2008 was another great year in music, particularly for impressive debuts. In fact, three of The Scenestar’s Top 5 albums of the year are by new artists.
As with last year, the staff lists varied quite a bit, with choices ranging from Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne to The Slip by Nine Inch Nails ... and everything in between.
But in the end, The Scenestar selected as our No. 1 2008 album the debut from Seattle-based Fleet Foxes, who got our attention with EP Sun Giant and further surprised us with the band’s stunning self-titled. Here’s to more great music in 2009.
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BY KATIE SEATON
LadyHawke
Self-Titled
Modular/Island
LadyHawke has made it her goal to take the world back to the ’80s, where pop music’s lyrics were simple and the rhythm dramatic. She succeeds by providing a solid 45-minute flashback on her self-titled LP debut, out Nov. 18.
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BY MYCHELLE PETERSON
Eagles of Death Metal
Heart On
Downtown Records
Admittedly, it’s tough to take a band seriously who partners with Denny's on a breakfast platter. But hey, who needs to take everything so seriously? If nothing else, listening to the Eagles of Death Metal is a good time. No need to interpret the lyrics, no need to decipher hidden meaning or dig for layer upon layer of musical genius. Nope, with EODM, what you see is what you get. And that’s pretty fun in most cases.
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BY LIANE CHAN
The Little Ones
Morning Tide
Chop Shop Records
The debut album by Los Angeles-based indie pop band The Little Ones is chockfull of happy melodies and upbeat harmonies. The opening title track is a good example of the poppiness of the album, offering an infectious beat and catchy chorus. The lyrics about the morning tide rising and falling are both clever and poetic. “Ordinary Song” is lightly harmonized, with a sing-along chorus and chiming sounds that give it a happy, dreamlike feel.
“Boracay” is a fun romp that has a bouncy beat and happy vocals about playing on the beach. “All Your Modern Boxes” is another upbeat song that shows off the Little Ones’ talent for wordplay and clever lyrics. “Tangerine Visions” has a distinctive guitar and keyboard riff that hooks the listener to the lyrics about the warmth of the sun. “Gregory’s Chant” is a well harmonized song, where the chorus is made of sounds rather than actual words.
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BY LIANE CHAN
Asbury
Under the...
Semi-Content Music
Asbury is a music project from the mind of David Franklin, who creates mysterious and haunting songs that range from lo-fi instrumentation to more layered and intricately crafted music. “Distance is the Difference” opens the album with sounds reminiscent of a city playground and goes into whispered vocals and quiet instruments that include tinkling xylophones. It goes into more familiar guitar and repeated choruses as the song progresses, though it continues to capture the listener’s attention as it returns to its opening noises of laughter.
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BY KATIE SEATON
TV On the Radio
Dear Science
Interscope
Though not yet a household name, TV On the Radio boasts a consistently solid catalog of releases, including 2004’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, which offers such blistering songs as “Staring at the Sun” and “Dreams.” With an all-encompassing sound that touches upon many genres—from rock, hip hop and rap to jazz and electronica—TV On the Radio certainly doesn’t shy away from experimentation. After the critical acclaim of 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain, which Rolling Stone named the No. 4 album of the year, to say the follow-up album was highly anticipated would be an understatement. Luckily for fans, TV On the Radio has returned with an equally impressive, critically lauded album, Dear Science.
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BY TIFFANY LI
Monsters Are Waiting
Ones and Zeroes
Kanine Records
While too much candy can make you sick, the only side effects to repeated listens of Ones and Zeroes, the new album by candy-coated Monsters Are Waiting are head-nodding, melody-humming and possibly an overdose of happiness. Well, not really, but like similarly sweet counterparts The Submarines, Monsters Are Waiting are the musical antidote to any bout of emo-music-induced depression.
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BY TIFFANY LI
Walter Meego
Voyager
Almost Gold/Sony
When scoping out sources for new music trends, ABC sitcoms don’t usually come to mind. But whoever chooses music for the network’s shows has really been on the ball recently, with the latest episodes of Grey’s Anatomy featuring The National and Ugly Betty introducing millions to Calvin Harris. Another Ugly Betty winner was Walter Meego’s “In My Dreams,” the perfect floaty, hopeful song for Betty on her birthday.
In the five years since Chicagoans Justin Sconza and Colin Yarck first began recording as Walter Meego, along with Andrew Bernhardt, the duo has gone from self-produced cassette tapes to an Almost Gold/Sony album, Voyager, due May 27.
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BY PAULA GONZALEZ
Sleepercar
West Texas
Doghouse
Texas. You don’t mess with it. Don’t mess with Texas. There is no way I want to mess with Texas after seeing the movie No Country for Old Men. I wouldn’t want someone to make me call a coin toss. Now that was a hardcore, American-made cowboy shootout movie. So when you come across a band that doesn’t fall into the immediate labeling of Brit-pop/rock and play instead in the field of Johnny Cash, acoustic Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Band of Horses, The Cobbs and Ryan Adams, you got yourself a “Made in the U.S.A.” band. Sleepercar isn’t a new band, nor a local band. West Texas is a debut album, and it’s Jim Ward’s project. Recognize the name? He’s the lead singer and guitarist for the band Sparta.
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