Paul's Best Music of 2008

The year is also to an end, and as a music lover it has been a pretty good year. Therefore I am creating this post to share my "best of" list of 2008 with you, together with some additional discoveries. My top 5 are in no particular order, since I simply cannot make a decision which album is best.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!!

Since the release of "Abbatoir Blues & The Lyre of Orpheus" in 2004 Nick Cave has been on my play list continiously. This album finds Nick Cave moving in a more "Rock 'n Roll" vibe, probably influenced by his adventures with Grinderman. If you like good lyrics with content, Nick Cave is your man. The title song is already of such a high lyrical level that all other current artists are blown of their feet. My personal favorite on this album is "Midnight Man". Especially when those organs kick in in the chorus. Below you can see a performance on "Later..." of "More news from Nowhere".

Brendan Canning - Something for all of us

Didn`t really like that Kevin Drew album of "Broken Social Scene Presents....", but this one is a lot better. There is something on this album for all of us. The title song, "Hit the Wall" and "Churches under the Stairs" have that characteristic Social Scene sound: Driving drumbeats and bass, colored in by a guitar with nice distorted sound. What stands this album apart from the other BSS albums are the instrumental songs. "All the best wooden toys come from Germany" and "Chamaleon" are two beautiful instrumental tunes, which put you in a dreamy state of mind. Perfect after a long hard day of work, while heading home in the train. All dark outside. Just you and this music in your ears.

The Dø - a mouthful

My parents didn`t really like this purchase. The girl who sings on this album is from Finland, and has a very high pitched voice. I`ve got to admit, sometimes it comes very close to the "irritating level", but most of the time she just sounds incredibly cute. And backed up by a very solid production and a sound ranging from Finnish Folk to Psuedo-hiphop to Indie, this is a delight to listen to. If you want to get to know this band, get your hands on the songs "At last", "stay (just a little bit more", "Unissasi Laulelet" and "Queen Dot Kong". These should give you a pretty complete view of what this two man band is capable of.

Nicole Atkins - Neptune City

So what? I bowed for the girl singer songwriter hype that has taken over our world. Please mind though, this is no "Duffy Winehouse" clone. This lady is from New Jersey and not from the British isles. At for a fact, she actually is closing in on the three decennia mark instead of being far below the legal age for drinking in her own country. I`ve got to admit, it's a pretty dramatic album with a very "noir" vibe to it. Perfect for a rainy autumn day. The production on this album is also very high; there's no song avoiding the violins and other orchestra stuff. But despite this overkill, something on this album wins me over; Her beautiful voice including a number of very strong songs. She also seems to sing very easily, which only makes it more impressive. The thing that won me completely over was her performance on the BBC. She was in complete control and new exactly what she was doing. There are a lot of highlights on this album. "Maybe Tonight", "The way it is", "Cool enough", "Neptune city", "Brooklyn's on fire" and "Party's over" are all songs that I would recommend to listen. That's 6 out of the total playlist of 10 songs. Not a bad score for a first album.

Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On

The Eagles have landed! Their third album, and in my opinion the best of them all. It's starts of perfectly with the classic rocker "Anything 'cept the truth", which might be a bit too long for it's own good. This however is made up by the short and feisty "Wannabe in L.A.", which also happens to be the first single. Things start to really warm up though with "(I used to couldn`t dance) tight pants". Maybe it is due to the friction, but this song man, wow! It's probably the best rock song to be released all year and is really, really danceable. Especially the high pitched chorus line "I don`t want to do what I`m supposed to, I just want someone to get close to". It cannot get any sweater than this. This is followed by an even dirtier "High Voltage" which is like sending out an pack of elephants out on a banana field ready for harvesting.

"Secret Plans" is also pure perfection. High tempo, simple lyrics, great chorus. That's all what a good song needs. "Now I`m a fool" is the perfect song to chill out to and shows the Eagles from a more sensitive side. This sensitivity is abandond at the song "Solo Flights" which is about, well, self gratification. Not many songs in music history must have been about this act, this one pulls it of, just. The last song "I`m your torpedo" has got a brutal rhythm section to kick the life out of you. Sounds a bit like those drums are oversteard? Well, it makes a perfect ending to this Rock 'n Roll album. The finest in years.