MUSIC IN THE YEAR 2008

Fleet Foxes

Hailed as a landmark in American music, the eponymous debut album from Psych-Folk rockers Fleet Foxes was met with sheer delight and critical acclaim. And rightfully so; the album oozes with an honest, bucolic, quaint charm that most modern music fails to reach.

‘White Winter Hymnal’ is the perfect namesake for a song with a chorale of icy harmonies that echo and bounce from wall to wall. ‘Ragged Wood’ sounds similar to tracks from My Morning Jacket’s EP Acoustic Citsuoca.

In many respects this release mimics Arcade Fire’s Funeral: both stunning debuts, they both brought thinking-man’s music to the masses.

Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

On Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! swaggers, Nice Cave spins his twisted and whimsical yarns upon the backdrop of the jarring and fascinating sounds of his Bad Seeds. Cave’s lyrics on ‘We Call Upon The Author’ are really driven home by his semi-sung beat-poet snarl.

The album could be mistaken for an audiobook listened to by children in a psychiatric hospital.

The tone is set perfectly with the opening title track: a garage rock barn-stormer, which has Cave recounting the story of Lazarus who’s been place put him in New York City.

Showered with praise and awards, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! set the bands benchmark even higher.

Only By The Night

The hype surrounded by Because of the Times had barely even subsided when Kings of Leon released Only By The Night, and it firmly rooted them

Going further down the path paved by U2, K.O.L. opted to up the stadium-rock ante and created songs more sonic and atmospheric than their previous efforts. Evidence of that can be heard on ‘Closer’: a master class in soaring guitars duelling with big vocals.

Once again, Caleb’s vocals make a radical change; he sounded more coherent than ever, and while he was beginning to gain control over his voice box, on Only By The Night, it seemed like he had the reigns firmly strapped on.

Though not as accomplished as their previous effort, it spawned 2 world-beating hits (‘Sex on Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’). Only By The Night was Kings of Leon’s one-way ticket to superstardom.

Forth

While it was never going to be as masterful as Urban Hymns, there are plenty of moments on Forth where The Verve knock the ball out of the park.

The lead single ‘Love is Noise’ had people a little confused at first, with its peculiar “Tellytubby-esque” synth hook, but was hard not to love with its glitzy, galloping disco rhythm. Let’s face it, the track was tailor made for Glastonbury.

‘Rather Be’ and ‘I See Houses’, both penned by Ashcroft, both glide along with glorious nostalgia, but both sound rather similar to ‘Check the Meaning’ from Ashcroft’s solo career.

The band recently split acrimoniously, after band members Simon Jones and Nick McCabe accused of Ashcroft of using The Verve as no more than a vehicle for his solo career. Forth was indeed a welcome offering from a band who left too soon, and whose reunion was too good to seem permanent.