Chris Brook-Carter

Albums of the Year

10: Shearwater - Rook
Originally an off-shoot of Okkervil River, lead singer Jonathan Meiburg has now taken this side-project full-time. The result is a lush and complex ode to nature that requires your full attention, even at a brief 36 minutes long. It is, at times, brooding and dark, but, just like the landscape it paints, there is just the right amount of colour to draw the attentive listener in.

9: The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely
The crunching two opening tracks set the tone for this, the rock album of the year. Benson and White fulfil the promise they hinted at on Broken Boy Soldiers, by combining all that’s good about the two Detroit stars. Heavier than its predecessor, it’s also more diverse and the songwriting more complex and assured.

8: The Felice Brothers – The Felice Brothers
Three hobo-looking brothers and a friend called Christmas – The Felice Brothers sound like a band right out of a Coen brothers film. The music would fit many of the flicks produced by Ethan and Joel too - it’s ramshackle, booze-sodden and wonderfully thrown together. This is a world of moonshine and mountains inhabited by destitute and complex characters wandering train tracks and falling off bar stools. The music itself is a robust blend of Dylan, The Band and more recently Richmond Fontaine – the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of JD and a bar room brawl.

7: Okkervil River – The Stand-ins
Originally the second half to a planned double album with last year’s The Stage Names, 2008’s release gives away nothing in quality on its excellent predecessor. If anything, the album delivers a more consistent listen, with singer Will Shelf injecting great passion into the album, bitterness and warmth playing off against each other, sometimes within the same song. Motown basslines, soaring choruses and big brass sections, The Stand-ins has it all.

6: Joan as Policewoman – To Survive
Much darker and contemplative than its predecessor, To Survive suffered on first listen from a lack of playfulness that coloured Real Life. However, repeated listens revealed a modern blueprint for soul music. Moving, haunting and reflective, Joan Wasser never settles for the easy option. But ultimately this is a hugely rewarding album - unsettling and fragile it may be, but the quality of the songwriting puts her head and shoulders ahead of contemporaries like Feist and Regina Spektor.

5: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig! Lazarus Dig!
Hilarious, ridiculous and exhilarating, it’s extraordinary to think that Nick Cave is now 50. This is easily one of his finest albums, full of crunching garage rock and haunting ballads. “Prolix, prolix, nothing a pair of scissors can’t fix!” I’ll keep this one short, then.

4: The Acorn – Glory Hope Mountain
The premise of this album wasn’t promising. Lead singer Rolf Klausener interviewed his mother for eight hours about her escape from Honduras to Canada and has set the story to song. However, the tale of abuse, escape, abandonment and survival has transferred to record beautifully. Sufjan Stevens is an obvious comparison, but The Acorn has a sound of its own, with plenty of ukulele, marimba and banjo. Label Bella Union has a habit of picking up oddities that prove to be absolute winners – here’s another one.

3: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
The timeless, floating harmonies that dominate this release have an otherworldly quality to them. Fleet Foxes have delivered a near-perfect set of American songs that sound as if they have been around for years whilst at the same time being one of the freshest listens of the year.

2: TV on the Radio – Dear Science
There was little to pick between my number one and two this year, and TV on the Radio was pipped at the post only for having come out later in the year. TVOTR’s previous output has been easy to admire but hard to love, this year the Brooklyn-based band have produced a perfect balance of artistic endeavour and pop sensibilities. Bowie, Prince and every experimental New York band you can think of are thrown into the mixer here with electric results. Angry, sensuous, brash but still thoughtful – truly an album of the modern age.

1: Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
The myth that is growing surrounding the making of this album will no doubt have been documented on this site already – heartbroken man retreats to woods with guitar and gun, shoots his own food, pours his grief into his guitar. More importantly, though, is the music, which is just staggering. Justin Vernon’s lyrics and voice are simply heartbreaking, whilst his guitar playing and gentle backing transport you totally into the snows of that Wisconsin wood. The best break-up album since Blood on the Tracks.

Tracks of the Year

10: Willard Grant Conspiracy - Miracle on 8th Street
9: Howlin' Rain - Riverboat
8: Frank Turner - I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
7: Silver Jews - Suffering Jukebox
6: American Music Club - Decibels and Little Pills
5: Randy Newman - Losing You
4: Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines
3: Fleet Foxes - Your Protector
2: The Felice Brothers - Frankie’s Gun
1: Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart

Guilty Pleasure 2008

Black Ice – AC/DC
There are three songs with the word ‘rock’ in the title – what more do you want?

Innocent Pain 2008

Third – Portishead
Loved everything they have done before. Love Beth Gibbons. Can’t get on with this soulless impenetrable nonsense.