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6D - Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
BEST ALBUMS OF 2008
2008 saw a wide range of artists score big with some of their best-ever efforts.
At the dawn of 2009, the Daily Music Staff took a look back with its picks for the best albums of the year.
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TV ON THE RADIO
Dear Science
TVon the Radio, buzz band no
more. With the release of Dear
Science, TVOTR has entered
into a rare and hard to define
realm within the music world -
part of a breed of bands that are
respected by all, challenged by
few and envied by their less-tal-
ented peers. Radiohead is in this
category; so was Pavement.
Dear Science is an album
with no unnecessary flourishes,
no out-of-place instrumenta-
tion and no moments that sound
even remotely close to contrived.
Every single note on the album
is essential, like each individual
brushstroke in a masterpiece
painting. From the claps on
"Dancing Choose" to the breezy
synth swells on "DLZ" to Tunde
Adebimpe's sweet falsetto "cry-
i-i-i-ing," TVOTR has crafted
2008's best album, a brilliant
work coming from a band in the
infancy of its career. It's stagger-
ing to even think what's to come.
JEFF SANFORD
FLEET FOXES
Fleet Foxes
The Fleet Foxes things-to-do list
for 2008 might look something like
this: release Sun Giant EP in Janu-
ary; tour relentlessly ina run-down
van through the spring, garnering
much hype for the June release of
the self-titled debut album along
the way; win over audiences and
critics nationwide with pastoral
harmonies and deceptively simple
folk-pop arrangements; get tapped
by Wilco to open for a leg of the
summer tour, circulating a spirited
live collaboration of Bob Dylan's
"I Shall Be Released" around the
Web to show for it; appear on every
late night program on network
television; wind up near the top of
nearly every year-end list known to
humanity; and somehow manage to
do all this in less than 12 months.
Fleet Foxes' quick rise to fame
outside ofthe Pitchforkinner circle
is as much a rags-to-riches story as
any, but the cult of the Foxes stems
largely from the group's ability to
turn any passerby into a believer.
Needless to say, the Foxes can now
afford to fix up their van.
MIKE KUNTZ
MGMT
Oracular Spectacular
From the haunting bubbles
on the intro of "Time to Pre-
tend" to the creepy children
counting down on "Kids,"
MGMT's debut was not to be
overlooked. It combines just
the right amounts of creepy
and cool to make for great elec-
tropop. Equally suited to the
club and to the car, Oracular
Spectacular is full of anthems
you can sing and dance to - so
pick your poison. Maybe that's
why the band broke its way into
so many hearts (and parties)
this year. Then again, maybe
it's just the energy-intensive
retro sound and incomprehen-
sible lyrics that make MGMT
so awkwardly lovable.
SARAH CHAVEY
Graceland, which apparently
influenced their record a little
too much. Ralph Lauren sweat-
ers and classic rock idolatry aside,
Vampire Weekend is a breathtak-
ing synthesis of Afro-pop and
indie-rock that will make the
most uptight hipster loosen up
from the arms-folded, at-atten-
tion position. When it comes to
Vampire Weekend, ignorance is
bliss. So, tune out the critics, put
onyour dancingshoes and bask in
the simple elegance provided by a
truly stunning debutalbum.
DAVID RIVA
PORTISH EAD
Third
After an 11-year hibernation,
former trip-hop trailblazer Por-
tishead has delivered something
much greater than a serviceable
"comeback album." Third is a rare
instance of a band truly redefining
itself. Portishead scraps its creepy/
sexy formula of yore for something
closer to creepy/ugly. As Beth Gib-
bons moans her trademark confes-
sional lyrics over jarringly glitchy
dreamscapes, the band achieves
such hauntingly voyeuristic pathos
that, at times, the album is almost
uncomfortable to listen to. For a
hint at the album's gutting abrasive-
ness, the lead single is aptly titled
"Machine Gun."With Third, Portis-
head has birthed what could easily
be the most innovative album of the
year. And while it may not be pretty,
it's anything but a misfire.
JOSH BAYER
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Vampire Weekend
2008's dubious "buzz-band"
award goes to none other than
(drum roll please) New York
prep-rockers Vampire Weekend.
These Columbia University grads
have been condemned for their
cleanliness in music and dress
(which apparently makes them
sonically and visually boring)
and have been accused of having
an obsession with Paul Simon's
BON IVER
For Emma, Forever Ago
Given three months alone in
a Wisconsin cabin, most would
whittle the hours away by read-
ing, drinking or maybe just bang-
ing their heads against the wall.
But songwriter Justin Vernon
had loftier goals: He spent his
time creating one of the best
albums of the year and one of
the best musical debuts in recent
memory. For Emma, Forever Ago
is a spare and ethereal alt-folk
affair guidedby Vernon's anemic
falsetto. Its deliberate pacing
and dynamic control make the
journey from the. plaintive chill
of "Flume" to the triumphant
thaw of "For Emma" a memo-
rable one.
JACK PORTER
refreshing in a year suffering
from a drought of good, old-fash-
ioned indie rawk (in other words,
it's good).
There's always going to be a
demand for well-crafted songs
with sticky melodies, and Deer-
hunter fills it here with confec-
tionary aplomb. Oh, and Bradford
Cox's wistfully milky tenor is
cause enough for a love letter.
JOSH BAYER
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STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
Real Emotional Trash
Inayearpackedwithcomplexand
multi-layered albums, Stephen Mal-
kmus and his backing Jicks seem-
ingly decided to just sit down and
record some really great jam-ses-
siony tracks. Songs like "Real Emo-
tional Trash" ramble on forever, but
they never feel too long. And Malk-
mus still has a talent for enveloping
listeners in quirky, meandering tales
("Hopscotch Willie") andcommand-
ing roars like Pavement on steroids
("Baltimore"). It's nothing too com-
plex and nothingtoo astounding, but
Real Emotional Trash is clearly one
of 2008's most pleasing, seemingly
simple albums, and it stands above a
whole lot of others.
MATT EMERY
DEERHUNTER
Microcastle
Whatever the "X Factor" is,
Deerhunter's got it.
On paper, Microcastle isn't
going anywhere indie music
hasn't been a billion times before.
Dreamy, delay pedal-smitten
opener? Check. Swirly My Bloody
Valentine tribute? Check. Lazy-
river guitar balladry that explodes
two-thirds of the way through
into a surging coda of crystal-
line noise? Check. But something
about Microcastle is supremely
Times New Viking
Rip It Off
With their densest serving
of lo-fi squalor yet, Times New
Viking proved just how listen-
able pure cacophony can be.
On the trio's third album, mel-
odies, guitar riffs and synth
licks bleed together into a
swollen mass of tape-bursting
sound. Still, the barely-distin-
guishable, co-ed vocal attack
of Beth Murphy and Adam
Elliott is so fun that the entire
affair is almost childish, but
the feedback burst it pierces
through is so abrasive it should
be x-rated. Completely disre-
specting basic audio conven-
tions, the distorted bubblegum
of Rip It Off relies entirely on
energy for its thrills. And that
energy is undepletable.
DAVID WATNICK
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