Another year coming to a close already. I'll be posting my top 10 sometime in the next week, but here are a few honorable mentions for albums that I quite enjoyed throughout the year:
No Kids - Come Into My House
Leila - Blood Looms & Blooms
The Bug - London Zoo
Kylie Minogue - X
Hercules & Love Affair
Yelle - Pop-up
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Sam Sparro
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Chairlift - Does You Inspire You
N*E*R*D - Seeing Sounds
Madonna - Hard Candy
Miss Kittin - Batbox
Groove Armada - Soundboy Rock
Estelle - Shine
I narrowed this down from a little over 50. I keep a running list throughout the year (I know, pathetic, but very easy to do thanks to listal.com) and realized that although there were a lot of releases I was excited about, very few seemed to be good albums throughout and just had 1 or 2 great songs.
A couple albums that were officially released here this year (Kylie, Yelle, Robyn, etc.) made my list but others were on last year or just got lost in the shuffle. My number 1 falls under this category...
You have probably heard Metronomy. They have done many remixes for many great artists. My personal fav, and the one that introduced me to the UK electronic trio is the Temposhark & Imogen Heap collaboration "Not That Big." More notably, they've done mixes for Franz Ferdinand, Ladytron, and Gorillas and recently Lykke Li ("I'm Good, I'm Gone") and Goldfrapp ("Happiness")
Their sound evokes elements of Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem, and Junior Senior. Their latest album Nights Out, released last month in the UK, is a collection of dance-tinged songs about heartbreak with fey, melancholic vocal layers & instrumentals that stand on their own as great tracks.
A wonderful album overall, definitely worth checking out if you can find it.
And just in time for Halloween, here's a stand-out track from their 2006 album Pip Paine.
I must say, I am quite disappointed in myself for not jumping on the Roisin Murphy train when Ruby Blue came out. In the past couple of weeks I went from pleasantly surprised after viewing the You Know Me Better video to pretty much obsessed, non-stop listening, finding any b-side and remix I possibly can.
Roisin was one half of Moloko. I liked a few songs off Do You Like My Tight Sweater back in the day (1995, yikes) but never really got into it farther than that. Roisin incorporates a lot of elements that made Moloko stick out into her solo efforts but she really does have a style all her own and you just can not help but to get sucked in.
Her latest album, Overpowered, is a collection of great tunes that mix dance & electronic with a dash of disco and a pop sensibility. It's really hard to compare her to other artists because she really stands on her own, but Goldfrapp & Kylie Minogue come to mind.
The Matthew Herbert produced Ruby Blue is really far-removed from Overpowered. It's much quieter, subdued, with more of a focus on vocal elements and a bit darker. Which soul is also another very important part of her style... she has an amazing voice.
Anyway, check her out, I doubt you'll be disappointed. I see she's playing CMJ this year so maybe that will be her chance to break through/out/etc. In the states anyway, naturally, she's already a star around the world...
I had the pleasure of seeing St. Vincent in concert recently and was blown away by her mad skillz. This cover in particular has stuck with me. So great!
There's an interview up with her at pitchfork worth checking out too.
Lykke Li's album Youth Novels is pretty much flawless. With a perfect balance of catchy sweet pop tunes, and depressing slow jams, it's going to be one of the best albums of 2008... if not the best. Check out songs on left, and video for "Little Bit" below.
