forget this dead mans town, i'll take you home

records of 2008, not in any order as it was hard enough to narrow it down to ten..........................

the gaslight anthem - the '59 sound;
for me this is number one in the list. i first heard this band just over a year ago when my friend stu burnt me their first record and i thought it was brilliant. this record is a progression from that first outing and it's resulted in them garnering more attention both with new fans and the music press. for anyone who hasn't heard it, TGA mix Springsteen esque country with elemetns of punk rock and soul to produce an album that is brimming with emotion and energy. on tour in 2009 with polar club and frank turner, this band are only going to get bigger next year. stand out tracks for me are 'high lonesome', 'old white lincoln' and 'casanova, baby!'


ryan adams and the cardinals - cardinology;
i was a little wary of getting this record as i'm not a massive fan of the last RA and the cardinals record, but this totally blows me away. it's a really good mix of mellow, emotionally charged songs are more 'rock' style songs. ryan's voice is as mezmorizing to me as ever and when i heard the songs live in november they gave me goosebumps.

crime in stereo - selective wreckage;
ok so technically this isn't a new album as it;s a b-sides and rarities album but nonetheless, i still think that it's worthy of inclusion on this list. you can definately tell what CIS era the songs are from (desertbed is blatently a troubled stateside b-sode for example) but there are songs on this record that have become some of my favourite CIS songs so i feel that is a glowing endictment of how good this band are. even their b-sides are incredible.

tegan and sara - the con;
simply spellbinding if i'm honest. both have voices that could save a thousand souls and the songs seem to have a better arrangement than previous T&S releases. 'are you ten years ago' is one of my songs of the year and it is a major regret that i missed them when they toured earlier in the year.

bon iver - for emma, forever ago;
haunting, mezmerizing, emotional, powerful, poignent. all words that can be used to describe this record. the story of why/where he made it has been well documented by more eloquent people than me, but seriously, just...wow.

foals - antidotes;
such a good pop record. catchy tunes that make me want to dance and get lost in the music. lots of people criticise foals and yannis for their/his lyrics but i don't really see why. anyway, a really good, solid record that succeeded in living up to hype that surrounded it's release.

ceremony - still nothing moves you;
a band who have personally never failed to dissapoint. all their musical output to date has been great and this is no exception. fast, angry hardcore punk the way it should be played. this band don't have any bullshit to them, just fucking good hardcore punk songs played with energy and passion. they fucking kill it live too...

deal with it - end time prophecies;
totally one of the best uk hardcore bands around and it really really realy sucks that they've split up since the release of this record. a pretty different sound from their 'world coming down' 7" but it is a definately a positive progression and one that i wish i'd got to see live. mike's voice really works with the new tunes and the rest of the band are allon top form. i'm genuinely going to miss this band.

fucked up - the chemistry of common life;
took me a while to get into this record by i am really glad i persevered as it's a really good lp. again, it's a different sound from their last output......well maybe not so much their last record, but definately their earlier stuff. anyway it bristles with aggression and energy that so many seem to lack that i hear these days. it's definately a 'grower' of a record but if you're not into it the first couple of listens don't give up on it. one of my favourite bands around and another who are realy really good live to boot.

kings of leon - only by the night;
so hyped both before and after it's release and to a large extent it lives up to it. the songs are more anthemic than previous records and this is part of the reason why they've gone stupidly big in the last six months. this doesn not mean though that the songs aren't good. the arrangement and musicianship are both outstanding and my only gripe would be some of caleb's lyrics. this is a minor probelm though and it doesn't really take away anything from what is a really well written and produced record.



honourable mentions (as they are really, really amazing records and it was hard to leave them out...)


crystal castles - crystal castles
death is not glamorous - soft clicks
cancer bats - hail destroyer
no age - nouns