Album Of The Year:
Portishead -
Third
A triumphant return. 2008 did not get off to a good start with reunion albums (see disappointments), but Portishead manage to surpass even
Dummy with this, my pick for album of the year. Every song on this album is brilliant and as a whole it's even moreso than the sum of its parts.
2.
Scarlett Johansson -
Anywhere I Lay My Head
Largely panned by critics, I loved the 1987
4AD feel that this album had. Sure, Scarlett doesn't have a particularly great voice. But guess what? Neither does
Tom Waits. David Sitek's production creates a lush and lavish environment that embraces and nurtures Johansson's voice. I strongly feel that had she not released this album under her own name, but rather under a band name (a la
She & Him), there would have been a significantly different reaction to this record.
3.
TV on the Radio -
Dear Science
This one's on everybody's list. You've heard it. No explanation is necessary.
4.
Fire On Fire -
The Orchard
A latecomer that unfortunately won't be getting the attention it deserves. Released in the second week of December, most critics, amateur and professional alike, already had their 'Best Of' lists already planned out. Their loss. With no new
The Angels of Light material for me to salivate over this year, I turn to the output of his
young god records. The debut full-length from Fire On Fire is nothing short of brilliant. The rotating singers bring the feeling of some sort of band of travelling minstrels who are heading gaily toward the edge of the world.
5.
Made Out of Babies –
The Ruiner
It was just by chance that I checked this album out. I read a review that likened singer Julie Christmas to
Jarboe and
Diamanda Galás, so I gave it a whirl. Boy am I glad I did. While the Jarboe and Galás comparisons are not quite accurate (Christmas' voice is much more similar to Heather Thompson from
Tapping the Vein), the energy in this album was inescapable. Listening to it for the first time while on a plane ride to Ohio, The Ruiner was the perfect soundtrack to turbulance and toothache. Beauty and brutality rolled up together just the way I like it.
6.
Amanda Palmer -
Who Killed Amanda Palmer
After the letdown that was No, Virginia (see disappointments), I had some reservations about paying for the CD/T-shirt combo offered by Palmer's website. In the end, I was lured in by a promise of an alternate album that I could download later and a couple of bonus tracks immediately. I needn't have been worried. I should have known that if
Ben Folds is a talented enough producer to make a
William Shatner album good, then he could difinitely do Amanda Palmer justice. And he did. The debut work from the (former?) Dresden Dolls singer easily surpassed both No, and
Yes, Virginia.... From
Runs in the Family, which is the rightful heir to
Girl Anachronism, to
Oasis which is the heir to
The Jeep Song, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is the follow-up album that
The Dresden Dolls deserved.
If you didn't get the version with the two downloadable bonus tracks, you missed out.
I Google You, the track written in collaboration with
Neil Gaiman is worth the price of admission alone. No word yet on that alternate album download, though...
7.
Sigur Rós -
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Just when it was starting to look like Sigure Rós' glacial sound was never going to see the effects of global warming, we got hit with
Gobbledigook - in which Sigur Rós has magically become
Animal Collective. And truly magical it was - whether exploring the acoustic realm of pseudo-freak folk or providing us with more of that glacial post-rock, this album doesn't disappoint in the slightest. The album closer is even the group's first song in English, though you wouldn't notice unless you're paying close attention.
WTF Of The Year:
No dynamic range. Some really good albums suffered this year from this major
faux pas. Here are three that would have given me an even Top 10, if not for being mixed too loud.
The Cure -
4:13 Dream
A monumental return to form after the abysmal self-titled album.
Underneath The Stars and
The Scream are some of the best songs they've written in a long time. The mixing, on the other hand, removes all of the subtlety from the music, and the album feels like one wailing banshee after another.
Voltaire -
To the Bottom of the Sea
I never would have expected Voltaire, of all people, to commit this gravest of iPod-age sins. And it really is a teagedy here, as the actual substance in this, his first self-released album, makes it also his best album. The humor is wry but not over the top (well, except for
Coin Operated Goi), the subject matter is well thought out, and the lyrics are never awkward. Voltaire indulges his gypsy-goth tendancies even more here than he has since
The Devil's Bris, and it works so well. Unfortunately, every element of the music is mixed at about the same level such that it frequently makes his voice hard to decipher.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!
Another one I never would have suspected. The mixing problem isn't quite as apparent here as in my other examples, and if one listens to the songs on one's iPod on shuffle, it might even go unnoticed. But some of the songs, like the beautiful
Jesus of the Moon, suffer for sounding just as loud as the raucious title track, and in the end, it does a lot of hurt to what would otherwise be Cave's best album since
Let Love In.
Honorable Mention
Wolf Parade -
At Mount Zoomer
At least on par with
Apologies to the Queen Mary, this one would have made top 10 if not for the incredibly stiff competition this year.
Jarboe -
MahaKali
This one would have made the cut if not fot the fact that Jarboe had the lapse of judgement to include
Overthrown not once, but twice. Once with
Phil Anselmo on vocals, which was barely tolerable, and once with her own vocals which sounded like a Kristen Wiig character from Saturday Night Live.
Nachtmystium -
Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1
I checked out this album because of a review on Amazon and the fact that I was directed to it after looking at Made Out Of Babies. It's rare that I find more than just a couple of truly interesting metal albums in one year.
Jill Tracy -
The Bittersweet Constrain
Surpassing easily her efforts on
Diabolical Streak, the new album tones down the melodramatic gothiness while keeping the levels of noir high.
Songs Of The Year:
1.
Portishead -
We Carry On
reportedly the first song that they wrote for
Third, and also the song that made them realize that they could do a new album. Not a single, but easily the centrepeice of the album, this song is a thunderous testament to what Portishead is truly capable of.
2.
Scarlett Johansson -
Green Grass
People who wrote this album off clearly must not have heard this song. This is honestly one of the greatest covers I've ever heard. Sexy and sinister, this song is everything one could have hoped for from Miss Johansson.
3.
Wolf Parade -
Call It a Ritual
Easily surpassing any one song from the debut album, this highlight from
At Mount Zoomer made sure that there would be no sophomore slump from this band.
4.
Fire On Fire -
Hartford Blues
When this track went up on the Young God Records myspace, I knew I'd have to wait until the whole album came out to formulate my list of the best of 2008. This is why people should une illegal downloading as little as possible - so small labels and small bands can continue to put out brilliant art.
5.
Larkin Grimm -
Ride That Cyclone
Another YGR release here, what a surprise. This one posted on the same day as the Fire On Fire track above (and in fact, a significant amount of the album
Parplar feautes instrumentation from Fire On Fire), it was proved that I can always count on
Michael Gira to give me the best in folk music today.
6.
The Cure -
Underneath The Stars
Not even the poor mixing as noted above can truly diminish the awesome beauty of this song.
7.
Rachael Yamagata -
The Only Fault
I never saw this coming - the bonus track hidden after several minutes of silence at the end of the first disc of
Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart turns out to be the best on the album, and indeed, one of the best of the year.
Disappointments Of The Year:
Hank Williams III -
Damn Right, Rebel Proud
Ultimately a dumbed-down version of
Straight to Hell which in most cases fails to be effective at anything other than simply bragging about being a beligerant redneck.
Bauhaus -
Go Away White
This album is a decent (no better than that) collaboration between
Peter Murphy and
Love and Rockets. This is not Bauhaus.
The Dresden Dolls -
No, Virginia
Sure, this isn't so much an album as an odds n' sods compilation, but there's more sods than there should have been. The band's emo tendencies really show on this album, and one ceases to wonder how they could have shared a bill with
Panic! At the Disco. There are some good songs here -
The Gardener,
The Sheep Song,
Boston. But that's about it, unless you go for the iTunes bonus tracks. Fuck iTunes, though.
Xiu Xiu &
Michael Gira -
Under Pressure
Terrible cover. Neither of their voices are suited in the slightest to this song.
Most Anticipated Releases Of 2009:
1.
Neko Case - There is no way to overstate how much I love Neko. Easily my most anticipated album of the year.
2.
Scarlett Johansson - Scarlett has said that she's considering a new album. This time either originals or covers of/collaborations with
Leonard Cohen. Please please please! And I definitely hope she keeps on her same band. David Sitek's production is all but essential.
3.
The Decemberists - Oh glorious anachronism. I can't wait to hear what a Decemberists rock opera sounds like.
4.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -
Is Is was amazing. Let's see if they can follow it up.
5.
Franz Ferdinand - A little hesitant here.
You Could Have It So Much Better was mostly disappointing, but I've seen what the deluxe edition looks like, and at the very least, I'll get it for the packaging.
6.
Tapping the Vein - Loved them in high school, so now that the followup album is upon us, I wonder if it will hold up years later
Pure speculation:
The Phantom Limbs - This rarities comp was on my list last year. Maybe it will finally happen.
Nine Inch Nails -
Trent Reznor has been awfully productive lately, and he said he's going to stop touring for a while. So who knows? Maybe 2009 will see three or four new NIN albums.
The Cure - Supposedly there was going to be a double album, but
4:13 Dream was only 13 songs. Robert Smith has hinted at a possible companion album aroungd his birthday, but he never has been very good at keeping those promises. Also, I'm really looking foreward to the next batch or deluxe remasters. I want a new copy of
Disintegration so bad I can taste it.
New Order - The batch of remasters were so riddled with
errors that the band and label have decided to fix their own mistakes, which is great. Hopefully it'll be 2009 that I'll get to replace my messed up ones.
Tapping the Vein
