Best Albums of 2008

Another year in which I didn't get a whole lot of new releases. I always feel like I listen to a decent amount of music each year, but it's as much catching up on older stuff as it is new stuff. Still, there were a few really good albums that I got a chance to enjoy. I didn't see room on the list for the enjoyable self-titled release by This Will Destroy You or MC Chris' MC Chris Is Dead.

Best of 2008

6. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip


A really solid industrial album made even better by being free to all. I've still yet to give Trent Reznor dime one for anything, but I respect him for giving back to the fans and continuing to make what he wants to. Better than I thought it would be.

5. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple


Sounds different from their first album, although not really for better or worse. Really catchy and unique at the same time.

4. Fleet Foxes


One of the year's biggest critical darlings, and mostly deserving of its status. It's not as gripping throughout as I usually like, but there's a lot of beauty and artistry to be found if you're a close listener.

3. Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust


A new direction for everyone's favorite Icelandic new age-y band, and a really interesting one. I really like what they did, and although there's a good argument that it's over the top for its own sake, but I still enjoy everything that's here.

2. TV on the Radio - Dear Science


To me it doesn't live up to their last album, but that doesn't prevent it from being great on its own. A bit of a different, more catchy feel, but there's still a lot of brilliant stuff here. Maybe not exactly what I loved about them before, but still quite good.

1. Portishead - Third


There are a bunch of sinister adjectives I could use to describe this album, like haunting, bleak, and sparse, but it still managed to be the most affecting thing I heard this year. Definitely worth checking out with an open mind.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

I never listened to Nine Inch Nails much besides the obvious singles. I'm not that big into industrial but Trent Reznor seems to know what he's doing. I kind of wanted to give them a real try, I just hadn't gotten around to it. It's a little easier to give a band a shot when they give you an album for free. It started a couple months ago with Ghosts I-IV. They released the first part online for free, and it seemed kind of interesting, but the site was going really slow when I tried to download it and I didn't try again. Then they gave it another go with a more traditional album, this time completely free, and I managed to listen. It's pretty good. My mom didn't like what she heard, but I wouldn't really have expected her to.

I can't say whether this is really the formula or not, but The Slip is a nice mix of chaotic, loud noise and more melodic, atmospheric stuff. "999,999" is an ambient instrumental that leads into "1,000,000" (Get it?), introducing the harsher side of the album's sound. "Letting You" is really aggressive, almost unmusical in some ways, with a screeching chorus. "Discipline" is the single in name, and is much more pleasant than the last couple tracks. "Echoplex" is another enjoyable track with a nice chorus. The next couple songs are solid, variations on already established tones. There's a long instrumental track as the album gets more electronic and experimental near the end. The finale is a bit more traditional, and wraps up a pretty solid batch of free music. The Slip has definitely gotten me more interested in the band, and I just might be stupid enough to put down money for a physical copy of this when it gets released in a few months because I love physical copies so much. Which makes it hard to explain why I like Steam.