This year is flying past like they all tend to do. In fact, we're more than halfway through, which means time to assess the year in music (so far). It's difficult to compare one year's crop to another's, but I do feel 2008 is shaping up to be one of the strongest of recent memory. Anyway, here's what I've dug the most.
Top 10 Albums of 2008 (so far)
1. Evil Urges (Ato Records/Red), My Morning Jacket (Photo by Danny Clinch)
At my editor Eric Snider's suggestion, I just bumped my MMJ review from a 4.5 to a perfect 5 (it will run in next week's Creative Loafing.) While still at USF, I started doing freelance CD reviews for CL (back when it was the Weekly Planet) in 2001 and during my two stringer stints with the paper plus my current full-time gig have easily written hundreds of CD reviews for the 'Loaf. But this marks the first time I 5-starred a new release. Read my MMJ review here.
2. The Odd Couple (Atlantic), Gnarls Barkley
Dark, cerebral and highly danceable, this batch of spaceflight soul is pure brilliance. And by the way, complaining that it doesn't have a "Crazy" equivalent would be like knocking Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy for not featuring another "Stairway."
3. Robyn (Konichiwa/CherryTree/Interscope), Robyn
This Swedish star still hasn't blown up here and that's a shame. The pop world would be a far better place if Madonna, Spears, etc. could pen lyrics this poignant and implement beats this fresh. Read my review here.
4. Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop), Fleet Foxes
Debut albums really have no right to be this fantastic: dreamy organic pop, perfectly recorded so that the band sounds like they're playing your living room; close, gorgeous vocal harmonies that will melt your ears. Read my (mini) review here. My proper review will run in the CL that hits newsstands July 3.
5. Accelerate (Warner Bros), R.E.M.
It's official: R.E.M. has made its best album in more than a decade. Nothing new here, just a first-rate collection of the band's finest attributes. Read my review here.
6. Casting Shadows Tall As Giants (self-released), Have Gun, Will Travel
My favorite Americana album of the year happens to come from right in our backyard (well, Bradenton). Read more about HGWT here.
7. From the Reach (Landfall), Sonny Landreth
Slide guitar master turns in a soulful album of swampy charm that also features sly prog touches. Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler and Dr. John are among the guests who sweeten the deal with low-key cameos. Read my review here.
8. Warpaint (Sony BMG), Black Crowes
The most promising rock 'n' roll band to emerge post-GNR returns from a jamband haze with Luther Dickinson, focus and their best album in years. Read my review here.
9. Asking for Flowers (Rounder), Kathleen Edwards
Like Lucinda Williams but with a sense of humor, Kathleen Edwards' latest is a winning combination of adroit storytelling, touching confessionals and folk-rock fun. Read my review here.
10. Lay It Down (Blue Note), Al Green
The teaming of the good reverend and The Roots' ?uestlove results in greatest Al Green album since the 1970s, a rich slab of classic soul. Read more about Al Green here.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2008.