1. Current 93 as Amok Pe – Birth Control Blues EP [Dutro]
David Tibet knows how to summon inspiration and genius better than anyone. This teaser EP (with the full-length coming in 2009) is no different. Here Tibet recruits Nurse With Wound collaborator Andrew Liles. The result is as beautiful and terrifying as anything Tibet has ever done. Liles’ sample of horses storming the countryside on “Suddenly the Living Are Dying” is utterly jaw dropping. And before you go to sleep, Tibet et al. want you to know that “We Will Murder You”.
2. Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too [Feedelity]
Six months after its release, I still don’t know why I like this album so much: my only explanation is that I’ve become that which I despise—hipster trash. I never imagined disco could ever be listenable, that is until Lindstrøm combined it with space-swirls, extended tracks (not club-style, but sit in your bedroom stoned and listen to a single-sided track) and minimalism.
3. Scott Tuma – Not For Nobody [Digitalis]
Not For Nobody is exceptionally slow in the most gorgeous of fashion, like the work of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. The otherworldly opener, “Nobody (River of Tin)”, features the albums only vocals. As “No one at all, no one to, so cold and so alone…” is warbled, the chill that surmounts is breathtaking. The residue left after the desolation of “Nobody” hallows out beautiful landscapes of soft drones and acoustic finger-picking akin to John Fahey, yet too foreign to resemble the usual folk and blues traditions. I hope that death is as mysteriously serene as Not For Nobody.
4. Josephine Foster – The Coming Gladness (Bo’ Weavil)
Dabbling in improv. and moving to Bo’ Weavil, one of Britain’s most consistent esoteric labels was a brilliant decision. But then again everything this Colorado native/Spanish ex-patriot puts out is the result of brilliant decision-making. Foster is far ahead of her time and probably wont gain the respect she deserves for decades to come.
5. Arbouretum/Pontiak – Kale (Thrill Jockey)
What could be better than a split between Baltimore Oldham-style psych-rockers and three brothers improving with each release, while becoming more wide-ranging? Not much, besides the fact that Kale mixes originals with John Cale covers. I’ll rant about the Pontiak side, because it’s the superior of both fine sides. It opens with “Dome Under the Sky”, one of the premiere stoner-rock anthems of the year. The two Cale covers come out of nowhere as perfectly crafted resurrections of the White Album.
6. Harvey Milk – Life… The Best Game In Town [Hydra Head]
Brutally heavy, more diverse than any other metal act (utilizing stoner, doom, cock-rock, art and noise) and dynamic like the terrors of hell: at last Harvey Milk drop the bullshit and return to their original sound while also moving forward. Though hinted at with previous releases, Life… proves that the Melvins have a lot of catching up to do.
7. Fennesz – Black Sea [Touch]
The title fits like a blanket of fog over a harbor. Black Sea is both dark and oceanic. The ambient landscapes flow with austere beauty and the pieces ability to be still and in-motion is astounding.
8. Bardo Pond – Batholith [Three Lobed]
Culled from the group’s favorite unreleased tracks, Batholith is surprisingly cohesive and stands up against their greatest material; Lapsed, Amanita and Dilate. Not as hazy and muddled as their work with Roy Montgomery under Hash Bar Tempo, but just as stoned-out and as dark as anything Psychadelphia's 'Death Pond' has revealed.
9. Neil Young – Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury 1968 [Reprise]
Live at Canterbury bridges Mr. Soul’s spell with Buffalo Springfield and his development as a solo-artist better than any document to date. Throughout the performance, Young’s gorgeously ominous songwriting is channeled through his warm and mirthful personality, which unravels as a series of uproarious banters. Live at Canterbury, the third part in Young’s Archive Series, is yet another reason why Dylan should step aside and bow down.
10. Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra – Self-Titled [Thrill Jockey]
Bill Dixon is ancient, yet in his old age his creations are becoming more and more vigorous, expressive and uninhibited. A massive triumph, considering he’s released some of the most forward-thinking compositions of the past half-century. The self-titled powerhouse with fellow out-jazz Chicagoan’s, the Exploding Star Orchestra is one of those LP’s that Milkman Dan dearly wished he didn’t let fall through the cracks.
11. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Primary Colours [Goner]
I never thought punk could sound as good as the Buzzcocks or the Undertones again. That is until these Melbourne lads shattered all my expectations and prejudices of the contemporary scene. Eddy Current refueled my lust for quick angst anthems and got me into another grandiose first-wave revival act—Nodzzz; whose 2008 7” single, “I don’t Wanna (Smoke Marijuana)” and self-titled debut are also noteworthy.
12. Sun Kil Moon – April [4AD]
April is another graceful collection of songs from Mark Kozelek. Finally he abandons the whiny corridors of his past and grows up.
13. Nudge – Infinity Padlock EP [Audraglint]
Infinity Padlock is a beautiful four-song outing where pop, white noise and experimental electronics are filtered into bliss.
14. Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lions Skull [Southern Lord]
Earth is simply unstoppable and one of the greatest heavy groups of all time. On The Bees Made Honey in the Lions Skull they continue the doom-country laid forth by Hex and perfect it. Moreover, the vinyl is absurd and as heavy as an artifact from the Stone Age.
15. Gas – Nah and Fern [Kompakt]
I am slowly coming around to ambient techno and Gas is more than helping me through this hesitant process. So what better of a time (at least for my own selfishness) for Kompakt’s guru to release a box set of his four previous albums, which all in their own right stand up against anyone else in the field, Aphex Twin included.
16. Magic Lantern – High Beams [Not Not Fun]
These repetitive stoner-pysch freak-outs made me scrape resin throughout my initial weeks experiencing Chicago’s vicious winter. Their name is warm and their sound melts the ice with thoughts of fizzing suns and milk and cookies.
17. Magnetic Fields – Distortion [Nonesuch]
Combining Beach Boys songwriting with Jesus & Mary Chain fuzz marks the best Magnetic Fields record to date. Distortion was released during my last semester of college and “California Girls” became the anthem of four years of fraternity/sorority hatred and disgust: “They come on like squares, then get off like squirrels. I hate California girls”.
18. Boscoe – Self-Titled [Light in the Attic]
A recovered and restored treasure, Boscoe’s only album is purely revolutionary: Revolutionary in its politics and its combination of soul, funk, poetry and experimental jazz. I can’t believe this artifact of the Black Arts Movement hasn’t gained the reverence it deserves. Boscoe should be placed in the ranks with Gil Scott Heron, another true American hero.
19. David Grubbs – An Optimist Notes the Dusk [Drag City]
Nothing new from Mr. Grubbs, but at least his relocation from Chicago to Brooklyn didn’t spawn a side project with Coco Rosie. In actuality, An Optimist Notes the Dusk is Grubbs' best work since Gastr Del Sol.
20. Sic Alps – U.S. EZ [Slitbreeze]
I came around to the Sic Alps late. But sometimes a good delay comes at the perfect time. Thus, U.S. EZ has become a lush blossom in the depth of winter. Sic Alps are a smorgasbord of arty garage, folk-rock, lo-fi noise and sunshine pop. Their warm catchy sound keeps me pining for an early Spring.
Honorable Mentions:
Various Artists – Give Me Love: Songs of the Brokenhearted – Baghdad [Honest Jon]
James Blackshaw – Litany of Echoes [Tomkins Square]
Wooden Shjips – Volume 1 [Holy Mountain]
Pete Rock – NY’s Finest [Pinoneer]
Sao Paulo Underground – The Principle of Intrusive Relationships [Aesthetics]
GZA – Pro Tools [Babygrande]
Yo La Tengo – They Shoot We Score [Self-Released]
Boduf Songs – How Shadows Chase the Balance [Kranky]
Valet – Blood Is Clean [Kranky]
Best song released before 2008 that I heard for the first time in 2008:
Jason Molina – “No Moon On The Water” No Moon On The Water 7” [2004 promo accompanying Chunklet Magazine]
“No Moon On The Water” is as desolate as anything Molina has written, which is astonishing considering Songs: Ohia is my crutch through the darkest depressions. The bleakness of the recording is profound and is only matched by the strength of Molina’s prose: “Tie my wings behind my back. Cut out my eyes and fill them with lead. Cut off my head and put the black mules there. Trade my heart for a fire”. The raw beauty of the B-side, “In the Human World” is nearly as tremendous as “No Moon On The Water” and better than the more polished version that ended up on Magnolia Electric Co. prolific Sojourner box set.
Favorite Sonic Outings of 2008:
Kraftwerk at the Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO [5.11.08]
With hash joints, old friends who have worshiped Düsseldorf’s finest since before calculators and the best video production sequenced with live music I have witnessed, following a five-decade output, Kraftwerk are still profound, acute and prolific. The black and white footage of the Tour de France closely resembles the work of Leni Riefenstahl, except that Kraftwerk craft their art into an extraordinary mockery of fascism and modernism.
Nick Cave at the Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO [9.30.08]
Firstly, I’d like to mention that Warren Ellis (Dirty Three) is a complete maniac. His appearance is that of a neglected wizard, where mad science, mysticism and overgrown hair meet. On top of his outer shell is his virtuosic playing of forceful violin bows that guide the Bad Seeds through epic symphonies of horror, cacophony, and enlightenment. Nick Cave on the other hand is petite, sexy and absolutely terrifying. Cave is a true seductress; carefully dragging his victims into the darkest corners of his twisted gothic-induced mind. The evening was like an absinthe nightmare of synesthesiac proportions.
Glass Candy at Pasaje América, Cuidad de Mexico, [9.05.08]
Pasaje América is an absurd marble palace in D.F.’s (México City) Zocolo. Maroon velvet ropes keep the riffraff out and if you want to sit on one of their classy couches you must purchase an overpriced bottle of liquor. Poutie because of the posh, plush and pricey environment, I sleazed my way to Glass Candy’s sparkling booze castle where glass upon glass of Jack Daniels was poured by Johnny Jewel. It was my first American whiskey in months. In return for Jewel’s services, I had to flash a titty while they banged out their Italo-disco sexcapades; a beautifully flabby display meshed in the backdrop of fashionistas posing for cameras decked head to toe in neon tight-fitted wear with Nintendo controllers dangling from their necks like bling!
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