The Best Albums In Dallas Music, 2008: The Theater Fire's Matter and Light Hits No. 8 On The List

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Editor's Note: Over the next 10 days, I'll be presenting my favorite local records of the year, counting down from No. 10 to No. 1, one album a day. Keep checking back to see how the list pans out, and, in the meantime, click after the jump to see albums No. 20-11 in the Top 20 list that will update as the it grows...

No. 8: The Theater Fire -- Matter and Light

It's funny: You read press on The Theater Fire--clippings from other parts of the country, or, hell, even other parts of Texas--and you constantly come across the phrases "under appreciated" or "little known". Maybe that applies elsewhere, but hell, in DFWd, The Theater Fire is probably the worst-kept secret around.

And on the at-times rambunctious, at-times hilarious and at-times contemplative Matter and Light, the band's September-released disc, the seven-piece has crooked its heels even deeper into the soil of the area's music scene.

Bonus mp3:

Please read web version for embedded audio

Written and performed from the dual perspectives of the band's two frontmen (Don Feagin and Curtis Heath), Matter and Light is a multi-faceted disc--one minute, the band's getting all Old Western noirish on your ass; the next minute, it's doing its best soulful funk take--but the one constant, the one thing The Theater Fire's sound has always boasted, remains the same: It's remarkable, and uniquely Texan, foundation. --Pete Freedman

The Top 20 Local Releases Of 2008
20. Collin Herring - Past Life Crashing
19. Stumptone - Gravity Suddenly Released
18. Dove Hunter - The Southern Unknown
17. Febrifuge - A Short Instance Of Separation
16. Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights - Hot Trottin'
15. Toadies - No Deliverance
14. Record Hop - Record Hop
13. The New Frontiers - Mending
12. Fight Bite - Emerald Eyes
11. Lil Wil - Dolla$, TX
10. Dem Southernfolkz - The Message
9. True Widow - True Widow
8. The Theater Fire - Matter and Light
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...and keep checking back, as this list will update daily.