Hi everybody. I’m glad you could all make it. Welcome to the annual “Best Albums Of…” post, which is usually the time I put effort into composing a blog entry. In 2005 I wrote small blurbs about the top twenty-five albums of the year. In 2006 I wrote three-word reviews for the 50 best records of the year. Last year I went so far as to craft a complete sentence for my favorite 100 albums of 2007. This year…I don’t know, I haven’t started the list yet. I think I’m just going to write blurbs about the albums for which I am including sample tracks, and a few other random entries. That seems fair. As far as I know, all these albums were released in 2008, but I am an imperfect human, so there might be an error or two. Instead of calling this to my attention and making me feel bad, simply nod slowly and smile. It helps my sustain my huge ego when you pretend I’m not a complete retard.
The Top 100 Albums Of 2008 (2008 Edition!)
100. Autistic Daughters – Uneasy Flowers – I loved their last record, but it took me some time to enjoy this one. This is avant-garde, minimal rock music not for the faint of heart. Sadly, the vocals sound a lot like Bright Eyes this time around. [Listen to “Uneasy Flower”]
99. Woven Hand – Ten Stones
98. Chris Brokaw – Canaris – I don’t really understand why Brokaw’s solo albums and EPs have yet to receive the same acclaim as his work on other projects. Throughout the course of his solo career he has crafted a number of impeccable pop/rock songs.
97. David Byrne / Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
96. Bardo Pond – Batholith
95. Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual – This was one of the better unsolicited promos I received in the mail this year. I was excited by the potential of Ponytail as far back as July of 2006 (if you read that post, look who else predicted the Crystal Stilts trend!), so I was happy to hear the band exceeded my expectations.
94. Melvins – Nude With Boots
93. Birchville Cat Motel – Gunpowder Temple of Heaven
92. Mount Eerie – Lost Wisdom
91. David Grubbs – An Optimist Notes The Dusk – His first full-length album in almost five years is not as hard to pin down as its predecessors, but Grubbs remains arty enough to confound listeners with his songwriting approach. “Not So Distant” is a fantastic droning instrumental. [Listen to “Holy Fool Music”]
90. Endless Boogie – Focus Level
89. The Residents – The Bunny Boy
88. The Makes Nice – This Time Tomorrow – Another batch of sunshiny California pop songs from a band that includes an ex-member of US Black Metal legends Weakling. Some of the catchiest pop tunes I’ve heard in years.
87. Brian Wilson – That Lucky Old Sun
86. Calexico – Carried To Dust – At least they’re trying to sound more like Calexico than the last album — boy was that a misstep. [Listen to “Two Silver Trees”]
85. Expo ’70 – Black Ohms
84. Dead C – Secret Earth
83. Oneida – Preteen Weaponry
82. Magic Lantern – High Beams – Ian recommended this sweet cosmic kraut goodness. Kudos to him.
81. Dreamend – Long Forgotten Friend – One of the better modern Post-Rock bands, the concept behind this album is supposedly about a distant relative from the past who transformed from a tragic figure into a legend. I love how this band’s guitars sound. [Listen to “If Only For A Day”]
80. Machinefabriek – Mort Aux Vaches – It’s hard to pick just one when Machinefabriek releases, like, 40 discs in a year. I’ve listened to this one the most.
79. Prurient – And Still, Wanting
78. Conifer – Crown Fire – Although disappointed by their recent live show in LA, I’m still a huge fan of this Post-Rock/Metal record. [Listen to “Surface Fire”]
77. LSD Pond – LSD Pond
76. Shoeb Ahmad – Sea Songs Dead Ends And Sleeping Pills
75. Oxbow – Love’s Holiday Orchestra – Is there anything creepier than Oxbow? Oh, wait — how about acoustic Oxbow?! Eugene’s voice has never sounded more haunting. The sporadic, spastic instrumentation only makes this a more uneasy listening experience.
74. Fennesz – Black Sea
73. Gareth Hardwick – Waiting For the Penny to Drop (cd-r)
72. Bass Communion – Pacific Codex
71. Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling – It’s better than Mr. Beast, but Mogwai have really fallen off my radar in recent years.
70. Stray Ghost – Losthilde
69. Tim Hecker – Atlas
68. Library Tapes – Fragment – I don’t remember how I first discovered this band, but I remember hearing Alone In The Bright Lights Of A Shattered Life when it first came out and being blown away. It’s been a lot of fun listening to this band experiment and evolve over the course of the last three years. Fragment is about as minimal as can be; a series of increasingly beautiful pieces [Listen to “Fragment III”]
67. Hey Collosus – Happy Birthday – These guys are London’s answer to Unsane, 5ive, Khanate and all those ultra-foggy, dark heavy metal bands. “War Crows” rumbles and explodes like nothing you’ve ever heard before. [Listen to “War Crows”]
66. Steven R. Smith – The Anchorite
65. Heavy Winged – Alive In My Mouth
64. Quatre Tete – The Art Of The State – I loved their earlier EPs, and this Bob Weston-engineered full-length has made me believe they are one of the best bands in Chicago right now. They rock like a ’90s Dischord band, with insane time changes and immense energy.
63. Russian Circles – Station – Not quite Post-Rock, not quite Metal…Russian Circles are a band who cannot easily be placed into a genre. On this album, they temper their dynamics and pay more attention to crafting epic songs than simply building to earth-shattering crescendos. [Listen to “Campaign”]
62. Young Widows – Old Wounds
61. Saviors – Into Abbadon
60. The New Year – The New Year – I like this one the least of their three studio efforts, but it contains a few songs that I would not hesitate to call canonic. “MMV” especially. [Listen to “MMV”]
59. Nadja – The Bungled And The Botched
58. Nahvalur – Aboideau (Mystery Sea)
57. Mathias Delplanque – L’inondation (Mystery Sea)
56. Celer – Tropical (Mystery Sea)
55. Christopher McFall – This Heat Holds Snow (Mystery Sea)
54. Mirko Uhlig – The Nightmiller (Mystery Sea) – I will always and forever include any Mystery Sea releases on my year-end lists. Each one is so fascinating and trippy, it’s hard to choose a favorite. Consider the four that were released this year on even par with each other. [Listen to “The Archon Star”]
53. Bass Communion – II / III
52. Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood – Odalisque At Secret Vortex (CD-r)
51. Jasper TX – The Black Sheep – The first of two Jasper TX albums on this list!
50. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! – The Grinderman side-project sure did rub off on Nick Cave, because this album is rocking as all hell. Warren Ellis is a God. You should’ve seen them at the Hollywood Bowl (or wherever they played in your city!) this summer. Howling, massive, and ass-kicking.
49. Circle – Hollywood
48. Robedoor – Endlessly Blazing – The first of two Robedoor albums on this list! Robedoor should put bury their attempts and writing rock songs and continue along like this!
47. Dianogah – Qhnnnl – We had to wait SIX YEARS for a new Dianogah album! This one is a little harder than their previous efforts, and the band enlisted Andrew Bird to play violin and Stephanie Morris to sing (singing? on a Dianogah record!?). [Listen to “QHNNNL”]
46. Pocahaunted – Island Diamonds
45. Bottomless Pit – Congress – A four song EP that makes me smile every time I hear it!
44. Xela – In Bocca Al Lupo – John Twells released the stunning The Dead Sea two years ago, and his newest album is nearly as good. Heavy, heavy drones and soul-crushing, dark soundscapes pull you under for the duration.
43. Islaja – Blaze Mountain Recordings – Finnish songwriter Merja Kokkonen is like Bjork with actual talent! This was a live album released on Ecstatic Peace. If you haven’t heard her music, I recommend you buy Ulual Yyy first. That one was one of my favorite albums of last year. [Listen to “Emoa Ikava “]
42. Rhys Chatham – Guitar Trio Is My Life
41. Suishou No Fune – Prayer For Chibi
40. Ignatz – III – This is one of the most-far-out folk albums I’ve ever heard, perhaps better than I and II. The final track, “Dead By Noon” will haunt you long after it has ended.
39. Aidan Baker / Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie – Two of the biggest names in avant-experimental noise-making join forces and earn rave reviews (from me).
38. Grails – Take Refuge In Clean Living – The first track is called “Stoned At The Taj Again,” and it only gets better from there. Grails have never put out a weak album, and according to Ian they are not to be missed in a live setting. [Listen to “Stoned At The Taj Again “]
37. Om – Live At Jersualem
36. Graveyard – Graveyard
35. Philip Jeck – Sand
34. Windy & Carl – Songs For The Broken Hearted – Dreamy, slow, slowly dream rock! Actually, “rock” is the complete wrong term for Windy & Carl. They are slower-than-slow ambient experimentalists. I love all things drone, and this was one of the prettiest drone records released this year. [Listen to “Btwn You + Me”]
33. Jack Rose – I Do Play Rock And Roll
32. Burning Star Core – Challenger C. Spencer Yeh and his violin are once again responsible for a massive white noise assult that spans genres from Krautrock to totally-blown-out blissfulness. The melodies on this record are so rich and intense, they could quite possibly melt your face. [Listen to “Challenger”]
31. Paavoharju – Laulu Laakson Kukista
30. Earthless – Live At Roadburn – Earthless needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated, but if you want to try to mimic the experience, get really stoned and listen to this live LP with the volume cranked.
29. Tape – Luminarium
28. Jackie-O Motherfucker – Valley Of Fire
27. Baja – Wolfhour – The first release of ’08 that I enjoyed (according to my running tab of albums that eventually leads to this list), Baja is like a German collective led by Daniel Vujanic. Like David Grubbs, Vujanic loves spanning any number of genres over the course of one song. [Listen to “Wolfhour”]
26. Colour Haze – All
25. Robedoor – Shrine To The Possessor
24. U.S. Christmas – Eat The Low Dogs – Recommended by Ian, this space rock band put together an excellent record that recalls the best Hawkwind had to offer. Synthesizer, theremin, constant whirring effects…this one has everything you need to feel far out, except for the mushrooms. You’re responsible for obtaining those yourself, U.S. Christmas won’t buy them for you.
23. The Goslings – Occasion – Gorgeous and brain frying at the same time? That’s The Goslings, Florida’s answer to Nadja and Jesu and all those purveyors of sonic doom. Beneath the VUs-in-the-red white noise are some surprisingly sweet melodies. Listening to The Goslings is like getting caught in an avalanche.
22. Guapo – Elixirs
21. The Drift – Memory Drawings – A mellower Explosions In The Sky meets Sketches Of Spain-era Miles Davis.
20. Grails – Doomsdayer’s Holiday
19. Emeralds – Super-Kosmiche drones from a Midwestern trio who are destined to become huge, if they aren’t already (I don’t know, this album was the first I’d heard of them). You will lose yourself in this disc. Solar Bridge – [Listen to “Magic”]
18. Ilyas Ahmed – The Vertigo Of Dawn
17. Ufomammut – Idolum
16. Growing – All The Way
15. Japser TX – This Quiet Season – Some of that saddest experimental, drone, ambient goodness I have ever heard. Whether you enjoy shoegaze or Post-Rock or psychedelic music, Japser TX is for you. [Listen to “A String Of Broken Lights”]
14. Wolves In The Throne Room – Two Hunters
13. James Blackshaw – Litany Of Echoes
12. Volcano! – Paperwork – I thought it was going to be hard for Volcano! to improve upon the formula that made Beautiful Seizure so astounding, but I think I might like this one more. It sounds like crazy punk spaz rock with an unhinged Thom York singing. Everybody should love Volcano! as much as I do. [Listen to “Tension Loop”]
11. Daturah – Reverie
10. 5ive – Hesperus
09. Grouper – Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill – Slightly more accessible, less gauzy and druggy than Cover The Windows And Walls, but just as good. Great swaths of sound, slow-moving, glacial drones. All of that is set against Liz Harris’ beautiful voice. I’ve never heard a Grouper album that I haven’t loved. [Listen to “Stuck”]
08. Earth – The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull – Though they’re softer than the early records, I cannot get enough of this Morricone Metal that Dylan Carlson and Co. continue to produce. I get lost in these recent Earth records and listen to them on repeat for days on end. [Listen to “Rise To Glory”]
07. Aidan Baker – Book Of Nods – Aidan Baker is my Jesus. To be able to do what he does, with the skill that he has, would be stunning. His consistently high level of quality is even more impressive when one considers the fact that he releases a new album pretty much every week! (That’s not true, but he sure has a lot of albums!) [Listen to “Love”]
06. Boris – Smile – Everyone knows how much I like Boris, is it any surprise that this record is in my top ten? [Listen to “Buzz-In”]
05. White Hills – A Little Bliss Forever
04. A Silver Mt. Zion – 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons – Lately this one has become my favorite record of theirs. Something about it is unexpectedly more rocking than any other ASMZ record. The pinnacle, for me, is “Black Water Bowled/Engine Broke Blues,” which in my opinion is the best song the group has ever composed. [Listen to “Black Water Bowled/Engine Broke Blues”]
03. Spiritualized – Songs In A&E – I was afraid this wasn’t going to work. It’d been five years since Amazing Grace (the worst Spiritualized album), and who could tell if the new Spiritulized record was going to be a glorious return to form, another dull effort, or something entirely different. Once Jason Pierce brought his “acoustic mainlines” tour to the states, I was convinced his next album would be a classic, and I was not disappointed. Seeing the band’s “secret show” at the Echo might have been the best night of my year. [Listen to “Soul On Fire”]
02. Ancestors – Neptune With Fire – Somehow, between the first and second times I saw Ancestors live, I fell for this album. In June it didn’t so much as make my top ten for the first half of the year, and now I’m calling it the second best album of 2008. This album reminds me of The Narrows record from last year, but more psychedelic and spaced-out. If Godspeed You! Black Emperor were into Hawkwind and Kyuss, they’d probably still not compose as intricate and cool songs as the two on this record.
01. Harvey Milk – Life…The Best Game In Town – 2008 was most definitely the year of Harvey Milk. All of their albums were reissued, they toured and played Los Angeles for the first time in God-knows how long, and they released their first studio album in 11 years! There is no way I can say anything new to laud Harvey Milk, I’ve already wasted so many words on their music. It’s time to finally shut up and find something new in 2009 I can latch onto. Until then, learn to love the Milk. [Listen to “Death Goes To The Winner”]
