Pat’s Best Albums, Part One
15. Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge
When I heard this album was being recorded I nearly lost my mind. Chuck Ragan, one of my all-time favourite songwriters recording a full album with one of my favourite up-and-coming songwriters — how could it miss? They went a whole lot more “Appalachian family band” than I was expecting, but it’s got everything I like from both of them and more, all in one convenient package. If you’re not afraid of hill folk making jug music in your stereo, you can’t live without this. We’ve covered plenty of Ragan and Lucas in our extensive archives, by the way.
14. Frightened Rabbit - the Midnight Organ Fight
The success of this Scottish band in 2008, consisting mainly of two Scottish brothers, came as a surprise to many. While they had issued an intensely lo-fi debut LP, it was not nearly as widely heard as the Midnight Organ Fight (which, aside from being awesomely named, is totally interesting to listen to). The band keeps it as simple as they ever have; songs mostly don’t have any bass guitar in them because at the time they recorded the band didn’t have a bass player. They’re constructed from acoustic bed tracks up, coloured with keys and highlighted by the frantic caterwauling of lead singer Scott Hutchison. I’m a lyrics guy, so when someone can throw together mild violence on someone else’s eyeballs, the word “cunt,” and possibly the prettiest melody of the year into one track (”Poke”) I’m pretty impressed. Probably the most outstanding moment comes in just the second track, single “the Modern Leper.” Likening his consistent romantic failures to the titular medical condition, he paints a uniquely expressive picture of a man who is nothing more than alone. That is worth recognizing.
13. Why? - Alopecia
No album in 2008 straddled so many lines and genres as this one (at least none one that I enjoyed quite as much). It’s an engrossing listen that plays equally well whether you’re on your sofa with a hangover or driving along a desolate highway as the sun goes down. There are six or eight extremely well-developed, pure pop songs rendered even more entertaining by the often dour world view of songwriter/lyricist Yoni Wolfe. He brings the kind of clever wordplay and twisted turns-of-phrase that straight-forward hip-hop wishes it could come up with to his songs, even going so far as to correct his grammar on “the Fall of Mister Fifths.” Along with the latest TV On The Radio album, this is engaging, eclectic music that deserves a wider audience than it will get.
Why? - Fatalist Palmistry [3:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Frightened Rabbit - the Modern Leper [3:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas - the Light: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBristle Ridge is available here: iTunes and cd/vinyl
The Midnight Organ Fight can be found: iTunes and physical
Alopecia is purchasable: iTunes or physical
