HeiBräu

Also see:

Top 10 Albums of 2008

Top 30 Tracks of 2008

A short list of several albums we loved, but couldn’t fit in our end-of-year list.

Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling

More classic, spacey tension from some of the best in their field. Mogwai continue to impress with impassioned performances and thundering dynamics. If instrumental music continues to push boundaries the way bands like this one (and Sigur Ros, Eluvium, Ratatat, Lightning Bolt, Explosions In The Sky, etc.) have, we have a lot to look forward to.

Recommended tracks: “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead;” “I Love You, I’m Going To Blow Up Your School;” “The Precipice”

Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

Much as the cover of this album is a collaboration between two artists, Wolf Parade’s songwriting and singing are shared duties, which brings a refreshing duality to their albums; Krug’s reverbbed voice and tinkling keys (“Bang Your Drum”) against Boeckner’s unfettered vocals and riffy strummings (“The Grey Estates”) make for an album that doesn’t overstay its welcome in any one area.

At Mount Zoomer is hardly a sophomore slump to Apologies to the Queen Mary, and “Soldier’s Grin” is among the best songs released in 2008.

Recommended tracks: “Soldier’s Grin;” “Call It A Ritual;” “Bang Your Drum”

Shugo Tokomaru – Exit

Dense and layered, Exit is a great pop album that certainly bears the marks of a Japanese pop artist, with its wide spectrum of instrumentation, peppered English phrases, and tight production. This album doesn’t smack of J-Pop, however, and shouldn’t just appeal to that crowd. It falls closer to the production style of Quruli or Kazuyoshi Saito, in that it’s best described as great music that’s simply sung in Japanese.

Recommended tracks: “Parachute;” “Green Rain;” “Wedding”

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow have a great record on their hands. It’s not only got really great songcraft and tremendous vocal work from bandleader Guy Garvey, but it’s got — for a late-career pop record — some of the most unusual and creative timbres in terms of accompaniment; it’s a heartening thing to witness when so many groups attempt to compensate for a lack of clear artistic direction with “heart” and “maturity.” This smart Britpop album is virtually brimming with romance and heartache, and is well worth a listen or two.

Recommended tracks: “Mirrorball;” “An Audience With The Pope;” “Friend of Ours”

Ratatat – LP3

LP3 is somewhat less wide-appeal than Ratatat and Classics, which feature a lot of straight-ahead layered guitar parts with some truly stunning harmonies. Instead, the Brookyln-based duo has opted to plant one foot firmly in some experimental polyrhythms and tones (“Mumtaz Khan,” “Mirando”) before tearing the guitars out and shredding. Notably, “Imperials” has some beautiful key pyrotechnics not previously seen on any Ratatat record.

As a result of these things, the album might perhaps be less danceable as their previous two, but certainly not any less rich. The tracks also tend to be shorter, which is an improvement, being that some of the four- and five-minute tracks on early songs started to lose steam on those late-breaking choruses. LP3, by comparison, doesn’t linger too long; it’s an album of evident maturation for Ratatat.

Recommended tracks: “Falcon Jab;” “Mirando;” “Imperials”

The Week That Was – The Week That Was

A thoroughly ambitious and raucous debut from a great band. There’s a lot of great cohesive energy on The Week That Was that flows in abundance from their live shows, as well. Sharp call-and-answer and intertwining strains of shadowy harmony characterize the entirety of the album; it’s a horror-tunnel of rich textural interplay. Although sadly it appears to have been overlooked by the greater critical community, you’re better informed than they are, aren’t you?

Recommended tracks: “Learn to Learn;” “The Good Life;” “Scratch The Surface”

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

The Raconteurs are among the best remaining rock and roll bands in America. Songwriting duo Brendan Benson and Jack White are steeped in talent, penning straight ahead rockers (“Salute Your Solution,” “Attention”), bluesy jaunts (“Top Yourself,” “Rich Kid Blues”), and even a six-minute rural southern epic (“Carolina Drama”). The visceral punch lacking in Broken Boy Soldiers is found here, as the Greenhornes’ rhythm section is better-represented. It really gives the music some meat to back up the screeching wail of the guitar solos. While this group may echo Stripesman White more than anyone else, it feels like the muscular work of a band having fun as the great songwriters that they are.

Recommended tracks: “Consoler Of The Lonely;” “Salute Your Solution;” “Attention”

The Black Keys – Attack & Release

Dan Auerbach is the year’s worthiest bluesman, having proved his mettle time and time again with a slew of sleeper blues albums over the past seven years. Along with drummer/producer extraordinaire Patrick Carney, he is a consistent source of noteworthy rock and roll.

There’s a touch of ambition evident here: hearing the acoustic slow-burn start to “All You Ever Wanted,” one can’t help but recall Zeppelin when the swell finally comes, and the fuzzed out guitar makes space for a righteous blast of the organ. The bluesy banjo and old-timey piano cameos, along with the ghostly harmony parts in “Psychotic Girl” are spot-on, providing that much needed atmosphere to paint the miasmatic scenes. There’s even some Tull-esque flute featured in “Same Old Thing.”

Though Attack and Release is by far the most instrumentally resourceful album from the band yet, it doesn’t cease to impress with more traditional tracks like “I Got Mine,” the guitars grinding it out with growls and howls aplenty. It’s certainly not an unwelcome change, nor a terribly dicey one; after all, the star of the show is still Auerbach’s ragged wail.

If the first four tracks of this album don’t boil your blue blood, it’s time to give the genre up.

Recommended tracks: “I Got Mine;” “Strange Times;” “Psychotic Girl”