The Lemur's Favourite Top 10 Albums Of 2008

1. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
(It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry: zshare, ysi)

Glasvegas is the Scottish quartet who did what Interpol and Coldplay never mustered, even with (Untitled) (Turn On The Bright Lights) and Fix You (X&Y). Not to mention thousands of other emotionally provocative altenative rock bands of the last three decades. Geraldine and Daddy's Gone are such emotional highs for me that they're not even on the radar. Glasvegas takes you on a ride from the lowest gutters to the highest starry black night. There's absolutely no question what album is best in 2008. With contempt I sniff at all lists that not contains this album and especially at Ohh! Crapp...'s Hercules And (not &!) Love Affair.

2. Cut Copy - In Bright Colours
(Out There On The Ice Again: zshare, ysi)

I'm embarrased that my fellow Swedish journalistic staff has not yet understood the greatness of In Ghost Colours. Cut Copy aren't gods everywhere in the world it seems. But with this second album of theirs, they deserve to under any circumstances not be taken lightly on. Glorious melodies, innovation mixed with classic touches and that forever trendsetting production technique makes this an album which must not be missed!

3. The Presets - Apocalypso
(This Boy's In Love: zshare, ysi)

Well, what can I say? We all know that 2008 was Modular's and Down Under's year. And another group to release their second album was The Presets. Apocalypso is such a fresh danceable pop album with so many tops, hooks, and striking compositions that it absolutely craved to end up on the top ten list. The ridiculously handsome beginner banger Kicking And Screaming, the ludicrously elegant electropop anthem This Boy's In Love, probably the best electropopfunk fusion ever created Yippiyo-Ay, the peak of the addiction-factors Talk Like That and the absolutely mind-blowing Together which is one of the best club-tracks to have come out ever, all send Apocalypso up in the skies.

4. The Futureheads - This Is Not The World
(Walking Backwards: zshare, ysi)

I don't care what anyone says. The Futureheads' third album is a comeback as majestic as it is triumphant. ARRROUSAL as Björk would've put it, is what I feel while I listen to This Is Not The World. Music aficionados, experts and hardcore critics may slaughter the very thought, but my honest opinion is that The Futureheads is saving indie rock and post-punk. At least they're saving it for me.

5. Metronomy - Nights Out
(Heartbreaker: zshare, ysi)

Metronomy took their first album for an experimental detour á la Hot Chip and returned with an insanely brilliant album á la... well Hot Chip. The truth is that Nights Out can't really be compared to anything else this year or throughout history. It's dumb, intelligent, sheer fun,mind-cravingly contemplative, simple, complex, carelessly liberating and emotionally compatible at the same time.

6. Pacific! - Reveries
(Break Your Social System: zshare, ysi)

The video for Hot Lips had barely appeared on ZTV or the internet before I immediately fell in love with Pacific! way back in August 9, 2007. Their sipmlistic electropop with a breeze of The Beach Boys is completely irresistible. The melodies are as pure and minimalistically strong as the Gothenburgian duo's visual dimension. This is the ultimate album for summer reveries.

7. Foals - Antidotes
(Balloons: zshare, ysi)

The perfected beginning duo of The French Open and Cassius are alone worth the spot on here. Number 7 is earned by the fact that Foals filled their much anticipated debut album with groundbreaking indie rock that makes The Futureheads not alone in saving indie rock for me. The ability to mix such lush atmopsheric elements with a quirky light-groove shall of course also be credited to Dave Sitek, who weren't always supporting the same vision as Foals during the recording process. The album came out intriguing, suggestive and, needlessly to say, brilliant anyway.

8. Kleerup - Kleerup
(Longing For Lullabies: zshare, ysi)

An overall dejected album touched me deeply this year. Kleerup may be some weird sort of commonly known hipster, but it's like you can taste the bitterness after his breakup with the girlfriend in this electronic pop masterpiece. It's synthetic til the point where the raw sensation of teflon, sweet female voices and airy synth blips and blops creeps under the very skin of you.

9. The Dying Seconds - The Dying Seconds
(In The Dying Seconds: zshare, ysi)

In the beginning of 2008, it's as good as a year back now, I stated that it was the best album that far, together with Reveries. Many albums have come since then as you can see above, but I keep my other words: "The Dying Seconds are magic. True magic.". Exploring the possibilities of the effect of lo-fi rich layered sounds, The Dying Seconds build up a shoegazing pop world of its own.

10. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
(Ragged Wood: zshare, ysi)

One of the most celebrated albums of the year has deserved all the praise in the world. Folk indie rock songs orchestrated with fantastic vocal echoing soundscapes whose sincere harmonies thaws any heart up without falling back into the "cosy-grandpa-chair". Channeling past times and decades in a seemingly effortless way, Fleet Foxes has created a vital debut album to cherish for years to come.

Sooo close runner-ups worthy a mention, in alphabetical order:

Aether - Artifacts
Alphabeat - This Is Alphabeat
Boy Without God - Your Body Is Your Soul
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
D. Lissvik - 7 Trx + Intermission
Frida Hyvönen - Silence Is Wild
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestraße 68
Hello Saferide - More Modern Short Stories From Hello Saferide
Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
Juvelen - 1
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Parker Lewis - Parker Lewis
Rex The Dog - The Rex The Dog Show
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Windsurf - Coastlines