiful stuff - great winter listening too.
So here's the formula I came up with for them:
Brian Wilson x John Barry guitar (+ American westerns - Raw Hide) / Band Of Horses + Animal Collective - hippie indulgence = Fleet Foxes.
[mp3] White Winter Hymnal
4. LIFERZ by BLOOD ON THE WALL
Dirty, sleazy, bratty, junkie, New York (by way of Kansas), post-punk rocknroll.
If you are sick of precious indie bands who most likely don't party or fuck, Blood On The Wall's Liferz is the record you've been waiting for. 15 years ago, Blood On The Wall would have seemed like a likely progression of things - now they sound like a band that's all too willing to steer the current music bus into a ditch and stab any survivors.
[mp3] Hibernation
5. THE SUPREME GENIUS OF by KING KHAN & THE SHRINES
This year's garage rock entry from an incredibly non-PC but super fun band.
One part Nuggets, one part Stax, one part Euro-gargage psychedelic soul, one part... hell, that's a lot of parts already - which makes sense when you try to trace the history of Khan - a Canadian born to Indian immigrants who cut his garage rock teeth in Germany.
But all that doesn't matter, what does is that King Khan is throwing one helluva party, and The Supreme Genius Of serves as a soundtrack to it.
There is nothing exactly new about King Khan, but then if you want new, you're not going to be listening to garage rock anyway. But what King Khan does he does masterfully and I defy anyone to not enjoy any track on this record.
[mp3] Torture
6. NOUNS by NO AGE
If you are prone to believing hype, you might think that Nouns is this generation's Daydream Nation. It ain't. But what it is is one helluva good, noisy, art punk record.
And underneath all that sonic texture are fist-pumping sing along songs that are catchy as hell.
[mp3] Eraser
7. MICROCASTLE by DEERHUNTER
Okay, first off, who the hell likes Drone?
What I mean is, when a band is described as a "Drone" band, who are the assholes who say "Hell yes, that's my kind of shit"? And secondly, what the hell is wrong with those people? I mean, I'm thinking there must be a fucking Drone Army out there somewhere by the amount of Drone bands I see popping up. Or maybe many of the kids in bands now are just too lethargic to get anything going, who the hell knows.
Regardless, it only makes sense for a band, when labeled "Drone" to immediately begin moving away from it. Oh, and hey, shoegaze (whatever the fuck kind of genre name that is), don't stand against the wall looking all innocent and bored - I'm talking to you too!
Okay, enter Deerhunter.
Sure, dense guitars. Some interesting stuff. But previously droney. Smartly, they seem to be adding elements to their songs with each new release. This time they added melody which helps to make their previous propensity for droning more compelling. And in many cases here, the songs are downright beautiful.
8. HERETIC PRIDE by THE MOUNTAIN GOATS
After a very quiet album last year, John Darnielle puts together a fascinating record in which every song deals with gods, elementals or monsters. Images of heretics being dragged bleeding across stoney streets, The Swamp Thing stopping by an old love's apartment, Michael Meyers, or in one of my favorite songs of the year ("Lovecraft In Brooklyn"), a Lovecraftian vision come to Brooklyn. Darnielle is at his best when he's jittery, anxious and apocalyptically paranoid tossing out subtle threats of unavoidable violence, and there is some of that here - but in some instances he's strangley smooth and calm - as if he's come to terms with his own gods and monsters.
[mp3] Sax Rohmer #1
9. DIG!!! LAZARUS, DIG!!! by NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
I have friends who are Nick Cave freaks. Like they revere Nick Cave the same way I revere Tom Waits. And I don't have a problem with that, but I never quite got it. I mean I like Nick Cave just fine. I have a couple Bad Seeds CDs and a couple Birthday Party CDs, but he's always been one of those artists that I get stuck being hotboxed about by some drunk at a party.
Still, I like the idea of him, and I feel like in most situations, Nick Cave and I would be on the same side of things. His music has always been decent, but it's always felt like a cut-rate Aussie Tom Waits.
Regardless, I've kinda kept an eye on him because he's an interesting character and I suspected that sooner or later he would turn out something truly great. That's a long-winded way of me saying this is the Nick Cave record I've always been waiting for. Sleazy, surprisingly experimental, blasphemous, unpredictable and thoroughly engaging.
10. AT MOUNT ZOOMER by WOLF PARADE
This record is easy to overlook because of a title that's equally as bad as the album cover. But that's a big mistake. Here they upgrade their sound with some electronics which sound both retro and contemporary without distracting from the songs. At Mount Zoomer presents a very good band looking where to step next.
[mp3] Language City
11. RECIEVERS by PARTS & LABOR
I was late to Parts & Labor party. It took me awhile to appreciate last year's awesome Mapmaker. By that point I had already missed including it on my 2007 year end list. But perhaps because Parts & Labor are reigning in some of their more indulgent instincts or possibly because I finally got past a bad Husker Du comparison (it's there, but not in the way you'd think), now these found-noise spiced anthems get under my skin and won't leave me alone.
[mp3] Nowheres Nigh
12. REAL EMOTIONAL TRASH by STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
Malkmus returns to his more proggy fixations, but you can hear how much fun he is having on this record, which largely translates to a fun record to listen to. And not only does he have a song called "Baltimore," but he name-checks Sleestaks in it.
[mp3] Baltimore
13. O by TILLY & THE WALL
Tilly & Co. are looking for places to go, musically. And here they go a little darker and a little edgier and it works. Sure they construct beautiful pop music accented with tap dancing percussion (also present on this record) - but that has the danger of being seen as a gimmick that gets old after so many records. I saw them catch a lot of crap online for this record, but this is the right direction for them - they need to fully embrace it and ignore the shiny popsters who just want to shake their asses, and while they're at it, they should just ignore the Sesame Street controversy too. I saw some complaints by concerned mama types about them appearing on Sesame Street singing an ABC song when some of their songs deal with drugging and fucking. "The trash washes up on shore even in this landlocked place." Your words, Tilly. Just keep 'em in mind.
[mp3] Pot Kettle Black
14. DARK DEVELOPMENTS by VIC CHESNUTT & ELF POWER
Vic does his best work these days when he's collaborating. I still consider his collab with Lambchop, The Salesman & Bernadette to be a masterpiece, but his work here with Elf Power is pretty damn solid too. A fine collection of songs with more of an psyche-indie rock sound. While the title refers to a darkroom procedure, it is also a reference to occurences in this country from over the past 8 years. Through it all, Chesnutt's trademark wit shines nicely.
[mp3] And How
15. OFFEND MAGGIE by DEERHOOF
If the words "accessible" and "Deerhoof" are ever going to be used to describe a record, this is that record. But given the fundamental nature of the bands muscled guitar and quirky vocals, that is a huge honkin' "if".
[mp3] Offend Maggie
16. LIE DOWN IN THE LIGHT by BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY
Playful and strong. The whole of Bonnie "Prince" Billy's prolific output varies from good to very good. The songs here solid, beautifully sung and sometimes surprisingly and amusingly a little perverse. When someone like Billy so consistently releases good records, he is sometimes easily taken for granted.
(fan video)
17. THE STAND INS by OKKERVIL RIVER
This follow up to last year's excellent Stage Names is actually a bookend of songs. While the first batch were better, The Stand Ins still boasts some interesting songs about fame, celebrity, etc. A bit more polished, but still mostly lacking the melancholy noodling of Okkervil River's early records.
[mp3] Lost Coastlines
18. CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY by THE RACONTEURS
This supergroup continues to deliver the rock n roll goods and is surprisingly fusing into an actual band instead of a collection of quirky personalities. Nothing ground-breaking here, just a good set of rock and roll songs.
19. ACCELERATE by R.E.M.
It took REM long enough to figure out the easiest way to not suck was to get Buck to put down the damn mandolin and pick up the guitar again and pick up the tempo. It was like an old friend coming home for a visit - but this isn't the old art indie rockers from the '80s who've come back, but the '90s rockstars, which is fine as long as it's not the dull, droney, living in a town called "Irrelevent" REM of the the late 90s through the 00s. These songs are sharp, fast, and a little pissed off.
20. THAT LUCKY OLD SUN by BRIAN WILSON
The first time I listened to this album I thought it was embarrassingly bad. The second time I listened to it, I thought it might actually be decent. The third time I listened to it, I began to suspect it might be brilliant. The fourth time I listened to it, I went back to thinking that while not quite brilliant, it is in fact very interesting, touching and revealing, despite (or because of) it being cheesy and corny. And that's the position I've held on pretty much all subsequent listenings.
There seem to be several Brian Wilsons at work here - one rehashing pop hits, one trying recreate new artistry, and one wanting to confess and share. Which of these is the real Brian Wilson? I'm beginning to suspect that none of them are - that there is no real Brian Wilson anymore, and that his music is just the sum of 3 advisory factions all vying for control. Or, maybe it is all Brian and he really is just a crazy genius.
The spoken word interludes are weird and strange and childish (typical Van Dyke Parks). The album as a love note to California is hard to go along with (considering it's a state that just voted to take away rights from a segment of its citizens), but under the conceit of revising the classic "That Lucky Old Sun" it actually does all come together. And once you get to the song "California Roll" it becomes a different album where Brian moves away from his hokier nostalgia songs and ventures into richer new territory.
Okay, clearly I've been thinking about this record A LOT. Maybe if I had bigger balls, it'd be my #2 or #3 record of the year. Or maybe I'll look back on this shudder with embarrassment for including this on my list at all. But one thing is for sure, I will keep coming back to this record time and time again. At least until his next record comes out, which I've read him say (paraphrasing here) is about a couple of dudes who are walking along the beach and discover a hidden amusement park with rides and a party and chicks. Yeah, I know. Sounds ridiculous and awesome.
(fan video)
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Over the next several weeks, we will be regularly posting Year End Wrap Up lists from our friends, readers, and regular Shank contributors. So please stay tuned...
Thanks, can't wait to listen.
Posted by: Editor B | January 07, 2009 at 09:42 AM
I will purchase at least five (5) of these recordings based on your enthusiasm alone.
Huzzah!
Posted by: P. Joseph Smithwicke | January 07, 2009 at 11:29 AM
i actually liked stand-ins better than stage names. am i the only one?
Posted by: Greg | January 07, 2009 at 03:01 PM