MAX'S TOP 10 AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS '08

Welp, it's lists season again. These ten albums are my favourites released by Australian bands in 2008. There were heaps more than ten that were amazing, but there you go. If you haven't heard them yet, take a listen.

1. Pivot – O Soundtrack My Heart
Download: Didn’t I Furious

It feels good to listen to real sinister electro jams which sound like 1982's idea of what music in 2008 sounds like. Any album which can be creepy and paranoid yet still badass is a winner: FACT.

2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
Download: More News From Nowhere

Because Nick Cave is way better when he's doing his rumbly, possessed soul-man thing. After the last few albums I was fairly certain he was never going to be a scary dude who kicked arse and took names again, but this isn't just a return to form, it's basically one of the best records he's ever made.

3. Hermitude – Threads
Download: 44 Gallons

These guys are production masters but they also write amazing songs and chop up dubstep with hip-hop and IDM and folktronica. Why wouldn't you want to listen to them?

4. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Primary Colours
Download: Wrapped Up

This album is pretty much as nonchalant as you can get. According to the band, it was recorded almost completely live over three days. I'm not sure why it was "almost" live: these songs definitely sound like one-take wonders and I get the vibe from ECSR that they're not real into laborious overdubs. These guys make everything seem easy: playing instruments, having fun, being xxxtreme punk rock motherfuckers.

5. Qua – Q&A
Download: Lapsang Souchong

Imagine if Four Tet had a reeeeally bitchin' mo'.

6. The Drones – Havilah
Download: Oh My

Proving again who's the boss of traumatic country rock. After killing the last two Drones albums I thought I wouldn't be able to listen to any more of Gareth Liddiard's howling, but as it turns out, I was wrong wrong wrong and this shit is KILLER.

7. The Alcohotlicks – You, You
Download: Drag

I'm always a sucker for what jazz musicians can bring to rock, and I'm not talking about some adult contemporary Steely Dan shit. This is what happens when amazing musicians who give a shit about music that matters play punk rock, and the end result is, well, weird. Think Pivot meets Deerhoof. Awesome.

8. Snowman – The Rat, The Horse, the Swan
Download: We Are The Plague

Snowman have always trod an interesting line between the Cramps and the Bad Seeds, but on this record they took an unexpected metal turn, and it sounds fucking excellent.

9. The Herd – Summerland
Download: The King Is Dead

Still awesome, even after the thrill of John Howard getting served has faded away. I'm a little ashamed to say it, but this was the first album that I 'got' the Herd. Killer hooks, super smart rhymes and top-notch production.

10. Beaches – Beaches
Download: Field of Dreams

I am so pumped that 90s indie rock is back.