2008

                So the biggest thing to notice about 2008 is that actual, honest-to-goodness rock is back in a big way this year.  For years (it seems) we’ve been all but devoid of actual rock, supplanting it with less-than-propulsive-if-still-worthy indie.  Nothing with much convincing swagger outside of Velvet Revolver and the Black Keys (even Spoon grooved more than swaggered).  Not even much to speak of from punk rock.  Even Oasis, a band that was practically defined by their rock & roll swagger, had settled into being craftsmen.  By 2007, this was really starting to bother me (and no doubt resulted in my increased appreciation for Velvet Revolver).  So this is most definitely a refreshing change of pace…

                And since I mentioned Velvet Revolver above, I may as well start with the much-delayed Guns ‘n Roses Chinese Democracy.  A record that went from among the most eagerly anticipated to one that was hardly noticed except by the die-hards.  And did it ever deserve to be overlooked.  A decade ago, Axl should have taken a page from Neil Young, taken whatever band he was calling GnR out on the road, banged out serviceable versions of the new songs, recorded it live, and called it the new GnR album.  Instead, he fussed and fussed, as though he was trying to make the next SMiLE.  By waiting so long, he created a trap for himself:  the longer he waited, the more the bar of anticipations rose, and the more he fussed to try to get over that bar, with all that fussing guaranteeing a stilted, overwrought mess.  Also, as is to be expected from an album a decade and a half in the making, it sounds wholly out of time, like a Queen record for 1988. 

                On the other hand, another band who’s last worthy record was in the Bush Administration downright surprises with how good their comeback is.  Metallica’s thrash sound was starting to get played out by …And Justice For All, so it was as well that they dropped it in favor of more stripped hard rock.  But here in 2008, long after thrash disappeared and was supplanted by death or other degenerations, a genuine 80s-sounding thrash record is a joy.  Although again, sounding more out-of-time than of-the-moment.

                There’s also a little mini-classic-rock resurgence going on in the States, with Black Mountain following Wolfmother’s 70s hard-rock revivalism.  But while Wolfmother were more a classicist metal band, Black Mountain are all hard psych in the Mountain vein.  (the name is probably a clue here…)  Not terribly original, but less nakedly derivative than Wolfmother, at least.  Also on the psych-revival trip are the Black Angels, though their influences run more in the sprawling, less heavy Texas-psych vein of the 13^th Elevators (and a healthy dose of Saucerful-era Floyd).  Again, not especially original, but it’s nice to hear these sounds getting play again after the more precious mid-00s. 

                Surprisingly enough, though, the best psychedelic album of the year is Oasis’s final album.  No one was listening anymore except the die-hards, but Dig Out Your Soul is probably their third-best album.  A big step forward over Don’t Believe The Truth largely because, while that one saw the band getting more comfortable in their role as modest craftsmen, here they’ve rediscovered their swagger in a big way, as felt in the joy and energy in their newly intense swirling-guitar attack.  It’s pretty much the sprawling psychedelic monster that Be Here Now should’ve been.  So of course they follow it up by breaking up.

                There’s also revivalism of more recent strains of psychedelia, chiefly the UK shoegazer sound, as adopted here by bands on both sides of the pond.  The Magnetic Fields probably owe more to shoegazer precursors the Jesus & Mary Chain, as they borrow the JAMC shtick of heavy distortion over bubblegum pop tunes.  Since they’re better at the pop tunes, they probably do better, although the JAMC’s heavy distortion carried a lot more grit than the more mannered Magnetic Fields.  But Deerhunter are more indebted to straight-up shoegaze of the My Bloody Valentine variety.  As with the Magnetic Fields, they don’t quite capture their heroes’ guitar tone & effects, but unlike the Magnetic Fields (or My Bloody Valentine), it’s a problem, as the less-impressive sonic sheen can’t cover up the pedestrian nature of the underlying tunes.  Finally, OG Madchester band the Charlatans are still around, and moving to sound more shoegaze-y than they did when they were contemporaries of the original shoegazers.  So it probably makes sense that amid all this shoegaze-revival, one of the old masters of the then-contemporary trip-hop sound return (without missing a beat) in Portishead.

                Even older Brit-popper Paul McCartney has been on a mini-resurgence for the last couple of years (although I failed to mention it prior to now).  This year he’s got another of his periodic “experimental” records, which is good insofar as he’s pushing boundaries, but bad insofar as, like Deerhunter, the songs underneath aren’t all they could be.  But fitting in with this mini-psych resurgence (and sounding oddly similar to this year’s David Byrne/Brian Eno collaboration).  Elsewhere, Los Campestinos! are among the better of the neo-Britpoppers, with the chirpy vibe of a more uptempo Belle & Sebastian playing Supergrass songs.  It’s fun enough, but they’re really like hyperactive puppies:  cute but exhausting.  But more evidence of the Brit-pop revival that’s been happening for a bit now.

                Among the 90s Brit-poppers, not only are Oasis and the Charlatans active, but the Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys has probably the most high-profile of the SFA side-projects, his post-New Wave/hip-hop fusion Neon Neon.  The songs basically break down into three categories: pretty weak hip-hop, typical SFA pop songs with added synth, and surprisingly dead-on impersonations of c. 1984 synth-pop.  So 2/3 of these are well worth hearing, though if Rhys was trying to make a Gorillaz-esque bid for hip-hop cred, he fell a bit short. 

                He does fit in with a general trend toward neo-New Wave or synth-revival or whatever.  This has been building for a bit, most notably with the Killers, the Dandy Warhols’ last couple (including this year’s), and, most importantly, Phoenix.  But fortunately, while the synth has been resurrected from the 80s, this stuff is more than just revivalism.  Probably the ones most guilty of revivalism are M83, a French group that at least has their revivalism couched in an entirely appropriate nostalgic vibe.  But MGMT, for instance, have almost Arcade Fire-eque melodies buried under their synth attack, and Chromeo owe more to more modern dance sounds.  Santogold also fits well in here, a former professional songwriter turned hipster-darling hip-hop/pop songwriter in an M.I.A. mode (but friendlier).  This turn toward synths isn’t restricted to the rock kids, either.  The Roots adopt an extremely harsh (almost industrial) synth sound on their new one, approximating the sonic assault of vintage Public Enemy to accompany their angriest (and among their most political) record to date. 

                There is, of course, other, less synth-driven indie rock out there, though curiously not much in way of the kind of Shins/New Pornos indie pop that was pretty dominant for awhile there.  On that front, there’s a new Death Cab for Cutie album, which contrary to expectations, I actually kinda like.  It helps that they’ve more or less buried Ben Gibbard in the mix, allowing the sub-Built to Spill groove the band kicks up behind him to come to the fore.  Also, I suppose it might be a function of the fact that, this year, they’re pretty much the only example of this kind of music out there.

                Speaking of indie darlings I don’t much care for, there’s also the much-hyped debut of Vampire Weekend, who are, to paraphrase the Dead Kennedys, terminally preppie.  It’s pretty clear they learned their afro-pop sound by listening to Graceland on the Vinyard.  I suppose preppiness plus afro-pop makes them sound vaguely like the Talking Heads circa Remain In Light, but don’t make that mistake:  the Heads had 1) an ability to find as tight a groove as anybody you can name and 2) an energizing weirdness that lifted them up.  Vampire Weekend, on the other hand, sound like they started a band because they were cut from their college a cappella group.  A far contrast from the world-music weirdness of the late 90s as well.  Though there is good world-music weirdness out there; this year it’s especially in a dance-remix album of Vieux Farka Toure, another example of African blues (a la Tinariwen), though with a more conventionally afrobeat focus.  So it’s not unlike R.L. Burnside’s techno experiments, though playing up the beats even more.

                Fortunately, moving away from Vampire Weekend, there is good adventurous indie to be found out there.  Chief among these are, if you like, a new Radiohead and a new Wilco, in TV on the Radio and My Morning Jacket.  Neither comparison is really fair to the newer band, though.  My Morning Jacket are, like Wilco, fusing roots-rock and experimentation, though they’re more Southern-rock based than Wilco’s folk-rock.  They’re also a bit more colorful, which both works for them at times and against them.  On the one hand, when they go experimental, it’s not just conventional songs dressed up with production, but on the other hand, some of those results are pretty dire, and there may not be a worthy tune underneath worth salvaging.  Still, overall, this is more the sound of a band operating at its peak than approaching it, and “I’m Amazed” is one of the finer pieces of Southern rock I’ve heard in awhile.  TV on the Radio, meanwhile are much more soul-inflected than Radiohead, although increasingly they sound more influenced by actual soul and less by Bowie’s Thin White Duke-era approximation.  Probably the finest non-hardcore art-rock record of the year, though. 

                Similarly making an art-rock version of soul is Cee-Lo, in a continuation of his Gnarls Barkley collaboration with Danger Mouse.  Joining with Danger Mouse got Cee-Lo a lot more attention, but the more I listen, the more Gnarls Barkley sounds more like a continuation of Cee-Lo’s earlier arty-soul music.  Elsewhere this year, Danger Mouse’s other albums show him stepping back into a more rock producer role rather than the more all-encompassing hip-hop producer position.  For Beck’s Modern Guilt, this feels like something of a missed opportunity for a full collaboration between a founding master and one of his most high-profile disciples.  Nevertheless, it’s, like The Information, a solid record in a more downtempo mood that recalls Mutations, which more and more emerges as the key Beck record in him shaping his sound, rather than Odelay.  Nice to hear Beck still making records, but he sounds increasingly like an artist off in his own world, of-the-minute producer or no.

                Danger Mouse’s final high-profile project this year is the Black Keys’ Attack & Release, an attempt by the band to expand their sound into more psychedelic territory. Title notwithstanding, this dulls their attack a bit, though it’s clearly an attempt by the band to avoid getting trapped in a narrow box.  Still, what strikes me the most upon listening to the Black Keys this year is how much they remind me of Spoon.  Both are tight, beat-driven, & minimalist in their approaches, and both were quietly among the most consistently excellent bands of the ‘00s. 

                Of course, the obvious band to compare the Black Keys to are the White Stripes, who are basically done now, but Jack White is back with another Raconteurs record.  This one feels, in keeping with the more retro & rocking vibe of the bands discussed above, like a return to the early-70s roots/psych sound, although cleaner than the Mountain/Black Mountain distortion-fests.  Blitzen Trapper fits here too, with their big breakthrough album, a fantastic homage to (mostly) late-60s Bob Dylan, though also generally the electric, organ-driven folk-rock of the late 60s roots period.  In both cases, a few modern touches make this more than just revivalism, and rather new bands drawing inspiration from a classic period.  I especially like the G-funk-recalling synths on Blitzen Trapper’s “Black River Killer,” otherwise a traditional murder-ballad.  Also specializing in murder ballads are Murder By Death, who I can only describe as Joy Division recast as a roots-rock band, with the baritone & gothic atmosphere complemented by a more country-folk backing (though plenty rocking).  I suspect there’s more than a little Nick Cave in their record collections as well.

                But the most obvious return to 60s/70s roots rock is Tom Petty’s.  Like the newer groups, Petty is drawing inspiration from a time before his career began (remember, he’s by origin a New Waver, Wilbury membership notwithstanding).  But this year he reunites with his first (pre-Heartbreakers) band (who are half Heartbreakers anyway), and continues the move on his last one to focus his sound on the roots-rock of the early 70s.  There’s a lot of late Byrds in here, and it’s the jammiest record Petty’s ever released.  Somewhat surprisingly, since his bread & butter is concise & straightforward pop-rock, he does pretty alright here. 

                Before I turn back to more rocking sounds, it’s worth mentioning the continuing development of the indie-folk scene.  The Avett Brothers still haven’t changed their sound, although I think their songwriting continues to improve.  “Murder in the City,” at least, is my favorite of their songs, and very keeping with their mellow acoustic/bluegrass vibe.  Closer to Petty’s Mudcrunch are the Fleet Foxes, who very much want to be part of the Laurel Canyon sound.  (and who duet with Wilco on a get-out-the-vote Dylan cover this year as well).  Good, but not really groundbreaking.  And Bon Iver caught waves of hype & anti-hype for what’s ultimately a pretty stripped “sensitive young man playing a guitar with a hole in it” album.  There are some light production touches here, but either a) pretty understated and low key, or b) distracting (i.e. autotune, which pretty much kills any rustic vibe).  I dunno, it’s pretty enough, but unsubstantial.  Maybe that’s enough for you.  After a song or two, my attention starts to wander.  And actually, Bon Iver’s combination of autotune and over-emoting makes him a lot like a folk-rock Kanye West this year, who mostly just proves that he’s as weak a singer as he is a rapper (and that he can’t make me care even a little about his emo gripping.  A breakup album for the ages 808s & Heartbreaks is not).

                So that makes this a good time to turn instead to punk-rock, and punk-related music.  The Hold Steady aren’t really punk (though it’s clearly an influence), but the Gaslight Anthem emphatically are, and both are doing their best Springsteen-meets-the Clash impressions this year.  Both of these are fantastic records lyrically, and among the finest rock records of the year, though they’re albums from bands at somewhat different points.  The Hold Steady are in something of a holding pattern.  There are subtle shifts, but basically this is a (very good) repetition of the breakthrough they had on their previous record.  For the Gaslights, though, this is a big step forward.  On their last album, they sounded more than anything like Social Distortion, but this year’s ’59 Sound is an astonishing leap forward, incorporating Springsteen, Phil Spector, & the Clash into their roots-punk sound. 

                So ’59 Sound is definitely one of my favorite records of the year, and another one is also from the world of punk, albeit much more progressive.  Fucked Up had offered suggestions of their capacity for greatness prior, especially on their Zodiac series of 8-10 minute mini-epics (of which there’s another this year), but The Chemistry of Common Life is a big breakthrough, at least in terms of exposure.  It’s undeniably a hardcore album, with raging guitars & yell/chant vocals, but also layered with all kinds of sonic detail, making it the rare hardcore album I’d unabashedly recommend to my prog-rock friends.  And for the second time this year, it’s an album I can describe as “if Be Here Now had worked.”  For Oasis, I meant that this year they succeeded in getting a big swirly psychedelic sound, but for Fucked Up I mean that the layers of overdubs actually succeed in making the song greater, and not just more cluttered. 

                Among the older art-punks, Wire have another album, but this time it is something of a disappointment.  Not a bad album, but the Read & Burn EPs and Send were all revelations, and Object 47 is just pretty good, but not groundbreaking.  But considering how remarkable Wire’s comeback has been to date, just pretty good isn’t bad.  “Just pretty good” is also where R.E.M. are at, dropping the orchestrated soft rock for a hard-rockin’ set.  But they don’t have the swagger of Monster, and lack the freshness even of Green, making this attention-grabbing, but ultimately inconsequential.

                Better, though, are Nine Inch Nails.  On their proper album this year, NIN put out their best stuff since the 90s.  If With Teeth sounded a bit forced, and Year Zero a bit bloodless, here NIN sound rawer and more spontaneous than they have since at least The Downward Spiral (and probably ever), and more like an actual post-punk rock band (as opposed to a studio creation).  Encouraging, although it ends up being their last (much like Oasis in that regard).  On the other hand, the Ghosts project (a series of EPs) points a bright line toward Reznor’s future as a film composer, dabbling in some very Eno-eque ambient sounds.

                Moving deeper into dancier sounds, Thievery Corporation actually catch my attention this year.  They’ve been sub-Air lounge-core for awhile now, but this year they add a political edge.  Unsurprisingly, this means they borrow heavily from dub, given that dub is pretty much the only real precedent for laid-back protest rock out there.  It also means they sound not too different from Portishead, but then the trip-hoppers always owed a very clear debt to dub.

                Oh, and although I’ve done a better job than most of talking about hip-hop mixed in with rock (and they sound more like they’re moving in sync than at any time since the late 90s), there are a couple of stray hip-hop things worth mentioning.  Since like the Thievery Corporation, he’s also DC-based, I’ll start with Wale’s phenomenal (and Seinfeld-referencing) Mixtape About Nothing.  Unsurprisingly for a mixtape debut, Wale’s beats are pretty minimal, but his lyrical skills are enough to still make me sit up and take notice (and then wonder why DC has produced so little hip-hop of note: my top explanations are the dominance of go-go and the lack of quality hip-hop radio here to get new talent exposure).  Anyway, check out “The Kramer” especially for some quite thoughtful hip-hop lyricism.  His old-school approach, anyway, fits well with Del’s, who has another solo album in the same vein as his earlier stuff this year.  Meanwhile, the Quanuum collective move closer to completing their combinatorics exercise  of joining the various members in every mathematically-possible configuration, as the Mighty Underdogs unite Lateef (Latyrx, but also Maroons) and Gift of Gab (Blackalicious).  Unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like the rest of the Quanuum stuff, but since that’s some of the best non-pop hip-hop of the 00’s, I don’t mind at all.  This is a pretty minor record, though.  And I’ll close on a very good note, with the Outkast reunion of “Royal Flush,” which is technically Big Boi feat. Andre 3000, but that’s not fooling anyone.  Also, this was supposed to be a teaser single for Big Boi’s debut, though for some reason no one wanted to release an album from one of the premier hip-hop artists both artistically and commercially of the last decade.  Ah well, it’ll be worth the wait….

Song of the Year:  A number of contenders.  I could consider Metallica’s ”All Nightmare Long,” a fun 8-minute Lovecraftian thrash journey, though I feel vaguely wrong picking such a throwback-y song.  So I’ll say instead  the Gaslights’ “The ’59 Sound,” which is more timely, more timeless, and honestly probably a song I’d say I’d prefer anyway.  An excellent Irish wake of a song.

Album of the Year:  The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound.  There were other great albums this year (most notably The Chemistry of Common Life and Furr), but this one is not only a great album, but also track-by-track a great collection of individual songs.  Not to overstate the case or anything, but I feel about this album like people seemingly felt about Born to Run in ’75: it’s not likely to start a movement or anything, but it’s a refreshing statement of purpose from an artist/band that embodies a lot of what I consider great about rock & roll. 

Artist Most Benefiting from Reevaluation:  Santogold.  This one’s a case of levels of expectations.  When she was a nobody, she surprised a lot of people with how good her debut was.  I, however, was late to the game, and had heard how great this was before I heard it, so was let down.  But with the cycles of hype and anti-hype passed away, it’s clear that this is just a really solid piece of hip-pop, capable of kicking up some fun if lightweight summer jams. 

Artist Most Diminished in Reevaluation:  No clear pick this year.  Perhaps everybody from 2006-2007, as I realize how much I’ve missed bands that can credibly rock.

Album List

Andrew Mitchell - 6B Lounge 2008 11 30

Andrew Mitchell - Kings 17 Sept 2008

Andrew Mitchell - Originals

Beck - Modern Guilt

Big Boi - Royal Flush

Black Mountain - In The Future

Blitzen Trapper - Cool Love #1

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

DanK & the Funksticks - 39722

DanK & the Funksticks - Magic Brush Holiday Party 2008

DanK & the Funksticks - The Perfect Wife, June 2008

DanK & the Funksticks - Wilson Castle, Aug 2008

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Deep Purple - Rapture Of The Deep

Deerhunter - Microcastle

Deerhunter - Weird Era Continued

Del Tha Funky Homosapien - Eleventh Hour

Donna the Buffalo - Silverlined

Eels - Misc.

Fiddler On The Roof - Soundtrack - Wedding Songs

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP

Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life

Fucked Up - Year Of The Pig

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy

Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair

Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

LCD Soundsystem - Introns

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Metallica - Death Magnetic

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe In Gosh

Murder By Death - Red Of Tooth And Claw

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

Paul McCartney - Electric Arguments (The Fireman)

Portishead - Third

R.E.M. - Accelerate

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers - Liz's Best of Compliation for Her Wonderful Husband

Rush - Retrospective 3

Santogold - Santogold

Super Furry Animals - Neon Neon - Stainless Style

The Apples (In Stereo) - Electronic Projects for Musicians

The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam

The Black Keys - Attack & Release

The Charlatans - You Cross My Path

The Gaslight Anthem - Señor And The Queen [Ep]

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

The Mighty Underdogs - Droppin' Science Fiction

The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely

The Roots - Misc.

The Roots - Rising Down

Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Mudcrutch

TV On The Radio - Dear Science

V/A - 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vieux Farka Toure - Remixed: UFO's Over Bamako

Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing (Mixed By Nick Catchdubs)

Wilco - Misc.

Willie Nelson - Two Men with the Blues

Willie Nelson - Two Men With The Blues (with Wynton Marsalis)

Wire - Object 47