My reviews elsewhere

Album review: Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Live Review: Of Montreal - Koko - 16th October 2008

Live Review: Shearwater - St. Giles Church - 22nd November 2008

Album Review: Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Rob's Top 50 Albums of 2008

If any of these albums sound interesting to you, just click on the title of the best track to get a free preview!

[50] Islands - Arm's Way
Best Track: Creeper
Rob's View: Bombastic, adventurous, but overall too much so. Some songs go on pointlessly and at 68 minutes, wearing for the listener. Not without a few gems though.



[49] Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Best Track: Ways to Make it Through the Wall
Rob's View: Releasing two albums in one year shows the enthusiasm these youngsters have, but in the end most of these songs were only b-side material. Cut off a few tracks and you have a fantastic EP.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 2nd Place
[Read Full Album Review]



[48] Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Best Track: River Card
Rob's View: An electronic, experimental and (mostly) ambient release from Bradford Cox, the man behind Deerhunter. Great background music, not all that much more.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 1st Place



[47] Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Best Track: My Purple Past
Rob's View: Loud indie-pop is what we've come to expect from Deerhoof. There's nothing different here, maybe just not quite as immediate as previous albums.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 3rd Place


[46] Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
Best Track: Sitting on Fire
Rob's View: Fantastically orchestrated as always, possibly a bit more stripped back than earlier Spiritualized albums. There's nothing wrong with this album at all, excpet maybe a little lack of variation.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 2nd Place


[45] Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom
Best Track: Voice in Headphones
Rob's View: At only 24 minutes this album is easy to digest and perfect to listen to over a cup of tea on a cold day. However, the shortness [sic] of it does become a bit of a let down when looking for something more to sink your teeth in to.



[44] Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Best Track: Bones of You
Rob's View: Three outstanding tracks and then eight pleasant ones. That's all there is to it.



[43] M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Best Track: Couleurs
Rob's View: Some of the tracks are what Kate Bush would sound like if she made an electronic album .Some cheesy lyrics let it down, the ambient tracks are the obvious highlights.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 3rd Place



[42] Beck - Modern Guilt
Best Track: Volcano
Rob's View: After the over long 'The Information' it was nice of Beck to make a short and sweet album. Unfortunately some of the songs are not only short but under thought. Still some Beck magic in there though.



[41] Bloc Party - Intimacy
Best Track: Signs
Rob's View: Trying to break out of their indie-mould has yielded mixed results. However some of the most touching songs you'll hear all year make this album worthwhile.
[Read Live Review]



[40] Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP
Best Track: Mykonos
Rob's View: Recorded after the album but released before it... confusing. There's nothing confusing about how good this band is though. A nice collection of 5 songs featuring some of their best.
[Read Live Review]



[39] She & Him - Volume One
Best Track: Sentimental Heart
Rob's View: With the help of the amazing M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel proves that movie stars can make good music after all.



[38] Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Best Track: Strawberry Swing
Rob's View: Putting two songs on one track is stupid but forgiveable once, but three times!? Just annoying. This album has some good music but Martin's lyrics let it down in places. This album could do with losing some songs and it would be easier to listen to all the way through.



[37] Sigur Rós - Með suð I eyrum við spilum endalaust (AKA Thank God for Copy and Paste [Unofficial Title])
Best Track: Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
Rob's View: An extremely pleasant album for the first 8 tracks but the last 3 are downright boring.



[36] Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Best Track: So Haunted
Rob's View: Is it electro? Is it indie? It's a bit of both! "The Australian LCD Soundsystem" doesn't really cut it but that's what I've come up with.
AWARD: 1st Place, Best Album Art



[35] Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
Best Track: Sweet Love For Planet Earth
Rob's View: Certainly not for everyone. Hushed vocals mixed low under dense electronics made with toys. It's great once you get your head around it.



[34] Foals - Antidotes
Best Track: Red Sock Pugie
Rob's View: Touted as "math rock". They're not. They're indie pop with interesting time signatures, and at their best they're great, but there's a lot of filler on this album.



[33] Ratatat - LP3
Best Track: Mirando
Rob's View: Laid back dance music with a world music vibe, what's not to like?
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 5th Place. Worst Album Title, Joint 3rd Place



[32] One Little Plane - Until
Best Track: Lotus Flower
Rob's View: Thanks to Radiohead for revealing this one to us when they recommended it on Dead Air Space. There are a lot of female singer-songwriters these days but Kathryn Bint sings in such a beautiful voice that keeps you interested. She works the vocal loops brilliantly too.



[31] Little Joy - Little Joy
Best Track: Brand New Start
Rob's View: Easily the best thing to come out of The Strokes long absence. Drummer Fab Moretti has produced the soundtrack to the summer... shame it came out in November.



[30] Metronomy - Nights Out
Best Track: Heartbreaker
Rob's View: Basically something to listen to to tide you over until the next time you go see them live. You MUST see them live to fully appreciate the songs, but these recordings will get your head nodding too.



[29] Cajun Dance Party - The Colourful Life
Best Track: The Hill, the View and the Lights
Rob's View: These guys are still so young and that's plain in the youthful joy that's injected into the majority of these songs. However there is a dash of maturity in there too which maybe indicates where they'll go on future releases.



[28] The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
Best Track: Good Lies
Rob's View: Just overall beautiful simple guitar based songs with a smidgeon of orchestration thrown in here and there.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 4th Place


[27] David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Best Track: Strange Overtones
Rob's View: A far cry from their previous album both in terms of time and sound. Is this what Talking Heads would sound like today? Possibly. 11 great tracks, each with a hook that will keep you coming back again.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 1st Place. Worst Album Title, 1st Place



[26] Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
Best Track: Your English is Good
Rob's View: The glossy sheen on these tracks may have put off fans of their lo-fi sound but they're seriously missing out if they don't give this album a chance. Only one track over 3 minutes long, these boys know how to keep it short and sweet. Any Desperate Housewives fans may have spotted them in the current series (they were the other band in the battle of the bands).
AWARD: Worst Album Title, 2nd Place
[Read Live Review]



[25] Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Best Track: I Love You, I'm Going to Blow Up Your School
Rob's View: Another album of songs that generally go quiet-loud-louder-(optional end quiet) yet Mogwai have mastered the technique of making it sound new each time they do it.



[24] Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
Best Track: I Woke Up Today
Rob's View: A folk-pop gem. Maybe not quite as immediate as other bands in this genre (Fleet Foxes) but no less worthy of your time.



[23] The Killers - Day & Age
Best Track: Losing Touch
Rob's View: 'Sam's Town' saw The Killers evoking the spirit of their home town Las Vegas. This album is them trying to expand and garner influences from wider pastures, whilst still keeping their synth-heavy 80's vibe. Luckily for them they know what they're doing and on this album they've pulled it off.



[22] School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
Best Track: Half Asleep
Rob's View: In a year when Secret Machines' third album was released it was a surprise that it was overshadowed by this band featuring one of their ex-members. Synth, heavy guitars and haunting female vocals make this an essential listen.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 2nd Place



[21] Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Best Track: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Rob's View: Simple guitars underpinned with african influenced rhythms and featuring great sing-along vocals this album must be the most fun of the year.


[20] The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Best Track: Calm Like You
Rob's View: Proof, if it was needed, of Alex Turner's great talent and lyrical prolificness [sic]. Alongside sweeping orchestrations from the great Owen Pallett, there's no way this could have gone wrong.



[19] Why? - Alopecia
Best Track: Fatalist Palmistry
Rob's View: Why aren't there more hip hop indie rock bands like Why? Why indeed! If they could all produce lyrics as funny, self-depricating and witty as Jonathan “Yoni” Wolf then there would be no need for any other genre of music. Of course, they can't.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 5th Place



[18] Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
Best Track: Starry Stairs
Rob's View: Could be viewed as left-overs from 'The Stage Names' but there's a lot more to it than that. Will Sheff's potent vocals are intact as well as his ingenious wordplay. They sound great even without Jonathan Meiburg. Most of the songs cannot be faulted, so why so low? Unfortunately there's only 8 actual tracks on this album and from here on in every album is virtually without fault.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 3rd Place


[17] The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
Best Track: Miles Davis and the Cool
Rob's View: Could be lumped in with the current pop-punk scene but these guys have a lot more to offer. This album is full of great imagery, nostalgia and insanely catchy hooks. I also think that if The National made a punk album, this might be what it would sound like...


[16] The Walkmen - You & Me
Best Track: In the New Year
Rob's View: The guitar on this album sounds like it's being played from deep inside a well, and at times vocalist Hamilton Leithauser seems to be down there with it. A much more mature album than they've previosuly produced and the perfect soundtrack to a good drinking session.



[15] Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Best Track: Lenders in the Temple
Rob's View: This album was recorded in sunny Mexico in what must have been a fun trip for Conor and his Mystic Valley Band. Although he was on holiday he certainly wasn't slacking off and on this album he shows how he's matured and made what was for me at least, the soundtrack to the summer (and this one was released in August).



[14] The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Best Track: Lord, I'm Discouraged
Rob's View: Fantastic guitar riffs, check. Craig Finn's American drawl, check. Satirical lyrics detailing the lives of the losers of America, check. References to the Mississippi river, Ybor City and being positive, check. It's got all the makings of another great album by The Hold Steady.



[13] Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Best Track: Cath...
Rob's View: On their last album 'Plans' Death Cab tried to pick up the atmosphere and go for a sunshine sound on every track to mixed results. 'Narrow Stairs' sees them back at their brooding best and producing some of their darkest material to date.
[Read Live Review]



[12] Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Best Track: California Dreamer
Rob's View: On their first album they kept the songs short, but here Wolf Parade try to make most of the songs a mini-epic, and to be fair they have done a good job.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 4th Place



[11] Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Best Track: The Twist
Rob's View: Is it just me or are there a lot of good Scottish bands at the moment? These guys are probably the cream of the crop for me at the moment. The songs reveal some depth whilst the songs are simple and will keep your foot tapping throughout.



[10] Man Man - Rabbit Habits
Best Track: Top Drawer
Rob's View: The first half of this album is brilliantly catastrophic whilst the second half reveals a brooding side to this hyper-active band from Philadelphia. The characters in their stories are given colour through the excellent use of xylophones, violins and all-encompassing vocals.
[Read Live Review]



[09] Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster
Best Track : You! Me! Dancing!
Rob's View: Shouty, twee, energetic and completely lovable. It's only a matter of time before you get the Los Campesinos! bug.



[08] Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Best Track: Nothing Ever Happened
Rob's View: They stripped back the distortion and overall noise to reveal some great pop songs underneath. This may have been to the dismay of some older fans but it was to the delight of thousands of new ones.



[07] Shearwater - Rook
Best Track: The Snow Leopard
Rob's View: After Will Sheff's departure it was up to Jonathan Meiburg to prove that he was worthy of captaining the Shearwater ship, and he has done so most admirably here. Delicate ballads interspersed with foot stomping rockers (and one horrible interlude) all woven brilliantly together with Meiburg's haunting voice. This album is a must hear.
[Read Live Review]



[06] Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
Best Track: Floating on the Lehigh
Rob's View: This is Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear's other band, although they don't sound all that much different. The main difference is that the songs are less dense and lacking the harmonies that Grizzly Bear has. But what it lacks it makes up for in beauty and overall is a very fulfilling listen.



[05] The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Best Track: Many Shades of Black
Rob's View: The Raconteurs deliver more of what they gave us on their first album, namely southern rock with edgy guitars and fantastic dual vocals from Jack White and Brendan Benson.



[04] The Dodos - Visiter
Best Track: Paint The Rust
Rob's View: At the core of it there's just two of them, one on acoustic guitar and one on drums but yet they still manage to make fourteen tracks that have their own individual sound and style. And all of them are fantastic! You have to hear it to believe it.
AWARD: Worst Album Title, 2nd Place
[Read Live Review]



[03] Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Best Track: White Winter Hymnal
Rob's View: You have to have been hiding under a rock on Mars to have not heard of Fleet Foxes by now. With their pitch perfect harmonies and utterly divine pop-folk melodies they've captured the hearts of music lovers everywhere, and they utterly deserve it.
[Read Live Review]



[02] TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Best Track: Dancing Choose
Rob's View: Gone are the multi layered mid-tempo songs of 'Return to Cookie Mountain', here we have an upbeat dance-rock-soul hybrid that's compelling from beginning to end. The band's guitarist-come-producer has sprinkled his genius all over this one and has whipped up a magical result helped greatly by his fellow band members and the fantastic voice of Tunde Adebimpe.
[Read Full Album Review]



[01] Portishead - Third
Best Track: Threads
Rob's View: Long time no see Portishead! Ten years absence and you've been sorely missed, thankfully it has been worth the wait. A dark, atmospheric and haunting album the engrosses the listener. Beth Gibbons vocals sound as bold as ever and yet become strained or weak at the perfect moments. This is probably the best album that a band ending with 'head' has released in the last 7 years, but you didn't hear it from me.
AWARD: Worst Album Title, Joint 3rd Place
[Read Live Review]


Most Disappointing Albums of 2008

[03] Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
[02] of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
[01] Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology

Top 10 Live Performances of 2008

[10] Man Man @ Cargo [Read Review]
[09] Wolf Parade @ Electric Ballroom
[08] Spoon @ Scala
[07] Portishead @ Hammersmith Apollo [Read Review]
[06] Shearwater @ St. Giles Church [Read Review]
[05] Death Cab for Cutie @ Electric Ballroom [Read Review]
[04] Okkervil River @ Shepherd's Bush Empire
[03] Ryan Adams & the Cardinals @ Brixton Academy
[02] Radiohead @ Victoria Park (Night 2)
[01] Fleet Foxes @ ULU [Read Review]