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Our favourite albums of 2008
As I was looking through the 106 reviews contributed and written for this site throughout the year I started thinking to myself "daaaaaaaamn 2008 was a dope ass year for music". I mean, even though there wasn't a single release that rose above all as a clear standout there was still an absolute shitload of fantastic music released. The best thing about it all as well is the fact that a large amount of our musical highlights came from Australian artists.
With 2008 just about to die from an overdose of NYE bright-coloured jello shots it's time to collate our highlights of the past twelve months into something that resembles a 'best-of' list. It's the internet. It's kind of 'the law'.
So without further ado, here are the albums released in 2008 that made us thankful that we had been born with ears...
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A few months back I started thinking we had maybe overdone our initial praise of The Horse, The Rat and The Swan. Then I listened to the album again. Nothing else in 2008 was as frightening, haunting and mind-blowingly original. So we stick by our original lusting. This was by far our favourite local release of the year.
Although not without it's own flashes of brilliance, Snowman's self-titled debut sounds disjointed and undernourished when placed alongside the epic compositions that make up this album. Gone are the attempts to create anything that even remotely sounds like a radio-friendly package and in it's place is an album that is overflowing with real depth and substance. The giant leap forward - and the speed at which the band has transformed their approach, from this record to their previous work - is quite remarkable.
No Age found some melodies and even though they still buried them with their distinct thick layer of noise, crafted an unbelievably great, sloppy punk record.
There is still the occasional wandering artsy moments that littered Weirdo Rippers, but the band is clearly focused on putting their best foot forward. Their ability to create structure from noise, catchiness from feedback-driven chaos and emotion from dreary half-assed vocals is amazing and ultimately what makes Nouns such an addictive record.
Their career defined opus. I can't remember the last time such an anticipated release exceeded all expectations by so much.
Every track is a standout. Third is a perfect balance between sonic noise, electric and acoustic sounds. Portishead have accomplished what every band searches for: consistency in tone. The whole album just drips of atmosphere. Acoustic guitars replace synthesizers, drums echo in cavernous reverbs and Gibbons' vocals are never far from distortion or a slap delay.
From the sickening thrust of energy at the twenty eight second mark of the opening track, Before I Weigh, it's clear that this record is gonna kick ass, take names and then kick the shit out of the piece of paper on which it was written down the names. It's relentless and enjoyably punishing. It's dirty, perfectly under produced and topped with an unpredictable explosion of sound hidden behind every nook and cranny. This is beautiful messy stuff.
The album where everything came together just perfectly.
While on the surface The Drones' signature sound seems most comfortable lying naked in the dark woods, suffering under haunting tales of regret and self-pity, at other moments the music partners up with a drunken, confident swagger, beckoning challengers to try and be tougher than it. The way in which this two-headed beast wrestles it's way through the ten tracks of Havilah is not only the core factor that makes it such an enjoyable record, but also the key reason why The Drones are such an important Australian band.
An absolutely brutal and unbelievably engaging slab of music.
It's doubtful the band realise it, but this album is part of a much larger picture - an emerging, gutter dwelling sub-genre of Australian music where Dead China Doll find themselves as the Sydney representatives. Much like Witch Hats, Spider Vomit and Snowman, Dead China Doll paint a dark picture with scattered moments of brightness creating a fantastic antithesis of ideas and sounds. This isn't the smoothest journey, but it's definitely rewarding and worthy of your time. I can't imagine any other Sydney group releasing such an engrossing and unbelievably powerful record this year.
I wasn't really too big of a fan of Further before this album BUT they really nailed it this time around. Every song on Tactics is about 2 minutes shorter than it should be which means you are always longing for more of the previous track while the next one is kicking your ass.
At times it's garage rock at it's finest. At other times it's new age punk delivered with a thick dose of passion and emotion. Each song has it's place and purpose. For the most part that purpose is to rip you apart with it's sheer awesomeness.
The winner of our inaugural (and diamond encrusted) Person Of The Year award delivered an album that was a mature step forward yet still laced with his great comical style.
SPOD's unique ability to blend the many sides of his style - the sexy alter-ego, the tongue-in-cheek rapper and the cheesy poptronica maestro - into different formats is primarily what makes Superfrenz such an enjoyable listen. Whether it's the highly addictive chorus of Dead, the g-funk inspired instrumental brilliance of Blubberponies or the electronic party punk style of Nitefallz it all fits into the overall formula of the album without any of the songs sounding too much alike.
Krug and Boeckner go head to head for eight rounds before joining forces on the epic ten minute closer. Although not as amazing as their debut, At Mount Zoomer is a much more controlled and consistent single body of work.
I am absolutely certain that this is one of the better records I've heard in the last 3 years. Such is the calibre of the artists involved - the supporting cast contributing just as many intangibles as the two all-stars - that they can make a piece of music nothing short of masterful and still leave one wanting more. It's the little things that bring it down a notch: a little too much synth in the chorus of Language City; the all-together confusing first half of An Animal In Your Care. On the whole, however, this is an album any other band on the planet would sell they're souls to be able to make.
This album nicely filled the gaps between seeing this amazing band perform. Hopefully, the rumours of the band breaking up next year turn out to be false.
There isn't a single wasted note across the eight tracks and, although their distinct core sound has remained intact, the overall execution this time around is almost faultless.
This record is incredibly hard to summarise into words. Yesayer have a fantastic depth to their sound which throughout 2008 I pleasantly got lost in on a countless number of occasions.
Yeasayer's musical strength exists in their delicate fusion of obvious Middle Eastern influences and thick slabs of overpowering harmonies. The resulting sound is beautifully psychotic and completely engaging. The occasional dark edges to their sound, such as the haunting Wait For The Wintertime, which sees the trademark choir of voices morph into a more forceful presence, are contrasted by the lighter side, such as with 2080, which explodes with optimism and hope. For the most part this is how the album chooses to play, sticking it's head out into the warmth of the sunshine, but still happy to stay partly in the colder shadows.
Even after the 'what the fuck' initial reaction wore off I found myself repeatedly coming back to this album throughout the year.
The blank canvas approach that Fuck Buttons take to their music is enlightening and oozes creative freedom. This is one of the most refreshingly original and surprisingly engaging records to touch my ears this year. It's not the smoothest ride and not a journey that everyone will find rewarding, but if you enjoy confronting music with a sharper, chaotic edge then you will find Street Horrrsing a pleasurable trek and music certainly worthy of your time.
An amazing album from a local band who are criminally underrated.
None of these songs will knock you over with their aggressiveness, nor will they pull slowly at your heart strings until you are completely immersed in their world. The way in which they tip-toe between falling on either side of this fence is not only one of the most interesting areas of the album, but also provokes a great mixture of emotions from the listener.
While on occasions the group dive head first into instrumental pieces that could easily be used as soundtracks for funeral parades, they are at their best when vocalist Matt Blackman guides the music with his effortless delivery and endlessly quotable lyrics. The distant, occasionally pain-laced vocals are often brought forward as the sole light within the dark musical arrangements, while at other times settle themselves alongside the music, walking hand-in-hand through a more uptempo composition.
So there you have it - our faves for another year. In the can. Done. Of course, these are just our opinions so feel free to discuss, disagree and/or dissect in the comments or add your own list of musical highlights of the past year into this thread.
Articles
Our favourite Australian/New Zealand artists of 2008
Every year Sean A Reminder asks a bunch of music nerds, bloggers, DJ's and 'hip peeps' to compile a list of their favourite Australian and/or New Zealand artists for the year. The only rule is that they must be an 'active' artist or group (ie. not broken up). He then takes everyone's lists, mashes them together into a special machine powered by Canadian Club, lust and a single piece of Thom Yorke's hair to create The Super List.
The results of this year's poll are IN! You can view the full final list HERE.
Once again we had the honour of contributing to this great project AND (for once) it seems like some of our picks actually made the final top 28 list. We are all mainstream and cool now.
The list that we submitted:
1. Die! Die! Die!
Still the best LIVE band in the world. If you disagree I will wrestle you.
Here is a video of them performing the CLASSIC track Blue Skies in Melbourne. The footage was shot by the same guys behind the fantastic Super8 Diaries project.
AND if that didn't get you WET, here is a photo of the drummer doing a flip of his drum kit to conclude a show...
2. Snowman
The Horse, The Rat and The Swan will surely end up being at the top of our favourite albums of the year list when we get around to compiling it sometime in February. Snowman are an exciting, scary and undeniably brilliant group and on the new album they really took their sound to a whole new (dark) place which I never knew even existed.
3. Further
The most underrated Sydney band EVER! Tactics, released back in February, is their finest work to date and their live show blows me away every single time (no homo). It's criminal that these guys don't play more shows. Oh, and NO they haven't broken up. FACT!
4. Ohana
No other local act 'arrived' more in the oh eight. Well, in our world anyway. I am happy about Ohana's placement in my list for this year because for a while they have existed on the 'cusp', only missing out on cracking the top five because I felt they hadn't quite found the right mix of their math rock precision and their sharp punk edges. Dead Beat found the absolutely millimetre-perfect blend of these styles. They exceeded all of my expectations by about a billion percent.
Ohana - When Things Come Alive
5. The Drones
The Melbourne group really took it up a notch on their new album. Mature, raw, honest and unbelievably engaging. They have found the perfect balance between the dueling sides of their sound - the emotive pain soaked ballads and the raw, head-smashing insanity.
6. Witch Hats
Near perfect dirty swamp music. If you haven't wrapped your ears around Cellulite Soul yet then we highly recommend you sort that out PRONTO.
7. Talons
These young ruffians are getting better and better as they mature their sound and begin to drag their signature punk rock style into unfamiliar and slightly more experimental places. They are growing up with me. I think we will all end up in a nursing home together, talking about the good old days when they used to dedicate songs to my facial hair.
8. Dead China Doll
Their self-titled album is an intense piece of music BUT still pails in comparison to their live show. Ring leader Eddy is the sexiest AND most menacing AND most scary frontman in Sydney. He also has the best beard the world has ever laid eyes on. If beards were rap abilities we would be the love child of 1992 Nas and 2008 Lil Wayne.
9. The Mint Chicks
The New Zealand punksters had a fairly quiet year due to the fact they relocated to Portland and lost their drummer (to love). They did however 'leak' a couple of songs that will be on their new album. They are taking their sound to a new and exciting place and it sounds surprising, exciting, incredible and awesome. I wouldn't be at all suprised if they top this list at the end of next year.
10. Charge Group
Slow, melodic, emotional music has to be REALLY REALLY good to sucker me in. There is no middle ground. Charge Group's album won me over fairly quickly and even when revisiting it months later I found it to be just as powerful. The perfect accompaniment to a cold night indoors with your friend Mr Gin and his life partner Lady Tonic.
11. My Disco
Head-thumping. In a good way. Fuck it - when is head-thumping not good? I mean, my lady wakes me up almost every night at one in the morning and asks if I want a good head-thumping and no matter how tired I am from mining, pillaging and writing 'code' I am always up for it. I normally first put My Disco's new album on though. They are good at keeping time and my lady (as much as I lust her) is pretty hopeless at that. Sexual metronome.
12. Ghosts Of Television
The Sydney collective ripped me a new one with their new EP and then ripped me several new ones (and reopened the previously 'ripped' one) with their live show. They used to be kinda hit and miss when they performed but they have really sorted that shit out this year. The EP's closing track, Buzzrds, is THE fucking balls.
13. Dead Farmers
Record more. Play more shows in dirty warehouse spaces. Promise me you will play Violence at every show. Evolve into the best band ever already. Fuck.
14. Tucker B's
I only need to see the Tucker B's play once a year to keep my love for them. They are an old pair of socks - comfortable, warm and occasionally used as a 'cum pocket'. I mean... these guys are awesome and their new stuff is on par with everything they have served up in the past.
15. SPOD
The one man excitement machine released an incredibly tight new album this year and his live show is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on and/or without being 'coked up to the eyeballs'.
The video for Dead is pretty mindblowingly amazing.
16. Baseball
There is very little tempo change. It's on. I mean - it's ON! All the time. It sounds like Gladiators (with violins).
17. Naked On The Vague
Jangly off-off-off-centre pop that has been smothered with a dirty pillow and left for dead in a trash can in some seedy back alley.
18. The Nevada Strange
Exciting and fucking scary. I have only seen these guys once but hopefully they haven't been too damaged by the loss of some of some of their members (peeps from The Mercy Arms who have fucked off overseas) and I will get a chance to see them many more times in the not-too-distant future.
19. Violent Soho
These stoner Briscunts invented grunge (again) in 2008 and walked the thin line between homage and theft. Thankfully, it all worked out well.
20. Lindsey Low Hand
These guys are fun, disgusting, sloppy and scummy. Australian pub rock just got stabbed in the face with a smashed longneck bottle.
Lindsey Low Hand - Dull and Ordinary
21. Leader Cheetah
This is more of a future one. These guys will be the top of everyone's list next year. As soon as they (finally!) get their debut album out people will cream their jeans from coast to coast. It will be coast to coast jean creaming the likes of which the planet earth has never witnessed. So, in summary - Adelaide, ex-Pharaohs, jean creaming, Bloodlines, melodic as fuck, 2009.
22. Yes Nukes
The trio of misfits sound better and better every time I see them. Hurry up and move from 'yeah?' to 'fuck holy shit I will fly to Perth to see youse cunts play' please. Thanks.
23. Eddy Current Suppression Ring
ECSR have moved up in the Oz Rawk RanksTM in the last twelve months YET have still managed to keep their hard-working DIY ethos in tact. These guys seem to have no separation between their sound and their daily lives and this is what I think makes them such an incredibly engaging band.
24. Damnbuilders
One word - Snake Bite.
25. Atrocities
Seeing these guys live is either unbelievable or confusingly fucked. I think it depends a lot on how drunk and/or 'messed up' they are. Right now they exist in that funny middle ground where it feels like they might explode (or implode) or actually become an amazing band.
26. The Stabs
Raw and painfully good. Their guitar screeching skills are THE fucking balls.
27. Mercy Arms
They really surprised me with their (long overdue) debut album. Easily the trendiest band that made this list.
Mercy Arms - Down Here, So Long
28. Batrider
Much like The Mint Chicks these guys (or more accurately - girls) probably rank higher on my 'favourites of all time list' than on this list, but only because they also headed overseas this year to try and win some new fans and lovers. I only need to listen to Tara once every six months to remember how much I love this band.
29. The Grates
They really surprised me this year and their new album is A LOT better than I thought it would be. They have matured, not a lot BUT they have undeniably moved their sound forward. I think it helps that I don't listen to the radio anymore. Triple J almost murdered these guys for me before the new stuff came out.
30. Devastations
Dark and intense. Like my torrid love life (when I was 19).
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Feel free to drop your own top 10/20/30/100 in the comments.
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Gig Reviews
Snowman + Baseball @ Annandale Hotel - 17/07/2008 and 18/07/2008
A side-by-side comparison of two shows that I went to about four or five months ago.
