There was so much music that I didn’t listen to this year, this list was very difficult to put together. This is in no particular order, although the one that I was most excited about not listening to was the Max Tundra effort. Maybe in 2009 somebody will send me a promo copy.
- Parallax Error Will Behead You – Max Tundra
- The Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow
- Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill – Grouper
- Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules and Love Affair
- London Zoo – The Bug
- Stainless Style – Neon Neon
- Koffi – Koffi Olomide
- Leucocyte – e.s.t.
- Black Sea – Fennesz
- Uproot – DJ/rupture
- Tchamantche - Rokia Traore
- The Beauty and the Sea – Mor Karbasi
- Notes from Elsewhere – Peter Mulvey
- Carry on Breathing – Cassetteboy
- River Mouth Echoes – Maja S K Ratkje
- Make the Road by Walking – Menahan Street Band
- Reality Checkpoint – Logistics
- See Clear Now – Wiley
I still have no idea what to make of Grouper, but I’m pleased to see Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill was added to eMusic so I can get the rest of it. I’m still not sure whether I like it, but it’s haunting.
I’m not sure whether you have to make anything of Grouper. I guess I was hoping to find out exactly why somebody would drag a dead deer up a hill, let alone record a whole album about the experience.