Songs sung new: The best tracks of 2008 so far

By The A.V. Club staff
June 19th, 2008

With 2008 nearly halfway gone—never to return, sigh—it’s time for The A.V. Club to reflect on some of the music that’s been released so far this year. Instead of a stuffy, academic list of what albums will change your outlook forever, we’re offering a quick survey of songs that are bumping from our Benzes, Jeeps, and Geos. There was no voting involved, just a call to our music writers to champion the 2008 songs they’re currently loving. We’re providing streaming music for most, and even some downloads, so you can love them right along with us.

American Music Club, "All My Love"
From The Golden Age

Sadcore pioneer American Music Club may never get its due, but the band has thankfully continued to do its thing five years after getting back together. This version of AMC features a couple of new members, but it’s still all about leader Mark Eitzel, who’s in fine form on this gentle yet moving love song, which kicks off one of the year’s finest albums.(Marc Hawthorne)

Animal Collective "Street Flash"
From Water Curses

Count this as one of many (but definitely among the best) Animal Collective songs to drift between serene meditation, vein-straining screams, and a sample of either a cackle or a shriek that somehow plays in key. It’s ungainly, mesmerizing, and hard to shake. (Andy Battaglia)

Eef Barzelay, "Lose Big"
From Lose Big

Anyone barely eking out a living as a musician can attest to the inherent sacrifices, but Eef Barzelay—now free of the Clem Snide moniker—captures them with disarming sweetness on the title track of his new solo album. Over midtempo, rootsy rock, he makes his case to an incredulous partner. There’s a required European tour—which Barzelay promises will finish “before that baby’s knocking on the door”—but also a pledge to “take that job you want me to.” It’s a defense of both the home and the road, and Barzelay’s weary voice reflects the tension between them. (Kyle Ryan)

Beach House, "Gila"
From Devotion

What if Air had more sex appeal? Then it would be Beach House, whose simple but effective formula of spacey organ plus draggy drum-machine beats, plus Victoria Legrand’s torchy vocals, works best on “Gila,” a beguiling baby-making jam for lonely people without baby-making partners. (Steven Hyden)

Black Mountain, "Tyrants"
From In The Future

Those who dismiss Black Mountain as a Black Sabbath rip-off a) need to clean out their ears, and b) should use those ears to listen to Uriah Heep. But there’s more than sludge-shitting and retro-sexual chic going on inside Black Mountain’s In The Future. After an intro that screams “stoner rock,” the track “Tyrants” melts into a quavering, synth-chromed, science-fiction-folk jam that Black Mountain strips to the bone before rebuilding it, layer by gleaming layer. (Jason Heller)

Bon Iver, "Re: Stacks"
From For Emma, Forever Ago

Bon Iver’s Into The Wild-style backstory quickly became an inextricable part of the Wisconsin singer-songwriter’s debut For Emma, Forever Ago, but the recording’s lonely circumstances wouldn’t matter if the music wasn’t similarly desolate. The closing track “Re: Stacks” is the last dot of light before everything goes black, and when it quietly comes to a close, it’s like death. (Steven Hyden)

British Sea Power, "Waving Flags"
From Do You Like Rock Music?

The formerly rough-hewn post-punk revivalists in British Sea Power recast themselves as epic arena-rockers with this full-blown anthem, aided by crashing guitars and a grandstanding choral refrain that should make the blood surge through the veins of Arcade Fire fans. But in spite of its big-room pretensions, the band remains as archly erudite as ever, dropping common-man come-ons like “You are astronomical fans of alcohol, so welcome in” and “Beer is not death, beer is not life / It just tastes good” before making smarty-pants reference to the Vistula and Carpathians. (Sean O’Neal)

Cloud Cult, "Everybody Here Is A Cloud"
From Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)

Cloud Cult is as far from shiny and happy as music gets—death and grief are ever-present topics in Craig Minowa’s songs. But the beauty of Minowa’s approach, especially on “Everybody Here Is A Cloud,” is that ultimately his songs are about the exact opposite. Sure, he says, there’s death, and people can’t and shouldn’t ignore it; “everybody here will evaporate,” after all. But that only means that life is even more precious, both awesome and awe-inspiring, than you might have realized—so let’s enjoy it! That’s about as summery as it gets. (Christopher Bahn)

Coldplay, "42"
From Viva La Vida

As a lyricist, Chris Martin prefers simple sentiments and even simpler couplets, but maybe it’s better that way, since as a bandleader, stoked on by new production pal Brian Eno, he keeps getting more complicated. This standout grows more affecting as it builds and builds. So what if rhyming “ghost” and “close” requires more than a little poetic license? (Keith Phipps)

The Cool Kids, "What Up Man"
From The Bake Sale

The opening track on the Bake Sale EP, The Cool Kids’ “What Up Man,” roars out of the gate as a statement of purpose from two cool cats intent on taking hip-hop back to the Reagan era. It’s a minimalist monster of slick, insinuating power, driven by insistent, rhythmic whispers of “tick, tick, tick,” defiant cries of “Bass!” synthesizer flourishes, DJ Premier-style bells, and braggadocious rhymes. “What Up Man” is an irresistible slab of old-school bravado from two newcomers with a very old sound and aesthetic. (Nathan Rabin)

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