Oh and of course, the album of the year is out on September 13th.

Fatter Hipper wrote:
[quote]

QUOTE:
Magnificent! They could only be Stereolab track names.

True, although "Fractal Dream Of A Thing" sounds like they ran out of inspiration.

"I've got it! Fractal Dream of a...parsec...no... podual...modual...oh, sod it. Fractal Dream of a Thing will do."

D'oh. Can't believe i've forgotten the Neon Neon album. Gruff Rhys is an absolute genius.
The other stand out album which I keep coming back to is 'Distortion' by The Magnetic Fields.


Other notable albums i've enjoyed this year include, British Sea Power, Cat Power, Clinic, Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow, Duffy, Elbow, The Fall, Grand Archives, The Gutter Twins, Hot Chip, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Lightspeed Champion, Nick Cave, The Raconteurs, Sons & Daughters, Stephen Malkmus and Vincent Vincent & The Villains.

Mango by Sascha Funke is pretty good, even if it's a terrible name for a musician. I'm really looking forward to the Ellen Allien album too. There's a been a couple of great mix albums this year, Ellen Allien's "Boogybytes" and the Fabric Robert Hood one.

QUOTE:
True, although "Fractal Dream Of A Thing" sounds like they ran out of inspiration.

You should hear the EP tracks, Ectoplasmic Rorscharch of a Doofer and Star Sine Analogue of the Wotsit.

I love all the ingredients of the Neon Neon record, but it still doesn't sound any good to me. Weird.

That's because you're a freak. A well-dressed freak, but a freak none-the-less.

marke wrote:

QUOTE:
this thread is making me realise that i have obviously falled off all the PRs maling lists as i aint had one album in 2008 thats hit me hard.
not a single one of SRs list has dropped on my mat.
howevever to be fair, i aint feeling anything other than electronic/techno music these days so i guess the PRs are saving their stamps for a good reason.

Hah, don't worry about it, you're not the only one. The stuff Fatter Hipper talks about I haven't received copies of, haven't received a paper press release about, haven't received a phone call about, haven't received so much as an email about, haven't heard of in any way.

The Owl Service sound good from what I've heard. I must check them out. If you're into folk music in any way I'd also recommend the new album by Faustus.

If it's any consolation SR, I didn't get promo copies of any of the albums you've mentioned!

Great piece on Evangelista in The Wire by wincgo. I've misunderstood some of what the music's about in that review, but I like my interpretation. A piece of Deleuzian 'enculage'- sneaking up behind the text and buggering it to produce new meanings.

The audience member who looks awkward after receiving a hug from Bozulich that wincgo mentions in The Wire is my friend Hannah. She was petrified, but I thought she did pretty well.

OK, got a few of the suggested releases and have given them a chance to sink or swim:

Alphabeat - excellent pop. No problems.

Neon Neon - Very good indeed. Also funny.

The Whip - Totally derivative. New Order should sue BUT also very addictive. I like it.

Cut/Copy - Weird record. Sounds like Icehouse b-sides with a really cheesey backing. Not sure on this yet...

The Ting Tings - Yeah, alright but pretty hit and miss and the skip button came into play a lot after the second play.

Sam Sparro - Yuck. No thanks.

Hercules and Love Affair - Very front loaded. Fades badly as it goes on.

Heloise and the Savior Faire - The lyrics are total toss but by far the funkiest thing on the list. I play this a lot.

Crystal Castles - Virtually unlistenable and I've got 3 Faust albums!

Robots in Disguise - Surprisingly good. A bit too defensive on parts of it but has been played a lot as well.

One little gem I did dig out when looking for some of these was LCD's 45:33. Now that is a top piece of work! Somehow missed it in the past.

The others I know already and either love or have no time for but thanks for the leads on the above. C.

Alphabeat seconded. Total guilty pleasure though.

Has anyone mentioned Fleet Foxes yet?

I am having a bit of trouble with the new Ladyton album. I loved the last one but this one seems (whisper it!) a bit samey....

Plenty of good stuff this year so far.

Aside from many of the things already mentioned I've been impressed by best yet albums from long established stalwarts like Portishead, The Notwist, Goldfrapp and the Magnetic Fields.

In terms of new bands, well Wye Oak and Bon Iver have done the services of psych folk proud this year.

Frightened Rabbit are a great new Glaswegian band, somewhere between Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian and My Latest Novel.

Danny & The Champions Of The World are worth a listen and The Low Lows are great fun too.

Good album by The Fall. Very much looking forward to receiving Chris Wood's 'Trespasser', the track I heard ('Sing John Ball') is folk to die for.

dalliance wrote:
Frightened Rabbit are a great new Glaswegian band

Aren't they from Selkirk?

Rate Your Music suggests Glasgow but Wikipedia says Selkirk. Perhaps they just base themselves in Glasgow these days.

Still, the second best thing to come out of the Borders after Dawn Of The Replicants.