Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

At a time when you can't look at any music website without the inevitable 'Best of 2008' lists, I've refrained from doing my own, for the simple reason that I'm not decisive enough. My choices would vary wildly on a daily basis, and, such has been my rapid turnover of records recently, I'd probably omit something that I enjoyed in February in favour of a record from November.

Instead, what I've been doing on here in the last few weeks is post a smattering of my favourites from this year. This hasn't really been a conscious effort, it goes back to my original point, that this is the time of year when you start to look back. Therefore, perverse to the last, I'm ending 2008 not with fireworks, but with a gentle whisper in the form of For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver.

It's one of 2008's most blogged records, and a staple in the aforementioned best of lists, but I still felt I wanted to put my two penn'oth in. Jeremy Warmsley recently pointed out on Drowned in Sound that nobody seems to be capable of talking about this album without mentioning it being recorded in a log cabin, but in the unlikely event that J Wo is reading this, I'm going to irk him further. Perhaps it's psychological conditioning from reading it so many times, but on listening to the album, I immediately feel transported to a shack in the middle of nowhere. In my opinion, the surroundings are central to the atmosphere of the album, they are at the heart of every gentle strum, every note that Justin Vernon breathes.

In short, it's a beautiful album. Highlights for me include 'Skinny Love', and closing track 're:Stacks'. It's short (9 tracks, and less than 40 minutes), but brevity is a virtue in this case. No need to over-egg the pudding. I'm a great believer that there are good and bad times of the day to listen to a record, and in this case it's very much a 'wee small hours' job. Last night I listened to it at about 3AM, and it's the most I've enjoyed it.

Bon Iver has a new EP coming out in the new year, called 'Blood Bank' and it seems pretty good. This is just one of a number of new records due out in 2009 (both definite and just rumoured) which I'm looking forward to getting my hands on. After a few weeks of looking back at 2008, I'm now planning to spend some time looking forward to next year. There's no point thinking about album of the year 2009 contenders though. Not because it's too early, but because Animal Collective have clearly already claimed that with their mind-bogglingly good Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Download: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Merz - Moi et Mon Camion

Merz (or Conrad Lambert, to his nearest and dearest) released his first album all of 9 years ago. However, until about 6 months ago, he had completely passed me by. Which is strange, because from what I can gather, his eponymous debut arrived with a blaze of major label backing, critical acclaim, and the inevitable high expectations.

As is so often the case, the album didn't make a big enough splash to satisfy the money-men. Merz managed to wriggle free of Sony BMG, and didn't resurface for another 6 years until he released 'Loveheart' which, not surprisingly, was free of the millstone of press expectation after such a long quiet period. Shamefully, in spite of how much I love the album I've uploaded, Moi et Mon Camion, I haven't heard his first two, so I can't comment on them. They are, however, very high on my ludicrously long to-buy list!

The album is a beautifully constructed folky record about travelling, which takes its name (translation - Me and my van) from Conrad's regular removals company. Apparently he's done a lot more moving than the average man (well, who the hell has a regular removals company?!) and this has informed his work. It's delicate, often touching, and occasionally swerves in unexpected directions; 'Shun (Sad Eyed Days)', for example has a funky, almost sleazy edge to it.

Merz appears to be an unpredictable soul, a rare breath of fresh air to whom little matters more than his music. Dumping Sony was a bold move, but showed integrity. His album is a gorgeous gem, and deserves to be high in the 'Best of 08' lists, but probably won't be.

Download: Merz - Moi et Mon Camion

The Futureheads - News and Tributes

On Friday night I saw The Futureheads at The Sage in Gateshead. It was the first time I'd seen them in a couple of years, which is absolutely criminal, because it meant I had forgotten just how exciting a band they are.

The Futureheads got off to a flying start with their brilliant eponymous debut, a record which was one of the pick of 2004's deluge of jerky, post-punk bands and sold by the barrell. They came back in 2006 with News and Tributes which was billed as a more mature, less one-dimensional effort than the first record.

The album really is a genuine progression from the debut. They showed a lightness of touch which hadn't been evident previously. This was at it's peak on title track 'News and Tributes' and 'Burnt' (which, incidentally, remains my favourite Futureheads song).

The new-found maturity didn't cost the band any of the thrill factor and excitement that had made them so great in the first place. In fact, songs like 'Yes / No', and 'Favours for Favours' are more exhilarating than pretty much anything on the debut.

However, the wheels inexplicably came off for them at this point. The record went relatively un-noticed by the record-buying public, and there was eventually a parting of the ways between the band and their record company, 679. To this day, I still don't understand just why the album didn't push them further up the indie ladder, because I still think it's their best work.

With the release of their third record 'This is Not the World', I'm pleased to see that they've managed to regain some of the momentum lost with the second album. This is gratifying as The Futureheads are an exciting, innovative band, who also seem like a decent group of blokes, and it would be a loss to music if they were to call it a day.

Download: The Futureheads - News and Tributes

Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

I had a post Christmas party hangover the other day and needed something to soothe my head on the bus trip. I eventually opted for The Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy, a record I hadn't listened to for a fair few months. Even in my delicate state, I was immediately reminded of just how incredible an album it is.

It's a melancholic album, a bit low-fi, and is absolutely brimming with ideas. It's these ideas that make it such an attractive prospect. Jed the Humanoid is a great example of this. This is a song about a family who build a robot who subsequently drinks himself to death, but not before leaving behind some poetry (also included as a song on the album). It sounds like a ridiculous idea, and in any other hands it wouldn't work. But far from being cloying and ham-fisted, it's real lump in the throat stuff.

It's not all a sentiment fest though. The distorted guitars are turned right up on Chartsengrafs and Broken Household Appliance National Forest (my favourite). The whole album's a treat from start to finish. I don't quite understand why this is the only Grandaddy record I own. I think I might just be scared the others won't match up. Even if they didn't though, nothing can detract from the perfection of The Sophtware Slump

Download: Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Frightened Rabbit are a band who have been around for a couple of years, but only came to my attention about 6 months ago with the gathering acclaim for their second album The Midnight Organ Fight.

Adding a spit and polish and smoothing off some of the edges from 2007's debut Sing the Greys, they've produced one of the albums of 2008, and rightly garnered a barrelload of positive press in indie circles.

The Midnight Organ Fight is a record of strong indie pop, like a likeable version of REM. Singer Scott Hutchinson's sheer Scottishness is only topped by the singers from The Twilight Sad and Glasvegas, which I think is another reason I like the band (I don't know why, but I've always been a sucker for a Scottish accent on record. Perhaps it's down to Idlewild being at the core of my formative musical years).

One of the strongest elements of the record is the sharpness of the lyrics, which are laced through with a slightly tongue-in-cheek maudlin feel. For example on Good Arms vs Bad Arms:

'I'm armed with the past, and the will, and a brick
I might not want you back, but i want to kill him'

FR are clearly flavour of the month among the indie kids at present, and with good cause, but they'll need to keep up the momentum they've worked to craft themselves. Album number 3 needs to be pretty special, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be.

Download: Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Medium 21 - Killings From the Dial

Today's choice is a slightly obscure one, in the form of short-lived Northampton indie-ites Medium 21.

They knocked out a few EPs between 2002 and 2003, most notably Plans Aren't Enough on indie's cuddliest label, Fierce Panda, before releasing their only album, Killings From the Dial on FP's sister label Temptation. It's consistently been one of my favourite records in the five years that have passed.

It's an album of scuffed, wistful indie, with more than a nod to the likes of the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy (which is probably why I like it). Singer Jon Clough had an unusual voice, at times almost sounding like he's being choked, but he was strangely listenable, adding an extra dimension to the way the band sounded.

It's a shame they never made it past album one, because the newer songs they were playing while touring the first album suggested they were going to go on to bigger and better things. I presume they just got swallowed up when Temptation disappeared after just a couple of releases.

This is an ideal wintry record, recommended listening for when the rain's hammering your window and you're all toasty warm indoors.

Download: Medium 21 - Killings From the Dial