Monday, December 08, 2008

Best of 2008 Countdown, Part 3

Monday. Everyone dislikes Monday, which is why I'm here to make it a little less crappy. I've finally figured out how I'll continue breaking down some of 2008's best albums which is terribly exciting (basically by genre) for me. Today's couple artists/albums I'm going to lump into a Folk/Blues category. One is becoming a standby while the other I just discovered in the last number of months.


Ray LaMontagne - Gossip in the Grain (RCA)

This album has grown on me since my first few listens. It shows a natural progression for an artist in their third album. He's an established artist that is beloved by fans and has excellent commercial and licensing appeal. Yet, he still maintains an allure because he isn't a very public figure and doesn't really do a lot of press or interviews. It's a classic case of playing hard-to-get and having it pay off. If you haven't heard this album yet it's mostly unlike his previous two. This album has a little bit of everything from blues tunes, folk, hushed ballads, and country. Listen to the bluesy number below and feel the glorious pain.

"Let It Be Me"

The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Finally an album/group I haven't already written about in this space. There really is no good reason for this fact. And frankly it's better late than never with The Low Anthem. A trio of multi-instrumentalists from Providence, RI the band formed only a couple years ago. Their album has quite a diverse range of tunes, but each one is infectious. I would have to post half the album to really give a sense of the diversity of the album. Below is one of the harder rockers on the album.

"The Horizon Is A Beltway"

1 comment:

tkasg said...

The Low Anthem album is fantastic. It was recommended to me a couple of weeks ago and it's never been out of the cd player since.

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