Best of 2008, première partie

Finally the internet has been restored to the House of Minh (aka Ho-Chi-Minh-Shire). To make up for the lack of any posting during the drought of world-wide webbery I've decided to make a best of collection based on what I've heard, which is by no means that extensive but I believe bears enough weight to share. In this first part I'll give the first 3 albums I felt were undeniably excellent in 2008. Keep in mind some of them are very likely to be repeats from this or friendly blogs.

10. Religious Knives - It's After Dark
Ambient at time, drone-like noise at others, yet all of it kept my interest sharply throughout. Psychedelic with just enough krautrock to make it provoking, this side-project of the Double Leopards is certainly worth it.




9. James Ausfahrt - A Message From God
I could not stop listening to this guy in my car, on my breaks at work, or walking across campus. His songs are short electronic-rock-pop things that are remarkably easy to want to hear repetitively. Moreover he does a fantastic cover of the Velvet Underground track "What Goes On" to my great joy. "Kill Yr Enemies" and "Disko Gigolo" are the sort of songs that if I took any pleasure in dance I just might have done so to their accompaniment.

8. Lucky Dragons - Dream Island Laughing Language
I was turned on to this group by a true gentleman from Toronto and I must thank him as I've taken a serious liking to them. Eccentric and creative, the tunes of Lucky Dragons pull in many instruments both electronic and acoustic, with certainly no fear of handclaps. Twenty-two short tracks makes for a fast paced album being just lengthy to become involved with.