Best of 2008 (First Half)

So this whole blog thing began when I sent out an email to some friends briefly reviewing what I thought were some of the best albums from the first half of '08. My friend Zach responded with "Blog it up, dude." So thanks go out to Zach for planting the seed of this blog in my mind, not to mention sharing music with me ever since middle school. If you're interested in hearing some of these songs, contact me and I'll see what I can do...

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings And All

Falls Church native Thao and her catchy (in name and sound) band have given us one of the finest albums this year. The banjo and guitar combine to give a folksy/bluesy sound, but Thao and the GDSD shouldn't be pigeonholed into those categories. The music and singing are often whimsical and upbeat, but lyrically, Thao evokes imagery ranging from youthful summer days spent outside to failed relationships. With the later, she creates a dichotomy between sound and message.

Listen To: Beat (Health, Life and Fire)

Jaymay - Autumn Fallin'

I had the pleasure of seeing the tremendously talented Jaymay recently as she toured in support of her debut album. She writes lyrics that let you into her world, which seemingly consists of New York, music and, most of all, her tender feelings. Forlorn and personal, she achieves a rarity in lyricism in that she manages to write such personal and specific lyrics, but in a way that broaches the gap to something that all people can relate to. The music is never dense, at most consisting of strings, piano and drums, acoustic guitar or a few random instruments, but usually less.

Listen To: Gray or Blue

Why? - Alopecia

This is probably not an easy album for most people to digest, but for those who can appreciate music on an intellectual level, this is an amazing album. The production is solid throughout, mixing elements of pop, hip hop (mostly in the drums), electro, indie rock and folk. Some of the songs approach the verge of epic. Frontman Yoni's (mostly) spoken lyrics, although weird, are vivid and full of abstract imagery. They're easy to imagine coming from a spoken word poetry session. But he really knows how to incorporate his voice into the songs.

Listen To: A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

Nothing ground breaking for Atmosphere, but they make the list just on the strength of the album title. The production is diverse but, for the most part, strong. From the opener 'Like The Rest of Us' that's barely more than a piano, light snare beat and some background noises to the synth heaviness of 'Shoulda Know' and 'Can't Break,' beatmaker Ant provides some great sounds. Slug (worst rapper name ever?) touches on his typical themes of fame, drug use, and relationships with the same intellectualism and introspection that he has displayed on their previous releases.

Listen To: Puppets

The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

Add "...and Reverb" to this album title and it would tell you most of what you need to know... but not everything. It's hard to put this under anything other than the broad genre of 'indie rock,' a term that, unfortunately, seems to be more and more of a pejorative these days. The album has a totally cohesive sound, consisting of layered, dreamy distortion and the only major changes come in the forms of switches in tempo and singers. Distortion has received a lot of comparisions to The Jesus & Mary Chain's Psychocandy. Maybe not one of the years best, but its consistency and fun factor make it an honorable mention.

Listen to: Too Drunk To Dream

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

Made up of the lead singer from indie stalwarts Super Furry Animals and electro producer Boom Bip, these diverse forces combine to produce some of the best 80's revivalist music around. The wordless intro sounds like it was taken from the soundtrack of Tron. However, when the albums swings from dreamy pop/rock to a more modern electro-clash hip hop sound, it strays. This isn't an album you can throw on and play straight through, but when these guys find their stride the result is fun music.

Listen To: Raquel

The Roots - Rising Down

If The Roots have a new album out, you can bet they will make this list. With their 8 to 10th album (depending on how you count), the Legendary have been making albums for 15 years. Rising Down continues on the social themes of violence, inequity and politics that they explored on their previous release. While it does not make for the same music to chill to as some of their earlier releases, it's a breath of fresh air from most radio rap. But personally, I was hoping for a more dramatic change that would give us something more akin to 1999's 'Things Fall Apart.' The best explanation I've heard from the band on the negative themes explored is "We've been touring a lot and CNN is usually on in the hotel, so all the bad shit in the news found its way into our music." The lone standout from these types of songs is the closer to Rising Down....

Listen To: Rising Up (ft. DC native Wale and Chrisette Michelle)

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors

On a casual listen, the electro pop of Cut Copy may sound like techno music, but a deeper listen reveals well crafted songs containing more than the basic elements of the dance genre. Although, like techno, the songs flow into each other, there is clearly a more traditional song writing process behind them. 'In Ghost Colors' gives a nod to 80's bands in the same vein as the Cure without overtly stealing their sound. The music is clearly at the forefront of most songs here, and the lyrics taking a back seat. My sole complaint is that Cut Copy seem to take it all a bit too serious, when the music completely lends itself to having fun.

Listen To: Out There On The Ice

Vampire Weekend - Self Titled

Hands down, one of the best albums so far. They've been compared to Paul Simon during his Graceland phase, Peter Gabriel (whom they name drop on one song) and even the latter day Talking heads, as they incorporate elements of African rhythm. It's never overdone though, and it makes for the perfect album to throw on during a summer day spent outside. They were the subject of minor interweb controversy, as some critics found their sound disingenuous and overpraised for a group of Columbia University students, but who gives a shit? The music speaks for itself, and it is undeniably good.

Listen To: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Estelle – Shine

I'm not sure if the single 'American Boy' featuring Kanye has blown up yet, but it definitely has the potential to be ubiquitous this summer. It took a long time to just get past this song, but once I did, there was a whole album of songs just as good, if less dancy. Also featuring John Legend and Cee-lo (the singing half of Gnarls Barkley), Estelle really a great album here, combining elements of hip hop, r&b, pop and a few other spices. I'm sure she will face comparisons to Lauryn Hill, but she certainly stands out on her own here.

Listen To: Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)


Well thats all for now folkers, but hopefully I'll have lots more coming. The biggest challenge is finding the time to listen to all the wonderful (and crappy) music out there. But hey, better me than you, right? Happy long weekend!