Heave Media

HEAVE Presents The Best Newcomers of 2008.

The end of 2008 has come and HEAVEmedia.com needs your help to pick the best new indie artist of 2008.

Bon Iver - Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver project, the name of which roughly translates to “good winter,” produced the most intimate album of the year with For Emma, Forever Ago. Some have called it a breakup album, but that doesn’t do justice to Vernon’s lyrics, which were written in the backdrop of a failed relationship, a band breakup, and a long illness. They cover feelings inadequacy, self-doubt, and the fear of getting older, and more importantly, they perfectly match the warmth of the pulsing folk melodies and overdubbed vocals.

Ra Ra Riot - This band is reminiscent of The Arcade Fire for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their sound. They write big, rollicking melodies with group choruses and thundering percussion. But it’s deeper than that; like the Arcade Fire’s Funeral, the music on Ra Ra Riot’s debut album belies its subject matter. It was written only a few months after John Ryan Pike, their original drummer, was found drowned in a bay while the band was on tour in Providence, MA. The remaining member released the track “Dying is Fine” just a few weeks later, and it typifies what’s great about the full-length The Rhumb Line—it mourns Pike, but never loses its sense of cathartic joy. Ra Ra Riot bleed all over their debut, and smile while doing so.

Vampire Weekend - I still don’t think that Vampire Weekend has lived up to the absurd hype that has inveloped them from inception—I mean, come on, it’s just a fucking keyboard. Still, their self-titled debut is fun and energetic, and they put on a great live show. Welcome to the big time, fellers.

Black Kids - Technically, Black Kids released their debut in late 2007, but seeing as that was only a self-released MySpace EP, I think they can fit on this list. Partie Traumatic, their proper debut, suffers from the same kind of internet-hype backlash that torpedoed Vampire Weekend (and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, as long we're going down that road). But if you divorce Partie Traumatic from the inane expectations produced by a bunch of hipsters with laptops, then what you’re left with is a remarkably fun album. The short songs and bouncy melodies make for a charming disk that is really only marred by how quickly it’s forgotten once over.

These New Puritans - When I first reviewed These New Puritans’ Beat Pyramid in an episode of “Take It or Heave It” I didn’t get much out of it. But hindsight is 20/20, and after a few months away from the disc I’m looking at it in a different light. Of all the bands that have jumped on the dance-rock train in the past two years, These New Puritans do it with the most personality—the mix of hip-hop and electronica make for an album that is as engaging as it is eclectic.

Passion Pit – What started out as a Valentine’s Day gift for a girlfriend turned into one of the bigger buzz bands of the year. Passion Pit will be on tour in January, so the rest of America will be able to discover this infectious brand of electro indie pop out of Massachusetts. Go take a listen to "Sleepyhead" or "I’ve Got Your Number" and try not to dance just a little.

Late of the Pier – LOTP released a single in late 2007, and it was just a sign of things to come for this English four piece. The band released Fantasy Black Channel in August, and their post punk dance is huge in the UK. While they haven’t quite caught in America just yet –they made the list of HEAVE’s best bands of 2008.

Grand Archives – Mat Brooke left Band of Horses to start up Grand Archives, a band that got to open for Modest Mouse before they released an album. This five piece released possibly the catchiest song of 2008 with “Torn Blue Foam Couch,” and possibly has the most staying power out of all ten bands.

MGMT – We know they have been around before 2008, including a tour with Of Montreal in 2005; but Oracular Spectacular was their first major release and, for all intents and purposes, mad them blow up beyond belief. They played a killer show at Lollapalooza and opened up a few dates for Radiohead in 2008 – could they get any bigger? Probably not.

Wild Sweet Orange – We Have Cause To Be Uneasy was released on July 29 – right before they hit up Lollapalooza and long after they had already played David Letterman and had been featured on Grey’s Anatomy. Their honest approach to song writing has gained them many fans throughout 2008 – and there is no reason why we shouldn’t expect big things from them in the future.

Posted on Dec 19, 2008 @ 9:05 am