2008-08: Tokyo Police Club, The Kooks, Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley, Aimee Mann, Fleet Foxes, Diskjokke, The Botticellis, The Morning Benders, The Rolling Stones, Ratatat, Coldplay, The Raconteurs, My Brightest Diamond, Metro Station, Johhny Flynn, Neil Halstead
Incredible Albums from this past spring and summer. If you have rhapsody, click HERE for the playlist!
Tokyo Police Club – Album: Elephant Shell
Noisy but not noise. Awesome hooks and melodies. Power pop rock doesn’t get better than this.
The Kooks – Album: Konk
These Englishmen trade in their acoustic guitars for electric blues riffs. Definitely one of the best albums of 2008.
Death Cab for Cutie – Album: Narrow Stairs
It’s not just the melodies that make this band great. It’s the songs and what they’re about. For example, take the song “You can do better than me.” Ben Gibbard taps into the subtle crises of aging with a sound that hits the spot.
Rilo Kiley – Album: Under the Black Light
A fine album with a diverse set of tunes, melodies, and sounds.
Aimee Mann – Album: @#%&*! Smilers
I can’t say I’ve listened intently to this album. It’s good, but not great. The reason I have to mention it is for the last song. That’s folk god Sean Hayes singing on “Ballantines!”
Fleet Foxes – Album: Fleet Foxes & Sun Giant EP
This might be the best album of the year. How to describe their sound? Pastoral bittersweet baroque folk pop. Absolutely incredible.
Diskjokke – Album: Staying In
Progressive techno with a vast array of subtle sounds. Somehow this guy melds the sounds of horses galloping into layered beats and it works. Genius.
The Botticellis – Album: Old Home Movies
They sound like the golden light of summer before twilight.
The Morning Benders – Album: Talking Through Tin Cans
These guys could be mistaken for the Kooks on their first album. They even toured with the Kooks. But they aren’t the Kooks. I’m looking forward to what they do next.
The Rolling Stones – Album: Sticky Fingers
Yeah! Awesome classic rock. Can’t you hear me knocking?
Ratatat – LP3
Don’t care too much for Dashboard Confessional. But… I have newfound respect for the guitarist from that band. He provides some great riffs on this incredibly layered techno album.
Coldplay – Album: Viva La Vida
Everyone loves to hate Coldplay. For some reason it’s human nature to hate something that everyone else seems to like. I think a large part of it has to do with overexposure. But that’s not their fault – that’s their stupid record label(which the Rolling Stones just left) trying to milk every dollar out of every note that comes out of them. This is my favorite band. They write great songs, they’re excellent musicians, and they stand for good causes. They are my generation’s U2. And this album delivers just like every other album that they have released.
The Raconteurs – Album: Consolers of the Lonely
The first half of the album – Incredible. The last half…. well, just listen to the first half.
My Brightest Diamond – Album: A Thousand Shark’s Teeth
Her voice is like a fairy tale. This album is great for falling asleep to – it’s as if she’s singing you haunting lullabies.
Metro Station – Album: Metro Station
What? Miley Cyrus’ brother is the guitarist? And I like this music? It’s pure power pop – you listen to one of the songs and watch out – it gets stuck in your head for days! Shake shake, shake shake sha shake it!
Johhny Flynn – Album: A Larum
He’s got that Irish folk sound but the songs aren’t overly repetitive or annoying.
Neil Halstead – Album: Oh! Mighty Engine
Ahh… soothing to the soul. If you are stressed just listen to this for a few minutes.
