Best Albums of 2008: 10-6

 10. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping

Of Montreal‘s Skeletal Lamping is the most delightful example of avantgard-pop creativity. Keeping indie relevant and showing off the cheerful side of pop-music art, Kevin Barnes, at least we hope, has many many more songs and albums to give birth to from the womb of his musical imagination. (Don’t worry, gonna drop the metaphor now.) I just love the pretended innocence, the half-smiling happiness and the naive atmosphere that surrounds the record and makes it one of the bests this year.

Of Montreal – An Eluardian Instance [zshare] // [ysi]

9. Bloc Party – Intimacy

This must come off as a strange choice but Bloc Party‘s Intimacy just grew on me. First listen, I thought it sucks, second, I felt there’s something interesting, third, I wanted to hear it more times. Not an album of originality and not even the best indie-pop around but there’s something in the sensitivity and the intimacy (ooops…sorry) of the band’s attitude. I mean, there something touching in how they work with concepts related to relationships, love, loss, etcetc and sometimes it’s aggressive in heavy songs, sometimes it’s beautiful and dressed in weird electronic compositions and perfect lyrics.

Bloc Party – Biko [zshare] // [ysi]

8. Van She – V

2008 was unquestionably the year of Australian music. Many many artists from the brilliant Modular label emerged and made cool tracks and made the world listen to them. On of them is Van She who’s been around for a while but this proper debut is full of their best songs. Combining shoegazing and electronic sound, V breaks your heart and makes you wanna dance at the same time. Among the many cool electronic artists, Van She is one who can really create songs like a real band. The start of Memory Man is so huge, it’ll give you chills.

Van She – Memory Man [zshare] // [ysi]

7. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles

Canadian duo, Crystal Castles are the pioneers of a sick 8-bit gameboy-disco that rules the clubs nowadays. Alice Glass, the girl vocalist, I guess already has some distortion in herself so she fits nicely with the over-distorted screaming-singing and the post-punk pseudo-robotic stuff. The whole album is a lsd-induced nightmare-trip in cyberpunk clubs of the dystopian future where everyone is perverted, every family is dysfunctional and drugs are like food.

Crystal Castles – Reckless [zshare] // [ysi]

6. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

UK’s Friendly Fires made an amazing debut this year. Why is it better than the Foals’ album? – you could ask. My answer is: it’s more elegant, more diverse, more beautiful and more touching. I usually compare and pair up Friendly Fires with Foals but in this respect they are rather like Van She. Mixture of dance music and shoegaze, atmospheric electronica and indie. These guys make such a great and soulful sound that their place in the list is hardly questionable. The songs reach for the sky and the stars.

Friendly Fires – Jump in the Pool [zshare] // [ysi]

Let’s bust out a couple of posts that are light years old in blog time but i’ve had sitting in the can and may as well not waste. Now, Van She’s Kelly will go down as one of the anthems of the 2k – 2k10 era — so much so that perhaps we’ll find it among those funny decade compilations like we had for the latter half of past century (ie. “Those Awesome Eighties!”, et al). Except for the fact that it would be bloody difficult to market… let’s try… “Those Zippy Zeroes!”?? Um, not quite the same ring to it. Then again, compilation CDs are dead anyhow so let’s not worry about it.

Anywayyy… given this anthemic status of the original, even the hardworking Frenchie Lifelike faced a challenge with this one. Nonetheless, if you’re about smoooooth these days, and lord knows I certainly am, then you won’t be disappointed. He keeps the highs from getting too high, and likewise the lows from dipping too low: the output is a category which i sorta previously coined as ‘dancefloor introspection’. Bumping enough to keep you on the floor, but kinda heady, so you’re thinking about deep stuff all the while.

Van She – Kelly (Lifelike Remix) [zshare] // [ysi]

We’ve ignored Phrenzy for quite a while now and I really have no idea why. Maybe it’s unconscious aversion against the name or something. But now is the time I make up for the mistake and praise the tracks he’s been working on. He’s from the US and I don’t know a lot about him but he’s definetly up to some tasty stuff. The tracks below are a Van She remix (yeah, again), a rework of Late of the Pier‘s super-heavy Focker and the newest piece is a Valerie-esque romantic-disco take on The Paradise’s In Love with You. This latter one is a project of Alan Braxe. Really nice sound, capturing the essence of tracks from Australia to the mad-rainy coasts of the UK and towards a pseudo-Miami love-trip induced by French house.

Van She – Strangers (Phrenzy remix) [zshare] // Van She – Strangers (Phrenzy remix) [ysi]

Late of the Pier – Focker (Phrenzy remix) [zshare] // Late of the Pier – Focker (Phrenzy remix) [ysi]

The Paradise – In Love with You (Phrenzy remix) [zshare] // The Paradise – In Love with You (Phrenzy remix) [ysi]

The blogosphere is full of the G.L.O.V.E.S right now. There are a couple of reasons: 1. He’s from Australia (where spring just starts, you know, it’s a happier place right now) 2. He remixed Van She. 3. He’s in a band called Damn Arms which is cool indie, synth, post-hardocre stuff and singed to Cut Copy’s label. (Cut Copy remix is on the way and it’ll be exteremely popular I guess.)

The two tracks that have been floating around are The Death Set and the Van She remix. The first is sick. I’m not sure yet if I like it or not. Very weird. Could be bassline but it isn’t. The Death Set is kinda crazy on it’s own so I think the remix just gets their drift and makes it even stronger. Can someone explain to me why does The Death Set get so many remixes from hip electro guys? Their label? The Van She remix is a different matter and I really love it. Could be Valerie-sound. Lovely disco and the vocals+atmosphere of the original is so nicely kept that it can easily melt dancing hearts. Shoegaze disco? Thanks to Modular and Bang Gang for the permission.

The Death Set – Listen to this Collision (G.L.O.V.E.S remix) [zshare] // The Death Set – Listen to this Collision (G.L.O.V.E.S remix) [ysi]

Van She – Changes (G.L.O.V.E.S remix) [zshare] // Van She – Changes (G.L.O.V.E.S remix) [ysi]

So yeah, one of the most anticipated albums of 2008 for the lovers of smart electro sounds was V of Australia’s and Modular‘s Van She. This debut album is one of the bests this year. Not surprisingly beside Cut Copy’s second. I don’t think I can say anything new with fact-value. I think it’s beautiful and surprising.

The record manages to somehow combine club-feeling (LCD Soundsystem comes to my mind) with shoegaze aesthetics. My favourite is Memory Man with it’s grandeour and monumental structure. Not only shallow makes-you-dance stuff but real guitar-drum music with influences ranging from obvious ones like new wave and synth pop to strange stuff like singer-songwriter, acoustic and whirlwind-esque psychedelic sound like M83 or the now seemingly returning My Bloody Valentine. More indie pop than electro. I would say it’s spiritually closer to the aformentioned Of Montreal than to The Presets for example. It can move passions, mountains, get some tears in your eyes and shape a landscape for flying dreams. The reason I’m writing this now is that I got the Van She Tech remix of The Whip‘s Frustration from Ohh! Crapp and it’s again a masterpiece. Have a listen and order V.

Van She – Memory Man [zshare] // Van She – Memory Man [ysi]

The Whip – Frustration (Van She Tech remix) [zshare] // The Whip – Frustration (Van She Tech remix) [ysi]

Okay, so I promised myself that I’m not gonna blog Sebastien Tellier remixed by Boys Noize. Instead of not blogging I found this re-edit of Das Pop‘s Underground. This song was in the mix Justice almost made for Fabric. Actually, I could witness a rare situation: when a remix made a bad song ok-coolish.

You know Das Pop, right? Belgian band with cheesy indie pop tunes who had their previous single, Fool for Love remixed by SebastiAn, Yuksek, Brodinski and Aeroplane. Quite a buzz. For this latest single there’s gonna be a remix thingy with Kid Gloves and Busy P. My favourite is made by Van She. Oh yeah. Australia in da house. Actually, they made two remixes for the song: a club and a dub one. The club is cooler and less robot-like banging. Brilliant stuff from Van She after the awesome Strangers (video).

Das Pop – Underground (Van She Club Mix) [zshare] // Das Pop – Underground (Van She Club Mix) [ysi]

Half of kunk skipped the pond last weekend so a slight delay in getting out #2 for y’all, but don’t worry world, you can exhale as we got off our asses for a second version of hungarian-based frivolity. Hopefully we’ve patched up the vocal levels that some commented on, and, of course, became a little less retarded. In this (bi-)week’s edition:

• The Frail – Addiction (After Midnight Remix)
• The Black Ghosts – Let’s Get Physical
• Sebastian – Dog (Choreo Remix)
• Russ Chimes – Mulsanne
• Jaguar Love – Bats Over the Pacific Ocean
• Van She – Strangers
• Pony Pony Run Run – Boy Birl Surrender (summer edit)
• Norbert Kristof – Anna

Opening topic: Hungarian language

Kunk – So Kunked Podcast Volume 2 [zshare] // Kunk – So Kunked Podcast Volume 2 [ysi]

ALSO, last moment organized are always the hottest right? This sunday eve let’s take advantage of the long weekend with a Gumipop meets Kunk meets surprise guest dj at the Vittula. Kommsi Kommsi!

Australia, ah what a beautiful country it may be! Kangaroos, platypuses, oceans and the best new bands. Cut Copy. They started off when The Presets did, both released the debut around 2004-2005. Cut Copy had a huge impact on the development of the country’s electro-scene. Take the Midnight Juggernauts for example or Van She or Muscles. And you can check our post about Pnau. Modular is one of the best labels around nowadays.

After three long years, Cut Copy’s follow-up is here. Smooth 80s influenced, synth/electro-pop with vocals like from New Order. Great soundtrack for the warmer part of the year. Actually it really feels like something I’d listen to on a beach with waves and everything… Nevertheless, Hearts on Fire, So Haunted, and Lights and Music are the three hits that were preceeding the LP. Each is like a perfect gem of smart disco sounds. Second albums are tricky but with ‘In Ghost Colours’ Cut Copy made themselves a record that is way better than their debut was. The title is awesome and it tells a lot about their music. Not scary but gentle ghost-like feelings float around in an empty electronic space full of tension. New synth-pop is here.

Cut Copy – Feel the Love (zshare)

Cut Copy – Feel the Love (y. s. i.)