The Top 75 Albums of 2009: Part Three – 25 to 117.12.09
Phew, what a journey. What started out as over 4,000 releases in 2009 was whittled down to 75 and finally down to these top 25. Here are my top 25 picks of 2009!
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25. The XX – XX
Taking the ‘less is more’ approach to new heights, this stunning debut proves that minimalism and sparseness can trump the grandiose any day of the week. Incredibly airy – and that is a good thing. #downbeat #lo-fi
Listen To: VCR, Heart Skipped A Beat
24. Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanist
Continuing their yearly evolution, these spaced out Portlanders throw together a raucous combination of guitar-driven funk/soul with a helping spoonful of falsettos, spacey loops, and deep bass grooves. #farout #funkadelic
Listen To: Do You, People Say
23. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
The sound of a band throwing off the shackles off their former artsy selves and jumping onto the dance floor and embracing themselves. The result is an art-pop album that stands shoulder to shoulder with The Killers or MGMT. #altrock #dance
Listen To: Heads Will Roll, Soft Shock
22. The Deep Dark Woods – Winter Hours
The art of traditional alt- country seems to be fading fast, but leave it to one of Saskatchewan’s best kept secrets to keep the tradition proud. Ballads, banjo, and quaintness – you can’t ask for much more. #bluegrass #meandering
Listen To: Nancy, The Birds On The Bridge
21. Andy Shauf – Darker Days
Darker Days has struck a delicate balance between catchiness and quality that eludes most artists. Shauf, however, has managed to maintain a level of respect while making an album that is purely infectious through its use of simple, yet eloquent songs.
Listen To: Give Me Words, You Remind Me
20. Slow Club – Yeah So
The sweetness and bubbliness of falling in love for the first time. Boy/Girl acoustic love songs that flirt and snipe back and forth with a playful rhythm that is infectious as it is endearing. #crush #acoustic
Listen To: It Doesn’t Have To Be Beautiful, Trophy Room
19. Fun. – Aim And Ignite
A superbly mixed and arranged pop album made by musicians who clearly understand the limits and potential of pop music. You can’t help but sing along to and get lost in. The name of the band says it all. #pop #bigchoruses
Listen To: Barlights, Walking The Dog
18. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
The hype was deafening, but ultimately warranted. This NYC quartet showed the masses that artpop is here to stay. Accessible but abstract, seemingly simplistic yet deceivingly complex, this album is made better by its catalogue of amazing videos (seriously check them out) #artrock #indie
Listen To: Two Weeks, Ready Able
17. Architects – Hollow Crown
The first time I spun this album, I swear the opening chords almost knocked the wind out of me – that is how much crushing power this album has behind it. Ferocious technical-hardcore with so many breakdowns it needs its own CAA card. #hardcore #screaming
Listen To: Early Grave, Numbers Count For Nothing
16. Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had The Blues But I Shook Them
BBC’s supple, smouldering songs take you back to an innocent, pre-Britpop indie era while retaining the thrust of contemporaries like Bloc Party – just with a shakier warble. #rock #delaypedals
Listen To: Magnet, Evening/Morning
15. Data Select Party – Hanging Out With Humans
Guitars, guitars, and more guitars. This eclectic mini-album from (now deceased) newcomers Data Select Party layers complex pecking guitars over hook after hook to create something that could easily impact radio but chooses to stay on the dance floor. #fretwork #dancerock
Listen To: The white Bear, The Woot The Hot The Hotness
14. Shout Out Out Out Out – Regeneration Time
Ambitiously laid out, with lengthy, mostly instrumental tracks and a leisurely sense of pace. The electro grooves ebb and flow, which the expansive clouds of synth offer lots of rewarding crescendo-highs. Still doesn’t live up to seeing them live though… #electroclash #bestliveshowever
Listen To: Run, Coming Home
13. Fever Ray – Triangle Walks
Juxtaposing folksy noises, drum loops, and auxiliary click-clacking against minimalist, percussive lines and enormous swells of energy, the album clearly has a sonic template and a cohesion easily identifiable within the first three tracks. Bjork 2.0 #theknife #folk?
Listen To: If I Had A Heart, When I Grow Up
12. Japandroids – Post Nothing
The cacophonous bursts of garage-rock fuzz on this young duo’s third album are the stuff of a thousand beer-soaked basement parties–shambolic, sweaty, and happily unrefined. Filled with bounce, bite and surprising cohesion. #punk #fuzzedout
Listen To: Rockers East Vancouver, I Quit Girls
11. Cassino – King Prince
Finally coming into their own, Cassino created a down to earth record that brims with personality yet feels charmingly familiar. For anybody that’s a fan of the occasional folk-rock album, this late entry in what has been a magnificent year should definitely be checked out. #altcountry #acousticfolk
Listen To: Kingprince, The Levee, Boomerang
10. Passion Pit – Manners
Euphoric, feelgood electro-pop of the indie rather than chart-topping persuasion, with this debut of year (in my opinion) substituting lost-boy yearning for outright hedonism – all the gloss and hooks intact. #falsetto #humalong
Listen To: Let Your Love Grow Tall, To Kingdom Come
9. The Chariot – Wars And Rumours of Wars
Complete and utter chaos. A hardcore record so volatile it is bordering on being pure energy. Distorted guitars that gnash and wail to the point imploding and Josh Scogin’s yelp, which bleeds with so much conviction you get pushed back into your seat. If you want to know what I mean, just watch this. #hardcore #wallofnoise
Listen To: Teach, Daggers
8. MSTRKRFT- Fist of God
Their second album is a guest-packed party record built from monster beats, churning synths and power chords, and if there’s nothing here that Daft Punk haven’t done before, it wins points for sheer muscular euphoria. If more dance music was like this, I’d actually go to the club. #collaboration #partystarter
Listen To: It Ain’t Love, Click Click
7. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
To be honest, I didn’t really like this one at first spin. But Bitte Orca is the kind of album that is best taken repeatedly, where the songs and musical themes are allowed to grow, endear and impress. #intellectual #meltyourheartindie
Listen To: Temecula Sunrise, Stillness Is the Move
6. Volcanoless In Canada – The Way Forward
I am not just praising this record since they are the hometown heroes. Volcanoless literally managed to create on the of the most stirring, catchy alt-rock albums of the year. Full of pop gems that seemed groomed for endless radio play, I’m shocked that this talented bunch – with a sound all their own – hasn’t exploded yet. #acousticpop #melodycentral
Listen To: Tiptoes (Insane Agendas), House of Souls (Artistry vs. Fame)
5. The Ghost Of A Thousand – New Hopes New Demonstrations
True punk is not dead, it just went overseas – and this record proves it. Screaming, clawing, and kicking its way into your head with ruthless abandon , this record proves that hardcore punk is best meant to be biting and dangerous. as one of the biggest sing-along’s goes ” “F*** new romantics! It’s only rock ‘n’ roll!” #punk #hardcore
Listen To: Fed To The Ocean, Canyons of Static
4. The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules
There has got to be something said for an album that I can put on and instantly be at ease. The weird and promising thing is that it completely naturally. The actual coexistence of the earnest and the smooth stops being so striking after a while, and you just groove with the laid back electro-tinged funk/soul and soothing vocals. #downtempo #relaxing
Listen To: Island, Intentions
3. Converge – Axe To Fall
It is almost impossible for me to comprehend how this band can keep beating themselves at their own game, but Converge was never one to ascribe to ‘impossible’ things. This metallic hardcore finely balances cerebral with visceral and makes earnest efforts to go somewhere new within the genre. As NOW magazine expertly states; “Converge create art-school hardcore while still delivering on metal’s basest needs”; and this time they have enlisted in a litany of guest vocalists that strengthen rather than dilute the record. #metal #riffage
Listen To: Axe To Fall, Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast, Cutter, Cruel Bloom (with Tom Waits!)
2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix is a slender, fat-free affair, all french swerve and subtle swagger. Aside from the incredible sonics though, Phoenix’s real triumph here is successfully contorting the songs into ever more elaborate and unconventional arrangements without losing any of their classy pop impact. My only complaint is that it is too short! The remedy? Hit repeat endlessly. #rock #indie
Listen To: 1901, Lisztomania, Lasso, Fences
1. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
Machester has managed to craft the ubiquitous ‘rock album’. One that works best as a cohesive whole; each track fitting into the bigger picture. This allows the reprises to stand out and the band’s unique attributes to shine. The melodic guitar tones perfectly compliment lead singer Andy Hull’s hypnotic vocals and the band expands upon their previous work in a variety of ways. They toy with the listener by interweaving soft whispers and full blown snarl – often within the same track. The dichotomy works perfectly to entwine the listener’s attention amid the instruments, vocals, and lyrics. This level of well crafted intentionality showcases a band at the top of their game hell-bent on crafting a thematic experience between the headphones. Couldn’t recommend it more. #southernrock #indie
Listen To: Pride, I Can Feel A Hot One, Tony the Tiger, The River, I’ve Got Friends
That’s it! Another year done and buried. I hope you’ve enjoyed this countdown and I look forward to compiling the list in 2010.
You know it’s not Tom Waits singing on the Converge record, right?