Editorials > Miscellaneous
The Top Five Albums Of 2008
By Johnny Firecloud
Saturday, December 27, 2008
#5: The Raconteurs, Consolers Of The Lonely
Where their debut, Broken Boy Soldiers, was largely a diamond in the rough with the band members unabashedly still feeling out their respective roles, Consolers Of The Lonely is undeniable confirmation that The Raconteurs have stepped out of the candycane shadows and into their own as a band. It’s clear from the very start of the title track that these guys have pulled out all the stops and are loving every second of it. Jack White and the gang are at their blistering, swaggering best, delivering a kaleidoscope of filthy-toned swampy southern rock tones with bluegrass, country and, well, a little bit of prog rock. The live feeling of each song adds to the rich, warm tones, and the band’s versatility is remarkable.
Consolers Of The Lonely is a bold step forward. The guys have found their sea legs and are boldly headed for uncharted waters, colors flying high. Admittedly, a good number of these tracks sound like multi-dimensional, fleshed out White Stripes coulda-been songs- but you’d be a fool to call that anything less than a great thing. If nothing else, this album serves as indisputable proof to any Jack White skeptic that they are either mistaken, deaf or soulless. When the man steps outside the fantastic (if a bit gimmicky) little red and white box we’re most familiar with seeing him in, it becomes immediately clear why everybody from kids in their parents’ basements to Bob Dylan want to work with him- Jack White is a living legend, a freak mutant blend of Jerry Lee Lewis’ demonic passion, Dylan’s songwriting wizardry and Son House’s blues genius. If you don’t believe me, go see him live- White Stripes, Raconteurs, doesn’t matter; go, and you’ll understand.
Perhaps the hipster naysayers, already fiendishly pecking away at the sheen of innovation Lonely possesses, are simply unsure of how to approach such an album. Avant garde retro bayou folk blues delta piano rock? Is there a more narrow category? A smaller hole to pack them in? Who cares? This album is awesome.
#4: Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue
Acid Tongue was recorded mainly live over just three weeks in Van Nuys, CA, and produced by Johnathan Rice, the knob-twister on Rilo Kiley’s most recent LP, 2007’s Under The Blacklight (he’s also her boyfriend). Acid doesn’t possess nearly the same polished shine as Blacklight (an entirely intentional move), but through the more stripped, grittier delivery fans will find familiar ground in Lewis’ clever little lost-love meditations and meanderings. There’s just a lot more stompin’ going on.
On Tongue, Jenny comes across as the kind of dusty-road girl with britches too big for her little country town, like the fire-maned girl from back in 5th grade, in a world all her own; the one you couldn’t take your eyes off of but never quite mustered the guts to talk to.
She pulled in an eclectic mix of collaborators for Tongue. Album standout and upbeat drifter tale Carpetbaggers features a duet with a red-hot Elvis Costello (and kicks the almighty shit out of any other country transplant out there- that means you Jessica Simpson), while Zooey Deschanel from She & Him (and Elf, haha) provides backing vocals on a number of songs and bandmate M. Ward contributes a “moody guitar part” to Pretty Bird. Other appearances include Rilo Kiley member Jason Boesel, Davey Faragher of Costello’s band The Imposters, Rilo Kiley producer Jason Lader, Ana and Paz Lenchantin (the latter being the former bassist for A Perfect Circle) and Farmer Dave Scher. Even the family got involved this time; Jenny’s sister Leslie Lewis provides backing vocals on two tracks, while her father Eddie Gordon plays the bass harp and harmonica throughout.
It’s a great solo debut, and if nothing else, Acid Tongue showcases Lewis’ maturing talent as an eclectic and increasingly formidable songwriter. This album reaches for a more grown-up audience, more the soul-seeker types, but doesn’t abandon the pop genius of her previous work. It’s going to be exciting to see where she heads next.
#3: Kanye West, 808s And Heartbreak
Kanye’s still catching a lot of shit from the one-hitter-quitters for this record, but with 808s, West finally steps outside his own comfort zone to make an album that flips a proverbial bitch on the life’s-a-party theme laced throughout his previous offerings. In addition to an orchestral assault of strings, piano, synths and animal sounds on the album, Kanye’s traded out his ego-tripping hip-hop flow entirely and replaced it with, well, robot singing. And when I say entirely, I mean entirely. He doesn’t rap on the album. At all. 808s & Heartbreak is an auto-tune overdose that takes some getting used to, especially if you’re still burying your inner suburban white kid and your only reference for auto-tune comes from accidental stops at the R&B station on your FM dial.
This is West’s much-needed moment to clear out his baggage, and he’s carved out a big enough persona to take a sharp left without throwing his career off a skyscraper in the process. This album may be a self-declared piece of genre-defining pop art, but don’t call it a reinvention; he’s not gonna be a slow-jam sad robot crooner forever.
Pop art’s been done, sure. But it’s never been done Kanye style. And on 808s And Heartbreak, with the help of a little humility and introspection, he raises his own game much more than people are going to grasp for some time yet. But that’s OK. He’s not going anywhere.
#2: Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs
Narrow Stairs, the latest studio effort from Death Cab For Cutie, has earned them at least one new fan. It doesn’t possess nearly as much pensive, sleepy mortality as its predecessor Plans, but maintains a familiar musical personality while adding an array of new elements that lubricates the translation of their sound to this longtime skeptic. This was no doubt aided in no small part by producer-guitarist Chris Walla, who’s also laid wax with indie darlings The Decembrists and Tegan And Sara.
Album opener Bixby Canyon Bridge is as close to typical Death Cab fodder as the record gets, ghostly guitar countering Ben Gibbard’s soft voice retreating down the California coast. A more rockin’ vibe descends when drummer Jason McGerr lays into his toms and the band goes full throttle, but Gibbard remains pensive in his quest to conjure Kerouac. “You wonder if you’re missing your dream,” sings Poet of Purgatory Gibbard, like a man lost at sea. “You just can’t see your dream…” The end jam and outro are perhaps the most psychedelically awesome thing the Cab has ever done.
The foundation of Narrow Stairs was clearly built on the strength of I Will Possess Your Heart, a hypnotically slow-building, slightly psychedelic groove that builds steadily for a good four and a half minutes before Gibbard delivers the first line of a tale of love’s confidence in winning the heart of a resistant muse. Atmospheric and ultimately complicated, this song is a grand masterpiece and serves as a the perfect cornerstone for a surprisingly solid album.
Considerably darker and more introspective this time around, Death Cab For Cutie comfortably flex all their muscles on Narrow Stairs with excellent results.
#1: The Bronx, The Bronx III
A punk/hardcore record, album of the year?! Blasphemy! What gives? Well, in short, The Bronx III is a 35-minute, well-oiled fist of triumph and utter perfection from the best and brightest rockers to come out of LA in over a decade. The Bronx hit their sweet-spot stride in a display of crushing dominance on their third LP, adding a whole new palette of color to an already-blistering sound.
First single Knifeman opens the record, a searing appraisal of the warts and wounds of a spun out, spoiled and bored Americana. With a jet-engine throat that puts his peers to shame, singer Matt Caughthran mourns the death of passion and disaffection when he belts out We used to be gifted and persistent / Now we’re bored, reminiscent / We used to laugh without misery, spoon-fed out desire / We’ve lost our fire! His lyrics throughout the album seem to be more of a direct call to action than damning assessment this time around, using the microphone as a defibrillator for disaffected youth in the ocean of chaos our world exists in today: We’ll all be damned if this machine turns life into routine, he wails, and in today’s day and age, that’s an idea we can all get on board with.
There is no meandering or long intros on Bronx III. Gone are the Dirty Leaves and Safe Passage distractions of old. Artsy, self-indulgent meanderings have their place, but not on this record. Start to finish, every song comes on strong and hard, trap-doors a-plenty, and the breaks don’t always come when you think they will, which makes for a pretty relentless half hour listen.
The attitude, the familiar LA flare, the balls-out pure rock fury- that doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a special blend of players who know what the fuck they’re doing and where they’re from. And if the fissure-torn shithole that is Los Angeles had to exist for the Bronx to come together and rock the fuck out, so be it. I say fair trade.
This record is special, and not in a cheap, gimmicky way that signifies a “new direction” or particular selling-point concept that everybody can hop on and co-opt. It simply belongs to the rare strain of smashing rock beast that leaves no space for pissing contests, no room for improvement. It simply fucking crushes, start to finish. And it’s the best of the best this year.
Check out the rest of our top ten here.
for the record, acid tongue was originally my #1 pick… slight overreaction that was sorted out in the end, but make sure you check it out.
Thanks for reminding me about Acid Tongue! I was planning on downloading it a few weeks ago after hearing one of her songs on Bono’s (RED)Wire thing, but I never got around to it.
i find the lack of sunn o))) on this list highly distressing.
*sigh* I know LA hipsters are supposed to only like these tragically hip hipster bands and all but come one. You are REALLY telling me that Death Cab, or most of those bands made albums better than Chinese Democracy and Death Magnetic? Come on.
haha… i don’t think you know much of anything about la hipsters. they’re not into these bands, they’re pulling for mgmt and santogold and… well, chinese democracy. anyway, both those albums were in consideration along with black ice, but didn’t make it along with some other great ones- the new electric six, the slip, there were tough calls.
but yeah, we stand by our list. there were some disagreements between the two of us, and some compromises, but these are all solid albums that beat their competition fair and square.
haha now where could you have gotten the mgmt and santogold reference? hmmm…. ;)
I agree with the guy not smoking the cigarette, though. Some tough calls were made and some bad calls were avoided. Shit, Jenny Lewis was somehow in the running for #1 at one point, for Christ’s sake. GNR, AC/DC and Death Magnetic, however, were nowhere near top 5 contention. Good albums, all of ‘em, but this aint 1996 (although all 3 are better than Acid Tongue, in my opinion).
*sigh* and weren’t you talking shit not too long ago about the spelling in the comments section, Mr. Rose? Proofreading is highly recommended.
Allowing users to edit comments is recommended.
but it’s not nearly as fun
i still don’t know what you guys have against tv on the radio.
holiday spirit will keep me from just saying ‘they suck’ right now; i suppose a lot of people are into what they do and so more power to them. we’re just not among those people. don’t want to speak too much for johnny, but i think we’ve both given them more than a fair chance. i saw ‘em live at coachella ‘06… didn’t blow my skirt up.
Seems like TV on the Radio doesn’t match your musical tastes, which doesn’t mean they suck, and they definitely don’t. Even if you don’t like them, they’re still gonna be a good act, source of an inspiration for other bands. That’s because they’re innovative and avant garde in what they do (this may sound like some hipster bullshit). Anyways, I’m not a fan and I don’t see Dear Science in set of Top 5 Albums of 2008, at least not in this one.
I don’t know how to relate to this toplist, but I’m definitely going to check out The Bronx, and maybe even Death Cab for Cutie.
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Spinett: thanks for the interest – a year ago I’d have laughed at anyone telling me I’d be ranking Death Cab in the top 10, much less the second best album of the year. But the album really is that solid. The Bronx, however, completely redefined my appreciation for punky hardcore awesomeness. Definitely worth a listen.
By the way, am I the only one annoyed by the names of the bands these days? We all know “the bands” and the “number bands”, but nowadays we also have “long/stupid name bands”. I mean the bands with verbs or whatever in their names: “Death Cab for Cutie”, “Panic at the Disco!”, “Cute Is What We Aim For”, “…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Death”(can you believe that? But this one’s actually good), “Bowling for Soup”. The names similiar to the titles of Modest Mouse albums. For fucks sake, the situation in which you recommend a band to your friend, then he walks home, turns on his computer in order to google the band… and what? He can’t because the name was too stupid to remember.
You’re most certainly not alone, Spinett. Shit, look at what we’ve been dealing with for decades:
Ned’s Atomic Dust Bin
Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show
Insane Clown Posse
Mott the Hoople (really? what the fuck?)
Squirrel Nut Zippers
(hed) pe (for fuck’s sake, that’s just retarded)
Def Leppard
Harlequin Modeling School
Testicular Wart Cutters
Puddle of Mudd
Anal Cunt
Panic! At the Disco
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Homo Douche Chuggers
Chumbawamba
Jefferson Airplane/Starship
Butthole Surfers (sorry Skwerl)
Under Rage (sorry x2 Skwerl)
Enuff Z’nuff
(Bonus points if you can spot the three I made up.)
Christ, I could go on forever on 80’s bands alone, but thankfully my mind has blocked it all out – there’s some snarky molestation comparison to be made, but my hangover’s not entirely gone and I’ve got a 14 hour airplane ride waiting for me.
But really, I think the absurdity line was finally crossed with Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. There’s something about that name that gives me primal violent urges. For real.
I think those are fake:
Testicular Wart Cutters
Homo Douche Chuggers
Harlequin Modeling School
You forgot to mention Vaginal Jesus.
Random online band name generator just gave me ‘Severe Foundation’. I kinda like it. Now I just need to make a band so I can use it. Oooh, ‘Accident-prone Zealots’. APZ. Now we’re cooking with gas. They’re gonna be huge.
So I guess no more work for me today, this is gonna keep me amused for hours.
my top bands of this year
corporal wenis
dick sauce and the magic man (there’s one of those long names)
scrotal pariah
My 2 cents.
whoa. if you guys are debating stupid band names, you needn’t look further than the entire genre of stoner rock. despite the fact that i love the shit out of sludgy, crusty shit, it is a universally known fact that stoner rock bands happen to pick the worst names ever. while there is something to be said for picking a purposefully shitty name stoner rock bands take it to the next level. don’t believe me? here is a small sampling of stoner rock band names:
-truckfighters
-500 ft. of pipe
-abraham’s meat plow
-assrockers
-bongzilla
-lamp of the universe
-first band from outer space
-candybar planet
-whoremoan
-the ribeye brothers
-superheavygoatass
all of them real bands. all of them terrible names. even one of the greatest bands of the genre, sunn o))) has a god awful name. i mean, really, they named themselves after a god damn amplifier brand. that would be like calling your band nike because you like their shoes.
I would have ranked Death Cab #1, but meh I guess I’m just not that into the Bronx. Definitely would have LOVED to see Electric Six here as well.
And Anal Cunt is a fantastic band despite their abrasive band name as well as their song names lol….
For the record, it isn’t sitting well with me that E6’s Flashy isn’t among the top 10. It was far and away the record I listened to the most this year. But compromises must be made when collaborative efforts are put in play. That’s why Jenny Lewis is here instead of E6.
haha whoa, jenny lewis didn’t exactly bump electric six directly… but yeah. flashy and the slip were at the bottom of my original list and in the middle of johnny’s. after haggling and shit to narrow it down to an agreed-upon ten, they both slipped off. i don’t feel great about it either, but we tried to focus on albums that were especially outstanding achievements. flashy was a great fucking album, but like… all of electric six albums are great, and they probably always will be. as long as they’re making music, they’ll have a presence here. we’ve got nothing but love for them and i think we’ve actually done more pieces on e6 than any other single artist.
johnny’s not entirely thrilled with jenny lewis being on there, while i’m not entirely thrilled with 808s & heartbreak being on there. but hey, our list is better than rolling stone’s.
haha we’re so gay
Yeah Rolling Stone’s list was pretty shitty, they did have a saving grace though they mentioned hot chip, mgmt, and vampire weekend. But putting lil’ wayne in there pretty much throws that down the proverbial shit hole, albums shouldn’t be considered good because they sell a lot, but that’s the way it will be. A lot of people think the more you sell the better the album is, that’s simply not true just because you can sell a few million albums to pre-teens doesn’t give you any more clout than someone who is doing a house show at some duhick barn in the middle of Arkansas. But sadly that’s always the way things will be.
The Bronx III simply rocked my socks off, and I’ve got a feeling that was just the beginning. Now I can fully appreciate the idea of skipping more mainstream records in favor of putting less known or innovative ones into spotlight. I know it doesn’t matter, but If it were me, I’d put Consolers of the Lonely higher than 808s And Heartbreak. Kanye’s record is definitely something new, but I don’t consider it as an improvement, and bitching about breakup heard from a man, somehow reminds me of shitty pop songs. The Raconteurs on the other hand, have that oldsql-like twangy sound, and still manage to stay fresh with it. Well, I guess it’s just a matter of musical preference.
Anyways, good job with the article.
doubt from the beginning w/ The Raconteurs — douchebag poser kings.
stopped reading @ DCFC — douchebag poser queens.
the sliver of cred you had left is now ash.
yes, we have incredible potencias del fuego – so watch out, slivers…
I forgot about If by Mindless Self Indulgence, it came out in 2008 and it kicks ass.
why have no reviewers noticed One Hundred Million Suns by Snow Patrol? its an amazing album, and well worth a listen
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