Best Columbus albums 2008

Since I already gave away that Miranda Sound's self-titled record is my favorite of Columbus album of 2008, I figured I should post all top ten. So here they are, though after the top three the order itself doesn't mean a whole lot--some of these will switch spots with others, depending on the week, day or whatever mood I'm in. The point is, these are all great records. 2008 was a good year for Columbus music. (Links go to previous reviews.)

1. Miranda Sound - Miranda Sound
2. Times New Viking - Rip It Off, Stay Awake E.P.
3. Melty Melty - Rise of the Birdmen
4. Two Cow Garage - Speaking in Cursive
5. Envelope - Shark Bolt!
6. The Lost Revival - Homemade Confetti
7. Moon High - Moon High
8. Our Cat Philip - Apart of Someone
9. Sinkane - Color Voice
10. Brainbow - Brainbow

Our Cat Philip, The Damn Yous, Moon High

We're going to start doing more local album/single reviews in The Other Paper. They'll usually be shorter than the regular 400-wordish reviews, but it should still give a good overview. You can find this week's full installment here, and here's just my two below, plus a short show preview I wrote for the Moon High show at Carabar on Saturday. I'll unfortunately be out of town for it, but you should go.

Our Cat Philip - Apart of Someone
I didn’t know much about Our Cat Philip until I saw the youngsters open up for Ha Ha Tonka and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin a couple of weeks ago, but the performance put the band atop my local-bands-to-pursue-further list. After listening to the group’s debut full-length, Apart of Someone, I’m officially down with OCP. And if you’re able to embrace your inner twee, you’ll be down, too.

Singer Max Sollisch’s quivering tenor (see: John Darnielle) is a quirky counterpoint to the folky melodies created by banjo, pianos (both the plinking toy variety and a grown-up version) and graceful string arrangements. The album, which sounds distinctly different from typically scuzzy Columbus offerings, isn’t quite as zippy as the band’s live show, and the record could stand a few more injections of that twee playfulness the group does so well; Our Cat Philip is at its best when embracing its inner oddities.

But the heart-on-sleeve mellow numbers are nice in small doses—“Like Movies” and “Dana” are particularly fetching ballads. No doubt other fledgling locals will be jealous of a debut like Apart of Someone.

mp3: Our Cat Philip - Like Movies (more freebies available on the band's myspace page)

The Damn Yous
The Damn Yous’ self-titled 7-inch is out on Burnt Sienna Records, which released stuff by Pretty Mighty Mighty back in the day. The accompanying press release describes the band as “fast columbus, oh punk raunch and roll,” and that’s a pretty fitting description. The trio takes the punk fury of Columbus’s New Bomb Turks and adds a hefty dose of Motorhead metal.

Here’s what the Damn Yous do well: raw power, especially on B-side “Suicide Squeeze,” a lo-fi beast that finds the drummer pounding furiously to keep up with the guitar, like a foaming pit bull fighting one of its own, Michael Vick-style.

Here’s what they don’t do well: songwriting and titling. Side A is “Anal Pledge” and “Cock Fight,” neither of which would be out of place on a Spinal Tap track list, but I doubt this is similarly tongue-in-cheek. Either way, these blink-and-they’re-gone songs probably work better in a dingy rock club than on vinyl.

Moon High
Saturday, Aug. 29, Carabar
Like Our Cat Philip, Moon High is a Columbus band playing music utterly different from most Columbus bands. I’ve really been digging the band’s self-titled debut—a moody, folk pastiche full of mournful, pretty songs that bring to mind a less flamboyant Sufjan Stevens. There’s enough going on to appeal to the freak-folk crowd, but it’s restrained enough to appease those who don’t like their folk too freaky. The band also sets the mood nicely at live shows, with big, glowing globes. Rounding out the bill are some other great bands that would make the show worth an outing on their own: Church of the Red Museum, Rosehips and Deerhead.

mp3: Moon High - Lying Here, Dying Here (stream the full album at the Moon High website)

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Ha Ha Tonka, Our Cat Philip - Skully's

If Zach Braff were still making mix CDs of his favorite artists to soundtrack his movies, I imagine Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin filling the spots once reserved for the Shins. Like a more cumbersomely named cousin, the band’s hook-laden indie pop songs are in the same extended family.

But at Skully’s on Sunday night, SSLYBY couldn’t recreate its super-clean, catchy sound effectively. The Springfield, Missouri, band came off as young and inexperienced, replacing boyish exuberance with bland stiffness. On Pershing, the band’s latest and mostly solid album, even songs like “Think I Wanna Die” somehow come off as gleeful and peppy, which made the concert all the more disappointing.

To be fair, a lot of this was probably due to the lead singer/guitarist losing his voice. Those sweet harmonies didn’t work, and every note felt like the tippy top of his register--a bad combination for SSLYBY’s nice little pop songs.

Actually, referring to him as the lead singer/guitarist might not be completely accurate, as he eventually switched to bass, surrendering the singer/guitarist spot to the former drummer as the former bassist then sat behind the kit. But the sometimes-drummer’s awkward timidity and strained voice weren’t much better. He did a fine job with “Modern Mystery,” though, buoyed by the song’s bouncy beat.

The band also threw in a cover of Arrested Development’s “Mr. Wendal,” a song I hadn’t thought about in years. It was a good diversion and a pretty fun choice, but mostly for nostalgic reasons, as the drummer-singer had no flow whatsoever.

With no last-song warning, “Oceanographer” wrapped up the set unexpectedly while the crowd stood waiting for an encore that never came. It was an anticlimactic ending to an underwhelming performance.

Fellow Springfield natives Ha Ha Tonka fueled their set with more Ozark energy and a sound that made it much more obvious the band hails from Missouri, coating good ‘ole rock-and-roll with a crispy southern crust. If you sometimes wish Kings of Leon had a better singer and more ferocious guitar, Ha Ha Tonka would probably be a good remedy.

All four of these guys can sing their hearts out, as they showed on an a capella cover of the traditional Southern folk song “Hangman.” It knocked me out. Ditto for a newer song called “12-Inch Three-Speed Oscillating Fan.” Though he probably should have saved his voice, Yeltsin’s John Robert Cardwell hopped on stage for the tune, as did the headliner’s guitarist, though most of his contribution involved dramatically eating a sandwich. Oh, and a skinny, long-haired dancer dude joined the conglomerate, as well. With arms and legs akimbo, his oddly frenetic, hypnotizing gyrations were an entertaining sideshow throughout the night.

Singer/guitarist Brian Roberts stuck with an acoustic most of the set, letting guitarist/keyboardist Brett Anderson handle the big, chunky guitar chords and smoking leads. (Anderson also did a fine job on lead vocals for one of the set’s more mellow tunes, “Falling In.”) I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics, but no matter--the performance spoke for itself.

Opening the show was local act Our Cat Philip, an OSU band I knew nothing about but really enjoyed. Singer Max Sollisch’s high-pitched, quavery, crackly voice was eccentric in a way that reminded me of the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle--a good thing. The songs were alternately driven by keyboard and guitar and always backed by a thick cello and/or violin string section.

It’s tough to put Our Cat Philip into any specific category, but the band employs the sort of simple, twee-folk melodies that make people bob their heads from side to side instead of front to back. The heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics could sometimes be a little cloying, but overall the melancholy ditties satisfied nicely. The band deserves some more of Columbus’s attention, and I anticipate they’ll get it soon enough.