Music Spotlight by Daragh Mulligan

2008 top five

(5) Nicole Atkins: Neptune City
This pint sized, New Jersey native was brought to my attention on Later With Jools…she's a soulful singer/ song writer and damn fine musical arranger, if you like sing-a-long stuff with lush strings and brass backing it up you could do worse than pick up this CD.

(4) The Feeling: Join With Us
If you've been paying attention throughout the year you' will remember that I called them a 'guilty pleasure' and I still stand by it! No matter how hard they try, they'll never be cool, but it has to be said they write some catchy tunes and their ballads are lovely too. This will always be remembered as the CD we played to death in Ghana.

(3) The Fratellis: Here We Stand
They're Scottish, they're raucous, they're hairy, they're a pub band, they're addictive, they're the business...enough said.

(2) Nitin Sawhney: London Undersound
British Asian maestro, Nitin Sawhney released his socially aware London Undersound in October. An album inspired by the fear culture created as a result of the July 7th bombings in London. It's heavy stuff but it's awesome. Buy it just to hear his collaboration with Natty for Days of Fire . This CD is a thoroughly beautiful piece of work.

(1) MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
These could have made last years list as their album leaked onto the net in December 2007 but didn't go on general release here till 2008. These tie-dyed, psychedelic youngsters from New York were undoubtedly the festival soundtrack of the Summer. You can hear Bowie, Pink Floyd, XTC even the likes of Arcade Fire and they've put it all into glorious day-glo technicolour, their set at Oxegen will go down in festival history….if you haven't already got this cd….where've you been?