I promised this list by Sunday afternoon, and here it is. Coincidentally, this is our 600th post! Nice how I made that work out, isn’t it?

For me 2008 has been an exceptional music year. In other years I have struggled to find enough albums that had truly become favorites, but all of these I have listened to again and again for pure pleasure. There was never a question in my mind about my first and second choices, but the others have shifted places, along with a couple that barely missed being in this Top 10. Heck, I was shifting them around even while I was writing this.

Because I post a favorites and not a “best” list, I don’t have to necessarily base my choices on a band’s technical skills, which I am not really qualified to judge anyway. Instead, the biggest criterion is what I think of as “thrill factor.” Does it make my heart go zing? Do I find the melodies going around in my head at odd times of the day, making me seek them out on my mp3 player? Am I disappointed when the album ends? These all answer yes to those questions. Common characteristics are good melodies, lush layers, and vocal harmonies.

1. ROOK - Shearwater

For me, nothing else this year beats Rook for sheer beauty on all counts: musically, lyrically, and thematically. Jonathan Meiburg captured in these 10 songs, 11 if you count bonus “North Col,” the wonder of our world from awe-bound hugeness (”South Col”) to tiny delicacy (”I Was a Cloud”) as well as humanity’s place as part of it, not separate from it. The lyrics are exquisite poetry that stand strong apart from the support of the beautiful melodies. Although Meiburg is the architect, the other band members execute his designs with the precision of a symphony orchestra.
Shearwater: The Snow Leopard

Website | Label: Matador Records | Lyrics pdf
Buy: Matador Store, Amazon
Album review: Shearwater’s Rook | Concert: Shearwater at the Echo

2. FLEET FOXES - Fleet Foxes

When Robin Pecknold opens his mouth, amazing things come out. Gifted with a strong, clear voice, he also has the imagination to draw from myriad inspirations a complete reinvention of folk-type rock that sounds like nothing else. The layered harmonies on many of the songs on Fleet Foxes, re-released as a deluxe set that includes the Sun Giant EP, are as precise as a barbershop quartet but with far more depth of feeling.
Fleet Foxes: He Doesn’t Know Why

MySpace | Website | Label: SubPop Records | Lyrics | BUY
Album review: Fleet Foxes | Concert: Fleet Foxes at the Echo

3. OUTSIDE OUR GATES - Liz Durrett

Durrett has a husky, dry voice with similar qualities to Chan Marshall and Fiona Apple, but all resemblance ends there. Musically she is a branch of the Athens-based Elephant 6 family tree, incorporating into deceptively low-key folk arrangements the sonic textures in the style of Neutral Milk Hotel. Uncle Vic Chestnutt provided the initial boost, but Durrett’s own prodigious skills powered her three albums, of which this is the latest and best and in my opinion, greatly under-recognized.
Liz Durrett: We Build Bridges
Video: “Not Running” with Vic Chestnutt

MySpace | Website | Warm Records | BUY
Outside Our Gates - album review

4. THE MIDNIGHT ORGAN FIGHT - Frightened Rabbit

This is another album that I initially resisted, but it wormed its way into my heart. Stories of heartbreak and betrayal have been documented in song before but rarely with such fearless soul-baring and raw emotion as Scott Hitchison infuses into tumbling mouthfuls of lyrics and glowing Scottish-drone melodies. After initially listening to it and being distracted by other interests, I returned last month to discover its many strengths, only one of which is the clearly-defined plot arc of losing love but regaining one’s self.
Frightened Rabbit: The Twist
Video: “Old Old Fashioned”

MySpace | Fat Cat Records | BUY
Scots Invade SXSW 2008

5. ORACULAR SPECTACULAR - MGMT

This album has had to pursue me relentlessly all year, constantly throwing itself in my face and tripping me up with remixes and covers, like Katy Perry’s lovely version of “Electric Feel.” I don’t even like Katy Perry, so it’s truly the strength of the song that comes across. And who can resist the infectious joy of “Kids”? If it were played to coma victims, they would start tapping their fingers and soon get up and dance. When I finally gave in and listened to the whole album in one sitting, I had to admit that there is not a weak song on it. The original release was one of Indie Mom’s favorites of 2007; the major-label release this year gives me the opportunity to put it on my list.
MGMT: Time To Pretend
Video: “Kids”

MySpace | Website | Columbia Records | BUY
Indie Mom’s Favorite Songs of 2007 | MGMT at the Avalon

6. BODIES OF WATER - Solid Gold
I have no idea what this album is doing here. I was looking for things my friend Don would like, and all of a sudden I noticed that every single song had me singing along. Now I’m completely hooked on these dance rhythms and the shimmering, upwelling synths of “Who You Gonna Run To?” Gorgeous, sparkly, and so totally addictive it should come with a warning label.
Solid Gold: Armoured Cars
Video: “Bible Thumper”

MySpace | Buy: PayPal, iTunes
Solid Gold Boombox

7. SWIMMING - the French Kicks

I have followed the French Kicks for years as their sound has developed and refined, and with this album they have attained near perfection in their smooth, layered sound. I told Nick Stumpf in May this album was going to be one of my favorites of the year, and I still love it.
the French Kicks: Atlanta
Video: “Abandon”

MySpace | Website | Vagrant Records | BUY
Album review: Carried Away With the French Kicks | Concert: French Kicks at the Echo

8. WAGONWHEEL BLUES - the War On Drugs
This War On Drugs shoots straight to the heart with organ-driven, energetic songs like “Taking the Farm,” “Needle In Your Eye,” and the acoustic but equally rapid-fire “Barrel of Batteries.” I love “Buenos Aires Beach” for the line “her highs were cutting through my lows.”
the War On Drugs: Buenos Aires Beach
Video: “Show Me the Coast”
MySpace | Website/Blog | Secretly Canadian| BUY
Album review: The War On Drugs

9. THIRD - Portishead
Portishead’s power trio of Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley, and Geoff Barrows came back from a decade of silence with a strong third album and new live performances. Third is further amazing for being a reinvention of Portishead’s signature weirdness and in no way a pale imitation of their earlier works, although Gibbons has not gotten any more cheerful than she was on Dummy.
Portishead: We Carry On
Video: “The Rip”
Portishead - The Rip

MySpace | Website | Island Records | BUY
Album review: Portishead: Third | Portishead at Coachella 2008

10. ALPINISMS - School of Seven Bells
The most recent entry on my list, School of Seven Bells arrives on my Top 10 on the merits of twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, whose vocals display harmonic compatibility usually found only by overdubbing one individual’s voice; the compellingly beautiful compositions of Benjamin Curtis (formerly of Secret Machines), and ethereal remixes by Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie and Prefuse 73.
School of Seven Bells: My Cabal
Video: “White Elephant Coat”

MySpace | Website | Ghostly International| BUY
School of Seven Bells

Filed under: Favorites of 2008, album review, video, Fleet Foxes, French Kicks, Frightened Rabbit, Liz Durrett, Portishead, School of Seven Bells, Shearwater, Solid Gold, the War On Drugs

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