Sound Fix

Best of 2008 (psych)

  1. Abe Vigoda: Skeleton

    1. Abe Vigoda: Skeleton

    To date, Abe Vigoda have released a pair of albums—2006’s Kid City and this now Skeleton—characterized by a distinctive guitar tone and an open-minded aesthetic. The 14 songs on Skele...read more

  2. Atlas Sound: Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

    2. Atlas Sound: Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

    This time last year, Atlanta’s Deerhunter made a big splash with their groundbreaking Cryptograms”. Deerhunter main man, Bradford Cox, often emerged as the focal point of the band, and ...read more

  3. Bird Show: s/t

    3. Bird Show: s/t

    What began as a solo project for Ben Vida of Town and Country has developed over the years into something far more than that – a viable and exciting band in its own right. (Hell, I even prefe...read more

  4. The Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost

    4. The Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost

    If the Black Angels’ full-length debut, Passover, sounded like the harbinger of an imminent apocalypse to you, then consider this your welcome music to hell. Directions to See a Ghost, the Te...read more

  5. Cloudland Canyon: Lie In Light

    5. Cloudland Canyon: Lie In Light

    7 minutes into Cloudland Canyon’s remarkable new record Lie In Light you might be pretty sure you’re listening to the first Neu record. The album’s opener “Krautwerk” ...read more

  6. Crystal Antlers: EP

    6. Crystal Antlers: EP

    Yet another “Crystal” band (Crystal Stilts and Crystal Castles are the others), these dudes from Long Beach, California, have crafted a neat infusion of psych, prog and garage in puttin...read more

  7. Crystal Stilts: s/t

    7. Crystal Stilts: s/t

    Six glorious songs spanning 23 minutes, the stunning debut from Crystal Stilts is part garage, part post-punk, part-psych, all great. Few albums capture you immediately with the freshness of their ...read more

  8. Dead Meadow: Old Growth

    8. Dead Meadow: Old Growth

    Dead Meadow’s latest is already touted as the album closest to an instant classic that we’ll get this year. Ten years in the making, Old Growth is THE album that both fans and critics o...read more

  9. Eden Express: Que Amors Que

    9. Eden Express: Que Amors Que

    From the always reliable Holy Mountain label comes this terrific record from Eden Express, a supergroup of sorts featring Kip Uhlhorn (Cloudland Canyon), Kelly Uhlhorn and John David Lovelace. Plen...read more

  10. Es: Sateenkaarisuudelma

    10. Es: Sateenkaarisuudelma

    Featuring rushing piano cadences and stabs, the sounds of burbling streams and static, softly chanting vocals, spectral, psychedelic ambience, dark koan/drones and endlessly looped guitar and elect...read more

  11. Indian Jewelry: Free Gold!

    11. Indian Jewelry: Free Gold!

    Free Gold! throbs, drones and fuzzes, but Indian Jewelry is too cool to get excited, so they keep their pace slow. The Houston art rock group, which has over 20 guest members who fluctuate in and o...read more

  12. Lau Nau: Nukkuu

    12. Lau Nau: Nukkuu

    Is there any end to the charming psych folk coming out of Scandanavia these days? Finland alone is a hotbed for this kind of enchanting music, with its beguiling vocals and lush atmospherics. No on...read more

  13. Nisennenmondai: Nenji/Tori

    13. Nisennenmondai: Nenji/Tori

    What’s this? Song titles like “This Heat,” “Sonic Youth” and “Pop Group”? Nisennenmondai is an instrumental Japanese-girl trio from Tokyo and thunders like...read more

  14. Oneida: Preteen Weaponry

    14. Oneida: Preteen Weaponry

    Oneida has added more variety to its sound in recent years but here pares back to basics. That said, it’s still a bit of a change from previous albums as this is the closest they have yet got...read more

  15. Paavoharju: Laulu Laakson Kukista

    15. Paavoharju: Laulu Laakson Kukista

    This is the highly anticipated second full-length release on Fonal Records from Finland’s Paavoharju, a collective formed around two brothers—Lauri and Olli Ainala and their troupe of a...read more

  16. The Ruby Suns: Sea Lion

    16. The Ruby Suns: Sea Lion

    Sub Pop churns out so many great hits every year, some of their artists fall between the cracks. Take the Ruby Suns, the work of New Zealand-by-way-of-L.A. pop maestro Ryan McPhun, whose Sea Lion i...read more

  17. Valet: Naked Acid

    17. Valet: Naked Acid

    Valet is the solo vehicle of Honey Owens, sometimes member of Jackie O Motherfucker, Atlas Sound and Nudge, and Naked Acid is her second collection of spectral, murky musings. The seven lengthy str...read more

  18. Yellow Swans: Deterioration

    18. Yellow Swans: Deterioration

    So Yellow Swans have allegedly called it quits. A pity. No one can say that they haven’t given fans plenty to feast on, however: With some 40 albums to their credit, Yellow Swans are just abo...read more

  19. Zomes: Zomes

    19. Zomes: Zomes

    From Asa Osborne, the guitarist for Lungfish, comes this album beautiful of minimalist psych. Osborne’s guitar playing has been central to the Lungfish sound, but here he demonstrates a strip...read more

Tags: folk , psychedelic