Recommendations

New Music Recommendations of 2008

Aamer Bajwa

Linkin Park - "Minutes to Midnight"
Bury Your Dead - (self titled)
Avenged Sevenfold - (self titled)

Joe Fucigna

Tapes n’ Tapes- Walk it off
El Guincho- Alegranza
Laura Marling- My Manic and I
No Age- Weirdo Ripper
Daft Punk- Alive 2007

Brian Hughes

1) Pete & the Pirates - Little Death
2) Get Well Soon - Rest Now, Weary Head
3) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
4) Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
5) Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge
6) She & Him - Volume One
7) The Do - A Mouthful
8) Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
9) The Dodos - Visiter
10) The Shortwave Set - The Debt Collection

Dan Kober

Burial: Untrue(if that is new enough)
Dirty Projectors: Rise Above(same deal)
Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
Atlas Sound: Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Destroyer: Trouble In Dreams

WFNM 2007 Year End Charts

Aamer Bajwa

1) Atreyu- Lead Sails Anchor
2) Linkin Park- Minutes to Midnight
3) Avenged Sevenfold- Avenged Sevenfold
4) Poisoned the Well- Versions
5) Still Remains- The Serpent
6) (hed) p.e.- insomnia
7) Shadows Fall- Threads of Living
8) Static X- Cannibal
9) Megadeth- Untitled Abominations
10) Kanye West- Graduation

Joe Fucigna

1) Radiohead- In Rainbows
2) Animal Collective- Strawberry jam
3) LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver
4) M.I.A.- Kala
5) Panda Bear- Person Pitch
6) Dan Deacon- Spiderman of the Rings
7) Menomena- Friend or Foe
8) Justice- Cross
9) Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala
10) Battles-Mirrored
11) Deerhoof- Friend Opportunity
12) Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
13) Interpol- Our Love to Admire
14) Blonde Redhead- 23
15) Klaxons- Myths of the Near Future
16) Burial- Untrue
17) Feist- The Reminder
18) Caribou- Andorra
19) Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
20) The Shins- Wincing The Night Away

Adam Gould

1) Radiohead- In Rainbows
2) Animal Collective- Strawberry Jams
3) Radical Face- Ghost
4) LCD Soundsystem- Sound Silver
5) Panda Bear- Person Pitch
6) Menomena- Friend and Foe
7) Dan Deacon- Spiderman of the Rings
8) Of Montreal- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
9) M.I.A.- Kala
10) Kayne West- Graduation
11) Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
12) Feist- The Reminder
13) Battles- Mirrored
14) Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha
15) Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
16) Sigur Ros- Hvarf/Heim
17) Klaxons- Myths of the Near Future
18) Justice- Cross
19) The White Stripes- Icky Thump

Dan Kober

1. LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
This album’s success lies in its expertly crafted aesthetic, and how this album, in all its coolest-of-cool influences from past decades, feels all about "now"--the sound that all the [now totally meaningless] dance-punk revival business of the early decade was hoping to get at. Now, what is achieved is a post-everything culmination. This is a new peak; the highest level the dance music trends have reached. This is an album where past hipster-dom aspires to something greater, grander, more fun, and more universal. James Murphy made a classic that is a heartfelt, wise, ecstatic good time. He’s officially the new enchanting wizard of rhythm, and everyone else is playing catch-up.

2. Deerhunter: Cryptograms/Fluorescent Grey EP
Perplexing and perverse to some. Uncompromisingly honest and affecting to others. Lacks self-consciousness. This is the blissed-out anti-album of 2007. There are so many elements here, since the album was pieced together from disparate parts recorded at different times. The front and back ends of the record are completely different beings. Must be heard as a whole. Then there’s the EP, which is equally astounding. Beyond the spectacle that is his [way-too-often-talked-about] stick-figure body, singer Bradford Cox is a musical sponge, often inflicting his work with a strange and brilliant “pop” sensibility underneath a hallucinatory haze of noise and ambience. Songs like “Spring Hall Convert,” “Cryptograms,” and “Hazel St.” are a gripping, psychotic, melancholy rush. With his current Atlas Sound solo-project in the works, Cox is a rising star.

3. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
Warm, compassionate, meditative, mantra-like moments for outsiders, escapists, and lovers. It’s an album to be listened to alone. It is a place to be. Makes everything else feel cold in comparison. Noah Lennox must live some enchanted life in Portugal. One filled with beautiful sunsets, love, and a true sense of home. This album captures what it feels like to truly be alive, breathing, and feeling. I got stuck driving in the biggest thunderstorm of the entire summer. The sun was still shining through cracks in the dark storm clouds. I put Person Pitch on. I felt like I was driving through a giant fish aquarium.

4. Battles: Mirrored
Battles are using technology and crazy technical skill to create an evolutionary, alien voice that is rarely expressed through the music itself. This is a beefy, algorithmic cyborg-romp that keeps on pummeling forward. Everything comes together musically as a single monster, including the vocals, which are just another instrument in the mix. I feel like these guys got so much coverage this year, and definitely deserved it. I’m wondering how this will sound in ten years. I think the Star Wars movies could have used this music on the Ewok-inhabited planet Endor to soundtrack their furry “battles.” I’m still wondering what words are being sung in the song ‘”Atlas.”
“Singing is fun, whoa-ay-oh”?

5. No Age: Weirdo Rippers
This swirling blitzkrieg of noise does not shy away from being gorgeous. This L.A punk duo called No Age are on the rise. I've been saying all along that this album would get lots of critical praise at the year’s end. Give me some art-punk and I'm there. Even Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood has been seen sporting a No Age t-shirt. This record is burgeoning with great stuff: sprawling washes of guitar feedback conceal a riotous punk core. Very cohesive, considering the fact that the record is made up of five previously released, vinyl only, limited edition EP’s. No Age totally exceed all expectations I hope for in a new buzz-band. They already sound so wired-in to their perfect aesthetic of fuzzed-out punk euphoria. A force.

6. Tough Alliance: A New Chance
This is a personal favorite. Why up here so high? Because. It's really the most immediately satisfying stuff here. I wouldn't lie. Such refreshing vibes. Just looking at pictures of these guys, they look like a bunch of renegade ravers trying to start something. Attitude and youth. They got it. Apparently, they’re known for playing very short live sets, miming their songs, picking fights with audience members, and swinging baseball bats onstage and into the audience. What's with Sweden being so stylistically awesome these days? The weirdest description I saw was that they are "how Public Image Ltd would sound if John Lydon had decided to go pop."

7. Radiohead: In Rainbows
Well, of course. I probably should have just made this number one. It is great and I love it. Sometimes feels cold and distant. Sometimes I want a more organic sound. Sometimes miss the ambient textures, weird blips and electronics of Kid A and Amnesiac, I admit. That was just my personal favorite era of Radiohead. I think they came back to earth for this one. Definitely their most immediate and user-friendly since The Bends, and kind of a culmination of everything they have done so far. There’s no need to reclaim the past, or on the other side of things, surprise and shock everyone again. Just making a great Radiohead album is enough..

8. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
Of course I love it. But does not always work for me. Sometimes felt grating(well, the vocals), and weird for the sake of being weird. “Peacebone” just doesn’t always agree with me. It sounds rather gurgle-y and cartoon-y. Makes me think of people bopping up and down and lots of younger kids getting stoned for the very first time. Just not what you want to hear when you are depressed. I feel like potentially, people can overlook the actual songs on this album and just use the whole thing as a drug/bopping experience. But there's a real emotional core, and each individual song is a unique vineyard with its own delightful(sometimes poisonous) nectars. It's not just one big trip. I expect people to be able to pick out their favorite tracks. Unlike Panda Bear’s Person Pitch, it doesn't make everything better. I think what it is really missing is something quiet like "Loch Raven" or "Bees" from the last album “Feels”. I wouldn't let my kids listen to this! Too dangerous! I would not be okay now if I listened to this at age fifteen!
On rethinking, what I maybe took as grating is actually the sonic expression of an uncontrollable surging stream of life in all its beauty, terror, and wonder. This mostly happens for me at the end of "Chores"(which is probably the top moment on the whole record for me), and through the progression of "For Reverend Green". It reminds me of Cyclops from the X-Men removing his glasses, shooting uncontrollable, overwhelming beams of light from his eyes that cannot be stopped unless he puts his glasses back on or closes his eyes. This is the sound of that mutant force hurtling forward.

9. Liars: s/t
I really needed to find time for this one. Finally did. Murky, misanthropic, and abrasive as hell. Flat out-rocks. Not good for headaches. Or for my current plight: random nosebleeds. One of the most consistently interesting and thrilling bands currently making music. Not sure if they get credit. Easily hate-able by many. If you don’t get it, fine. You are pretty square and probably should just go listen to Vampire Weekend. For the rest, so insanely good. You never know what you are going to get. Complete stylistic change from the last one(the atmospheric concept album), the one before that(the critically-panned album), and the debut(the dance-punk album). They went into this one just wanting to make some noise, free of any underlying concept. This constant reinvention is key to their success. Freak out!

10. The National: The Boxer
I've often loved this. Probably my most played record this year, along with Deerhunter, Battles, Jens Lekman, and Menomena. Very, very understated. Not trying to make a huge, self-aggrandizing statement, but rather, one that examines the everyday cracks and crevices in “the un-magnificent lives of adults.” Nothing as rocking on here as the last album, Alligator’s “Mr. November” or “Abel,” but that’s just not what this album is about. This is a comfortable place to stay and make yourself at home. You have titles like “Apartment Story” and “Guest Room.” A very adult, no bullshit record that clearly a lot of people loved. It’s best quality is that it really stays consistent in its melancholic tone and slow-burning intensity throughout the whole album.

11. M.I.A.: Kala
No nonsense. It's great to see an artist who is so dead serious about her craft, making such a grand, outspoken statement with such a pan-ethnic, global consciousness. The coolest chica. So likable to so many people, whether you agree with her politics, or have no idea what on earth she is talking about. It’s a vivacious amalgam of sounds, buzzing with sounds from everywhere--mixed into something wholly original and unmistakably M.I.A. Something astoundingly awesome pops up every other second. This is a work of complete artistic and stylistic control, that essentially says “don’t mess with me, I’m the master.”

12. Burial: Untrue
Haven’t even listened enough yet because it is kind of new. But most definitely will. Update: Wow this is good. Listening now. This demands full attention played at adequate volume on the best stereo system, and nothing less. This is what some folks call “dubstep,” but whatever that means doesn’t really matter. You just need to hear it. I think Burial’s work is best summed up by his own words:
"I like Underground tunes that are true and mongrel and you see people trying to break that down, alter its nature. Underground music should have its back turned; it needs to be gone, untrackable, unreadable, just a distant light." - Burial

13. Caribou: Andorra
Quite sunshine-y. Often times, exactly what I need. Here is an artist with a solid output time after time, making some of the best electronic music to come out of this decade. But each time, what we get is quite different. First Boards of Canda-ish IDM, then shoegaze-y ambience, then krautrock-ish jams, and now psychadelic electronica-tinged pop. Really carefully crafted stuff, which seems to work its subtle magic best in the wintertime, rather than what I was getting out of it around the time of its late summer release date.

14. Okkervil River: The Stage Names Really great and accessible in a traditional rock sense. Inflects much-needed youth, character, and aww-shucks attitude into a well-paced batch of consistently solid songs in the rock tradition. So many bands are about portraying some kind of cooler-than-thou image, but with Okkervil River, it’s all about the songs and the literary genius and wit of front man Will Sheff’s lyrics. This follow up to the equally wonderful Black Sheep Boy will probably make the band’s fan-base double. They’re a spastic, scrappy band totally worthy of super-fandom. Thanks Will Sheff, for making the soundtrack to your own life, whether it resembles a movie or [maybe] not.

15. Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala
Jens, I love you. You are my hope for the goodness of humanity. Hello sunshine. The album makes any night the most pleasant and joyous. Of course, heartache and melancholy, when with pop and wit, becomes an esculent treat. Just ask a Morrissey fan. This was probably the most replay-able anytime/anywhere album of the year for me.

16. The Field: From Here We Go Sublime
It does what it does quite perfectly. Quite sublime dance album, indeed, but no dead spots on this album. There is always a pulse. If there are people dancing to this from 3AM to sunrise, I would like to find them.

17. Dirty Projectors: Rise Above
Definitely growing on me. The kind of thing that can turn out to be one of my absolute favorites, because I may never completely figure it out. A total creative triumph. Not sure what else to say yet. Dave Longstreth sings his re-interpreted versions of these Black Flag tunes like some kind of weird R&B minstrel. The girl singers sound like little birds backing him up. Strange and wonderful. What I don’t get is how Longstreth made this album without actually re-visiting Black Flag’s Damaged? He just found the Damaged cassette-tape case while helping his parents move out of their house, but not the cassette itself. Then he decided to record his own version, from how he remembered it. How did these “interpretations” just materialize in his head from his recollection of what the album sounded like when he was young? What would have happened if he found the case for the Fiddler On the Roof Soundtrack cassette case(remnants of my exciting childhood) at my house or something?

18. Menomena: Friend and Foe
For some reason, this, to me, is the most dark and disturbing album I heard this year. Not disturbing in the conventional sense. At times I do realize it feels kind of awkward and unnatural, which in part is what makes it so disturbing. It feels like someone is squeezing the guys of Menomena to force these songs out. This record often made me upset for some reason. Seductive in all its twisted, loopy sadness.

19. Deerhoof: Friend Opportunity
Really great. Deerhoof is among the most consistently excellent bands around. Satomi is too cute. But there's so much more here than just cuteness and "let's play!!!" Not to say I wouldn’t want to play in a sandbox with Deerhoof. But still, there's a real emotional core here, the center being the naive wonder of being young and small. And of course, after you listen, coming to terms with knowing that is all gone. Got stuck in a traffic jam to this album, on the way to a Philly show(I forget which, could have been the Arcade Fire) in the Spring semester. Glad it was there to keep me company. Has some strangely moving moments. Also, must be listened to all the way though, every time I play it. Unless you consider “Kidz Are So Small” a single. I don’t know about that one.

20. The Clientele: God Save The Clientele
They really don’t get talked about a lot. They do have a quietly attractive girl who plays the piano. They played this in Prince Street Café, the coffee shop I frequent in Lancaster. I've always liked it and I find it extremely romantic. It's really not trying to do anything to fit in with current trends and I appreciate that. You pretty much always know what you are getting with these guys. Wistful. Could be on any romantic film soundtrack.