Brad's Best Albums of '08

Honorable Mentions: (In no particular order)
Elephant Shell - Tokyo Police Club
The Stand Ins - Okkerville River
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Konk - The Kooks
In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy
Afterparty Babies - Cadence Weapon
Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair
The Cool - Lupe Fiasco

10. Oracular Spectacular – MGMT 

Sorry Logan, an album this full of good tracks can't be bad, even if it was made by the worst kind of people. Trust-fund Wesleyan hipsters. Although if you hate the Killers I can see why you would want to hate this band. They're like the Killers, only if the Killers had more talent and imagination.

The (sort of) debut album from MGMT blends synth, noise, and plenty of pop-rock refrain, but their main resource is their youthful cockiness. As Oracular Spectacular plays out you get the feeling that these Cardinals believe that there's nothing they can't pull off. No, restraint is not MGMT's strength, and their lack of it is apparent on the few tracks that miss. But the theme of Oracular Spectacular is that youth is not the time to play it safe, (maybe it's never time to play it safe) and they don't. MGMT seem to think that the worst result of their lives would be to end up like other people. (They probably will.) And that the worst result of their music would be to sound like other bands. (They probably do.) But they try hard enough to be different that their same-old indie-pop is interesting, and it's pretty damn fun too.

Standout track: Time to Pretend

9. Santogold – Santogold 

Santi White got the contract to record her solo album while singing for a Philly punk-rock band called Stiffed. This was after she had collaborated with GZA on two of his albums and produced an album for Res, and about the same time she co-wrote a song for Ashlee Simpson. So I guess it's no surprise that the album is difficult to categorize. Punk-hop? World-pop? M.I.A. Sound-a-like? Well she does kind of sound like M.I.A., but I think that's a good thing. And even though they sound a like they're certainly not the same, Santogold's sound is scattered, but refined, she's not as raw as M.I.A. She is a student of the game, pulling from an, at times, overwhelmingly wide variety of influences. But all-in-all she pulls it together with impressive technique. This album is good, really good, but it feels like an early work of an artist who has a lot more left in her. I expect the next one to be even better.

Oh and don't hold the Ashlee Simpson thing against her.

Standout track: Creator

8. Alopecia – Why? 

Anticon sort of started as a counter-hip-hop label. The Anticon artists seemed to define themselves by what they thought hip-hop was missing. And it was good. I'm not sure that is really a sustainable identity though, luckily Anticon didn't put it to the test. Alopecia is an indie-rock album. It doesn't really even try to be a hip-hop album, except that it contains some of the best hip-hop of 2008.

Let's just get this out of the way. Yoni Wolf, the Why? front man, can't sing, and he's not a very good rapper. But he knows sound, plus he can write a mean lyric, and the lyrics are really where Alopecia shines. Every word seems at once spontaneous and deliberate, intelligent and accessible. The band does more than just back him up too. The music keeps the album from getting too depressing when Wolf heads that way, and keeps it from getting too poppy when Wolf plays the name game with “Cheerio.” Even as I write this I'm thinking to myself that I should rank this album higher, definitely worth a listen or two from anyone who hasn't heard it.

Standout track: The Fall of Mr. Fifths

7. The Bake Sale EP – The Cool Kids 

I know, I know, it's an EP. But with 10 unique songs (no remixes) it's almost as long as an album. And hey, it's good, that's what counts. The Cool Kids are one of those couples that met on myspace. You know how the story goes, boy writes a beat, other boy wants to buy the beat, two boys meet to discuss terms of sale, yada yada yada, the two boys become the Cool Kids. Antoine “Mikey Rocks” Reed is from Chicago, and Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll is from Detroit.

Mikey and Chuck serve up a sort of hip-hop deconstruction, the first track starts with a deliberate beat that includes a spoken “clap” and Mikey boasts, “did you know I made this beat with just my mouth and a bell?” The entire EP relies on vocals and harmonies to do the heavy lifting with some occasional Casio drum machine bass thrown in for spice. But a good recipe need not be complicated, with The Bake Sale EP the Cool Kids prove that with some flour, eggs, butter, sugar, milk and a little vanilla (or chocolate if you prefer) you can make a pretty tasty cake.

Standout track: Black Mags

6. Tha Carter III – Lil' Wayne 

I mean if you don't like Lil' Wayne, nothing I write here will convince you. Let just say, however, that “Let the Beat Build” is the reason the Utes won the Sugar Bowl. (!!!!! by the way)

You won't be wowed by every track, but you will have a lot of fun.

Standout track: Let the Beat Build

5. 19 – Adele 

Other than Adele's voice 19 is probably just an album full of well written and well produced pop. Her voice, however adds a texture that helps the album elevate to something lasting.   Aside from that, I can't really say why I like this album so much.  This review was the hardest one for me to write,  it's just great the same way that a great tomato soup is, nothing special, just good for the soul.

Standout track: Cold Shoulder

4. Made in the Dark – Hot Chip 

After listening to the DJ Kicks Hot Chip mixtape last year (thanks Logan) I was anxiously anticipating the release of Made in the Dark early last year. I was not disappointed, but I was surprised. The album is more than just the fun that “My Piano” showed me last year, it is soulful, complex, and yes, you can dance to it.

Standout track: One Pure Thought

3. This is Alphabeat – Alphabeat 

Haters might say this is way to high for Alphabeat, a Danish pop band that has seen little success in the States, but I say that anyone who turns down opening for the Spice Girls' reunion tour deserves some serious recognition. The band employs a lot of classic pop sounds, and they don't really do much that's new, but it's somehow refreshing. Their execution is spot on, and the male-female duet vocals make me smile every time.

Plus they have three guys named Anders in the band.

Standout track: 10,000 Nights

2. Esperanza – Esperanza Spalding 

What is a 24-year-old Jazz Bassist/Berklee College of Music Professor doing in the two spot of this list? Kickin' ass, that's what.

On her official website Spalding says that her desire to become a professional musician came from watching Yo Yo Ma perform on an episode of Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood when she was 4. Fred deserves some post-mortum props for whatever role he played in getting this young woman started. Aside from playing the bass Spalding fronts the band and sings, in English, Spanish, Portuguese and sometimes a hybrid of all three. Her soprano is silky smooth, but when you listen make sure you turn the low range up, you won't want to miss a note that beats out of Esperanza's bass.

Standout track: Precious

1. Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit 

 I already wrote a post recommending this album, but let me try to say something new about it. If these guys were any worse at what they do (even just a little) this album would be bad, like not worth listening to bad. But they're not, and the album is stellar. In many ways this album is a cliche; a guy breaks up with a girl, gets out the guitar, and waxes emotional. But Frightened Rabbit capture the real emotions and momentary misogyny that I myself have felt a few times while trying to get over a relationship. The music is straight-up rock and roll, but that doesn't mean Frightened Rabbit aren't inventive, these guys are what the Hold Steady could be if the Hold Steady ever grow up.

Standout track: Keep Yourself Warm