Peter Broderick - Float (Type, 2008)
Peter Broderick had a big year: he released two solo albums, did all the arrangements for Horse Feathers, and toured with Efterklang. Float's main melodic drive comes from subtle piano arrangements backed by a large variety of instruments. As the title suggests, no individual track really steals the show. The album feels like one complete tracks meandering about picking up sad melodies along the way.
Pigeon Funk - The Largest Bird in the History of the Planet... Ever! (Musique Risquee, 2008)
Kit Clayton, Sutekh, and Safety Scissors show how being technically apt with the studio and instruments can pay off for fun's sake. Pigeon Funk's second album hits many genres: glitch, techno, lounge, polka, big-band, musique concrete, and more. A great reminder to everyone that techno usually takes itself way too seriously.
Quiet Village - Silent Movie (!K7, 2008)
Taking some of the same ideas from the Avalanche's Since I Left You, and removing the dance beat, Quiet Village leaves us with tracks that sound like a family's old 8mm home movies. Swelling strings, beach sounds, and smooth bass, it could make for a cheesy romp through kitschy 50s and 60s soundtracks, but somehow Quiet Village pulls it off.
Sixto Rodriguez - Cold Fact (Light In The Attic, 1970)
The reissue world is often riddled with music snobs who use music's obscurity to show how academically superior they are to everyone else regardless of the quality of the music. However, the best part of the reissue community is when people and labels such as Light In The Attic manage to commericially channel their passion for a lost musician into something that sounds relevant even today. Rodriguez's Cold Fact is one of the those that has all the right ingredients: poetic lyrics about society, poverty, love, life, and psychedelic guitar breakdowns.
SOS - Balance 013 (EQ/Stomp, 2008)
Doing a thoughtful well through out mix over 3 CDs is not something I recommend anyone try. SOS manages to pull it off using just about every style of music: baleric disco, 80s new wave, house, jazz, and more. SOS shows they understand a variety of music styles and blends it into a perfect ebb and flow mix.
Stimming - Resident Advisor Podcast #111 (www.residentadvisor.net, 2008)
The one exception to my list of albums. Every Monday morning, I look forward to the new Resident Advisor podcast. They manage to get many of the hot DJs right now to do an exclusive mix just for RA. My mind was blown when I heard the Stimming live set mix. Essentially all tracks are his productions minus the first track remix, so I would consider this his album. I have not heard any dance music this year that has the same sense of urgency as Stimming. He understands that the high tempo bass beat should service the rest of the track which he often feels with amazing melodies. My favorite new dance artist for sure.
Subtle - exitingARM (Lex, 2008)
For Hero: For Fool left me a little disappointed after A New White really promised a new sound. exitingARM is more effective at what they were trying to do last album: better melodies, harder and faster raps, and no dead songs. A fitting way to leave the Subtle project for a while.
Susanna - Flower of Evil (Rune Grammofon, 2008)
Another form of recontextualization of music that I believe is more difficult is the cover song. In most cases, the artist covering the song doesn't really bring anything new to the track. Susanna Wallumrød is notorious for her covers. Her melacholic and sweet voice has transformed some pretty untouchable classics in the past like "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Flower of Evil has her in full piano diva mode with subtle guitar and drum arrangements on select tracks. This is perfect Sunday morning music.
Various Artists - Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977-1985 (Strut, 2008)
Last year, minimal techno was king: repetitious drums, very minor melodies, and quiet shifts in dynamics. Thankfully, disco made a huge comeback this year notably in musicians like Hot Chip, Hercules & Love Affair, Lindstrom, Prins Thomas, and others. To mark the landmark year in awesome disco music, Strut has put together an amazing collection of Italo Disco. Heavy percussion, early synths, and spacey melodies showcase the best of the period. Stevie Kotey, owner of the best current disco labels, Bear Entertainment and Bear Funk, mixes them all together with a few exclusive re-edits. Vintage bliss!
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