Top 50 Albums of 2008

Obviously not copying this idea from any other recently released lists *ahem*. Here is my personal top fifty albums released this year, for your delectation/scrutiny....

1. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend - Sound of the spring/summer/autumn/winter. They'll have a job bettering this.
2. Glasvegas – Glasvegas - Epic wall-of-sound debut from the Glaswegians, only improved by the Xmas mini album
3. Foals - Antidotes - Who cares what Dave Sitek's mix sounded like when we got this classic instead?
4. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive - Proving that age goes before beauty, their best album yet
5. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires - Note to all DJs: all you need is this...
6. Bloc Party - Intimacy - ...and maybe Bloc Party's third too
7. Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid - Totally worth the Mercury Prize. Guy Garvey is a totally underrated lyricist.
8. Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Angles - Thou shalt buy this intelligent, catchy, dancey hip-hop album by any means possible. Thou shalt also not watch Hollyoaks.
9. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago - If this is what breaking up a band, breaking up with your girlfriend and locking yourself away for a while produces, then the emo kids of today should produce some beautiful heartfelt albums in a few years.
10. Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster… -
11. Pete And The Pirates – Little Death - A totally underrated band and album, cruelly over-looked by many critics, you'll find more hooks and bouncy indie-ness here than in the whole Kaiser Chiefs discography
12. The Courteeners – St. Jude - The frontman may be called Liam and they may have the typical Manc swagger about them, but the Oasis comparisons end there. "St Jude" is easily better than virtually every Oasis record since 1997
13. The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement - Proves that it doesn't have to be all scuzzy guitars and observational lyrics these days. Also proves that Alex Turner is a genius
14. Late Of The Pier – Fantasy Black Channel - What new-rave did next? Well it seems it got a hell of a lot better and a hell of a lot stranger.
15. Noah And The Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down - Bringing folk to the mainstream, along with having the tune of the summer (although it is a little aggravating now).
16. Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul - A return to form (although the Gallaghers may disagree). some may describe them as Luddites but they're thrilling as ever, and who could say no to that?
17. The Futureheads – This Is Not The World - The big self-released comeback from the Mackems. Free from major label restraints and full of anthemic shouting. Heading for the stadiums
18. The Killers – Day & Age - As camp as camp can be, a perfect blend of their back catalogue.
19. Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke - Who knew worshipping the 80s could create such an album, packed to the brim with choruses as big as Beth Ditto
20. Lightspeed Champion – Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - From pioneering new-rave to this; a lush, countrified debut, with some "interesting lyrics"
21. The Teenagers – Reality Check - Filthy, fun and French. Not much to ask for really.
22. Laura Marling – Alas, I Can Not Swim - Once again taking folk to the mainstream. An incredible talent for someone only a year older than me. That's quite a scary thought
23. The Streets – Everything Is Borrowed - Gone are the geezer-ish references to modern life, and in comes the more spiritual Mike Skinner. It may not be the best move ever, but it works for the most part.
24. Alexis Blue – Hypothetical Situations - Not enough good things to say about AB and their debut. Bouncy indie pop thrills and dark, clever lyrics mix in the best way since The Smiths
25. The Cool Kids – The Bake Sale - More than just mere 80's revivalists, they take down the image of hip-hop hardmen to rap about bike and Fruity Pebbles. Not exactly gangsta but still pretty great.
26. Frank Turner – Love, Ire & Song - Hardcore punk frontman turns acoustic troubadour. Works brilliantly.
27. The Rascals - Rascalize - Or Miles Kane's other band. They may not be as grandiose as the Puppets, but "Rascalize" is definitely worth checking for Kane's guitar work and dark-as-night lyrics alone.
28. Mystery Jets – Twenty One - Dropping the dad proved a good move for the Jets; coming over all 80's and providing two big summer hits with "Young Love" and the inescapable "Two Doors Down"
29. No Age – Nouns - An even bigger wall of sound than Glasvegas and about 10 times as experimental. A definite improvement on debut "Weirdo Rippers"
30. Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night - So the move to stadiums and headlining spots hasn't exactly proved popular with most "proper" fans, but it's hard to argue with the quality of the first half of the album.
31. Santogold – Santogold - The album may be overshadowed by "L.E.S. Artistes" but it's definitely worth checking out for genre shattering songs such as "Creator" and "Say Aha"
32. Hot Chip – Made In The Dark - The Chip had a lot to live up to considering the praise bestowed upon "The Warning", but they came back even stronger, with more dancefloor-slaying tunes than you could shake a fist at.
33. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular - Personally I can't see how this is deserving of the adulation most critics have given it. Without the three hits; "Kids", "Electric Feel" and "Time To Pretend", it wouldn't be nearly as good.
34. Eugene McGuinness – Eugene McGuinness - Charming pop from the almost-nomadic singer, featuring his wonderful turn of phrase and sense of humour.
35. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into… - Silly band name aside, DIOYY have created an odd but surprisingly brilliant mix of Daft Punk, Klaxons, The Prodigy and a bit of the Killers too.
36. Black Kids – Partie Traumatic - They might not have lived up to the mountain of hype, but "Partie Traumatic" still remains a fun, party album with some future classics
37. Blood Red Shoes – Box Of Secrets - Angst-ridden, grungy rock hasn't been too popular for the last 15 years, but this duo could change that with shouty, ever-so-slightly angular rockers such as "It's getting boring by the Sea"
38. Albert Hammond Jr – ¿Como Te Llama? - The Strokes' man's second album is just as good as his first, and even better than some of his own bands. This is either good or bad news for their new album next year
39. Panic At The Disco – Pretty. Odd. - Well it's definitely odd. Panic drop the "!" and the bland emo for a psychedelic, Beatles-inspired second album which suits them perfectly. Wonder what the next reinvention will be....
40. Those Dancing Days – In Our Space Hero Suits - Yet another Swedish indie-pop band. They must have the copyright to this kind of stuff. Like Pete And The Pirates, ignored by the masses, but deserving of all the praise they can get for their perfect pop nuggets
41. Weezer – The Red Album - The third colour coded album from Weezer and just as good. Rivers Cuomo produces yet another classic chorus on "Pork And Beans" and the entire band collaborates for the highly strange yet oddly great "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"
42. Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst - The Bright Eyes leader breaks away for his first proper solo debut. Pretty similar to his main band in places, but with added glam influences and a bit of good ol' 50's rock 'n' roll thrown into the mix
43. Johnny Foreigner – Waited Up ‘Til It Was Light - Suspiciously similar to Los Campesinos! in an achingly indie way at times, but they break out into their own style of jittery punk on their solid debut album.
44. Wild Beasts – Limbo, Panto - Prettier and odder than "Pretty. Odd." itself, the Leeds band's debut is reminiscent of The Smiths in places, and has potential to go just as far.
45. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak - It might not be the best direction he could have taken (let's face it, miserable hip-hop isn't the greatest idea) but it leaves the door open for Kanye to truly become the innovative genius he likes to think he is.
46. Nick Cave – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - The godfather of post-punk and most things dark and gloomy returns with a garage rock album to blow the socks off most pretenders, showing he's lost none of his talent.
47. Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head - A Hollywood starlet making an album of Tom Waits covers. If that didn't seem surreal enough, add in David Bowie singing on some tracks and there you have it. Obviously it doesn't quite reach the heights of the originals, but still worth a listen.
48. Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns - The bane of hipsters and most indie kids alike, they don't quite escape the shadow of "Chasing Cars" but it's a good enough effort, almost a return to their roots.
49. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell - aka if The Strokes were still young, fresh and actually making albums. May grate a little but deserving of further listens.
50. Coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends - Another love-to-hate band of the alternative set. The French revolutionary outfits may be trying to hard, but the album cemented them as one of the biggest bands of the modern era.

So congrats to Vampire Weekend. Pretty much the band of 2008 (not sure what everyone else is on about with MGMT...) but not without some tough competition. All in all, a pretty good year, bring on 2009!

"Never exist without being generic, you have to impress our bovine public"

Recently quite a few bands have come back with big albums, usually their third or fourth effort, only for it to be a letdown. Kaiser Chiefs, The Verve, Kings Of Leon, Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol. All their latest albums have failed in one way or another, be it critically, commercially or with hardcore fans. Now this may be because of hype generated by the media or the high quality of previous albums, but it's starting to become a worrying trend (well certainly for me), especially for some bands I hold dear. Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes will be releasing their third and fourth albums respectively next year, and whilst all signs point towards two classic albums, there could still be a chance of them flopping (a much bigger worry for The Strokes, considering the year long hiatus). But the main casue for concern is The Cribs. Whilst there is no news on any new material, it is certain that 2009 will see a new Cribs release. This is significant as guitar legend and God in general, Johnny Marr has joined their ranks. The possibilities are almost endless and the outcome is bound to be genius, but some parallels are starting to worry me, especially with Kings Of Leon.

The Followill clan's third effort "Because Of The Times" showed a definite change of direction for the band, one that diverted from their roots but not by much, and won them a bigger audience with their best collection of songs yet. This year, the band has grown even bigger, becoming chart-toppers and Glasto headliners, yet fourth album "Only By The Night", whilst thrusting them into the glare of the mainstream, was their weakest album to date and lost them much of their original fanbase. Now The Cribs last album "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever" was also the band's best collection of songs yet, with a change in direction but not too big of a change. See the similarity?

Despite the involvement of Marr, most signs point towards a slip-up in terms of quality. The one new song that has been widely heard is "Victims Of Mass Production", which is pretty much what you'd expect from a Cribs/Marr collaboration; all jangly guitar, razor sharp riffing and massive hooks. But the subject matter (fake, generic indie bands. Oh hai Pigeon Detectives and Razorlight!) has already been covered by the band twice in the last year or so. A lack of ideas for the Jarman brothers? Could they be getting too caught up in their War On Fake Indie (© NME 2007) that they're turning into what they hate? Or is it just a massive fan getting a little worried about some coincidences? We'll have to wait and see...

Joseph, Better You Than Me

Las Vegas' own The Killers. The Queen Mother of pop, Elton John. Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant. All together singing a Christmas charity song. This could me much camper if they recorded it in a pink tent in Elton's bedroom. It really shouldn't work either, and it almost doesn't. The levels of kitsch and bombast are almost off the scale, but the song just plods along, with no real chorus or hook to drive it forward. Just the attraction of some of the the campest artists in the music business. It lacks the kookiness of last year's effort "Don't Shoot Me Santa" and the general festive overload of 2006's "A Great Big Sled". But then again, how interesting can a song about Jesus' dad be anyway? Ahh well it's for charity, so may as well go download it.



6/10

Cash In My Pocket

You remember Wiley. The guy who was rapping about his Rolex during summer? Got to like Number 2 in the charts? Anyways, his latest single "Cash In My Pocket" is even better than "Rolex", despite the fact that Mark Ronson and Daniel Merriweather were involved with it. A funky, soulful slice of "grime" with a helping of brass (not an overload, but just enough to compliment the track) and a great hook sung by Merriweather (almost enough to forgive him fo destroying "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"), it deserves to be a massive dancefloor hit. Oh, and the video is a work of total genius too.


10/10

The Fear

Stop the presses! Lily Allen in doing-something-worthy-of-merit shocker! For the last year or so, the gobby queen of the LDN scene hasn't really done much other than get drunk, get angry and blog. It's been 877(!) days since her debut "Alright, Still" came out (and even longer since biggest hit "Smile"), which was full of ska-pop tunes which soundtracked that summer.But all that's changed now. Gone is the cod-reggae and Vicky Pollard image, and in comes synth-pop and a more mature, wiser Lily. Starting off with soft acoustic guitar plucking and lyrics which are about as sarcastic as me, Chandler Bing and Bill Hicks in a room together.

It's pretty clear that Ms. Allen has the lobotomised, reality TV-adoring Barbies of the world (well hello, Pussycat Dolls) in her sights, and so she should too. For far too long, Big Brother wannabees have been clogging up pretty much every media outlet in the country and it's time for it too stop.

The song goes on with increasing levels or cynicism and sarcasm, bursting into an electro-pop stomper of a chorus, talking about the "fear" of the current celeb-fuelled world. I think I can smell another Number One going Lily Allen's way with this single. In terms of electro-pop, if this is any indicator of the quality of "It's Not Me, It's You", then Franz Ferdinand will have a struggle on their hand to better it.


9/10

Folie A Deux

"Nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy". So goes "Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes", the first song from Fall Out Boy's latest album. Dontcha just love irony? Going on general opinion, FOB aren't the most popular band around at the minute, unless you're a 12-18 year old girl with a rainbow coloured range of skinny jeans, ears with more holes than Swiss cheese and a hairspray addiction that could be the reason for global warming. But it appears that there's an actual army (rivalling the MCRmy) of these girls buying FOB albums, explaining why they've become so popular in the last 3/4 years.

"Folie A Deux" means in English "a madness shared by two". Some of you may be thinking, "why could they just have kept their 'madness' to themselves?" But then who would we have clogging up various MTV channels, and who would the hardcore metalheads/hipsters hate for the next two or three years?

FOB have definitely become a guilty pleasure for people with taste. They're undeniably catchy but so's chlamidya. There's something about Pete Wentz too, he was meant to be the freaky, geeky outsider who listened to Morrissey. Yet now he's a multi-millionaire, emo pin up, record label boss and he's getting married to Ashlee Simpson. Methinks something doesn't add up here.

Anyways back to the album. All I can really say is average. It's got the usual pop-rock anthemics, trampling over the grave of punk, though where as the last album had more of a hip-hop influence on it, "Folie A Deux" aimed straight for the pop charts. But this is where it fails. It's a mess of bad lyrics, overthought musical ideas and an oveload of guest stars (Brendon Urie, Pharell, Debbie Harry, whatshisface from Gym Class Heroes, even Elvis bloody Costello). I don't even want to reference any individual songs since they're all one big mess of powerchords and utterly bad titles ("Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet"? What in the name of Joe Strummer is that?). Only the first 3 or 4 songs hold my attention the whole way through, and even they're pretty blah really.

I must admit I'm a fan of FOB. Not in the "OMG I luv dem!!11one1 fob rawkk, peet wents if fit" way (those kind of people should be rounded up and locked in an underground bunker), but I appreciate that they know a good pop tune/melody when it hits their lugholes. Saying that, their apparent "gift" has deserted them this time around, with a complete lack of hits here. The last two albums had, and I may get some stick for this, some solid gold pop/rock/emo classics in the shape of "Dance, Dance" and "This Ain't A Scene..." whereas now all we have is "I Don't Care", which a lobotmised sloth could have written. At least there'll be a good few years before the next album.

5/10

A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss...)

Sick of the usual saccharine Christmas songs trotted out every year? "All I Want For Christmas Is You"? "Wonderful Christmastime"? "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"? Do you tend to get nicknames such as Scrooge or Grinch around this time of year? Well Glasvegas' new mini-album is perfect for you!

It's not exactly your typical Xmas album as such, apart from the mention of snowflakes, Christmas, a few bells tossed in here and there, and it being released on the 1st of December. Oh, and a cover of Silent Night featuring a Romanian choir. Like I said, this isn't a typical yuletide album. The six songs on "ASF(AIFLAK)", in my mind, tell the story of the break-up of a relationship, from bitter arguments ("Fuck You, It's Over") to having nowhere to go and sleeping on the streets ("Cruel Moon" and the title track). You wouldn't really expect anything less from the Glaswegians; they weren't going to be covering "Frosty The Snowman".

The songs have also been stripped of Glasvegas' usual wall of sound and reverb, using just keys, piano and vocals on most of the tracks. That said, single "Please Come Back Home" definitely stands out as the typical heart rendering anthem from the Scots, and is likely to be their third big hit. The most unusual move on the album has to be the cover of "Silent Night". Beginning as a sparse lament, using just James Allan's vocals and a sombre piano, it's possibly the most depressing thing the 'Vegas have recorded. Until the choir starts up, lending a sense of hope and humanity to the song. A Romanian choir singing "Silent Night"...you won't get that with whoever wins X Factor. If it ever happens live, it could be the best gig ever.



8.5/10

"Rick Astley? Have you seen this banal incubus at work?"

^^ To quote the late, great Bill Hicks.
For those of you who hadn't heard, Rick Astley personally "rick-rolled" the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...


Can we now officialy declare this fad/craze/meme/whatever dead now? Seriously.