2008 is over. Shall we raise some hosannahs to the sky? In all fairness, I shouldn't add to the chorus of bellyaching; economic collapse aside, I still have a job and my loved ones all seem to have their health. Besides, 2008 ended up being a pretty good year for music. The top end was especially loaded, with no less than three albums with legitimate claims to the top spot. Still, if the Highlander movies have taught us anything (and they have taught us so much), it's that there can be only one.
We've also learned that, just as 2006 was a great year to have "wolf" somewhere in your band's name (Wolfmother, Wolf Parade, etc.), 2008 was the year of "crystal," with fantastic albums from Crystal Castles, Crystal Antlers, and Crystal Stilts. And we've discovered that it was a terrific year to be Bradford Cox, who released not one, not two, but three albums (technically) that made the *bitter defeat* top 20. That's fairly impressive. Finally, we've learned that young, noisy bands playing in warehouses and backyards are still the most exciting game in town, from "elder statesmen" like Jay Reatard, Fucked Up, and No Age to up-and-comers like Ponytail, Vivian Girls, Crystal Antlers, Pissed Jeans, and Abe Vigoda.
We may be hanging on by a string, but thanks to all these young punks (and a certain President Elect), the future looks pretty bright.
20. Dr. Dog – Fate
Though Dr. Dog is frequently compared to The Band, it's usually in a negative context, as in "the Band lite." This was especially true of Fate, which was largely dismissed by critics as sounding too much like other stuff, namely The Beatles, The Zombies, The Beach Boys, etc. Here's the problem: this album doesn't actually sound like any of those bands. Sure, there are references aplenty to ragtime, hillbilly, music hall, Philly soul, 60s pop, and the like, but the resulting mishmash of old-timey sounds and 1960s studio effects is more evocative than derivative. So is Dr. Dog lost in the past? Most definitely. But that does nothing to diminish the quality of these trips down memory lane.
19. Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
Molly Siegel, the diminutive lead singer of Baltimore noise-poppers Ponytail, uses her voice as an instrument, a weapon, and a rallying cry. She's yelping and OOOOH-ing as often (more, perhaps) as she is singing, and her vocal antics would be perfectly at home on the playground. Firmly in the tradition of Deerhoof (and with a sense of fun reminiscent of X-Ray Spex), Ponytail remind us that sophisticated music can always be fast and fun.
18. The Black Keys – Attack & Release
A drums-and-guitar duo chugging out fuzzy blues riffs, with production by...Danger Mouse? Strangely enough, it's a perfect fit. That extra little dash of R&B is the perfect garnish for this steaming plate of Zep.
17. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Real Emotional Trash
I'll admit this is a 100% emotional pick, based on pure lighter-in-the-air enjoyment. Not as effortlessly charming as 2003's Pig Lib and more sedate than 2005's Face the Truth, Real Emotional Trash relies heavily on a single element of the Malkmus repertoire: sweet, sweet jams, my man. This is both a criticism (you won't see the album on many best-of lists) and glowing praise (Malkmus remains the king of indie groove). There isn't much new here, but it's hard to argue with stunning competence.
16. The Last Shadow Puppets – Age of the Understatement
When Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner announced a side project, it's hard to imagine anyone being prepared for Age of the Understatement. Heavily influenced by the orchestral pop of Lee Hazelwood and Scott Walker, The Last Shadow Puppets employ strings, horns, and lush arrangements that call to mind Sergio Leone and 1960s spy-movie soundtracks. It's hard to believe Turner is only 22. Maybe his dad helped him with his homework.
15. Crystal Stilts – Alight of Night
If Phil Spector produced an album by a depressed ghost, it would sound exactly like Crystal Stilts. Singer Brad Hargett's moody groan resembles Ian Curtis on horse tranquilizers, while the band's funereal echo-chamber stomp recall such Spector acolytes as The Raveonettes and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Haunting, dreamy, and minimal to the core, Crystal Stilts is a York Peppermint Pattie for your ears.
14. No Age – Nouns
On Nouns, No Age left behind some of their more hardcore leanings in favor of soundscapes and noise collages, but the result is far from alienating. Like Deerhunter, they tear out of the gate just often enough to keep things lively. In other words, "maturity" doesn't have to be all bad.
13. Atlas Sound – Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel
"Prolific" would be something of an understatement. Between his work with Deerhunter and his own bedroom recordings as Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox released enough music in 2008 to make Robert Pollard look like J.D. Salinger. Sound collages, ambient interludes, acoustic strumming...you name it, it's in here. Cox's preoccupation with childhood and nostalgia finds perfect expression on an album of intimate, innocent moments.
12. The Dodos – Visiter
Two dudes shouldn't be able to make an album this spacious. Beautiful acoustic guitars, polyrythic drums, and enough primal yelping for three Big Country albums combine to make Visiter (their second full-length) one of the most exciting releases of the year.
11. Jay Reatard - Singles 06–07; Matador Singles 08
By virtue of having been released in one collection this year (and my not having heard most of them before), Jay Reatard's earlier singles count. And even if they hadn't, his slate of 2008 singles on Matador more than stand on their own. Manic, propulsive, and punk as fuck, Reatard's insanely catchy pop threatens to single-handedly destroy this country's hunger for antidepressants.
10. Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe would be so damn proud of Vivian Girls, whose music is "less is more" incarnate. Like many of their contemporaries, the Brooklyn trio has embraced the Phil Spector echo-chamber aesthetic, but their seeming amateurism sets them apart in all the right ways. (Imagine the Shaggs, but with actual talent.) Brandishing simple two-part harmonies, three chords, and a kit with no kick drum, Vivian Girls make simplicity the ultimate virtue.
9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Decry their preppy demeanor and Ivy League pedigree all you want, but there's no denying Vampire Weekend's talent. No one had a problem with over-educated honkies mining reggae, calypso, and African polyrythms when they were called Talking Heads (or the Feelies, for that matter), so save the hipster-bashing for the Stereogum comments section. Literate, incisive lyrics, melodies so catchy the CDC is on alert...in the end, what is there to discuss?
8. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Saturdays = Youth is a stunningly faithful rendition of the synth-driven atmospherics that characterized much of the 1980s' best film music—from Wang Chung's score for To Live and Die in L.A. to the Dream Academy's cover of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to the instrumental version of New Order's "Thieves Like Us" that propelled Pretty in Pink's iconic prom-dress-making scene. If nothing else, Anthony Gonzalez's album-length paean to smoking cigarettes in the graveyard listening to Cocteau Twins is the year's most compelling act of homage.
7. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
The best Grizzly Bear album of the year, even though only 33% of Grizzly Bear recorded it.
6. Crystal Antlers – Crystal Antlers EP
Crystal Antlers' debut is so volcanic, so fucking go for the throat, that a mere six song EP left most of this year's full-lengths shaking in the dust. Johnny Bell's throat-searing vocals rip through an acid-blurred landscape of apocalyptic art-rock. Plus their drummer goes shirtless and their percussionist is named Sexual Chocolate.
5. Portishead – Third
Trip-hop? What the hell is trip-hop?? After an absence of almost a decade, Portishead return with an album so densely atmospheric, so utterly heartbreaking, that it requires an entirely new genre. Is bleak-hop taken? Also, it is terrifying.
4. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Shaggy beards, flannel, geetars, and real purty singin' make Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut the finest bit of rootsy Americana this side of Harry Smith. Bitter Defeat #1 song "White Winter Hymnal" is just the tip of the smoky mountain; every song transports listeners to a simpler time, when everyone smelled like B.O. and woodfires.
3. Pete & the Pirates – Little Death
It all started one night on New York Noise, the city's best (and only) cable-access indie-rock video show. The video for "Come on Feet," two and a half minutes of pure, unadulterated pop genius, kick-started my love affair with a little band from Reading, England, who have yet to release their debut album in the States. Pitchfork wrote an excellent 8/10 review, while the semi-pro assholes over at Vice magazine gave it a 0 out of 10, so it's safe to say that what little critical reception Little Death has gotten has been, well, mixed. Full disclosure: Up until 48 hours ago, this was my pick for #1. In fact, it is far and away my favorite album of 2008. But I decided at the last minute to vote with my head rather than my heart. (This is the "critical" equivalent of thinking with your brain rather than your penis.) Why, you might ask yourself, would a non-professional who's not getting paid for this not just choose his favorite album as the Best of the Year? Well, I guess it's because I'm trying to tell you, the readers (all three of you), what the BEST album was. Not objectively the best, but the best according to an admittedly loose set of aesthetic criteria that prevent me from recommending an admittedly light, catchy album as the year's finest artistic achievement. I mean, The Dark Night was my favorite movie of the year, but I would tell anyone who asked that Rachel Getting Married was (again, in my opinion) the best movie of 2008. In other words, I'm playing critic here...which is a somewhat nauseating affectation on a personal website with three readers. But what the hell. Suffice it to say that, "critical" defensiveness aside, Little Death is a fantastic album, a front-to-back pop gem full of infectious hooks and the kind of charming earnestness that only young bands can pull off (see Exhibit A, below). I love this album unreservedly, and I desperately hope Pete & the Pirates come to New York at some point in 2009.
2. Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
You know you've got something special on your hands when your "bonus disc" could stand alone as one of the best albums of the year. The band's affection for motorik drums, shoegazing scrawl, and ambient textures hasn't dimmed much, but Microcastle also hews more closely than last year's Cryptograms to what could be termed the pop blueprint, and it's all the better for it. For a band as willfully experimental (not to mention prolific) as Deerhunter, "songs" can be the ultimate crucible—one man's "bad" ambient sound collage is another man's Music for Airports, but a bad song is marginally easier to identify, at least in terms of musicianship, lyrical content, melody, and the like. So it's nice to see that the band's move toward "accessibility" is also a massive step forward.
1. The Walkmen – You & Me
In light of everything I said above about critical assessments and their relationship to personal tastes, it's telling that this year's top two albums represent bands that have each taken the top spot in years past (Deerhunter last year and The Walkmen in 2004). So much for critical distance.
In terms of both style and temperament, You & Me, far and away the band's most intimate album to date, owes a heavy debt to Leonard Cohen. Whereas previous outings were marked by brash stand-offishness or Dylanesque opacity, You & Me feels sparse, world-weary, and confessional, a louche raconteur's tour of darkened bars and moonlight beaches. In fact, beaches—both literal and metaphorical—are a recurrent image throughout the album, whether as places for relaxing idylls or as lonely, isolated expanses. With titles like "Dónde Está la Playa," "On the Water," and "Red Moon," it's easy to imagine the album as a kind of travelogue, the melancholy soundtrack to a besotted, post-breakup solo vacation. Even the music has something of the tropical in it, with Mariachi horn sections and calypso rhythms welling up behind Paul Maroon's trademark ringing guitars. Yet despite the slight air of resignation, You & Me is no downer. It is, rather, the sound of being blissfully swept away, of drowning your cares beneath the waves and having a drink or ten with a roomful of downtrodden strangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment