"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes is my #1. Cant get enough of those guys. Also "The Clockwise Witness" by DeVotchka is another one that is up there. This record may not have been this year, but The Duke Spirit with "Lassoo" is up there as well. Was that last year?

quote:

Originally posted by IndieFolkExperimentalLover:
"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes is my #1. Cant get enough of those guys....

Amen to "White Winter Hymnal" - an achingly beautiful song, my fave tune from a really strong album. It's one of favorite/most-played songs of the year so far, up there with these:
Los Campesinos! - Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
Sons & Daughters - Gilt Complex
Cloud Cult - No One Said It Would Be Easy
Walcott - Vampire Weekend
Man Man - Top Drawer
Hayes Carll - She Left Me for Jesus
The Kills - Tape Song
Frightened Rabbit - Modern Leper

"The Clockwise Witness" is a good one, too.

Oh man, I forgot
"Dig Lazarus Dig!!" - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Can't forget that one. Too good. Lyrics, melody, arrangement, performance, humor, the whole package. Like someone else in the forums, it took me quite a while to listen to the rest of the album cus I kept replaying the 1st song.

Both "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream"s are very high up on my song list--which is surprising, because I am NOT a fan of Evil Urges.

two songs i don't think i've seen anything about that i'm quite fond of:
the breeders - bang on
andrew bird - the trees were mistaken
^ from the soldier on ep, i think its u.s. release was in '08 (aside from sales at shows), right?

I can't get enough of "Black Rice" from Canadian newcomers Women. Rather unfortunate band name, but the song is a seemingly effortless blend of catchy indie-pop and reverb-heavy melancholy. Definitely one of the best of the year, and I can't wait for their self-titled debut record.

quote:

Originally posted by vlad:
I can't get enough of "Black Rice" from Canadian newcomers Women. Rather unfortunate band name, but the song is a seemingly effortless blend of catchy indie-pop and reverb-heavy melancholy. Definitely one of the best of the year, and I can't wait for their self-titled debut record.

That sounds like something I might like. I'm with you on that band name though. Horrible name. What could they possibly have been thinking with that kind of ultra-generic name?

quote:

Originally posted by vlad:
I can't get enough of "Black Rice" from Canadian newcomers Women. Rather unfortunate band name, but the song is a seemingly effortless blend of catchy indie-pop and reverb-heavy melancholy. Definitely one of the best of the year, and I can't wait for their self-titled debut record.

It definitely is worth checking out, although the album isn't nearly as "sparly-pop" as this track makes it sound. Overall, the album is pretty experimental, specifically when comparing the rest of the album to "Black Rice". I really like the album's rhythmic focus.

P.S. The album was mastered by Chad VanGaalen and is pretty damn good. And you can listen to some tracks here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JGlass,

Hah, I finally got to listen to that Sigur Ros song everyone was freaking about.

It's just them trying to be Animal Collective.

Doing a decent job though! Rest of the album isn't much like that at all, if you're worried about that direction.

Quick top 10, 1 song per artist-

1. Animal Collective - Water Curses
2. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happenned
3. Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why
4. Sigur Rós - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
5. Portishead - The Rip (why is the rest of the album so dull? )
6. Last Shadow Puppets - The Meeting Place
7. El Guincho - Antillas
8. Crystal Castles - Black Panther
9. Dan Friel - Ghost Town (pt. 1)
10. Dodos - Winter

My quick top 10, with one song per artist would be:

1. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
2. Weezer - The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
3. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
4. The Whigs - Right Hand On My Heart
5. The Bell - On and On
6. The Mountain Goats - Sax Rohmer #1
7. The Presidents of the United States of America - Loose Balloon
8. Jon Foreman - The Cure for Pain
9. Cassettes Won't Listen - Paper Float
10t. The Submarines - You Me and the Bourgeoisie
10t. Throw Me the Statue - About to Walk

My taste seems to be so much different (worse by most standards, I suppose) that most other posters here.

no order:
* means best of the best

1.)Century Eyes - Shearwater
2.)Hercules Theme - Hecules and love affair
3.)Teen Creeps - No Age
4.)Dr. Carter - Lil Wayne
5.)Michael, the lone archer of te north shore - Deatro
6.)Even The Sunbeams - From bubblegum to the sky
7.)Im Ok, Youre Ok - Lets Wrestle
8.)White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes*
9.)Are Animals - Au
10.)Nico Muhly - Monster
11.)Cripled croon - Crystal Stilts*
12.)Post Teen Drama - Times New Vikings
13.)Temporary Famine Ship - Indian Jewelery
14.)Magic Doors - Portishead
15.)Barnacle Goose - Born Ruffians*
16.)Tutus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus*
17.)Modern Leper - Frightened Rabbit*
18.)Tragedy - Okay*****
19.)Homecoming - The Teenagers
20.)Good Friday - Why?
21.)Crimewave - Crystal Castles
22.)Bright Tomarrow - Fuck Buttons*
23.)Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
24.)Heart Of Chambers - Beach House*
25.)The Beaches All Closed - No Kids
26.)For Emma - Bon Iver
27.)Quarantined - Atlas Sound
28.)Problems - Mahjongg
29.)Bang Your Drum - Wolf Parade
30.)Castaway - Camphor

quote:

Sons & Daughters - Gilt Complex

I'm partial to the title track THIS GIFT and the album closer GOODBYE SERVICE, but this another really nice track from one of the most underrated albums of the year...nothing too innovative, but very solid punk-pop in an Xish/Long Blondes vein (to be honest, I like this better than last two Long Blondes...less attitude, but much sharper hooks)

quote:

Originally posted by Built to Sleep:

8. Jon Foreman - The Cure for Pain

This is a great song. I'm sad to say that he pretty much lifted the melody line out of his song "Let That Be Enough", from an earlier Switchfoot CD. But both songs have great lyrics and are a little different in tone.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:

quote:

Originally posted by Built to Sleep:

8. Jon Foreman - The Cure for Pain

This is a great song. I'm sad to say that he pretty much lifted the melody line out of his song "Let That Be Enough", from an earlier Switchfoot CD. But both songs have great lyrics and are a little different in tone.

Don't be sad.

Here are a few of my favorite songs, through the first half of the year. They are in no particular order:

No Age – "Eraser"
My Morning Jacket – "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2"
Al Green featuring Corinne Bailey Rae – "Take Your Time"
Hot Chip – "Ready for the Floor"
Hercules and Love Affair – "Hercules' Theme"
The Roots – "Criminal"
Weezer – "King"
Fleet Foxes – "White Winter Hymnal"
Fleet Foxes – "Blue Ridge Mountains"
Fleet Foxes – "Mykonos"
Portishead – "The Rip"
Beach House – "Gila"
Destroyer – "Foam Hands"
The Black Keys – "I Got Mine"
The Black Keys – "Oceans and Streams"
Sigur Rós – "Gobbledigook"
The Field and !!! – "Fall From a Height (Remix)"
Wolf Parade – "Fine Young Cannibals"
Wolf Parade – "Soldier's Grin"
Shearwater – "Rooks"
Animal Collective – "Water Curses"
Super Furry Animals – "Carbon Dating"
DeVotchKa – "The Clockwise Witness"
The Raconteurs – "Many Shades of Black"
The Last Shadow Puppets – "My Mistakes Were Made For You"
The Helio Sequence – "Lately"

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
The Field and !!! – "Fall From a Height (Remix)"

where's that off of? is that track from the P4K.tv video available in any form?!?

quote:

Originally posted by brainofp:

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
The Field and !!! – "Fall From a Height (Remix)"

where's that off of? is that track from the P4K.tv video available in any form?!?

Unfortunately not that I know of. I love the track so much I even emailed p4k asking for an mp3. No luck. I might not be internet savvy enough to track it down though.

quote:

Originally posted by brainofp:

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
The Field and !!! – "Fall From a Height (Remix)"

where's that off of? is that track from the P4K.tv video available in any form?!?

I don't think that Pitchfork has made it available as a download in MP3 format and I don't know if they will. I just know that if you go here, you can listen to the video whenever you want.

It's one of my favorite songs from this year so that's why I included it. I hope they offer to let people download it eventually. Or maybe either of the acts will release it as a single or on a 7" or something.

thanx, i listen to it there regularly too. i was hoping it was available somewhere. i ripped a stream of it but it came out awful with the guitars way too up front ..... it was the first time i'd tried it so maybe there are better ways to get it