2008 Albums Still On Heavy Rotation

Despite being so connected that I often feel like Neo when he wakes up in his Matrix-pod all submerged in pink goo and attached to a dozen different wires, many of my favorite albums from any given year don’t make their way into my iTunes playlist until the the year after they’re released.

It amazes me how much effort I still put into finding new music. I don’t necessarily spend as much time as back in… say… ‘06 or ‘07. But that’s partly because web technology keeps improving, and it’s now easier for me to track various sources that announce new releases. Just to name a few, I get a weekly email from Allmusic.com, I’ve got Pitchfork and Metacritic in Google Reader, and I listen to Last.fm almost as much as my MP3 collection.

So in the interest of not leaving out those who should have been included in the first place, here are ten albums from 2008 that came to me too late to make that year’s wrap-up. The point is, I’m still listening to these, and you should too!

Tobacco – Fucked Up Friends: As if Pennsylvania’s psychedelic indie rock group Black Moth Super Rainbow wasn’t already loopy enough. This is the first solo album by the band member who goes by Tobacco (they all use freaky weird names), and it seems that he’s a primary force behind BMSR’s sound. I didn’t really pick up on the hip hop influence, but that’s what gets mentioned the most when I read about the album online. I guess that would group this album with some of Bibio’s 2009 work — but to me this is a lot trippier… I mean alternate dimension trippy.

Pretty Lights – Filling Up The City Skies: Definitely the biggest success story of 2009 regarding self-promotion in music. Pretty Lights was a huge hit at Rothbury 2009, partly because they offered their first two albums for free on their website. (In fact, their third album and a NYE 2010 recording from the Vic in Chicago are also available for free. Make sure to donate if you enjoy them!) This two-disc album is part mash-up, part real percussion, giving it a sort of Avalanches feel. The pace picks up consistently as well, so what starts as a chill out session ends as a dance party!

Starkey – Ephemeral Exhibits: I found Starkey early in my dubstep exploration, and I’m glad I did. Not only is he American, but he tends to get overlooked in the more London-centric genre. There’s some really exciting wonky synth work here, and I speak from experience when I say it sounds better blasting through a very powerful stereo.

Zomby – Where Were U in ‘92?I was too young to experience jungle music in its original conception. My only memory of it is the related Detroit techno that edged into the mainstream radio culture. Now it seems like Zomby is the only one doing this kind of throwback, yet it doesn’t appear that he’ll stick with it for long. His two EPs were significantly different, one with a darker dubstep sound, the other with more video game-informed techno. Anyway this is a great way to surprise people when you’re choosing a party soundtrack.

School of Seven Bells – Alpinisms: Ghostly’s latest indie rock/electronic hybrid didn’t impress me all that much when I first heard their album. It kinda felt like they had missed the big shoegaze revival around ‘06 and ‘07. Yet there’s more here than just shoegaze, and they are a wholly original group. The dual female vocals pack a sizeable punch of harmonies, and Benjamin Curtis’s production work is mighty impressive. Then consider the title, which relates to the mountaineering concept (“take only what you need; leave nothing behind”), and you have a record to cherish.

Ciaran Byrne – Nine Lives Causeway: This is an Irish indie electronica artist whom my brother introduced me to a few months back. Very similar to Boards of Canada, Arovane, Tycho, or Milosh — and usually I hesistate to name-drop in artist descriptions, but so few artists are doing this kind of thing today. It kind of makes me thing of the ride inside the geodesic dome at Epcot Center in Orlando. Travel into space, into the future!–from the comfort of your couch.

Nite Jewel – Good Evening: At some point last year I finally caught on to the Italo disco thing. Chromatics provided the main impetus, with Glass Candy helping out as well. Nite Jewel is a solo artist from L.A., and this is her first album. I think I found her on the Rough Trade compilation from 2008. She can’t sing all that well, but that’s sort of the point with Italo disco. It’s got a carefree yet sexy feel that will appeal both to fans of indie pop and electronica.

Truckasauras – Tea Parties, Guns & Valor: Seattle’s Truckasauras make vibrant, unpredictable electronic dance music, yet provide no explanation for why their name ends in “as” instead of “us” (like dinosaur names). Another one of many electronic artists who are infusing the sounds of late-’80s video games into their music (along with Flying Lotus, Crystal Castles, and the abovementioned Zomby), these guys definitely do it well.

Shugo Tokumaru – EXIT: This eclectic Japanese artist wins a lot of comparisons to Sufjan Stevens, which is not to say that their music sounds all that much alike. Tokumaru is prone to using a variety of strange instruments (probably some kids instruments and toys), and while his arrangements can be jarring, his overall sound is soft and sweet. Except for the Japanese lyrics, he would fit quite well in Brooklyn’s quirky indie rock scene.

Max Parallel – Parallax Error Beheads You: Another wacky solo artist, Max Tundra is a Brit who does what he wants whether you like it or not. I saw him open for Junior Boys in early 2009 and he put on quite a show — almost outplaying the headliner, all by his lonesome. His voice recalls certain ’80s pop, but his music is spastic and, somehow, very representative of the randomness of the 2000s. Sadly he’ll probably never get the attention he deserves — or maybe just not until 2020.

Similar Posts:

• 2009 Honorable Mentions and Favorite EPs (January 21, 2010)
• My Favorite Music of 2009: The Top Ten Albums (December 6, 2009)
• Top 10 Albums of 2008 (December 2, 2008)
• The Long List: My 200 Favorite Albums (November 20, 2009)
• My 50 Favorite Albums of the Decade: 2000-2009 (November 18, 2009)

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Tags: 2009 wrap-up, albums