Music 2008

In no particular order, the discs I enjoyed the most this year. Not all were released in ’08, but these are the ones that I spent the most time with:

• Anathallo/Canopy Glow: Fans of Sufjan Stevens will enjoy this record. Layered orchestral instruments, unusual song structures, girl/guy harmonies. I’ve been really taken by the percussion on this record. The lyrics, however, are pretty silly–thankfully, it’s pretty tough to make them out.
• Black Keys/Attack and Release: Another great blues-rock record from my city’s biggest band.
• Bon Iver/For Emma, Forever Ago: Maybe my favorite record this year. I caught these guys live at the Grog Shop in Cleveland and was very impressed. I love the layered vocals (except when they get too whiny), the acoustic experimenation, and pulse that runs through these songs.
• Horse Feathers/House With No Home: Folkier, but in the same general vein as Bon Iver.
• Kate Rusby/Girl Who Couldn’t Fly: I listened to this record a lot early in the year. Traditional English/Irish folk tunes, sung beautifully.
• French Kicks/Swimming: This is good indie rock.
• Anything by Low: I’ve been listening to this band for years, but somehow they got under my skin in a new way this year. Slowly creeping their way into my favorite bands of all-time.
• Ra Ra Riot/The Rhumb Line: Poppy, fun, strings.
• The Walkmen/You & Me: These guys aren’t for everyone, but they hit a sweet spot for me. They’ve bottled the beer-soaked reverb that spills out the open entrances of grimy dives on summer nights. Every song is drenched in it. Now that I read that over, it doesn’t sound pleasant. But I like it.
• The Long Winters/Putting the Days to Bed: At first, this disc didn’t grab me at all, but I threw it on my iPod and kept it there. Then, on a very long flight back from Germany, they were exactly what I needed to hear. Have enjoyed this record since.
• Shearwater/Palo Santo -and- Rook: Both these records are pretty good. I think I enjoy Palo Santo a bit more. Sometimes overwrought, but when they get it right, they really get it right.
• Dr. Dog/Fate: Left this one off of the list originally. This was a great record–really fun, and a few of the tracks are strong lyrically. If you’re not familiar with Dr. Dog, they’re throwback lo-fi, roughly in the same vein as M. Ward, though a bit more ramshackle. A lot of Beatles influences in their tracks.