Happy 2009 everyone! To celebrate the new year, I give you my annual list of the top 11 albums I most enjoyed this past year.
2008 was a competitive year. After making an initial compilation of my favorite albums of the year, I found myself with over twenty on the list. Consequently, there were some genuinely fantastic albums that didn’t make the cut this year. See “Honorable Mention” at the bottom for those.
[(Annual) Disclaimer:These selections are not supposed to be “the” top albums of the year. In no way am I suggesting these albums are better than all other albums that were released this year. These are simply the ones that I liked best.]
1. Folie A Deux – Fall Out Boy
Say what you like about Fall Out Boy, but you can never, ever accuse these guys of lacking creativity. Folie A Deux is a masterpiece of sonic experimentation, a veritable feast of musical treats for your ears. Success has given FOB the ability to push the boundaries, mixing and blending all sorts of genres, and the guest artists featured throughout the album, from ‘Lil Wayne to Elvis Costello, prove yet again that FOB is unafraid to take huge risks musically in order to reap huge rewards. Patrick Stump’s singing is stellar — I find myself frequently shaking my head at his vocal gymnastics. The departure from traditional pop-punk in Folie is even more dramatic than it was in Infinity on High, as FOB masterfully blend in R&B, soul, 80s pop, and many other ingredients, creating a genre-defying sound that is very much unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Tracks like “What A Catch, Donnie” and “w.a.m.s.” in particular resist traditional conceptions of what “Fall Out Boy” sounds like. FOB has come a long way from Take This To Your Grave — in fact, so far as to be virtually unrecognizable — but in every subsequent album their reinvention has paid off. This is the most fun you’ll have listening to any album this year.
Standout Tracks: “Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes”, “I Don’t Care”, “ِAmerica’s Suitehearts”, “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet”, “The (Shipped) Gold Standard”, “(Coffee’s For Closers)”, “w.a.m.s.”, “20 Dollar Nose Bleed”, “West Coast Smoker”
2. Pretty. Odd. – Panic At The Disco
Panic dropped the exclamation point from their name as well as the weird circus stage theatrics for their follow-up to A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, stripping down and starting over, rebuilding their sound from the bottom up. That wasn’t the only thing they started over — in July 2007, the band decided to scrap the entire original album they had written and start over from strach. If there was any doubt as to the musical genius of Brendan Urie, or any suspicion that Panic was little more than a flash in the pan, those were put to rest with Pretty. Odd. The pop-punk is gone, and so are the teen-marketed lyrics, replaced with impressive songwriting (with a much more positive tone) and bright, piano-based ditties that end up sounding more like Sgt. Pepper-esque Beatles than anything else. The results are brilliant.
Standout Tracks: “Nine In The Afternoon”, “She’s A Handsome Woman”, “That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)”, “Northern Downpour”, “When The Day Met The Night”, “Folkin’ Around”, “Mad As Rabbits”
3. Feed The Animals– Girl Talk
Perhaps it is strange that an indie mashup artist’s album should make it to #3 on this list…but then again, perhaps not. The genius of fair-use champion Gregg Gillis’s vision in Feed The Animals is almost hard to describe without hearing the results for yourself. Where else can you find Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and Radiohead blended together, or a perfect mixture of Ace of Base, Ben Folds Five, and Cassidy? (“Still Here”) Or perhaps Phil Collins, Busta Rhymes, and The Police? (“What It’s All About”) Ever wanted to know what Jackson 5, The Beastie Boys, and Nine Inch Nails would sound like together? Probably something “Like This”. Feed The Animals is infectious, addicting, and never fails to spark a dance party whenever it comes on. Yet the album’s dynamic, serving-size segments mean that it virtually never gets old or seems overplayed. This album was an unforgettable part of my fall semester.
Standout Tracks: “Play Your Part (Pt. 1)”, “Shut The Club Down”, “Still Here”, “Like This”, “In Step”, “Here’s The Thing”
4. Rise Or Die Trying – Four Year Strong
Easily one of the best new artists of 2008, Four Year Strong’s debut album is a perfect blend of hard rock and metal instrumentation with pop-punk-ish vocals, in the style of bands like Fully Down — but better. Double bass drum pedals and epic, crunching guitar riffs galore, it’s almost impossible not to rock out every time you listen to this album.
Standout Tracks: “The Takeover”, “Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulated”, “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die”, “Catastrophe”, “Bada Bing! Wit’ A Pipe!”, “Maniac (R.O.D.)”
5. The Silver Cord – The Classic Crime
It was going to be hard to top their debut album, Albatross, but the Seattle-based group did a pretty impressive job with their follow-up, The Silver Cord. Expanding their horizons and improving their musicianship (see the Black Parade-esque keyboards on “5805”, or the sick guitar solo on “Gravedigging”), TCC manages to keep just enough of the huge, sing-along choruses that characterized their first album. The Silver Cord also has a distinctive structure — the first 10 tracks on the album, from the somber, mournful opening track, “The End”, to the brooding, intense “Medisin”) are all written in minor keys and explore themes of despair, depression, and loneliness. Then comes the epic instrumental interlude “The Ascent”, which serves as a turning point on the album, and the final four tracks are all written in major keys, with messages of redemption, renewal, and hope, culminating finally with “The Beginning (A Simple Seed)”, easily one of the best tracks on the album.
Standout Tracks: “Gravedigging”, “The Way That You Are”, “5805”, “Abracadavers”, “Medisin”, “Sing”, “Everything”, “The Beginning (A Simple Seed)”
6. Viva La Vida – Coldplay
No, it wasn’t X&Y (#2 for me in 2005). But Coldplay’s highly anticipated release was still one of the best albums of the year. Perhaps they’ve lost a little bit of their edge, and perhaps several of the B-sides that made it onto the Prospekt’s March EP should have replaced some lackluster tracks on Viva La Vida, but there is no denying that the album offers some fantastic tracks, from the hip-hop-inspired beat of “Lost!” to the gorgeous piano on “Lovers In Japan,” and the crunching guitar hooks of “Violet Hill” to the building crescendo of “Death And All His Friends”. Not too shabby, Chris Martin.
Standout Tracks: “Lost!”, “Lovers In Japan”, “Viva La Vida”, “Violet Hill”, “Strawberry Swing”, “Death And All His Friends”
7. Whisper War – The Cab
Also without a doubt one of the best new up-and-coming artists this year, the 17-year-old members of Las Vegas-based The Cab made a statement with their debut album early this year. If the explosive opening track, “One Of Those Nights” — featuring guest appearances from a few friends, including Panic’s Brendan Urie and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump — doesn’t get your attention, then The Cab’s roaring guitars, tight vocal harmonies, and infectious blend of rock, soul, pop, R&B — even a little disco — on the remaining tracks certainly will. Trendy? Check. Witty, tongue-in-cheek lyrics? Check. But you have to try really hard not to enjoy this album.
Standout Tracks: “One Of Those Nights”, “Bounce”, “High Hopes In Velvet Ropes”, “Take My Hand”, “Risky Business”, “Zzzzz”, “This City Is Contagious”
8. Want – 3OH!3
Let’s face it — 3OH!3 is everyone’s guilty pleasure. Sure, the lyrics might be trashy — see the “pseudo-pornographic” lyrics of “Starstrukk”, as my friend put it, for example. But the dance-electronic-pop-punk-hip-hop blend of 3OH!3 is catching on. Don’t deny it — it’s just about impossible not to get up and dance to “Don’t Trust Me.” And everyone loves angrily screaming the lyrics to “I’m Not Your Boyfriend Baby”. The synth lead in in “PunkB*tch” is awesome. Plus, who can argue with this advice: “Don’t trust a ho / never trust a ho / won’t trust a ho / ’cause the ho won’t trust me.” Plus, “Shush girl, shut your lips / Do the Hellen Keller, and talk with your hips.” These two white guys can rap.
Standout Tracks: “PunkB*tch”, “Don’t Trust Me”, “I’m Not Your Boyfriend Baby”, “Starstrukk”, “Richman”, “Holler Till You Pass Out”
9. Fast Times At Barrington High – The Academy Is…
The Academy Is…well, back. Let’s just pretend Santi never happened, okay? I knew I had a good feeling about this album when I heard the title — which comes from a high school about a half hour from my house (the band is from Hoffman Estates, IL) — and it lived up to my expectations. Everything about the album, from the lyrics to the chord progressions — screams high school summers…and I mean that in the best possible way. It makes you want to drive around your hometown with your friends in June, with the sun shining and the windows down (and blasting this album, of course). It never takes itself too seriously, and TAI has apparently rediscovered how to write rockin’, singable choruses after filling a whole album with forgettable, mid-tempo mush for Santi. William Beckett’s soaring vocals are always a highlight, especially in the high-tempo opening track and first single, “About A Girl.”
Standout Tracks: “About A Girl”, “Summer Hair=Forever Young”, “His Girl Friday”, “The Test”, “Rumored Nights”, “Coppertone”, “Beware! Cougar!”, “One More Weekend”
10. Narrow Stairs – Death Cab For Cutie
A lot of DCFC fans didn’t like Narrow Stairs. I am not one of them. I thought it was fantastic. Death Cab branched out, shedding the acoustic emphasis of Transatlanticism and Plans in favor of more synth, more electric guitars, and more electro-pop deliciousness. It’s a departure from their traditional sound, but I thought it worked extremely well. I adore “Bixby Canyon Bridge” (dream sequence and all) and the catchy bass guitar riff of “I Will Possess Your Heart” makes it an instant classic. “Long Division” is easily one of my all-time favorites.
Standout Tracks: “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, “I Will Possess Your Heart”, “Cath…”, “You Can Do Better Than Me”, “Grapevine Fires”, “Long Division”, “Pity And Fear”
11. Shudder – Bayside
Bayside’s follow-up to The Walking Wounded (#4 in 2007) is only this far down on the list because of all the other incredible albums that have come out this year — not because it was disappointing. The anthemic opener, “Boy”, starts the album off with a bang, and while this album isn’t a radical departure from Bayside’s standard self-described “gloom pop” sound, it does take a few interesting forays into new territory — case in point is the closing track, “Moceanu”, which features lead singer Anthony Raneri crooning a melancholy dirge in which he spells out many of the lyrics, accompanied by only a sparse, rhythmic keyboard. Jack O’Shea’s lead guitar riffs are still impressive throughout, though less noticeable than they were on Walking Wounded.
Standout Tracks: “Boy”, “The Ghost of St. Valentine”, “What And What Not”, “I Can’t Go On”, “Demons”, “Roshambo”, “Moceanu”
And as for those additional excellent albums that also deserve some recognition…
Honorable Mention:
– The Glass Passenger – Jack’s Mannequin
– Underdog Alma Mater – Forever The Sickest Kids
– State of the Art (EP) – Audiostrobelight
– New Surrender – Anberlin
– Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt – Augustana
– Day & Age – The Killers
Feel free to leave me your comments!
Alex's Top Albums 