That Inescapable Year-End List (2008 Edition)

I previously posted a compilation of some of my favorite single tracks from the year and there were so many great songs I didn’t even have the space to include them all. Now it’s time to turn the attention to the parent albums from whence many of them came.

Like most years past, the real powerhouses on this list only extend about 3 or 4 deep. There were plenty of really good records, but I could probably only call the Bon Iver and the Cat Power great records.

I’m even just now getting around to hearing a few things I’ve been meaning to check out this year, but I’m pretty confident this list will stand as it is now.

1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago / Blood Bank EP

My great friend Rachel introduced me to this band early this year and I haven’t stopped swooning over them since. From the first time I heard “Skinny Love” on that day a little under a year ago, to just yesterday when the new Blood Bank EP leaked and “Woods” blew my ever-loving mind, there’s never been any question this album and this artist would top this list.

Current favorite track: “Woods”

2. Cat Power – Jukebox

Every couple of years Chan Marshall releases another album just a little bit better than her last. Our journey together started late, with You Are Free (the moment Marshall really became full-album strong IMO). Then The Greatest topped You Are Free. And now, despite being another collection of cover songs like the spotty Covers Record (other than lone original, “Song For Bobby”), Jukebox does them all one better.

Most of the credit goes to song selection and Chan’s voice, naturally, but we shouldn’t overlook the importance of her adopted band for this record; Dirty Delta Blues (Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Jim White, Erik Papparazzi). Those guys created quite a space and quite a sound, for Marshall to inhabit.

Favorite track: “Ramblin’ (Wo)man”

3. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

Anthony Gonzalez’s earlier ambient work always left me cold, but for this new record he’s embraced a John Hughes vibe in his songwriting, albeit with a more 2008 twist. Tossing in equal elements of early-90′s shoegaze, mid-80′s teen drama soundtrack (think pretty much anything Molly Ringwald was in) and even a little Kate Bush, Gonzalez stumbled upon the fact that he can write some more-than-kick-ass pop songs.

There’s still a bit of the cold, thumping ambient stuff that’s not as much my bag, but in this context it’s used more as a transition from great song to great song. That works for me.

Favorite track: “Graveyard Girl (Speechless Edit)”

4. Gang Gang Dance – Saint Dymphna

I was only half-taken by this band’s previous album, God’s Money. More than anything, it showed a knack for sound and plenty of promise and potential if that knack was ever reigned in and focused. In my listening experience, that promise and potential is rarely fulfilled with bands in this situation. But luckily for all of us, that’s exactly what happened here with Gang Gang Dance. Like most of their output, it’s trippy and psychedelic, but this time around it’s also melodic and accessible.

I have a sneaking suspicion this may be one of those records I lose interest in over time, but for right now it’s pretty great.

Favorite track: “House Jam”

5. Adem – Takes
6. Shearwater – Rooks
7. Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too
8. VA – Rio’s Night Out (Mixed by Gay Werewolf)
9. Girl Talk – Feed The Animals
10. Studio – Yearbook 2 / Promotion Information Mix
11. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
12. Thom Hell – God If I Saw Her Now
13. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
14. D. Lissvik – 7 Trx + Intermission
TIE: 15. Lars Horntveth – Kaleidoscopic & Jonny Greenwood – There Will Be Blood OST

SINGLES & EPs:

1. Bon Iver – Blood Bank (see #1 album)
2. Final Fantasy – Spectrum, 14th Century
3. VA – Parlour No.1 Amor/Capriccio 7″
4. Lansing-Dreiden – Tri
5. Antony & The Johnsons – Another World