Overall, I feel like this past year offered up some great albums and singles. However, considering their past successes, I feel like '08's biggest artists decided to take it easy and only put in half the effort. Here's a review of my personal favorites of this past year:
Well, it would be utterly futile to try to only list one album as representative of this year's glorious releases, so I'll list my most played and respected albums.
Best Albums
Skeletal Lamping by of Montreal: On Oct. 28, 2008, of Montreal released Skeletal Lamping, their critically acclaimed ninth full-studio album. Hundreds of pop hooks and traditional dance rock beats fill the record, creating a frenetic Hissing Fauna-sounding follow-up. Skeletal Lamping definitely feels like front man Kevin Barnes' victory lap for last year's magnum opus, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? However, this is certainly not a bad thing. Skeletal Lamping's greatest departure is it's characteristically fractured sound. Barnes described the new album's sound in an interview with Pitchfork Media: "Musically, it is sort of all over the place, too. There really isn't necessarily a sense of continuity there. It's definitely funkier. It's maybe developing off of things like "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" and "Labyrinthian Pomp" from Hissing Fauna. It's kind of moving things in those directions. It's something that I find exciting, as it's not something that I've really worked with a lot in the past. It still holds some mystery for me. I really feel there is something I can use in that genre. It's fun for me too because it kind of- touching upon what we were talking about earlier- goes against the kind and gentle side of indie rock. Funk music is not like that at all. " In the end, Skeletal Lamping feels more like a soundtrack to Kevin Barnes' crazy theatrics when of Montreal performs live, rather than a completed album like Hissing Fauna. However, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Let this record rip, and prepare yourself for a beautiful, dirty barrage of sex, drugs and gender reassignment surgery.
The Stand Ins by Okkervil River: In the summer of 2007, Okkervil River released The Stage Names, their critically acclaimed fourth full-studio album. Mimetic nuances and somber allusions filled this rich-sounding album, creating a diverse and satisfying listening experience. Okkerrvil's followup album seems to be the second half of the best double-album that never was. As if to confirm this, If the cover art for The Stage Names is placed above that of The Stand Ins, a complete picture is formed. In June 2007, Singer songwriter Will Sheff discussed the concept and development of the album with Matthew Solarski : "For a while we had this idea that we were going to make a double album. I've always thought double albums were super pretentious and really terrible to do, but I have this thing with me where whenever I start railing against something being terrible and telling everyone I know that it's a bad and awful thing, sooner or later this perverse side of me starts getting drawn to whatever idea that I've been railing against. I'm like, 'Oh that's such a terrible thing, a terrible thing' and then it slowly turns into 'it's so terrible, but kind of in a good way'- and then- 'you have to do it.' So for a while there we were thinking about doing a double album, but in the end I think sanity prevailed."Yet, the listener can't help but recalling The Stand Ins' predecessor while listening to the album. This is certainly not detrimental to the album. The Stand Ins succeeds in its own right as a powerful self-reflective album detailing the dismantling of the singer songerwriter's pretensions, and his stuggles to keep the band from fragmenting. In the end, Okkervil River created another beautiful record worth many many listens. Enjoy.
Honorable Mentions
Me\0xF0 su\0xF0 i eyrum vi\0xF0 spilum endalaust by Sigur Ros: By creating a split album--with the first half filled with up-tempo and playful pop sounds, and the second half filled with traditional arresting, slow mournful songs--Sigur Ros took a risk by trying something completely new. It's definitely no Agaetis byrjun, but props to Sigur Ros for succeeding in growing and changing, rather than remaining comfortable with their established sound.
Saturdays = Youth by M83: By creating an album that rivals My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, this album cemented M83 as genre-defining shoegazing artists. Personally, the wistful lyrics and the Breakfast Club-esque album cover, enveloped me in a nostalgic reverie.
Alopecia by Why?: Alopecia wins my vote by painfully and honestly documenting the nebbish neurotic in us all. With lyrics like "I'm not a ladies man, I'm a landmine, filming my own fake death," Why? managed to blend two of my favorite songs from last year: "Girl in Port" by Okkervil River, and "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" by of Montreal.
Single of the Year
"Jigsaw Falling into Place" by Radiohead: This song manages to aptly chronicle a failed flirtation and a doomed relationship in the time it takes to brush one's teeth. Like the Beatles' "Happiness is Warm Gun" and Radiohead's "Paranoid Android," the song's three distinct parts feel like three-act play inching closer to a Shakespearean ending. Give this song a listen and "come on and let it out."
Music Video of the Year
"House of Cards" by Radiohead: Although I long dismissed the Grammy Awards as a useful indication of musical talent, they finally got something right when they nominated "House of Cards" for three Grammys: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Song and Best Short Form Music Video. There's no point in trying to describe this video--just watch it here.
Have a happy holidays and see you next year!
