2009 is Dead, Long Live 2009
The best albums that didn't make my top ten.
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Japandroids - Post Nothing
Why? - Eskimo Snow
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
10. The Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx
Hardcore punk band does mariachi. Wait, punk mariachi? Sounds awful. No, random italicized voice, real mariachi. And it sounds awesome. No holds barred, no irony, just some talented musicians showing they aren't as limited as they sound on all three of their eponymous albums. (Nothing against hardcore punk, it's just, where do you go with it?) Frontman Matt Caughthran displays a surprising depth to his vocals, there are many moments on the album where he simply shines. As far as mariachi goes this album doesn't seem to be breaking any ground, it sounds pretty much like I would expect a mariachi album to sound, except with mostly English lyrics. The unexpected thing is that I kind of like mariachi, especially with the energy El Bronx brings.
9. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain
The Heartless Bastards remind me (and many others) of the Black Keys. That's a good thing. Their songs might not be quite as catchy, but they're more inventive. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom is the only remaining member of the band that released its last album in '06. The latest incarnation is an improvement, Wennerstrom's versatile vocals are justly highlighted by raw, elemental, blues/folk/rock. The Mountain is at different times nostalgic, uplifting and sad, the album holds it all together nicely.
8. The Grouch & Eligh - Say G & E!
Rap that's relevant, fun, and melodic. What more do you want? A collaboration between Eligh and his folk singer mom? Got that too. These guys are to 2009 what Jurassic 5 were to 2000. Okay, maybe not, but they're the closest we've got. I'll take it. Say G & E! is the Grouch and Eligh's third collaborative album, and rather than growing complacent the way a lot of collaborative combos seem to do they've gotten better with each effort.
7. Bike For Three! - More Heart than Brains
Bike For Three is a Postal Service type collaboration between Canadian rapper Rich Terfry, aka Buck 65 (sounds like a porn name) and Belgian electro artist/producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, aka Greetings from Tuskan. The two artists have never met. From what I understand Lê would produce a sort of rudimentary beat, send it off to Terfry who would lay down some vocals and send it back where Lê would finish it up. The results are a little bit ethereal, sad, and really good.
6. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Is this debut from We Were Promised Jetpacks really the best indie rock album of the year? Better than critical darlings Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Merriweather Post Pavillion? In a word, yeah. And what has happened to indie rock when my favorite indie rock album is only my sixth favorite album overall? (Or what has happened to my music tastes?) I talked a little about We Were Promised Jetpacks when I saw them in concert a couple months ago. They rock hard and they rock hard well. They also rock soft, and rock soft well. This is what emo would sound like if emo were good.
5. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
I went over the Mos Def album earlier this year when it came out. Its goodness hasn't really faded, if anything my appreciation of it has increased over the last 6 months. Never did see that movie with Donald Faison though.
4. Brother Ali - Us
I've resisted Brother Ali in the past, I had a hard time getting into the lyrics, and he seemed a little too fixated on being a better MC than everyone else. But this year, after listening to his solid EP The Truth is Here, released in March, I grabbed US with eagerness, but without many expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. The Truth is Here was fun, but US is relatively mature and far reaching album. For all the MC talk about being real (one of the most played out themes in all of rap), here is one who actually feels real, which is a real credit to a guy who could easily fall back on a lot of gimmicks; white guy who grew up most comfortable around black people, albino, legally blind. . . I could see the themes getting a little stale, in fact they seemed that way on all of Ali's albums until this year. I guess props to Brother Ali for getting it real and getting it fresh.
3. The Avett Brothers. - I & Love & You
Let me start off my comments by saying that I & Love & You is probably the worst Avett Brothers album ever. Let me also say that the Avett Brothers are the band of the decade, well at least the second half of the decade. Producer Rick Rubin did a lot to sanitize the Avett Brothers sound, and the quality that survived is, in my opinion, an enormous testament to their song writing abilities. The lyrics retain the raw expressive characteristics that I love from previous Avett Brothers albums, but the music lost much of it. Of course the album ended up garnering a lot of praise from critics whose opinions will sell more albums than mine, so maybe I should get used to the new Avett Brothers, and this album was really only a disappointment because my expectations were impossibly high. And "Laundry Room" is probably the best song of the year, and the album did make the #3 spot, I probably shouldn't be so hard on the boys.
2. James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game
note: lala doesn't have The Glass Bead Game, Infinite Circle is from last year's Litany of Echoes. Sorry.
Like Esperanza Spalding before him James Blackshaw gracefully slides from outside my normal genre tastes into the number two position on my yearly countdown. I am also, apparently, a sucker for punk rockers gone acoustic. (See The Avett Brothers, The Bronx) The Glass Bead Game is probably best described as chamber music, but that sounds so dull and 19th century to me, it belies the innovation at the core. Of course that contradiction is probably of my own invention and due to my ignorance of new classical music, I mean, the album is really mostly chamber music with a couple guitar solos mixed in. And when I say guitar solos I'm not talking about the kind Ian shreds on Rock Band 2. Blackshaw can play a twelve-string in ways I had no idea were even possible. I lack the vocabulary and sophistication to describe it well, but it is amazing how a single instrument can swirl around and envelop a person the way Blackshaw's guitar does. The lushness of his composition is simply amazing. For certain songs the Glass Bead Game, Blackshaw shifts from guitar to piano. His skillz on the piano are underdeveloped in comparison to his mastery of the guitar, but I, for one find the development itself fascinating.
1. Solillaquists of Sound - No More Heroes
I'm not sure what serendipity led me to this album. I couldn't remember how I heard about it and when I tried to trace my footsteps I hit dead-ends on every avenue I could think of. No entry on metacritic, or pitchfork, or even cokemachineglow, the group doesn't even have a wikipedia page, so how the hell did it end up in my itunes? Regardless of No More Heroes' enigmatic origins I am grateful for its appearance. Once it arrived it dominated my headphones and speakers for months. A persistent notion that hip-hop is dead has permeated the reviews of many hip-hop and rap albums this year, I've always considered it ridiculous, but this album confirms it. Hip-hop is alive and kicking ass. I defy anyone who listens to the way DiViNCi blends his beats and samples with Swamburger's urgent rhyming and the jazz inspired vocals of Alexandrah and Tonya Combs to contend otherwise. A dark horse maybe, but who wants a light horse anyway (I mean besides Harry Reid), No More Heroes is easily my favorite album of 2009. Honestly, it's kind of a big drop off from here to #2.
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Japandroids - Post Nothing
Why? - Eskimo Snow
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
10. The Bronx - Mariachi El BronxHardcore punk band does mariachi. Wait, punk mariachi? Sounds awful. No, random italicized voice, real mariachi. And it sounds awesome. No holds barred, no irony, just some talented musicians showing they aren't as limited as they sound on all three of their eponymous albums. (Nothing against hardcore punk, it's just, where do you go with it?) Frontman Matt Caughthran displays a surprising depth to his vocals, there are many moments on the album where he simply shines. As far as mariachi goes this album doesn't seem to be breaking any ground, it sounds pretty much like I would expect a mariachi album to sound, except with mostly English lyrics. The unexpected thing is that I kind of like mariachi, especially with the energy El Bronx brings.
9. Heartless Bastards - The MountainThe Heartless Bastards remind me (and many others) of the Black Keys. That's a good thing. Their songs might not be quite as catchy, but they're more inventive. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom is the only remaining member of the band that released its last album in '06. The latest incarnation is an improvement, Wennerstrom's versatile vocals are justly highlighted by raw, elemental, blues/folk/rock. The Mountain is at different times nostalgic, uplifting and sad, the album holds it all together nicely.
8. The Grouch & Eligh - Say G & E! Rap that's relevant, fun, and melodic. What more do you want? A collaboration between Eligh and his folk singer mom? Got that too. These guys are to 2009 what Jurassic 5 were to 2000. Okay, maybe not, but they're the closest we've got. I'll take it. Say G & E! is the Grouch and Eligh's third collaborative album, and rather than growing complacent the way a lot of collaborative combos seem to do they've gotten better with each effort.
7. Bike For Three! - More Heart than BrainsBike For Three is a Postal Service type collaboration between Canadian rapper Rich Terfry, aka Buck 65 (sounds like a porn name) and Belgian electro artist/producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, aka Greetings from Tuskan. The two artists have never met. From what I understand Lê would produce a sort of rudimentary beat, send it off to Terfry who would lay down some vocals and send it back where Lê would finish it up. The results are a little bit ethereal, sad, and really good.
6. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four WallsIs this debut from We Were Promised Jetpacks really the best indie rock album of the year? Better than critical darlings Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Merriweather Post Pavillion? In a word, yeah. And what has happened to indie rock when my favorite indie rock album is only my sixth favorite album overall? (Or what has happened to my music tastes?) I talked a little about We Were Promised Jetpacks when I saw them in concert a couple months ago. They rock hard and they rock hard well. They also rock soft, and rock soft well. This is what emo would sound like if emo were good.
5. Mos Def - The Ecstatic I went over the Mos Def album earlier this year when it came out. Its goodness hasn't really faded, if anything my appreciation of it has increased over the last 6 months. Never did see that movie with Donald Faison though.
4. Brother Ali - Us I've resisted Brother Ali in the past, I had a hard time getting into the lyrics, and he seemed a little too fixated on being a better MC than everyone else. But this year, after listening to his solid EP The Truth is Here, released in March, I grabbed US with eagerness, but without many expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. The Truth is Here was fun, but US is relatively mature and far reaching album. For all the MC talk about being real (one of the most played out themes in all of rap), here is one who actually feels real, which is a real credit to a guy who could easily fall back on a lot of gimmicks; white guy who grew up most comfortable around black people, albino, legally blind. . . I could see the themes getting a little stale, in fact they seemed that way on all of Ali's albums until this year. I guess props to Brother Ali for getting it real and getting it fresh.
3. The Avett Brothers. - I & Love & You Let me start off my comments by saying that I & Love & You is probably the worst Avett Brothers album ever. Let me also say that the Avett Brothers are the band of the decade, well at least the second half of the decade. Producer Rick Rubin did a lot to sanitize the Avett Brothers sound, and the quality that survived is, in my opinion, an enormous testament to their song writing abilities. The lyrics retain the raw expressive characteristics that I love from previous Avett Brothers albums, but the music lost much of it. Of course the album ended up garnering a lot of praise from critics whose opinions will sell more albums than mine, so maybe I should get used to the new Avett Brothers, and this album was really only a disappointment because my expectations were impossibly high. And "Laundry Room" is probably the best song of the year, and the album did make the #3 spot, I probably shouldn't be so hard on the boys.
2. James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Gamenote: lala doesn't have The Glass Bead Game, Infinite Circle is from last year's Litany of Echoes. Sorry.
Like Esperanza Spalding before him James Blackshaw gracefully slides from outside my normal genre tastes into the number two position on my yearly countdown. I am also, apparently, a sucker for punk rockers gone acoustic. (See The Avett Brothers, The Bronx) The Glass Bead Game is probably best described as chamber music, but that sounds so dull and 19th century to me, it belies the innovation at the core. Of course that contradiction is probably of my own invention and due to my ignorance of new classical music, I mean, the album is really mostly chamber music with a couple guitar solos mixed in. And when I say guitar solos I'm not talking about the kind Ian shreds on Rock Band 2. Blackshaw can play a twelve-string in ways I had no idea were even possible. I lack the vocabulary and sophistication to describe it well, but it is amazing how a single instrument can swirl around and envelop a person the way Blackshaw's guitar does. The lushness of his composition is simply amazing. For certain songs the Glass Bead Game, Blackshaw shifts from guitar to piano. His skillz on the piano are underdeveloped in comparison to his mastery of the guitar, but I, for one find the development itself fascinating.
1. Solillaquists of Sound - No More HeroesI'm not sure what serendipity led me to this album. I couldn't remember how I heard about it and when I tried to trace my footsteps I hit dead-ends on every avenue I could think of. No entry on metacritic, or pitchfork, or even cokemachineglow, the group doesn't even have a wikipedia page, so how the hell did it end up in my itunes? Regardless of No More Heroes' enigmatic origins I am grateful for its appearance. Once it arrived it dominated my headphones and speakers for months. A persistent notion that hip-hop is dead has permeated the reviews of many hip-hop and rap albums this year, I've always considered it ridiculous, but this album confirms it. Hip-hop is alive and kicking ass. I defy anyone who listens to the way DiViNCi blends his beats and samples with Swamburger's urgent rhyming and the jazz inspired vocals of Alexandrah and Tonya Combs to contend otherwise. A dark horse maybe, but who wants a light horse anyway (I mean besides Harry Reid), No More Heroes is easily my favorite album of 2009. Honestly, it's kind of a big drop off from here to #2.
posted by b r christensen at 1/14/2010 11:15:00 AM
2 Comments:
Nice list Brad. I'll be honest: most of these albums flew under my radar this year. I'll give them a spin, but based on what you know about my music taste, any recommendations on where to start?
Did you ever listen to Blakroc? I think it might be right up your alley: Black Keys + hip hop artists like Ol' Dirty Bastard, Mos Def, Ludacris, RZA, Raekwon.
It's funny, I was talking to another friend and I mentioned We Were Promised Jetpacks as a band I would skip based on name alone. Not that has anything to do with the music mind you. But given the plethora of music out there, sometimes you just have to put down arbitrary limits. Like I will probably never listen to Final Fantasy based off of his album He Poos Clouds.
Logan, I think you might start with Bike For Three and maybe James Blackshaw.
And I know you don't love the folk, but I think that the Avett Bros. have nearly universal appeal.
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