Music Blogs

These are selections #21 through #30 in our Best Albums of 2008 countdown series.

#21. Narrow Stairs by Death Cab For Cutie

Released: May 13, 2008
Label: Atlantic/WEA
Album Charts: #1 The Billboard 200, #1 Top Internet Albums, #1 Top Canadian Albums

"Death Cab For Cutie released their second major label effort this year after breaking out of the indie music underground and into the mainstream. Although this new record is not peppered with the same number of hooks contained on their 2005 release Plans. Narrow Stairs finds the band walking the line between pop accessibility and artistic credibility perfectly. This is a fine album for fans both old and new."

Listen to Narrow Stairs:

   1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
  
   2. I Will Possess Your Heart
  
   3. No Sunlight
   
   4. Cath
    
   5. Talking Bird
   
   6. You Can Do Better Than Me
  
   7. Grapevine Fires
    
   8. Your New Twin Sized Bed
  
   9. Long Division
  
   10. Pity And Fear
  
   11. The Ice Is Getting Thinner
   
   12. I Will Possess Your Heart 
   
   13. Album Credits [As Read By Mike West]

#22. Lie Down In The Light by Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Released: May 12, 2008
Label: Spunk
Charts: #10 Top Heatseekers, #30 Top Independent Albums

"Will Oldham's voice sounds better than it ever as on his latest Bonnie "Prince" Billy album Lie Down In The Light. I've loved his music for a long while, but the vocals were always an area where I've hoped for improvement. Well, that improvement has arrived. This has quickly become my favorite Bonnie "Prince" Billy album and I can say with certainty that I will be listening to this one for a long time to come."

 Lie Down In The Light is not available for streaming:

   1. Easy Does It 
 
   2. You Remind Me Of Something (The Glory Goes)   

   3. So Everyone 

   4. For Every Field There's A Mole  
 
   5. (Keep Eye On) Other's Gain
  
   6. You Want That Picture
  
   7. Missing One  

   8. What's Missing Is
 
   9. Where Is The Puzzle?
  
   10. Lie Down In The Light 
 
   11. Willow Trees Bend 
 
   12. I'll Be Glad

#23. IV by Chatham County Line

Released: JMarch 4, 2008
Label: Yep Rock
Album Charts: None

"Chatham County Line have been on a roll. Their 2006 album Speed Of The Whippoorwill made my end of year list and IV scores just as well in 2008. The band keeps things simple, but each part fits perfectly. Acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, harmony, melody and the occasionally well-placed pedal steel all come together in a singular and consistent voice. Chatham County Line is producing the best alt bluegrass on the planet at the moment, and you should make a point to listen."

Listen to IV:

   1. Chip Of A Star
  
   2. The Carolina
  
   3. Let It Rock
  
   4. One More Minute
  
   5. Birmingham Jail
  
   6. Sweet Eviction
  
   7. I Got Worry
  
   8. Clear Blue Sky
  
   9. She
  
   10. Whipping Boy
  
   11. Paige
  
   12. Country Boy/City Boy 
  
   13. Thanks

#24. Shallow Grave Way by The Tallest Man On Earth

Released: September 1, 2008
Label: Spunk
Album Charts: None

"The Tallest Man On Earth is Swedish folk singer Kristian Mattson. His 2008 album, Shallow Grave, is truly a naked folk album. Mattson's unique gritty voice is accompanied by his technically competent acoustic guitar / banjo playing. The early Dylan comparisons are rife, but the differences are many. Kristian's vocal phrasing and timbre is nothing like Dylan's and his guitar playing is better, but the biggest difference is that the melodies come from a completely different muse. Although not as timeless and compelling as Bob Dylan, Shallow Grave contains some of the very best new folk songwriting we've heard from any folk singer this year."

Listen to Shallow Grave Way:

   1. I Won't Be Found
  
   2. Pistol Dreams
  
   3. Honey Won't You Let Me In
  
   4. Shallow Grave
  
   5. Where Do My Bluebird Fly
  
   6. The Gardener
  
   7. The Blizzard's Never Seen the Desert Sands
  
   8. The Sparrow and the Medicine
  
   9. Into the Stream
  
   10. This Wind

#25. Venus On Earth by Dengue Fever

Released: January 22, 2008
Label: Venus on Earth
Album Charts: #32 Top Heatseekers, #3 Top World Music Albums

"I've chosen not to include world music in my year end list this year, mostly because it deserves it's own list apart from popular music (especially Amadou & Miriam, Kasai Allstars). Although I'm  happy Dengue Fever scored a #3 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums this year, I'm not sure what Billboard is smoking since this album is not world music. Dengue Fever is a unique L.A. alt-rock indie band with a Cambodian singer. I suppose having a band member from a foreign country is what Billboard considers "world music"? Anyway, Venus On Earth wins my vote for the most unique, but accessible album of the year."

Listen to Venus On Earth:

   1. Seeing Hands
   
   2. Clipped Wings
     
   3. Tiger Phone Card
    
   4. Woman in the Shoes
     
   5. Sober Driver
  
   6. Monsoon of Perfume
     
   7. Integratron
     
   8. Oceans of Venus
     
   9. Laugh Track
     
   10. Tooth and Nail
     
   11. Mr. Orange

#26. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes

Released: June 3, 2008
Label: Sub Pop
Album Charts: #67 The Billboard 200, #9 Top Independent Albums, European Top 100 Albums

"Fleet Foxes have done an amazing thing on this self-titled release. The band has been able to channel the spirits of 60s/70s British and American folk, as well as 70's classic rock into something that does not sound derivative, but brand new and alive. The short pop songs found here feel expansive and detailed, and Fleet Foxes one of those records that seems to end quickly, only because you're so enraptured while it's playing."

Listen to Fleet Foxes:

   1. Sun it Rises
  
   2. White Winter Hymnal
  
   3. Ragged Wood
  
   4. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
  
   5. Quiet Houses
  
   6. He Doesn't Know Why
  
   7. Heard Them Stirring
  
   8. Your Protector
  
   9. Meadowlarks
  
   10. Blue Ridge Mountains
  
   11. Oliver James

#27. Stay Positive by The Hold Steady

Released: July 14, 2008
Label: Vagrant
Album Charts: #30 The Billboard 200, #5 Top Heatseekers, #2 Top Independent Albums, #30 Top Internet Albums, European Top 100 Albums

"There's no denying that Stay Positive finds The Hold Steady becoming slicker in their production. But I'm not so sure this is a bad thing. After all, this is a classic rock band at heart that delivers bombast and rock-star hooks. It's really only Craig Finn's drunken, working class poetry that separates it. In my opinion the shiny rock bravado only adds to Finn's art - Stay Positive keeps the fire roaring and offers a brand of rock & roll sorely needed."

Listen to Stay Positive:

   1. Constructive Summer
     
   2. Sequestered In Memphis
     
   3. One for the Cutters
     
   4. Navy Sheets
     
   5. Lord, I'm Discouraged
 
   6. Yeah Sapphire
     
   7. Both Crosses
     
   8. Stay Positive
     
   9. Magazine
     
   10. Joke About Jamaica
     
   11. Slapped Actress

Released: December 2, 2008
Label: Rap-A-Lot/Asylum
Album Charts: #24 the Billboard 200, #4 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

"Former Geto Boy Scarface has announced that he's retiring the name Scarface and may be recording rock records next. Well, Scarface is certainly going out with a bang. He sounds completely comfortable at the helm of this ship he has built. With the exception of the whining Rap-A-Lot CEO J. Prince on the "Intro", Emeritus is perfectly measured. The grooves flow out in a stream and let Scarface do what what he does best."

Listen to Emeritus:

   1. Intro

   2. High Powered 
  
   3. Forgot About Me 
  
   4. Can't Get Right 
  
   5. Still Here 
  
   6. It's Not A Game 
  
   7. Who Are They 
  
   8. Soldier Story 
  
   9. Redemption 
  
   10. High Note 
  
   11. We Need You 
  
   12. Unexpected
  
   13. Emeritus 
  
   14. Outro

#29. Lay It Down by Al Green

Released: May 27, 2008
Label: Blue Note
Album Charts: #9 The Billboard 200, #9 Top Internet Albums, #3 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

"Blue Note has steadily been bringing Al Green back to his peak form. Lay It Down finds the singer crafting new classics instead of cruising through life on his back catalogue. Al Green, his producers and Blue Note should write a book that teaches other former 70s legends how to make an album in the 00s -- maybe he can hook up with Solomon Burke on that one? If you're a fan of classic slow-burning soul you better add Lay It Down to your collection pronto."

Listen to Lay It Down:

   1. Lay It Down
 
   2. Just For Me
     
   3. You've Got the Love I Need
 
   4. No One Like You

   5. What More Do You Want From Me?
 
   6. Take Your Time
 
   7. Too Much
  
   8. Stay With Me (By The Sea)

   9. All I Need
    
   10. I'm Wild About You
     
   11. Standing In The Rain

#30. The Stand Ins by Okkervil River

Released: September 9, 2008
Label: Jagjaguar
Album Charts: #42 The Billboard 200, #5 Top Independent Albums, #42 Top Internet Albums

"I keep waiting for Okkervil River to break out big time in the same way that U2 or Coldplay did. Or at least maybe a Death Cab For Cutie level of success? They continue to produce brilliant albums, and The Stand Ins is no exception. The album provides moving human stories of sadness. The music is fine-tuned, and this band has mastered the art of only providing the background necessary to tell the story. And what great stories they are."

Listen to The Stand Ins:

   1. Stand Ins, One
     
   2. Lost Coastlines
 
   3. Singer Songwriter
 
   4. Starry Stairs
  
   5. Blue Tulip
 
   6. Stand Ins, Two
     
   7. Pop Lie
 
   8. On Tour With Zykos
   
   9. Calling And Not Calling My Ex
   
   10. Stand Ins, Three
     
   11. Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979

Continue to the Best Albums of 2008 - #31 to #40