top 100 2008
****1/2
1.) portishead – third
2.) fleet foxes – s/t
3.) of montreal – skeletal lamping
**** – ****1/2
4.) the magnetic fields – distortion
5.) liz durrett – outside our gates
6.) frontier ruckus – the orion songbook
7.) ida – lovers prayer
8.) evangelista – hello voyager
9.) lucksmiths – first frost
10.) mia doi todd – gea
11.) merz – moi et mon camion
12.) the felice brothers – s/t
13.) samamidon – all is well
14.) shearwater – rook
15.) peter broderick – home
16.) mary hampton – my mother’s children
17.) j. tillman – vacilando territory blues
18.) david grubbs – an optimist notes the dusk
19.) chad vangaalen – soft airplane
20.) said the shark – silly killings
****
21.) beatbeat whisper – wonder continental
22.) talkdemonic – eyes at half mast
23.) nalle – the sirens wave
24.) headless heroes – the silence of love
25.) wild beasts – limbo, panto
26.) bodies of water – a certain feeling
27.) rose kemp – unholy majesty
28.) randy newman – harps and angels
29.) plants and animals – parc avenue
30.) lau nau – nukkuu
31.) alina simone – everyone is crying out to me, beware
32.) the dodos – visiter
33.) robert forster – the evangelist
34.) cat power – jukebox
***1/2 – ****
35.) matt bauer – the island moves in the storm
36.) essie jain – the inbetween
37.) anathallo – canopy glow
38.) billy bragg – mr love & justice
39.) joanne robertson – the lighter
40.) malcolm middleton – sleight of heart
41.) scott matthew – s/t
42.) josephine foster – this coming gladness
43.) toumani diabate – the mande variations
44.) bohren & der club of gore – dolores
45.) johnny flynn – a larum
46.) jayber crow – two short stories
47.) thao nguyen & the get down stay down – we brave bee stings and all
48.) white hinterland – phylactery factory
49.) kaki king – dreaming of revenge
50.) old man luedecke – proof of love
***1/2
51.) bowery boy blue – stalk that myth
52.) james yorkston – when the haar rolls in
53.) constantines – kensington heights
54.) ignatz – III
55.) vampire weekend – s/t
56.) benjamin wetherill – laura
57.) the moondoggies – don’t be a stranger
58.) okkervil river – the stand ins
59.) anthony rochester – music for in the spaceship
60.) pocahaunted – island diamonds
61.) adem – takes
62.) mates of state – re-arrange us
63.) glorytellers – s/t
64.) tall firs – to old to die young
65.) baby dee – safe inside the day
66.) silver summit – s/t
67.) sharron kraus – the fox’s wedding
68.) the last shadow puppets – the age of the understatement
69.) pia fraus – after summer
70.) carcrashlander – s/t
71.) fursaxa – kobold moon
72.) foot foot – trumpet
73.) monade – monster comic
74.) little annie and paul wallfisch – when good things happen to bad pianos
75.) the ruby suns – sea lion
76.) ports of call – like thieves
77.) beach house – devotion
78.) spires that in the sunset rise – curse the traced bird
79.) my morning jacket – evil urges
80.) micah p. hinson and the red empire orchestra – s/t
81.) me and the grownups – battling the mountains, the sky and the sea
82.) dead meadow – old growth
83.) the howling hex – earth junk
84.) brighton, ma – amateur lovers
85.) deus – vantage point
*** – ***1/2
86.) bonnie prince billy – lie down in the light
87.) mv & ee – total loss songs
88.) domingo – s/t
89.) welcome to the cinema – blocks and hills
90.) autistic daughters – uneasy flowers
91.) duffy – rockferry
92.) a weather – cove
93.) sunny day sets fire – summer palace
94.) the helio sequence – keep your eyes ahead
95.) xiu xiu – woman as lovers
96.) tindersticks – the hungry saw
97.) audrey – the fierce and the longing
98.) hills like white elephants – himalaya
99.) 22 pistepirkko – (well you know) stuff is like
100.) christina carter – original darkness
top 10 ep:
1.) fleet foxes – sun giant ****1/2
2.) the lil’ hospital – universe sucks ****
3.) laura veirs – two beers veirs ***
4.) breathe owl breathe – ghost glacier ****
5.) vetiver – more of the past ****
6.) chris bathgate – wait, skeleton ***1/2 – ****
7.) laura gibson – six white horses ***1/2
8.) northern portrait – the fallen aristocracy ***1/2
9.) laura barrett – earth sciences ***1/2
10.) stephanie hladowski – the high, high nest ***1/2