here's the albums that for sure could have made it to my top 10 of foreign albums if they'd only been released in 2008:

samamidon - 'all is well'

patrick watson - 'close to paradise'

loney, dear - 'loney, noir'

fionn regan - 'the end of history'

it's hard for me to stay 100% objective when it comes to danish albums as a lot of the artists are either well-knowns or great friends of mine. so a lot of speculations have been put behind this top 5...should it be a top 5? or should i just put them on a list of records worth mentioning this year? but as you can see...i ended up taking the challenge and make a top 5. so here you go...

1. larsen and furious jane - 'zen sucker'

these guys must be one of the most overlooked bands in denmark! this is their third album and every time i mention their name, people still don't know who or what i'm talking about. the first time i stumbled across this band i think, was at spot festival several years ago when i went to this seminar where a panel was suppose to have listened to larsen's first album 'i'm glad he's dead' and then give their opinion to the audience and the band and then give the band some advices to what they should do different next time. one of the things i remember the best is that almost every song on that album starts right on with a vocal which the panel thought was a bit too monotonous. and i must say that they've improved a great deal on that account since. especially with this album where songs as the bittersweet 'fine', the very typical (by typical i mean melancholic and pessimistic) larsen ballad 'a car that comes with the job' and the lovely 'forbidden fruit' and last but not at least they've even made a little instrumental part in between this time. they've also become more loud this time without ruining all the elements. all in all a great album!

2. teitur - 'the singer'

it's no secret that i've always admired the charming way teitur tells his little stories in his songs and this album is no exception. the whole sound picture is centered around his voice which isn't the most strong one. and that has resulted in some very different arrangements of instruments which dissociate this album pretty much from the past two albums and that's a good thing. songs like 'your great book', the always charming 'catherine the waitress' and of course 'don't let me fall in love with you!' has made an impression on me...and every time i listen to the album there's even more songs opening up to me. i must admit i struggled a bit in the start with the way 'don't let me fall in love with you!' is sounding as i have this old old bootleg where he plays it on his acoustic guitar but i like the new version more and more.

3. bodebrixen - 'bodebrixen'

since the disbanding of superheroes and junior senior not to forget, denmark has been very poor in colourful bands. at least if you ask me. but this year has luckily enough brought up at least two bands of this kind...music for modern man (i don't have their debut album in my library, unfortunately. if i had it would probably be on this list!) and bodebrixen. i stumbled across them because they were playing at pitstop and thanks to soundvenue i happened to have their single 'keychain' on my ipod...and since i've surprisingly been in this indie-pop track most of this year i wouldn't miss out on this party of a concert at pitstop! it was lovely...i couldn't stop smiling. and whenever i listen to their record now i still can't stop smiling or sit still for that matter. and that's what i love about this record! besides 'keychain', i'm also very into songs like 'own company', 'clock radio' (i love clapping in my hands to this one!), 'what lennon said' and 'it's cbgba'. watch out...they are very catchy! i hope this record will be released on vinyl very soon...

4. tim christensen - 'superior'

i'm liking this album more and more for everytime i listen to it. actually i like this album better than 'honeyburst'...even though it's like the lyrics are very thin...not that they don't have any content but it's the way things are being told ...the way they're written. aside from that the album has a lot of highlights as the opener 'one of these days' which is very simple - naked - perfect. 'hard to make you mine' is very catchy...kind of feel good song with a bittersweet touch. 'wonder of wonders' i love the strings and the way the song says it all. 'tell me what you really want' and 'song for shelly'. yep. can't wait 'till he's touring again.

5. entakt - 'p� bagsiden af europa'

ironically enough, this is the only record on this list where the lyrics are in danish. it's entakt's second album and they've done a great job. it's like the sound is somehow more round (if you can say that) than on their first album...and i like that. it just annoys me a bit that the lyrics doesn't really get me. maybe it's because i haven't had the album for that long and therefore haven't had the time to give it all the chances it deserves. i don't know. but when that's said i'd like to accentuate the highlights on this album which is 'hvordan jeg begyndte at ryge' (very catchy), 'europa', 'legende p� l�vef�dder' (i really like the outro) and 'tre alen fra skafottet' (my absolute favourite!). i took the album for a walk in the valley earlier today and i have to say it suits the grey sky and the wintry nature very well. i'm very curious to see what happens when they're playing at the student house this spring.

since i could only find 6 danish albums in my library from 2008...there's only one bubble, which is peter sommer - 'til rotterne til kragerne til hundene'. i do not like that album...i know i'm not fair when i say it 'cause i've only listened to it twice...but i'm not at all comfortable with the gloomy sound...i don't think it suits his voice at all. so maybe i'll pass this album on to J...at least he wants to own it.