So that was 2008, then. Flew by pretty quickly, didn’t it? And, music-wise, what a bumper year. There were astounding, bolt-from-the-blue debuts by hitherto little-known artists from Bon Iver to Fuck Buttons, while much-loved, established names from Portishead to Elbow re-asserted themselves with some exhilarating releases. All in all, ‘twas great stuff. Here are AU’s top 50 albums of the last twelve months.
Words by Philip Byrne, Neill Dougan, Lee Gorman, James Gracey, Chris Jones, Francis Jones, Gerard McCann, Kenny Murdock, Alice Quigley, Ross Thompson, Jonny Tiernan and Michael Wilson.
50. EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK – EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK (MODULAR)
“Though inspired by the Krautrock movement of the Seventies, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik is the result of one man’s refusal to bow to the strict musical classification so evident in the music industry. Henry Smithson has meticulously composed and arranged a piece of music that is so intricate and so ambitious, it threatens our understanding of what qualifies as electronic, dance or modern classical music. This is Smithson’s vision of a music that is futuristic yet timeless, doffing its cap to the pioneers of the past while throwing down a gauntlet to his peers. This is Henry’s magnum opus.” KM (AU48)
KEY TRACK: ‘TEEN DRAMA’
49. NO AGE – NOUNS (SUB POP)
“There’s just no-one else around that sounds quite like No Age. Sure, their sound pilfers from all over, but few are the bands that can punch you in the face with furious punk rock and then, often in the same song, send you into glorious reverie with a galaxy’s worth of warm, gauzy fuzz. It’s a winning combination.” CJ (AU45)
KEY TRACK: ‘TEEN CREEPS’
48. MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS – DYSTOPIA (CHARISMA)
“Dystopia sparks with brilliance enough to start a forest-consuming inferno. Krautrock, dance, psychedelia and cinematic soundscapes all fan the flames of inventiveness as this Australian trio conduct their deranged experiments in art-pop futurism. What is most exciting about Midnight Juggernauts, though, is that they are a band that dares to dream, allowing us to ride shotgun on their far-fetched jaunts towards the barking mad side of the moon.” FJ (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘INTO THE GALAXY’
47. LADYTRON – VELOCIFERO (NETTWERK)
“At its heart, this is an electronic pop record for grown-ups. There are excellent standalone songs all the way through, strong melodies and big choruses galore and, though it dips a touch in the middle, it ends as strongly as it begins. The album title, in case you were wondering, means ‘bringer of speed’ in Latin. Seems Ladytron have hit their stride.” CJ (AU47)
KEY TRACK: ‘VERSUS’
46. FUCKED UP – THE CHEMISTRY OF MODERN LIFE (MATADOR)
“Although Toronto’s Fucked Up grew up with hardcore and were incubated in that scene, they aspire to be more than just a genre band. The ambition and scope of The Chemistry Of Common Life is testament to that. The six-piece hit like a hurricane, but through songcraft and dense production as much as sheer brute force, drawing heavily on indie rock and even prog. Intelligent, passionate, expertly crafted and heavy as hell, this is one of the most important rock albums of the year.” CJ (AU50)
KEY TRACK: ‘SON THE FATHER’
45. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE – NARROW STAIRS (ATLANTIC)
Death Cab set about following up the million-selling Plans by insisting they had nothing to prove except to themselves. The much darker, mysterious Narrow Stairs was the result, audaciously previewed by the eight-and-a-half-minute single ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’, a bass-led, Neu!-inspired stalker epic. Things weren’t as weird as that throughout the rest of the record, but it was a daring move. Elsehwere, fans were pleased to note that Ben Gibbard’s razor sharp lyrical eye, picking out vivid characters and telling moments at every turn, was present and correct.
KEY TRACK: ‘I WILL POSSESS YOUR HEART’
44. LATE OF THE PIER – FANTASY BLACK CHANNEL (ZARCORP)
“Arty, ambitious, adventurous – anyone got some more ‘a’ words? Okay, how about amazing? Late Of The Pier cover so many bases on this fantastic debut that normal superlatives seem somehow grey and uninspired. Every track here is dripping with invention and pulsing with latent aggression, yet Fantasy Black Channel is anything but inaccessible, and that is where the true brilliance of the album lies. It is, at its heart, a classic pop record, stuffed with memorable hooks and eminently danceable rhythms. 2008 has seen some cracking debuts; this is right up with the best of them.” <strong>LG (AU49)
KEY TRACK: ‘HEARTBEAT’
43. ADEBISI SHANK – THIS IS THE ALBUM OF A BAND CALLED ADEBISI SHANK (THE RICHTER COLLECTIVE)
“This is an absolute riot of a record, a 23-minute (you heard) headfuck of sheer sonic intensity that shows off the band’s impressive chops and, crucially, razor-sharp focus as well as could be imagined. The foot is pressed to the floor for pretty much the entire duration of the record and all is executed with skill, precision and sheer, grin-inducing exuberance.” CJ (AU50)
KEY TRACK: ‘MINIROCKERS’
42. BRITISH SEA POWER – DO YOU LIKE ROCK MUSIC? (ROUGH TRADE)
Many thought BSP had taken a step backwards with Open Season, the 2005 follow-up to their astonishing debut The Decline of British Sea Power. However, they returned in January this year with a record that placed them right back in the higher echelons of British indie rock bands. The band’s famed eccentricity lives on, but on a record overflowing with anthems, it’s the songwriting, evocative lyricism and enormous swells of sound that leave the greatest impression.
KEY TRACK: ‘NO LUCIFER’
41. FUCK BUTTONS – STREET HORRRSING (ATP)
“From the band name and album title to the artwork, there’s a real playfulness at work with this lot. Unlike de facto contemporaries like Black Dice and Wolf Eyes, they stop short of being truly confrontational and instead provide a definitive answer to the question, ‘Can noise be beautiful?’ You’re damn right it can. This is glorious.” CJ (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘SWEET LOVE FOR PLANET EARTH’
40. CRYSTAL CASTLES – CRYSTAL CASTLES (LIES)
“Toronto twosome Ethan Kath and Alice Glass have cultivated an image of detachment, disinterest and obnoxiousness, but their music tells a different story. From beguiling opener ‘Untrust Us’, we’re taken on a journey of retro-futuristic synth-pop and harsh minimalist electro. At 16 tracks and 51 minutes, Ethan and Alice outstay their welcome a bit, and at times, the more chaotic tracks can be patience-trying, but they’re the rough scattered among the addictive diamonds. A qualified triumph.” CJ (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘CRIMEWAVE (CRYSTAL CASTLES VS. HEALTH)’
39. PORTISHEAD – THIRD
Many were the artists that indulged in successful artistic reinvention this year – David Holmes, Jamie Lidell, Death Cab For Cutie to name three – but few did it with results as startling as Portishead’s magnificent Third, their first album in 11 years. Once synonymous with trip-hop, they returned with a record indebted to Krautrock and sonic adventure, taking their place alongside Radiohead as one of British rock music’s crown jewels. But in all this, Beth Gibbons’ smoky vocals remain intact, investing seemingly bottomless reserves of emotion and often terror into heart-stopping songs like ‘The Rip’, ‘We Carry On’ and ‘Threads’. A wonderful return.
KEY TRACK: ‘WE CARRY ON’
38. VAMPIRE WEEKEND – VAMPIRE WEEKEND (XL)
“Most of the joy in playing the band’s self-titled debut is not knowing what to expect next: it wrong-foots the listener at every turn, mixing calypso and classical flourishes with shades of Elvis Costello’s early work. This album demands that you engage your brain along with your dancing feet. Something for the weekend, and for the rest of the week too.” RT (AU43)
KEY TRACK: ‘OXFORD COMMA’
37. SANTOGOLD – SANTOGOLD (ATLANTIC)
“Impeccably tailored by an assortment of top-end producers, Santogold’s debut is an enjoyable bumper-car ride that bounces from one stylistic funhouse to the next on a barrage of fractured laser-pop. This is hugely flavoursome fare, the disparate ingredients brought together through the liberal application of ear-tugging eccentricity and fractured melody.” FJ (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘L.E.S. ARTISTES’
36. FIGHT LIKE APES – FIGHT LIKE APES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE GOLDEN MEDALLION (MODEL CITIZEN)
“The Dublin band’s avowed aim to create “obnoxious pop” is more than met with the 12 tracks of prickly, shout-tastic dynamite. Known not least for their incendiary live performances (and pots and pans percussion), the band’s innate onstage energy is captured on this superbly produced album. Here, Fight Like Apes have proven that they have the bite to match the bark; one of Ireland’s finest musical exports in years.” AQ (AU51)
KEY TRACK: ‘JAKE SUMMERS’
35. LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION – FALLING OFF THE LAVENDER BRIDGE (DOMINO)
“The musicianship is of blinding clarity; the production of Saddle Creek resident Mike Mogis peerless. Strings, keys and echoing female vocals provide occasional glister, lifting the earthy, country-tinged, ruminations to the levels of the celestial. Where Devonte Hynes will surface next only he can say, but this much we know: with Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, alt. country’s ‘boy least likely to’ has done remarkably good.” FJ (AU43)
KEY TRACK: ‘TELL ME WHAT IT’S WORTH’
34. OPPENHEIMER – TAKE THE WHOLE MIDRANGE AND BOOST IT (FANTASTIC PLASTIC)
“This is a record that only unburdens itself of all its secrets after numerous plays, the core melodies rounded out with the lightest of touches, be they cascading synthesizers or a blistering guitar motif. Abundant in imagination and ideas, Take The Whole Mid-Range And Boost It is amongst the most all-adventure 30 minutes of music you’ll hear this year.” FJ (AU47)
KEY TRACK: ‘STEPHEN MCCAULEY FOR PRESIDENT’
33. BORN RUFFIANS – RED, YELLOW AND BLUE (WARP)
“Born Ruffians are perpetrators of intelligent and immensely likeable indie-folk. The Toronto-based threesome’s debut album incorporates a good dose of jangly guitars, Southern-style choral hollering, hand clapping and irresistible pop tunes. ‘Hummingbird’, the first single, is a bip-bopping tour de force; think an edgier Vampire Weekend who have replaced their Afropop leanings and Ivy League morals with some raucous Southern stomping.” AQ (AU47)
KEY TRACK: ‘HUMMINGBIRD’
32. WOLF PARADE – AT MOUNT ZOOMER (SUB POP)
“On their second album, Wolf Parade have produced a cohesive and sophisticated body of work which takes its cue from Seventies post-punk and prog rock, but refuses to steep itself in the past. From the Marquee Moon-esque ‘Fine Young Cannibals’ to the classic rock of ‘California Dreamer’, each of the nine tracks here are fine songs, but it’s the killer construction and subtle layers and textures which give this album its vitality.” GMcC (AU48)
KEY TRACK: ‘KISSING THE BEEHIVE’
31. CADENCE WEAPON – AFTERPARTY BABIES (BIG DADA)
“Edmonton, Canada’s Rollie Pemberton is a versatile kind of chap, already having turned his hand to DJing, remixing, hip-hop journalism (for Pitchfork and Stylus, no less) and the creation of a much acclaimed debut album, 2005’s Breaking Kayfabe. This follow-up betrays Pemberton’s background in techno as well as his proficiency as a lyricist and rhymer. Startlingly inventive beats and unidentifiable bleeps abound as Pemberton takes you on a tour of Edmonton’s hipsters; his people, but also the target of some sly humour.” CJ (online)
KEY TRACK: ‘IN SEARCH OF THE YOUTH CREW’
30. CARLING SUPPORTS: THE OH YEAH SESSIONS ‘08
“Given the goodwill evidenced by all those who took part and the fact that proceeds from this album will be used to help in the renovations of the Oh Yeah centre, it would be understandable if reviewers felt inclined to be excessively sympathetic towards The Oh Yeah Sessions ‘08. However, once you’ve listened to the tracks you’ll understand that charity doesn’t come into it: this is a stonewall excellent collection. Showcasing the finest up-and-comers in Northern Irish music, this is a vibrant, stylistically varied and always exhilarating offering.” FJ (AU46)
KEY TRACK: AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR – ‘A LITTLE BIT OF SOLIDARITY GOES A LONG WAY’.
29. BECK – MODERN GUILT (XL)
“Reared on acid-laced milk, Beck’s mind is a hallucinogenic wasteland; its canyons echoing to sounds bizarre, its lands stalked by strange creatures. Flitting from psych-folk to hymnal pop, stark electronica to offbeat orchestration, Modern Guilt is unstable terrain. It is also one of the diabolical wizard’s most spellbinding creations, a record that flows by like a beautiful daydream.” FJ (AU48)
KEY TRACK: ‘GAMMA RAY’
28. 2562 – AERIAL (TECTONIC)
“Dutchman Dave Huismans’s debut under the 2562 moniker (pronounced ‘Twenty Five Sixty Two’) is – as one might expect from a Tectonic release – a dark, foreboding and minimalist journey through techno-infused dubstep. Needless to say, this would sound a million times better in a club on a huge soundsystem, where the massive bass could really be appreciated, but even when listening to Aerial at home on the stereo, there’s a lot to enjoy here.” ND (AU47)
KEY TRACK: ‘MORVERN’
27. PACIFIC! – REVERIES (HALF MACHINE)
No albums from Air, Phoenix or Chromeo this year, so along with Cut Copy, our slick electro-pop needs were filled by Swedish duo Pacific!, with an effortlessly cool album that helped to soundtrack what scant summer we ‘enjoyed’. Tracks like ‘Number One’ and ‘Sunset Blvd’ are perfect material for cruising in a drop-top. It’s a shame Portstewart isn’t a bit warmer…
KEY TRACK: ‘NUMBER ONE’
26. LOS CAMPESINOS! – HOLD ON, NOW YOUNGSTER (WICHITA)
“The various instruments hurtle along chaotically, just about keeping in time with one another. The bewitching, urgent boy-girl gang vocals tumble over the top of each other, seemingly competing for your attention like those of jealous toddlers, the lyrics clever and bratty in the same breath. First outings don’t come much better than this.” LG (AU43)
KEY TRACK: ‘YOU, ME, DANCING!’
25. MGMT – ORACULAR SPECTACULAR (COLUMBIA)
“A consistently experimental debut, Oracular Spectacular may veer off into sparkling eccentricity, but is always pulled back from self-indulgence by those intuitive melodies, our duo’s acute pop-consciousness ensuring the hook hungry are never left wanting. Flaming Lips take note; the pop psychedelic universe is under new MGMT.” FJ (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘KIDS’
24. JAMIE LIDELL – JIM (WARP)
“What marks Jamie Lidell out, of course, is that voice. Christ, can he sing – his is a remarkable, rich soul growl that recalls Prince, Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder. Jim picks up where 2005’s Multiply left off, delving further into old-school soul territory – any of the superb opening four tracks could genuinely hold their own on a ‘Best of Motown’ compilation. Jim might disappoint Warp purists looking for Squarepusher-esque weird-outs, but for everyone else it will be a sheer delight.” ND (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘ANOTHER DAY’
23. JAPE – RITUAL (COOPERATIVE)
“Erstwhile Redneck Manifesto man Richie Egan (aka Jape) has produced a total gem in Ritual, a record that veers from the self-deprecatingly personal to the universal, occasionally in the space of a single line, as on ‘Graveyard’. A quantum leap forward from its predecessors in terms of songwriting and production, Jape’s third album is a textbook example of how to ‘do’ electro-pop, and do it well.” ND (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘I WAS A MAN’
22. THE PRESETS – APOCALYPSO (UNIVERSAL)
The Aussie electro invasion began in earnest this year, with a promising debut from Midnight Juggernauts, a stunning follow-up from Cut Copy and Apocalypso, the second outing from dancefloor destroyers The Presets. High-octane synth ‘n’ drums fun is what they are all about, as anyone who saw them slay at Electric Picnic can testify. The album went platinum in Australia, where it was also awarded the ARIAs for Best Dance Release and Album Of The Year.
KEY TRACK: ‘TALK LIKE THAT’
21. NEON NEON – STAINLESS STYLE (LEX)
“Gruff Rhys and Bryan Hollon (aka Boom Bip) have attempted to musicalise the life of the man who built the dream car and lived the dream – full of fast cars, Martinis and shag-pile carpets. The whole thing has a distinct Eighties vibe to it, and whilst Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’ might be an obvious port of call, there’s enough of a synth-pop, cheese factor that the likes of Duran Duran are obvious influences here too. And yet, for all that, it’s infused with just enough ‘cool’ to be relevant.” MW (AU45)
KEY TRACK: ‘I TOLD HER ON ALDERAAN’
20. HOT CHIP – MADE IN THE DARK (EMI)
“This is a record expansive in feeling, be it unfettered physicality, melancholic contemplation, or sly wit – get a load of ‘Wrestlers’. Contrary to what the title might imply, this is no hapless fumble, but perfectly realised dance-pop; bright, glistening and utterly seductive.” FJ (AU43)
KEY TRACK: ‘READY FOR THE FLOOR’
19. MY MORNING JACKET – EVIL URGES (ROUGH TRADE)
“Five albums in, and Jim Jones and co aren’t so much cementing their position as modern rock heroes as much as they are sweeping the decks clean and stacking up an imposing pedestal as the most rocking, intelligent and enjoyable band on the face of the Earth. And we don’t say that lightly, even though we’re still delirious from the heady mix of rock, country and soul that Evil Urges delivers.” PB (AU47)
KEY TRACK: ‘LIBRARIAN’
18. DEERHUNTER – MICROCASTLE (4AD)
“The music is at times sublime, veering from the alternative pop-rock of ‘Never Stops’ to the pounding post-punk of ‘Nothing Ever Happened’ with its thinly disguised Factory bassline. However, this album has a mid-section that will perplex the listener. On tracks like ‘Calvary Scars’ and ‘Activa’, we get a glimpse of Cox’s life when the psychosis prevails. These are snippets of minimal instrumentation and wrongly chosen notes complemented by unmistakable fragility in the vocals to convey the perilous nature of the mind. As beautiful as it is traumatic.” KM (AU50)
KEY TRACK: ‘TWILIGHT AT CARBON LAKE’
17. OF MONTREAL – SKELETAL LAMPING (POLYVINYL)
“Kevin Barnes will push many of his fans’ tolerance to the limit on this one. The constant sleaze can be off-putting as much as hilarious, and it can be infuriating when a stellar musical idea is ruthlessly tossed aside for the next one before it has had a chance to develop. Plus, at just under an hour long, it’s tough to take in one sitting. However, despite all that, Skeletal Lamping is a tour de force; a bewildering explosion of creativity and a wholly invigorating listening experience.” CJ (AU51)
KEY TRACK: ‘ID ENGAGER’
16. BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY – LIE DOWN IN THE LIGHT (DOMINO)
Will Oldham’s most upbeat (or least miserable) outing yet, his seventh solo album as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lie Down In The Light arrived in Spring to consolidate his position as the Bob Dylan of contemporary indie and folk.
KEY TRACK: ‘SO EVERYONE’
15. SPIRITUALIZED – SONGS IN A&E (UNIVERSAL)
Almost five years had passed since the release of Amazing Grace, and yet space rock veterans Spiritualized were still able to reach #15 in the UK charts with Songs In A&E – spookily enough, the same position they reach here. The title is a reference to Jason Pierce’s near-death experience in 2005, after he contracted advanced periorbital cellulitis with bilateral pneumonia, ending up in intensive care and spending long period in A&E at The Royal London Hospital, to whose staff he dedicated the record.
KEY TRACK: ‘SOUL ON FIRE’
14. FOALS – ANTIDOTES (TRANSGRESSIVE)
“Look up this year’s edition of the Collins English Dictionary, and beside the word “zeitgeist” you might just find a picture of Foals. Exploiting both the post-Battles hunger for musical sophistication and the nation’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for danceable indie, the Oxford five-piece have got everything to sate the modern music fan’s appetite.” LG (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘BALLOONS’
13. NICK CAVE – DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! (MUTE)
“Old Nick and his musical familiars are back in town spreading their twisted gospel on Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!, religiosity, righteousness and all sorts of wickedness prancing down the main street of their imagination on the eleven chapters gathered here. Their fourteenth album it may be, but on Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! Cave and his Bad Seeds continue to sound as fierce and visceral as a slit throat.” FJ (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘LIE DOWN HERE (AND BE MY GIRL)’
12. HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR – HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR (DFA)
“Hercules and Love Affair is steeped in classic disco and house. There’s a camp exuberance to the first half of the record that is genuinely exciting, as Antony (of Antony & The Johnsons fame) sheds his mournful image and gives it some, possibly covered in glitter. Throughout, the record is impeccably produced by band lynchpin Andrew Butler and DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy. Here and there, they’ll throw in a joyous slab of brass, and it’s on the energetic club tracks that everything comes together.” CJ (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘BLIND’
11. DAVID HOLMES – THE HOLY PICTURES (CANDERBLINKS/MERCURY/UMC)
“Holmes has long spoken of exercising his love for Krautrock, minimalist composers and the Jesus & Mary Chain, and it all coalesces here into a satisfying whole; a journey through David Holmes’s headspace in 2008. There’s also a genuinely personal emotional resonance that you don’t often associate with this cardinal of cool. A compulsion to produce work of depth has resulted in an album that addresses Holmes’s relationship with his late parents, as well as his upbringing in Belfast. A triumph, from start to finish.” CJ (AU49)
KEY TRACK: ‘I HEARD WONDERS’
10. GLASVEGAS – GLASVEGAS (COLUMBIA)
“Guitars shimmer and cut a swathe through the shadows, drums pound and Spector’s wall of sound topples into the abyss, and then the voice of James Allan, words slung this way and that in a heavy Glaswegian brogue. Mournful, masterful, ‘Flowers and Fitba Tops’ is the perfect introduction to the world of Glasvegas, a world where teary-eyed doo-wop girls shimmy beside a broken-hearted Elvis, sounds crashing one atop the other; rockabilly, shoegaze, Mary Chain melodies all piled high. As the opening song makes clear, Glasvegas offer “no Hollywood ending”, instead it’s a world of bleak sentimentality, full of the punk morality of an Irvine Welsh or Joe Strummer.” FJ (AU49)
KEY TRACK: ‘IT’S MY OWN CHEATING HEART THAT MAKES ME CRY’
9. WHY? – ALOPECIA (TOMLAB)
Though part of the anticon. hip-hop collective, Yoni Wolf blends his wordy rapping with off-kilter, hook-laden indie rock and, as such, takes the mantle of Pavement for this decade. The genius of Alopecia (Why?’s third album, the second since Wolf expanded to form a band) is in the lyrical details, lines that you feel compelled to quote to all and sundry. Witness the dark, hypnotic ‘Good Friday’, where Wolf fantasises about “sending sexy SMSes to my ex’s new man, because I can”, and the joyous ‘Fatalist Palmistry’, where he begins by relating that “I sleep on my back ‘cause it’s good for the spine, and coffin rehearsal”. Unfeasibly strong all the way through, it bore repeated listening all year.
KEY TRACK: ‘THE HOLLOWS’
8. ELBOW – THE SELDOM SEEN KID (POLYDOR)
“Understated even when it’s orchestral, this is an album of depth not bombast, grace not swagger. Elbow’s fourth album is yet another magisterial work of playful lyricism, wry humour and plain fantastic songwriting. Dedicated to the band’s late friend Bryan Glancy, the seldom seen kid of the title, the album closes with ‘Friend Of Ours’, a ghostly elegy that will haunt you for days. But everyone needs a ghost or two around – it makes you feel alive.” RT (AU44)
KEY TRACK: ‘GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE’
7. THE DODOS – VISITER (WICHITA)
“This San Fran duo’s second album proves that the art of twisting folk and acoustic blues into fantastical new shapes is alive and well. Visiter has an incredibly vibrant, organic sound. It’s music that breathes; every resonant string vibration and drum echo lends the feeling of actually being with the band as it’s created. This is a fantastic record, and a sharp reminder that the acoustic guitar is not the exclusive preserve of dreary Bluntophiles.” LG (AU48)
KEY TRACK: ‘PARK SONG’
6. CUT COPY – IN GHOST COLOURS (MODULAR)
“Second album time, and do Dan Whitford and friends rest on their electro laurels and knock out more of the same? Do they ‘eck. The strength of the songwriting and a determination that the songs hang together as an entity have been prioritised, but not at the expense of the danceable fun. And everywhere you turn, there’s a stadium-demolishing chorus. This isn’t a band that’s content to bang out occasional club hits. Cut Copy have their crosshairs trained on the big time.” CJ (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘LIGHTS AND MUSIC’
5. FRIENDLY FIRES – FRIENDLY FIRES (XL)
“Friendly Fires draw together seemingly incongruent points of reference and weave them together to produce music that while not wholly unique (what is these days?), is certainly working out a new groove. This is a multi-layered and detailed debut and an exciting and intoxicating mix of textures and styles. If you’re looking for an album that is going to shake your ass and fill your head, then your search is over. The thinking person’s dance-infused long player.” JT (AU49)
KEY TRACK: ‘JUMP IN THE POOL’
4. FLEET FOXES – FLEET FOXES (BELLA UNION)
Bon Iver wasn’t the only American dude emerging from the woods, clad in plaid, to put an Americana-flavoured twist on 2008. Seattle’s Fleet Foxes also burst from nowhere with a gorgeous album of their own, their “baroque harmonic pop jams” spreading like wildfire through word of mouth, culminating in a stunning appearance on Later… in November. We expect much more where this came from.
KEY TRACK: ‘WHITE WINTER HYMNAL’
3. FRIGHTENED RABBIT – MIDNIGHT ORGAN FIGHT (FATCAT)
Debut album Sing The Greys showed Frightened Rabbit’s potential, in a scratchy, endearingly none-more-indie way. However, the Glasgow-based band have more ambition than that, and on Midnight Organ Fight they succeeded in committing to disc the sound in their heads. As Scott Hutchison’s painfully vivid lyrics recount the last days of a relationship, the subtly folk-inflected music swells, soars and rages in all the right places. It’s life-affirming stuff.
KEY TRACK: ‘FAST BLOOD’
2. BON IVER – FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO (4AD)
“Comprised mainly of simple guitar and Justin Vernon’s tremulous falsetto vocals, For Emma, Forever Ago is a poignant and heady depiction of the beauty that can sometimes be found in isolation. Stripped back and raw, we are invited to huddle around his voice, its rise and fall forming some of the record’s most alluring and memorable moments. And of these, there are many. A pure and tentatively crafted record, and one whose resonance lingers like a dream.” JG (AU46)
KEY TRACK: ‘CREATURE FEAR’
1. TV ON THE RADIO – DEAR SCIENCE (4AD)
“This is the album that TV On The Radio will be remembered for; their tilt at immortality. Having garnered huge critical kudos with the heavily politicised and genre-demolishing explosion of 2006’s Return To Cookie Mountain, the Brooklynites could easily have found themselves hamstrung by expectation. Two years since that last record and some seven years since emerging from the rubble of post 9/11 New York, the quintet is still driven to question and lament the state of this world. Here, though, the political is tempered with personal contemplation and never before have they written songs that grab your attention as forcefully as those on Dear Science. Each song is a rich, glittering pearl. Strung together, they create something inestimably precious.” FJ (AU50)
KEY TRACK: ‘STORK & OWL’
Posted on: 27th January 2010
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