Best Albums of 2008

As they do every year, the albums I’ve loved over the stretch of days have formed my soundtrack. Music has been a backdrop, a shield, a comment, and a lair.  This is it; my favorite albums of 2008.

Honorable Mentions:

Girl Talk – Feed The Animals
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours

10.    Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue

Acid Tongue is the second solo album from Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis. It didn’t bust my door down like 2005’s Rabbit Fur Coat, but it’s solid.  She spans genres from country to soul, gospel to blues, with a healthy thread of psychedelia throughout. Her voice is as clear and raw as ever on the title track.  Jenny has out-shined Rilo Kiley’s latest effort (again) with this solo project.

9.    Dr. Dog - Fate

Dr. Dog is so sixties, if I hadn’t seen them play live this summer, I wouldn’t believe they’re a bunch of 30-something guys from Philly.  I fell in love with this album in mid-August — just in the nick of time! The vocal harmonies, upright piano, and jangling guitars invoke and perfectly accompany late summer days in the northeast.

8.    Santogold - Santogold

I wrote a mini-review of this album shortly after it dropped. I was pleasantly shocked by it’s range and predicted that I’d listen to it all summer. I did!

7.    Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

If you’re keeping track,  you know that I shunned Bon Iver at first, and then publicly recanted. Damn I’m glad I can admit when I’m wrong.

We all know the story at this point.  On the heels of a cross-country move and his band’s subsequent demise, Justin Vernon returned to his hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, not far from Minneapolis.  He sequestered himself in a remote cabin for the cold winter months and recorded most of the songs that eventually became For Emma, Forever Ago.  He self-released For Emma under the name Bon Iver, taken from the french “bon hiver” which translates to “good winter.”

Distance, solitude and cold winter warmth are all over this record. Skinny Love is the big favorite and the first track that grabbed me, but The Wolves is emblematic. The Wolves video says all that could ever be said about this gorgeous album.

6.    Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Can we all quit acting like we shouldn’t love this band just because they’re a bunch of rich white kids from Columbia? The rock ‘n’ roll canon is rife with great music created by the naive and over-privileged. Embrace the indie-national affectation, these are terrific tunes.

5.    MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

I discovered this early video of MGMT playing Kids at a college party a few years ago. Look at these kids! They are so full of youthful abandon, early-twenties angst, wary optimism, and boundless joy.  MGMT captures the essence of these ups and downs and layers it over infectious pop beats on their debut album.  Time to Pretend and Kids are both easily in my top 15 tracks of the year.

4.    TV On The Radio – Dear, Science

TV On The Radio is the sexiest band alive. Like Cookie Mountain and previous albums, Dear, Science is power packed with dense arrangements, rich textures, swirling melodies, and dark lyrics.  What’s new is a sense of settling in to the uncertainty — but the thread of calm should not to be mistaken for stability.  The whole thing is still sitting on a tinder foundation that could go up at the slightest spark.

3.    Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

The album title Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust translates roughly to “With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly” - which is kind of funny, because this album is more concise than any of their other four LPs. Jonsi and company still manage sweeping landscapes and epic crescendos,but with less endlessness than on past records. I’m a devotee either way, but after the density of Takk… and the watery nostalgia of Hauf/Heim, the brevity is a fun surprise.

2.    M83 – Saturdays = Youth

I saw M83 perform in Philly this fall, and it tipped this record from awesome to enduring for me.  Saturdays=Youth is Anthony Gonzales’ fifth M83 album.  He’s back with the huge sonic explosions of albums past plus a couple new recording-mates who bring textured guitar and killer goth vocals. I’m crazy for this album.

1.    Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts

Every now and then, I hear some new music that reaches out and grabs me by the throat. It skyrockets to the top of my weekly most-played. I buy the whole back catalog. I play it for all my friends. I self-consciously resist the urge to repeat tracks in the presence of others…  This happens to you guys too, right?

Cloud Cult hit me like a ton of bricks this year.  First it was When Water Comes to Life, which, BTW, was the first audio track I posted to Tumblr.  I’m a sucker for orchestral pop, but my instant love for this song swelled far beyond the genre affinity.  Other songs from this album grabbed me at different moments - in the car, at work, on the subway,and finally at the Bowery Ballroom show last month.

I love everything about this album that the critics hate. Bring on the soaring strings, dramatic keyboards, quotable quotes, and pop culture name checks.  Feel Good Ghosts was the cornerstone of my 2008 soundtrack and I love every fucking note of it.