Top 10 Albums of 2008

I had my list done weeks ago and had planned to do the whole blog review thing as I did last year but circumstances mean that I haven't had the time, the energy or the inclination.

The other thing I failed with was to limit the list to 10 ... I did the whole paired decision making process to systematically narrow down a list from 20 to 10 but my number 10 and 11 came out with the same score and I couldn't split them ... therefore, my top 11 of the 2008 are:


11. TV on the Radio - "Dear Science"
10. Sigur Ros - "Með suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"
09. Conor Oberst - "Conor Oberst"
08. Spiritualized® - "Songs in A&E"
07. The Wedding Present - "El Rey"
06. The Fall - "Imperial Wax Solvent"
05. Glasvegas - "Glasvegas"
04. British Sea Power - "Do You Like Rock Music"
03. Foals - "Antidotes"
02. The Walkmen - "You & Me"
01. Mogwai - "The Hawk is Howling"

Album: Foals - "Antidotes"

By the time you get to my age its uncommon to hear anything in music that’s even close to being original … most stuff sounds like a direct copy of someone from a previous musical generation or some kind of fusion of two or three influences that can easily be extracted after a few listens … it can all get a bit predictable and dull …

Foals are no different … to me they sound like many things I’ve heard before … but all the better for it … this is a stunning album that takes many, many listens to fully appreciate but grows in depth and quality every time you hit the play button !!!

On hearing the early singles, someone asked me who I thought the influences were … my instant reaction was Mars Volta meets Haircut 100 !!! I’ve changed my mind now, Antidotes shows way more maturity than the early demos & singles and has me thinking of Talking Heads circa “Fear of Music” (1979) and “Remain in Light” (1980), Gang of Four's "Entertainment" (1979) with a bit of early Spandau Ballet chucked in for good measure … there’s a splash of Echo & the Bunnymen in there too but you’ll have to work hard to get some of that !

On early listens of Antidotes , it all sounds pretty much samey … if it wasn’t for the fact that most of my favourite albums had the same effect I wouldn’t have spent much time on this but I’m on about 50 repeat listens in now and its all making sense !

This is not a lyrically deep piece of work, far from it, in fact I actually have no idea what any of the tracks are about, and I don’t care. This is an album of rhythms and layers … the rhythms are obvious, the layers take time.

Stand out tracks are difficult to pick … the obvious targets of “Cassius” and “Balloons” actually blend into the album well and don’t jump out at you like singles can when listening to albums. For me, the peak is the 3 minutes into “Two Steps, Twice” when, following a slow build up it completely changes direction, reminiscent of half way through Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers” … I just have to witness this live … the ’91 summer of love flashbacks will be trippy !!!

“Antidotes” isn’t very original, it’s not something we haven’t heard before and it’s possibly light on lyrical depth …. But its utterly brilliant !

Albums of 2007: The Notable Mentions

OK, so I said before posting my top 10 that I'd list the notable mentions for 2007 .. and here they are. I've listed these in alphabetical order so no real relativity involved ... just a list of great albums that didn’t make the top 10 for one reason or another.

• Albert Hammond Jr: "Yours to Keep"
• Band of Horses: "Cease to Begin"
• Beastie Boys: "The Mix Up"
• Biffy Clyro: "Puzzle"
• Bright Eyes: "Cassadaga"
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Baby 81"
• Calla: "Strength in Numbers"
• The Cult: "Born In To This"
• Editors: "An End Has a Start"
• The Fall: "Reformation Post TLC"
• Foo Fighters: "Echoes , Silence, Patience and Grace"
• The Good, the Bad & the Queen: "The Good, the Bad & the Queen"
• The Go Team: "Proof of Youth"
• Ian Brown: "The World is Yours"
• Idlewild: "Make a New World"
• Jimmy Eat World: "Chase the Light"
• Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"
  LCD Soundsystem: "Sound of Silver"
• Malcolm Middleton: "A Brighter Beat"
• New Young Pony Club: "Fantastic Playroom"
• The Primary 5: "Go!"
• Public Enemy: "How to Sell Soul …."
• Reverend & the Makers: "The State of Things"
• Shocking Pinks: "Shocking Pinks"
• Thurston Moore: "Trees Outside the Academy"
• The Twilight Sad, "Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters"
• The View: "Hats Off to the Buskers"
  
  Two of the standouts from here that coulda, shoulda, nearly made the top ten are both Scots bands, namely The Twilight Sad and The Primary 5.
  
  And finally ...
  
  Many, most, both of you will disagree with some or all of my top 10 or notable mention choices ... all I can say is go and write your own blog !!!!
  

Albums of 2007: #1

Radiohead – “In Rainbows”

There can’t be anyone alive today that hasn’t heard that Radiohead have released an album in 2007 … “In Rainbows” hit the headlines big time thanks to the unique way that the band initially released it via download only and asked those downloading to decide how much they were willing to pay. For the record, I paid £3.50 for my download !!! When you analyse what the band did, it was genius … traditionally a band will release early copies of their recordings to journalists etc to review in order to generate publicity.

In recent years however this has provided the opportunity for people to “leak” the recordings on the internet therefore negatively affecting sales on release. Radiohead appear to have cut out the middle man by generating the publicity in other ways and, by all accounts, generate significant revenue by officially leaking the recording … brilliant! Add to that the fact that “In Rainbows” has also been released in a collectors edition and will hit the shops as a traditional CD around the 1st of January 2008.

It appears though that the publicity of the release mechanism has overshadowed the content of “In Rainbows” … which is a great pity as this is a phenomenal album. Not since “OK Computer” have Radiohead released such an accomplished piece of work. This isn’t to say that the intervening years have been crap, nothing could be further from the truth , however “Kid A”, “Amnesiac” and “Hail to the Thief” have not been quite up to the standard that “OK Computer” set … nothing much since has mind you!

“In Rainbows” kicks off with “15 Steps” which is leads you to believe this may be another freaked out electronica show … but once the guitars kick in its 100% old school. “Bodysnatchers” is just brilliant and has that classic change of direction half way through that even hits you after dozens of listens.

“Nude” is the first of the beautiful tracks here … if your not chilled after listening to this then you need to cut down on the coffee (or equivalent!!). I’m sure the band have been listening to Mogwai’s “Black Spider”, the subtle guitar backing here has the same undertones.

“Weird Fishes / Arpeggi” is classic head Thom Yorke head shaking material, follwed by the down beat but haunting “All I Need”.

For me, “Faust Arp” is a tad weak but works well to set up the stunning classic that is “Reckoner”. Thom’s voice reaches Anthony & the Johnsons levels here and to great effect.

“House of Cards” slows things down a bit and then “Jigsaw Falling into Place” hits you as the stand out track on first listen … its has legs too, it won’t always be your stand out track but you’ll never tire of listening to it.

“Videotape” is a sedate closer but in context works just fine … and then you listen to it all over again!

Those with the second disc from the box set will also know just how good tracks like “Down is the New Up”, “Go Slowly”, “Up on the Ladder” and “4 Minute Warning” are and admittedly all in the same vein as the first and main disc. The problem child in this bonus set is “Bangers & Mash” which stands out in all the right ways.

“In Rainbows” deserves to be listened to time and again, each time you do your view of it changes … never in a bad way … this is classic stuff, I just hope the release hype dies down and the world wakes up to the fact be have a seminal album here.

Hail to the ‘head !!!

Albums of 2007: #2

The Raveonettes - "Lust, Lust, Lust"

The Raveonettes have two main sounds:

· a dark minor chord based sound that wouldn’t be out of place in spaghetti westerns or grind house b-movies … with Jesus & Mary Chain styleee heavy distortion, feedback and general noise

· a mix of 50s / 60s bubble gum pop and Glaswegian indie pop … with Jesus & Mary Chain styleee heavy distortion, feedback and general noise !!!

On previous albums (”Lust, Lust, Lust” being their fourth) they have tended to stick with one of these styles for the entire set, here they move between them and sometimes combine them to great effect.

Its clear that Surin and Sharin have found a couple of effects for their Fenders that they like and their damn well gonna use them as much as they can here. Opener “Aly, Walk With Me” is as dark as they come and appears to set the scene for a downbeat album. “Hallucinations” introduces the pop sound and the Mary Chain noise feedback and its clear this is going to be a style clash rollercoaster.

“Lust” is a classic example of how a simple drumbeat, simple chords and an effective lead guitar break can sound stunning, especially when accompanied by subtle harmonies and a haunting melody. This style is used on several of the tracks here and most notably on the beautiful “Black Satin” that follows the more upbeat “Dead Sound”.

The musical rollercoaster is most evident in the trio of tracks led by the noise pop fest that is "Blush" followed by the eternally dark but stunningly simple “Expelled From Love”. The trio is complete by the pop cheesefest that is “You Want The Candy”.

The upbeat “Blitzed” and “Sad Transmission” lead you to believe that Danes are going to keep the popfest going to the end and just when your head starts to bop along like an extra from “Grease”, the haunting “With My Eyes Closed” brings things back to earth.

Despite the upbeat pop tunes here, The Raveonettes are essentially a dark, minor chord outfit and fittingly, close the album with the sad and reflective “The Best Dies”, anything else would have missed the point.

Although the band, and this album, is a fusion of so many different influences, this is simple but beautifully structured stuff … its also an indie noise fest when the mood suits. Its not a mass appeal record, but those who are fans of the various influences will get it and understand why its so high in this list.

Albums of 2007: #3

The Shins - "Wincing the Night Away"

From the moment in the film "Garden State" when Natalie Portman handed her huge headphones to Zach Braff and told him that The Shins would change his life, to be followed by the soundtrack blasting "New Slang" ... The Shins had me hooked.

"Wincing The Night Away" is, by far, the most accomplished output from the band to date with every single track being of the highest quality and having the potential to change someone's life as "New Slang" had done for Portman's character.

The subtle openings of "Sleeping Lessons" disguise the pace and tone to come but once it springs to life, the album just keeps on going churning out cracker after cracker !

After "Australia" you get the feeling that the album may have peaked a tad early but then the teasing snippet "Pam Berry" tees up the track of 2007 in "Phantom Limb". This is song writing at its best and was probably the soundtrack for many people's summer of 2007.

The album keeps going with one quality track after another, never repetitive and none with skip potential for the iPod brigade.

For those who haven't yet embraced The Shins, close your eyes, imagine Natalie Portman handing you some huge headphones and telling you this will change your life … Enjoy.

Albums of 2007: #4

Smashing Pumpkins - "Zeitgeist"

Billy's back ...

There may have been Zwan and the solo album but Billy Corgan is Smashing Pumpkins and "Zeitgeist" is a welcome return for the angry wee man who appears to be falling out of love with his homeland ...

"Zeitgeist" is Billy Corgan's call to arms for the American people to wake up and realise what's going on in the world in the name of the war on terror and the deflection from the domestic problems of the good ole US of A. For the average European who is used to the "f**k the system attitude" of most alternative & punk bands for the past 30 years, this all sounds a bit tame ... but lets not forget that American's publicly questioning their position in the world is about as popular as a bag on your hip !!!

Musically, this is a classic rock album and retains the classic Pumpkins washed out guitars and precise drumming sound ... only Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) remain from the original line up but its the voice and the drums that define the Smashing Pumkins so, business as usual then.

"That's the Way (My Love Is)" sounds like the output of Corgan's first post Pumpkins project Zwan and shows he's still a softy at heart ... don't tell him I said that mind !!!

"Tarantula" delivers the definitive track on the album, no surprise it was the first single released ... Its only trumped by the 10 minute classic "United States" that appears to sum up Corgan's view of his motherland both lyrically and musically ... this is a monster of a track that conveys the political anger that only Rage Against the Machine can top.

Many will say that Corgan only reformed the Pumpkins because the solo work was bombing but Corgan has admitted that he feels musically devoid when he's not working in a Smashing Pumpkins project, regardless of who's working with him.

But who cares what Corgan calls his projects, if they keep sounding like this then its win-win all over.