Reality Check by the French, London-based trio The Teenagers was perhaps the most rawly amusing release of 2008. The abundance of catchy synth and guitar riffs combined with a healthy dose of certainly explicit and potentially offensive lyrics makes for fun memories to say the least. The often tongue-in-cheek humor supplements the boisterous storytelling to produce an album full of 12 colorful vignettes.

Watch the music video for “Make it Happen” by The Teenagers

Shay

Antidotes by Foals is an incredible debut album that is unrelentingly beautiful, danceable indie rock at its finest. The quintet from Oxford have given us a real gem that includes tracks ranging from the punchy “Cassius” to the lofty “Big Big Love (Fig. 2)”. There is so much to Antidotes and even attempting to describe it in one paragraph doesn’t do it justice. Antidotes a remarkable debut effort and I can’t wait to hear what Foals do next.

Watch the music video for
“Cassius” by Foals

Shay

Mock Orange decided to treat us to a brand new album this year; and what a treat it is! These guys are musicians first and foremost. Their music has a cohesive harmony, it’s intricate and rich; and sounds absolutely gorgeous. (Give the first track a listen, just seconds in and you’ll see what I mean.) Captain Love manages to fill you with a relaxing, unbridled happiness and I think it’s fair to say that it is a glowing success.

Watch the the making of “Captain Love”

Jimi

While disappointing to some fans, Bloc Party’s third album, Intimacy is an amazing musical exploration — both internal and external. The first single off of Intimacy, “Mercury” was a curveball to many listeners but the second single, “Talons” brought thinks back to find a balance between expected and progressive. The English rockers ventured to new depths with Intimacy while doing a wonderful job not wandering too far. The album is a ‘grower’ for some. (It’s always hardest to talk about something when it’s your favorite)

Watch the music video for “Talons” by Bloc Party

Shay

This year AC/DC, the legendary rock band made a come-back with their new album called ‘Black Ice’. This is the first release in the past eight years from them, and it’s not just some “make a shitty album to get some money really fast” kind of thing, it’s seriously rocks! When I first heard the album, I felt like “man, it’s even better than Highway to Hell”, which is, in my opinion, the best AC/DC album to date – but I’m not sure anymore. Black Ice is perfect, there isn’t an idle moment on the record, every damn second rocks your head off, everything is in place. This is Rock ‘n’ Roll. I honestly want to change the hymn of my country to ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Train’ (or any other song on the record)!

Psycho_Dad

God is an Astronaut’s self-titled, fourth release came out of the blue. Its release was announced in October ’08, it was released online in early November and its in-store release is slated for January ’09. So eventhough hardcopies hit in ’09 it qualifies as a MOST AWESOME RELEASES of 2008!! I’m still giving it time to settle in but just like the Irish post-rock band’s other releases, the God is an Astronaut album is amazing…simply brilliant!

Shay

I had to reconsider my list a bit, because MUCC wasn’t on it, but Shay covered Who Are You? from NICO Touches the Walls, so I could stuffed them in to fifth place, yay! I didn’t mean to be mean with placing MUCC on the fifth place, because they are my all-time favourite Japanese band, it’s just their latest album didn’t have the same impact like Homura Uta (葬ラ謳) or Gokusai (極彩) had. Still, they produced some pretty good stuff for this album, like “Anjelier” (アンジャベル) and “Fuzz” (ファズ) which (in my opinion) are the craziest songs from the band since their formation. Their “trademark” style is only present with “Nuritsubusunara Enji” (塗り潰すなら臙脂), but we are supplied with cool melodies like “Chiisana Mado” (小さな窓) which is a beautiful song. To recap, MUCC shifted down some gears and slowed down with this release, but also they showed us different side of themselves, so we have to wait their next release in January to see if this is permanent or not (I think with their latest single “Ageha” (アゲハ) they showed that they will rock on!).

“Chiisana Mado”
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/Mucc - 08 - Chiisana Mado.mp3|titles=Chiisana Mado|artists=ムック]

I don’t know what the pillows are reserving for us in the future after their sixteenth studio album “Pied Piper”, because they literally released everything, every kind of music from slow to fast, from happy to sorrowful, from dissonant to consonant… the funny thing is that it’s still good, moreover it’s freakin’ amazing that after so many releases they can still produce songs like “Purple Apple”, “New Animal”, etc. I’m eagerly waiting for their next album to see if they can hold up.

“Purple Apple”
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/the pillows - 07 - Purple Apple.mp3|titles=Purple Apple|artists=the pillows]

I love 9mm Parabellum Bullet’s short, fast, aggressive and repetitive riffs, which are charged with some kind of furious-energy one can’t describe… damn, I’m in love with these guys — seriously. When I first heard them and their first release I honestly thought that their fast-come success was just a fluke, but with “Vampire” they showed us the opposite and prepared us for more to come.

悪いクスリ (“Warui Kusuri”)
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/9mm Parabellum Bullet - 09 - Warui Kusuri.mp3|titles=悪いクスリ|artists=9mm Parabellum Bullet]

Girugämesh won me with “Break Down”, the second song from this album. I heard it way before the album’s release and I was totally sucked in, listened to song for countless times, over and over again. I can’t say why, because it’s simple, dumb, and upbeat thumping, but still, it “has it” (maybe the unusual change between the verse and chorus, but I’m not sure ^_^). Then, after I heard the full album I got sucked in again. The album focuses around this dumb, loud and aggressive thumping-like theme, but it’s sweet, I usually don’t like this kind of stuff too much, but Girugämesh has hooks that will probably catch you off-guard too. The only negative thing I can think of about the album is the two instrumental tracks (with no instruments, because I can pretty much hear the two songs are sampled), but that’s how it goes, producers and publisher love these damn instrumental thingies…

“Puzzle”
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/Girug.mp3|titles=Puzzle|artists=Girugämesh]

First of all, I love the name of the album. After this remarkable note, I want to introduce my new all-time favourite band: the band apart (along with MUCC of course, it’s a tie). I think, they are the sound of Japan. They are so unique that I can’t describe it otherwise. They bring a complex musical style by fusing upbeat rock, funky grooves, jazz elements, electronic thingies (they use an armament of cool, but sophisticated effects) and everything that is caught in their way. The basslines are awesome; I can only compare it to Flea’s style from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (think about the more jazzy, groovy Flea, not the “aggressive” kind, like in “Suck My Kiss”). It’s a joy to listen to the complex and catchy hooks their songs have. The vocalist tops the whole package with his mellow voice. He sings in English, and I didn’t use “engrish” on purpose, because it’s really good and not irritating.

“Moonlight Stepper”
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/the band apart - 07 - Moonlight Stepper.mp3|titles=Moonlight Stepper|artists=the band apart]

Don’t let the overly generic album title fool you, there’s nothing orthodox or typical about The Telephones or their debut album. JAPAN is a quirky, wacky release that reminds us of the basic reason why we listen to music — because it’s fun. The Telephones make their home on the electronic rock spectrum somewhere between avengers in sci-fi and Polysics, so they’re certainly in good company. While The Telephones’ other ’08 release, Love&DISCO E.P. is incredible, JAPAN offers double the dosage and precedes it by 10 months.

“it’s OK”
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/ttik.mp3]

It’s rare for a ‘best of’ album to even be considered for honors but Natural Punch Drunker’s NPDisc -BEST- wasn’t just considered, it was chosen. ‘Best of’ releases are often fragmented and can sound like the noticeably tossed together compilations they are. Although most of the tracks on the album were featured on previous releases, NPDisc -BEST- is suprisingly cohesive and is a predictably voluminous release.

“君を忘れたら” (Kimi wo wasure tara, If I forget about you)
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/npdk.mp3]

LOOP ON LIFE was a debut release that came out of left field by a blossoming new quartet, 空中ループ (Kuuchuu Loop). It’s just a mini album but the motifs and sounds are painted with such a beautiful and grandiose brush, it deserves the recognition of its 30-minute-longer counterparts.

“カゲロウ” (Kagerou, heat wave)
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/klk.mp3|titles=カゲロウ|artists=空中ループ]

If the band itself refers to HYPER, HYP8R, HYPER as the “masterpiece of 8ottoyear 2008″, surely it must be good. While it’s probably their honest opinion of their work, it’s marketing. Fortunately, they aren’t BSing. HYPER, HYP8R, HYPER is a remarkably strong release and builds a sturdy wall of rock from commencement to conclusion. While 8otto is heavily influenced by classic rock, the drummer-fronted quartet are not slavish nostalgics at all. Don’t worry, the music doesn’t hurt your ears like the cover art hurts your eyes.

“Classic”
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/8oc.mp3]

While Who are you? can’t compare to NICO Touches the Walls’ 2006 mini albums Walls is Beginning or RunovaxHandover, it’s still a solid album and a great effort by the young quartet. The release features some familiar favorites like “(My Sweet) Eden” and “image training” along with the singles “夜の果て” (Yoru no Hate) and “THE BUNGY” as well as “Broken Youth” and more. Who are you? offers a near-complete NICO Touches the Walls experience and that’s more than enough to keep you busy for months to come.

“B.C.G”
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/ntwb.mp3]

syrup16g’s self-titled release also happens to be their grand finale. You can really feel that they poured their heart and soul and every ounce of their being into this final album. Their strong, emotionally piercing music will be appreciated for years to come.
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/syrup.mp3|titles=scene through|artists=syrup16g]

The very embodiment of screwing the establishment, BUGY CRAXONE are back and more raw than ever. Three years in the making, Good morning Punk Lovers is a rock solid release with a high level of quality that still retains the grunginess they’re known for.
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/bgc.mp3|titles=Come on|artists=BUGY CRAXONE]

tacica’s debut album parallel park is an outstanding release with the first half being pure and utter brilliance. As Shay stated in his excellent article, “This album leaves the listener energized yet relaxed” and I couldn’t agree more.
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/tac3.mp3|titles=人間1/2|artists=tacica]

The first full album from the aptly named UPLIFT SPICE is a hardcore roller coaster ride of epic proportions. Their melodic and exhilarating sound is amplified by Chiori’s sheer passion for rocking out. This album is chalk full of uplifting, spicy goodness.
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/uspice.mp3|titles=摩天楼|artists=UPLIFT SPICE]

With no less than 10(!) releases this past year, the vibrant and oh-so-lovely trio, ANARCHY STONE has been really gaining momentum. It’s a rare thing to find a band that actually sounds like they’re having fun while performing; and this is made apparent with great tracks like “Cherry Sky”. (Look forward to an article on these lively gals in the near future)
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/anasto.mp3|titles=Cherry Sky|artists=ANARCHY STONE]

Yes, I know. Technically this is an ’07 album, but seriously, it was released with 1 week left before ’08 so let’s cut it some slack. This is Bump at the pinnacle of their game. orbital period has the high energy rock, the slower, more nuanced melodies and everything inbetween. But what really makes this album stand out is how well it works as a whole. It’s crafted with the expertise of a master storyteller. They don’t force the music upon you but let you experience and submerse yourself into it. orbital period is a masterpiece, pure and simple.
[audio:http://www.jimmyly.com/sp/boc.mp3|titles=才悩人応援歌|artists=BUMP OF CHICKEN ]