2008: The Albums

For several personal reasons, 2008 is not a year that I will be looking back on with a great deal of fondness. There's been high points for sure, but the low points are ones that I hope I'll never need to experience again. On a much more superficial level however, there was a lot of good accomplished in double-oh-eight, and the world of interesting music cranked out a lot of good, while the world of popular music, once again, cranked out a lot of bad.

As per usual in the world of bloggers, snobs and elitists, a few bands were raved about ad nauseum. Some I agree with (Fleet Foxes), while others I simply do not (Vampire Weekend, Crystal Castles.) Overall though, I've really enjoyed this year of toonage and I've decided that I will try to control myself and keep my list to a top 10 (followed by a few honorable mentions.) So here goes, the Quadb Top 10 CD's of 2008. Enjoy.

1. Portishead - Third (Review)

Upon perusing through other best of lists, the comment has been made on more than one occasion that there was no real standout for 2008. I beg to differ. Although I'll admit that there are a lot of popular choices that I still have never gotten around to listening to, this third one by Portishead is the undisputable champion of the ones that I have heard. Surreal, original and passionately weird, there is no other album that has rotated upon my virtual turn table as often as this one has. (Myspace)

Video: Machine Gun on youtube

2. TV On The Radio - Dear Science (Review)

For a band to incorporate such a diverse amalgamation of styles, yet still remain hooky, said band would have to be very talented and focused. TV On The Radio are just that, and the fact that they do so with such consistency is what places them at my number two postition this year. (Myspace)

Video: Golden Age (live) on youtube

3. This Is Ivy League - This Is Ivy League (Review)

My vote for the "most hard to understand why this is so criminally underrated" pick of the year, goes to Brooklyn's This Is Ivy League's self titled full length debut. What can I say, I love catchy sugar coated pop music, and this album presents such in a very accomplished way. I honestly expected this one to be 2008's Peter Bjorn and John but I still haven't heard a heckuva lot of buzz on it. Curious... Highly recommended to people who like Belle and Sebastian or Kings of Convenience. (Myspace)

Download: London Bridges (EP Version) mp3

4. Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

Dev Hynes wears a big furry hat in the summertime and he likes to put comic book superheroes on his t-shirts. Never before has blatant dorkdom been so melodic and beautiful, and Falling Off.. is superbly so. I particularly appreciate the way certain songs scale epic heights while still managing to stay firmly rooted in accessibility. (Myspace)

Download: Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk mp3

5. Quest For Fire - Quest For Fire (Review)

It has been an especially good year for local releases and my favourite local one of the year goes to Quest For Fire's self titled release. They prove wholeheartedly that one does not need to be a stoner to appreciate stoner rock, and their progressive take on psychedelia was simply too enthralling for me to ignore. Their live show is a sight to behold as well. (Myspace)

Video: I've Been Trying To Leave on youtube

6. Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns

Following up one local band with another, Rural Alberta Advantage are one of those bands that I am positive are destined for greatness. Never before has a three piece sounded so full and complete that I think it would be near impossible not to succumb to their engaging folk rock ways. I was quite happy to see this one pop up on a few other best of lists as well. (Myspace)

Download: Don't Haunt This Place mp3

7. Deerhunter - Microcastle

While it's true that Bradford Cox has certainly cleaned up and streamlined his sound a little bit, I find it very hard to agree with those who feel that he has sacrificed any of his integrity on Microcastle. The man is simply doing what he wants to do, and this album is by no means a mediocre snag at commerciality. Rather, album number three is a perfect sonic melding of the worlds of ambience and punk rock, creating a soundscape that is wholly original and a blissful addition to the ever expanding Bradford Cox catalogue. (Myspace)

Download: Nothing Ever Happened mp3

8. Dodos - Vister

Despite my contrary nature, The Dodos are one of those mega hyped bands that I can totally get behind. Visiter is a rare and perfect blend of organic minimalism and high powered freneticism that can lead you to believe that the worlds of folk and bluegrass were always meant to lead into spastic psychedelic breakdown. (Myspace)

Video: Fools on youtube

9. The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band And The Spirits - Here

At this point I would like to state for the record, that I do not deliberately try to include local artists on my year end lists. While it's true that heavier exposure to these bands is going to be inevitable, I always try to keep the list nationally unbiased. That having been said, I am fully convinced that regardless of where you're from, if you like rock 'n roll, you will be impressed with the debut release from the band with the ridiculously long name. (Myspace)

Download: One Fine Morning mp3

UPDATE: Originally I had Dog Day's Night Group in the number 10 position but then I was quickly informed that the album was released way early in 2007. Fine. So this means my new number 10 is...

10. Born Ruffians: Red Yellow and Blue

It actually took me a little while for the brilliance of this album to eventually peek through, but once it did, I was addicted. It is catchy and fun, that's for sure, but there's also just enough weirdness taking place just below the surface that, if you listen carefully, you can catch something new with every listen. (Myspace)

Video: I Need A Life on youtube

And because I actually have no self control, here are 10 more honorable mentions:

Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Entire Cities - Deep River
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
Leerone - Imaginary Biographies
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
High Dials - Moon Country
Hey Rosetta - Into Your Lungs
The Disraelis - Demonstration

Other lists have already begun to surface, and there will undoubtedly be many more, but for starters:

Kirstiecat
Chromewaves
Butchslap
Cause = Time
Indie Music Filter
Herohill
Muruch
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends

NXNE Extra Series: Lightspeed Champion w/ Flowers Forever & The Explorers Club @ Lee's Palace

Chalk one up for the delightfully nerdy, because Devonte Hynes put on a highly entertaining show at Lee's Palace with his latest project, Lightspeed Champion. I'm only mildly familiar with his stuff, but I had read reviews and talked to friends about him, and I'll have to admit that my expectations were pretty high for the show. Thankfully, his performance was entirely up to par, as he played through a set of songs that I assume are mainly from his Falling Off The Lavender Bridge release. Besides the fact that his music is accessible and easy to listen to, he comes across as a very amicable guy. His between song banter was very genuine, making everyone in attendance feel at home. The songs of course were the highlight of his show, displaying a stripped down semi acoustic sound, complete with catchy verses and hooky chorus's. His inner geek was immediately apparent by the fact that The Incredible Hulk graces the cover of his t-shirts. Or at least it looks like someone who could be The Hulk. Follow that up with the fact that he donned a guitar with the Star Wars logo on it, and you're starting to get the idea that maybe he just don't care about the coolness factor. I'll have to admit that one of my favorite performances of the night was his blistering cover of the Darth Vader theme. Totally unexpected, totally random and totally awesome. I feel that this cover would have been an effective way to tame the savage Wampa Ice Creature from Hoth after he forcefully removed Young Luke Skywalker from his Taunton and dragged him to his lair, thereby preventing the need for medical droid 2-1B to apply bacta treatment to his wounds. Admit it, you know what I'm taking about.

Photos: Lightspeed Champion @ Lee's Palace on flickr.
Myspace: Lightspeed Champion

As far as opening acts go, I don't think it's possible for two acts to be more completely different. The first act of the night was South Carolina's The Explorers Club. I had been told that they sounded like The Beach Boys. I've always liked bands that sound like The Beach Boys. So I was looking forward to liking this band. And I did. And they sounded like The Beach Boys. Their harmonies were indefectible, concentrating mostly on notes in the higher octave. I'd be curious to know how these guys all met, because judging by appearances alone, they all seem to come from various walks of life. I don't think there's a Brian Wilson in the bunch, because lyrically they keep it simple, dwelling on topics like love and summer and summer and young love. But overall, this was a very fun, smile inducing show. I'll admit that when they closed with Johnny B. Goode, a part of me convulsed the way I generally do at weddings when a band plays it, but honestly, this was a pretty rockin' version of the song, with four guitars solo-ing together. (Is that an oxymoron?) This culminated with guitarist and vocalist James Faust doing a backfilp off of the ridiculously high Lee's Palace stage and actually landing on his feet (for a brief second before falling to his bum.) It don't get much funner than this!

Photos: The Explorers Club @ Lee's Palace on flickr.
Myspace: The Explorers Club

After the delightful sunny pop of The Explorers Club, Flowers Forever took a turn for the sinister and macabre. Three very scary glow in the dark giant heads graced the stage. This freaked me out. The band then requested that the lights be turned off so that they can create a cool effect with their green lighting and crazy strobe lights. For a guy who likes to take pictures with the world's worst point and shoot, this is not a good thing. They then proceeded to blast through a set of thrashy garage punk that I guess was supposed to sound demented and evil, but came across to me as simply sounding forced. The leader of the band is Derek Pressnall, the Oberst-esque guy from Tilly And The Wall. Looks like he's going out of his way to prove that this other project is not them. I'm thinking that he's probably right because I loveTilly And The Wall. To say that I don't know what to think about these guys would be putting it mildly. The ringing guitars sounded neat for a moment, but the blatant glamorizing of all things miserable for the purpose of convincing people that it's cool not to be happy just ain't for me. If you're genuinely not happy that's one thing, but I just wasn't buying this one.

Photos: Flowers Forever @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Flowers Forever

My NXNE 2008 experience is just beginning and we'll see how quickly I can get reviews and things posted, but I'm not as speedy as I once was. However, there are a lot of things that I'll be doing over the next few days, so check back often for more wacky NXNE madness!