Best of 2008 - Album of the Year

At long last, here is The Sky Report's favorite 50 albums of 2008. Sorry this is so late, but the holidays really swept me up. Better late than never!

In general, I felt 2008 was not the strongest year for solid, original albums. But after much agony, I've mustered up the Top 50. And if you wonder how acts like MGMT and The Raveonettes didn’t make the list, see the Best of 2007. Bands like Coldplay, The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, Death Cab For Cutie, and Vampire Weekend really overshot my radar and I really can’t stand hearing them anymore, so while their albums may have been worthy, I didn’t care to investigate them very closely. And can I just get this off my chest? Fuck Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Oasis and AC/DC. I just don’t care anymore. Sorry if that sounds negative - I'm actually in a great mood lately.

On the contrary, I was pleasantly surprised by the resurrections of The B-52’s and Grace Jones. Their return albums were both admirable and I found myself giving them many repeat listens.

Top 50 Albums of 2008

50. GRACE JONES - Hurricane
49. BLUE SKY BLACK DEATH - Slow Burning Lights
48. FUJIYA & MIYAGI - Lightbulbs
47. RATATAT - LP3
46. THE DUKE SPIRIT - Neptune
45. BLACK MOUNTAIN - In the Future
44. SIGUR ROS - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
43. GANG GANG DANCE - Saint Dymphna
42. DIPLO & SANTOGOLD - Top Ranking
41. PONYTAIL- Ice Cream Spiritual

40. CRYSTAL CASTLES - s/t
39. HIGH PLACES - s/t
38. OF MONTREAL - Skeletal Lamping
37. CUT COPY - In Ghost Colours
36. HEADLIGHTS - Some Racing, Some Stopping
35. VIVIAN GIRLS - s/t
34. RA RA RIOT - The Rhumb Diary
33. QUIET VILLAGE - Silent Movie
32. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
31. CRYSTAL STILTS - Alight of Night

30. DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO - Everything That Happens...
29. MENAHAN STREET BAND - Make the Road By Walking
28. GROUPER - Dragging A Dead Deer Up a Hill
27. THE DODOS - Visiter
26. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS - Distortion
25. LYKKE LI - Youth Novels
24. LOVE IS ALL - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
23. THE B-52'S - Funplex
22. LITTLE JOY - s/t
21. HOT CHIP - Made in the Dark

20. DJ/RUPTURE - Uproot
19. NO AGE - Nouns
18. THE DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES - In Ear Park
17. WHITE DENIM - Workout Holiday
16. GOLDFRAPP - Seventh Tree
15. FLEET FOXES - s/t
14. BEACH HOUSE - Devotion
13. ERYKAH BADU - New Amerykah Part One (4th world War)
12. GIRL TALK - Feed the Animals
11. HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR - s/t

10. EL GUINCHO - Alegranza!


9. TOBACCO - Fucked Up Friends


8. FUCK BUTTONS - Street Horrrsing


7. LIL WAYNE - Tha Carter III


6. THEE OH SEES - The Master's Bedroom...


5. DEERHUNTER - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.


4. PORTISHEAD - Third


3. TV ON THE RADIO - Dear Science


2. ATLAS SOUND - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel


1. SANTOGOLD - self-titled

PORTISHEAD - 'Magic Doors'

Another trippy new video from Portishead, who in my book get Comeback of the Year. "Magic Doors" is the 3rd single and video taken from the album Third, one of my favorite LP's of 2008.

BEACH HOUSE - "Used to Be"

Last month, Beach House released a one-off 7" of the track "Used to Be", backed with an early 4-track recording of "Apple Orchard". Now the single has a video to accompany it, shot in the desert outside Los Angeles and directed by Matt Amato. "Used to Be" follows up the Devotion LP, which was released last February and still remains one of my favorite albums of the year.

Beach House have announced a number of west coast dates with The Walkmen in January and will play some east coast dates of their own in December.

Dec. 06 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
Dec. 09 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Dec. 10 Providence, RI Club Hell #
Dec. 11 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall #
Dec. 12 Boston, MA Museum of Fine Arts #
Jan. 19 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern*
Jan. 20 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda*
Jan. 21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
Jan. 23 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom*
Jan. 24 Seattle, WA Neumos*

* = w/ The Walkmen
# = w/ Tickley Feather

Review EL GUINCHO - Alegranza! 91%

El Guincho is the one-man project of Spanish musician Pablo Díaz-Reixa, a man deeply ensconced in a variety of influences ranging from sun-splashed 60’s harmonies and Afrobeat to Tropicália, dub, exotica and Bhangra, just to name a few. What’s fascinating about Alegranza! though, is how these varying influences are shaken and stirred into a drink of its own unique flavor.

The album kicks off perfectly with the celebratory island anthem “Palmitos Park”. A refreshing burst of tropical delight, the track utilizes a very Martin Denny-esque sample of “oohs” to great effect, creating the most inviting prelude in recent memory. The jubilant “Antillas” quickly follows, keeping the tempo up high in order to reel you in for the far more interesting core of the album; one that many critics have compared to last year’s brilliant Person Pitch LP by Panda Bear. And the similarities indeed exist, particularly the dramatic use of repetition throughout.

Alegranza! is a wildly colorful collage of sample loops, tribal chants, and tropical percussion that plays out like a mind-jangling dream that, at times, numbs the brain into a whimsical trance, but in fleeting moments successfully harnesses a sense of profoundness. The nine-track, 40-minute album is hugely infectious, which is impressive considering how truly bizarre it is. The disc slips further and further into a carnival of sounds and sonic chaos, but somehow remains utterly rhythmic and gorgeous.

On “Kalise”, a steel drum loop queues off a deep tribal beat and an array of repetitious Spanish chants, which ultimately builds up into a constellation of infectious grooves. “Buenos Matrimonios Ahi Fuera” begins with children chanting an innocent lament before sidling up to a jangly mix of percussion. A couple minutes in, the track seamlessly diverts into a strange, but hypnotizing sort of downtempo dub jam. And on tracks like “Costa Paraiso” and “Prez Legarto” the heart of this circus comes a little closer, as Díaz-Reixa reveals a voice that excels in live-looping, a contribution that could easily be overlooked in the barrage of sounds that are at work here.

In all its colorful beauty, Alegranza! is El Guincho’s unmistakable love letter to his birth-land of the Canary Islands. In fact, the title literally refers to a location in the Spanish territory. Though now based in Barcelona, Díaz-Reixa is clearly a romantic for the beautiful locale of his youth, as this is the explosive expression of one man’s unique upbringing in “paradise”.
-Scot Bowman

Originally published at kevchino.com.

DEERHUNTER's Microcastle/Weird Era Continued Finally Hits Shelves

One of the finer releases of 2008 has finally been released in physical form, after its earlier leak and subsequent digital release on iTunes last August. Microcastle is the much anticipated follow-up to Deerhunter's 2007 breakthrough album Cryptograms. The new release comes packaged with a special bonus CD containing another entire album entitled Weird Era Continued. I know I've said this before, but frontman Bradford Cox is the single most prolific man in music today. After all, earlier this year he also released an exceptional album under his side project moniker Atlas Sound. That's three albums in 2008 alone, not to mention the plethora of non-album tracks that Cox regularly posts on his blog. It's hard to keep up.

Microcastle/Weird Era Continued is available now via Kranky Records.

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened (live)

TV ON THE RADIO - 'Dancing Choose'

TV on the Radio's latest album Dear Science is in serious contention for album of the year honors, and what better way to celebrate this stellar effort than by presenting the album's second video? "Dancing Choose" is the raucous, horn-laden third track on the spectacular third proper album from the Brooklyn collective.

I absolutely love this album and highly recommend it to anyone reading this. Expect Dear Science to appear on many, if not all year-end lists come December.

TV on the Radio - Dancing Choose (music video)

ReviewHERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR - s/t 91%

At its core, the debut effort from Hercules and Love Affair, the brainchild of NYC-based DJ Andy Butler, is a great dance album. But there are a number of elements at work here that elevate the record from “just great” to “awe-inspiring”. Co-produced by this decade’s go-to electronic guru Tim Goldsworthy (Cut Copy, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem), the album is as much a sincerely personal piece of detailed work as it is a solid collaborative effort.

With its feet firmly cemented to the ground, Hercules and Love Affair references the many eras of dance music-disco, Chicago House, and synth-pop to name a few. But Butler’s love of these sounds doesn’t just skim the surface. This is a man with a vast knowledge of those 12-inch crates of yesterday. The sounds produced here recall the hyper art disco of influential artists ranging from Arthur Russell, Frankie Knuckles, and the Paradise Garage days of Larry Levan.

The top of the album gets started with “Time Will”, as Antony Hegarty (of Antony & the Johnsons) in his most sultry, Alison Moyet-esque breathiness, commands:“Don’t lie to me, Don’t give it up”. Antony’s voice is instantly captivating. It almost seems like it was birthed to produce emotive disco tracks (his appearance on My Robot Friend’s “One More Try” a few years back was a good hint at this). Slowly, Goldsworthy’s production trickles in, lifting the track into an oddly gorgeous gay-torch-synth-ballad.

With “Hercules Theme” the fun really gets started. The track introduces one of the most impressive elements at work here-the fantastic use of live trumpets and trombones. The horns swirl into a state of frenzy around lush strings and the eloquent vocals of transsexual diva Nomi, who carries over into another standout track “You Belong”. With its soulful vocals and its genre defining high-hats and syncopated beats, you are instantly transported into a Chicago House club circa 1981.

But without a doubt, the highlight of the album is the breakout hit “Blind”. Decorated with lively horns and sweeping strings, everything comes together here in a stunning way, largely propelled by the phenomenal arrangement and, most importantly, the chilling vocals of Antony. Not only is it an essential dance track, it will absolutely be remembered as one of the best overall tracks of the year.

Perhaps what should be highlighted most about Hercules and Love Affair would be the knowledge and passion behind the work, something that justifies the so-called dance renaissance of now. Dance music has always been at its best when done with a curious intelligence and an outsider’s passion. The minds and souls at work here are very much worth paying attention to.

Originally published at kevchino.com.

BEACH HOUSE - "Devotion" 89%

Beach House are the Baltimore girl/boy duo of vocalist/organist Victoria Legrand and guitarist/keyboardist Alex Scally. With their 2006 eponymous debut, the duo found themselves warmly embraced by bloggers, drawing critical comparisons to Mazzy Star, Slowdive and Galaxie 500. Now, with their follow-up LP Devotion, Beach House take their concept one step further, offering eleven new tracks that display a more assured confidence and an overall fuller sound.

Scally and Legrand are devout collectors of organs. In fact, on Devotion they used six different organs alone. The instrument has a unique and perfect relation to Legrand’s voice, which together can create a beauty so rich your heart nearly melts. The duo also have a deep affection for vinyl, recommending that you seek out the double-LP edition of the album for the best experience of the new release.

Devotion opens with the wistful “Wedding Bell”, which uses a harpsichord and Scally’s slide guitar to dance alongside Legrand’s blue-tone sing-song voice. By Beach House standards, this track is about as fun as they get. The sepia, slow-motion of “You Came To Me” follows, where it becomes clear that Legrand’s hushed and dreamy vocal style is nuanced and rich with character in a way that recalls Georgia Hubley and, at times, Nico. “Gila” is the most reminiscent track of the debut album, following a drum loop with the faithful organ, as Legrand’s echoed vocals meander along with the mystical charm of a skilled snake, before letting loose a restrained desperation by track’s end.

What’s most impressive about the work here, is the deeply layered variation of influence, which in very subtle ways utilizes such novelty sounds as 60’s Motown, 50’s country, and 90’s noise rock, only to create eerily warm, late night soothing lullabies.

Devotion also features a short and sweet cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Some Things Last A Long Time”, another sepia-drenched dreamlike moment that almost serves as an interlude between two deeper tracks. Among the eleven tracks, “Turtle Island” and “D.A.R.L.I.N.G” are highlights, songs wherein the style that is Beach House hits a crucial height. These tracks walk a beautiful fine line between dazed melancholy and minimalist pop.

All in all, the album as a whole is best experienced after multiple listens, when the deep layers of instrumentation and hidden melodies can finally seep through. Devotion is released on February 26 via Carpark Records.

-Originally published at Kevchino.com