This year, I’ve asked a few Phoenix-area musicians/people of interest for their year-end, best-of lists: albums, songs, whatever. This installment comes from Jim Adkins, frontman for Jimmy Eat World, one of this state’s greatest music success stories.
The band, working on its follow-up to 2007’s Chase This Light, will embark in early 2009 on the Clarity x 10 tour, which concludes (fittingly) with a March 7 date at Marquee Theatre.
Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat).
This was my favorite album of the year. Such a great combination of writing and delivery. One of the best live acts I got to see this year, as well. I am really excited to see what 2009 brings for these guys.
It was too hard to decide a hierarchy for the others, so consider them all close 2nd.
• Ida – Lovers Prayers (LP) / My Fair, My Dark (EP) (Polyvinyl)
• Sun Kil Moon – April (Caldo Verde)
• Calexico – Carried To Dust (Quarterstick)
• Vampire Weekend – self-titled (XL)
• Sigur Ros – Með suð à eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL)
• Little Joy – self-titled (Rough Trade)
• M83 – Saturdays = Youth (Mute Records)
• French Kicks – Swimming (Vagrant)
Here are some of my favorite 2008 songs:
• Sparkadia – Jealousy
• The Walkmen – In the New Year
• The Notwist – Good Lies
• Calexico – Two Silver Trees
• Sun Kil Moon – Moorestown
• Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes
• Frightened Rabbit – The Twist
Related:
Favorite albums of 2008
Favorite song(s) of 2008
Guest list: Brian Coughlin of Kinch
Guest list: Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers
Guest list: Jay Wiggins (aka DJ Funkfinger)
Guest list: Brendan Murphy of Source Victoria
in full. This will give me good reason to do so.
(Roc-A-Fella)
(XL)
(Young American)
(Friend or Faux)
(XL)
(XL)
(Caldo Verde)
(Island)
(Interscope)
(Lost Highway)
(Barsuk)
As long as Nada Surf keeps cranking out no-frills power-pop gems, I’ll keep listening. Lucky hardly seems like a sexy pick in ’08, and I think that’s exactly what I love about it. Substance wins out over gimmicks.
(Merge)
There’s something calming and meditative about Jim Putnam’s rolling melodies, which come in waves on Auditorium. I feel comfortable in the Radar Bros.’ languid compositions – specifically here on Pomona – when most of the self-important/need-to-feel-different indie rock quickly wears out its welcome.
(Warp Records)
Here’s hoping misguided comparisons to Vampire Weekend (nothing wrong with VW, mind you) don’t taint this album’s reputation. Red, Yellow & Blue explodes with quirky call-and-response anthems and time-signature trickery, pulled together by the band’s unparalleled chemistry.
(Sub Pop)
Though I’m more enamored with the stunning (but too short) Sun Giant EP, the band’s debut is a beauty. Who can resist those harmonies?
(Anti-)
While the Edmonton-based Cadence Weapon introduces hip-hop heads to tech-house beats, few (save for Busdriver, of course) can match his scattered and sophisticated well of rhymes and deliver it with tongue-and-cheek charm.
(Universal Motown)
Nostalgia might be clouding my judgment, but Q-Tip returned with what should prove to be a timeless album that solidifies his place in hip-hop lore (as if A Tribe Called Quest didn’t do that already). Production help from Mark Ronson and the late, great J Dilla certainly doesn’t hurt.
(Jagjaguwar)
So what if this album, a majority of which was written and recorded in an isolated cabin in Wisconsin, was technically self-released in 2007? Its reissue via Jagjaguwar rightfully introduced Justin Vernon to a wider audience, his soaring falsetto and delicate melodies deserving a place on this year’s lists.
(Vagrant Records)
Another album that does nothing to harm the Hold Steady’s reputation as the best bar band in America. If he hasn’t already, singer Craig Finn is becoming a spokesman for an indie generation.
(Fiction Records)
A long overdue Mercury Prize for The Seldom Seen Kid confirms what we already knew: Elbow is reaching great heights with its highly stylized indie-rock noir. It may be a tad bloated, but this album is rich with depth, storytelling and grace.
(Fat Cat)
It’s the mother of all break-up albums, feelings ranging from rage to sorrow to self-pity. Through his thick Scottish accent, Scott Hutchison’s detailed commentary of love gone wrong is at times painful, agonizing and somehow endearing.