Good year for music, had trouble paring down to 10

In no particular order:

1. Johann Johannsson - Fordlandia (4ad) (just insanely gorgeous)
2. Jesu – Why Are We Not Perfect (hydrahead) (the denser more active counterpart to JJ)
3. Dear and the Headlights – Drunk Like Bible Times (EVR) (second time this band has been on my list… great The Band-influenced indie rock)
4. The Weepies – Hideaway (Nettwerk) (Now one of my favorite indiepop/singer-songwriter albums of all time)
5. M83 – Saturdays=Youth (Mute) (lush and beautiful in that 80s shiny way. Nostalgia that’s also a reinvention)
6. Santogold – Santogold (downtown) (Everything that I dont see about M.I.A. I see with Santi)
7. Sun Kil Moon - April (Caldo Verde) (Every top 10 list needs a somber poor-me album for depressives. Nobody does it better than Kozelek. Meditative.)
8. Robyn - Robyn (EMI) (best pure pop record this year)
9. Ida – Lover’s Prayers (polyvinyl) (another pretty m/f duet indiepop record, this more melancholy than The Weepies but equally worthwhile)
10. The Hush Sound - Goodbye Blues (decaydance/fueled by ramen) (gets the Nellie McKay schizophrenic-influence indierock award, and a great way to come out of the meditative/depressive coma of some of my other records. Also a heavy Carole King influence which is awesome.)

Runners-up:
Kylie Minogue – X (one of her strongest outings in ages, not as much replay value as Robyn tho)
Los Campesinos - Hold On Now, Youngster (i remember this being a great record, haven’t listened to it since it came out)
Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It (Columbia) (great record)
Mercury Rev – Snowflake Midnight (awesome awesome sparkly record, sadly only room for 10. if you haven’t heard it, hear it.)

Most disappointing: Ben Folds … dude… wtf.
Best early ‘09 record i’ve heard because I work in the biz: Derek Trucks Band (seriously funky stuff)
Albums I’m looking forward to in 09: Paper Route, the inevitable Amy Winehouse disaster breakup album, NEW A CAMP RECORD OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY VIA NETTWERK.
Best album from 07 that shouldve been on my list but i didn’t hear until 08: Lucky Soul (ruffa Lane) (insanely catchy Cardigans-meets-Phil-Spector stuff)
Best album i’ve rediscovered from my collection: The Autumns – The Autumns
Music-related thing i’m most proud of having done in 2008: Tie between
Thrillercast and 60 Second Soundtracks

“Karmacode” builds on where Lacuna Coil’s 2002 breakout album “Comalies” left off and seems virtually guaranteed to bring the mainstream success they deserve. Metal babe and songstress Christina Scabbia’s vocals compliment Andrea Ferro’s more standard gutteral counterpoint, mixing the Gothic tones of The Gathering or The Mission UK with classic metal theatrics into a heavy yet accessible vision of headbangers bliss. The songwriting never sacrifices melody for volume and even ups the arena-friendly production value to a fine polish.

Lead single “Our Truth” begins with a military snare riff, then brings Christina’s amazing range together with a densely harmonized sing-along chorus. “Karmacode” ably demonstrates why Lacuna Coil are the reigning rulers of Goth Metal.

8/10

First, let’s get this out of the way: I used to work at TVT, who put out this record. The guys are friends of mine. The record wouldve been on my list even if I hadn’t worked it.

One of my first encounters with Ambulance was at a marketing meeting at my old job, the VP of marketing said basically “I know a lot of you have been waiting a long time to work this kind of record. Well, here it is.” And so it was.

Some might be surprised that I’m a fan of this record, being as it’s so definitively a Williamsburg hipster thing, but to them I say that I’m just full of surprises.

When I was working the record, the party line was that it was like Velvet Underground meets Jesus and Mary Chain, which is pretty accurate. These days, I like to think of it as “What The Beach Boys would sound like if they grew up as stoners in the 718 (totally unlike what Marcus, Benji, Darren and co actually are, right guys?). Dreamy guitar pop with influences as wide as shoegazer, twee, and other indie pop genres, make this a consistantly mellow, enjoyable listen, even in its more wall-of-sound tracks. Highly recommended.

Buy: @Amazon

If The Cocteau Twins and The La’s came together in Billy Corgans back yard and drank lemonade and played in the grass, it would sound like The Delays. Bring back shoegazer and wall-of-sound production, I say.

So my history with Ari Hest is kind of strange. Way back in what must have been 2001, my friend Erica was playing this CD at her desk of this son of a friend of her fathers named Ari. It sounded good and so I asked for a copy, but it got lost in the shuffle. Fast-forward a few years, I’m hangin around the A&R department of Columbia (26), and Ari’s doing a soundcheck, and had apparently been signed to RED INK (our indie distributor). So I sit in for it with my bud Jared and get hooked. Before you know it, I’m going to see him for the second time at Irving Plaza. He puts on a great show and I’m wandering around afterward looking to see if theres anyone from work there and lo and behold who do I see but Erica. Small world moments abound, and is just another reason why I’m still not sick of this record.

“Someone to Tell” is a mishmash of re-recordings of songs from several of Ari’s previous records, and having heard some of the original versions, I’d say these have more of a sheen to them consistant with his hooky acoustic pop (yes, I’m not too much of a snob to use the p-word. It’s filled with hooks that the Mayer / Mraz / Yorn’s of the world wish they could come up with, delivered with a full rich baritone (I’m not sure thats right…deep but not Barry White deep). I’ll spare you the track-by-track recap, except to say “They’re On To Me” will be in your head for weeks after hearing it, and “Someone To Tell” reaffirms my statment that songs in 6/8 are just naturally better and ends with one of those three part harmony moments that could just go on forever and stay sweet. And the songs in between, they ain’t so bad either.

You can hear pretty much the whole album at AriHestPlayer.com.

This record is a permanent fixture on my iPod and iTunes at work and at home, and I dont see that changing anytime soon.