What a strangely fascinating year in music 2008 has been…
While the big-hitters (Coldplay, Oasis and their ilk) released hugely successful records there seemed to be more than a passing indifference towards mainstream rock than ever before, particularly towards British artists.
Indeed 2008 was the year the final nail was driven home in the coffin of post-Libertines indie-drivel (surely there was no greater indifference to the ‘news‘ that greeted Dirty Pretty Things’ demise).
Instead the shift turned stateside with a clutch of new acts (Vampire Weekend, MGMT etc) garnering such critical acclaim they quickly became omniscient; conquoring festivals, sales charts and the critics lists alike. Nowhere was hotter in ’08 than Brooklyn spewing forth first-rate innovation like some kind of magical musical conveyor belt. Yeasayer, Bear In Heaven, Gang Gang Dance and the aforementioned MGMT and Vampire Weekend to name but a few.
Closer to home the eyes of the world were trained to Liverpool when MTV’s EMA’s crashed landed in November, but the Capital of Culure’s genuine highs were the preceding Liverpool Music Week and the even better Sound City as hundreds of new artists graced the City for a week of incredible live music.
On record, where both The Zutons and The Coral failed to match previous glories, it was left to The Maybes? and Eugene McGuinness to produce the City’s best offerings on wax, with 2009 promising much-anticipated releases by Wave Machines, Voo, a.P.A.t.T. and Metro Manila Aide.
The bigger picture was dominated primarily by two artists; Wisconsin’s Bon Iver and Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio – two bands at completely differing ends of the spectrum.
The former saw mainman Justin Vernon retreat to a wood cabin in the wilderness and produce a record of haunting simple magnificence while the latter’s is a triumph of genre-straddling innovation mixing rock, funk and soul to unique effect which few could ever match.
100. Be Your Own Pet: Get Awkward
Review
99. Matmos: Supreme Balloon
Review
98. Fujiya & Miyagi: Lightbulbs
Review
97. Brian Jonestown Massacre: My Bloody Underground
Review
96. Cadence Weapon: Afterparty Babies
Review
95. Joan As Police Woman: To Survive
Review
94. The Silver Jews: Look Out Mountain, Look Out Sea
Review
93. David Karsten Daniels: Fear Of Flying
Review
92. The Cool Kids: The Bake Sale
Review
91. High Places: High Places
Review
90. Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles
Live Skins review
89. Abe Vigoda: Skeleton
Feature
Live Korova Review
88. The Aliens: Luna
Live Carling Academy Liverpool Review
87. Lupe Fiasco: The Cool
Review
86. Dianogah: Qhnnnl
Review
85. Aidan Moffat: I Can Hear Your Heart
Review
84. El Guincho: Alegranza
Review
83. Bloc Party: Intimacy
Review
82. Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Review
81. Lightspeed Champion: Falling Off the Lavender Bridge
Live Sound City review
80. Glasvegas: Glasvegas
Review
79. Earth: The Bees Made Honey In the Lion’s Skull
Review
78. Exceptor: Debt Dept
Review
77. Asva: What You Don’t Know Is Frontier
Review
76. The War On Drugs: Wagonwheel Blues
Review
75. The Welcome Wagon: Welcome to the Welcome Wagon
Review
74. Hercules & The Love Affair: Hercules & The Love Affair
Review
73. The Cave Singers: Invitation Songs
Review
72. Max Richter: 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Review
71. Shearwater: Rook
Review
70. The Dodos: Visiter
Review
69. Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III
Review
68. Micah P. Hinson: Micah P. Hinson & The Red Empire Orchestra
Review
Live at the Carling Academy 2
67. REM: Accelerate
Review
66. Ladyhawk: Shots
Review
65. Black Mountain: The Future
Review
64. Sigur Ros: Með suð àeyrum við spilum endalaust
Review
63. Grails: Take Refuge In Clean Living
Review
62. Wooden Shjips: Vol 1
Ben Mawdesley’s face review
61. Spiritualized: Songs In A&E
Review
60. Beck: Modern Guilt
Review
59. High On Fire: Death Is This Communion
Review
58. M83: Saturdays = Youth
Feature
57. Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
Feature
56. Last Shadow Puppets: The Age Of The Understatement
Live Electric Proms Review at Liverpool Philharmonic
Interview.
55. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes
Review
54. The Acorn: Glory Hope Mountain
Feature
53. Boris: Smile
Review
52. King Khan: The Supreme Genius Of King Khan & The Shrines
Review
51. Brightblack Morning Light: Motion To Rejoin
Review
50. The Maybes?: Promise
Review
49. No Age: Nouns
Review
Live Shred Yr Face Liverpool Review
48. I Was A Cub Scout: I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope
Review
47. Zombie Zombie: A Land for Renegades
Feature
46. Jonas Reinhardt: Jonas Reinhardt
Review
45. The Gutter Twins: Saturnalia
Review
Live at Liverpool Carling Academy
44. Laura Marling: Alas I Cannot Swim
Review
43. The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
Review
42. Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs
A glorious muddle of understated melodic beauty and muscular ambition.
41. Sons & Daughters: This Gift
Review
40. Youthmovies: Good Nature
Review
Live at Liverpool Barfly
39. Los Campesinos!: Hold on Now, Youngster…
Review
Live Shred Yr Face Liverpool Review
38. Mystery Jets: Twenty One
Review
37. Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band: 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Review
Interview with Efrim.
36. Evangelicals: The Evening Descends
Review
35. Portishead: Third
Review
34. The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing
Review
33. White Denim: Workout Holiday
Review
32. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
Review
31. Son, Ambulance: Someone Else’s Deja Vu
Review
30. Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul
Review
Live at the ECHO Arena
29. Alberta Cross: The Thief & The Heartbreaker
Review
28. Ponytail: Ice Cream Spiritual
Review
27. Hot Chip: Made In The Dark
Review
26. These New Puritans: Beat Pyramid
Blogging
25. MIT: Coda
Review
24. Ladyhawke: Ladyhawke
Feature
23. Kanye West: 808’s and Heartbreak
Review
22. HEALTH: DISCO
Ben Mawdesley’s face review
21. Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna
Review
20. Fuck Buttons: Street Horrrsing
Review
19. Why?: Alopecia
Review
18. Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid
Review
Live at Delamere Forest
17. Truckers Of Husk: The Physical Education EP
Review
16. Deerhunter: Microcastle/Weird Era Continued
Review
Live at the Cleveland Grog Shop
15. The Mae Shi: HLLLYH
Review
Live at Liverpool Barfly
14. Santogold: Santogold
Review
13. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Review
12. Neon Neon: Stainless Style
Feature
11. Mogwai: The Hawk Is Howling
Review
10. Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight
Review
9. Peter Broderick: Home
Feature
8. HEALTH: HEALTH
Review
7. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Review
Live in Manchester Academy.
6. Vessels: White Fields & Open Devices
Review
5. Friendly Fires: Friendly Fires
Review
4. Bear In Heaven: Red Bloom Of The Boom
Review
3. Foals: Antidotes
Review
Live at the Liverpool Carling Academy
2. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
Review
1. TV On The Radio: Dear Science
Review
