2008 Top-20 Countdown - Collective top-20

Our second countdown of the year's best albums came to an end. The tireless organizer, Gone4Sure, made the tally and handed over the results on Sunday night, and I am happy to say I had at least 5 albums in the top-20, and four of them in the top-10. So here it is, without further ado:

No.20. Black Mountain - In The Future (222 points / 6 bloggers)

No.19. Quiet Village - Silent Movie (226 points / 6 bloggers)

No.18. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (228 points / 9 bloggers)

No.17. Have A Nice Life - Death Consciousness (234 points / 8 bloggers)

No.16. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (267 points / 10 bloggers)

No.15. Glasvegas - Glasvegas (271 points / 10 bloggers)

No.14. Deerhunter - Microcastle (272 points / 13 bloggers)

No.13. Trouble Over Tokyo - Pyramides (273 points / 8 bloggers)

No.12. Lykke Li - Youth Novels (321 points / 12 bloggers)

No.11. Shearwater - Rook (322 points / 13 bloggers)

No.10. Santogold - Santogold (384 Points / 17 bloggers)

No.09. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (403 points / 14 bloggers)

No.08. Get Well Soon - Rest Now Weary Head, You Will Get Well Soon (509 points / 13 bloggers)

No.07. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (622 points / 16 bloggers)

No.06 - Monika. Avatar (622 points / 24 bloggers)

No.05. TV On The Radio - Dear Science (653 points / 16 bloggers)

No.04. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (678 points / 26 bloggers)

No.03. Portishead - Third (929 points / 24 bloggers)

No.02. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (1035 points / 30 bloggers)

No.01 The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of Understatement (1287 points / 30 bloggers)

2008 Top-20 Countdown - My albums

1. Beangrowers - Not In A Million Lovers
2. Fredo Viola - The Turn
3. Sa Ding Ding - Alive
4. Trouble Over Tokyo - Pyramids
5. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
6. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
7. Monika - Avatar
8. Mono In VCF - Mono In VCF
9. Ray La Montagne - Gossip In The Grain
10. Scott Matthew - Scott Matthew
11. The Long Blondes - Couples
12. Grace Jones - Hurricane
13. Portishead - Third
14. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
15. Tom Baxter - Skybound
16. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
17. From Bubblegum to Sky - A Soft Kill
18. Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
19. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
20. Klaus Schulze/Lisa Gerrard: Farscape

You can see what everyone else voted (55 Greek bloggers) in this link. The collective top-20 list will be published tonight. Drum roll please...

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.1

Beangrowers - Not In A Million Lovers

Beangrowers. is a group from Malta, that small island between Italy and Africa, with a long history of conquerors, knights and wars. Ian Schranz and Mark Sansone met in church and were childhood friends from the age of 8, and later started playing music together. They were joined by mutual friend Alison Galea, who proved to be a capable singer, According to the band's official site, the name "Beangrowers" was given by a fan when a promoter demanded a name for the posters. Their single "The Priest" was featured in the soundtrack of the Wim Wenders film "Land Of Plenty". "Not In A Million Lovers" is their fourth album (their first was released in 1999, first demos dating back to 1996). Why is it on the top of my list? Because it is the one that touched me the most throughout the year, the one I never, ever skipped a song while playing, the one I learned all the lyrics in a matter of days and keep singing along all songs when listening to it (and when not some times!), the one that got the most plays from me by quite a difference from the rest of the music I listen to. Their music, influenced by 80's pop, indie rock, punk and goth, reminds me very much of woman-fronted groups like The Pretenders, Blondie, The Motels. Alison's voice is sweet but sultry, and the band performs with gusto both on the album and live. Even though they perform in English, they are most popular in Central European countries, like Germany, where they finished a tour this month. Give them a listen, you will not be dissapointed!


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2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.2

Fredo Viola - The Turn

Best voice for 2008 goes without doubt to an unusual guy of Italian descent, born in England and raised in New York. But let's hear Fredo Viola: "I was born in London, England and spent my first five years living in England and Rome. After that my family moved to New York, then Los Angeles, where I spent most of my adolescent years, singing professionally as a boy soprano and studying art once my voice changed. Finally I moved back to NYC to attend NYU Tisch School of the Arts. I studied to be a film director, and during this period discovered the music of Bartok, Shostakovich and Stravinsky, which had an immense effect on me. It has since developed into a passion for the operas of Benjamin Britten, Mozart and the work of Alfred Schnittke. I enjoy anything imaginative and eclectic, and have soaked up the music of Belle and Sebastian, Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, Joni Mitchell, Biff Rose, Harry Nilsson, Harry Nilsson (yes, again, I love him this much!) and Odetta. Gospel music rocks my socks off. Oh, and Bach. Out of school first I tried editing and animation design, which I think I did pretty well, as it afforded me the opportunity to save enough money to set myself up with a pretty awesome little home recording studio. I then got to work on making my own music. In 2004 I had one of my songs licensed for use in Jonathon Demme’s Manchurian Candidate. Then I made my first music video, The Sad Song, which was a pretty huge hit on the net. I received emails from Roger Ebert, Massive Attack, Neil Gaiman, ABC News Now, and director Mike Binder, all offering opportunities.In 2006 I signed with trés chic French music label, Because Music, and have my first album scheduled for release in mid 2008, along with a lot of digital video art." his music is transcendental, ethereal, but all the same, very current and earthly too. His visual aesthetic is unique too, evidenced by the art in his websites and the unique approach for his video site. His version of Silent Night is amazing no matter what you believe in (or not). The Turn is probably the most beautiful album for 2008 in every aspect and rightly deserved no. 1 in my list, but that went to something entirely different, for various reasons. Check tomorrow's post to see why.

The Turn


Sad Song


Silent Night - Fredo Viola(featuring Nils Christian Fossdal)

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.3

Sa Ding Ding - Alive

China was this year's protagonist on the international scene with the Beijing Olympics, but instead we should all be talking about something else from China: Sa Ding Ding (薩頂頂). This incredibly talented lady, of Han and Mongolian ancestry (she was born in inner Mongolia), writes her own music inspired by ancient Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan music, while stepping firmly on western music conventions, delivering an eclectic sound reminiscent of how Dead Can Dance would sound if they were born in China. She studied philosophy and music in Beijing. She released her first album at age 18, called Dong Ba La under the moniker Zhou Peng. She also plays traditional Chinese and Mongolian instruments, while her ethereal voice sounds as if Liz Frazer is singing in The Flying Daggers soundtrack. Want to feel more inadequate: she sings in Tibetan, Mandarin, Sanskrit and a language of her own to better evoke emotions in her songs (she said that before we start to talk, we know how to sing): two of the song in this album are repeated in different languages, but instead of being just a simple repetition, they sound intriguingly different due to the variations in phrasing and rhythm. The album Alive (万物生) is her first under her real name and was originally released in China in 2007, but reached the rest of the world in mid-2008. She's definitely one to watch for in the future and will surely make many ladies in the music industry have nightmares...

Alive - Sanskrit version

Alive - Mandarin version

Holy Incense (Chinese Version)

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.4

Trouble Over Tokyo - Pyramides

Toph Taylor is a 28-year old South Londoner that performs under the moniker Trouble Over Tokyo, merging indie electronica and pop with modern R&B, thus becoming the hit of the Austrian indie scene! Issued by Klein label (based in Vienna), Pyramides is the album of a genius: an improbable number of ideas swirling into each song, it is self-penned, self performed (apart from singing he plays guitars, pianos, strings and drum machines) and self produced - he did the artwork and package design too! He sounds like Justin Timberlake through Thom Yorke and Mika, but, most importantly, he sounds like himself. My favourite track by far is the dramatic 4,228, sung with Millie Blue (who has performed with Basement Jaxx). With the wealth of ideas and influences found in this album, it is a wonder he has not self-combusted yet. A treat for your mind and ears, please listen to this LOUD!

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2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.5

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement

The girl that launched a thousand reviews... The amazing photograph that graces the cover of the first album by The Last Shadow Puppets (Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and lead singer of The Rascals, Miles Kane) has probably been the most written about album cover of this year. But the album is also one of the best to come out in 2008, making even those of us not too keen on Arctic Monkeys music sit up and listen. With a proper mix of orchestral 60's pop (courtesy of Scott Walker and legendary arranger David Axelrod according to the Puppets), wit, drama and panache, the kids made us all bow to their craftsmanship. The songs are brilliant, most of them already sounding like classics, while the production by James Ford, of Simian Mobile Disco (who also plays drums here) is impeccable, aided by the exquisite arrangements of Canadian Owen Pallett (aka Final Fantasy and former member of the Arcade Fire's string section).

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.6

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

One of the nicest surprises of the year (and one of the strangest names for an album), MGMT released an album that managed (pun intended) to capture the heart of all kinds of people, get great reviews from the music press AND was a chart hit. Not bad for two kids from Brooklyn. And their music: as they say, "We would write a new song for each show and our shows would be 15 minutes long". Such is the album's style: each song sounds unique, as if it could hold an album on its own. Most of the songs could easily be singles other groups would kill for. It is pop, unconventional and amazingly structured, leaving far behing their days of being obnoxious for the sake of it in Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where they first met back in 2002. There is so much fun enclosed in this record, it can make you dance for many many years to come. But I am certain that the kids will keep refuelling us for a while more.

The reason you see no official videos of MGMT is that they have disabled embedding on ALL official versions of their clips on You Tube...But you do get to read the lyrics now eh?

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.8

Mono In VCF - Mono In VCF

I could not have written it better myself, so here's Matt Shea's post from The Cool Hunter about Mono In VCF: "Trying to describe Tacoma’s Mono In VCF makes you feel like a tongue-tied fool attempting to convey a transcendental experience. This is music quite unlike anything you’ve heard before, perhaps best imagined as a young Suede camping on a rooftop, watching storms clouds with Phil Spector. It’s on Masha, lifted from Mono In VCF’s self-titled LP, that we witness the band’s finest hour. It’s a song born of the cold sea, with guitars that shudder like crumbling icebergs and synths that brush a transpacific wind across the nape of your neck. Bang in the middle of the mix sits Kim Miller’s voice, an exercise in beguilement that could seduce a fleet of sailors into the abyss. Stupefying, soul-tickling stuff". Indeed. Now go in their website and order their CD NOW!!! It is only $10!!! And Escape City Scrapers is one of the best songs of the year! Go go go!!! I like the t-shirts too - and what a great cover (the font is superbly 70's meets 00's).

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.9

Ray La Montagne - Gossip In The Grain

Troubadour extraordinaire, Ray La Montagne almost did not become a musician: having been raised with a runaway musician father, and listening stories about him made him refrain from any activity connected to music until, legend has it, he heard Stephen Stills singing "Treetop Flyer" on the radio. He has never looked back since.
"Gossip In The Grain" is his third studio album (he has been recording since 2004). Particularly known for his raspy voice, he puts it to great use here, from the soul-filled opening track "You Are The Best Thing" (a staple in my play-list) till its soft bookend "Gossip In The Grain" alongside Leona Naess (she's on two more tracks and opens his concerts as a support act). The album, a mixture of strings, acoustic guitar and brass, sounds more like a classic rock album, of the kind that big names did in the early 70s - like, say, Van Morrison. And although the opening track could fit nicely into any old Motown release, he does not do a complete about-turn from his previous work. His characteristic melancholy style is present here too, as in his previous work - "Sarah", named for his wife, is a brilliant example of it. "Winter Birds" is almost devoid of any instrument save his soft grainy voice against some acoustic guitar strums., resulting in maybe the most beautiful song of the entire album - it reminds me of Joni Mitchell's Hejira days. But then he starts being playful, almost naughty: writing a love song to Meg White from White Stripes, purposefully opening with a variation their single's "Conquest" melody. This is followed by a blues grass track "Hey Me Hey Mamma" - banjo and brass playing off against each other. Hitting Billboard's no.3 in the album charts and i-tunes no.1, both on it's first week of release, this is one album you should not miss.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.10

Scott Matthew - Scott Matthew

Entering the upper echelons of our top-20 countdown, we find the talented Australian singer-songwriter Scott Matthew (who lives in NY) firmly ensconced in number 10. His self-titled début, eagerly awaited by those that loved his work in the Shortbus soundtrack, does not disappoint. Far from it. Not resting on the laurels heaped upon him after the Shortbus, instead he moves his work to new paths, with the constant of his vulnerable, sensuous voice (sounding so much like David Bowie that one wonders what the Duke was doing in Australia nine months before Scott was born) making this album an amazing treat. Delicately knifing you through the heart with each one of his carefully crafted eleven little blades, from the gorgeously fragile Amputee to the hauntingly elegant Market Me To Children that closes the album, it is hard to not shed tears while delving deep within his amazing music.

Since we reached the middle, I should remind you all that one can see what all 54 Greek bloggers vote for this year's top-20 album countdown in this link.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.11

The Long Blondes - Couples

Pity The Long Blondes have already split... this is one of the most beautiful records of the year. Only their second album, their début being "Someone To Drive You" back in 2006, it garnered critical praise unanimously from critics and fans alike. Blending 60's pop, 70's punk and 80's new wave inspiration with modern sensibilities, The Long Blondes manage to morph from each song to the next, with their lead singer, Kate Jackson managing to sound like a different singer on each song - Blondie, Martha Davies, Ari Up and even the Au Pairs, take your pick. Before "Couples" was released, all five members created their own cryptic promo videos "explaining" what the inspiration behind "Couples" was. Kate explained who inspired the album cover, she found artist Richard Hamilton, videos by Abba, Lee Miller and Le Corbusier to be the main inspiration. And their references do not stop there of course. "I Liked The Boys" ends with "Not the most original sentiment I've ever heard, so what's new" which is a line from a radio show by Terry Wogan. Whilst recording the second album, they found an old radio recording form the 50's in one of the old reel-to-reel tape recorders and decided to use parts of the show in some of their songs. "Round The Hairpin" begins with a line by one of my favourite British comedians, Kenny Everett. "Erin O'Connor" is a homage to model extraordinaire Erin O'Connor which also mentions fellow model Lily Cole. It begins with a line by Ronnie Corbett and David Swift from the BBC play No Sex Please, We're British. "I'm Going To Hell" ends with a line by Peter Sellers. Before the official release, they previewed the new album under the name The Dead Eyed Bitches, part of a lyric from their 2004 single "Giddy Stratospheres". They only played a handful of gigs across the UK.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.12

Grace Jones - Hurricane

If you thought Portishead's eleven or Kate Bush's twelve years between albums were too many, how about nineteen? Yes, that is how many years it took Grace Jones, the black diva of music and fashion to return with new material after 1989's Bulletproof Heart. And what a treat she got for us! Sounding as if she had hardly left the stage, her new album brims with brilliantly crafted tunes, showcasing her unique ability to mesmerise the listener with her uncanny voice and bravado. Helped by an army of excellent collaborators, like Brian Eno, Tricky, Sly & Robbie, Tony Allen and Wendy & Lisa, the flamboyant Jamaican-born Grace is more personal than ever on this record, with her family being one of the focal points. The reggae beats of some tunes will remind one of her previous work, while the Massive Attack influence in the overall sound of the album is more poignant in the track "Devil In My Life" with it's Craig Armstrong-styled strings in the finale, and "Corporate Cannibal", the first gloom-&-doom single of the record. This is one of those that will get stuck in repeat in your player. And it is worth every single second of it.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.13

Portishead - Third
Unimaginatively named, with a minimal cover, the third album from the Bristol group that defined the sound of a generation was a long time coming. Eleven years after their namesake CD, Portishead put behind all that made their sound what it was: vinyl scratching, jazzy atmosphere, torch song sensibility; no, not really all. The gloomy feeling permeating their sound, the sense of loss and despair still remains, and this is essentially what Portishead are. Intense industrial rhythms, electronics that sound vintage (with a vengeance), frail guitars, dominate the sonic landscapes alongside the now cold and desperate voice of Beth Gibbons. This is no record to play as a soundtrack in elegant design restaurants. It hits you right to the core and breaks your heart in a way that only Portishead know how to do. And if you don't understand how, maybe you should check to see if your heart is still in place...

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.14

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Featuring one of the best songs heard this year, the long, albeit brilliantly composed "I Will Posses Your Heart", with its sensuous bass line and its unbearably sexy rhythm section making an incredible intro for four whole minutes before Ben Gibbard's distinctive vocals kick in, it was difficult not to include Death Cab For Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" in my top-20 list. This is their sixth album - they have been active since 1998, and became better known with their fourth LP, "Transatlanticism", many of whose songs were included into numerous film and TV-series soundtracks back in 2004 and 2005. And although they do indulge in some really epic moments like the aforementioned track, they still conjure the fragile melancholy tunes they have been mostly known for, still using intricate melodies and moving the sound of the band forward. Miss this at your own peril.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.15

Tom Baxter - Skybound
British singer/songwriter Tom Baxter has been a perennial critic favourite ever since his début album "Feather And Stone" back in 2004. This did not change with his sophomore release, "Skybound". released at the beginning of this year. The combination of his mesmerizing voice with clever songwriting, understated guitar and piano melodies, seems to be destined for mass popularity; the album charted at #12 in the UK charts and hit no.1 in Eire. With a more jazzy feel and a concept emerging (the journey from boy to man) his distinct melodies, although sounding too sugary in songs like "Better", do merit more than a casual listen. The darker undertones and lyrics show that there's more than meets the eye in Tom, and he's getting better every time.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.16

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Taking their name from an episode of the acclaimed BBC series "The Singing Detective" (a character says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the English language, not for its definition, but for how it feels to say it), Elbow have been releasing records since 2001 but started out in 1990 and, strangely enough in the music business, remain with their original line-up. Despite not being commercially successful, the group has been acclaimed by critics and famous artists such as Radiohead, Blur, R.E.M., U2 and even John Cale. Their latest offering, "The Seldom Seen Kid" is an amazing record, entirely self-produced (and mixed and recorded too). Their innovative but human sound, combined with their evocative lyrics, is reaching perfection, and was rightfully awarded this year's Mercury Music Prize.

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.17

From Bubblegum to Sky - A Soft Kill

Mario Ishii Hernandez is the man behind From Bubblegum to Sky, an indie pop one-man group that released their first album, Me And Amy And The Two French Boys in 2000. He was born in El Paso but was raised in Japan. As a result, he is heavily infuenced by Japanes pop. Back in the USA, he formed the Teeny Records group, which then morphed into Teeny Hi Fi and later became Ciao Bella, whose 1997 LP "1" was praised by critics, especially the retro-pop fans. When the group split soon afterwards, Mario began recording as FBTS. His music is pure and simple pop, combined with very dark and bitter lyrics (which he himself described as "shallow and hateful"). His latest release is brilliant pop tunes, which make one want to stand up and dance, until noticing the lyrics. Be sure to give him a listen, you will not regret it. 

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No.18

Black Kids - Partie Traumatic

Fun, fun and more fun. That is what this album is all about. Having THE song of last year (I'm not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance), the Black Kids served us with a record full of energy, showing us clearly that they enjoyed making it - a feeling that is transferred to the listener all too well. Despite flaws in the production and musicianship, it still sounds great after repeated listens. Dance, dance, dance!

 

2008 Top-20 Countdown - No. 19

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vampires always hold a deep fascination for me, almost in any form they appear. Imagine then my surprise at discovering not only a group with the name Vampire Weekend (derived from lead singer Ezra Koenig's amateur film of the same name) but with a sound unlike any vampire you could imagine. Influenced by African rythms (especially Soveto music) and European classical musical training, they released their eponymous debut album in January amidst much  derision from critics (tagging them frat rock or whitest group ever etc) but also much praise. It is one of the albums I have really enjoyed this year, played repeatedly at home and elsewhere and will keep enjoying in the next year too. Self produced and self penned, it sounds (and is) full of joy, honest and fun. Don't be afraid to be bitten by these blood suckers!

Vampire Weekend - M79 (Trabendo)
by Saintkro