A Month in Records: October 2008

The cream really did rise to the top last month. These five records (plus Koushik's excellent Out My Window) stood head and shoulders above the rest of the stuff reviewed by DiS in October - notice the caveat: there probably was some we missed, blame the credit crunch for the missing reviews - and several might well feature in those all-important end-of-year Best Of lists...

DiScuss: what's going to be in your top ten of 2008? What records will you be buying people for Christmas? The Porn And Merzbow LP?

Of Montreal

Skeletal Lamping

(Polyvinyl)

Says Andrzej Lukowski: "This record is the filth and the scum, the hopes and the fears, the perversion and the innocence of one brilliant, dissolute mind, blasting forth like a natural disaster. It's not easy at all, almost Joycian in its demand to be absorbed piece by piece. Some people are going to think this is a masterpiece, the equal of Hissing Fauna.... Others will call it a self indulgent mess that pushes indie-rock somewhere it really wasn't meant to go. Personally, I think both those sound about right"

Read the full DiS review HERE

Eugene McGuinness

Eugene McGuinness

(Domino)

Says David Renshaw: "Domino have a unique artist in Eugene McGuinness - traditional but distinctive, old fashioned but fresh. Twelve months ago DiS said "Save yourself the embarrassment a year or so down the line of not letting songs as perfect as these enrich your existence sooner". Well you've got a second chance."

Read the full DiS review HERE

Ra Ra Riot

The Rhumb Line

(V2)

Says Andrzej Lukowski: "The Rhumb Line has a power beyond the sum of its immaculately crafted chamber-pop parts. You could peg it someplace between Vampire Weekend and earlier Arcade Fire and not be too far off the mark, accepting Ra Ra Riot exhibit little of either's more progressive side. Loss flows through its veins, ineffable but vital. Someday I'm sure I'll turn to this record for consolation, and for that I'm both sad and grateful."

Read the full DiS review HERE

Deerhoof

Offend Maggie

(ATP)

Says Brad Barrett: "Deerhoof's world, then, remains something of a mystery as they end the fourteenth year of their recorded career. It's still overflowing with all kinds of aural fauna and sonic life; incomparable and often hard to describe. The best way to approach this band is to stop comparing them to the usual reference points - instead, it's far more rewarding to accept Offend Maggie as a land of its own making, something to be indulged, explored and, finally, cherished."

Read the full DiS review HERE

Okkervil River

The Stand Ins

(Jagjaguwar)

Says James Skinner: "The beauty and world-weary charm Okkervil River hold in abundance emanates from The Stand Ins' finer moments ... while it may not be the best thing they've ever done (or even will do), [it's] assured, ambitious and occasionally transcendent in its appeal – a worthy expansion of its forerunner and standalone joy in itself"

Read the full DiS review HERE

Koushik

Out My Window

(Stones Throw)

Says Luke Slater: "Out My Window sees such a pack of influences and eras: 70s jazz-funk drum and bass grooves bind with 60s pop; psychedelia set against deft use of sampling, Spector's wall of sound, and, with a kick and snare bursting forth through a sampled kit, there's a definite scent of DJ Shadow. The fact that Koushik manages to pool them together into something musically simple but immensely satisfying may not be that remarkable in itself, but the end product surely is."

Read the full DiS review HERE