Fig & Mint

It's time now for the second installment in my Top 50 of 2008 countdown.  Last week featured albums 50-41, which shaped up like this:

50. Marco Benevento - Invisible Baby
49. Koushik - Out My Window
48. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
47. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
46. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down in the Light
45. Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation
44. Panther - 14 Kt. God
43. Beck - Modern Guilt
42. Wale - Mixtape About Nothing
41. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

So, moving on....

40. Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin

Motion to Rejoin, Brightblack Morning Light's third album, is certainly a continuation of where they ceased on their 2006 self titled work for Matador.  The music builds and ebbs with subtle changes in organ progressions and reverb laden sax lines, drifting around lengthy song structures with the (apparently) primary goal of just...like, totally chillin' out, dude.  The New Mexico band is known for their hippie-lib leanings, including the legal drug agenda and speaking out against the military-industrial complex, which may make the music a bit easier to understand.  Motion to Rejoin is expertly timed and composed bluesy gospel driven organ rock, perfect for an afternoon nap, hipster dinner party or schwilly bong hit with your most totally brodacious bros. Rad.  

BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT - "HOLOGRAM BUFFALO"

39. Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling

If we were counting down the most adorable albums of 2008, Canadian folk sweetheart Basia Bulat would easily take the cake.  Oh, My Darling is a collection of sweet little gems: accessibly poppy folk songs that become more deeply interesting with each successive listen, revealing layers beneath the deceptively simple lyrics and modest accompaniment.  What emerges is a musician concerned with issues much larger than one may initially think, justifying the critical praise her debut has received and her big name producer (Howard Bileman - Arcade Fire).

"Before I Knew" by Basia Bulat

BASIA BULAT - "IN THE NIGHT"

38. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

A characteristic of several albums in this countdown (around the 25-40 range) is the presence of one or two really terrible tracks hiding among a collection of songs that would otherwise be utterly brilliant.  The first of these tragically flawed records is Jenny Lewis' Acid Tongue, which casually flaunts it heavy reliance on established musical styles to great success...for the most part.  The album openers, "Black Sand," "Pretty Bird" and particularly the sprawling blues jaunt "The Next Messiah" display Lewis' knack for creating a sound concretely indebted to country, classic rock and/or soul stylings while maintaining the ever present twinge of her own creativity.  Unfortunately, one or two songs fall on their face, as they accomplish neither retrospective nor introspective transcendence ("See Fernando," "Carpetbaggers").  That's OK, though, because we don't need the unstoppably sexy and clever More Adventurous Jenny Lewis all the time; the strengths Acid Tongue go much farther than do its weaknesses. 

37. The OaKs - Songs for Waiting

As I was going back and listening to the albums on this range of the list to prepare for this post, I was struck by how severely I underrated this album.  It belongs in the top 20, but it had been awhile since I'd listened to it when I finalized the list, so it will unfortunately be lain to rest at a devalued 37.  Oh well, perhaps the music rating gods will forgive me.  The OaKs combine prog chops with indie-folk stylings to create a complicated yet accessible metanarrative loosely based around the last days in the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Trust me, it sounds much more confusing than it actually is.  Just how good is it?  Well, I may get criticized by hordes of hipster would-be experts, but it's as good or better than The Crane Wife.  Yes, I'm serious, it's just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.  If you think I may be lying to you, then view it as a personal challenge and buy the album (proceeds from the album sales are donated to aid humanitarian causes in Afghanistan, where bandleader Ryan Costello lived for two years).  Oh, and by the way, percussionist Matthew Antolick is one of the sickest drummers alive.  Stream the album in its entirety here.

36. The Sea and Cake - Car Alarm

The Sea and Cake have always been one of the top bands for dinner party playlists.  Nearly every bit of music on their vast catalog has an enjoyable ambience that is fun to digest, not overwhelming yet interesting enough to deserve closer attention.  Car Alarm, though, finds the mellow rockers sharpening their strings a bit, as there is almost a biting edge in the more aggressive patterns with which they toy.  Sam Prekop's vocals are as smooth as ever, but upon closer inspection the lyrics don't easily fit in with the palatable froth that characterizes some of their earlier albums.  Add some uncharacteristic electronic elements and a current of power that continuously propels the motion of the album and the result is [possibly] the best Sea and Cake album to date.

THE SEA AND CAKE - "CAR ALARM"

35. Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Combining a multitude of instrumental surprises in deceptively spare arrangements with an infectious personality may not be the generally accepted formula for creating a great pop record, but Sweden's Lykke Li has done so to great effect.  Her hooky songs would most like have a broader commercial appeal if coupled with some generic techno and swelling crescendos, but the [nearly] all acoustic accompaniment leads to an eminently more inventive and fresh record.  What's more, the live presentation is lent its proper focus, as the audience is drawn directly to the tremendous onstage energy of Lykke herself.

36. Marah - Angels of Destruction!

The second of the nearly mortally flawed records on this countdown is from the Brooklyn rock revivalists Marah, and almost doesn't recover from the lyrical abortion "Blue But Cool" that comes in after a truly great opening string of songs.  The first four tracks are so strong, in fact, that you may almost wonder how this album isn't listed among the ranks 21st century king rock 'n' roll albums like Elephant, Is This It?, Rubber Factory or Boys and Girls in America.  Fortunately, the steam accumulated during the careening, firestorm of an opening patiently survives the mid-album stumble and recovers nicely with the latter songs: "Can't Take It With You," in particular, could easily fit on Wilco's Being There, drawing another contrasting shade on the rock canvas the brothers Bielanko are so adept at creating. 

Marah - "Old Time Tickin' Away"

33. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing

Pershing could very well be the handbook for clean, poppy fun.  There's nothing terribly offensive or remarkable to draw controversy towards the verbosely named Missourians, but damn it's a good record.  The hooks and riffs are so catchy this is one that promises to buzz in your ears for days after it's been played.  In a musical environment dominated by lots of bands trying to be overly artistic (which isn't always a bad thing...many artists near the top of this countdown have done just that) it's a breath of fresh air to turn on a record that is simply, highly, repeatedly enjoyable.  Although the album as a whole sits at a comfortable 33, I'll readily admit that "Some Constellation" is easily one of my top 5 or 10 favorite songs of the year.  Boo yah.

SSLYBY - "SOME CONSTELLATION"

32. Ida - Lovers Prayers

For a band with seven albums, all of which are remarkably poignant and beautifully composed, Ida may well be the gold standard in under publicized greatness.  Lovers Prayers is an exceptional continuation of their body of work, as it appears starkly minimal and fragile as crystal upon first glance, only to open itself up to a myriad of subtle layers, changes and emotional depth hiding in the grayest corners.  Each successive listen further illuminates the craftsmanship of these haunting folk ballads, so much so that I fear I may not have placed this album high enough either, simply because I haven't examined it with the proper attention. Formed in New York by Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton (now married), Ida has been quietly making gently folk records for over 15 years.  The attention garnered by Lovers Prayers, recorded in Levon Helm's home studio in upstate New York, may now proffer the group some well-deserved acclaim.

IDA - "THE LOVE BELOW"


IDA - "WILLOW TREE"

31. Adele - 19

As a teenager, Adele Adkins was posting demos on her Myspace when she got a call from Virgin Records.  She thought it was a joke.  She was a few months into her twentieth year when her album was certified platinum, but her monster hit 19 is more than pop candy.  Her voice is sensitive, emotional and stands a head and shoulders above other artists in the now prominent British soul revival (Amy Winehouse, Duffy).  Her credibility reaches into critical and musical circles as well, as the record has been nominated for several prestigious awards (The Mercury Prize, BRIT Critic's Choice) and she has been asked to cover a Raconteurs song by this guy who's pretty good himself named Jack White (her version of "Many Shades of Black" became the B-side of the single).  Apparently Paul McCartney, Bjork and Kanye are big fans as well.  If you haven't heard anything from this album yet this year, there's a good chance you've been out to sea, so I'll post a preview track for you, good sailor.  My favorite tracks on the album are her Dylan cover ("To Make You Feel My Love") and the original, "Best For Last."

It's time boys and girls.  That magical time of the year when the leaves are turning burnished bronze and gold, the air is crisp and full of the sound of marching bands, the days get shorter and that magical twinkle sparks off your lover's eye as you nestle next to a cozy hickory fire.  That's right, it's time to decide which bands made the best albums of the year. 

Sure, we've tried to jump the gun. There was the "Best of the First Half of 2008" in July, then there are our regular Top 5s and reckoning the most enjoyable albums to be released on any given week, but all that is merely foreplay.  Now it's business time. 

Now, a quick disclaimer before we begin: this is my personal list, and it is totally subjective.  We will compile our respective personal lists and, under the guidance of a complicated rating structure, determine an offical Fig & Mint list early in 2009, but that is about 2 months away from being finalized.  So, in the meantime, I'll treat you to what I consider to be my personal favorites for the year.  And, as such, I want to be absolutely clear that there is no objective qualities of "importance" or "greatness" assigned hereto; to try and quantify what is the "greatest" album of the year would be an exercise in futility. 

For one thing, I have received somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 new albums this year alone, all neatly compiled on my iTunes.  A quick note to the PR, marketing and record label types who send these albums to us: I can assure you that we make every conscionable effort to listen to the records we receive, and I think that I probably listened to 95-98% of everything at least once, and the stuff we asked for or more "notable" releases are always given more attention.  But because of the high volume of music (and high quality music, at that) that gets released these days, there is simply no way to reckon everything within a larger context. 

Secondly, the enjoyment of music is, by its own nature, a subjective experience.  It's been said that the music that we first got into in the formative years of our adult development (those awkward pubescent ones) forms the basis for what we enjoy now.  For me, that music was Phish, Dave Matthews and the Grateful Dead; now that it's 10-15 years down the road, my tastes have expanded quite a bit but they are still ostensibly different from somebody who first broadened their horizons with Tupac, The Cure, The Smiths, Marilyn Manson or any number of different musical styles.  So for me to say that the "best" album of the year is the electro-prog anthem fest that is Cloud Cult's Feel Good Ghosts would be a ridiculously arrogant thing to do.  But it's still my favorite album. 

So, without further adieu, let's begin:

50. Marco Benevento - Invisible Baby

Marco Benevento became known in the New York jazz scene around the turn of the century after studying under the likes of Joanne Brackeen and Kenny Werner, but gained national recognition through his work with drummer Joe Russo as the Benevento Russo Duo, eventually landing a gig with Phish members Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon that was, like, totally heady, brah.  But this album isn't really jazz.  And it certainly isn't jam music.  Invisible Baby, rather, is a carefully and artfully crafted series of rock progressions on piano, wound around layers of looped noise, mellotron, banjo and archaic electronic blips and dings.  Flanked by Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey bassist Reed Mathis (a veritable genius in his own right) and drummers Matt Chamberlain (who has played with Bill Frisell and Fiona Apple, among others) and Andrew Barr (The Slip), Benevento creates his most interesting work since 2006's Play Pause Stop, the Duo's album that cemented their former innovations into a cohesive, signature sound.  Invisible Baby takes that signature, spins it around and delivers something altogether different, yet still unmistakably Marco.

MARCO BENEVENTO - "ATARI"

49. Koushik - Out My Window

Have you ever been watching Adult Swim in the wee hours of the morning, hear a great track behind their bumper cards and wonder who was mixing those ethereal beats?  There's a good possibility that it was Koushik, a Canadian hip-hop mix star who has created dubs and stems for the likes of Four Tet, Caribou and Madvillain, among others.  His signature sound is a lush, melodic forest of noise over dense yet distant beats.  Out My Window is his first proper album, although it contains some cuts from his 2005 collection of singles and EPs, and he has been featured on several compilations from Stone's Throw Records, Adult Swim and others. 

KOUSHIK - "BE WITH"

48. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Here is the first place where I am not "cool hipster guy" anymore, because this is where I talk about why I like Coldplay's new album.  Here is my formula for good pop/rock music: good lyrics + interesting instrumentals + tight arrangement = good.  Viva la Vida fills out these requisites nicely.  I was one of the guys who thought that Coldplay didn't do enough with this record, that Eno's involvement should have sent it way out into space along the lines of turn-of-the-century Radiohead, but I also don't mind that it's the best selling album of the year in like 40 countries or that Chris Martin is kind of a douche.  The bottom line is that the music on this album is solidly interesting and I enjoy listening to it.  In fact, I like it just about as much A Rush of Blood to the Head, which is arguably their most defining work. 

COLDPLAY - "VIVA LA VIDA"

47. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

In my opinion, this is one of the more overrated albums this year, but it's still very enjoyable.  Vampire Weekend is most noted for their incorporation of African popular music into a New England indie rock context, a combination that seems like to stark a clash of worldviews to work, but they pull it off remarkably well.  My favorite analysis of their music, though, is by Christian Lander of Stuff White People Like, who has name them the whitest band in America.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND - "CAPE COD KWASSA KWASSA"

46. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down in the Light

One particularly fitting description of Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, is from Chris Baldwin, who calls him an "Appalachian post-punk solipsist."  Since the bonnie prince's music has always defied generic branding under alt-country or indie rock monikers, it seems fitting to derive a subgenré so microcosmic that he finds himself ostensibly alone, much like his oft homesick and solo wanderering subject.  Viewed by many critics to be a more accessible cousin to Oldham's masterwork, 1999's I See A Darkness, Lie Down in the Light focuses on thematic and musical content more closely reminiscent to Ease Down the Road, Darkness' 2001 follow-up.  Sex and romance are as confused as the mixed desire for solitude and community in Oldhams plaintive lyrics, picturing a man at once content with his station while eagering towards the future.  These dichotomies are represented instrumentally in the brash bluegrass instruments that yelp out rock and roll chords, and further by Oldham's wavering croon complemented by Ashley Webber's thunderous harmonies. 

(Editor's Note: Drag City does not allow posting tracks from Lie Down in the Light.  Click here to preview the album.)

45. Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation

DC based duo Thievery Corporation have always been on the forefront of the trip-hop nation, and their first original album since 2005's The Cosmic Game (obviously not counting their 2006 remix album Versions) is a continued testament to their ability to mesh a multitude of styles into one smooth, sensuous package.  Although their political ideal has always been a part of their overall aesthetic, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton take their social aims to a new level on Radio Retaliation, prominently displayed by guest vocalists such as Femi Kuti, Sleepy Wonder and Seu George.  When Sleepy exclaims "And watch the whole system what them build up fall apart," the central message of the album becomes clear: something isn't working, we need to fix it.  In spite of the generality and somewhat blandness of said message, the downtempo vibes the album conjures propel past the occasional mediocrity of the lyrical content.  Besides, most people don't listen to Thievery for the lyrics anyway; it's the groove that counts, and the groove all the way through Radio Retaliation is as solid as ever.

THIEVERY CORPORATION - "HARE KRISNA"

44. Panther - 14 Kt. God

Portland psychedelic groove duo Panther is the brainchild of Charlie Salas Humara, and  14 Kt. God is a firestorm of vocal loops and Byrne-esque guitar riffs all set to infectiously danceable backbeats provided by drummer Joe Kelly.  The wild fury of their live performances, coupled with the noisy inventiveness of the album landed them a supporting role on Ratatat's 2008 North American tour, giving every indication that this is a band on its way to the top. 

PANTHER - "ON THE LAM"

43. Beck - Modern Guilt

My thoughts on Modern Guilt can be summed up thusly: on his off-days Beck is still a badass.  I'm sure that partnering with Danger Mouse helped out a great deal, but Modern Guilt, more than anything else, seems like a ducktape attempt at blurring sad, introspective Beck (Mutation, Sea Change) with frenetic ADD "livin' like a hitman" Beck (Odelay, Midnight Vultures).  Compared to other Beck albums, Modern Guilt falls a little short, but compared to everyone else who put out an album this year it falls 43rd, meaning it's better than about 257 other albums I listened to from 2008. 

BECK - "CHEMTRAILS"

42. Wale - Mixtape About Nothing

The first appearance of a hip-hop record on my countdown is underground DC wordsmith Wale (pronounce wah-LAY).  A college tailback who dropped out of school to focus on music, Wale first achieved some notoriety in 2007 by working with Nate Dogg and Ghostface Killah collaborator Mark Ronson, who eventually signed him to his label, Allido Records. Shortly after Wale's song "Ice Cream Girls" was featured on Entourage, leading to media attention for the up-and-comer in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and iTunes.  He has since been signed to Interscope and collaborated with The Roots, Kanye West, Justice and Chrissette Michelle, among others.  His Mixtape About Nothing was released as a free online download and, as the name suggests, is inspired by Seinfeld.  Not that he's rapping about garbage bags and mouth breathers, the message is one about social and political reform.  Rather than offer you a preview, this is one you can download free by going here.

41. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

The beauty of Gnarls Barkley is in the juxtaposition: Danger Mouse played too much Nintendo, and Cee Lo knows what it's like to be down in the dumps.  When the arcade wizard and soul singer get together, magic tends to happen, as on the duo's 2006 smash hit St. Elsewhere.  The Odd Couple is a darker, more solidly composed album that their debut effort, but the lack of a smash hit the caliber of "Crazy" rendered it somewhat stagnant on the pop charts.  No matter.  It's a great album and a cohesive follow-up to a seminal work that has helped define the direction of artful soul music in the 21st century.