Listmania!
Albums of 2008, part 1
The Seldom Seen Kid (Deluxe Edition)The Seldom Seen Kid (Deluxe Edition) by Elbow
Buy new: £11.98
Fourth album by Bury sort-of proggers - totally absent of cliche, beautifully realised, epic, emotional, (post)rock n roll. Love the voice, the words, the music.
Hercules and Love AffairHercules and Love Affair by Hercules & Love Affair
Buy new: £7.97 / Used from: £6.99
Anthony (& The Johnsons) Hegarty fronting a DFA-approved disco monster - tuneful, funky, beautiful.
All Is YesAll Is Yes by The Blessing
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £8.50
Portishead's rhythm-section do that modern jazz thing - think Acoustic Ladyland with less mentalism and more tunes.
Do You Like Rock Music?Do You Like Rock Music? by British Sea Power
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £7.19
Actually unsure of this thus far - but the last one took time to reveal itself to me, so will give this a chance further.
In RainbowsIn Rainbows by Radiohead
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £5.84
2008 or 2007? I'm not a fan, as a rule, but this is actually really good - Reckoner is like a Fisher Price version of latter-day Talk Talk.
Vampire WeekendVampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £5.65
Refreshingly light and tuneful - forget the 'Afro' and all the class-war nonsense; this is just good pop.
Seventh TreeSeventh Tree by Goldfrapp
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £5.98
Edging away from overblown sex-electro and back towards the pastoral psychedelic oddness of their debut - surprisingly hooky, too.
RedRed by Guillemots
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £8.00
Occasionally too aggressive in its attempts to be a BIGECLECTICDISCOPOPALBUM,this nonetheless still has enough moments of glistening, textured musicality to make you swoon; Words is a keeper.
Afterparty BabiesAfterparty Babies by Cadence Weapon
Buy new: £9.99
A (sort of) secret: Rollie used to write for Stylus Magazine, the net's best music site. Now he just writes incredibly smart, danceable hiphop. Go Rollie!
AlopeciaAlopecia by Why
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £8.19
Eclectic, uncompromising, musical, emotionally savage - former rapper Why? is now a fully-fledged 'indie' band, where 'indie' means 'genuinely alternative'. Very good indeed.
ThirdThird by Portishead
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £7.52
Madly sinister, dark, groovy and uncompromising. Doesn't sound so much like Portishead as Portishead remixing Nine Inch Nails tracks. We Carry On is monolithic.
Antidotes (Special Edition Double CD)Antidotes (Special Edition Double CD) by Foals
Buy used from: £20.34
Battles as reinvented for and by the cast of Skins. Not quite sure if that means it's terrific or terrible yet.
Good NatureGood Nature by Youthmovies
Buy new: £7.98
Very long-awaited debut by moody mathy postrockers.
Songs in A&ESongs in A&E by Spiritualized
Buy new: £8.98
Five years in the making; a return to form? Lots will say so. It's good; it sounds like Spiritualized. Certainly better than Amazing Grace,