Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Chunk Albums '08 Pt 2 - Establilshed Artists and Breakthru Records


2008 has hardly belonged to new artists alone, as several old favorites returned with new records this year- my favorites after the jump.






GZA - Pro Tools
Beck - Modern Guilt
Al Green - Lay it Down
Black Keys - Attack and Release
Walkmen- You & Me
Girltalk- Feed the Animals
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Lil Wayne - Carter III
Portishead - Third

Though Al Green had been absent for longer (from secular or 'good' music), Portishead was by and far the most anticipated return. Third is a great record, and most definetly a Portishead record, but also an inscrutable, uneasy listen. Don't read this is as a pan- this one is a grower, and i'll need a few more years with it to really weigh in.I do miss the sexiness.

Modern Guilt and Attack & Release were both good records from great artists, and were thusly a bit of a let down to me. Also, both produced by Danger Mouse: coincidence? You'll notice the new Gnarls Barkley did not make my list.

You & Me and Dear Science were great records by great bands, and consequently were favored over the DM-produced crowd. You & Me might even be my favorite Walkmen record...debate.

GZA and Lil Wayne are basicly nothing alike, being bound together in the review by virtue of being in the same genere. Carter III's highlights rose far beyond anything from Pro-Tools, but Weezy could learn a thing or to about consistency from the GZA. 'A Milli' will stand the test of time though...that shit is from the future.

So that's just leaves me with Girltalk's 'Feed the Animals,' which i'm going to take as my favorite album by a returning artist. Greg Gillis is at the top of his game, and has delivered a record that shows he the the undisputed master of the mash-up, one upping even his own excellent Night Ripper record.

There were a couple of records that came out this year from marginally established artists that i felt deserved to be condsidered in there own catagory. These records represent, to me anyway, artists breakting thru from merely good to great-

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors
Deerhunter - Microcastle

Cut Copy's first album Bright Like Neon Love seems like a mere warm-up for In Ghost Colors; all of the elemets are were there before, but they just didn't nail it until now. Deerhunter's Microcastle rises out of the ethereal fog of Cryptograms to deliver a record you can acutally listen to. I'm super-excited on future records from these two. Oh, and Cut Copy's record, while less orginal than Deerhunter's, is clearly supeiror....

....so much in fact, that it's going toe to toe with Crystal Castles for my favorite album of 2008. Next post i'll pick my winner and give my thoughts on the artists that left me cold in '08, as well as things i feel like i've missed.

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