end of year.

10. Foot Village - Friendship Nation

9. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

8. Starkey - Ephermeral Exhibits

7. K-The-I??? - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

6. iTAL tEK - Cyclical

5. No Age - Nouns

4. Rings - Black Habit

3. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

2. Why? - Alopecia

1. Nisennenmondai - Destination Tokyo

So there you have it, my vision of 2008's finest offerings summed up in 10 pictures.
Feel free to tell me if you think I missed anything or if indeed you disagree. In the end there are way more electronic based albums on the list than I would have imagined but I put a lot of thought into it and I feel that these are the releases i've been able to come back to and enjoy more than any other this year. It's been a good one.

Top 15 songs and live acts after the jump.

TOP 15 SONGS

15. Little Trooper - Wasn't Ready

14. Night Jewel - Artificial Intelligence

13. Telepathe - Chromes On It

12. TV On The Radio - DLZ

11. Nisennenmondai - Mirrorball

10. Baby Venom - Eye Patch

9. Pens - Hate Your Calender

8. Human Hair - Happy Birthday

7. Nisennenmondai - Souzousuru Neji

6. Drop The Lime - Hear Me

5. Gentle Friendly - Five Girl Night

4. Arch M - 21st Union

3. Starkey - Spacewalk

2. No Age - Cappo

1. Baby Venom - Frank


TOP 15 LIVE PERFORMANCES

15. Barr @ The Luminaire(London)

14. Fuck Buttons @ ATP vs Pitchfork (Camber Sands)

13. Chrome Hoof @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

12. Ex Models @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

11. Foot Village @ The Luminaire (London)

10. No Age @ Stealth (Nottingham)

9. Dan Deacon @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

8. Banjo Or Freakout @ No Shows Forever (London)

7. Aids Wolf @ The Rainbow (Birmingham)

6. Japanther @ The Old Blue Last (London)

5. Mika Miko @ The Dome (London)

4. Nisennenmondai @ The Hare And Hounds (Birmingham)

3. Glass Candy @ ATP vs Pitchfork (Camber Sands)

2. Dalek @ Supersonic Festival (Birmingham)

1. Why? @ The Regal (Oxford)

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the circle of life

rings (http://myspace.com/firstnationlove) are three girls from new york, they came about when drummer abby joined other members kate and nina who up until then had recorded a 7" and a full length together under the moniker first nation. they continued to play under that name until the recording of their most recent effort black habit, by which time they felt that their name change symbolised much more accurately what they were doing and what they represented. like a circle, they are all connected, they are uninterrupted they are whole. their music also mimics the pleasant shapes that are willingly thrust into our thoughts; effortless, soothing, continuous.

still, this isn't as wholly pleasant as one might imagine upon picturing the geometry and it's aforementioned principles, sure it takes great pride in appearing an unassuming folk outfit but underneath all the enchanting multi-layered three way vocals lurks a much more experimental, maniacal beast.
in 'double thanks' the vocals become short, sharp daggers that stab through circles and the haunting effect created by keyboards and ghost-esq wailing. 'is he handsome' is broken up with electronic noise that explodes into the furor from nowhere and the breathless gasping conjures the song a sense of urgency which perfectly compliments the frantic, yet beautiful keyboard hook.
upon each listen to black habit another door is opened into it's darker depths and you start to notice all manor of twisted intricacies that you were previously unaware of. this alone gives the album a great sustainability and has certainly had me reaching for the replay button.
as unpredictable as animal collective, as thoughtful as high places and as oddly unrestricted as (old) gang gang dance, this is certainly worth a listen, or two. or three, or four....

rings - double thanks.mp3 (zshare)

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