1 Comment Written by Adrian Mancuso on December 31, 2008 – 2:17 pm

Another year, another useless list! 2008 was a great year; Bryne and Eno recorded their first album together in almost 25 years; local record labels such as Feral Media and Mistletone had some brilliant releases from Australia and abroad, and WMSG began making stuff good! In honour of such a rad year I’ve compiled my 10 favourite albums of 2008.

10. BORIS - Smile (Southern Lord vinyl version)

Not as diverse or impressive as Pink, the new album by BORIS suffered in its US CD mix by being too obvious. The vinyl version released by Southern Lord gave greater depth and meaning to the album, extending several tracks and highlighting the contrasts between moments of glam-metal and long sections of drone-shoegaze. Another great release from the most restless art-metal band around.

9. High Places - High Places

Described as the midpoint between Eno and Boredoms, High Place’s debut album is as low-key as it is excitable. Swaggering drums and reverb drenched vocals create an atmosphere that contrasts simple melodies with non-obvious arrangements. The sensitive use of technology and the unabashed love of natural sounds creates something both new and nostalgic, an inspirational album of experimental pop.

8. Pavement - Brighten The Corners : Nicene Creedence Edition

I’m sure it’s a faux pas to list a reissued album in a end of year list but just the other day I ate with my elbows on the table. I’m pretty much the biggest rebel ever. Anyway, the reason this album makes the list is because of the sheer quality of Matador’s Pavement reissues. Expanded from 12 to 44 fucking tracks, this release compiles an array of awesome b-sides, unreleased takes and some impressive covers which show off the flippantly diverse genius of Pavement.

7. Spiritualized - Songs in A & E

Less heroin-induced-freak-out and more psychedelic gospel rock, Songs in A & E lifts Jason Pierce’s songwriting above the opium haze of past Spiritualized albums. Whilst I sort of miss the distorted freakouts of old, the strained perfection to be found here more than makes up for it.

6. Fennesz - Black Sea

Combining the delicate layers of Cendre with the overwhelming beauty of Endless Summer, Fennesz’s new album is a masterpiece of electronic composition. Waves of gray static weave through mutated guitar lines as the songs build up and disintegrate like some sort of overused beach metaphor. Proof that ambiance can be engaging.

5. David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Regardless of the fact that Everything That Happens… lacks the angular afro-syncopation of Remain in Light or the technological advancement of My Life in The Bushes of Ghosts, it is still a magnificent pop album. In an age where 90% of contemporary western bands would list both the Talking Heads and Eno as key influences, the godfathers of modern music create an album of esoteric gospel pop with an inoffensive adult-contemporary leaning. In a perfect world, Byrne and Eno would be forced to collaborate at least once a year.

4. TV On The Radio - Dear Science

Adding harder elements of funk, hip-hop and afrobeat into the already awesome equation that is TVOTR Dear Science was a risky notion, but one that payed off. It is less immediate than Return to Cookie Mountain but is a much more rewarding album on the whole with each song sounding worlds apart from others yet still contributing to a cohesive whole. From start to finish the album remains interesting and varied, mixing the soulful with uncharted territories.

3. The Walkmen - You & Me

The Walkmen are one of the few indie-rawk-guitar bands that have the originality to have broken the indie-rawk-guitar mold. Rather than being a re-hash of their previously successful work, You & Me shows a greater degree of restraint yet still retains the distinctive nostalgic bombast that sets The Walkmen apart from other bands. If more indie groups treated their music with the same love as The Walkmen rather than being contrived retro-throwbacks and pandering to the ‘hip’ demographic then perhaps I’d be a nicer person.

2. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

The schizophrenically genre-defying Gang Gang Dance jam out one of the most amazing party mixes ever by mixing Boredoms style tribalism with Kate Bush vocals and New York artiness. The entire album as epic as it is natural; despite all of the shifts in tone and pace Saint Dymphna never feels artificial or forced. If Dymphna is the patron saint of the mentally ill then Gang Gang Dance are the patron saints of all that is fucking rad.

1. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

The greatest album of the year is a lyric-less monolith of disembodied howls, grainy synth tones and experimental percussion. One of the most ambitious debut albums in recent memory, Street Horrrsing is a triumph of intuition and inventiveness, a giant wall of noise that can stand against anything released by more established artists. It shows that not all new bands are just skinny jeans and big hair and proves that contemporary underground music need not be inaccessable.