The Top Albums of 2008

2008 was a fun year full of a lot of After, a lot of late nights and going through a lot of records again we have officially picked our albums of the year. We will be updating this post with more lists from the rest of the staff and more comments on the albums over the coming

John Siwicki’s 2008 Top:
1. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
2. Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends
3. Foals - Antidotes
5. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
6. Crystal Stilts - Alight Of Night
7. School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
8. Why? - Alopecia
9.  Tv On The Radio - Dear Science
10. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
11. Hearts of Palm UK - For Life
12. Metaform - Standing On The shoulders of Giants
13. Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
14. M83 - Saturdays-Youths
15. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
16. Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
17. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors
18. She & Him, Volume 1
19. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
20. Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge

Souzan Michael Top 10 of 2008

1. Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
2. Wild Sweet Orange – We Have Cause To Be Uneasy
3. City and Colour – Bring Me Your Love
4. The Kooks – Konk
5. The Submarines – Honeysuckle Weeks
6. The Dears – Missiles
7. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
8. Los Campesinos! – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
9. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
10. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Mark Williams’ 2008 top 10:

1. Johnny Flynn - A Larum
2. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles
3. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
4. Beck - Modern Guilt
5. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
6. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
7. The Dears - Missiles
8. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig!
9. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
10. Santogold - Santogold

Viraj Mohindra’s top albums of 2008

1. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
2. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music
3. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – Cardinology
4. A Place To Bury Strangers – A Place to Bury Strangers
5. Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
6. Drever, McCusker & Woomble – Before the Ruin
7. Coldplay – Viva La Vida
8. The Corrections – Repeat After Me
9. Jihae – Elvis is Not Dead
10. South – You Are Here

Juliet Robertson’s top albums of 2008

1.Think Positive-The Hold Steady
2.Dig Lazarus Dig!! - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
3. Rockferry - Duffy
4. Independents Day CD
5. Santogold - Santogold
6. Seeing Double - Duncan Lloyd (Maximo Park)
7. And Winter Came - Enya
8. Off With Their Heads -Kaiser Chiefs
9. 100 Million Suns- Snow Patrol
10. Livin’ It - Mutlu

2009: The Picks

The list contains a few bands that have really caught my attention over the last few months with their singles. A lot of the acts will be releasing albums in the new year including a few of them in January. As December is usually a very quiet month why not start getting prepared for January?

Sky Larkin

The band will release their debut album in February after a few singles release over the last year or so. Sky Larkin sounds like Sleater Kinney with a little more edge and a little harder rip. You can get a sample of the band by watching their video for “Fossil, I” below.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

After, just hearing about this band this week. I have been hooked. A self-titled record is due out in February. The band have a great shoefazing sounds but still sound so fresh and modern and not just a MBV cover band. February can not come soon enought. I need more!

Comfortcomes.tv: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Everything With You

Polly Scattergood

Polly recently caught our attention with her new single “Nitrogen Pink” via Mute Records. The track was a delicious slice of epic and grandiose pop. Polly also showcases Polly’s massive and uquine voice. Her debut album will be something very special.

Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

Mississippi musician Dent May has signed to the Animal Collective-founded Paw Tracks imprint for the release of his full-length debut. The record, attributed to Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, is titled The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, and it comes out February 3.(from last.fm)

Den May and his Ukulele wowed us earlier this year with his video for the track “Oh Paris!” whcih, is a brilliant video and we will include it below. There is one thing you can say about Dent is that you don’t see many people rocking the ukulele lately. But, the man knows how to write a catchy soon. Watch out for the track “Howard”

Exlovers

Exlovers only formed at the start of 2008 but they have already release a solid EP and wonderful single this month. There blend of pop combined with their gorgeous boy/girl harmonies will make most people swoon over them. We only have a few song to work with but this band have a special album in them.

Grammatics

Leeds band Grammatics are finally going to release their debut album in the first part of the new year. It has been a long time coming.

Best of 2008: The Videos

It is that time of year again to start the last making and reflect on the year that was and the year that will be. This year we are going to start small. The first list in the end of the year bash will be the best videos of the year. I picked 10 of my favorites with links right to youtubes. Enjoy.

Bjork - Wanderlust

Tobacco - Street Trash

M83 - Graveyard Girl

Jamie Lidell - Another Day

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

WHY? - Song Of The Sad Assassin

Vivan Girls - Tell The World

Goldfrapp - Happiness

Justice - A Cross The Universe

An electronic/dance act performing live is always a tricky thing. Now, once you get that format down it is hard to really capture the moment on the record. It is a little different from a rock band as a lot of a seeing a dance act perform is a lot of the atmosphere and the situation. One of the best live albums I have ever heard was Underworld’s “Everything, Everything.” As anyone who has heard their debut album the band have the songs that will be able to get the people going crazy. “DANCE” “DVNO” and “Tthhee pparrty” in any setting will also get people fired up.

I have never seen Justice live so I can’t really compare the two experiences. It seems that the band live just use it as a live DJ set which, is still cool and nearly impossible to perform these songs live. There were a few songs that come over really well. “Stress” was the first one that really got my attention. The track is a bit frantic but you can hear the crowd during most of the song in the background and that makes you feel like you were in the mix there. Then we had the “We Are Your Friends (Reprise)” which, had a few chants of the “we are your friends” line by the crow before Justice throw down some nice and hard beats.

The live album is a solid effort. I found myself getting very much into this mix. The encore by the band was a great touch. “NY Excuse” is one the new classics that is very underrated in my eyes. I just have a feeling it does not do the band justice(that was unintentional) as you know being their at the gig could not be replicated. It is still better than nothing.

By John Siwicki

The Killers - Day & Age

I bought Sam’s Town in 2006 and thought it was a great album, with some fantastic tunes.

This one is very similar in tone,Brandon Flowers has a new clean-cut look and has lost a few pounds and he doesn’t look so sinister onstage as he used to. His voice is now rather similar to Beck.
This album sounds like the sequel to Sam’s Town. The songs, however,are not as memorable as those on the aforementioned album.

Oddly enough, Brandon Flowers states that this album’s concept is in fact a continuation of Sam’s Town.

Day And Age has smoother edges. I liked Spaceman,(chorus is a bit Kaiser Chiefs),and Neon Tiger and I Can’t Stay, but on the whole I thought that the tone of this album,although excellently produced, was somewhat jaded, it doesn’t have the attack of Sam’s Town and could almost be described as complacent.

Hardcore Killers fans will love it though.

by Juliet Robertson

Coldplay - Prospekt’s March

I’ve never been a huge Coldplay fan but I’ve never disliked the band either; I was always just indifferent about them. Sure, “Viva La Vida” and “A Rush of Blood to the Head” were great albums, but I never got truly excited about their music. That is, until I heard “Prospekt’s March.” The new EP, to be released on November 25th, is by far the band’s most experimental and exciting work. From the haunting title track to the Lost+ remix featuring Jay-Z, each of the eight tracks offers something new and exciting, and most importantly, nothing like fans have ever heard from Coldplay. In one word, “Prospekt’s March” is simply thrilling.

By Souzan Michael

Exclusive Download: Nursery of Naughtiness - The Connection

Bio: The Nursery of Naughtiness began as a merger of two producers Alastair Dawson and Gavin Whyte. The purpose in mind was to create a new and exciting dance act to create dance music with a razor sharp edge. These guys fuse elements of tough breaks, electronica and ambient to create a diverse sound reminiscent of the likes of The Prodigy and Aphex Twin.

Nursery of Naughtiness continue to push their music to new boundaries. Expect big beats, live guitars, synths, chunky helpings of bass and the odd chilled out moment just for good measure. Support so far has come from the likes of Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq and Annie Nightingale.

Keep your eyes peeled for N.o.N’s live show - consisting of Alastair on synths and laptop, Gavin on sample pads and Tony C as frontman / MC. They debuted at London’s SOUNDS club on Leicester Square earlier this year when they caught the eye of Chemical Brothers’ DJ, DJ Physical, who was so impressed he tracked down the guys via email and said: ‘I was grinning from ear to ear during your gig. It sounded brilliant. By far the best dance music I’ve heard for a long time’.

Nursery of Naughtiness release a new EP “Wreckless” out in December.To celebrate we have a rare track from the band as well as great remix of a Prodigy tune.

Mp3: Nursery of Naughtiness - The Connection

Bonus Mp3: The Prodigy - Android (Nursery of Naughtiness Remix)

For more info and music from the band vistNursey Of Naughtiness Myspace

Kyte

How is Leicestershire holding up these days?

Leicestershire is ok I think, near where I live theres a lot of stuff goin down about a proposed ‘eco’ town, but I won’t start going on about that now.

http://www.ecotownforleicestershire.coop/?gclid=CJDf3fSOz5YCFQrolAodmh1U3g
- as you can see, it will be a place where people and cows can live side by side.

Tell us a bit about the new EP “Two Stars, Two Sparks”?

We have written a lot of new songs since we released the mini album, we had loads even when that was released. So at the moment I think we’re going to continue to write, and then for the next album have a wide choice of what to put out. So in the meantime we wanted to release an EP of songs that we really love, and will be starting to play live.

What was it like to get your song “Boundaries” onto the show The Sopranos and to make it sweeter such a legendary show?

Tom is a massive fan of the sopranos so I think for him especially it was very surreal and magical. I’m holding out for six feet under or some kind of equivalent. But seriously that trailer came out of nowhere for us, I don’t think we could of asked for a cooler show to be associated with.

What can we expect from your upcoming tour?

We’re learning a few new songs, as well as new ways of adapting the old ones. We just try and keep things interesting, without getting too far away from the basis of the songs.

Any plans to tour the US in support of the record? They would love you over there

I don’t think there are any plans at the moment, we would love to get over the the U.S. We have a lot of U.S based fans on myspace, and they all ask us that question. I suppose its a question of getting a label, being able to afford to get over etc etc. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for next year, but its certainly something we’ve all expressed how much we’d love to do.

What is the rest of the year looking like for you?

This month (November) we’re doin a few shows with a band called British Expeditionary Force, which are so far going well. Then late November we’re doin another European tour in Germany/Belgium and Poland I think. We have a few select UK shows in December but I think we’ll spend a lot of time preparing some new songs for next year. Also Stepbrothers will be coming out on DVD which I’m very excited about. We are thinking of putting on a special Christmas show, because we have an amazing location, but we’re still looking into it.

By John Siwicki

Bjork - Dull Flame Of Desire

Dull Flame of Desire features Antony Hegarty. This single is out on 22nd of October. The video was made by the 3 runners up in the Innocence video competition. Each gets a third of the song to direct.

Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Los Campesinos! are a seven piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales that formed just two years ago at Cardiff University. The band’s name translates to “the farmers” or “the peasants” in Spanish. They released their debut album, titled “Hold On, Youngster…” in February 2008 and are set to release their sophomore album, “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” on October 27. The band is signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts, along with artists like Feist, The Stills, and Broken Social Scene. They got their big break opening for Broken Social Scene in August 2006, and since then they have continued to grow in popularity, particularly in the Canadian indie music scene.

Equipped with a sound that resembles indie veterans Rilo Kiley, combined with reggae-pop band Bedouin Soundclash, Los Campesinos! are sure to see enormous success with “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”. With upbeat music and clever lyrics, songs like “Ways to Make It through the Wall” and “Miserabilia” have great potential to cause quite a stir in the indie pop scene.

By Souzan Michael

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