Top 20 Albums of 2008

Once again this year we decided not to just tell you what we think are the best twenty albums of 2008, we decided to let the musicians of New Zealand decide. After a month of gathering lists from bands all over the country, we have come up with the final top twenty list. Each band was asked to provide their favourite five albums released in 2008, in order from 1 to 5. We received sixty lists and using a simple formula the votes were counted. Over the next week or so we will slowly reveal the top 20.

1

Thought Creature- Teleport Palace

Thought Creature absolutely blew away the competition this year. Teleport Palace received an overwhelming amount of votes and almost doubled the number of votes for Deerhunter. It took a long time for the Wellington trio to release their début record, but the resulting fuse of swamp rock and dance punk was just magical. I personally have no problem saying it is my favourite New Zealand album of the the past decade and Thought Creature’s live set is one of the most enjoyable around as well.

I reviewed Teleport Palace earlier in the year, here’s an exert- “Noisy from the outset, ‘Words Can’t Save You’ arrives unannounced, launching ahead with a thundering crash of instruments, before settling into a rhythm that sets the tone for the entire album. From ‘Kamakaze TV’ through to ‘Famous New Machine’, the album rides on a wave of bass driven dance beats, electrifying drums and sharp, finger snapping guitars. Rattray adds poetic but elegantly silly vocals to each track, complementing the in-betweens and working his voice as an instrument into each song. Despite the entire album being relatively flawless, two tracks standout from the rest. ‘Shake About’ displays the perfect balance between vocals and noise, Rattray’s vocals shedding a wavy mist over Danny Brady’s gritty bass. ‘One Day I Turned Into a Spider’, a track that’s destined for the dance-floor, and a favourite of Auckland indie dance-floor icon Stevie Kaye, has everything; a perfect bass line, quiet, attentive guitar and all the mystery of what it would be like if we all turned into spiders.”

Thought Creature- Shake About: MP3

Thought Creature- Myspace

 

2

Deerhunter- Microcastle

Leaked via an Internet fuck-up, Deerhunter’s third album Microcastle was heard by the the public six months before it’s intended release date. Controversial at first, due to the nature of the leak (via lead singer Bradford Cox’s computer) and the pleading from Cox that came afterwards, it resulted in Deerhunter becoming one of the most popular bands on the Internet.

Coming after the wonderful split 7″ Fluorescent Grey, split with Jay Reatard, and after two guitar heavy pop records, Microcastle signalled a new direction. Never intending to be ground breaking, Deerhunter reinvented their own sound while sticking close the pop formula that’s worked for many bands throughout the decades. On those grounds Pitchfork has already compared Deerhunter to Radiohead and other sources have compared them to Sonic Youth. In the end, Microcastle was voted here at number two because it’s an album that flows perfectly between each song and reaches out to true music purists looking for the perfect pop record.

Deerhunter- Agoraphobia: MP3

Deerhunter- Myspace

 

3

TV On The Radio- Dear Science

Boring album cover aside, TV On The Radio delivered the most anticipated album of the year to overall applause and the odd boo-hiss. There’s no denying that expectations were huge on Dear Science to live up to the band’s critically acclaimed record Return To Cookie Mountain and with no hesitation it did so. Produced/mixed by band member David Sitek and released on the high flying Interscope record label, TV On The Radio’s fourth album is as spectacular as their last.

Musically more accessible than Return To Cookie Mountain, the songs on Dear Science are instantly catchy. Sonic drum beats overlap layers of distorted samples and synths with perfect melodies spilling in all directions. Overlaid by the vocals of Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe, which burst open like a passionate fire, they settle beautifully as the centre point to each song.

TV On The Radio- Dancing Choose: MP3

TV On The Radio- Myspace

 

4

The Ruby Suns- Sea Lion

Influenced strongly by his travels throughout the world, Ryan McPhun, the brains behind The Ruby Suns has produced an unlikely hit with his indigenous inspired sophomore album Sea Lion. Since signing to the American Sub Pop label, The Ruby Suns have spent a splendid time travelling abroad, partying with bands and musicians McPhun has no problem admitting he’s a fan of. Pablo Diaz Reixa (El Guincho) and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) are now his personal friends.

In an interview with Tiny Mix Tapes, McPhun said- “Both Sea Lion and Lichen Ears were made between 2005 and 2007. One of the songs from the EP is directly inspired by Tom Ze. One of his albums — I don’t know the name of it, I got a burned copy from a friend — it was really amazing and inspirational. When I first heard about Animal Collective, it was right when Sung Tongs had come out. I got into the Animal collective acoustic-y stuff and Panda Bear’s second album and lots of other random bits of music from other places. Six of the songs were almost finished in 2005, the acoustic-y sounding ones.”

The Ruby Suns- Tane Mahuta: MP3

The Ruby Suns- Myspace

 

5

Crystal Castles- Crystal Castles

Fans of Crystal Castles early material had a hard time getting their head around this album, but for those who were introduced to the Canadian duo via this album swallowed it up. More restrained and hinged than their earlier recordings, Crystal Castles debut album was a hit across the board, hitting hipsters in the face and crossing into the mainstream through airtime on hit TV shows Skins and Gossip Girl.

Along with Pete Doherty, Alice Glass and Ethan Kath teased the tabloid music press all year long, becoming seen in some circles as rebellious electro punks and in other circles as celebrity wannabes. Love them or hate them, Crystal Castles bought attitude and upgraded themselves in 2008. Perhaps, along with MGMT, Crystal Castles also set the fashion trends this year; if you buy into that.

Crystal Castles- Crimewave: MP3

Crystal Castles- Myspace

 

6

No Age- Nouns

One of the most consistent bands in this years list. Nouns wasn’t many peoples favourite album, but it was in a lot of peoples top fives. The experimental noise rockers from Los Angeles, California have been very successful at turning people onto Nouns, treading perfectly down the path of abrasive lo-fi distortion, shoegaze style harmonies and edgy, punk guitar riffs. No Age is also the most successful band from the emerging ‘Smell’ scene in LA; a scene nurturing many young bands based around the All-Ages venue ‘The Smell’. The album has been critically acclaimed world-wide and has placed highly in many end of year album lists.

Sarah wrote about No Age back in June- “Dean Spunt and Randy Randall are just really talented hardcore/experimental mainstays who make ferociously delicate, visceral, electrifyingly catastrophic yet restrained/unrestrained brilliance. They’re one of the most exciting bands I’ve heard in a long time. I know I say that lots but I mean it. Plus Bradford Cox and Colin Greenwood agree with me.”

No Age- Teen Creeps: MP3

No Age- Myspace

 

7

Foals- Antidotes

I have to admit, I hadn’t heard anyone talk about Foals before I started compiling this list and therefore I hadn’t ever listened to them. But wow, after listening to Foals I completely understand peoples obsession. Blending the forgotten angular guitar parts of Bloc Party with the dance beats of The Rapture, then rounded perfectly with their own creative touch, Antidotes is rightfully seen as one of the best British releases of 2008.

Signed to Sub Pop Records; famous for releasing stellar albums and breaking bands into the mainstream pop market, Foals join a list of highly successful pop artists already at the label. Antidote was recorded in Brooklyn with TV on the Radio’s David Sitek, who now has several recognisable producing credits including albums with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars.

Foals- Olympic Airways: MP3

Foals- Myspace

 

8

El Guincho- Alegranza

Delivering an album with Spanish flair, that consisted of samples, loops and all sorts of crazy instrumental parts was just what 2008 needed. Pablo Díaz-Reixa aka El Guincho, the musical wizard from the Canary Islands, bought spice to the music world with his début record Alegranza. I recently heard him play live on KEXP radio and was very surprised by how impressive it sounded. Hopefully rumours of him visiting New Zealand sometime next year will come true.

Sarah reviewed Alegranza earlier this year- “El Guincho’s old school background has him weaving Afrobeat, dub, Tropicália and indie tendencies into what he calls “space-age exotica”. With these whimsical futuristic tendencies in tow he has gently swept himself skyward, just as his technicolour hexagons have, to his current fame.”

El Guincho- Antillas: MP3

El Guincho- Myspace

 

9

Bastard Sons Of Grey Power- We Fought The Great White Whale

Now known as the Sharpie Crows, this is a major achievement and one I’m absolutely delighted with. Over the course of the year I have watched Sharpie Crows go from relatively unknowns to one of the most talked about New Zealand bands. On the strength of their chaotic live show and their wonderful début record We Fought The Great White Whale the band has grabbed peoples attention and remained firmly on their minds. Combining edgy, screechy guitar sounds, one of the hardest hitting rhythm sections in the country and highly motivated, philosophical vocals, Sharpie Crows have proved their worth as a noise band of true international quality.

I (Nick) previewed the album earlier in the year: “There are a few songs on We Fought the Great White Whale that have really hit a chord with me. Hearing someone insulting Rupert Murdoch so passionately is so inspiring, “Rupert Murdoch, fuck off”. I’m not really sure what ‘Fiji Ginger’ is about (maybe I should ask Sam), but I can’t help but listen for the reference to Frank Bainimarama.”

Sharpie Crows- Nazi Womb: MP3

Sharpie Crows- Myspace

 

10

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

EMJ reckons this album could have done a lot better if it hadn’t been for the mainstream radio and TV thrashing it received upon New Zealand’s awakening to the kings of psych, thus killing the buzz for all of us. But then without this acknowledgment, they’d remain more like unsung heroes, and the world has enough of them. So without further ado, EMJ presents our number 10 album. It’s a psychedelic freak out littered with synths and ’60s glam vocals lamenting modern life. They’ve been praised as outsiders, but they’re really very normal, and they attested to that when I interviewed them earlier in the year. I’d waited three months to talk to Ben Goldwasser (pictured left), after first writing about them on EMJ way back in February when they were nowhere on New Zealand’s radar.

In my (Sarah’s) interview with Ben, he said – “We don’t like to call ourselves psychedelic music, I feel like it’s kinda limiting in a way, like as if we were trying to be associated with more of a revival thing, rather than moving forward. And we’re not trying to be like a revival thing or look back, we wanna play future music… but I guess most of our influences are psychedelic in some way.” Don’t expect a follow-up to their incredible, ethereal, experimental debut any time soon, unfortunately; Ben says they’re “incredibly lazy in terms of writing new material”. Though they’ve been commandeered by a major label, so anything could happen. He says, “I think the mystique kind of happens on its own, we contradict ourselves all the time, we’ll say things then deny them later, or generally present ourselves in abstracted ways, cos we don’t actually know what’s going on.”

MGMT – Time to Pretend: MP3

MGMT – Myspace

 

11

Dodos- Visiter

They’ve been heavily compared to Yeasayer and Fleet Foxes, but Dodos have come out on top in the end of year album list. Blending psychedelic anti-folk with simple indie pop, Dodos deserve the comparisons to the two previously mentioned bands. Jogging along at a leisurely pace, the songs on Visiter are perfect for summer. The album may have come out in New Zealand’s winter, but I’m sure this album will be played well into late March ’08.

Sarah reviewed Visiter earlier in the year- “The duo has surely earned its stripes with standout hits Fools and Red And Purple shuffling up the charts with their trundling rhythms so likened to birds of that nature.”

Dodos- Red and Purple: MP3

Dodos- Myspace

 

12

M83- Saturdays = Youth

France saw success on the mainstream international music arena with two bands this year; The Teenagers and M83. Both relying heavily on synthesizers, The Teenagers had the image and novelty while M83 had the songs and creativity to impress the more pure at heart music fans.

Their track ‘Kim and Jessie’ was a huge hit and catapulted them into the homes of many via tonnes of radio air-time. Sounding like they’d falling straight out of 1990, M83′s syth explosion bought back memories of Air and New Order, while relying heavily on French chic. Hitting it’s peak around the same time as the Tiger Tones, mid 2008 was coated in fantasy pop.

M83- Too Late: MP3

M83- Myspace

 

13

Portishead- Third

In 1994 when Portishead released their debut album Dummy, it became one of the biggest records of the decade and would have undoubtedly been at the top of the years best album releases. Fourteen years later in 2008, Portishead returned to dish out their Third album. To be honest I was very surprised when I saw it had made this list, but when I think about it, what other record sounds like Third?

Portishead has been credited for popularising Trip-Hop and this album, a comeback of sorts, proves that people still view Portishead as the genre bending force they once were. Third is not just about satisfying fans with something new, the album expands on their earlier records, taking a new path and again reinventing the genre. That is why this album won fans and got votes.

Portishead- Machine Gun: MP3

Portishead- Myspace

 

14

Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes feel like winter, their ruffled acoustic guitars and densely layered soundscape is cold and blissful. They remind me of Christmas carols; soft harmonies, enchanted melodies and lyrics about birds and mountains. At times building beautiful pop songs and at times sounding like a church choir, Fleet Foxes music is powerful and emotional.

The band will be bringing their music to New Zealand in early January, playing two shows (Wellington and Auckland). Tickets can be bought from Ticketmaster and Real Groovy for $55.

Fleet Foxes- He Doesn’t Know Why: MP3

Fleet Foxes- Myspace

 

15

Yeasayer- All Hour Cymbals

New York’s Yeasayer were probably the most successful band to experiment with blending African and Middle Eastern rhythms into contemporary pop music. You could say they run in the same pack as MGMT or Evangelicals, but they’re less simplistic than that. Their songs all sound liberating and exciting and they’re more delicately layered than other psychedelic bands of late. Incorporating hand chimes, gospel chants (care of the Mystic Gaeltacht Singers), echoing sitars and billowing synths, their songs are pretty weird, but they tend to work.

A review I (Sarah) did earlier this year said – “Opening track ‘Sunrise’ delivers all the promise of liberating psychedelic Eastern European music (from Brooklyn!), and ‘Forgiveness’ sees them starting a weird World party right in the midst of all the too-cool-for-school Modernists.”

Yeasayer – Sunrise: MP3

Yeasayer – Myspace

 

16

Metronomy- Nights Out

I remember having to play Metronomy’s ‘Heartbreaker’ during our radio show because it was on the bFM playlist, at the time we weren’t to happy about it but now we would gladly play it. They are one of those bands that grow on you over time. Their bass riffs slowly draw you in and after a few listens you begin to realise that Metronomy are making you dance. There’s not many British bands in the list this year and Metronomy’s Nights Out proves they are one of the most exciting bands in Britain.

Sarah interviewed Metronomy’s Joseph Mount, he had this to say about the album: “The songs that have always stood out to me and the ones that I really fall in love with are the ones which come from that pain kind of place, like I think a lot of what I do is just try and make songs that are as good as the ones that I really like”.

Metronomy- Heartbreaker: MP3

Metronomy- Myspace

 

17

Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago

Jim Rush (Galesburg promotion) told me earlier in the year that Bon Iver is going to be huge, I scoffed and wrote back something like, “I don’t know mate, I haven’t heard of him”. Well, I eat my words; it seems that Bon Iver has indeed become huge. Even still, it wasn’t until today that I finally listened to some tracks from Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago.

I can now understand why people like Jim and the people that voted for Bon Iver like him so much. His contemporary indie folk is at the top of the class, floating beautifully on a sea of acoustic guitar and orchestral arrangements. His voice reminds me of a sweet, crooning Kip Malone with a harmony that fits perfectly into every song.

Bon Iver- For Emma: MP3

Bon Iver- Myspace

 

18

Beach House- Devotion

We interviewed Beach House earlier in the year while they were ordering Chinese takeaways somewhere in Baltimore. The band’s second album Devotion can only be described as an idilic paradise, Victoria Legrand’s softly spoken vocals, reminiscent of Nico, are spellbinding and together with the evanescently shy Alex Scally they create a wall of beautiful pop music.

Victoria Legrand talks about Devotion; “Devotion is like a long moment… it’s really intense. It was an intense process, it was an intense year, and there were good things and we’re now just realising that we changed in that time, but it took a while to begin. I think that there’s a lot of memory, and intensity… but it’s like a euphoric intensity. It comes out; it doesn’t stay inside. It comes out more; it’s more present. It’s not running away from you, it’s there, it’s very thick. You can feel it, I think.”

Beach House- Heart of Chambers: MP3

Beach House- Myspace

19

Tiger Tones- Tiger Tones

Their track ’17′ is one of my favourite singles of the year and it did very well on the bNet radio charts, as did a number of other singles from this album. Heavy on the 80′s disco synths and angular guitar sounds, the album’s stripped back club vibe sees it as one of the most successful albums out of Christchurch, New Zealand over the past decade.

Guitarist James Grant talks about the album: “We recorded it all ourselves in our singer Mark’s lounge, just onto his laptop. Frase from Frase+Bri helped us out with a couple of tracks and there was one track that we did in a studio. We knew this guy and he teaches an audio course, and he said ‘come in and I’ll record you guys and do a track for free’, so we did that.”

Tiger Tones- 17: MP3

Tiger Tones- Myspace

20

My Disco- Paradise

The second full-length album from Melbourne’s My Disco came hot on the heels of their stunning debut Cancer. While many expected Paradise to fizzle out, after the short but abrasive tone of Cancer, it did not. Instead My Disco channelled their sound down a different path, building a bridge between their minimalist math rock with a wreckage of distorted noise.

EMJ (Sarah) reviewing Paradise in April, 2008: “layered and elaborate in attack, it is ice-cold and punchy to the core, with guitars threatening to sear through your ears. Fortunately this LP is just short enough to leave you wanting more, as I have read remarks of this abbrasive sound wearing thin on some people. But those people can’t handle the truth!”

My Disco- Myspace

A big thanks to the following bands/ musicians who voted: Flick, Collapsing Cities, Lydia Cole, Milo Hoffman, Prince Diana, The Ribbon, The Bemsha Swing, Brand New Math, Sharpie Crows, Tiger Tones, Little Pictures, Holiday With Friends, Batman Tiddabades, Heat Like Me, The Débutantes, Doteyes, Honeys Dead, Fox In French, Yule, Libra Accord, Moron Says What?!?!, Thought Creature, The Hungry Caterpillar, Bang! Bang! Eche!, Mean Street, God Bows To Math, Luke Buda, Snowfield, Dyke! Dyke! Dyke!, Over The Atlantic, Knives At Noon, The Hungry Eyes, Red Steers, Frayden, Mr Sterile Assembly, Seno Vs Frank, Sam Flynn Scott, Alex The Kid, The Sing Songs, Urbantramper, Sherpa, Boyfriend, Raggamuffin Children, Trees Climbing Trees, The Ruby Suns, Bear Cat, Cherry’s Gemstones, The Gladeyes, Bond Street Bridge, Kittentank, Malenky Robot, Secret Knives, The Disentors and So So Modern

Posted by Nick Fulton under New Zealand
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