10.
Sigur Rós
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
EMI

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (or With Buzzing in Our Ears We Play Endlessly) is the fifth full-length studio album by this revered Icelandic post-rock four piece, and it’s quite a departure from prior releases. And yeah, those naked people hopping the fence on the album cover is a photo by Ólafur Arnalds, the same guy who envisioned those waterfalls all around NYC this past summer. Sweet, right? So what’s new with these dudes? For starters, their dream pop and ethereal antics have largely been traded in for a more relaxed indie/twee pop sound resulting in something along the lines of groups like Animal Collective, The Vaselines or Unrest - but Icelandic. With songs like “Gobbledigook”, you can tell the band was actually having fun in the studio with its bam-bam drumming and Muppet-like “la la’s” in the background. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust also has “All Alright”, the first song the group sings entirely in English. This is a fantastic album and a departure for Sigur Rós, similar to what you’d expect from a punk rock band releasing a post-punk record. The result is a freaked-out folk version of the Sigur Rós we’ve come to love, and a brilliant record.

9.
The Notwist
The Devil, You + Me
Domino

Oh, those crafty Germans and their electronica! First it was Kraftwerk, now we have The Notwist. These dudes have been at it since 1990, starting with their grunge-heavy self-titled debut record; thankfully, since then they’ve changed genres, trading in their flannels for samplers. The Devil, You + Me is the their sixth studio album and follow up to Neon Golden, which received much critical praise on both sides of the pond for their seamless blend of math-rock and electro beats. On “Where In This World”, Markus Archer’s near deadpan delivery is buried under layers of white noise, strings and pulsing beats that swell up and stutter into messy piles of sound; the result is both alienating and exhilarating. “Gloomy Planets” has this Belle & Sebastian-styled pop sense twill inspire head bobbing. My personal favorite is the trip-hop-ish “On Planet Off”, with its static pings and clicky swagger. The Devil, You + Me might be sorely exempt from other year-end lists and that’s a sorry oversight. When your patience wears thin waiting for the next Postal Service record – give this record a chance.

8.
The Dodos
Visiter
French Kiss

I’ll make this one easy for you. Put the Smoking Popes, Modest Mouse and The Shins in a blender and the resulting fine mess is San Francisco’s The Dodos (aka Dodo Bird) – the unstoppable duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber. Long’s training in West African Ewe drumming is expressive and finely syncopated with Kroeber’s guitar throughout Visiter (misspelled intentionally due to a child drawing their cover art), their third record. With its twangy guitar, echoing “oh”s and tinkering xylophone, “Red and Purple” is as close to perfect as music gets; it must be heard by anyone reading this. Yet Visiter can’t be wholly experienced by hearing just this one song; otherwise listeners would miss the bluesy send-up “Send The Rust”, and the swamp-folk of “It’s That Time Again”. The lo-fi recording often leaves buzzing on the tracks, which some might find bothersome; I embraced that buzz as if it was a third member of the band. There’s something to say about hearing something so raw and without the sheen of Pro-Tools these days that make me love it more.

7.
Paint It Black
New Lexicon
Jade Tree

After a slight lineup shift, Philly’s Paint It Black came back in ‘08 with a vengeance to deliver New Lexicon, one of the finest hardcore punk records of the new millennium. Their second record – 2005’s Paradise – was lauded as a more melodic approach then their explosive debut, CVA and it’s here that New Lexicon bridges both records. PIB’s third LP sees some electronic tinkering dappled sparingly throughout, somewhat similarly to what The Refused did in their opus, The Shape Of Punk To Come. The stark cover art – a dark empty parking lot with street lamps eerily glowing – offers a poignant juxtaposition: a quiet image for a loud record. There’s this underlying Ink & Dagger vibe on New Lexicon that seems finely tuned for it’s fellow Philadelphia brethren. J. Robbins must have gotten his hands more in the mix this round. Ultimately, this album seems tailored for luring all the old heads back into “the core,” even if they’ve traded in their records for beer money; New Lexicon reminds me why I got into hardcore in the first place. On “We Will Not”, vocalist Dan Yemin ends with the line, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” That seems like what Paint It Black is all about: it’s a call to arms. It’s time to listen up, and New Lexicon is a good start.

6.
Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago
Jagjaguwar

After beating illness, breaking up with his girlfriend and leaving his band, Justin Vernon decided his father’s hunting cabin in the remote wilderness of the dairy state of Wisconsin was the perfect getaway. For Emma, Forever Ago was mostly written and recorded over a period of three months in that cabin, but no, there is no cheese here. The name Bon Iver is from the French greeting “Bon Hiver” which means “good winter.” Justin Vernon came to decide on this name since the record is thematically based on that winter, and it’s eventual thaw. And For Emma, Forever Ago makes you feel that thaw, because for such somber songs, they really make you feel warm. “Skinny Love” has this soul feel to it while sounding more like the early works of Elliott Smith being played by Spiritualized. The falsettos in “The Wolves (Act I And II)” coo out like its TV On The Radio, and then he sings, “What might have been lost/ Don’t bother me.” Then the vocoder kicks in – and it’s like, “WTF!?” The vocal overdubs in “Creature Fear” lull up a church choir, and it’s incredible, especially as it swirls up to a stirring chorus. Of course, this record is for anyone who loves Iron & Wine and Elliott Smith – but it’s more than a singer/songwriter ethos; Bon Iver evokes this communal experience in his live set, often handing out lyric sheets to encourage audience members to sing parts of songs. The line is drawn, the idea of audience is then erased, and you become part of the music. Of course this is nothing new for those of us who grew up in punk & hardcore, but when was the last time you were encouraged to sing along to a non-punk band?

Tags: 2008