2008/My Year In Lists

09. Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
Songs that feel like they were recorded at the bottom of the ocean, by a lonely mermaid with a broken heart.

08. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Breezy, wordy pop songs about punctuation and vacation towns, this was the most fun to be had this year. (like the first day of summer)

07. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster/We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Energetic, verbose pop straight from Wales, (& no strangers to ambition) they released two great albums in one year, a feat not many bands can claim.

06. Titus Andronicus - The Airing Of Grievances
You'd be angry too if you came from New Jersey. The best racket of the year.

05. Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling
A glorious marriage of their punkier early selves and the more ambient flourishes of their more recent work, Mogwai continue to make their typical trademark sound atypical.

04. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
A beautiful reinvigoration of their testier sides. Could have been perfected with a tightened tracklist. (I'm looking at you Golden Age/Dancing Choose)

03. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.

Bright, expansive songs that run the gamut from shoegaze, 90's stoner rock, doo-wop, and pyschedelic pop, this is another band who released two great albums in one year. If you are not a fan you are no friend of mine.

02. The Walkmen - You & Me
The most underrated album of the year and a return to form after their disappointing last album, You & Me is their best work yet but points to hope that it's not going to their end up their best ever.

01. Surf City - Surf City [EP]
The best kept secret of 2008 and my new soapbox.

There you go. If you're wondering where Fleet Foxes and Kanye were, check the rubbish pile. With love and squalor.