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Published on 5/8/08
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Chosen by: Mike Wolf, music editor
1. Magik Markers Boss (Ecstatic Peace). The year’s greatest transformation resulted in its best album, a fiercely beautiful rip through the heart of rock.
2. Major Stars Mirror/Messenger (Drag City). Pure, maximal psychedelic power from an outfit that specializes in nothing but.
3. Times New Viking Present the Paisley Reich (Siltbreeze). Grit and noise amplify (instead of obscure) the brilliantly artful musings of this young trio.
4. Burial Untrue (Hyperdub; U.K.). Samples, static and beats: The last man on earth surrounds himself with ghosts and remembers what things could have been like. Full review
5. Islaja Ulual YYY (Fonal; Finland). An alien (okay, Finnish) presence imports shocking otherness into folk-pop songs; Sun Ra would chill to this. Full review
6. Panda Bear Person Pitch (Paw Tracks). Layer after layer of melodic sounds form a tower to heaven. Full review
7. Kanye West Graduation (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam). Has any pop artist ever been so human and honest about the conflicts inherent in success? Full review
8. Oakley Hall I Will Follow You (Merge). Every record by this rootsy folk-rock group tops the last one, and this rough-cut gem is no exception.
9. Pink Reason Cleaning the Mirror (Siltbreeze). See No. 4 above—then imagine the same last man, paranoid and writing pained psych-pop songs for a wrecked planet. Full review
10. Cass McCombs Dropping the Writ (Domino). A mystery without a history, singer-songwriter McCombs releases his third great album, alluding to everything and revealing nothing. Full review
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