So I listened to a few albums in 2008. I liked a lot of them. These were the top 5 that I listened to more than the rest and whose lyrics got stuck indelibly in my head causing me to hum them over and over again. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but these are the one's that come most easily to mind (probably because they're the most recent I've listened too. February feels sooo long ago.).
In no particular order: (ps I put mediafire links up in case you feel like listening to them)
This is one of the most rocking, optimistic, fun records of 2008. My brother and I had a chance to go see the band at the Beachland in the middle of the summer and the live show only adds to the band's entire appeal. Craig Finn is the lead songwriter and he crafts pieces that are filled with obscure allusions and hidden meanings. Normally, this would be a negative, but on the surface the songs are catchy and fun. It's just those extra self references to older songs, or other bands in the scene that gives the listener a sense of belonging to some kind of club. But it's not elitist. Oh no, if the Hold Steady had their way, everyone would be singing these summer anthems at the top of their lungs, drunkenly dancing and having a grand time.
Teenage Bottlerocket - Warning Device
Teenage Bottlerocket are about as straightforward a pop punk band as you get. Warning Device is their third album, and doesn't stray far in sound or lyrics from the first two. But that's what makes them so great. Like their Ramone forefathers and then Lookout! bands like Screeching Weasel and The Queers, Teenage Bottlerocket take three chords and the blessings of their ancestors and run away with the flame. Every song is incredibly catchy and you'll be singing along after only the first or second listen. Most songs are about girls. Some songs only have four lines. And that's where the magic lies. Sweaty armpits and a fast beating heart. Like at the 7th grade dance and you see the girl you like and you know you're not going to ask her to dance but there is a possibility she might glance your way and that you might slow dance staring into each other's eyes only to emerge 7 years later screaming anthems at the top of your lungs with the car stereo blaring and other drivers are caught in their daily doldrums and boring lifes and that's all that matters.
Dillinger Four - Civil War
Continuing in the punk rock vein, I bring you one of the most anticipated (punk) album of the last few years. Dillinger Four finally got around to putting out a new album 6 years after their last proper album. And as we've seen with other long awaited albums (*cough* Guns 'n Roses *cough*) sometimes the time in between can do more harm than good. But Dillinger Four don't fall into the Axl Rose trap and deliver one of their best albums yet. It's a natural progression of their punk sound which is a bit of a mix between harder punk/hardcore with melodic vocalists. D4 have never been that big on melody or hooks, preferring the straight ahead approach of getting their point across without many extremities, but this album actually has more than 2 or 3 songs that are fairly easy to sing along with. And this is without letting go of everything that people love about them: chugging guitars, political and social satirical vocals, and of course hilarious song titles. This is D4's fourth album, and just like the Hold Steady's fourth album (Stay Positive), it exceeds expectations. There must have been something about the number four in 2008.
Oxford Collapse - Bits
And now for something a bit different. Oxford Collapse create rocking, pop songs that are reminiscient of a lot of early 80's college bands. It's kind of a stretch, but early I.R.S. REM kind of springs to mind. Maybe the guitars aren't that jangly, but this band is into fun and writing lyrics that 90% of current indie bands wouldn't even touch ie. 'My love came back from Sweden/Brought me some bathroom reading' but at the same time heartfelt and earnest. For some reason the blogs and hypemachines create monsters of bands that have a tendency to be kind of bland (I liked Fleet Foxes as much as anyone else, but they're kind of boring). Oxford Collapse have been sliding under the radar for a while and this is definetly their best work to date (again their fourth album, I'm sensing a pattern). Either way, this is another album to turn up the volume and sing along too (which also seems to be a pattern of my picks.. song alongability).
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yelstin - Pershing
And now for the last of the five albums. This one is a departure from the previous four. Here we find poppy acoustic pop gems filled out with a full band behind them. Most are uptempo and have to do with Love and Love Lost (the only subject worth singing about, it seems like). But like Oxford Collapse don't take themselves entirely too seriously, I mean, they use a cow bell on the album's opener. And somehow it works. Horns in the second song with a nice strumming acoustic guitar and an electric guitar lead show us what is in store for the rest of the album. You won't be able to get these melodies out of your head. And Phillip Dickey's lead vocals harmonized with the rest of the band will keep you coming back for more.
So there it is. 5 albums that I really liked in 2008. Maybe they weren't the best albums, per se, but I couldn't stop listening to them. As for the state of music in 2008, it seemed to be a pretty good year. Lots of memorable songs from new bands and then some good songs from old bands returning to form. Let's hope 2009 is just as good (and the new Animal Collective is definetly a step in the right direction).
Have a good new year!
ps. The Lemuria record was really good too, but I all ready posted and wrote about it, so I thought it might be a bit extraneous (especially considering the frequency of my posting)
