Top 10 Albums of 2008

There’s a tie at number 10! Both albums are good and I can’t decide!

10) Polar Bear Club “Sometimes Things Just Disappear” (Red Leader Records)
-This album was released after a much talked-about E.P. It’s like a “cleaner” version of older Hot Water Music albums with a definite nod to Midwestern punk. Gruff, semi-screamed vocals that, underneath, are quite melodic. Nice guitar work, too.

10) The Night Marchers “See You In Magic” (Vagrant Records)
-John Reis’ (ex-Rocket From the Crypt, ex-Drive Like Jehu, ex-Hot Snakes) new band! This album has Reis’ trademark vocals and vintage garage-rock sound. Parts of this album are straight out of 1960s England, but done better than than Green Day’s Foxboro Hot Tubs project as well as label mates The (International) Noise Conspiracy, who both have a similar style and who both released albums this year.

9) Lemuria “Get Better” (Asian Man Records)
-I loved their split with Kind of Like Spitting last year, and this album continues right where that left off. The songs seem to be shorter in length, but still retain the monotone male vocals juxtaposed to the poppy, catchy female vocals. A great take on 90s style indie pop without rehashing it.

8) Murder By Death “Red of Tooth and Claw” (Vagrant Records)
-The songs much shorter and not quite as experimental as previous albums. Yet, the band still manages to keep their “creepy” indie sound. Think Johnny Cash singing over music from Cursive.

7) LaGrecia “On Parallels” (Suburban Home Records)
-Jason Shevchuk’s (ex- Kid Dynamite, None More Black) short-lived band. Just as None More Black incorporated elements of Kid Dynamite’s hardcore while still creating their own distinct style, LaGrecia takes elements from None More Black while forging their distinct place. There is a large alt-country thing going on here with great results. It’s a shame the band broke up before this album was released. But at least Jason’s back writing with None More Black.

6) The Dillinger Four “C I V I L W A R” (Fat Wreck Chords)
-We had to wait 6 years for this album, but damn, it was worth it. Some people complained that this album was less “quirky” and too poppy. However, if the production was a bit rougher like their previous albums, I doubt anyone would be complaining. If you can get past the silly, random sound clips and bizarre song titles, this band writes some of the best lyrics in punk today.

5) The Loved Ones “Build and Burn” (Fat Wreck Chords)
– Bits of East Coast punk mixed with a heavy dose of blue collar Springsteen-style rock. Where “Keep Your Heart” was a great mix of songs, I feel like “Build and Burn” is more of an all-around ALBUM. The addition of a second guitar player and a new bass player (both ex-Explosion) as well as and Franz Nicolay on keys/piano (of World/Inferno Friendship Society and Hold Steady fame) really help round out this great album.

4) Fucked Up “The Chemistry of Common Life” (Matador Records)
-Once a straight up hardcore band, Fucked Up have incorporated elements of atmospheric noise, shoegaze, and indie rock to further polarize hardcore…well…hardcore fans. The lack of aggression in the rhythm section added to the 4-7 minute long songs are sure to test the patience of any punker. As a result, this band has become a magnet for Pitchfork-style hipsters. Yet, they are one of the few bands doing something interesting and progressive with the normally stale hardcore genre. Could they be the next Refused?

3) Paint It Black “New Lexicon” (Jade Tree Records)
– Paint It Black has seen tremendous growth from album to album. Here, they take their brutal, pissed off 1980s style hardcore and blend it in with some lo-fi production and atmospheric noises + beats, courtesy of underground hip hop’s Oktopus. Dr. Dan’s lyrics have always been above average, but they are stellar on this album. Paint It Black is one of the few bands doing something interesting and progressive with the normally stale hardcore genre. Could they be the next Refused? Wait…

2) The Hold Steady “Stay Positive” (Vagrant Records)
-Craig Finn writes some of the best lyrics today, hands down. While the last 3 Hold Steady albums are more conceptual, this album appears to be more personal. Many of the songs come from the 1st person point of view instead of using fictional characters. While I think “Boys and Girls in America” is still better, this album is still absolutely great. The 3 bonus tracks that come with the CD version of this album are killer as well.

1) The Gaslight Anthem “The ’59 Sound” (Sideone Dummy Records)
-I seriously do not think that the Gaslight Anthem has ever written a bad song. Where “Sink or Swim” borrowed heavily from Against Me!, “The ’59 Sound” borrows heavily from Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Yet, it acts as a logical progression in song-writing. Production-wise, this album sounds rich and warm as if this album really was released a few decades ago. The lyrics are sometimes happy, sometimes sad, yet very much romanticized, as if I had actually lived through the events that are being described. The album has a very tangible, unpretentious quality about it. It is very much relatable in the same way and for the same reasons that Hold Steady records are. Think of the irony: this album, which features a very classic, vintage and warm sound will go down as a MODERN classic within the genre. Just watch. You NEED this album.

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Top 5 E.P.s (there were way too many E.P.s and 7”s released this year for me to do this section justice…but I’ll try!)

5) Ben Nichols “The Last Pale Light In The West” – Lucero front man Ben Nichols debuts with a concept E.P. Great minimalist acoustic country/folk.

4) Tom Gabel “Heart Burns” – This E.P. features Gabel’s usual mix of political and personal lyrics over a full backing band. While kind of all over the place musically creating questionable cohesiveness, each song is great individually. The backing band and electronic instruments have grown on me, but I think I would have preferred this album to have been solo & acoustic. Still very much worth your money and time.

3) Fucked Up “Year of the Pig” – This is this year’s installment in Fucked Up’s annual “Year of…” series. This CDEP is great because it compiles all 4 singles released…The 18 minute, uncut 12” version of “Year of the Pig,” The 3 slightly different U.S., U.K., and Japanese 7” edits, plus the 4 b-sides from each release. All 4 vinyl versions are still readily available, but this EP is great in that it compiles them all in a digital format.

2) Gaslight Anthem “Senor and the Queen” -Each of these 4 songs is very much different, but each is stellar. At the time it was released, I thought that this E.P. was a great progression in sound from where they started with the “Sink or Swim” LP. Now, I see it better acts as a bridge between last year’s “Sink or Swim” and this year’s “The ’59 Sound” which both have different sounds production-wise and musically. Each of these songs are total gems.

1) Dead to Me “Little Brother” – “Cuban Ballerina” was one of my favorite punk releases from recent memory. While I thought this E.P. would quench my thirst for a new album (at least temporarily), it has only increased that urge. 4 of the 5 tunes have a great classic, ’77-style punk quality to them, deceptively simple, catchy, and to the point. The curveball is the title track which features a reggae groove in the same vein as The Clash or The Police. Jack hasn’t sounded this good since One Man Army was still releasing albums. “African Elephant” cannot come out soon enough…

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Favorite Show: The Loved Ones opening for The Hold Steady. It was an epic show to begin with, only made better when the dudes from Against Me! showed up afterwards and drank with us. Oh man…
Runner Up: The Loved Ones with Gaslight Anthem Opening on Valentines Day. Gaslight was still pretty unknown, and they, like usual, killed it live.
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Biggest Album Dissapointments:

The Bronx “Bronx III” – It isn’t terrible…it certainly has some great songs, but compared to their last 2 albums, I was a tad let down by this.

The Alkaline Trio “Agony & Irony.” Crimson was a disappointment due to its lame goth imagery and lyrical content. But at least it had some big hooks. I feel like this album was totally uninspired.

And speaking of totally uninspired…

Rise Against “Appeal to Reason” was TERRIBLE. It sounds like all the dudes in the band are bored. There is no passion or sense of urgency. “Revolutions Per Minute” was a classic melodic hardcore album, and probably in my top 10 favorite albums of all time. That album, except for that lame Journey cover bonus track, was fucking amazing. This album was difficult to sit through. I hope it was me and not the band, but I think this band is capable of so much more…

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Albums in 2009 that I cannot wait for:

Dead to Me “African Elephant”
Loved Ones E.P.
Loved Ones L.P.
Thorns of Life (Blake Schwarzenbach’s new band!!)
Hellmouth (Jay, ex-Suicide Machines’ thrash band)
One Thought Moment (Dan, ex-Suicide Machines new punk band)
New Cursive LP
New Minus the Bear LP (I think)
New Smoke or Fire LP
New Tim Barry LP
New Westbound Train LO
New Aggrolites LP
Mariachi Bronx (Bronx’s accoustic, Mariachi band)
New Rancid LP
The Obits (ex-Hot Snakes, ex-Drive Like Jehu)
New Lucero LP
Jesse Michaels’ (ex-Operation Ivy, ex-Common Rider) new band
New Green Day LP
New Against Me LP
New A Wilhelm Scream LP
New Strike Anywhere LP

and probably some more shit I’m forgetting. whatever. I’m off to pack for my trip. See all ya’ll on the 1st.

Kisses,

-Whiskey