The Top 15 Best Atlanta Albums Of 2008
It’s been a banner year for the Atlanta music scene. The international success of bands like Deerhunter, Black Lips, and Mastodon over the last couple of years has put a spotlight on our city and many other artists are beginning to reap the benefits. I still believe that too many of our best and brightest are being overlooked, but that’s exactly why I do what I do. Looking back at my favourite local albums from last year, it seems this year’s class of studio work runs substantially deeper. I felt our scene is so overpopulated by albums worthy of recognition that I extended my original top 10 to a top 15 and I’m still leaving off a ton of really good records from Inside The Perimeter.
A couple of notes, there are a few local albums that have been self-released over the holidays, but I’m rolling them into consideration for next year’s list, and one album on here technically came out in the holiday season of last year. I didn’t do write-ups for this list as many of these are going to make my top LP and top EP lists in a few days, but if you are unfamiliar with any of these acts, I urge you to click on the “tags” below to see all of our posts on the artist. I know someone is gonna complain about Bradford Cox being involved with 20% of this list, but the guy is kicking ass in both quality and quantity of work, so don’t be a player hater. Here is the best Atlanta music of 2008:
15. The Goldest : The Goldest
14. Gringo Star : All Y’all
13. Atlas Sound : Things I’ll Miss
12. Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun :
The Lightning Exhibit
11. No Face : You Mean So Much To Me
10. Nomen Novum : Mantis Man 7″
9. Parade : Ghosts
8. The Liverhearts : Ornament
7. Lid Emba & Bobcrane : We Substitute
Radiance
6. All The Saints : Fire On Corridor X
5. Dead Confederate : Wrecking Ball
4. Atlas Sound : Let The Blind Lead Those
Who Can See But Cannot Feel
3. This Piano Plays Itself : This Piano Plays
Itself
2. Slushco : When I Met The Boss Of Nova
1. Deerhunter : Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 27, 2008 at 5:31 pm
- 5 Comments
The Quest For The Best Atlanta Music Of 2008
No Face @ The Drunken Unicorn (12/3/08)
I’m just finishing up my best Atlanta music list of 2008 and I figured I would talk about a few of the contenders I hadn’t discussed yet this year. When I make my suggested show listings each week, I try to look into as many acts as I can that I don’t recognize playing The Earl or The Drunken Unicorn because their booking is so consistently high quality. I stumbled across an Altanta band I had never heard of called No Face and really loved the couple of songs I heard. I went to see them earlier this month at the Drunken Unicorn, and unfortunately it was very disappointing. Luckily I bought their album before they played, because their album and their live show are as different as night and day. All of You Mean So Much To Me‘s strengths are absent from their 3-piece concert setup with uninspiring drumming and bass playing completely drowning out the soft vocals and occasional guitar playing from Chandler Kelley, the obvious brains behind the operation. It’s a shame, but I won’t hold it against his excellent record that I highly recommend getting. The carefully crafted instrumentation perfectly accentuates Kelley’s endearing song-writing, and there seems enormous potential from this ATLien if he can put together a stage act that rivals his splendid studio work.
No Face : If I Found Somewhere To Live
Fag Static
If screamy vocals are an impenetrable fortress between you and enjoying a band, than you should probably skip over this. If you can get beyond that, or even better, get on the vibe with them, this album is incredible. I had never got around to obtaining a copy of this until a few weeks ago, but I have been thoroughly jamming it ever since. Fag Static include half of the retired Atlanta band Blame Game. Fag Static is now actually a dead band as well, as the BG kids continue to jump around from project to project (Keep your ears out for Sunglasses and a Thy Mighty Contract record). So, before this album becomes just another buried treasure of this city’s scene, get hip to it:
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun
Last weekend when I was out in East Atlanta, I ran into a couple of the members of the now defunct Atlanta band Parade. They had come from the Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun show that I had totally forgot about and they highly recommended the band, so I bought both of their records(both came out this year). Upon listening to them, I discovered there are an enormous amount of parallels between Parade and TTMTTS. TTTMTTS is almost a bit too reminiscent honestly, but packaged in a more accessible, dance-rock-dance sort of way. While their songwriting may not be quite as tremendous as Parade‘s yet, their execution is rather impressive. They certainly seem to have all the makings of a successful band in this city.
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : The Lightning Exhibit : Terrain
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : Hurry Up And Wait : Never. Always. Good.
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun myspace
Expect my best Atlanta albums of 2008 list by the end of the weekend.
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 27, 2008 at 4:53 am
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What Up In The ATL?
Best shows in Atlanta December 1 – 7:
Monday:
The Rosebuds, The Love Language, The Preakness @ The Earl
Tuesday:
The Subliminator, Adrien Barbobott, Jesse Langdale, Unit Shifters, Self Inflict, Khovicoobah (NOIZE) @ Lenny’s Bar
Wednesday:
No Face, Genital Sherman, Fashion Knee High @ Drunken Unicorn
Thursday:
Untied States, Hollow Stars, A Fight To The Death, Carnivores, Glen iris, Model T Ford @ Star Bar
Le Castle Vania, RRRump, Prince Presto (Fuck Yesss) @ Drunken Unicorn
Friday:
Polvo, Highland Space, The Liverhearts @ The Earl
Sonn Av Krusher, The Subliminator, The Sunglasses, The Doppel Gang @ WonderRoot
Saturday:
Can Can, Tenth To The Moon, The Swear, Trial By Fire @ Drunken Unicorn
Sunday:
My Brightest Diamond @ The Earl
The Love Language : Lalita
No Face : Siuil a Ruin
Polvo : Tragic Carpet Ride
My Brightest Diamond : Inside A Boy
Adrien Barbobottt : Cholza
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 1, 2008 at 5:53 am
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