Nostalgia beckons for another strong year in music
By John Cleary
Is it just me or are the years flying by quicker than ever? Even the advent of that nasty word 'recession' wasn't enough to slow down the hands of time and the year 2008 has already had its day in the sun (or rain) and a new year is dawning.
At the start of the year you might have had fairly short odds on stadium rockers U2 providing the release of the year, their latest project 'No Line On The Horizon' earmarked for a late October release.
At the same time you might have had rather long odds on Axl Rose and the new Guns 'N' Roses line-up releasing the long anticipated (understatement of the year!) 'Chinese Democracy'.
You would have been wrong on both counts, U2 pushing a release date back to early next year while 'Chinese Democracy' hit the shelves in November, much to the surprise of fans around the world who had been waiting 17 years for it. And most surprisingly of all, it wasn't half bad!
But what other albums hit the mark in 2008? Well here's a few albums from the year gone by that might be worth checking out.
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Brooklyn-based rockers The Hold Steady are a hard act to pigeonhole, their riff-heavy rock a throw back to the glorious pre-grunge sound of bands like Dinosaur Jr, blended with the classic rock of Led Zeppelin.
Then Craig Finn's distinctive middle-class vocal/lyrical delivery and some rollicking rock and roll piano make 'Stay Positive' an American masterpiece to remember.
Stand out songs include the brilliant 'Slapped Actress', 'Sequestered in Memphis' and 'Lord I'm Discouraged'.
Glasvegas - Glasvegas
One of the most exciting finds of 2008 has been Scottish quartet Glasvegas' debut offering.
Rarely have a such a tenaciously Glaswegian accent, socially aware lyrics, poignant melodies and good old indie rock combined so forcibly.
Singles 'Geraldine' and 'Daddy's Gone' lead the way alongside the rowdy 'Go Square Go' and the aching 'Flowers and Football Tops'. New copies of the album include a bonus six-song Christmas EP, 'A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)'.
Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew
Lisa Hannigan's voice became a phenomenon in Ireland long before the wider public ever got to know her face. An intricate part of Damien Rice's stunning debut album 'O' and it's follow up '9', Hannigan's vocals soared above Rice's mournful laments and heralded the arrival of genuine new talent.
Whether she was pushed or she jumped, Hannigan's leap into solo terrain has yielded enormous benefits, seeing her maintain her media-shy persona but consolidate her undoubted abilities.
Although her name will probably continue to be linked to Damien Rice for a while yet, diverse songs like 'Lille', 'I Don't Know' and 'Keep It All' show that she deserves the limelight to herself.
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
For much of their existence, on this side of the Atlantic at least, The Black Keys have lived somewhat in the shadow of that other guitar and drums duo, The White Stripes.
With Jack White busy making magical music with The Raconteurs, The Black Keys put their hands up for album of the year with 'Attack and Release'.
With rocking guitar riffs and and captivating vocals, songs such as 'Oceans and Streams', 'Things Ain't Like They Used To Be' and 'Strange Times' bring some of that old school blues ethos back to modern rock.
Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
When the Kings Of Leon burst onto the scene as grizzly faced teenagers extolling the virtues of southern-blues rock like a new age Creedance Clearwater Revival, few could have foreseen their future path to stadium rock stardom.
Whether that metamorphosis is a good thing will remain a cornerstone of debate but there is no escaping the grandiose achievement of 'Only By The Night' and its predecessor 'Because Of The Times'.
The inescapable 'Sex On Fire' alongside songs like 'Revelry' and 'Crawl' show that there is more to Kings Of Leon than slick production and songs made for arenas. They're in it for the long haul, you can count on it.
Other noteworthy albums from the year that was 2008 include: Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst's eponymous solo release; not so much tectonic shift as slightly experimental for Coldplay's classy 'Viva La Vida'; 'Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!', consistently brilliant hi-jinx from 51-year-old Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds; Calexico went back to their roots with the brilliant 'Carried To Dust'; Robert Smith and The Cure showed there not out of the game yet with the patchy but often brilliant '4:13 Dream'; The Raconteurs second album, 'Consolers Of The Lonely' showed this is more than just a side project for Jack White; and The Killers hit the dance floor and split critics with 'Day & Age' but their performance of 'Human' on the MTV's EMAs showed they can sure put on a show.