Peace out, 2008. SS chucks deuce.

Ok, so I did a big yee-haw 2008 round up, but f*ck that. Here are a handful of records I want to give a little personal tickle to:

BLOOMSBURY by Princeton

This little four song EP was the most exciting thing for me this year. The reason is a combination of how great the music is and how unknown the guys from Princeton still seem to be. Vampire Weekendy some say. Sonic Youthy. I don't know about that, but you know how music industry people are: they rely on the epic list more than Homer.
"The Waves" by Princeton Download mp3 (with permission)


IN EAR PARK by Department of Eagles

Two dudes in college at NYU started this duo and they came to nothing, never playing a gig. Of course they were extremely popular among NYU students. My GF played me their first CD a few years ago in the car upstate. Then one of them joined Grizzly Bear and of course, everyone raised an eyebrow to the old "side project." 2008 had their second album and their first gig! (I could be wrong about that) Getting tickets for it was impossible. In Ear Park is set for super-fame.

SEA LION by The Ruby Suns

Yeah. So they are on a Microsoft commercial. What of it? If they only knew that Gates killed their beloved Apple "Lisa", they might have refused to let "Oh, Mojave" be on TV. At least they were compensated. Did Microsoft name the fake product (Vista) after the song? I am pretty sure they did. Sea Lion is so freakin' good, and live, the dude plays a guitar and the drums at the same time (see pic - this is all during the same song).



HIAWATHA TALKING MACHINE EP by Phonograph

I love this record. I am a sucker for bands with no keyboards live that can still get a great prog rock sound when they want to. Sort of like Ambulance LTD (bassist John Davis actually produced several Ambulance tracks). In this case, mixed with some of he most authentic classic rock sound around. I like this EP even more than the band's first record (S/T).
"Somewhere Between" by Phonograph Download mp3 (with permission)