| 2008 |
| Moving Mountains Foreword EP | 4.0 |
| We Butter The Bread With Butter Das Monster Aus Dem Schrank | 1.5 |
| Anathallo Canopy Glow | 4.0 |
| Deerhunter Weird Era Cont. | 3.5 |
| Deerhunter Microcastle | 4.0 |
| Fear Before Fear Before | 4.0 |
| Aussitot Mort Montuenga | 4.0 |
| Starflyer 59 Dial M | 4.0 |
| Escape the Fate This War Is Ours | 1.5 |
| Facing New York Get Hot | 2.5 |
| Copeland You Are My Sunshine | 4.0 |
| TTNG Animals | 4.0 |
| Coma Lies NC 2008 EP | 3.0 |
| Arrows Modern Art & Politics | 4.0 |
| A Secret Death A Secret Death | 4.5 |
| Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty | 4.0 |
| Kings of Leon Only By The Night | 2.5 |
| Ohana Dead Beat | 4.5 |
| Adebisi Shank This Is The Album Of A Band Called Adebisi Shank | 4.0 |
| United Nations United Nations | 3.5 |
| Ellington More Like a Movie, Less Like Real Life | 2.5 |
| Bloc Party Intimacy | 3.0 |
| Dance Gavin Dance Dance Gavin Dance | 3.0 |
| The Reign Of Kindo Rhythm, Chord & Melody | 4.0 |
| Safe Hands Against The Wrecking Ball | 4.0 |
| Hawthorne Heights Fragile Future | 1.5 |
| Norma Jean The Anti Mother | 2.5 |
| Misery Signals Controller | 3.5 |
| ...Who Calls So Loud ...Who Calls So Loud | 3.5 |
| Loma Prieta Last City | 4.0 |
| Maps & Atlases You and Me and the Mountain | 4.5 |
| Damiera Quite Mouth Loud Hands | 2.5 |
| Flying Lotus Los Angeles | 3.5 |
| Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes | 3.5 |
| House Vs. Hurricane Forfeiture | 3.0 |
| Emmure The Respect Issue | 2.5 |
| Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs | 4.0 |
| No Age Nouns | 3.0 |
| Animal Collective Water Curses | 3.5 |
| Closure in Moscow The Penance and the Patience | 4.0 |
| Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV | 4.0 |
| The Presets Apocalypso | 3.0 |
| TTNG This Town Needs Guns | 4.0 |
| Foals Antidotes | 3.5 |
| Lydia Illuminate | 4.0 |
| The Getaway Plan Other Voices, Other Rooms | 2.5 |
The getaway plan release one of the most amazingly underachieving albums of the year, with the loss of one of their guitarists and as is evident, a large part of their musical inspiration, they manage to release an album lacking any substance.
The album rolls from one song to another with very limited differences, the moments of musical creativity come so few and far between that its a wonder if these are the same individuals who featured on 'hold conversation'. Vocally there has been some growth, but as overall songwriters, it seems to be fairly sedated, with each musician holding back from their best performance.
With nothing more than a wateredown version of the saosin self titled album, the getaway plan have managed to take a major step back musically while making leaps and bounds in popularity. Time will tell if this sacrifice will benefit or ultimately harm the band. |
| Autechre Quaristice | 3.0 |
| The Middle East The Recordings of the Middle East | 4.0 |
| Secret And Whisper Great White Whale | 2.5 |
| Look Mexico The Crucial Collection | 4.0 |
| Ivoryline There Came A Lion | 3.0 |
| Protest the Hero Fortress | 2.5 |
| The Mars Volta The Bedlam in Goliath | 2.5 |
| This Will Destroy You This Will Destroy You | 4.0 |
| Daitro / Sed Non Satiata Split | 4.0 |
| My Disco Paradise | 4.5 |
| Firekites The Bowery | 4.5 |
| 2007 |
| Burial Untrue | 3.0 |
| The Dillinger Escape Plan Ire Works | 3.5 |
| Armor For Sleep Smile For Them | 2.5 |
| Saves the Day Under the Boards | 3.0 |
| Thursday Kill the House Lights | 3.5 |
| Tera Melos Split: Complex Full of Phantoms | 3.5 |
| Coheed and Cambria No World for Tomorrow | 3.0 |
| Oh, Sleeper When I Am God | 4.0 |
| Thrice The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II | 4.0 |
| These Arms Are Snakes Tail Swallower and Dove | 4.0 |
| Emery I'm Only A Man | 3.0 |
| The Bled Silent Treatment | 4.0 |
| Between the Buried and Me Colors | 2.5 |
| The Good Life Help Wanted Nights | 3.5 |
| Baroness Red Album | 3.5 |
| Chiodos Bone Palace Ballet | 2.0 |
| Every Time I Die The Big Dirty | 4.0 |
| The Avett Brothers Emotionalism | 3.5 |
| The Devil Wears Prada Plagues | 2.0 |
| Cartel Cartel | 2.5 |
| Just Surrender We're in Like Sin | 3.0 |
| Minus the Bear Planet of Ice | 4.0 |
| The Reign Of Kindo The Reign Of Kindo | 3.5 |
| Mae Singularity | 2.5 |
| As Cities Burn Come Now Sleep | 4.5 |
| Underminded Eleven:Eleven | 3.5 |
| The Receiving End of Sirens The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi | 4.0 |
| The Rivalry No Face for the Mentor | 4.0 |
| The Red Chord Prey for Eyes | 2.5 |
| Portugal. The Man Church Mouth | 3.5 |
| Look Mexico This Is Animal Music | 3.5 |
| Interpol Our Love to Admire | 4.0 |
| Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago | 4.0 |
| Adebisi Shank This Is The EP Of A Band Called Adebisi Shank | 4.0 |
| robotosaurus Sayra Bahk Volume 2: Trifornais | 4.0 |
| James Dean James Dean CDR | 4.5 |
| Editors An End Has A Start | 3.0 |
| August Burns Red Messengers | 2.5 |
| Straylight Run The Needles, The Space | 3.5 |
| Furcurve We Grew Legs To Flea The Water | 3.0 |
| Coma Lies NC A Churchwell Killing | 3.5 |
| Circa Survive On Letting Go | 3.0 |
| The Dear Hunter Act II: The Meaning of... | 3.0 |
| Dance Gavin Dance Downtown Battle Mountain | 4.0 |
| Hopesfall Magnetic North | 4.5 |
| robotosaurus Sayra Bahk Volume 1 : Last Refuge Of The Exiled Ma | 3.5 |
| The Fall of Troy Manipulator | 4.0 |
| The Amity Affliction High Hopes | 2.5 |
| God Is An Astronaut Far from Refuge | 3.0 |
| Caspian The Four Trees | 3.0 |
| Bright Eyes Cassadaga | 3.5 |
| Kings of Leon Because Of The Times | 3.0 |
| Poison the Well Versions | 3.5 |
| The Chariot The Fiancee | 3.5 |
| Brighten King Vs. Queen | 3.0 |
| Kaddisfly Set Sail The Prairie | 3.5 |
| Emmure Goodbye to the Gallows | 2.5 |
| Maylene and the Sons of Disaster II | 3.0 |
| Life in Your Way Waking Giants | 4.5 |
| Portugal. The Man It's Complicated Being a Wizard | 3.0 |
| Hot Cross Risk Revival | 3.5 |
| Minus the Bear Interpretaciones Del Oso | 3.0 |
| Anberlin Cities | 3.5 |
| Explosions in the Sky All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone | 4.0 |
| Deerhunter Cryptograms | 4.5 |
| Bloc Party A Weekend In The City | 3.0 |
| Moving Mountains Pneuma | 4.5 |
| A Skylit Drive She Watched The Sky | 2.0 |
| Damiera M(US)IC | 4.0 |
| Tera Melos Drugs to the Dear Youth | 3.0 |
| Maps & Atlases Tree, Swallows, Houses | 4.5 |
What do you get when you cross the smoothness and sweetness of Dave knudson's unique approach to two handed tapping (listen to any minus the bear song and youll know what i mean) with the spastic moments that make bands like the fall of troy or the mars volta sound unique and then wrap them nicely with the catchyness of any good pop song? maps & atlases are pretty much exactly what you get.
The polyrhythmic nature of the two handed tapping technique they employ as well as the matching but somewhat counter rhythms provided by the drums and bass provide a complex foundation upon which their unique brand of 'indie-pop' songs are grounded.
This complex foundation is composed of tightly executed angular guitar riffs mixed with asymmetric but almost dancey rhythms and voice that could sit between conor oberst and geoff rickley. The heavy use of clean guitar and frantic but rhythmic nature of the music in general make room for melody, the unique vocal approach, while not presenting the most complex of melodies does do the job perfectly it doesn't overpower the songs and allows the music to shine as a whole. |
| Hiromi Time Control | 4.0 |
| Bowerbirds Hymns for a Dark Horse | 4.0 |
| Armchairpolitician Seven Segment Decoder | 4.5 |
Armchairpolitician manage to find innovative ways to stick out above the rest of the emerging european melodic hardcore bands.
Seven segment decoder' is built around prog rock-esque structures and a charming sense of artistic overindulgence, the album as a whole is a very moody piece of art, quite sombre and almost foreboding (imagine the apocalypse on a overcast day) i would not be surprised if i learn that it is in fact a concept album.
On the surface its a fairly easy listen, your ears can quite easily follow along with the mostly soft vocal melodies and with 9/13 of the tracks clocking in over 4 and a half minutes there are alot of ambient musical interlude type sections where you can easily get drawn into place of complete satisfaction.
But at the same time, the guitars continually add a very complex and/or unique layer to the songs that upon further listening can draw you in for a interesting ride. The entire album is drenched with a feeling of experimentation the band showcases their attention to detail by mixing in a wide palette of sounds tones and effects into the overall sound scape leaving you with a very well produced album |
