Albums Of ’08: 26-50

26.

Black Kids
‘Partie Traumatic’
(Almost Gold)
“Knock-knock! Who’s There?” went the lyrics of lyrics of sky-scraping opener ‘Hit The Heartbrakes’, the punchline turning out to be a seriously talented bunch of upstarts who made the disco dangerous again, while ‘I’m Making Eyes At You’ showed they also possessed a deeply seductive touch. Mmm… (SB)

27.

Frightened Rabbit
‘The Midnight Organ Fight’
(Fat Cat)
‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ may be a bitter, bitter account of relationships ending, but it is also one of the year’s most sheerly loveable and entertaining albums. Pop brilliance and emotional turmoil perfectly synthesised. (DR)

28.

Young Knives
‘Superabundance’
(Transgressive)
Long-time Fly faves gave themselves a makeover and became the hefty rock band they always promised to be beyond the twee, the Knives sharpening up their musical might while sharpening down their wardrobe. Died in the Wool indeed. (SB)

29.

Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip
‘Angles’
(Sunday Best)
Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, Scroob’n'Sac’s restlessly inventive lyrical flair and sheer sonic adventurism took UK hip-hop to numerous brave new worlds, making ‘Angles’ one of ’08′s most captivating, quotable collections. (IM)

30.

Pete & The Pirates
‘Little Death’
(Stolen Recordings)
P&TP’s debut is super-catchy old-fashioned indie, very English and unashamedly uncool. Not trying to fit into any fly-by-night faux-scene, ‘Little Death’ is a confident, charming and assured album that was the early benchmark for 2008. (AS)

31.

Oasis
‘Dig Out Your Soul’
(Big Brother)
It was a fair time in gestation, but Oasis’ newest effort showed that experience and allowing the ideas to flow has brought them onto another level. It’s their ‘Revolver’, after years of misfiring attempts. (JS)

32.

The Courteeners
‘St. Jude’
(Loog)
Their much-anticipated debut perfectly combined swagger and soulfulness, marking the welcome of the cocky front man and placing Manchester firmly back on the music map. (MJ)

33.

The Raconteurs
‘Consolers Of The Lonely’
(XL)
The sort of fully-formed retro-pop record not afforded to him in his other band, ‘Consolers Of The Lonely’ saw Jack White & co. refine the amped-up rock classicism of their debut. (ND)

34.

These New Puritans
‘Beat Pyramid’
(Angular)
This stirring, awkward debut is full of innovative sounds, splashes of genius and dank intrigue. There’s a Joy Division coldness and Klaxons-esque contemporary twist. Grabbing, ferocious and unique. (HG)

35.

Times New Viking
‘Rip It Off’
(Matador)
Dubbed ‘shit-gaze’, ‘Rip It Off’ is the most ear-splitting album of the year, if not the decade. But beneath the disgusting layer of lo-fi filth lurks a secret arsenal of ragged pop gems. (JJD)

36.

Ida Maria
‘Fortress Round My Heart’
(Sony BMG)
An artist who can wrestle with her demons at the same time as creating upbeat music, Ida Maria’s debut sounds like a Strokes album minus all the time spent looking in the mirror. The honesty is compelling. (JK)

37.

XX Teens
‘Welcome To Goon Island’
(Mute Irregulars)
There’s nothing better than a surprisingly brilliant record, and with its mêlée of electro-scuzz chaos and Mark E. Smith style yelps, that’s exactly what ‘Welcome To Goon Island’ is. File under genius/bonkers. (ST)

38.

Crystal Castles
‘Crystal Castles’
(PIAS)
Like a better looking Boards of Canada on speed, this dark and mysterious duo’s ferocious debut is a masterclass in sonic experimentalism. Scarily good. (CP)

39.

Los Campesinos!
‘Hold On Now, Youngster’
(Wichita)
Old-school they may be, but Los Campesinos! have learned immaculately from the post-Postcard masters. Several sharply shiny singles made this ravenously-awaited, but rightly so; ‘Hold On Now, Youngster’ is indie at its most iconic. (IM)

40.

Noah And The Whale
‘Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down’
(Young And Lost Club)
In short bursts, ‘Peaceful…’ is an irresistibly charming debut with a steady stream of summery, easygoing folk miscellany  – ukulele and glockenspiel twee piloting in overdrive – and many a pop gem. (JEK)

41.

Port O’Brien
‘All We Could Do Was Sing’
(City Slang)
An intense and very resonant piece of work that sounds exactly like the band’s name would indicate. From an acoustic base, the layers of vocals, strings and psych-tinged melancholia diffused perfectly into our consciousness. (JS)

42.

The Last Shadow Puppets
‘The Age Of The Understatement’
(Domino)
Bombastic string sections, Scott Walker sparkle, and hints of Spaghetti Western. Nobody expected two indie squirts to pull something off as cinematic and colossal sounding as this. True Northern panache. (LD)

43.

Beck
‘Modern Guilt’
(XL)
30 minutes is all Beck needs to remind us that he’s the king of King of creativity. This album toys with a load of genres to create a body of ageless Beta Bandy eclecticness that totally snatched our hearts.

44.

CSS
‘Donkey’
(Sub Pop)
After a turbulent year that saw them face up to an embezzling manager and one band member’s departure, CSS returned with a more mature-sounding but still totally party-riffic record. (MJ)

45.

Jay Reatard
‘Matador Singles ’08’
(Matador)
Not many people could have got their hands on the complete set of limited edition singles released by Jay Reatard this year, but this collection of whacked out, nihilistic craziness solves that problem. (MP)

46.

The Dodos
‘Visiter’
(Wichita)
San Francisco’s The Dodos play like prog-rockers trapped in a folk body, making vignettes armed with a venomous tongue and a furious stomp. ‘Visiter’ might be predominantly acoustic, but that don’t make it soft, k? (ND)

47.

Bloc Party
‘Intimacy’
(Wichita)
Fights might still be breaking out over whether ‘Mercury’ is dancefloor gold or a self-indulgent mess, but there’s no denying that in the tender, atmospheric ballads ‘Biko’ and ‘Ion Square’ lies some of Bloc Party’s best material yet.  (ST)

48.

dEUS
‘Vantage Point’
(V2)
Continuing the brooding valium-rock that dominated 2005’s ‘Pocket Revolution’, ‘Vantage Point’ sees  dEUS capture the visceral thrill of their live show as well as some honed, bittersweet balladry. (ND)

49.

Fucked Up
‘The Chemistry Of Common Life’
(Matador)
Right from the flute-led quiet, quiet, VERY LOUD, VERY LOUD intro – the best opening to an album we’ve heard in 2008 – ‘The Chemistry Of Common Life’ is a consistently intelligent, vital punk album. (JJD)

50.

Hercules & Love Affair
‘Hercules & Love Affair’
(EMI)
The album that showed there was even more to Andy Butler, Antony and co. than a knockout tune in the form of 2008′s dancefloor anthem ‘Blind’. Hip-shaking, infectious disco nuggets by the bucket-load. (CP)

Words: Stephen Brolan, Niall Doherty, JJ Dunning, Lisa Durrant, Molly Jones, Johnny K, Jeremy Kingsley, Iain Moffat, Mischa Pearlman, Camilla Pia, Andy Slocombe, Sophie Thomsett, Vicky McNaught-Davis

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