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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. 9: True Widow — True Widow
It’s ironic, maybe, that Dan Phillips’ previous band was called Slowride; with its fast, spunky, punk-influenced tracks, very little of that band’s catalog could realistically be set to a casual drive through a wintry setting. Slowride’s music was angsty, and ready-made for a night of mischievous revelry. Instead, it’s True Widow–the project that Phillips launched with Nicole Estill and Timothy Starks upon his return to Dallas after an attempt to pursue a career with Slowride in Massachusetts–that more deserves a moniker to conjure thoughts of meandering travels.
In a musical year that has been heavy on well-crafted dreamscapes (Fight Bite, School of Seven Bells, M83, etc.) in the pop realm, True Widow created an near-nightmarescape (but not quite that frightening) for those with heavier, shoegazier tastes.
Bonus mp3:
(More tracks available here.)
Hauntingly beautiful and brutal, but never unmelodic, the Matt Pence-produced True Widow is a debut of rare sonic depth and magnitude.
Is it flawless? Not quite, some looking for a little more pep might argue. But for those looking for pepless satisfaction, there aren’t many discs as fulfilling a listen as this. —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. ??????
7. ??????
6. ??????
5. ??????
4. ??????
3. ??????
2. ??????
1. ??????
…and keep checking back, as this list will update daily.
