Two Bears in a Record Store

Here is numbers 10 to 6 of my Top Ten albums of 2008 (in no particular order):
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
British India – Thieves
The Streets – Everything is Borrowed
Coldplay – Viva la Vida
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular


Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes debut, self titled album proved to me that there is always new ways to reinvent rock music – in this case by taking down the tempo, latching onto harmonies, and capturing more than just a little of that old-school rock feel.

This five-piece band from Seattle came from virtually nowhere to become one of the darlings of the 2008 music scene, and I am happy to blindly follow the masses in praising their unique and otherworldly sound.


British India – Thieves

Thieves marks the second album for Melbourne based band British India, and is a fitting follow up to their debut breakthrough album, Guillotine. While this album hasn’t yet had quite the number of hits as the previous album, I think over time it will be remembered as a well rounded piece of work. Particular highlights include ‘God is Dead, Meet the Kids’ and ‘You Will Die and I Will Take Over’.


The Streets – Everything is Borrowed

The penultimate album for Mike Skinner and The Streets is a welcome return to form after a celebrity focused and indulgent previous album. While Skinner hasn’t returned to singing about the day-to-day (and is not likely to ever again), the album certainly shows a man who is much more content about his lot in life, with the over-riding theme being reflection on the bigger things in life such as love and spirituality. My favourite track on the album is ‘The Escapist’, the first single, which best sums up the vibe of the entire album.


Coldplay – Viva la Vida

I have loved Coldplay since ‘Yellow’, and Viva la Vida was an exciting album for Chris Martin and Co., with the world’s biggest band (apart from U2) looking to capture that stadium sound they have been working towards for 4 albums.

The album starts strongly and carries this through for the entire album, with tracks ebbing and flowing over the course of the album. The highlight of the album for me is ‘Strawberry Swing’, a song that harkens back to the bands’ softer, quieter days.

Ultimately, Viva la Vida is a success in as much that it makes me want to see how these guys perform this album live, and how they stand up as crowd favourites against classics from the Coldplay stable.


MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

MGMT are the IT band of 2008, and Oracular Spectacular is an album that has slowly but surely infected the masses with its psychedelic sound scape. For me, ‘Electric Feel’ is one of the best songs of 2008 and sums up the general feel MGMT were going for in their debut outing.

However, while songs such as ‘Electric Feel’, ‘Weekend Wars’, and ‘Kids’ are brilliant examples of the potential of these two Brooklyn based boys, the flow of the album isn’t quite perfect, and the end of the album in particular feels a little slow. Despite this slight drawback, the quality of the good tracks makes this a must-have album for 2008.


Coming soon: my top 5 albums of 2008.


CB

10: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

MGMT sits at 10, I would love to put this album higher but the back 1/3 of this album really lets it down. Oracular Spectacular has produced 3 of the biggest, most exciting songs of 2008 – Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids. Time to Pretend caught me by surprise , it was like tasting something new for the first time. You heard it and you had good feeling about this. Electric Feel had me wrapped in a groove from the first listen – that Flute!!!!. I love this song, it epitomises this band – funky, weird, hip shaking and fun!

Unfortunately the last 3 or 4 songs bring this album down. They seem out of place and these sorta soft, accousticy slow ballady songs are beyond this band just right now. But withstanding this album is worth getting a hold of simply because the first 7 or so tracks are a wicked good time.

 

9: Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

Does anyone else this its weird death is now a man ? Coldplay’s newest baby is a step forward for the band and its fans. New instruments, new rhythms, new sound but still maintaining a sound that resonates with the classic Coldplay sound. This is the glue of Viva La Vida. The melodic overtones of the piano or Chris Martin’s crooning are the glue which hold the old and new Coldplay together. This records pushes its fans  into new territory but does it gently.  The instruments are allowed room to breath, the rhythms are given time to evolve.

With a dash of Latin flavour Viva la Vida is truly a album, its enjoyed to its fullest as whole. Each track is a new chapter of a great book. Each track is different and distinct, but each is crafted in every aspect. Every song has distinctive sounds, the chink-chink of the guitar on Lost!, the dunt-dunt-dunlt of the drums on Cemeteries of London. Such great care has been taken with this album and rightfully so it’s a true album from beginning to end.

 

8: The Fratelli’s - Here We Stand

Those who caught the Fratelli’s 2006 release Costello’s Music your in for much the same. Here We Stand is a excellent rowdy English rock ‘n’ roll album with a mischievous tone.  These songs while simple from a musician ship point of view are an energetic shot of rock for any fan, perfect for anytime with your mates causing some trouble. They don’t try to be tricky, all they want are their songs stuck in your head all day. Stragglers Moon sparkles with tinges of  “Strange Days” Doors while Mistress Mabel has the energy and charisma of a cocky English band  who wants to pull you out of your seat. There’s no theme, some songs sound the same but each song is a rollicking good time for any scallywag.

 

7: The Ting Ting’s - We Started Nothing

RED ALERT! – Unapologetic Pop alert!

The Ting Tings have landed and crashed landed in your face.  They started nothing but they started something huge, an uncontrollable collection of short melodic guitar tunes. With an album coming in at a mere 37 minutes its hard to make an impact but the Ting Tings have exploded world wide and I cant help but love them. There’s an infectious quality in these tracks , it might be the cute vocals or it’s the catchy-ness of each song.

That’s Not My Name has been heard in every corner of the Earth but still I cant stop listening to it.  There’s something in her voice that says I wont be a pushover and we’re going to do things my way, and that’s kinda cool. Great DJ , Shut Up & Let Me Go have filtered around the airwaves and provide a solid base for this album but it’s surrounding cast – tracks like; Keep Your Head, Traffic Light, and We Started Nothing that push this album further and turn it into something great. It wont be remembered as the greatest debut album ever but it’s a damn catchy unavoidable and totally enjoyable album!

6: Sparkadia Postcards

This is easily my favourite Aussie album of 2008, there’s so much to it. It has depth beyond their experience and musical maturity.  Its so lush and atmospheric while stilling driving at full speed.  The word nice describes this album perfectly. Its not in your face , abrupt or demanding. Its enjoyable at any volume and after hundreds of listens its just as interesting , warm and deep as its first listen.

There’s the 5 instant singles which are spectacular – Too Much To Do, Kiss of Death, Morning Light , Animals and Jealousy. Each of these is unescapable on any playlist or album they hold the album together and like the Ting Tings propel them to something great. The other 7 tracks are the like the soundtrack to a amazing movie, they are just there you notice them but until you pay attention to them you miss how important they are, how they give structure to the album .In the case of Sparkadia these 7 tracks have allowed the band to experiment with their song writing and pace. Proving that slow or fast, hard or melodic, Sparkadia has the goods, I cant recommend this album enough.

“Without music, life would be a mistake”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900)

Welcome to Two Bears in a Record Store, a blog about…well…music.

I’m Chocolate Bear aka CB and my counterpart is Vanilla Bear aka VB.

We’re Australian and in our 20’s, so naturally this blog will host more Aussie content than many but it will also go beyond that.  Combined, we think we could try and form an opinion about any music: reggae to trip hop to guitar funk to rock.

You the reader are the most important part of our blog.  Without you we have nothing. We need your input on every post, we need to know what you want to hear about and when you want to hear about it. We want to know what YOU think, so that we can make you part of the “Two Bears” community.

We’re going to bring you a listening experience that will open your eyes to new sounds and a whole new world of fun. So in the coming days, weeks, and months you can look forward to giving our take on a whole bunch of music reviews, news and views.

Cheers,

VB and CB