Well hey lookit that, it's Xmas Eve already. Without further ado, I present my 20 favourite tracks of 2008. Hopefully I'll be done by New Year's Eve.
To ease my hands and head, this list will be split into three or four bite-size chunks. First up is numbers 20-16.
(Yes I did steal the list format from Pitchfork)
20: Islands
"Creeper"
[ANTI-]
It figures that Islands' first dance song would be about being stabbed in the night in your own home. Despite the macabre subject, "Creeper" is an agreeably catchy tune. Opening with menacing, thumping bass, the song quickly winds through several verses of brisk guitar lines with eerie half-whispered vocals. Like much of their discography, what initially appears to be uncomplicated pop soon reveals itself as a multi-layered track, forever unwinding and always revealing new depths.
19: Los Campesinos!
"Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats"
[Wichita/Arts & Crafts]
Of all the giddy sugar rushes on Los Campesinos!' debut album, this is surely the most exhilarating and fun. Shocking you into submission with an amusingly shouty opening (1!!2!3!!4!), you are dragged with breakneck speed through a maelstrom of angular guitars, pounding drums and earnest vocals. Beautifully loud and passionate on its own, in the context of the album its like eating a stick of pure youthful joy.
18: Santogold
"Lights Out"
[Atlantic Records]
On a debut where Santi White bent her distinctive voice around any number of genres, it is oddly fitting that the best track is also the most back-to-basics. Despite being licensed to advertise pretty much anything you care to mention, "Lights Out" is still pleasantly arresting, with nicely heavy-sounding bass and Santogold's multi-tracked vocals ooh-ing and ahh-ing in the background, while the central vocals stand up front clear as crystal. The song is a simple drums 'n' guitar affair, but it proves a very effective vehicle for this artist's many talents.
17: Autechre
"Tankakern"
[Warp Records]
An IDM track you can almost dance to? Well, not quite. Like most of Autechre's back catalogue, you'll likely end up a twisted mess on the floor if you try and bust a groove to this. That doesn't stop "Tankakern" being thoroughly fun to listen to, and increasingly so on every listen. Where this track (short by genre standards at just under 4 mins) succeeds is in evoking a palpable industrial atmosphere with little more than percussion. Muddied squelches of bass, skittering cymbals and a constantly wavering central drum line combine to do what IDM does best - immerse you in strange worlds for a few minutes at a time.
16: Laura Marling
"Failure"
[Virgin Records]
It wasn't at all easy to pick one best track from 18-year old Laura Marling's stellar debut. I eventually settled on "Failure" because it pretty much ticks all the boxes that make the entire album great. Delicate, simple and elegant guitar strumming? Check. Subtle but gorgeous backing instrumentation? Check. An abstract narrative that combines melancholy, loss and happiness? Check. Beautiful voice? Check. A brilliant song by one of the most promising young artists of the decade? CHECK.
To ease my hands and head, this list will be split into three or four bite-size chunks. First up is numbers 20-16.
(Yes I did steal the list format from Pitchfork)
20: Islands
"Creeper"
[ANTI-]
It figures that Islands' first dance song would be about being stabbed in the night in your own home. Despite the macabre subject, "Creeper" is an agreeably catchy tune. Opening with menacing, thumping bass, the song quickly winds through several verses of brisk guitar lines with eerie half-whispered vocals. Like much of their discography, what initially appears to be uncomplicated pop soon reveals itself as a multi-layered track, forever unwinding and always revealing new depths.
19: Los Campesinos!
"Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats"
[Wichita/Arts & Crafts]
Of all the giddy sugar rushes on Los Campesinos!' debut album, this is surely the most exhilarating and fun. Shocking you into submission with an amusingly shouty opening (1!!2!3!!4!), you are dragged with breakneck speed through a maelstrom of angular guitars, pounding drums and earnest vocals. Beautifully loud and passionate on its own, in the context of the album its like eating a stick of pure youthful joy.
18: Santogold
"Lights Out"
[Atlantic Records]
On a debut where Santi White bent her distinctive voice around any number of genres, it is oddly fitting that the best track is also the most back-to-basics. Despite being licensed to advertise pretty much anything you care to mention, "Lights Out" is still pleasantly arresting, with nicely heavy-sounding bass and Santogold's multi-tracked vocals ooh-ing and ahh-ing in the background, while the central vocals stand up front clear as crystal. The song is a simple drums 'n' guitar affair, but it proves a very effective vehicle for this artist's many talents.
17: Autechre
"Tankakern"
[Warp Records]
An IDM track you can almost dance to? Well, not quite. Like most of Autechre's back catalogue, you'll likely end up a twisted mess on the floor if you try and bust a groove to this. That doesn't stop "Tankakern" being thoroughly fun to listen to, and increasingly so on every listen. Where this track (short by genre standards at just under 4 mins) succeeds is in evoking a palpable industrial atmosphere with little more than percussion. Muddied squelches of bass, skittering cymbals and a constantly wavering central drum line combine to do what IDM does best - immerse you in strange worlds for a few minutes at a time.
16: Laura Marling
"Failure"
[Virgin Records]
It wasn't at all easy to pick one best track from 18-year old Laura Marling's stellar debut. I eventually settled on "Failure" because it pretty much ticks all the boxes that make the entire album great. Delicate, simple and elegant guitar strumming? Check. Subtle but gorgeous backing instrumentation? Check. An abstract narrative that combines melancholy, loss and happiness? Check. Beautiful voice? Check. A brilliant song by one of the most promising young artists of the decade? CHECK.
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