'08's Music to Love More Than Music: Love More, Pt. 7

Love More (<3)
Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers
Gosh, what a peculiar band. The album is nothing like their live set. When I saw them live I would have to say I'd compare it to what getting punched in the face while having rabbits scream in your ear. It's not that it's bad, by any stretch of the mind, it's just really intense. The album has the same songs, but not with the same intensity. In true Xiu Xiu fashion, the songs are weird, and sad, and talk about very ... well they talk about topics that are not frequently addressed in popular music. This album has some very good songs, but the cover of Under Pressure just didn't catch my fancy. Oh well, it's fun and dark and has some strange instruments.
Xiu Xiu - Black Keyboard
Xiu Xiu - I Do What I When I Want

Yip-Yip - Two Kings of the Same Kingdom
I was not ready for this album when I heard it. I thought it was just a bad stab as peculiar electro Dan Deacon-y chiptune music. So I watched a few videos, and I discovered that Yip-Yip are two of the most punk kids around. Watch a few and see whats I mean. Then I went back to the album and I listened more intently, and I found some of the most bizarre, but very intricately composed 8-bit epics. No, not for everyone, but maybe it's for you...
Yip-Yip - Anarchist Clog
Yip-Yip - Sprinkle Council

Norther - N
One of the few metal albums that made the list this year, and for a good reason: Metal is getting old. There are only so many things that can be done with the genre unless you start adding sub-genres and other such things. I have a feeling the only reason I liked this album is because it sounded a lot like the albums I used to like back in the day, and maybe it was a nostalgia trip. Yes, it is a brutal album. Yes, it's heavy and full of destruction. But, Metal, it's been done. Even this album has it's betters, and it's a fairly competent album. Do you like metal? If not, skip this, if so, give it a shot, I have no idea if you'll like it. I did, but, frankly, I may not here in a year or so.
Norther - Black Gold
Norther - Frozen Angel

No Age - Nouns
A distorted mess, but playing in the mud can make you feel like a kid again, and if this album is anything, it's a trip down memory avenue. The songs are, almost by a rule, underwhelming and tricky. There is so much sound coming from this record that there is reason to wonder how a duo is capable of such an assault. Whatever their secret, No Age has crafted what I would think of as a mile marker for music. A lot of people took notice of this album, and I wouldn't think very many people would be willing to really grasp on to it. But I think this album shows me that the tides are turning/things are changing/etc. A whole new world.
No Age - Eraser
No Age - Things I Did When I Was Dead

Santogold - Santogold
A lot of people have been comparing Santogold to M.I.A.. Heck, even I'm guilty of that one. I think it's because there are so few things like Santogold's album that I just needed something to grasp onto. It's got this 80's New Wave mixed with mid 90's Hip-hop all with a late 2000's indie sensibility. One second she might resemble M.I.A., but then she'll be rap/singing over something that sounds like the Police. Then it's like Mr. Marley jumped into the producer's body and took over for a second. The album is all over the place, but it's all innately Santogold. Nothing on this album will be a hit, because, I feel, it's all a bit much for people to get down to, but it's certainly something I'd play at my parties.
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Santogold - You'll Find A Way

Portishead - Third
One of the most subtle albums I think I've heard. It's not that all of it was subtle, no there were some pretty obvious drum beats and synth sounds, but I didn't find those parts of the album to be all that interesting. When I'd heard the album by chance in the local (by now, closed) record store when my friend Brian was working I began to notice the small peculiarities about the album, and I went home and listened to it more. There are soft, almost hidden parts of this album that truly make it a wonderful listen.
Portishead - Silence
Portishead - Machine Gun

Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim
I cannot get enough of Langhorne Slim. Ever since they did their Daytrotter session I've been all over their work. In fact, there are quite a few songs on this album that were first recorded on that Daytrotter set. I was honestly a little disappointed with the new versions of those songs, but that's probably because I had just grown accustom to the way they sounded before. Regardless, the songs are still very good, and the new songs are even better. The album is a rip-roaring jaunt through the more wild parts of the back country. Straight up.
Langhorne Slim - Colette
Langhorne Slim - Diamonds and Gold