Justin Royce's Uber Pretentious Top 5 Indie Albums of 2008 List - #5

It's December, so that means it's prematurely time for all of us who think our opinion matters more than everyone else's to put together our "Best Of..." lists for the year and amaze others with our knowledge in our area of expertise.

I won't pretend to have better music taste than anyone else, but the following five albums (to be listed, in order, in the coming days) made more of an impression on me than the other albums I listened to in 2008 (and there were quite a few). Of course, qualifying albums had to be independently released, no major labels, and all artists need to Northwest represent. One band does hail from the Bay Area, but makes frequent trips north. One Eugene artist and three Portland bands also make the cut. Oddly enough, Seattle/Washington aren't represented on my list in a year where both Pac-10 Washington college football teams went a combined 2-23 for the season, the Seahawks are 2-11 and the Supersonics no longer exist; coincidence?

And without further adieu, my uber pretentious Top 5 Indie albums of 2008:

#5: Tea For Julie The Sense In Tying Knots

At 17 tracks, it is the meatiest of the winning albums, but Tea For Julie keeps it all killer, no filler, on their second album. The idea of 'home' is a central theme throughout the album, and Tea For Julie makes their second album as warm and inviting as my mom's home in Central Oregon. The album is chock full of great tracks, from the opener "Tying Knots" to the dirty bass riff of "Pollyanna" to the drum machine beat of "Snow Globe." TFJ reminds me a lot of one of my favorite major label bands, Athlete, and fans of that band, or even U2 or Coldplay would do well to check out "...Tying Knots." A good mix of fast and slow songs and a final piano and vocals track, "Day and Age" should keep listeners entertained for some time. Hopefully it won't be another 4 years before we hear from Tea For Julie again.