| 2008 |
| Common Universal Mind Control | 2.0 |
| Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak | 2.0 |
| The Killers Day & Age | 3.0 |
| The Rapture !K7 Tapes - The Rapture | 3.5 |
| Miami Horror Bravado | 3.0 |
| Ryan Adams Cardinology | 3.5 |
| Oasis Dig Out Your Soul | 3.0 |
I think with this Oasis album, I have finally realized that Oasis are not, and never, will be the band they were from 94 to 98. This album no longer pines for those days like Let There Be Love and Stop Crying Your Heart Out did. It�s all Oasis mark 2 on this album, building on the groundwork of Don�t Believe The Truth and adding a lot of organ. And while I�m glad that they are moving on, I just wish it was better than this. Its so by the numbers that they no longer bother to emulate The Beatles, they just sample their songs and voices. In the DVD that comes with the album, Noel says something like, �People are always telling me to get out of my comfort zone, but I am just going to stay there and keep making great songs.� Minus the great songs, that about sums up this album.
...Oh, and Shock Of The Lightning is an unbelievably blatant rip-off of The Way It Is by The Strokes. |
| Empire Of The Sun Walking On A Dream | 2.5 |
| People Under the Stairs Fun DMC | 3.0 |
| Passion Pit Chunk of Change | 3.5 |
| Tahiti 80 Activity Center | 2.0 |
| Ladyhawke Ladyhawke | 3.0 |
| Common Market Tobacco Road | 3.5 |
| Ra Ra Riot The Rhumb Line | 3.0 |
| The Walkmen You & Me | 3.5 |
| Girl Talk Feed the Animals | 4.0 |
| Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends | 3.0 |
| This is how every review of Viva La Vida begins, “After the boring ‘X&Y,” Coldplay have returned with a daring new experimental album that, while no Radiohead, is miles better than their last album.” The problem with this statement is that X&Y wasn’t a bad album because it wasn’t experimental enough, it was bad because the songs, for the most part, weren’t very good. The fact is that this album has worse songs than X&Y, they’re just dressed up in fancier clothers (kinda like Chris Martin himself). It is no A Rush of Blood to the Head. Not even close. |
| Time Machine (USA-CA) Life Is Expensive | 3.0 |
| Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes | 3.0 |
| The Virgins The Virgins | 3.0 |
| Air France No Way Down | 4.0 |
| I disagree, Air France doesn't sound like Jens Lekman. There are vague similarities such as string and horn arrangements, but Air France uses vocal samples and drum machines instead of corny, crooned lyrics and a live band. Don't get me wrong, I like Jens fine, but I'd choose these guys anyday. The best tracks are the middle three: June Evenings, Collapsing at Your Doorstep, &, my personal favorite, No Excuses. |
| Cut Copy In Ghost Colours | 5.0 |
| French Kicks Swimming | 3.0 |
| Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple | 3.0 |
| Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair | 3.0 |
| Lykke Li Youth Novels | 3.0 |
| Hot Chip Made in the Dark | 3.0 |
| Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend | 4.5 |
