The Top 50 Albums of 2008

Written by onecaseman

Sunday, 11 January 2009

Article Index
The Top 50 Albums of 2008
Top 40-31
Top 30-21
Top 20-11
Top 10-1

Page 5 of 5

The Bug, London Zoo [Ninja Tune]

The first time I heard this album, I remember actually laughing out loud at how ridiculously awesomely LOUD it is: it's the most visceral listening experience that I had this year, for sure. The Bug manages to combine all of the most interesting elements of grime, bass, and dubstep, adds some incredible guest vocalists, and then just keeps attacking the listener (in a good way!) with aggressive drums and thick slabs of bass. Just be sure to play it as loudly as possible.

~ playbynumbers

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Download: Poison Dart

Blank Blue, Western Water Music Vol. II [Ubiquity]

One of the most slept on albums this year, by my friends and yours. It’s warm, melodic, dreamy and psychedelic. It truly feels like something I’d listen to by the beach, on a pier, under water, while fishing on a dock, you get the idea – it's water music. I can say I already have a lot of good memories with “Western Water Music Vol. II,” many summer days riding my bike around the city with headphones on or while camping with friends out in the woods.

~ gravelheadwrap

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Download: Sonic What?!

No Age, Nouns [Sub Pop]

No Age's second full length has the type of raw punk energy few bands can sustain these days, but the kicker of Nouns is that they balance that sonic assault with engaging melodies and lyrics emerging from the noise, a feat very few bands even come close to achieving. Certainly, No Age wasn't the only noise punk band to make a splash this year (Times New Viking immediately comes to mind), but Nouns stands above the other albums in this sonic arena, being more engaging, exciting, and listenable. An impressive listen and one of the more cohesive statements in indie rock this year.

~ onecaseman

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Download: Brain Burner

TV On The Radio, Dear Science [4AD]

I've noticed that this album is topping a lot of year-end lists, usually with a line about "I didn't really like 'Cookie Mountain,' but, wow, 'Dear Science,' hooray!" And while I can totally understand this, as both albums are very, very good, I'm more of a "Cookie Mountain" guy myself. But I can see how someone would prefer the horn sections and love songs and varied production on display here. Or, to put it in another, entirely different way: I can't imagine somebody liking music and not liking "Dear Science."

~ playbynumbers

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Download: Golden Age

Lukid, Foma [Werk]

Like “Onandon,” Lukid’s newest release “Foma” is blurring the lines between hip-hop and electronic music. If it were possible, I’d go as far as calling “Foma” Lukid’s second debut as it contains a signature sound that is growing and staying consistent. A very, very welcome influence of afro-beat can be found within Lukid’s releases. I must say Lukid is a rising talent within this new beat generation of producers. While a lot of producers display a sound that similar to one another, Lukid is keeping it original and fresh.

~ gravelheadwrap

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Download: Slow Hand Slap

2562, Aerial [Tectonic]

One of the more interesting musical developments of the last couple years has been the expansion of dubstep from the standard 12" format to the album-length variants on the dubstep sound. 2562 fits right into the latter category. I'm not sure quite how to explain this album, except to say that it's closer to Pinch than Burial, and perhaps closer to IDM than dubstep. Very "clean," lots of drum sounds, and sometimes danceable!

~ playbynumbers

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Download: Basin Dub

Atlas Sound, Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel [Kranky]

Bradford Cox outworked us all in 2008. With two albums appearing on this list (one technically a double album) and hundreds of tracks released on his blog, he must always be in a state of musical motion. And this record must be what he produces during sleep hours with its dreamlike atmosphere and ambient rock sounds. His first official solo release, this is way more downtempo than Microcastle. Imagine the ambient moments of Cryptograms amplified slightly with vocals and you might get an idea. But there's really no footprint for the type of sound he's exploring here, and that's part of what makes this record so appealing. It's an entirely different sounding record from anything out there, even Cox's previous material with Deerhunter. The other part is that it's incredibly good music.

~ onecaseman

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Download: Recent Bedroom

Portishead, Third [Island]

With the return of My Bloody Valentine and Gun's n' Roses this year, Portishead stole the reunion show in my opinion with their stunning third record. Transforming the breakbeats of their defining mid 90s trip-hop sound into real instruments and electronic noise, Third represents what trip-hop would have sounded like after ten years of natural evolution and innovation had Portishead been leading the charge. Maybe it just took this long to take their sound to the next level, but whatever the reason, this is a quantum sonic leap that feels right and keeps Beth Gibbons haloed as one of the most interesing vocalists around.

~ onecaseman

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Download: Threads

Deerhunter, Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. [Kranky]

Bradford Cox, the primary songwriting force behind Deerhunter, has a rather mind-boggling prolificness and range---he's put out roughly 100 tracks this year, either as Atlas Sound or with Deerhunter, and they cover an astonishing amount of genres, from punk to ambient to pop to techno to rock, recalling everyone from Gas to The Breeders. With your average artist, this would be a recipe for disaster, or at least for dilettantism: but in this case, and especially on "Microcastle", which is the most rock/pop sound they've had yet, almost all of the tracks are really, really good. Packed with an equally intriguing second disc, you really can't ask for more.

~ playbynumbers

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Download: Never Stops

Flying Lotus, Los Angeles [Warp]

I first heard Flying Lotus on Andrew Meza's much acclaimed BTS Radio show three years ago. FlyLo's sound has transformed a culture and brought together like-minded individuals to elevate a worldwide movement and new era of beats. Flying Lotus is my artist of the year, his album "Los Angeles" is my album of the year. What draws me into an artist after their sound is thfeir willingness to work with others, whether perform live or create music together. While doing remixes for Martyn, Blank Blue, Reefer, King Midas Sound, The Long Lost and doing production for Jose James and Lil' Sci this year, FlyLo has brought together artists such as Hudson Mohawke, Kode9, The Gaslamp Killer, Ras G, and others all under one roof for the Brainfeeder live events. "Los Angeles" is an album that I've had on repeat since its release, but it might be more appropriate to say that Flying Lotus is an artist that I've had on repeat since I first heard him.

~ gravelheadwrap

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Download: RobertaFlack