"Not sure why it took this release to ..." more

"Not sure why it took this release to make me realize that I had nearly everything this guy's done at emu, and LOVE it. Really really LOVE it. Could have been on morr music if it weren't on his own label...and if it didn't have that hip-hop element. Mix with downtempo, experimental, indie, ambient, and you've quite the melange. And it is." less

"The perfect thing to wrap yourself up..." more

"The perfect thing to wrap yourself up in. It's quiet, contemplative, and layered and entirely engaging. If you have Armchair Apocrypha on your best of 07 list (like I do), you've probably already got this. The more I listen to this though, it's starting to pull ahead of that one, a sure candidate for best of 08, which is why it's here. Get it even if only for the AMAZING cover of Dylan's "Oh Sister."" less

"Dreamy/nightmare-y, hushed, intense, ..." more

"Dreamy/nightmare-y, hushed, intense, personal and beautiful.








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"Gorgeous, dreamy, falsetto over a cro..." more

"Gorgeous, dreamy, falsetto over a cross between shoegaze and ambient...skewed toward ambient, but strongly melodic. It's an even odder mix than it sounds...and a better one. I felt like the album didn't really need those last 2 songs (sorry bro), but without reservation, one of the year's loveliest." less

"An actual brother and sister who grew..." more

"An actual brother and sister who grew up listening to lush, complicated pop (Curt Boettcher, et. al.), and filtered it through the sound of Neil Young on Time Fades Away. I like the whole album better when I skip the first track. Regardless, this one's special." less

"This one is toward the softly whisper..." more

"This one is toward the softly whispered, sweetly layered end of the morr spectrum. Perfect for filling in the gaps in the download list, but this and the previous are also great choices for topping a month's list too." less

"The best musician of his generation, ..." more

"The best musician of his generation, in any genre, gets better. The comparisons to Miles are facile, and irrelevant -- c'mon man, WHICH Miles? It makes no sense. Of course it also makes no sense how someone this young can be getting so much deeper, so quickly. A live record with quite a few new tracks, as well as enriched updates of older ones, show him as a superlative bandleader as well as composer. Among the smallest handful of 2008 releases that will be remembered as great in 2088. Even though it arrived just days before the cut-off, comfortably settles at #8 on my list of the year's best...and will likely rise higher with a bit more time to reflect." less

"Easy to miss, and "misunderestimate" ..." more

"Easy to miss, and "misunderestimate" because it's so soft and sweet. What's wrong with that? The work of 2 mature artists coming to terms with the latter half of their lives: "I'm lost, but I'm not afraid." And hey, don't go away so fast. Gets plenty quirky plenty fast, and VERY quirky in places. I'm still not sure what Eno brings to the party, but couldn't be nobody but Dave B." less

"Scary good. Good and scary. Much, muc..." more

"Scary good. Good and scary. Much, much darker than the name of the album and artist suggest. Much funnier than the title of the opening track (Stop, I'm Already Dead) suggests -- which is also much funkier than the sample suggests. And it's all somehow beautiful, with the ballads coming as a special surprise. Just edging out The Weepies for albums I find myself humming most often so far this year. [edit:somebodytoldmethatthisactuallycameoutin2006.Doh!Well,wouldastillbeenonthislistifreleasedin08.]" less

"Dreamy, feedback-y, but by no means s..." more

"Dreamy, feedback-y, but by no means shoegaze. More Yo La Tengo (the quiet variety) than My Bloody Valentine, this one is truly sweet. I like all of their stuff actually, and the updated earlier tracks revisited as bonuses are ace. One of the best band names ever too.





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"Intimately huge? Hugely intimate? Eit..." more

"Intimately huge? Hugely intimate? Either way, a catchy reminder of the best and most beautiful of pop and life. Other reviews namecheck the Spree and BSS -- I'll add Efterklang if they sang in English with crystal-clear acoustic guitar front and center. Runs out of gas a bit before the end, but still worth downloading all." less

"This might have to rank higher than M..." more

"This might have to rank higher than Midnight Organ. Certainly more passionate, but not as many textures. I also think there's something to be said for having one's shirt tucked in sometimes. Certainly worth getting the 2 together, this one being the ragged, bloody one staring in from outside the window." less

"These 14 songs sound an awful lot ali..." more

"These 14 songs sound an awful lot alike....and I LOVE 'em. Soaring vocals, strong imagery, powerful, emotional stuff. Another of the year's best." less

"Glenn T. doing what he does best...be..." more

"Glenn T. doing what he does best...better than he's done for a long time: sweet pop with a little bite under the hood. This is ultimately a bit too short to call it a comeback...and well, he's never been entirely out of it...but I want to hear more. Nothing would make me happier than to hear that the rest is as good as this little slice." less

"Categorized in avant-garde classical,..." more

"Categorized in avant-garde classical, but very chamber jazzy in places, with undeniable pop instrumental echoes. Anybody here old enough to remember the Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet from 30 years ago? Like that." less

"Good lord, what have these two wrough..." more

"Good lord, what have these two wrought? Filthy and sublime like early Prince, beautiful like Beyonce's evil twin. Skip the 3 tracks with the fella rapping (sorry). I'm glad that Lauryn Hill has found a happy life, but this is the record she would never have gotten around to delivering...if she was this good. Yeah, really. #5 on my list of the year's best...and I could argue myself into moving it higher up the list. Truly outstanding. Not even Axl had the arrogance to deliver a two-disk set as his DEBUT. When you've got the goods, arrogance is good. J*Davey has the goods." less

"Hushed, heartbreaking. contemporary c..." more

"Hushed, heartbreaking. contemporary classical at its very most beautiful." less

"This guy is a wonderful mix of sweet,..." more

"This guy is a wonderful mix of sweet, sloppy, spiritual and psychotic. This one is where he's finally starting to merge the contemplative solo man with the loud, eccentric bandleader. There's plenty of the Exile-era Stones grit from the first Astronauts record, but unlike that one, the songs here feel finished, and less like a deviation from his earlier work. One of the great benefits of playing with a band is that this feels like it was cut live in a real live room, not a studio with layers of overdubs. I've liked a lot of his records before, but this is the first to make a year's best list for me - currently at #9, but could go higher as I keep listening." less

"In "Jazz" because it's Kenny Wheeler ..." more

"In "Jazz" because it's Kenny Wheeler playing his trumpet, but also deep into classical with longtime collaborator John Taylor on piano (he also with a classical bent), and the Hugo Wolf String Quarter, featured in a suite with no Kenny at all. This guy has SO not been given his due as a composer. This won't change that, but it should." less

"Steals the "mental misfit" spot on my..." more

"Steals the "mental misfit" spot on my list from Atlas Sound...except that this guys sounds quirky rather than broken, and lo-fi rather than lush. Even lower-fi than Ariel Pink, with an even stronger pop sensibility. Genius." less

"The sunniest release of the year by a..." more

"The sunniest release of the year by a long shot. You can trust me, or you can go back and listen: sweeter than The P. Spree, made more powerful by stripping away the scale and religious cult affectation. The light bursts off the hard drive when these songs spin." less

"Cinematic instrumental hip-hop, maybe..." more

"Cinematic instrumental hip-hop, maybe even better than (some) DJ Shadow. THERE. I said it. DEFINITELY check it out if you like Quiet Village. If, like me, you WANTED to like QV but didn't, get this." less

"Wolfgang Muthspiel, Slava Grigoryan &..." more

"Wolfgang Muthspiel, Slava Grigoryan & Ralph Towner: 3 world-class guitar masters, with Towner also being one of the great composers of our lifetimes. A remarkable blend of jazz (Nardis is the Miles Davis composition made famous by Bill Evans) and classical styles, in a crystal clear recording." less

"Originally released in 1981, the reis..." more

"Originally released in 1981, the reissue is new -- so absolutely counts as a 2008 release. You couldn't buy it before now could you? No. Not many sales when this landed in 81, but on the back of of "singles" like "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," and a live show with exceptional volumes even by post-punk standards, and intricate performances complete with live sampling and tape loops, these guys laid the foundation for much that would follow both in the studio and live. Just ask Sonic Youth and a dozen others you'll find at the MoB Wikipedia entry. (Very cool to see that integrated in the new emu.) Even if this had shown up as a brand new release, it would still stand as one of 08's most adventurous releases, and one of its very best. What a joy to see this at emu!" less

"The original "The Death of The Paperb..." more

"The original "The Death of The Paperboy" was gorgeous, heartbreaking, yet missing the deepest dance-y element included among Morel's special gifts. It's here on Disc-O (get it?) of this now complete 2-disk set which together comprise one of the year's essential releases." less

"The websites for the band and their l..." more

"The websites for the band and their label say it's from 2008, and this has landed on a bunch of best-of 08 lists, including allmusic's list of 12 best classical recordings in 08. I hate quoting other people's reviews, but Time Out New York says that NOW Ensemble re-defines chamber music for the 21st century, fusing "the formal elegance of chamber music with a pop-honed concision and rhythmic vitality." So I guess the concision and vitality push it into the Alternative realm. Ignore the labels. Listen. Download. Enjoy." less

"The sound that made America great, wh..." more

"The sound that made America great, which I guess it still sort of is. Sort of. The hardcore Americana that evokes The Band, Neil Young and other...uhm... Canadians. Strong guitars, crystal clear vocals, classic lo-fi twist on classic rock. Engaging combinations of multiple voices and guitars. Surprising and overwhelmingly successful use of strings, too. Sooooo much better than the samples make you think it might be. Be sure to check out their "with/avec" ep too.








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"Indie pop at its very very best - wit..." more

"Indie pop at its very very best - with cellos! Vocals wise beyond their years. How can this not be on YOUR year's best list?" less

"Yeah, yeah, came out in 2007, but it ..." more

"Yeah, yeah, came out in 2007, but it came to emu in 2008. (I hate doing sliding it in this way, but totally worth it.) And yeah, I could have gotten it free, but it just didn't seem right to take them up on the offer. I kept planning to buy it, when it showed up here. An amazing record. Yeah, my favorite since OK Computer (I still prefer The Bends), but that's a TERRIBLE reason to buy this. The reason to get it is that it's wonderful, and sounds better on each listen. And the thing is, it could never have come right after OK Computer. It carries forward the best elements from the records that followed. You could have finished downloading it in the time it took you to read this, so go get it already." less

"This one and the next are GREAT new s..." more

"This one and the next are GREAT new singles from the morr music galaxy of stars. Very 80s dreampop, combining the glitchy analog end of morr music with the accessible end of 4AD. A very nice surprise." less

"I'm not as familiar with the "quiet i..." more

"I'm not as familiar with the "quiet instrumental building to huge climaxes" genre as I should be, but this is darker than any of the others I've heard (Mogwai, Explosions), also far more ALIVE: recorded live with no overdubs or loops. Atmospheric in the very best sense of the word." less

"reallly smoky take that dramatically ..." more

"reallly smoky take that dramatically highlights Mancini's real power as a composer. These sound like standards, and probably should be, played far lusher than Lush Life. Yes, it's jazz that's safe for your parents, but even though the edges don't quite show, they're there." less

"How is this not huge? (By indie stand..." more

"How is this not huge? (By indie standards anyway.) Never heard a thing about this before I saw it on the year-end list for Variety magazine of all places: Matchbox Twenty drummer Paul Doucette switches to piano and makes a pop-rock gem. Standout track "Calling All Electrical Prints" is a brilliant balancing act, an example of a musician sinking his teeth into an influence (late-period R.E.M. balladry) and producing music that's inviting and riveting without cliché." AMG says "his songs, at their best, sound like the Beatles just met a power pop version of Randy Newman." Nice, nice, nice." less

"Yeah yeah, Cannonball, 90s, whatever...." more

"Yeah yeah, Cannonball, 90s, whatever. This is another of the smallest handful of best releases of TWO THOUSAND AND ATE, which is the point of this list. Dizzyingly diverse, crisp and fun. They've clearly found their way, a good thing for all of us." less

"With a willfully obscure "band" name ..." more

"With a willfully obscure "band" name concealing that it's just one guy, and on the 4AD label, I was pretty sure what this was going to sound like...and I was wrong. Check it out - acoustic, small-scale, very pretty...." less

"McCartney spent the first 15 years of..." more

"McCartney spent the first 15 years of his recording career at music's forefront, *defining* the forefront for half of that. The past 20 years have seen him fall to no better than the middle of the pack, and often well behind even that. While Electric Arguments doesn't define the bleeding edge of contemporary music as Paul once did, it sits comfortably close to the edge, bringing forward some of the best parts of his lovely past. Welcome back to the front, Paul." less

"Perfect summer album for any time of ..." more

"Perfect summer album for any time of year. Lots of high hazy harmonies, yet firmly rooted in the rawk. I wrote a review on the page for this, campaigning for a pink check. Seriously." less

"My favorite of the year so far. Much ..." more

"My favorite of the year so far. Much more complicated than you might think from the samples. You can hear the "soaring" aspect of it in the samples, but the female-male pairing with layered guitars can approach prog-flavored, if still pop" less

"His older ones still don't quite do i..." more

"His older ones still don't quite do it for me....but wow, this one sure does. Great storytelling, creative lo-fi, 21st century singer-songwriting. "I'm coming home to you if it's the last thing that I do." "Dead languages on our tongue/holding on to our last hope." Too many more to mention...









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"I was really startled by how much I l..." more

"I was really startled by how much I like this. The earlier stuff got on my nerves -- gimmicky retreads of better stuff. I had no idea why these guys were getting so much hype. THIS is the release that deserves all the hype heaped on it, and more. In fact, it deserves all the hype J&M Chain gets. Yeah, J&M were first. This is better.







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"Wears its political heart on its slee..." more

"Wears its political heart on its sleeve, but isn't Autumn 2008 the best time to do that in 40 years? Except in this case the hope lives long enough to win the election. Ultimately more important for an album, the music has ideas and ideals of its own: passionate, expansive, skillful; ambitiously and proudly pop, bursting with sound. (re: Alt being a better classification: among the "alternative" aspects of this is how great a pop record it is.) Slips in under the wire for year's best at #10 on my list." less

"The one that finally made me love The..." more

"The one that finally made me love The Weepies. A very 60s feel to the harmonies, with nicely contemporary songwriting. I know that it's my responsibility as an indie music fan to champion unhappy music, but jeez this is sad! Not weepy for its own sake, but genuinely heartbreaking, with very little break. Maybe the songs are so sad to make room for the happiness in their lives. Dang. I hope so. All that said, gentle, sweet in its own way, and a strong candidate for record of the year." less

"Todd has always enjoyed nibbling arou..." more

"Todd has always enjoyed nibbling around the edges of genres, toying with them at the same time that he celebrates them -- anything from Broadway showtunes to the most massive prog, and most definitely around every kind of mainstream rock. Well, for much of the 70s and 80s, arena rock WAS mainstream -- and it's not like huge, loud anthems have gone out of style. And it's not like Todd hasn't been doing this sort of thing really, really well for over 35 years -- check Black Maria, The Last Ride, Heavy Metal Kids and many, many others for great examples of metal-tinged anthems. Todd has also been right on top of contemporary sounds - in many cases helping to shape what that means. This is hardly at the bleeding edge, but a sly look back with feet very firmly planted in the Now. Maybe not on the year's BEST list, but unquestionably the most fun -- a ridiculous bounty of hooks, his best songs and performances in ages. A genuine pleasure." less

"Really fun stuff, very classic rock s..." more

"Really fun stuff, very classic rock sounding, in a good way, and very fresh. Some great crunchy numbers - even the ballads are crunchy.







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"These mostly have a retro funk-soul v..." more

"These mostly have a retro funk-soul vibe, but they're so astonishingly contemporary that it's to remember which way is up. Motown and Stax wish they can sound this cool when they grow up, but it will never, never happen. This really is amazing." less