Media Junkie

Media Junkie's Best Albums of 2008

2008 was a year of discovery for me, with half of my favorite records coming from newly discovered artists.  As always, it was tough to narrow the list down to ten choices, and this is by no means a definitive list. 

In order to choose my ten favorite albums of any given year, the CD must be released physically or digitally within the calendar year in the United States.  Re-releases (10th Anniversary, remasters, catalog releases, etc.) are not eligible (thus previously released US albums are not eligible simply because they appear on iTunes in a given year), nor are remix albums, Best Of compilations, DJ mix CDs, or soundtracks unless they are scores recorded specifically for a film (as opposed to a collection of tracks from various artists that appear within a film).  Only original compositions are eligible, in other words.

Don't forget, you can sample selections from these albums, and many more, in my Best Songs of 2008 playlist.  So, without any futher delay...

Under The Radar: The Best Songs of 2008

CD Review: Wild Sweet Orange - We Have Cause To Be Uneasy

Wild Sweet Orange
We Have Cause To Be Uneasy
2008
Canvasback Music

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Several years ago I was one of those people who used to go to concerts dreading the opening acts.  I went to see the headliners and I didn't care about these so-called "nobody bands."  I was under the mistaken impression that bands were small for a reason.  I'll admit to you now that I was completely off-base, but that was before I fully understood the independent music scene - before the discovery of bands like Hybrid, Grandaddy and Margot & the Nuclear So and So's.

Soon after discovering bands who would go onto becoming three of my all-time favorites, I began to open my mind and my ears.  More than that, I made the effort to listen to the bands before the concert even arrived.  One such band was Birmingham, Alabama's Wild Sweet Orange, who supported Margot on their most recent tour.

After listening to the first two songs on their full-length debut We Have Cause To Be Uneasy, I knew right away that WSO's CD would be in constant rotation.  Their style of Southern indie rock was refreshing, rambunctious, and lead singer Preston Lovinggood's lyrics showcased a certain wisdom and relatability.  As a result, I began looking forward to their opening set for Margot at the Pike Room on November 21st, 2008 - a far cry from the days when I used to wish for the quickest opening set in history.

Vacation Kickoff Party - The Silent Years & Longwave - Live in Pontiac, Mi, 18 December 2008 at the Pike Room

As Michigan was on the brink of a snowstorm that is still ongoing as I type, I was watching the weather closely last night before we (being my brother and I) decided to make the trek out to Pontiac to see The Silent Years and New York's post-punk indie rockers Longwave at The Pike Room.  This was to be the kickoff to my holiday vacation from my job and it was in danger of being marred by one of the worst snowstorms our state has seen in years.

As luck would have it, the earlier predictions that snow would start around midnight were adjusted to the wee small hours of the morning, so we indeed attended the show - and it's a good thing we did.  When I look back on my life from now until my time is up, the night of December 18th will be one of the most fondly remembered.

We arrived to find only a handful of people huddled inside the narrow staircase that leads up to the Pike Room, the upper half of the Crofoot Ballroom.  Little more than a bar with a small stage, the Pike Room is a surprisingly excellent concert venue.  Not only does the small, cramped space provide an intimate setting, but the sound is actually better than most of the larger venues I've ever been in.  Whoever works the sound there should be commended, for they are masters of their craft. 

The sandwich board listed the show as "Longwave & The Silent Drive," a fact which amused us greatly.  Unfortunately, no one else got the joke because the other five or six people were all there to see Longwave and had never heard of The Silent Years.  After their outstanding, roughly 50 minute set last night, I think it's safe to say many of those people won't soon forget them.  TSY definitely earned themselves some new fans last night, as many of the same people who eventually crowded into the stairwell to escape the biting cold were later seen in the crowd with copies of The Globe in their hands.

But it was not just for the music that last night's show will be remembered...

Essential Albums: The Envy Corps - Dwell

The Envy Corps
Dwell
2008
Vertigo Records

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Hailing from Ames, Iowa, the four piece indie rock band known as The Envy Corps have achieved some modest success with critics and fans.  Their debut, Soviet Reunion, was followed by the critically praised EP I Will Write You Love Letters If You Tell Me To, which earned them a stint as an opening act for The Killers. 

Earlier this year, their second full-length record finally saw release after numerous delays, and the band took to the road with Detroit indie rockers The Silent Years, where I first stumbled upon them at the October 18th show at The Magic Stick in Detroit.  That record, Dwell, is a marvelous piece of atmospheric indie pop-rock that, like the title suggests, will linger in your memory.

CD Review: The Orb - The Dream

The Orb
The Dream
2008 (US Release)
Six Degrees

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After The Orb burst into the electronic music scene in the early 1990s with their sample-laden, laid back ambient and dance tracks such as "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld" and the classic "Little Fluffy Clouds", they were heralded as innovators.  Dr. Alex Patterson, the one and only constant in the band, was largely credited with helping invent chill out and ambient music. 

After receiving critical and commercial success throughout much of the 90s, fickle professional critics who had lauded their earlier work began to label them irrelevant.  The critical backlash was most evident on their 2001 release Cydonia, which saw Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann, the band's two official members at the time, stray into somewhat unfamiliar territory with their first use of live vocals.  Some felt this strayed too far from The Orb's successful formula, while others felt it simply sounded too much like pop music.  Still others complained that the band were stuck in a rut, rehashing similar music with subtle tweaks that lacked any real depth.

Herein lies the problem with being labeled an innovator.  Should you attempt something new, critics will complain that it's too different, but if you only stick with a proven formula critics will cite a lack of creativity.  Despite the lumps and lashes it took, I found Cydonia to be a masterpiece - one of my favorite albums of 2001 - for the way it fused The Orb's sample-heavy ambient sound with more traditional song structures.  I found it an intoxicating mix of the new and the old and it still ranks as my personal favorite Orb record.

After several side projects and two more albums, 2004's Bicycles & Tricycles and 2005's Okie Dokie It's The Orb On Kompakt, The Orb had begun to move into a more minimalist direction.  This was largely due to Fehlmann's influence, and fans and critics alike began to tire of the slow, plodding, hit and miss nature of the tracks.

The Dream (which had been released in Japan in 2007, then worldwide the following year) sees the departure of Fehlmann, and Patterson reuniting with Martin "Youth" Glover, a critical component in The Orb's early success.  The album is a rather welcome return to The Orb's trippy sound.  Though it still falls short of the benchmark set by Cydonia or earlier works such as Orblivion, it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Essential Albums: Mason Proper - Olly Oxen Free

Mason Proper
Olly Oxen Free
2008
Dovecote Records

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It's always amazing when you discover a great band in your own backyard, figuratively speaking.  Earlier this year I finally took the time to see what all the fuss over Detroit indie rockers The Silent Years was all about and quickly realized all the hype was true.  The Silent Years are easily one of the best bands in the country, and possibly the world right now.  Having made this revelation, I attended their recent pre-Thanksgiving show where I subsequently discovered Mason Proper.

Based out on Ypsilanti, Mich., Mason Proper are a five piece indie rock band known for their rigorous, almost non-stop touring schedule.  Their first album, There Is A Moth In Your Chest, originally saw release in 2006, with portions being reworked and rerecorded for a 2007 rerelease.  It was a largely standard indie rock affair.  It wasn't bad, but it didn't take very many chances and stayed comfortably within the confines of the genre.  Though it touched upon grunge here or there, it was only towards the end of the album where the band branched out.  A wonderful experiment with electronica, "I Spy", the somber guitars and echoing piano of the ballad "Life's Corcucopia", "Carousel! Carousel!", which bears a striking resemblance to David Bowie's classic "All The Young Dudes", and "Blue Lips Eternal Inquiries", which sounds like something off of British indie-rockers South's first record with its use of digitized strings, a slide guitar, and reverberating drums, gave a glimpse into what the band's future might hold.

After spending several years on the road, Mason Proper returned to the studio to deliver their second album, Olly Oxen Free, a much more focused effort than their debut.  Unlike Moth, Olly Oxen Free defies any classification.  Mason Proper have found their sound by eschewing the trappings of the genre and the results are fantastic.

Essential Albums: Dido - Safe Trip Home

Dido
Safe Trip Home
2008
Arista

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In 1999, a British songstress named Dido released her debut album, No Angel, to an unsuspecting populace.  The younger sister of producer Rollo Armstrong, one of the key figures behind the international success of Faithless, Dido had appeared on several songs on her older brother's band's albums.  In return, he helped produce her solo debut, giving it a deep, vibrant electronic sound that worked perfectly in tandem with her airy voice. 

Already a fan of the album, I saw Dido perform at the now-closed 7th House in Pontiac, Mich., her first ever show in the state, with only an estimated 250 people in attendance and was entranced by her voice and how well her music translated to the live stage.  My autographed copy of No Angel remains one of my prized musical possessions, but not just for the nostalgic memory of meeting the singer.  No Angel is a wonderful record in every sense - a record that is still capable of moving me on an emotional level in a way that few albums ever have. 

Far from the normal saccharin drivel found on most pop CDs, Dido's lyrics often deal with complex issues.  Betrayal, fear of love and issues of trust (or mistrust), and heartbreak are far more commonplace in her songs than trite lines about being saved by a knight in shining armor or finding the perfect person. 

The night of the concert, I came home and immediately began work on a website dedicated to bringing Dido's music to the masses.  First hosted on AOL's free homepages, it eventually became DidoOnline, one of her first fan websites (along with several put up by members of her grassroots Yahoo group).  It wouldn't be until Eminem sampled Dido's song "Thank You" that she would catch the public's ear, and after that traffic to the site skyrocketed.  Arista Records contacted several websites, mine included, to run contests for her as her popularity grew.  Eventually, the traffic became so heavy that I was only able to keep the site up for several days out of the month before I went over my allotted bandwidth and my hosting company shut it down until my next billing cycle.  Unable to run the site the way I had intended, I eventually shut it down completely.

Expectations were high for her sophomore record, Life For Rent.  With the release of the lead-off single "White Flag", still one of her best songs to date, I expected another magical experience.  What I got was a disappointment.  Life For Rent wasn't a particularly bad record, but it was nowhere near the caliber of No Angel.  In many ways it felt like Dido, who once again teamed up with her brother for most of the production, was trying to copy the success of No Angel.  The electronics were still there, the lyrics still dealt with many of the same themes, and the strings were still present and even improved upon in several songs, but there was just something missing - some intangible element that made No Angel something special.

What does this have to do with Dido's newest release, her third studio album, Safe Trip Home?  I simply want you to understand how much I love and appreciate her music.  No Angel touched me on a deeply personal level, but after Life For Rent left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth I had little expectations for Safe Trip Home.  Even as I listened to the pre-release tracks on her official website I tried to keep my excitement down.  Sure, "Don't Believe In Love" and "Look No Further" were brilliant songs, but so was "White Flag" and that quality wasn't maintained throughout her sophomore effort.

It is with a gigantic sigh of relief that I can now officially say that Safe Trip Home is a stunningly beautiful record and every doubt I had has been washed away.  Dido has fully regained my trust, but more than that she has taken her music forward in a way I didn't think was possible.  Safe Trip Home is one of the most remarkable albums you'll listen to all year.