Top 50 Albums Of The Year

[naiwf]

25. "LIGHTS" by LIGHTS

CHECK OUT: http://www.myspace.com/lights

INFO: In early 2008, thanks to the 'gaylist', a fair chunk of us here began to borderline worship a Canadian girl, known as 'Lights'. Okay, probably only I 'borderline worshipped' her, but you have to love a hot girl with a keytar, it's the law. While this EP is only 6 songs, it does clock in at about 18-minutes, which is just about as long as the H20 album. It's sugary, cute electro-pop stuff. From the insatiably catchy opener "Ice", which is so spectacularly gay sounding, yet you can't help but love the thing, the album continues on from strength to strength with the 'cooler' more laid back tracks. There's also "White", which blends in big guitar tones for an indie-rock esque chorus. My only downside is that "I Owe You One" is not quite up to the standard of the rest of the tunes, but still a perfectly acceptable song. It's only 6-tracks, which means it's perfect to just dip into if you're feeling a bit down, and it will soon perk you back up. Good fun.

BEST SONGS: "Ice", "February Air", "The Last Thing On Your Mind", "Drive My Soul" and "White".

IN QUICK: The cutest form of electro-pop imaginable.

I actually came to know of Lights through an Old Navy commercial which featured "The Last Thing On Your Mind". Generally I don't like that style of music but if I happen to like a (lead) singer I pretty much like whatever they sing. I didn't get to "borderline worship", but I got pretty close and was disappointed in myself for doing so

[Iain76er]

One of the only songs? In a thirty year discography? Hmm. And "joke band" is a bit much - there was a lot of parody in there, and more irony than you could shake a stick at, but to call them simply a "joke" band kind of discredits their genuine musical talent (of which there is lots), and implies that humour and music don't mix. They're a comedic band, but not a comedy band. I draw a distinction. Bonzo Dog Band - comedic. Many Frank Zappa songs - comedic. Weird Al Yankovic, Tenacious D? Comedy (allegedly).

I was under the impression they only released one album. Turns out I was wrong. Fair point on the other matter.

[TheRossWalker]

Mike is a lock at #1 and Pedals are deffos in there. Fuck knows the 3rd though. Will kick myself though when I see it.

WABWAD hasn't been in yet, but I dunno, I don't think both Los Camp albums will be on here, for some reason.

Can't think of anything else though.

[IAceI]

It could be, I think he likes it more than Hold On Now, Youngster so its a possibility. Yeah

3 - Los Camp

2 - Pedals

1 - Hale

[YI]

Well then that is good! As for Nostradomus, I loved the music on it but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting from Priest. Alice's "Along Came a Spider," was brilliant. Hopefully Death Magnetic at least finds it's way onto here, which to be fair, though, wasn't really all that but it was better than Metallica's last effort. And personally I enjoyed the hell out of Chinese Democracy, I just refuse to call them Guns N Roses...

EDIT: My girlfriend likes Death Cab For Cutie (what a horrible name) and says they do get radio/MTV play... *sigh*

For future reference, on YI's lists, you're likely to find a lot of indie type stuff, and not a whole lot of metal. Which isn't a knock on YI. His Zoli love alone makes him awesome. I personally check out his lists for stuff that he relates to music I already like, and then check that out. About 90% of what he puts up is stuff I either have heard and didn't like, or have no interest in... but the other 10% is well worth the five minutes it takes to read his posts.

See, I do like metal, it's just, the vast majority of say older metal bands, their newer material just doesn't interest me, and in the case of Guns N Roses, etc, I just never liked them to begin with. I love punk because of the pace and the passion, with those kinds of classic metal, I find it lacking a lot of the time. I admit, this list has been terrible for its metal involvement. 2006 had a few metal bands, with Ihsahn ranking pretty highly (which I seem to remember a lot of people thinking came out of left field) and In Flames were in the top 10 if I remember. Last year, I didn't get round to churning a list out but 2007's would have had; Jesu, Dark Tranquillity (I went 'on record' a bunch of times saying "Misery's Crown" was one of my favourite tracks of the year), Municipal Waste, The End, to name a few. It's just this year, it's been a shit year for metal, IMO (new In Flames was fucking terrible). I admit, Opeth should have been here, but for whatever reason I thought "Watershed" was released in 2007, but it's an absolutely cracking album, and it'd probably rank in around the 20's/30's. Incidentally there are a couple of other albums I forgot when compiling this, like Wolf Parade, Algernon Cadwallader and Blondfire. Not sure if they'd have made the cut, but Wolf Parade definitely would have.

Back to the 'metal' thing, I'd like to think I'm a bit more open and 'varied' than most people that do these kind of things, this year, given the reduced numbers, it has been in the favour of punk-rock/indie, I admit. But that's what I generally listen to. Also, as said, I've felt it's been a poor year for metal, and for hip-hop as well. Outside of Nas, fucking N-Dubz and Chris Brown, very little has really caught my attention. 2006 was stacked with some R&B and stuff, 2007 was going to see Sharkey & C-Rayz Walz's "Monster Maker" crack the top 10, but this year, nothing's caught my eye as a total package. I really wanted some dance music in here too, 2006 I had some cheesier stuff like Bob Sinclair and Cascada, this year I wanted some IDM like "Turning Dragon" by Clark to get on here, or maybe some full-on trance in U-Recken or Ephedrix, but I just couldn't justify putting them on, as a I don't enjoy them as much as other albums on here, and I'm not just going to pad out things to include as many genres as possible (although, that would make me seem like a magnificent cunt).

I also love how it can be said "None of these would get play on MTV" and in the first fucking post...COLDPLAY!!!

I might whack #3 up tonight. I'm a bit on the ill side though.

[YI]

......"I know that I've got friends, but I feel I'm lonelier than them"......

............

......"And now I'm gonna grow my beard, until my face just disappears. Cos I'm feeling ugly and you're so beautifully sincere"......

3. "TAKE FLIGHT" by PEDALS ON OUR PIRATE SHIPS

CHECK OUT: http://www.myspace.com/pedalsonourpirateships

INFO: Take 1/5 Andrew Jackson Jihad, 1/5 Alkaline Trio, 1/5 Against Me!, 1/5 The Gaslight Anthem and 1/5 Blink 182, and you'll have something close to the style possessed by obscure Virginia folk-punk band. This was a spur of the moment download, based solely on the name, much like a lot of the 'folk'/'folk-punk' albums I download, because if your band is called; Andrew Jackson Jihad, Wingnut Dishwasher's Union, Jean Claude Jam Band or Pedals On Our Pirate Ships etc, you're going to be FUCKING AWESOME! This is actually the bands second release, their first being a self-titled album, where the tunes are solely acoustic, I have not been able to track that down (And it's going to be a cunt to get delivered, grrr) but "Take Flight" opens with a re-working of one of their acoustic tunes in "Night Of The Living Wage". It really sets the theme for the rest of the album, the mixing of simple chord progressions, acoustic and electric instrumentation and some absolute lyrical gems. I mean, I think I should cringe at some of "Peter Pan Syndrome", but the chorus actually works so perfectly, and there's some great lines in there like; "But secretly we all miss our mothers/We seek security in the arms of lovers/Underneath the covers/We'll turn this fort into a home...". Then there's the AJJ style, humourous lines, like in "Reinventing Bryan Adams" (Against Me! shoutout, booyah!) when there's the brilliant verse of "And now I'm gonna grow my beard/Until my face just disappears/Cos I'm feeling ugly/And you're so beautifully sincere". There's just so many quotable lines throughout the album, from the songs of 'brotherhood' like "Ballad of Jonny Z" and "Pony Express" ("If it's 10-against-2/And it's just me and you/There'll be 12 of us in the emergency room"), the slower tunes like "Dominion Place" and "You Don't Get To Know Her Anymore" and the witty and humourous, 'dark' chorus to "Goodbye Optimism" which reminds me very much of Matt Skiba at his best. All in all, it's a really fun release. Perfect blend of folk and punk, it's not stuff that will musically set the world alight, but not everything has to be, they are just absolutely killer tunes. It's a shame this band haven't got much of a following, even in the punk-rock scene, where this stuff, due to the 'mainstream rise of Gaslight Anthem and Against Me!, and Andrew Jackson Jihad successfully crossing into the indie-trendwhore scene, this style is really the in-thing at the minute, but for whatever reason, POOPS (lol ) just haven't been picked up on.

BEST SONGS: "Ballad Of Jonny Z", "Goodbye Optimism", "Night Of The Living Wage", " Reinventing Bryan Adams", "You Don't Get To Know Her Anymore", "Peter Pan Syndrome" and "Pony Express".

IN QUICK: Folk-punk, that sounds like Andrew Jackson Jihad, Alkaline Trio, The Gaslight Anthem, Blink 182 and Against Me! having a fight, before settling their differences by having a massive drunken sing along instead.

[probablyoliver]

I didn't really enjoy Take Flight all that much. I mean, there's not a bad song on there, but it was nowt special.

[METALMAN]

Wolf Parade was awesome.

[YI]

......at #2, the debut album from a band who claim to use acoustic guitars because they can't be arsed to carry around amps and sound equipment......

2. "MIRACLE KICKER" by DARK CAPTAIN LIGHT CAPTAIN

CHECK OUT: http://www.myspace.com/darkcaptain

INFO: In at number 2 is the debut album by London based Dark Captain Light Captain, who have the backing of everyone's favourite "Is it the lights or is he a little bit black? guy", no, not Barack Obama, but Zane Lowe. The experimental-folk band draws influence from all over, from gothic styled neo-folk artists, to Radiohead, to even The Violent Femmes. The album opens with the breathtaking "Jealous Enemies". From the moment the opening acoustic guitar riff started up, I just knew that I was going to fall in love with this band, the tracks grows almost instantaneously with the hypnotic "Ahh's" that ride over the instrumentation throughout the track, and finally the pulsating drum beat comes in and from here, the band never looks back. Musically, the way the songs are structured they remind me a lot of Radical Face/Electric President. How on one hand it sounds downbeat and disheartened and has the makings of a truly 'depressing' album, but on the other hand everything is put together so beautifully and intricately, the melodies are a work of art, and you just get lost into it, words just cannot describe how beautiful a listen this album is. It's a style that's as old as time, the whole mixing of strings and electronic drones into a more 'folk' style, but I've never heard a band that do it to the success that Dark Captain Light Captain have. In fact, the vocal work here is absolutely breathtaking. The harmonies are so precise and delicate, I honestly don't think I could pick a band where the singing is as good as it is on here. All the tunes are perfectly constructed, from the softer "Questions", which if I had to describe it, it would be as a bastard cross between "Honey & The Moon" by Joseph Arthur, "Lack Of Color" by Death Cab For Cutie and that Dogs Die In Hot Cars (haha, remember them?) song that was used on them Boots adverts a couple of years back, to the more experimental tunes like "Miracle Kicker" and "Robot Command Centre". I haven't seen it reviewed much, but the reviews I have seen have all been massively positive, most making note of the fantastic use of harmonies. Fucking...SHIT HOT! There's not even a song here that sees a single dip in standard. It can be picked up for £6 in HMV, or at least it could a week ago, bargain.

BEST SONGS: "Questions", "Speak", "Circles", "Jealous Enemies", "Miracle Kicker", "Spontaneous Combustion" and "Parallel Bars".

IN QUICK: Amazing band that uses a mix of stylistic drum patterns, intricate acoustic picks, soft piano, droning electronics and arguably some of the most beautiful and precise vocal harmonies I have ever heard.

[METALMAN]

Oh oh you told me to get that album a while ago but I couldn't find a link.

[YI]

......LET'S GET FREAKY NOW, LET'S GET FUCKING FREAKY NOW......

1. "BROKEN WITH NO HOPE" by MIKE HALE

CHECK OUT: http://www.myspace.com/mikehalemusic

INFO: This album is another one that appeared from nowhere and really blew me away. From January/February of last year I had been hyping it as my album of the year, so was there really any doubt that at the end of this list, this album would be reigning supreme? It's been the 'in thing' at the minute for members of punk-rock bands to launch an acoustic side project, but none, not even Joey Cape, have managed to do it to anywhere near the level that Mike Hale has achieved. Released on Mike Park's Asian Man Records, I had zero prior knowledge of Mike Hale before this release, I had not heard any of his material with Gunmoll or In The Red (the latter of which put out a solid album last year too), so when I did get around to checking them out, it really quite surprised me. The way this man can throw his voice is absolutely insane. It's not like Sam Duckworth (Get Cape Wear Cape Fly) where (especially on his debut) you can tell he used to front a hardcore band, as he's still got that rough twang to his voice at times. Mike Hale however, in the course of a year can put out an album in "Volume 1.0" with In The Red, which features some of the best, nasally, gruff vocals this side of Chuck Ragan, and put out "Broken With No Hope" with clean, pitch perfect, beautiful vocal work. Hale is certainly an immense talent, his songs very much have a Springsteen at his best vibe, you know, the "I'm a broken down man, here's my story" stuff set to flowing acoustic arrangements. From the brooding opener "Wicked People" to surprisingly light "Fuck The World", it's an album that's just so heartfelt and compassionate that you just can't help but fall in love with it. The best album of 2008. Hale's recently signed to Suburban Home, where he will be putting out his follow up this May, if new track "Wasn't That You?" is anything to go by, it's going to be right up there with this.

BEST SONGS: "Most Beautiful", "Losing Tomorrow", "The Last Part Of Me", "Fuck The World", "My Last Goodbye", "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "I'm In Need".

IN QUICK: One of the most heartfelt albums I have ever heard, so heartbreaking yet immensely beautiful, a gorgeous acoustic album that will make you want to both laugh and cry.

Edited January 30, 2009 by YI

[Skimatik]

never heard of a single one of these groups.... what did they sell? 12 copies?

[METALMAN]

You haven't heard of Coldplay?

[slain]

Where the hell is Frightened Rabbit's "The Midnight Organ Fight"!?

Such a fantastic album!

[METALMAN]

You are a correct person.

That was one of my very favourites of last year. Like in my top 5. Wish I saw them when they were supporting Death Cab. That would have been quite a show.

[IAceI]

never heard of a single one of these groups.... what did they sell? 12 copies?

No, they sold more actually! So now what?

[TGWL]

never heard of a single one of these groups.... what did they sell? 12 copies?

Clearly the killers, death cab, and cold play sold more than 12 copies!!

and no "There for tomorrow" on this list makes me sad. a very catchy band with no radio or mtv play.

[METALMAN]

thisgamewelose rides to the rescue!

Only slightly over a month late, but a rescue nevertheless.

[Herr Matzat]

No love for Vampire Weekend

[ROC]

No love for Vampire Weekend

lol vampire weekend being deserving of a spot on a best albums of the year list.