2008 Mid-Year Report...

[en480c4]

I'd been meaning to start this thread here, and then I saw someone had created on over there. So that was enough to get me to put some thoughts down on my favorite releases of 2008, which has gotten off to a great start with some fantastic albums...

Kira Lynn Cain - The Ideal Hunter

I'll quote a review I read elsewhere, which sums things up much better than I ever could...

Dark, a bit spooky, but with a gorgeous approach, Kira Lynn Cain makes these songs soar with great arrangements and a delivery that recalls a cross between PJ Harvey and Nico. <snip> Part country and part orchestral pop, the performer seems in her element from start to finish... <snip> This is not a record for those hoping for an uplifting experience, but one which is extremely pretty nonetheless. This is an artist to watch out for when listening to the Spaghetti Western theme music... ...which is eerie enough to give one the chills.

Definitely a great album worth some attention.

Draconian - Turning Season Within

Another strong outing from one of my favorite bands. More straight-forward songwriting than past efforts, with more female vocals and great atmosphere.

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

A very strong outing, with a dramatic shift from the electro of Black Cherry & Supernature. "Eat Yourself" is not only a stand-out track from the album, but from their entire catalog.

Murder by Death - Red of Tooth and Claw

Still getting used to their ever-evolving sound, but this album is great, and the trio of "Fuego!", "(Theme) For Ennio Morricone" and "A Second Opinion", and the closer "Spring Break 1899" are all fantastic. And how can you go wrong with rock music with strong cello?

My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth

An incredibly strong follow-up to Bring Me The Workhorse. I find myself reach for this more often than the debut. "To Pluto's Moon" is probably her best song to date.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV & The Slip

Neither is perfect, but considering both make up 3 albums worth of material in the first half of '08, these equal a big win for NIN fans, and there are some great moments throughout.

Portishead - Third

My thoughts on this album can be found elsewhere... I'll just sum it up by saying this album is a hugely successful return that is strong from start to finish.

[ojnihs]

time to go buy some more records. me like ian's music. thanks ian!

[en480c4]

Almost forgot...

Opeth - Watershed

This is a much stronger outing than Ghost Reveries, which had little staying power for me. I like that they're pushing things, with the added prog elements (which I'm usually not a fan of), the inclusion of female vocals in the opener, and the better implementation of the keyboards.

[Dusty Chalk]

Nice write-ups as always, Ian. Thanks.

[jinp6301]

Great post Ian. I'll have to check out the new Murder by Death.

As for me:

reissue

remastered

and these 2 that just came out that I'm not completely sure about

[humanflyz]

Ian's list is pretty good, here's some from me:

[en480c4]

Damn it! First I forget Watershed, then I forget the new Sigur Ros album! Though I do need to spend some more time with it to know how I really feel about it, even if first impressions have been very positive.

[hungrych]

Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing

I generally stay away from mixtapes, but this actually uses the format to its advantage to showcase every aspect of Wale's talent, instead being a promotional tool. The Seinfeld theme works great, especially on the album standout The Kramer, which addresses the use of a certain racial epithet with the eloquence most rappers wish they had. Though others have said it better than me, Wale sounds sort of like what Kanye would sound like if he could rap, Lupe would sound like if he was a little less serious, and Lil Wayne would sound like if he didn't totally suck. It's absolutely worth a the free dl.

The Roots - Rising Down

The Roots are pissed, and Rising Down furiously takes on societal injustices without being preachy or annoying. Black Thought gives a godly performance throughout, with the highlight being 75 Bars (even if it probably breaks the record for uses of the n-word in one song), and surprisingly all of the guest appearances work great--especially Mos Def on the title track. The band does a great job with a much darker sound than usual, but they never overdo it. After 8 albums, The Roots prove they still can't be stopped.

Everything about this album kicks ass.

I don't think anyone here needs to hear any more about how great this is either.

[laxx]

Anyone plan to post about The Carter III? =]

[Dusty Chalk]

#1 - Portishead, 3

I love the fact that this sounds nothing like previous Portishead, including any changes indirection that may or may not have been implied by the Beth Gibbons with Rustin Man record. I love the fact that it still sounds like the output of a band, had they gone in a completely different direction (which, in fact, it exactly is). I love the fact that it is still internally consistent. I love the fact that it experiments without falling flat on its face. I love the fact that it starts off with one of the most abrasive, in-your-face, "this is not your daddy's Portishead" declarations of independence songs I've ever heard...and then keeps the promise. But more importantly than any of that, I love the music. Yeah, it grates at times, but purposefully, and more importantly, they make it work. I haven't heard this "out there" "on a different plane than pretty much anything that has been released in recent memory" records since My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Yes, it's really that good.

#2 - Kaki King, Dreaming of Revenge -- there is just something repeatedly listenable about this album, unlike anything else I've heard this year. There have been some good songwriting and whatnot, but at a purely subconscious, to me level, this one resonates like none of the others do. Also, because of her background as primarily an instrumentalist, it's got great big swashes of instrumentals, which I love. I ended up liking this even more than ...Until We Felt Red, which, to me, was her 'difficult sophomore' album (even though it was her third album). I really think she found her stride with this one.

#3 - Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons -- Speaking of departures, this sounds nothing like what I remember A Silver Mt. Zion sounding like, I need to go back and verify. Sounds like Isis meets ... oh, I don't know, A Silver Mt. Zion ... or something.

...more later...

[Dusty Chalk]

Hot Chip, Made in the Dark

To some, this might blend in with a bunch of others of similar ilk, but what makes it stand out to me is the variety. They experiment, and have fun while doing so.

Autechre, Quaristice

First Autechre record I've liked in a long time, really dig this. In the experimental electronic genre.

The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement

I just really like the songwriting on this. A little bit old school (like older Scott Walker), but not as old school as She & Him.

A few more potentials:

Black Mountain, In the Future

5ive, Hesperus

Goldfrapp, Seventh Tree

Gutter Twins, Saturnalia

Kills, Midnight Boom

Magnetic Fields, Distortion

Mars Volta, The Bedlam in Goliath

She & Him, Volume One

Virgin Black, Requiem: Fortissimo

Edited July 16, 2008 by Dusty Chalk

[Dusty Chalk]

Okay, a couple more are definitely top 10 material:

Camille, Music Hole -- goddamn I love this woman. She takes one record from Todd Rundgren (A Capella) and centers her entire career around it -- and writes some damn catchy tunes in the process, taking it to a whole new level. I love the sound of her records, since they're so vocal-centric.

Opeth, Watershed -- what a perfect name for a record. "...A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point..." This is not just another Opeth record. It's not a complete departure that Damnation was, and it's not the completely blistering slab of blackness, like Deliverance or Morningrise. It's got something that not even Blackwater Park had -- it's got variety. It's all over the place stylistically, and it's not just change-change-change like some metal bands do, there's madness here, but it's a madness with which I resonate. This could well go down as being my favorite Opeth record.

[en480c4]

The thing that amazes me about Watershed is how quickly the time passes when listening to it. Even in Still Life, Blackwater Park, Deliverance and especially Ghost Reveries, I become very aware that large amounts of time is passing, and I get the felling that things are starting to drag. This is their first album since My Arms Your Hearse that is over before I expect it and leaves me wanting more. Definitely a really great album.

[en480c4]

One from the first half of '08 that I just came across...

The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust

This seems to do the best job of taking their sound and style from the first EP & LP and the more adventurous and varied sounds of Pretty In Black. I can't say for sure that it's their best effort... I'll need more time with it before I know... But it's definitely their most listenable "noisey" album right away, and I prefer that style to that of PIB.