The single(s) best album of 2008
- Dec 17, 2008
It's December again and there's so many end of year best-of lists that your face might break if you see the word Elbow again. But resist the temptation to help the process by putting the latter body part into the former; because these lists are somewhat wonderful really. They are a concise way to relive the tuneful treats that moulded the year from shapeless matter into musical moments that matter. This is no mere best albums of the year rundown though, nor a singles list, rather a coy mixture of the two masquerading as neither.
Any such amalgamation must start with Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon. Although it's become as irritating as the Vauxhall Nova drivers that play it now, it's still a breakneck slice of pop filth fit to begin an implausible inventory such as this. After this primal furrow, a soothing, symphonic song is needed to get this mixture to approach decency. Enter Fleet Foxes, whose otherworldly sensitivity has beguiled many in 2008. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song isn't as nonsensical as its title suggests, it's a quaint but substantial effort that constantly cajoles and thrills. Delving deeper into this mine of softened, subtle gems is Laura Marling's Night Terror. The precocious tyke's startlingly accomplished record was a wavering standard-bearer for 2008 and the fiddle solo is worthy of a list of its own.
Bloc Party came back and masqueraded as an electro group, but then people listened carefully and realised they are the same band buried beneath a bit more top soil banality, and all the better for it, as Talons illustrates. The Last Shadow Puppets' The Age of the Understatement revealed that Alex Turner is far too talented to get mentioned more in this humble rundown, while Lightspeed Champion channelled the spirit of Bright Eyes (and stole his band) to produce a cracking cut of alt-folk paranoia on Dry Lips.
It's taking shape now, but something's missing. Ah yes, a grammatical anthem from Vampire Weekend, the finely spiky Oxford Comma. Speaking of anally-coiffured upstarts, MGMT's Kids was the only song to pretend to pose on the dancefloor to, before getting far too gripped by the hook and violently, joyfully harassing the friend/stranger next to you with professions of love and two-steps. M.I.A. provoked similar joyful bemusement by being a rap song that everybody adores, while what better way to end such a list than Jack White singing about gin and murder like a medieval barfly genius on The Raconteurs' Carolina Drama.
You can't buy this album because it doesn't exist. On the other hand, iTunes does and making a playlist is less complex than a Razorlight songwriting session. Here's the list in full, or empty, depending on how you look at it. Merry Mixmass.
1. Kings of Leon â“ Sex on Fire
2. Fleet Foxes â“ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
3. Laura Marling â“ Night Terror
4. Bloc Party â“ Talons
5. Lightspeed Champion â“ Dry Lips
6. The Last Shadow Puppets â“ The Age of the Understatement
7. Vampire Weekend â“ Oxford Comma
8. MGMT â“ Kids
9. Mystery Jets â“ Hideaway
10. M.I.A â“ Paper Planes
11. The Raconteurs â“ Carolina Drama
So what's your top ten of 2008?
