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This year, particularly in music, was an odd year for me. The first half of the year was dominated by electronic music, whether it be electro-rock, airy dream-pop tunes, or retro lo-fi synth-pop. I finally attended the Ultra Music Festival after years of wishing that I could go. The festival was a great time and Miami is a fantastic city. The second half of the year involved a major shift to indie rock, freak folk, shoegaze, and post rock. While I still listened to electronic-influenced music, it was mostly combined with indie elements. This shift was likely a result of getting a radio playlist show on Indiespot on Metaphoric (check out my main page for information), which has me consistently looking for brand new alternative and indie tunes and artists. Fun times…but without further ado, here is my 2009 Year in Review.

To make the top albums list somewhat easier for myself, I’m going to split my list into an overall top list and a more electronic-focused list. It seems to be the only way I can manage to figure this out.

Top Twenty-One Amazing Albums of the Year





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21. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor (Best Tracks: Sun Hands, Airplanes)

20. Grammatics – Grammatics (Best Tracks: D.I.L.E.M.M.A., Murderer)

19. The Antlers – Hospice (Best Tracks: Kettering, Sylvia)

18. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Best Tracks: My Girls, Summertime Clothes)

17. Mute Math – Armistice (Best Tracks: Backfire, Burden)

16. Nurses – Apple’s Acre (Best Tracks: Technicolor, manatarms)

15. Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose (Best Tracks: What If, Always Like This)

14. Post War Years – The Greats and the Happenings (Best Tracks: White Lies, Soul Owl)

13. The xx – xx (Best Tracks: Shelter, Crystalised)

12. Tune-Yards – BiRd-BrAiNs (Best Tracks: Hatari, Sunlight)

11. dd/mm/yyyy – Black Square (Best Tracks: I'm Still In The Walls, Infinity Skull Cube)

10. The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules (Best Tracks: Island, 1517)

9. Ramona Falls – Intuit (Best Tracks: I Say Fever, Russia)

8. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Best Tracks: 1901, Love Like a Sunset)

7. Faunts – Feel.Love.Thinking.Of (Best Tracks: Out On A Limb, Alarmed/Lights)

6. The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha (Best Tracks: A Bright Light, The Road West)

5. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers (Best Tracks: Two Dancers (i), We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues)

4. The Maccabees – Wall Of Arms (Best Tracks: No Kinds Words, Love You Better)

3. Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories the World… (Best Tracks: Introducing Palace Players, Vaccine)

2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Best Tracks: Two Weeks, Fine for Now)

1. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic (Best Tracks: The Ego's Last Stand, Silver Trembling Hands)

Top Ten Electronic/Dance Albums of the Year




10. DatA – Skywriter (Best Tracks: Aerius Light, Electric Fever)

9. Yuksek – Away From The Sea (Best Tracks: Extraball, Tonight)

8. Moderat – Moderat (Best Tracks: Seamonkey, Rusty Nails)

7. Amanda Blank – I Love You (Best Tracks: Shame On Me, Might Like You Better)

6. Felix da Housecat – He Was King (Best Tracks: Kickdrum, Machine)

5. Simian Mobile Disco – Temporary Pleasure (Best Track: Turn Up The Dial, 10000 Horses Can't Be Wrong)

4. The Juan Maclean – The Future Will Come (Best Tracks: Happy House, The Simple Life)

3. Peaches – I Feel Cream (Best Tracks: More, Take you On)

2. Vitalic – Flashmob (Best Tracks: Poison Lips, Still)

1. Röyksopp – Junior (Best Tracks: Vision One, True to Life)

Top Ten EPs of the Year




10. Memory Cassette – Call & Response
9. Ted & Francis – Ted & Francis
8. Tesla Boy – Demo EP
7. Maserati – Passages
6. The Golden Filter – The Golden Filter
5. Delphic – Counterpoint / This Momentary
4. Animal Collective – Be Fall Kind
3. Weird Tapes – Get Religion
2. Washed out – Life Of Leisure
1. We Plants Are Happy Plants – 548 EP

Artists with a Release Worth Mentioning
Air
As Tall as Lions
Bat for Lashes
Black Moth Super Rainbow
brazos
Bruce Peninsula
Dan Deacon
Fever Ray
Florence + The Machine
Fuck Buttons
Memory Tapes
The Mercury Program
Rubik
Silversun Pickups
We Were Promised Jetpacks

Best Albums I Discovered in 2009 Not Released in 2009


3. Kelley Polar – I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling
2. Télépopmusik – Angel Milk
1. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Live Shows and Events in 2009
Concerts Attended – 30 (Will likely be 31)
Festivals Attended – 4

Venues Most Frequented
Ottobar – Website – Baltimore,MD – 7 times
Sonar – Website – Baltimore, MD – 7 times
9:30 Club – Website – Washington, DC – 3 times

Best Live Shows/Concerts*

10. Junior Boys/Woodhands/Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt – Sonar – Oct 30th
9. Depeche Mode – Lollapalooza – Aug 9th
8. MSTRKRFT/Spank Rock/Amanda Blank – Sonar – April 4th
7. Sébastien Tellier/Lemonade – 9:30 Club – April 3rd
6. The Juan Maclean/The Field – Pure – May 22nd
5. Friendly Fires – Black Cat – March 24th
4. Mute Math/As Tall as Lions – Sonar – Sept 24th
3. Peaches – 9:30 Club – June 17th
2. Simian Mobile Disco/Feadz/Triobelisk – Sonar – April 25th
1. Rabbit in the Moon/Pendulum – Ultra Music Festival – March 27th

*I expect to add Lake Trout to this list before the end of the year.

To see the rest of my 2009 shows, refer to the Shows of 2009 journal entry.

Best Music Blogs or Websites

5. DecoyMusic
4. Pasta Primavera
3. Consequence of Sound
2. Stereogum
1. RCRD LBL

Most Anticipated for 2010
Band of Horses – Night Rainbows
Beach House – Teen Dream
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Klaxons – TBA
Lake Trout – TBA
Menomena – TBA
Minus the Bear – TBA
Radiohead – TBA(?)
Röyksopp – Senior
Spoon – Transference
The Strokes – TBA(?)
Télépopmusik – In the Air
These New Puritans – Hidden
Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Alternative Addiction
Wednesdays 12pm-3pm
Only on WMEB 91.9FM Orono, ME
Listen online at www.wmeb.fm!
Follow the show on Twitter: www.twitter.com/altadd

December 9, 2009
Alternative Addiction's Top 40 Songs of 2009

40. The Whitest Boy Alive - High On The Heels
39. Art Brut - DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake
38. Annie - I Don't Like Your Band
37. The Whip - Sister Siam
36. Discovery - So Insane
35. Calvin Harris - You Used To Hold Me
34. Vitalic - Your Disco Song
33. Thom Yorke - Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses
32. Cut Off Your Hands - Turn Cold
31. Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
30. The Juan Maclean - The Future Will Come
29. The Golden Filter - Thunderbird
28. Junior Boys - Work
27. Wallpaper - Celebrity
26. Modest Mouse - The Whale Song
25. Pictureplane - Goth Star
24. White Lies - To Lose My Life
23. Japandroids - Wet Hair
22. Kleerup - Thank You For Nothing
21. Memory Tapes - Bicycle
20. Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot
19. Mew - Introducing Palace Players
18. The Flaming Lips - Silver Trembling Hands
17. Passion Pit - The Reeling
16. Handsome Furs - I'm Confused
15. St. Vincent - Marrow
14. The Horrors - Scarlet Fields
13. Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
11. Phoenix - 1901
10. Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
9. Tiga - What You Need
8. The Big Pink - Dominos
7. YACHT - Summer Song
6. Dirty Projectors - No Intention
5. Peter, Bjorn & John - Nothing To Worry About
4. Wild Beasts - We've Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues
3. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others
2. Dan Deacon - Get Older
1. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

15. St. Vincent - Actor
This woman knows how to write a pop song. Her voice is heavenly and those beats can't be beat. (hurr hurr) "Marrow" and "Actor Out Of Work" are rock-hard jams that make you wanna get up and dance, and "The Strangers" and "Save Me From What I Want" offer a more introspective pop experience.

14. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Now here's an album that took me a while to get into. I was initially hoping for another beat-driven noisefest like their earlier effort, Street Horrrsing, but I was pleasantly surprised at the symphonic electro style for which Fuck Buttons have taken a turn. "Olympians" and "The Lisbon Maru" are grandiose chord-driven constructions of electronics, and the opener "Surf Solar" is something that should be played in every club to get people sweatin'.

13. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Now this is a Circulatory System I can get along with. This is far more immediate stuff than their self-titled debut, and it was worth the wait. It was a little annoying to retag all of the songs from it ("The Spinning Continuous" was totally a better name than "Round Again") but overall it doesn't detract from the experience. Elephant 6 will always hold a special place in my heart for their gorgeous psych-folk, and this album is no exception.

12. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
I've been a fan of The Knife for a few years now. Ever since their last album Silent Shout came out, I've been waiting for a worthy followup. Karin Dreijer Andersson has a voice unlike anything I've ever heard on this planet previously, and her songwriting is air-tight. This album creeps. It's like a creaky staircase. You're afraid to go further but you can't bear to imagine missing what's at the end.

11. Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Tyondai Braxton is the vocalist for the recently-formed math rock supergroup known as Battles, and some of that style shows through here, but it becomes ever more obvious as this album goes along that Braxton is responsible for the grand scale of Battles' compositions. Some of this stuff could've been written by a classical composer or made for the coolest Disney movie of all time. There are bassoons, whistles, oboes, clarinets, and general orchestral tinkering galore. The centerpiece "Platinum Rows" is on a scale that few artists would dare to touch, and the more Battles-like "J. City" rocks your socks off.

10. Black Dice - Repo
Black Dice lives up to their reputation for making people scratch their heads yet again with REPO. The amount of random incomprehensible samples and noises are a Black Dice staple, but what makes this album different is its accessibility. Some of these songs are flat-out bangers, like opener "Nite Creme" and "La Cucaracha." Heavy beats galore, but in more of an actual song structure, which is new for Black Dice. I'm excited to see where they go next.

9. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Here's an artist I'd heard much about, but I'd never taken the time to get into them. Thanks to Bitte Orca, this is no longer an issue. From the opening notes of "Cannibal Resource" onward, I was hooked. Every song is rock-solid, thanks to writer Dave Longstreth and the glorious vocal interplay of Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman. "Stillness Is The Move" got a bunch of attention as the single, but I'd have to say my favorite tune on the album is "Remade Horizon." You can't beat that hocketing (the rhythmic chord-singing of Angel and Amber).

8. Volcano Choir - Unmap
Bon Iver never excited me much. The project has some pretty songwriting of course, but there isn't much diversity to be had. I underestimated Justin Vernon. He is far more versatile than I could have ever imagined. Unmap is worthy of a place in the top 10 of this year simply for how well it flows as a cohesive whole, if not just for the great songwriting. Songs range from the lilting "Island, IS" to the reimagining of Bon Iver's "Woods" known as "Still," which is one of the most beautiful moments on the album. The transition track "Cool Knowledge" was absolutely necessary as well. Ah-mmm ah-mmm ah-mmm...

7. No Age - Losing Feeling
Yes, an EP deserves a place in the top 10. Losing Feeling is a surprising change of pace for No Age. They seem to be delving more deeply into the soundscape-style shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine while at the same time staying true to their heritage of noise pop song structure that made them mainstays at The Smell. The slow build of the title track, and the return-to-form denouement "You're A Target" make the album begin and end on some of the highest notes of No Age's short career so far.

6. Wavves - Wavvves
RIP Nathan Williams, king of pop

5. Bygones - by-
Zach Hill never fails to deliver. This album, a collaboration with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos, brings together Hill's penchant for musical experimentation with the melodic guitar interplay for which Reinhart was known to bring to Tera Melos, and the result is face-melting math rock with an ideal balance of quirky time signatures and get-in-your-head hooks and melodies. Hill's drumming is frenetic and airtight as ever, of course. The man plays with the capacity of four men who have been drinking Red Bull for 6 hours straight. "nu cringe" and "fool evolved" are top picks for their toe-tapping repetition and nice vocal lines delivered by Hill, and "up the shakes" is classic math-pop goodness featuring Reinhart on vocals.

4. HEALTH - Get Color
I had the privilege to see HEALTH live in September, and I must say I was absolutely blown away. It was by far the loudest set I've ever witnessed, and yet I heard every piece of it come together like a jigsaw puzzle. John's bass grinding and pedal noodling, BJ's rock-hard drumming, Jupiter's mood-swinging guitar work, and Jake's ghostly crooning and animalistic shrieking were all necessary components of the machine that is HEALTH. From the opening seconds of "In Heat," you know you're in for something loud. The volume never comes down until the very end with "In Violet." "Die Slow" is a contender for my top song of the year, with its rhythmic feedback loops and shredding power chords, and a perfect vocal delivery by Jake, but one song with which I was totally taken is "Death+." At first listen it seems like a strange loop experiment that doesn't go anywhere, but further listens become more and more rewarding and the tune gets into your head, dammit. Who needs melody all the way through to have a good time? Not me.

3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
What can I say? It's Animal Collective. I'm only sad that I didn't see them live sooner, but in May of this year, I had that chance, and I took it. One of the best decisions I've made. This album has gotten lots of deserved attention. It may be a change of pace from the more avant-garde stylings of Sung Tongs or Feels, but here Avey Tare and Panda Bear show that their pop song writing skills are just as well-honed as their tendency toward drawn-out experimental jams (which are still present here in the forms of "In The Flowers" and "Daily Routine"). The Panda Bear-delivered vocal strains of "My Girls" are the sound that has defined college radio waves for the past year, and for good reason. It's a straightforward pop song that has one of the most beautiful progressions I have heard from the band. And who could forget "Brother Sport" with its tribal beat and rhythmic hooting delivered by Avey Tare? This album will definitely have a staying place in the band's history as their turning point into pop, but this is definitely not as bad a thing as some purists may suggest. They couldn't have stayed with "Covered In Frogs" forever.

2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
There seems to be a trend with my top artists this year. Yes, I've also witnessed Grizzly Bear live in the past months, and I've got the three-eyed cat shirt to prove it. This band has obviously done their homework in the past couple of years. Since Yellow House, a gorgeous album of folk melodies in its own right, the band has found themselves with a stronger driving force in the writing abilities of Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, each of whom have about equal time on Veckatimest to show off their chops. Rossen's work has come to the foreground (wink wink) even more now, largely due to the success of the single "While You Wait For The Others," which, like many of you, I heard for the first time on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. I had been looking forward to the studio version of this song for quite a while, and the band didn't fail to deliver. And then of course, there's "Two Weeks." Thank you for introducing me to this song, David Letterman. It'll always hold a special place in my soul. Other equally great moments on the album include "Dory" and "Ready, Able," but I have to give this album the song of the year: "Cheerleader." Never has Droste been in better form than with this song, and it's supported by glorious choral arrangements, backing vocals from Chris Taylor, and lead guitar from Rossen.

1. Dan Deacon - Bromst
Yes. I was one of the lucky few who got to see Dan Deacon perform with his ensemble, in one of the tiniest yet most well-known clubs in Minneapolis, the Triple Rock Social Club. How they all fit on that little stage was a mystery to me, but somehow it happened, and everyone had about 1.5 square feet of standing room amidst the jungle of wires. Dan himself had a sprained elbow from the night before in Kansas, so he brought his table o'electronics up onto the stage so as to escape the frenetic motion of the crowd. But man did he spend some time on this album. His previous effort, Spiderman of the Rings, made the top spot in my 2007 list, and for good reason, but I won't hesitate to say he's outdone himself since then. The man has classical compositional training, and it shows. This album plays like a symphony from start to finish. "Build Voice" does exactly that: it builds from a quiet whisper of vocal loops to a rollicking march, proceeding into this year's "The Crystal Cat," known as "Red F," a classic Deacon song if I've ever heard one. But the centerpiece of this album is no doubt the progression of "Snookered," "Of The Mountains," and "Surprise Stefani," three longform compositions, each of which are grandiose and beautiful for different reasons in their own respective rights. And thank the lord (Deacon) for "Woof Woof" and "Get Older," party-hard jams that will stay solid for years to come.

A Camp
Alela Diane
Amanda Blank
Andrew Bird
Angels & Airwaves
An Horse
Annuals
Arctic Monkeys
Awesome Color
Band of Annuals
Bedouin Soundclash
Ben Harper and Relentless7
Ben Johnson
Ben Kweller
Bishop Allen x2
BK-One
Blitzen Trapper x2
B.O.B
Bon Iver
Born Ruffians
Bowerbirds
Box Elders
Brian Bonz
Broken Spindles
Brother Ali
Built to Spill
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Collective Soul
Cursive
Dan Deacon
David Bazan
Dawes
Dear and the Headlights
Death Cab for Cutie
Delta Spirit x2
Dirty Projectors
Disco Doom
Drew Danburry x4
Emerson Hart
Everything, Now!
Evidence
Flogging Molly x2
Forest World
Forgive Durden
Franz Ferdinand
Future Islands
Gang Gang Dance
Gentleman Reg
Girl Talk
Git some
Gogol Bordello
Great Lake Swimmers
Guidance Counselor
Headlights x2
Hottub
I Hear Sirens
Iron & Wine
Isis
Jenny Lewis
Jessica Lea Mayfield
John Vanderslice
Jones Street Station
Joshua James
Keelhaul
Kevin Devine
Land of Talk
Lenka
Leslie & The Ly's
Lupe Fiasco
Maps & Atlases
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Marnie Stern
Matt & Kim
Megafaun
Miniature Tigers x2
Mirah
Modest Mouse
M. Ward
N.A.S.A.
Neon Indian
Norfolk & Western x2
Okkervil River
Other Lives
Pearl Jam
Q-Tip
Ra Ra Riot x2
Royal Bliss
Russian Circles
Samantha Crain
Say Hi x2
Sister Suvi
Sonic Youth
Starfucker x2 (Now Pyramiddd)
Steel Train
Stereo Total
Teeth Mountain
Telekinesis
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
Tigercity
Toki Wright
Tolchock Trio
The Airborne Toxic Event
The Alligators
The Appleseed Cast
The Future of the Ghost x4
The Like
The Love Language
The Morning Benders
The Night Marchers
The Spinto Band
The Ting Tings
Toots and The Maytals
Tune-Yards
Uzi & Ari x3
Walter Meego
we all have hooks for hands
Weezer
What Laura Says
Wye Oak
YACHT
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Young Widows
ZOX

Check it: The Best Electronic Albums of 2009

1. Falty DL - Love Is a Liability
2. Jon Hopkins - Insides
3. SND - Atavism
4. Harmonic 313 - WHEN MACHINES EXCEED HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
5. Dan Deacon- Bromst
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
7. Gui Boratto - Take My Breath Away
8. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
9. 2562 Unbalance
10. Brock Van Wey- white clouds drift on and on

100.) The Streets - A Grand Don't Come Around for Free
99.) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
98.) The Clientele - Suburban Light
97.) Kanye West - Late Registration
96.) Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too
95.) The Strokes - Is this It?
94.) Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
93.) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
92.) Liars- Drums Not Dead
91.) The Notwist - Neon Golden

90.) Spoon- Kill the Moonlight
89.) mia- Kala
88.) Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
87.) Boards of Canada - Geodaii
86.) The Rapture - Echoes
85.) Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls
84.) Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
83.) King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
82.) The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
81.) Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

80.) Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
79.) The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
78.) Daft Punk - Discovery
77.) The Microphones - It Was Hot We Stayed In the Water
76.) The xx - xx
75.) M83- Saturdays = Youth
74.) The National - Boxer
73.) The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday
72.) Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
71.) Eminem- The Marshal Mathers Lp

70.) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
69.) The Streets - Original Pirate Material
68.) Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
67.) Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird
66.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
65.) of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic
64.) The White Stripes - Elephant
63.) The National - Alligator
62.) Ms. John Soda - No P. or D.
61.) Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene

60.) Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel
59.) The Knife - Silent Shout
58.) Clinic- Internal Wrangler
57.) Feist- The Reminder
56.) Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
55.) Black Dice - Beaches and Canyons
54.) PJ Harvey- Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
53.) múm- Yesterday was Dramatic - Today was Okay
52.) Radiohead- In Rainbows
51.) OutKast- Stankonia

50.) Burial- Untrue
49.) The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
48.) Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
47.) The Walkmen - You & Me
46.) Man Man - Six Daemon Bag
45.) Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
44.) Panda Bear - Person Pitch
43.) Battles- Mirrored
42.) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
41.) No Age - Weirdo Rippers

40.) Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
39.) Sigur Rós - ()
38.) Interpol- Turn On The Bright Lights
37.) Atlas Sound - Logos
36.) Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
35.) The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
34.) Brian Wilson - SMiLE
33.) Raekwon- Only Built For Cuban Linx Pt. II
32.) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
31.) Clipse- Hell Hath No Fury

30.) Deerhunter- Cryptograms
29.) Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
28.) ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes
27.) Luomo- Vocalcity
26.) Deerhoof- The Runners Four
25.) Madvillain- Madvillainy
24.) Jens Lekman - Nightfalls Over Kortedala
23.) Portishead - Third
22.) Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
21.) Animal Collective - Sung Tongs

20.) The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
19.) Joanna Newsom - Ys
18.) Jay-Z - The Blueprint
17.) Björk- Vespertine
16.) Japandroids - Post-Nothing
15.) The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
14.) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
13.) No Age - Nouns
12.) The Avalanches - Since I Left You
11.) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

10.) The Wrens - Meadowlands
09.) The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
08.) Junior Boys - Last Exit
07.) Radiohead - Kid A
06.) Sonic Youth - Murray Street
05.) Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
04.) The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
03.) Broken Social Scene - You Forgot it in People
02.) Deerhunter - Microcastle
01.) Arcade Fire - Funeral

I liked a lot of music this year. And because I just love listing stuff in lists, here is the good stuff:

Dan Deacon - "Bromst"
Before the first listen was even over, I knew this would be one of my favourites of 2009. Bromst is one of the most joyous albums I think I've ever heard, and one I have listened to over and over without getting bored. You wouldn't know it to look at him - he's pretty much an overweight, balding and bespectacled nerd - but Dan Deacon's created one of the most exciting electronic albums in years and (from all reports that I've read) creates one of the craziest live shows you can hope to experience.



The Necks - "Silverwater"
2006's Chemist hinted at a new direction for the long-time Australian jazz trio -
after a slew of single-track albums extending beyond the 60 minute mark, Chemist contained three separate and very distinct ~20 minute pieces, with the final track even featuring guitar work by percussionist Tony Buck. Silverwater continues the evolution of their sound, but manages to retain a familiarity that Necks fans will enjoy. Silverwater is one of their longest albums and contains a lot of different themes, but manages to interweave them throughout the 67-minute journey into one long, beautiful piece. They continue to be the band that never lets me down.

Animal Collective - "Merriweather Post Pavilion"
The album that has received megahype just about everywhere, to the point where it seems like it's almost 'uncool' to list it on Best-of-2009 lists. But I don't give a damn, because this album is fantastic, it chills me out and relaxes me in a way that only AC can. Haven't heard the EP that they released in December yet, but am looking forward to it.



Ben Frost - "By the Throat"
A new album by Australian electronic artist Ben Frost is always very exciting for me, ever since his 2003 album Steel Wound absolutely blew me away (and remains one of my favourites of all time). His latest, By The Throat, is menacing and beautiful at much the same time, an album that truly needs to be appreciated alongside its wonderful artwork. Definitely an album made for dark winter nights.



D. Ramirez & Mark Knight feat. Karl Hyde - "Downpipe"
Whilst there's several great concert bootlegs floating about of new tunes, there was no new material from studio Underworld this year. Downpipe, however, helped fill the void - a fantastic tune with those stream-of-consciousness style vocals that Underworld lyricist Karl Hyde is known for. Really a stellar song.



More to come next week.

60-La Roux-La Roux


59-Woods-Songs Of Shame


58-The Gossip-Music For Men


57-Julian Casablancas-Phrazes For The Young


56-Richard Hawley-Truelove's Gutter


55-Japandroids-Post-Nothing


54-Bob Dylan-Together Through Life


53-The Big Pink-A Brief History Of Love


52-Mos Def-The Ecstatic


51-The Mars Volta-Octahedron


50-Volcano Choir-Unmap


49-Grizzly Bear-Veckatimest


48-Patrick Wolf-The Bachelor


47-Jay Reatard-Watch Me Fall


46-JJ-jj n° 2


45-Metric-Fantasies


44-Real Estate-Real Estate


43-Bibio-Ambivalence Avenue


42-Dirty Projectors-Bitte Orca


41-Arctic Monkeys-Humbug


40-The Decemberists-The Hazards Of Love


39-Passion Pit-Manners


38-YACHT-See Mystery Lights


37-Atlas Sound-Logos


36-Annie-Don't Stop


35-Eels-Hombre Lobo


34-Malcolm Middleton-Waxing Gibbous


33-Alela Diane featuring Alina Hardin-Alela & Alina


32-Kings of Convenience-Declaration Of Dependence


31-Karen O and the Kids-Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack


30-Mastodon-Crack The Skye


29-The Prodigy-Invaders Must Die


28-Bat for Lashes-Two Suns


27-Wavves-Wavves


26-Röyksopp-Junior


25-Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix


24-Dan Deacon-Bromst


23-Major Lazer-Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do


22-Antony and the Johnsons-The Crying Light


21-Camera Obscura-My Maudlin Career


20-The Drums-Summertime!


19-Neon Indian-Psychic Chasms


18-Bill Callahan-Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle


17-The Horrors-Primary Colours


16-The xx-XX


15-Girls-Album


14-Washed out-Life Of Leisure


13-Fuck Buttons-Tarot Sport


12-Peaches-I Feel Cream


11-The Dead Weather-Horehound


10-A Place to Bury Strangers-Exploding Head


9-Vivian Girls-Everything Goes Wrong


8-The Flaming Lips-Embryonic


7-Yeah Yeah Yeahs-It's Blitz


6-Alela Diane-To Be Still


5-John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey-A Woman A Man Walked By


4-Fever Ray-Fever Ray


3-Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion


2-The Raveonettes-In and Out Of Control



1-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart