Outstanding LP's of 2008

There were quite a few great albums this year. I could have added at least ten more, but decided to keep it relegated to the very finest. So without further adieu, I bring you thee most excellent LP's of 2008, in alphabetical order:

Blank Dogs, On Two Sides (Troubleman) and The Fields (Woodsist) - Some of the year's best ideas can be found between the grooves of On Two Sides, from the schizophrenic guitar work in "Blaring Speeches" to the wobbly synth and breathy chorus of "Epic Moves". The album's centerpiece, "The Crystal Ladies", could be stripped of everything but its vocal melody and still be perfect. The Fields strips another layer of gauze from the limbs, revealing not necessarily a more "Pop" sound, as some are insisting - go back to the first two weeks and you'll hear plenty of hooks - but a more consistently adventurous (and comfortable) relationship with the song.

Cheap Time, Cheap Time (In the Red) - Americans taking what the Belgians like Hubble Bubble and Raxola stole from the Brits (glam riffs, snotty lyrics, dramatic changes), somehow making it sound very much like a Memphis thing. There's nothing remotely original about Cheap Time and that's okay, because there's nothing remotely bad about all fourteen songs and the effortless swagger they are brought forth with. And no, it doesn't matter that the best song here was actually written by Jack Oblivian.




Cheveu, Cheveu - (S-S) - The late-Winter night Cheveu spent in Columbus was one of the most excessive of the year. Two feet of snow didn't stop the loyal from witnessing one of the best shows at Cafe Bourbon St. ever, as the Parisian garcons partied onstage and off like it was their last, when it was in fact their first, night on tour. Their debut LP sounds exactly like that night: drugged and deranged, with little care of what came before and what would come of the mess after.




Children's Hospital, Alone Together (Sacred Bones) - The best thing any A-Frame has done since A Frames 2. Children's Hospital are not as horrific as the name and sleeve's imagery would have you believe. Instead they opt for a more nuanced sedative, lulling the listener in with layered grooves and vocals caressed through the hospital intercom. The vibes are not good, but not altogether evil either. But then again sometimes the scariest shit happens from where you least expect it.




The Dutchess and the Duke, She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke (Hardly Art) - I tried my damnedest to hate this record. Something about this group just really bugged me. Maybe it was the Seattle thing, or it could have been a song I heard from their first single. Long story short, I took a shot at a used copy and immediately changed my story. The sentiments on this record are heartfelt and sincere without the trite cutesey-ness usually associated with modern acoustic folk. Killer vocals, incredible songs and great performances. Just a great, great record.



Eat Skull, Sick To Death (Siltbreeze) - I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A POWER PLANT. One of the more memorable opening credos in recent memory, and it just gets better from there. Eat Skull took hardcore and removed the macho bullshit, replacing it with flourishes of 90's lo-fi and 80's DIY. If you held a gun to my head and made me pick a favorite record from '08, this would probably be my choice.





Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Primary Colours (Goner/Aarght) - It was very early this year when I scored a copy of their debut LP and played it regularly until the new one dropped. Goner saved Primary Colours from becoming an Australian obscurity and we must thank them for this, because ECSR are a band for the people. Taut punk grooves that sound tough as nails and riffs that revel in their simplicity, while singer Brendan Suppression, leather gloves in tow, recites thug haiku. Brilliant.



Fabulous Diamonds, Fabulous Diamonds (Siltbreeze) - The Fab Diamonds have come a long way from where they were a year ago - an unknown Aussie duo with a sole 7-inch and little else to their name - having toured the states to ecstatic results and releasing this incredible debut long-player. Nothing else sounded remotely like Fabulous Diamonds this year, or any year in recent memory, with its dubbed-out fusion of European femme-punk and esoteric dance. The world fell in love with Jarrod and Nissa in 2008.




Factums, The Sistrum (Sacred Bones) - From my post earlier in the year: ...fans of their synapse-frying debut on Siltbreeze last year will not be disappointed with this doozy. But don't expect to be handed all the barbed hooks they passed out last time. The Sistrum has more of a cohesive feel, as many of the songs are allowed room to breath, venturing into the four- and five-minute range. Opener "Mushrooms" is the Peter Gunn theme played in a German bunker, while "Origami" pounds out sub-motorik pulses beneath layers of guitar feedback and tuneless organ. The second half cools down into a series of sinister grooves, a few of which you could even dance to. The midget from Twin Peaks would approve.

The Hospitals, Hairdryer Peace (Self-released) - There's Shitgaze, and then there's this. For some people, Hairdryer Peace was the line in the sand, and Adam Stonehouse is the guy swimming out beyond the buoys. I'm not exactly sure if this would make more sense to civilizations future or past, but what I am sure of is that most people who hear this are left scratching their heads like a chimpanzee. I know at least one individual who's goal next year is to top the utter out-ness of this album. To this person I say good luck.



Los Llamarada, Take the Sky - (S-S) - Zoinks! The gang from Monterrey take their sound to another dimension, riding the ship to Sun Ra's palace with Malcolm Mooney and Nico navigating. Wait, that's not even close enough to the energy, the fuckin' energy this album exudes. Apparently it took a couple tries to nail down all the right stuff for this album, and it's no surprise when you hear how out of control most of it gets. Take the Sky is an album with hundreds of brilliant ideas unleashed like a herd of cattle, with only a few cowboys to lasso them in.


Nodzzz, Nodzzz (What's Your Rupture?) - Of all the great records to come out of California this year, Nodzzz might be the purest distillation of that state's, er, state of mind. Listening to songs like "In the City" and "Losing My Accent" you get the feeling they've discovered the nerd-party Rosetta Stone and have decided to share it with the masses. I can't wait to see these songs live.






Nothing People, Anonymous (S-S) - From my post earlier in the year: ...You could play "name that influence" along with most of Anonymous, but that's not the point. At their best, Nothing People play by a new set of rules. That they're so impeccably well versed in all things cool should not go down as a detriment. Instead, enjoy Anonymous knowing that this genre of outsider rock has a new leader.




Thee Oh Sees, The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (Tomlab) and The Peanut Butter Oven EP (Awesome Vistas) - The evolution of John Dwyer's most prolific project has been a fun one to follow, as it has progressed from an acoustic-based experiment to his full-fledged garage powerhouse. Last year's Sucks Blood was the perfect balance of the soft and loud, but it was no preparation for the onslaught of thumping rhythm and echo-drenched freak-outs on The Master's Bedroom. And then he goes and puts the cyclical doom of a song like "Kingsmeat" on the collectible Peanut Butter Oven EP. AND there's another LP from this year that I haven't even heard, with an additional DVD accompanying it. What did you do this year.

Sic Alps, US EZ (Siltbreeze) - I really liked this one. Still do.











Times New Viking, Rip It Off (Matador) - What I like most about this record is that Jared, Adam and Beth stuck to their guns. When I first heard the final mix I wasn't exactly sold, and I'm sure even Matador was taken aback a bit by the noisy, jumpy mastering job. But as with everything of theirs, TNV believed in their material, knowing eventually everyone else would get it. And sure enough, the songs I liked least at first are now my favorites. TNV, molding our minds with their sweet little anthems.




TV Ghost, TV Ghost (die Stasi) - I feel like this one has been overshadowed by the band's underage/on the road antics and consistently excellent live show. And there are those looking ahead to the upcoming full-length on In the Red. But this LP, especially upon re-evaluation, finds the band tooling with their sound and experimenting with recording techniques. Matt Horseshit's presence can be felt throughout, especially on the album's closer, "Long Talk", and his dry studio sound allows each member to stand out. One-two punch of "The Amputee" and "Babel" beats the shit out of just about anything released this year.


Various, XXperiments (die Stasi) - Damn. A truly excellent compilation expertly sequenced by Lane at the die Stasi label. I will provide no references, because there has never been a community of women making avant garde music of this caliber, ever, at least in modern history. That may sound like hyperbole, but in my mind it is simply hopeful thinking that these ladies are just getting started, and that XXperiments will be looked back on as the foundation for a monolithic movement rising out of Midwestern bedrooms and beyond. I want more from every artist involved.

Vivian Girls, Vivian Girls (Mauled By Tigers) - Say what you will about where they are and how they got there (and what they will do next), but there's no denying the greatness of this, their debut record. Each song stands tall on its own, especially such instant-classics from the melancholic back side like "Where Do You Run To", "Damaged" and "I Believe in Nothing", but the album is strongest as a whole. Not once did I listen to one song from the album without listening to the rest. In the future, when I look back on Summer 2008, this the record that will take me back. It's the truth.

Blank Dogs, Eat Skull, and others in Manhattan, ie Show of the Year

I don't usually like to do live reviews, especially when they're over a week old really old, but his one has been dangling in my head like a loose tooth waiting to be pulled. There have been many shows of note these past few months here in New York, most of which I've passed up. But this one was not to be missed, the official coming-out party for the two-year not-so-secret Blank Dogs project, along with the second of three Eat Skull NY gigs, amongst others.

But first, the setting. Sunday nights in Chinatown are apparently the time when the community retreats to their apartments for family dinner, or something, as my search for booze, or even a decent bodega, proved futile. There was a festival being broken down in Little Italy, but no pints of whiskey to be had there either. The venue for this show was an old converted fire house on Lafayette, which is now home to a media center upstairs and a roomy, concrete garage downstairs. The bands set up in the far back of the garage, and it appeared at first that the crowd would be too thin to soften the aggressive PA as it rattled back and forth between the lacquered walls. By the end of the night a good 120 or more people filled the deafening room, but at that point the problem wasn't the space itself so much as the fact that I was without earplugs.

The Intelligence opened up to a handful of people sipping expensive Busch Lights. They were the first of two bands this night to be without the drummer they left for tour with, the other being Eat Skull, whose drummer apparently was to join the Intelligence for the remainder of their tour after this set. DRAMA. A respectful punk dude with large glasses filled in nicely, and Lars and co. performed a solid twenty minute set of mostly new(ish) material, along with a cover of the Urinals "Black Hole". Lars ended the set knees on the floor, hovering over a feedback-inducing theremin that resembled a sex toy more than your typical antennae oscillator. Next up were Little Claw, whose two drummers, two guitars/vox set-up engulfed the room. I'd heard they were a live act first and formost, that their recorded output was put to shame by their live sets, and the rumours were true. Heath and Kilynn lock in and wail away, trading strangulations with heavy, blues-based riffs, back and forth, while a pair of drum sets pound in unison like neanderthals summoning pagan gods. Somehow melodies emerged, mantras in the form of Kilynn's howl rose above the loud pulses. You can use all the cliches imaginable - primal, transcendant, gutteral, etc. - they all work in relation to the thirty minutes when Little Claw take the stage. I'm kicking myself for not attending any of their other shows that week.

Columbus' Psychedelic Horseshit countered with Sir Jared Phillips on bass, thee most competent player to hold down the position in Horseshit's three year run. Jared held his bass high up towards his chest, playing bouncy, rhythmic notes not far from the style he utilizes on the guitar in TNV. Matt set up a real live not-piece-of-shit-casio keyboard in front, which both he and Jared played while incoherently stumming other instruments. It's always a mess, especially with Matt's new sampler syncing up with Rich's carboard kit only when it was convenient. But this gang was tighter than the usual Horseshit unit, and nestled between some serious competition, Matt always seems to come through as victorious. The new songs are a tad better with the loose, five-piece Rolling Thunder-style group he conducted a few months ago in Columbus, but that sort of group doesn't lend itself to touring well these days, so a trio had to do. It was good to see Psychedelic horseshit under a little bit of pressure and time constrictions, something you never see at their gigs in Ohio. The mood brought out the best in Whitehurst and the ever-smiling Rich and their set was as good as anyone's that night.

Now onto Eat Skull, a set I anticipated for months. As I mentioned earlier, they were without their original drummer and were forced to find a stand-in each night for the rest of the tour (Jared had played the previous night in Philly). Despite this setback, the band ripped through a rather long set list of their two-minute powerhouse fun punk. They were extremely loud and cartoon-like in their expressions and playing. Eat Skull are the perfect contrast to the Midwestern stuff I've devoured for the past decade, the quintessential West-Coast band; two seperate halves, Portland's scruffy caffeinated style and California's concrete-and-acid suburbia, sewn together to make a Frankenstein for us to raise our fists to. They were great. Not quite as life-affirming as the records, but great enough. And LOUD.

But somehow not nearly as loud as Blank Dogs. By now you likely know the story, the two-year long history shrouded in afghans, indigenous masks, internet pseudonyms, evasive artwork and delayed boxed sets, all informing a secret society that wasn't so secret if you cared enough to figure it out. Mike Sniper was and is the brains behind the Blank Dogs recordings, and the night before he unceremoniously (as it should be - spectacle not needed) revealed the truth with a short set in a Brooklyn gallery. But this show was, according to Sniper, the official debut, as he and the band could tweak the technical glitches from the night before, push the volume to dangerous extremes, and perform their set with a touch more confidence. The set-up was an analog-lover's dream: outrageously large drum machine resembling something from a Fritz Lang set, vintage synths galore, warm and fuzzy sounds from towering amps. Mr. Sniper led from the middle and seemed comfortable with the sound of the band despite the obviously lack of monitor power leading them through the noise. They were great, taking pieces from the many variations of the Blank Dogs sound and maximizing it all into waves of jangly, buzzing pop.

We left directly after, needing immediate respite from the suffocating, deafening air inside. I would've liked to have a chance to party with the bands afterward, but I don't think I would've heard a word anyone said. For weeks my ears rang to remind me of the sweet, sweet damage done to them. And for the first time in my life I began to consider taking a pair of earplugs to shows. But for nights like this you just have to take everything in unadulterated. Who knows when Blank Dogs will return to the stage? I hear it could be this Spring, at SXSW and out on the left coast, but you never know. I'm just glad I got to witness the unofficial debut of one of New York's most intriguing musical figures, along with a handful of some of the best stuff going down in the nation.

Real Talk: Complete Singles of the Year List

Alright, let's just get this year-end stuff out of the way. I ended up posting my top albums list over at donewaiting, where I've been writing about a post a week on topics local or current or just a little more universal that what I attempt to do at this space. Check out that list HERE. I will continue to write there for the time being, even if it does take up some of my time for pop:doug, but honestly I need to devote more time to writing in general, so hope for more on both fronts in 2008. I mean it this time.
Anyway, right now, it's time for some seven inch talk. What a great year for singles. I'm still gathering a lot of what came out this year, piecing together my paypal account and dishing it out in intervals across the land. So in that regard this list is incomplete. There will always be that one great single that I forgot about or didn't know about or didn't care for at the time. Shit, I'm still catching up with 2006 singles. And for some reason a lot of great stuff was just release this December.
If you're not buying these puppies up, I hope that you are at least checking out these bands' pages, or soulseeking your life away tracking down the music, because these go beyond the mere fetish object of the vinyl single. All are on par with the best music being made anywhere, on any format, in 2007. So here goes, my top singles for the year:


1. Eat Skull - Eat Skull 7" (Meds)
A perfect debut EP. Eat Skull flail around like it's code: red at the mental ward, medicating themselves enough to get three songs down. Here's to hoping they don't change a damn thing for their upcoming Siltbreeze LP.







2. Blank Dogs - Blank Dogs 7" (Sweet Rot)
It took me the better part of the year to get past all the blog hype and finally listen to a Blank Dogs release. I'm glad this Sweet Rot 7" was the first to stick, a perfect introduction to Mr. Blank's alien synth-pop jangle. "Outside Alarmer" is the year's prettiest tune, pretty enough to be the only song I played for ten straight days in November.





3. Tyvek - Summer Burns 2x7" (What's Your Rupture?)
Four more nails in the diy/post-punk totem pole. Tyvek warrant your immediate attention but have been doing just fine without it.









4. Factums - Factums 7" (Polly Maggoo)
Yes, the Siltbreeze LP is great, but these bad dudes seem more in control with the limited format of a 7" - much like their obvious heroes in Cab Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle.








5. Pink Reason - By A Thread 7" (Trick Knee)
I think I've written enough about Pink Reason this year. FIY.










6. Nothing People - In The City 7" (S-S)
Psychotic glam-punk for nervous nobodies, with a Roxy cover on the back side. Their single on Hozac is just as good. Another band due for a big LP next year(?).









7. Blank Dogs - Diana (The Herald) 12" (Sacred Bones)
A little more to chew on this time around, the better of two Blank Dog 12"s. It seems like he's clustering recording sessions with each release, putting 'em out as soon as they hit the tape, and this is a good thing for someone as prolific and consistently great as he is. Can't wait to see what he does for the Troubleman album.






8. El Jesus de Magico - Funeral Home Session 7" (Columbus Discount)
Finally, a piece of El Jeezy's recorded output worthy of the worship they demand on stage. Probably the most overlooked single of the year on a national level. New demos for the LP are freaking amazing.






9. Sic Alps - Strawberry Guillotine 7" (Woodsist)
It wasn't until I caught Sic Alps' transcendent live show that I understood their intentions. They take chunks of 60's gold and slather it in 90's fuzz BBQ until your eardrums pop. Much like with TNV, the juxtaposition is irresistible.







10. Times New Viking - My Head 7" (Matador)
A teaser for the front-runner of album of the year, '08. "My Head" and "RIP Allegory" now go together like weed and coffee, but you're pre-ordering this one for the B-sides. "Western Civ" was a favorite of mine when I got a copy of the Rip It Off demos, and I was surprised they left it off the album.






11. TV Ghost - Atomic Rain 7" (Die Stasi)
The youth of America? There is hope. TV Ghost ripped through '07 with this single and a house show-ready live set. One time I saw the guitarist smile. Their upcoming LP should redefine Midwestern angst.







12. Wooden Shjips - SOL '07 (Sick Thirst/Holy Mountain)
In hindsight, the LP was a tad disappointing. I admire what they attempted with the opportunity: a high-fi version of their Les Rallizes-Kraut-Summer of Love hybrid. Sometimes trying to satisfy all of Julian Cope's sensors doesn't always work out. But the Shjips had two heady doses of 7" in them, this being the best of 'em, a single fuzz stretched over two sides. Still, they've yet to re-capture the perfection of their first 10".




13. Catatonic Youth - Piss Scene CDR (Fuck Jazz)
You could call '07 the year of the mystery myspace band. Dozens popped up, potentially all helmed by the same person, each group with a focused sound and aesthetic. I like the idea honestly, come up with a batch of two or three songs, give it a name and make it "real" online. Post-modern pop at its finest. That said, CY tapped into the stoned 80's West Coast hardcore fringes, shorts and flannel and Sweet records. I want more.








14. Los Llamarada - The Very Next Moment 7" (S-S)
Mexico's answer to....everything? I hear something different every time I play this. They seem like such nice, unpretentious, youthful individuals for kicking out such dirty, sexy stuff. If you don't like this and the LP I suggest you...go listen to your Liars records or something (I'm out of cute things to say today).






15. Night of Pleasure - Night of Pleasure 7" (Columbus Discount)
Awesome single no. 3 from the CDR HQ. NoP smother Columbus' punk past and spit on its inbred corpse. They are better than ever and have been stretching out their sound over 30 minute sets lately. Could bring a banger of an LP in '08.