Listmania!
Albums of 2008, part 1
The Seldom Seen Kid (Deluxe Edition)The Seldom Seen Kid (Deluxe Edition) by Elbow
Buy used from: £19.99
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 and Love Affair
Buy used from: £5.85
Anthony (& The Johnsons) Hegarty fronting a DFA-approved disco monster - tuneful, funky, beautiful.
All Is YesAll Is Yes by The Blessing
Buy new: £10.78 / Used from: £5.47
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: £8.98 / Used from: £5.64
Actually unsure of this thus far - but the last one took time to reveal itself to me, so will give this a chance further.
Fleet FoxesFleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £4.39
OH MY GOD THE HARMONIES - I don't like The Beach Boys much but I like this A LOT.
Vampire WeekendVampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.50
Refreshingly light and tuneful - forget the 'Afro' and all the class-war nonsense; this is just good pop.
CouplesCouples by The Long Blondes
Buy new: £10.98 / Used from: £1.99
Sassy girl-rock goes a little disco. I vaguely know the bassist's boyfriend, or something. God, I miss Electrelane.
RedRed by Guillemots
Buy new: £6.18 / Used from: £1.21
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: £8.98 / Used from: £2.99
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: £10.78
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: £8.48 / Used from: £4.50
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: £25.33
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: £7.38 / Used from: £5.00
Very long-awaited debut by moody mathy postrockers; I'm not entirely convinced, but the trumpets are awesome.
Songs in A&ESongs in A&E by Spiritualized
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.82
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,
RookRook by Shearwater
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £8.99
Got sent a copy, having not heard of this Okkervil River side-project before; my God, this is good - delicate, powerful, beautiful ornithological folk rock with ambient touches. Awesome.
Pain DisappersPain Disappers by Mlle. Caro & Franck Garcia
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £4.50
Beautifully produced electronica-cum-rock, guitars, beats, vocals,keyboards. Very, very good. The kind of thing to listen to in designer flats full of art books and feel cool and cultured.
Loud Louder StopLoud Louder Stop by Neil Cowley Trio
Buy new: £10.78 / Used from: £9.25
London-based piano jazz trio, with that modern rock bedrock - funky, hooky, very very musical. Much better than the Coldplay album.
SaturnaliaSaturnalia by The Gutter Twins
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.00
Veteran grunge from Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli - accomplished, earthy, rocking; as you'd expect. Neither is capable of making a bad record.
Sunday At Devil DirtSunday At Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.49
Lanegan again, singing Isobel's songs once more - they make a great partnership. Slightly bluesier this time out.
A Mouthful [VINYL]A Mouthful [VINYL] by The Do
Buy new: £26.89
Got this on CD import from amazon.fr - check it out; the eclecto-intelli-pop album of the year from a Franco-Finnish jazz duo. Touches of Bjork, PJ, melodies to die for, plus amazing arrangements.
Seeing SoundsSeeing Sounds by N*E*R*D
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £0.49
Bonkers coke-rap from past-it uber-producers; something of a return to form, although still not up there with the remarkable debut.
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaustMeð suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust by Sigur Ros
Buy new: £5.08 / Used from: £3.78
In which Sigur Ros sign to a major label (any thanks to Chris Martin?) and go a bit Animal Collective. A welcome change of direction, for one song at least.
Mountain BattlesMountain Battles by The Breeders
Buy new: £7.18 / Used from: £4.79
Beautifully scuzzily presented sub-3-minute pop songs; like Electrelane without the motorik, as a friend said to me. A champion album from a champion band.
Ringer EPRinger EP by Four Tet
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.72
Four-track, 30+ minute EP in which our favourite folkjazztronica kid goes all mid-90s electronica on us - bloody brilliant, especially the 10-minute opener.
In The FutureIn The Future by Black Mountain
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.00
Occasionally cheesy but otherwise pretty great Led-Zep-esque modern rock, produced properly so it ACTUALLY. DOES. ROCK. Get those guitars! Get those drums! Get those occasional plains of ambience?