Top 10 Albums of 2008: 10-6

As with any list of favorites, this 2008 Best Albums list is littered with bias and opinion. That's the point, duh! If you don't agree, tell me so in the comments. Don't bother telling me what I overlooked though, because I can't listen to everything that came out this year. (In the words of Homer Simpson, "I'm just one man, Marge.")
Also, unlike many of those other more known blogs with more advertising, I don't get free CDs or mp3s from record labels and bands trying to hit it big. I don't have that kind of pull. So this list is just what I heard or sought out and truly enjoyed. (Although, I am not opposed to getting and promoting bands if I like them. Email me a song or two, and we'll see what happens.)

The rules were simple. The album had to be full-length, and it had to be released in 2008. I think all of them have enough appeal to sizzle in my cerebellum for years to come. And here...we...GO!

10.) “Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)” by Cloud Cult

The eccentric stylings of Cloud Cult are put on full display on this, their possible last album. While some folks have criticized their recycling of old sounds and/or rehashing ideas, I think it is fitting to culminate with an all-inclusive album, hitting the high notes of their career with all the peculiar vocal flair and song structure that Cloud Cult has. A strong album from start to finish, highlights on “Feel Good Ghosts” include “Everybody Here is a Cloud,” “Journey of the Featherless,” “No One Said It Would Be Easy,” and “Love You All.”


9.) “A Memory Stream” by The American Dollar

Considering Explosions in the Sky, Foxhole, and The American Dollar are some of my favorite bands, it is surprising that this is the only instrumental album to make the list. An under the radar type release, I found out TAD had a new album a few months after the fact, jumped on it, and was pleasantly surprised with another solid release. One would think that with similar instrumental accompaniment and no lyrics, these guys would run out of ideas (or at least grow dull on a listener), but I am here to say the opposite. Heavy on the synth and ethereal organ, “A Memory Stream” plays out like the soundtrack of a heart wrenching, bittersweet film. These two gents from Queens know just how to build a song into an avalanche of sound, crashing drums, alluring guitar work, and sweeping melodies, and bring it back down to make you listen all the more closely.

8.) "The Grand Archives" by Grand Archives

The debut album from Seattle’s Grand Archives is nothing short of folk pop wonder. The melodies and hooks are catchy, and I can’t help but smile through the three and four part harmonies. Lyrically, the album is a bit obscure and pulls storytelling sensibility with bizarre analogy, but it works. While the whistling chorus on “Miniature Birds” is endearing, the album standout would have to be “Sleepdriving.” This album will stick in your mind, fill you with memories and nostalgia, and transport you to with Americana.

7.) “Lost in the Sound of Separation" by Underoath

Unrelenting, weighty, and ferocious are the three words I would use to describe Underoath’s 2008 release “Lost in the Sound of Separation.” Everything about the album pummels the listener to a sonic pulp. One may say it is an auditory assault. The songs are ear-splitting but melodic, hideous but elegant. If their last album “Define the Great Line” was about the dealing with and overcoming personal drug and alcohol addiction, then this albums finds the members discovering hope in God, despite despair found in humanity. These hard rockers are not afraid to scream out their need for a savior. Aaron Gillespie’s drumming is spot-on and technical, intense and crisp, while Spencer Chamberlain’s guttural screeches have improved to become some of the best in the business.

6.) "Anti-Meridian" by Brave Saint Saturn

If an album opens up quoting a Dylan Thomas poem and covering a song by Electric Light Orchestra, it has to follow through with great songwriting and consistency. And that is exactly what Reese Roper and co. do on this, their third and final release of the BS2 trilogy. About 95% of it works wonderfully, wrapping up the storylines that the first two releases started with the crew of the U.S.S. Gloria with some spoken word “interviews” with the astronauts. The 5% that doesn’t work as well is from songs that just feel a bit out of place (“When You Burn Too Fast” and “Fortress of Solitude). But with 17 tracks, the album is able to shine with such well-written and energetic jams as “Mercenary,” “Starling,” and “Blessed are the Land Mines.” But of course, album closers (“These Frail Hands” and “Invictus”) seal the deal, lyrically and musically, bringing me near to tears with every listen.

I pulled one song from each album and compiled them for DOWNLOAD HERE.

Numbers 5-1 coming up soon, so keep checking back.