1. Young Widows - Old Wounds
Young Widows has finally escaped the remnants of Breather Resist and released an incredible record that flows perfectly from one end to the other. Old Wounds is the most solid LP I've heard all year, and seeing it played in its entirety twice this year cemented its choruses and riffs firmly in my head for weeks.
2. Paint It Black - New Lexicon
Paint It Black continue to churn out the same pummeling hardcore on their third record, but its similarities to earlier releases don't take away from the merits of New Lexicon at all. The heavy parts are heavier, the slow parts grind by with a little more sludge and the shouted refrains exude more passion. The interludes added by Oktopus (of Dälek) seem a bit unnecessary to me, but not enough so to make me listen to this record any less.
3. Torche - Meanderthal
Meanderthal continues the progression that we heard last year on In Return. They stray even farther from Torche's debut, but there are still enough drawn-out detuned notes to satisfy listeners among all the "stoner-pop" on Meanderthal. Side one is, in my opinion, better than side two, but the whole record is better than almost anything else released in '08. I'm anxious to see what happens to their sound, if anything, now that guitarist Juan Montoya is no longer along for the ride.
4. Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
This one came as a surprise to me. I enjoyed 2006's Hidden World, but it had to grow on me a bit. So when I heard The Chemistry of Common Life for the first, I was excited that it immediately hit me as a superior record. There's plenty of reviews of this record that hail the dozens and dozens of guitar tracks used to create the such a lush hardcore record, but it's the songwriting that's improved the most.
5. Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader
While I was fortunate enough to see Young Widows twice this year, I missed this band twice this year. When I watched a video of them playing for the first time on If You Make It, I was intrigued enough to seek out more songs. The guitars are technical in a Minus the Bear sort of way, but the two bands don't compare otherwise. Algernon is more akin to Cap'n Jazz, taking an early emo approach to catharsis and adding sing-alongs for fun.
6. Bridge & Tunnel - East/West
Another band whose earlier recordings didn't strike me as positively as they did some of my peers, but their debut full-length hits that spot. East/West combines male and female vocals and impressive interlocking guitar parts for post-hardcore record that sticks in your head. If you're not singing the beginning of "Night Owls" for a few days, you weren't listening.
7. Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game In Town
This was my introduction to Harvey Milk and I don't think any of their other records would've captured my attention like this one did. They forgo their earlier noisy compositions and indulge their droning, heavy metal blues on Life... Joe Preston is added on second guitar and along with Creston Spiers, they manage to put out a record that's traditionally heavier than much of their past efforts combined.
8. Naked Gods - Welcome Home
I'm glad I was able to include a local record this year, and especially glad that Naked Gods finally released more tunes. Their debut EP was catchy and in constant rotation in my cd player, and this one continues the tradition of folksy Band-esque rock and roll. The melodies are sweet and the interaction between guitars, drums, organ (and sometimes banjo) are seamless. They've changed a few tunes (Mothersun and Blah Blah Blah) from their original live arrangements and in doing so they flow better within the record. It's cheap and it's local, I encourage you to buy it.
9. Murs & 9th Wonder - Sweet Lord
Murs's major label debut, Murs for President, was released this fall but it was preceded by an internet-only release, Sweet Lord. This is the third (and final?) collaboration between Murs and 9th Wonder and contains some of the pair's finest tracks. Standouts include the Intro, "Nina Ross"'s ridiculous party-jam-turned-revenge story, and the list of the small pleasures in life on "And I Love It." Plus, it's free.
10. ?
Was there a tenth great record this year? There isn't one that immediately comes to mind. The T.I. record was pretty awesome. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks put out a solid LP. I actually liked the new Tom Gabel solo record. Blacklisted and Ceremony both improved with new records. Marnie Stern's new one was sweet the one time I was able to listen to it. But I didn't listen to any of those as much as I did records that didn't come out in the last 12 months, so I don't feel like I can list them here. However, there were some impressive EPs this year and if these lists were combined, some of them would definitely displace the nine LPs above.
EPs
1. Yardwork
This may be biased since I know some of these guys, but I love this record. All of their live shows have been some of the best concert experiences I've had this year, and Charlotte seems to agree. The songs are catchy and fun to sing along with and it definitely has the positive vibe they were shooting for.
2. Gaslight Anthem - Señor and the Queen
This is better than The '59 Sound. That record was kind of boring and static, but this four songs here are standouts among Gaslight's repertoire. I'd recommend this first, then Sink or Swim and then the new one.
3. Pollution - nasty.DNA
I saw this on a friend's blog and was instantly taken with the dirty punk rock. Plus, they were nice enough to send me a cd to play on the show (it's usually a cassette-only EP). If the Melvins sped up a bit and Double Negative slowed down a bit, you'd get Pollution. They've played with both bands, so my comparison is somewhat lazy, but it fits.
4. Des Ark - WXDU Vol. 2
I'm not actually positive that this was released in 2008, but when I bought it this summer, I was under the impression that it was new. Aimee sings 9 songs live on-air, accompanied only by her banjo or guitar playing. There has yet to be a disappointing Des Ark record and hopefully that tradition will continue for a long time.
5. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Rapid Response
After the RNC in Minneapolis, many protesters were wrongfully accused of violence and conspiracy so Ted Leo and company wrote a couple new songs, covered some punk classics and released it in order to aid Minneapolis Food Not Bombs and Democracy Now! The originals are better than most of the tracks on last full-length, Living With the Living, and the covers of Cock Sparrer and Amebix are gems in their own right.
6. Bridge & Tunnel/Young Livers
I really wanted to put the Young Livers full-length on my top records until I realized that it was released in '07 and I was actually just late in discovering it. Their song from this split 7" is actually even better than some of the tracks on The New Drop Era. The Bridge & Tunnel song is also good, it just gets overshadowed by the b-side.
If you read this and have opinions or your own top records, I'd love to hear them, leave a comment!
