Here’s my top ten of 2008, in alphabetical order (of course):

Andrew Morgan – Andrew Morgan (Independent)
This self titled effort from Lawrence, Kansas songwriter Andrew Morgan was first released by Moorworks in Japan in April. However, it is the digital version that Morgan released on his web site shortly after with a slightly different tracklisting that stands as the definitive version of his second full length. More accessible than its predecessor (2004’s wonderful Misadventures In Radiology), but by no means watered down, this is Andrew Morgan at the top of his game. Chamber pop may not be fashionable like it was at the start of this decade, but Morgan’s brilliant arrangements are breathing life into one of my favorite genres.

Benoît Pioulard – Temper (Kranky)
If you are a fan of Chicago’s Kranky label, then you have no excuse not to own this sophomore release from Benoît Pioulard. Temper isn’t necessarily new ground for Pioulard (real name Tom Meluch), serving instead as a pleasant extension of his 2006 debut, Précis. I struggle to think of another artist who is able to coherently blend melancholy folk with mesmerizing ambient instrumentals.

Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane (Sub Pop)
Of all the artists in Sub Pop’s history, Chad VanGaalen is among the most peculiar. Fortunately, he is also one of their best talents in recent memory. This Calgary resident splits his time between his basement and the half-pipe in his back yard. While he’s in the basement, VanGaalen builds instruments by hand for future compositions. His third LP, Soft Airplane, is a complex beast that features many of his best songs released to date. Some of VanGaalen’s work is compared to Neil Young, but with each record he releases, it is obvious that he is slowly establishing his own DIY sound that is morbid, beautiful, and exciting.

Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling (Matador)
I wasn’t a big Mogwai fan prior to hearing The Hawk Is Howling, but they have my full attention now. A brutal combination of soft and loud. The drones coming out of Glasgow are still splendid.

Portishead – Third (Mercury)
I always say that Portishead isn’t a band I listen to often, but when I do go back and listen to their albums, I regain my immense respect for their music. Third is the comeback album of the year and very few people will argue that. It is the album that I never thought would happen, an album that I had enormously low expectations for. I’m not sure how, but they’ve managed to stay relevant all these years later.

Spiritualized – Songs In A & E (Fontant Int’l)
He had to go through a series of near-death experiences beforehand, but Jason Pierce finally released a new Spiritualized record in 2008. His voice has clearly aged, diminishing the strength of his vocals at times, but this only adds to the haunting nature of the album. One of the most startling things about Songs In A & E is that it was written before Pierce’s bout with periorbital cellulitis and bilateral pneumonia. Pierce’s fixation on blues and soul music remains, but the compact construction of A & E makes it one of his most cohesive releases yet. A & E soars because Pierce has learned that less can be more.

The Tallest Man On Earth – Shallow Grave (Gravitation)
Refer to my post from 12/6/08.

TV On The Radio – Dear Science (DGC/Interscope)
Refer to my post from 12/9/08.

• Artist: Benoît Pioulard
• Album: Temper
• Label: Kranky
• Release: 2008
• Links: Official Site, MySpace

Before I launch into my review of Benoît Pioulard’s new album Temper, I want to quickly touch on his other recent release, Songs Spun Simla. Released in August on the Music Related label, this is Pioulard’s (Tom Meluch) collaboration with Praveen Sharma. Often compared to Boards Of Canada, Praveen’s work is significantly more beat-driven in comparison to Pioulard’s. The two do share similar influences though and Praveen’s electronics come off as a logical foil to Pioulard’s more organic approach. Composed of six songs, Songs Spun Simla, much like Pioulard’s work, is a combination of instrumentals and vocal tracks. The highlight of the set is “Embers” (listen below), which features an outstanding vocal by Pioulard. As someone who was not familiar with Praveen’s music, I am curious to hear more by him. Praveen and Benoît have released one of the more memorable collaborations of the year.

The rest of this review will focus on Temper, Benoît Pioulard’s second full length album and follow-up to 2006′s highly recommended Précis. Temper aims to solidify Pioulard’s singer/songwriter skills while expanding on the hallucinatory instrumentals that were such a part of the success of Précis. Perhaps the best example of this claim is the duo of “Ahn” and “Sweep Generator.” “Ahn” soars thanks to some of Pioulard’s best finger-picking while the instrumental “Sweep Generator” is a shoegazer’s dream. Temper may be more fractured than Précis, but its sublime musicianship and diverse tones make it just as rewarding.

Pioulard’s songwriting chops have indeed taken a step forward on Temper. One listen to “Idyll,” one of his most focused compositions, confirms this. More often than not, I still can’t understand what Pioulard is singing. I love his voice and view it as an additional instrument, so I’m not bothered by this at all. I could just be mentioning this because I was so dismayed by Pitchfork nitpicking exactly that in their review of Temper. It is interesting to note that the limited edition version (sold out) of Temper comes with the lyrics for the album. They are sophisticated and provide a fascinating read, but I almost believe that the atmosphere of Pioulard’s music would be damaged if I were able to hear him clearly. Headphones are a must when listening to Pioulard to truly realize the great thought that goes into these soundscapes.

The instrumental tracks are one of my favorite things about a Benoît album. “Ardoise” is as equally hypnotic as the previously mentioned “Sweep Generator.” These instrumentals are an ideal fit for a film score, so independent directors should take note. It is no easy challenge to balance vocal and instrumental music on record and Pioulard has quickly established himself as a newcomer that manages to do so effortlessly. With Précis and Temper, Pioulard has carved a niche within the experimental community. There is no doubt that he is one of Kranky’s finest artists and for a label with that much talent, that’s saying something.

On August 4th, Tom Meluch will turn 24. In the world of independent music, Meluch is known as Benoît Pioulard, one of Kranky’s most exciting artists. In 2006, Meluch released Précis, an album that showcased an artist well beyond his years. Précis married introspective songwriting and experimental soundscapes in a way that was cohesive and refreshing. Meluch sat down via email to chat about several new releases, including Temper, his much-anticipated sophomore album that will be released this fall.

The Moodgadget label has just released a digital reissue of your first formal EP, 2005′s Enge. The reissue features three remixes and an unreleased song titled “Aeolian Death Song.” Is this a recent song or a track that was leftover from the Enge sessions?

That one came from the roughly six month period between Enge and Précis, which is to say early 2005…it was in fact a candidate for the album for a while, but got edged out by sequencing and that sort of thing. I always had a fondness for it, especially since I do so few songs without acoustic guitar, so I’m glad it’s found a home.

What are your thoughts on hearing remixes by other artists of your work?

It’s always very flattering, first of all, that someone would devote his/her/their time to reinterpreting something I’ve created…and luckily those who have shown interest in remixing me – at least so far -  have all done tremendous work. I’d say the (unsolicited) remix that Worst Friends did is particularly interesting in terms of things that I’d never have thought to do.

How would you contrast Enge with Précis, which followed in 2006?

The major difference between the two for me is at the most basic level of production. Enge was recorded through the built-in mic on a borrowed laptop, for the most part. By the time I began recording Précis, I’d finally gotten a decent microphone and mixer. Even though I was (and still am) using GarageBand to record, that was a significant advancement in my sound wrangling capabilities, to say the least.

Speaking of digital releases, are you a fan of them or do you still prefer holding an actual CD or LP in your hands?

Digital is the way of things these days, for better or worse (I’d say worse, generally), but it’s an economy of convenience versus quality. I can’t discount the benefits of digital sales because I’m very happy that so many people have legitimately paid for my songs when they’re out there for free. That support is a major reason that the new album even exists, so it’s a bit of a conundrum. I greatly prefer to hold a record’s packaging in my hands and watch the needle travel across the groove, but I also like to have access to all my favorite music when I travel, etc. They both have their place in a sense. I’m particularly thrilled that Kranky has seen fit to issue the new album in a 2xLP package with Précis as well.

Do you plan on reissuing (digital or otherwise) any of your early self-released CD-Rs?

It’s crossed my mind in the past, but never for more than a fleeting moment. Those recordings have a very secure place in my heart, but aren’t really fit to be pulled out of the vault in the current context. As I understand though, at least one of my four-track albums has been leaked somewhere out there…one that I made when I was 16 or 17.

What I, and I believe many others, found so appealing about Précis is how effectively it balanced your singer/songwriter personality alongside experimental backdrops and instrumental pieces like “Moth Wings” and “Patter.” Does your upcoming album Temper continue this strategy or move in a different direction?

Thanks for that…I’ve always seen the Album (capital A) as the forum in which to make a sort of stylistic quilt, to create a full aesthetic since there are so many kinds of sounds that attract me. That said, yes the new one is formatted similarly, with “proper” songs punctuated by instrumental passages…there are sixteen tracks in all. I think five of them are vocal-less.

I recently read an interview you did a couple years ago where you stated that you were having trouble translating your music into a live environment. Is this still a concern and do you plan on embarking on any live appearances to promote Temper?

Yeah, that hasn’t changed much. It seems to be a difficult dynamic to describe…the disconnect is in the fact that the things I record are so specific to the place and time in which they arise that it seems dishonest on a very basic level to try and recreate them in any other setting. Perhaps more than that, I also tend to immediately forget my guitar tunings, and have a terrific reticence to sing in front of anyone except my microphone. The last six months or so, though, most of what I’ve been doing is in a much different vein that may be more fit for a live setting (and doesn’t involve much singing), so I’ve been considering a little tour or something…it just probably wouldn’t be the kind of show that people might expect based on the recorded stuff.

Since the release of Précis, you graduated from college and moved to Portland. Are you working any odd jobs on the side? How has Portland treated you so far?

It’s been amazing thus far. I moved to Oregon last summer when I was about two-thirds finished with Temper, so the first few months were concentrated on completing that. Throughout the rainy season I kept busy with a few other projects and crafty distractions. I have been doing a bit of work on the side, but the spring and summer here are absolutely heavenly – which is an adjective I generally hesitate to use – and my lifelong passion for cycling is being sated remarkably well, too.

Aside from Temper, you also have a collaboration (Songs Spun Simla) with Praveen Sharma coming out on Music Related. How did this collaboration come about?

Praveen and I have known each other for a few years now, since I was working at Ghostly back in Michigan. I believe the first time we met up in New York we talked about collaborating in some capacity. Shortly thereafter, he sent me a piece he’d been working on and it seemed most appropriate to add vocals rather than anything else, so it developed from there over the course of the next little while. Having no particular aim for the songs initially, we were pretty excited when Trevor at Music Related saw fit to do a proper release.

Can you reveal any details about your upcoming EP for the Hall Of Owls label?

It’s a tribute or token of gratitude to Lee Hazlewood in the form of a cover of his song, “Sundown, Sundown.” He is a hero of mine and he died on my birthday last year. I’d been thinking of covering something of his for a while, so that seemed like the sign that I should finally do it. The b-side is a cover of an Ink Spots song called “Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat,” which seemed appropriate since I’ve wanted to cover them for years as well. It’ll be a limited 7″ release on white vinyl, which should be lovely.

Have you had any luck finding a publisher for your book of Polaroid photography?

Honestly I didn’t turn the screws on that effort very intensely…I made 10 copies by hand and gave them as gifts for the most part, and now have a new set of shots that I’m considering compiling, or at least framing with the possibility of selling them. In lieu of a book though, I’m really pleased with the way the sleeve for Temper came out, since it’s comprised entirely of Polaroids I took last year in some personally significant places.

I’ve been enjoying the teaser videos that you’ve been posting on your MySpace for Temper. Did you put these together yourself? How large is your interest in film?

One of my university degrees is in film, so my interest runs fairly deeply. I assembled those little clips with public domain footage while cloistered away during the rainy season. For what it’s worth, the sounds are actually not from the album at all, but are bits from a growing library of things I’ve been making with a view to a possible project later on.

What 2008 releases (by Kranky or any other label) have caught your attention?

For one reason or another, I just haven’t been paying too much attention to what’s coming around lately. I’ve been enjoying the new Will Oldham record [Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Lie Down In The Light], but otherwise have been listening to Christopher Bissonnette’s new one [In Between Words] a lot and the solo record that Windy Weber [of Windy & Carl] released (I Hate People) is amazing as well.

Thanks to Tom (Benoît) for his time. Temper will be available on October 14th courtesy of Kranky. His collaboration with Praveen Sharma will be released by Music Related later this month. Enge is available now on digital services such as iTunes and eMusic.

If you were hoping for a new Tim Hecker album in 2008, you’re not going to like this post. I inquired about the status of a new Hecker LP on Kranky’s (Hecker’s label) MySpace page like any good fan boy would. Mr. Kranky replied with the following:

it’s looking like an early ’09 release for tim. he sent us a rough mix of the next full-length and it sounds gorgeous, unsurprisingly.

mr.kranky

Sure, that is slightly disappointing, but the Chicago label have a pair of releases set for October 14th that will more than tide me over. Veteran noisemakers Windy & Carl return with their seventh full length, Songs For The Broken Hearted. You can stream three samples from the album here courtesy of Windy Weber. Weber released her debut solo album, I Hate People, earlier this year.

October 14th will also see the release of Temper, the second full length release from Benoît Pioulard (real name = Tom Meluch). Pioulard released the excellent Précis on Kranky in 2006. A teaser video for Temper can be seen below. Pioulard is also working on an EP for the boutique label Hall Of Owls as well as a collaboration (Songs Spun Simia) with Praveen Sharma on Music Related. I was able to coax a tracklisting for Temper out of Benoît via email:

1, ragged tint 2, ahn 3, sweep generator 4, golden grin 5, the loom pedal 6, ardoise 7, physic 8, modèle d’éclat 9, idyll 10, brown bess 11, cycle disparaissant 12, a woolgathering exodus 13, détruisons tout 14, loupe 15, tapyre 16, hesperus

Stay tuned as I will be sending some questions to Benoît for a mini-interview.

P.S. I haven’t been sold on Deerhunter, but Kranky will release their Microcastle album two weeks later on October 28th.