08 picks

These albums are in no particular order:
Cut Copy> In Ghost Colours
The Wombats> A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation
Ladtytron> Velocifero
Hercules and Love Affair> self titled
Sigur Ros> Whateverthefuck it's called, I can never remember any of their album names except for Takk
Wolf Parade> At Mount Zoomer
Secret Machines> self titled
Man Man> Rabbit Habbits
M83> Saturdays=Youth
Minus the Bear> They Make Beer Commercials Like This
Minus the Bear> Acoustics
The Presets> Apocolypso
Radiohead> In Rainbows
Slow Runner> Mermaids
Vampire Weekend> self titled
TV on the Radio> Dear Science
Metronomy> Nights Out
Margot and the Nuclear so & so's> Animal! (and the alternate version of the album) Not Animal!
Justice> Cross
Black Kids> Partie Traumatic
Bloc Party> Intimacy
The New Pornographers> Live from SoHo (iTunes Exclusive)
Black Moth Super Rainbow> Drippers
Tobacco> Fucked up Friends
Animal Collective> Water Curses
CSS> Donkey
Oxford Collapse> Bits


v Big Trouble

Metronomy -Nights Out-

I was able to secure a copy of the new Metronomy album on Christmas eve (even though it hasn't been released in the US) and since then I've been listening to it non-stop. I've listened to Metronomy since early 2007 but I wasn't overly impressed with their first full length album, Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe). The album consisted of eleven electronic instrumental tracks and one with vocals (Trick or Treatz). A couple songs really stood out to me, my favorite being the very tight-sounding "This could be beautiful (it is)" with its well fused synth lines and handclaps; however, the album was ultimately scattered and disorganized.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nights Out consists of tracks that actually sound related to each other and it even includes intro and outro tracks (I am a sucker for themed albums): it didn't just feel like hastily chosen collection of tracks for a mix tape. Joseph Mount took the album in a new direction by including many more tracks with vocals (even if the vocals are just oohs and ahhs) and introducing more bass and guitar into the songs to create an infectious disco sound. My favorite track, hands down, was Radio Ladio which has a wonderfully weird and cool music video. Other highlights that I really found myself singing and tapping my feet to were "heartbreaker", "Back on the Motorway", "A thing for me", "My rapid heart rate", and "On the dancefloors". If you're a Yankee like me then it's a bit hard to get the album right now but if you can then I highly recommend Nights Out.