5dots (in brief)

  1. Best of 2008

    What follows is a list, in alphabetical order, of records released in 2008 that I’ve enjoyed.

    It’s not intended to be exhaustive; there are other records that I haven’t had the chance to listen to yet.

    But let’s say that you’ve been ignoring music this past year, and would like to know what records came out that are worth listening to. This should get you started.

    And to get you started properly, the links in this list are to .zip files with the entire album in them. I won’t be leaving these up for too long, so get them while you can. Again: Every one of the records on this list can be downloaded, no strings attached.

    Let that sink in. Now:

    2562 - Aerial
    Techno-inspired dubstep. Nice to see folks pushing the genre in other directions.

    5dots - Lap Top Post Rock
    It might seem audacious to put my own record on here, but it’s really just self-promotional. I am pretty proud of how this record sounds, though.

    Air France - No Way Down
    Some of that Swedish beach party style dance music, this record gets it right: dancey beats, nostalgic melodies, kind of sweeping and grand.

    James Blackshaw - Litany of Echoes
    Minimal folk - clearly inspired by classical minimalism. Lots of repetitive fingerpicked guitar, and unlike his previous (totally awesome) records, this has some piano songs on it too, and strings to make it even more satisfying. Really relaxing.

    Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Lie Down in the Light
    It’s the new Will Oldham record. Not his greatest, if you ask me (“Sings Palace Music” for the win), but more compelling than some. If you liked “I See a Darkness” you’ll like this.

    The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
    Throwback rap that stays with you. Pretty minimal production (lots of drum machine beats), but clever and catchy rhymes. I’m starting to get a little tired of it, but that’s after a lot of listening, and the one line about buying limited quantity sneaks still gets me.

    The Death Set - Worldwide
    I saw these guys on tour with Matt and Kim, and there’s a clear similarity - earnest, young, energetic, but The Death Set are definitely more about rocking out. Kind of contemporary punk, but mostly I find the energy inspiring.

    DJ/rupture - Uproot
    A solid dubstep flavored mix from /rupture. Not quite as all over the place as he used to be, but still probably the best example of DJ as curator out there. And I completely love the cello piece in this by Jenny Jones.

    Fennesz - Black Sea
    Fennesz can do no wrong by me. This record doesn’t have as much of the sunny qualities that his last two albums did, and is a little more overtly psychedelic-sounding, but it’s still great hazy processed guitar music.

    Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
    I would not have thought that what is basically a noise record made in 2008 would be so appealing to me in 2008, but this record is totally solid. If you like the distortion of, say, My Bloody Valentine, but like the sound of something further abstracted from pop music, this is your record.

    iTAL tEK - Cyclical
    More dubstep, but this is different - harder, a little more pulverizing, and with a definite IDM influence.

    Krallice - Krallice
    I never got into metal enough to really get all the scene politics, but I used to have bosses who ragged on black metal constantly. I’ve never heard black metal that really interested me, but this record is pretty sweet - it features Mick Barr, who’s one of my favorite names in metal right now. (See Ocrilim later on the list)

    Maga Bo - Archipelagoes
    Associate of DJ/rupture, which should probably tell you something - basically a globetrotting rap record with a ton of guests and “world music” style, without sounding as cheesy as “world music” implies.

    M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade - O Superman Remixes Parts 1 & 2
    Minimal techno remixes of Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman” - incredibly sweet. I raved about this to al3x one night when we were DJing, and then the DJ who came on after us played one of them and I said “see??”

    No Age - Nouns
    Skate punk updated for the new millennium. I almost feel too old to like this record, but it’s really good (and even if you don’t like punk you might like this; it’s not really what you’re thinking of).

    Ocrilim - Annwn
    Solo Mick Barr, this is minimalist metal. Just guitar, playing repetitive but fast phrases, with distortion. If you didn’t know better, you’d assume that it was building to something bigger, but it’s not.

    Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
    Clearly not as good as last year’s “The Stage Names”, which was catchy and clever and emotional and sad/tormented all wrapped up into one, but a little slice of that, and so still pretty good,

    Parts & Labor - Receivers
    I don’t remember how to talk about this record, but it sort of sounds like a contemporary rock record - in the way that No Age have made punk sound current, Parts & Labor are doing a similar thing, I think. I need to re-listen to this, because I’m doing a terrible job selling it and it’s actually a really good album that I’d recommend to almost anyone (unlike some of the more niche stuff on this list).

    Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual
    Baltimore spazz. Like a less metal/Japanese Melt-Banana, and with just as much squeaky vocals.

    Serious DJs - The Strip Club Museum
    More self-promotion. al3x and I did this mix off the cuff one day in the summer, and for not having DJed together in a while it came out pretty good, I think. And then we never actually put it on our website, so it’s not unlikely that you didn’t get to hear this. Not our best, definitely not our worst.

    Starkey - Ephemeral Exhibits
    Bass music with IDM flavor. But mostly heavy, danceable dubstep/bassline bass.

    Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
    So glad to see him getting more credit for this record, but I feel like no one I know is listening to him. Kind of weird indie folk-pop. Not exactly catchy per se, but sticks in my head a bit. (His other records are also really good!)

    The Very Best - Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best
    This is a mixtape; their album’s out next year. Radioclit do “eurocrunk”, so this was pretty unexpected - there’s some DJ-friendly tracks, and a number of surprisingly earnest songs too. Diverse, global, really interesting - highly recommended.

    Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls
    Reminds me a lot of K Records style girl pop, with a thick layer of distortion on top.

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