BEATMAG ALBUMS OF 2008
In deciding the order of Beatmag’s favourite albums of 2008 there was no democratic process, we simply asked the gods which music was aesthetically the very best and they told us. This surely puts all other such lists in the shade. Beatmag staff, chained up in our Temple Of Tunes, each scribbled a little blurb about albums they particularly favoured (TA = Tim Aldous. THG = Thomas H Green. AM = Amr Mallassi. KM = Khalid Mallassi) and whether you approve or not, the gods have spoken. Here is the countdown…
BEATMAG ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2008
1. Late Of The Pier
Fantasy Black Channel (Parlophone)
The Castle Donington band more than lives up to the promise of their early singles with an ebullient debut album that mashes multiple styles fantastically, from Gary Numan to Roxy Music via avant-garde punkery. Thrilling, exhilarating stuff that charges through the door The Klaxons opened and runs amock. (THG)
2. TV On The Radio
Dear Science (4AD)
Reassuringly different and always quality, New York’s impossible-to-categorize TV On The Radio might finally have delivered the album to make them go stellar. (AM)
They are still light years ahead of most ‘in’ bands, mixing and matching genres in a masterly fashion while maintaining an individual sound. Each track is a mini-movie, but the album never feels fractured. (KM)
3. Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles (PIAS/Different)
The debut from the sullen Canadian electro-punk duo is the opposite to most dance music albums, ie it’s not inoffensive lift muzak, it’s ‘Runaway-killer-elevators-from-Mars!’ music – that still boasts some lovely tunes. (KM)
4. Lonely Drifter Karen
Grass Is Singing (Crammed Discs)
Drawing on cabaret backgrounds and showcasing sweet lyrical whimsy, this understated theatrical trio who hail from Spain, Italy and Austria, nail a gently bubbling but very definite classic with their debut. (THG)
5. Q-Tip
The Renaissance (Universal/Motown)
Ten years in the making, one of the best MCs in the game returns. Harks back to the classic sound of A Tribe Called Quest while never getting lost in a sea of retro nostalgia. (AM)
Sorely missed and back with all the flavour of early Tribe Called Quest which is no mean feat. Free from the usual 30-tracks-by-every-producer-under-the-sun nonsense that hip hop has deteriorated into. (KM)
6. Greg McDonald
Stranger At The Door (Sugartown)
Backed by acoustic guitar and strings, the solo debut from London songwriter Greg McDonald showcases songs of startlingly unexpected emotion, narrative skill and sheer wit. Quite simply, brilliant. (THG)
7. Portishead
Third (Island)
Uncompromising, difficult even, and many miles from the smoky soulful atmospherics of ‘Dummy’. Reminds you why Portishead are so damned important. Truly original. (AM)
8. Mental Overdrive
You Are Being Manipulated (Love OD/Smalltown Supersound)
In a year where techno’s tangles with minimalism only occasionally paid off, the juicy but tuneful thump of Norway’s long-standing rave-meister, drawing on everything from Vangelis to Vitalic, is a joy. (THG)
9. MGMT
Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
Juicy psychedelic pop-rock and a genuine crossover sensation. The most refreshing thing to happen to rock in years (AM)
Ah, remember when these guys were unknown at the beginning of the year? Now they’re fucking everywhere! Still doesn’t change the fact that this is a vital, joy-filled album that’s a celebration of being young, reckless and carefree. A great debut. And ‘To Pretend’ is my single of the year. (KM)
10. The Cool Kids
The Bake Sale (C.A.K.E./Chocolate Industries)
The future history of hip hop arrived in the form of a duo from Chicago and Detroit. Heavy beats, tight rhymes and the return of the bounce factor. (AM)
Sharp beats and cutting edge rhymes about… riding pimped-out BMX bikes. Full of invention and confident swagger. And not a gun or a ‘ho’ in sight. (KM)
11. Lindstrom
Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
Three tracks over a whole album from Oslo’s king of cosmic disco and it doesn’t come much more contagiously spaced out than these psyched prog-Moroder epics. (THG)
12. Santogold
Santogold (Lizard King/Atlantic)
Ultra-hip Brit-based Philadelphia singer-producer who leads the current boom in electro girls. She’s vibrant, edgy and poppy but fresh as fuck! Great production and remixes by the likes of Diplo. (AM)
13. Jose James
The Dreamer (Brownswood)
A magical album from the young New Yorker whose jazz and soul is flecked with real contemporary flavour. Not only Gil Scott Heron’s heir but so much more. Timeless (AM)
14. Micah P Hinson
Micah P Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra (Full Time Hobby)
Southern Boy Hinson delivers misery and beauty in equal measure. Not his best but still head and shoulders above the rest. (AM)
15. Why?
Alopecia (Tomlab)
Lazy, psychedelic stream-of-consciousness folk-hop is not a genre most recognize so let’s just say that ‘Yoni’ Wolf and his band are still making fascinating music that sounds unlike anyone else. (THG)
16. The Bookhouse Boys
The Bookhouse Boys (Black)
Somewhere between The Pogues, Gogol Bordello and a Mariachi band created by Ennio Morricone, this London nine-piece muster a debut of entertaining high melodrama. (THG)
17. Buraka Som Sistema
Black Diamond (Fabric)
Kuduro is an Angolan form of electronic dance music, marinated in hip hop and tribal rhythms, and Portugese trio Buraka Som Sistema take it for an exhilarating high energy joyride on their debut. (THG)
18. Flying Lotus
Los Angeles (Warp)
Laptop experimentalism from California that’s laced with a smidgeon of hip hop and confusingly good – even if you don’t know why. Say you like it even if you don’t and perhaps finally understand the hype in a few years time. (TA)
19. Seasick Steve
I Started Out With Nothing And I Still Got Most Of It Left (Warners)
The affable bearded bluesman in dungarees has been a live sensation during ’08 and his no nonsense follow up to ‘Dog House Music’ is worth the fuss. (TA)
20. Cats In Paris
Courtcase2000 (akoustik Anarkhy)
Whacko Mancunian outfit whose music is an odd but highly original concoction wherein pop duets fight it out with wayward strings and Atari electro, yet their album makes for a cohesive if leftfield whole. (THG)
21. A Place To Bury Strangers
A Place To Bury Strangers (A Place To Bury Strangers)
Debut from New York trio that successfully recreates the feedback-strewn excitement of Jesus And Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’ while adding something new and electronic of their own. Play loud. (THG)
22. Roots Manuva
Slime & Reason (Big Dada)
A return to form for one of Britain’s best-liked MCs after the navel-gazing gloominess of his last album. A jump-up, electronic-ragga mash up. (KM)
23. Moby
Last Night (Mute)
Misunderstood by most, Moby creates a wonderfully upbeat, retro-tastic tribute to the glory years of house, the years of Frankie Knuckles, ecstasy and Italo-house pianos rather than anything heavier, and creates an album suffused with merriment. (THG)
24. Black Milk
Tronic (Fat Beats)
Detroit’s Curtis Cross is currently one of the best rapper-producers in hip hop. Every track is a labour of love, with more ideas in one song than most whole rap albums. Like a young Kanye West before he disappeared up his own ego. (KM)
25. Benga
Diary Of An Afro Warrior (Tempa)
2008’s Beatmag choice for dubsteptician of the year is Beni Uthman from Croydon whose album is filled with zippy futurism, monster basslines and a techno-dub dynamic that puts it out in front. (TA)
26. The Shortwave Set
Replica Sun Machine (Wall Of Sound)
Second album from retro-futurist trio who embrace ‘60s pop at its psychedelic best but throw in some (relatively) modern electronic kit along the way. (THG)
27. Ladytron
Velocifero (Nettwerk)
The Liverpudlian electro-poppers stay the course ten years into their career with a fourth album that lays a harsh Gothic sheen over their reliably dry but tuneful songwriting. (THG)
28. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
The Assassination of Jesse James OST (Mute)
A stunning, haunting soundtrack from one of the films of the year. Even if Nick Cave does go to my local Tescos this is still a beautiful, classic soundtrack that works even without the images. (KM)
29. Nas
Untitled (Island/Def Jam)
Not Nas’s best but has to be included for the sheer balls of a mainstream rapper dropping an album that focuses on intelligent thought rather than bling, bitches and nonsense. A gamble, a commercial flop but just what hip hop needed from the greatest MC ever. (AM)
30. Sigur Rós
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL)
Epic, breathtaking and uniquely inspiring. An album of salvation and hope from the Icelandic enigmas during a disastrous year for their home country. (AM)
31. Last Shadow Puppets
The Age Of The Understatement (Domino)
The hobby horse project from Artic Monkey Alex Turner, together with pal Miles Kane of The Rascals, which turned into a commercial success. Classy ‘60s balladeering with indie icing. A cool move. (THG)
32. The Bumblebeez
Prince Umberto & The Sister Of Ill (Modular)
This Australian outfit take the poppier end of hip hop and R&B and smash it into uber-trendy electro-indie with zesty, effective results. (THG)
33. The Bug
London Zoo (Ninja Tune)
Kevin Martin, with his background in noise music, has long mined ragga for its more extreme elements but on his third Bug album he combines this with an appealing pop suss. (TA)
34. Giant Panda
Electric Lazer (TRES)
Second album from the hot hip hop LA three-piece. Consistently enjoyable, touting a sci-fi electro motif, and comes at exactly the right time as Ugly Duckling served up a stinker. (TA)
35. The Deathset
Worldwide (Counter)
Half an hour of pop shouting over discordant electronics and punk guitar from the Australian-American outfit. Has a contagious Ramones-ish cheek to its catchy primitivism. (THG)
36. Al Green
Lay it Down (Blue Note)
Al Green produced by ?uestlove from The Roots. ?uestlove doing just enough to produce a classic Al Green sound that Willie Mitchell would have been proud of. His best album in decades. (AM)
37. Malcolm Middleton
Sleight Of Heart (Full Time Hobby)
The griping Scotsman, once of Arab Strap, fires out a pithy acoustic mini-album full of gritty poetry, love and existential griping. (THG)
38. Jonny Greenwood
There Will Be Blood (Nonesuch)
Scarrrrrrrrrry. Not a pleasant experience to listen too, but it actually makes you feel something, unlike most cookie-cutter soundtracks. Sucks you into its soulless heart, surrounds you totally in dark dread and leaves you shivering in the corner. (KM)
39. Natural Self
The Art Of Vibration (Tru Thoughts)
A stew of thoughtful jazzy production, this one’s here for beat lovers. Bettered only by Bonobo’s first album as the best release ever on Tru Thoughts. (TA)
40. Death Cab For Cutie
Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
The perennial US rockers come up with some of the most beautiful and fragile songs of the year. It just floated past on a first hearing but delivers more with each listen. (AM)
Twelve tracks of maudlin perfection, equal parts depressing and hopeful. Nothing flashy, just heartfelt songs that draw you into them and never let go. (KM)
41. Beck
Modern Guilt (XL)
Beck dares to do something unexpected again, a rare psyche-rock gem that doesn’t sound retro in the least thanks to brilliant production by Dangermouse. (AM)
43. Hot Chip
Made In The Dark (EMI)
The third album by London’s premier pop-electronic geek squad is mellower than previous outings but still unique and genuinely touching. (AM)
42. Bomb The Bass
Future Chaos (!K7)
Surprisingly consistent from someone who’d all but blipped off the Beatmag radar. There’s a touch of pouty, moody bottom lip about it but matched by a confidence that states, “Yes – I am still fucking great, thank you.” (TA)
44. Jim Noir
Jim Noir (My Dad)
The second album from elusive Mancunian troubadour Alan Roberts didn’t perhaps create the waves he might have hoped for but still contains some charming, very British, lo-fi electronic pop songs tinged with Beach Boys harmonies. (THG)
45. No Age
Nouns (Sub Pop)
Grungy, heavy yet light on it’s feet, a quick-fire assault on the senses from LA’s unpredictable indie duo. Jumps around the musical spectrum bounding with energy and invention. (KM)
46. The Game
LAX (Geffen/Interscope)
The Game with the hunger back! Forget the last album this is the proper follow-up to the hip hop classic ‘The Documentary’. (AM)
47. Metronomy
Nights Out (Because)
Quirked out electronic pop that happily proves Joseph Mount and his band can deliver emphatically more than the samey electro-indie style that made its predecessor a tad monotonous. (THG)
48. Neil Landstrumm
Lord For £39 (Uziq)
Back in his native Edinburgh after some years in New York, Neil Landstrumm, a ‘90s techno pioneer, proves he’s still at the cutting edge with this twisted dubstep-techno-rave outing. (THG)
49. Golden Bug
Hit Robot (Gomma)
French musician/toymaker Antoine Harispuru holds the attention with a debut that balances sleaze-electro with snappy melodic 4.00 AM house party grooves. (THG)
50. MoHa!
One Way Ticket To Candyland (Rune Grammofon)
Norwegian duo with the year’s best slice of noise, a hammering car-crash of jazz, punk and energizing synthesizer assault. Turn it up. (THG)
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