10) The Nobility--The Mezzanine
First blogged about this Nashville group back in April, and I kept on listening to them. The title track was one of my favorite tunes of the year, but the rest of the album was plenty catchy, too.
9) Eliza Carthy--Dreams of Breathing Underwater
Carthy has apparently been around for a while, but this was my introduction to her crazy-good mixture of traditional folk with a splash of rock and also some other stuff that I can't pin down. Whatever it is, it's a great listen. Carthy has a strong voice without a trace of the whispiness that tends to characterize some British folk singers (ahem, Vashti Bunyan). The album starts out strong with "Follow the Dollar" and ends even stronger, with my favorite track, "Oranges and Seasalt", a song about terrible margaritas. If you only listen to one song from this album, listen to that one, but trust me when I say the whole thing is worth a try.
8) Michael Franti & Spearhead--All Rebel Rockers
So this is the aforementioned album that I haven't actually had for all that long, but that I really, really like. A humungous thanks to Nat at ...and sometimes why for introducing me to this artist. A little background, and a much overdo thanks to Nat. When she posted about her local folk festival, I was intrigued because I'd never heard of most of the bands she'd seen. Not only did she give me a detailed description on nearly ever set she watched, but she sent me a mix with music from all the artists (and an excellent bonus disc CD with several other Canadian artists). It was awesome. I'm still listening to them, and I'm still figuring out which groups to explore further (personal note to Nat: the Weakerthans are awesome, but their album wasn't 2008, so didn't make the list).
But I digress. I loved the Michael Franti song Nat put on my mix (see video for "Say Hey" below), and it turns out I really liked the whole album. Nat says they're awesome live, and I can believe it. ARR gives us a mix of funk, rock, soul and plenty of other good stuff. Some songs are political, some are simple, many will make you shake your booty (again, see video below).
7) Vampire Weekend--Vampire Weekend
I realize there's been some backlash with VW, but the album's still catchy as hell and definitely worth a spot on this list. Older posts can be found here and here.
6) Blind Pilot--3 Rounds and a Sound
How have I not posted on this album? That was an oversight. Consider it a pleasant surprise. This Portland group hit a sweet spot for me. There's nothing outrageously innovative here...some nice strings pop up throughout the songs, occasional horns, mixing seamlessly with some guitar plucking and minimal percussion. Pleasant vocals, good harmonies, incredible hooks. Hmmm...I'm probably not really selling these guys. All I know is I found myself playing this CD a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It was my comfort food for the year. Give "Oviedo" a listen below--it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, the song that initially got me hooked. If you like it, I can assure you the rest of the album is worth a listen.
5) Fleet Foxes--Fleet Foxes
Simply put, if you didn't put this album in your top ten of 2008, you are a crazy person and should go live in a crazy house. Full stop.
4) Try Me Bicycle-Voicings
Well, this is awkward. In finding the links to write his entry, I learned that this album was actually released in 2007. Oh well...screw it. I've already put way too much effort into this and I'm not going to rearrange my list now. I'm pretty sure this got a re-release in 2008, so we'll just count that. This a pretty album from beginning to end. That's really the best word for it. Pretty. The guitar and piano are perfect, Andy Naylor's vocals are comforting--the complete opposite of abrasive. I could sit down in a dark room with nothing but this album playing and a nice glass of red wine and I would very happy. OK, that sounds pretentious, but it's true. This is the perfect album for unwinding after a long day.
3) Jim White--Transnormal Skiperoo
Loved this album from the very first listen. The only reason it dropped a notch or two on my list is that the songs are so all over the place in terms of how they make me feel--from silly to sappy to very, very sad--that eventually it became exhausting to listen to the album from beginning to end all in one go. Still one of the more underrated albums of the year, in my opinion.
2) The Airborne Toxic Event--The Airborne Toxic Event
Every year, I seem to have at least a few guilty pleasures on my list. TATE should probably be this year's, but I refuse to feel guilty about the pleasure I get from listening to this album. Pitchfork gave this puppy a whopping 1.6. Wow. I'm not saying this band is highly original. And honestly, some of the lyrics might make Rick Springfield roll his eyes. But I'm sticking with my first impression: these songs are pure and simple rock and roll, and I can listen to this album over and over again.
1.) Thao and the Get Down Stay Down--We Brave Bee Stings and All
You can learn more about Thao, hear some of her music, and see a cool video in one of my older posts. It's like her song "Bag of Hammers" says, her music soothes me like a lick of ice cream. I fully realize this album won't be #1 on many lists, but it's the CD I listened to the most by far, so there you go. Listening to it made me happy, and usually that's what it all comes down to for me.
So that's it for 2008. For any regular readers (both of you!) who actually take an interest in my musical opinions, sorry it took me so long to get my act together this year. I'd planned on throwing up some favorite tracks in this post, but this has already taken me too long. Maybe a future post. But 2009 has already produced some good to excellent albums in a few short weeks, so it may be time to move on...
