I'll try once again to give a top 10 list of the year...acknowledging that there are going to be albums from 2009 I will discover 4 years from now and love more than any of those listed here.
1. Grizzly Bear -Veckatimest - the rest will be hard to rank, but this is comfortably #1 of the year for me. Lush and dark and beautiful. While you wait for the others is absolutely stunning.
and in no particular order....
2. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca - YAY for this album!! The gorgeous West African guitar and crazy vocal acrobatics from the women in the group balance out Dave Longstreth's unique vocal style to make something both wonderfully odd and surprisingly accessible.
3. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light - A strong album from beginning to end, and really, music doesn't get much more beautiful - or haunting.
4. Dark Was the Night - Various Artists - Absolutely fantastic compilation album in support of Red Hot, an international charitable HIV/AIDS awareness organization. What I would have done to be at the live performance that went along with this release...
5. Akron/Family - Set 'em wild, set 'em free - It's Akron/Family. Do I have to say more? Perhaps not their most consistent album, but it's still great.
6. Noble Beast - Andrew Bird - Probably my favorite Andrew Bird album. Enough said. Watch and listen to Anonanimal, and be amazed.
7. Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice - And indeed, it is. Not 100% consistent, but there are some fantastic tracks on here...and as I have spoken about him so often on this site, it would be wrong not to put this on the list.
8. Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels - I'm a sucker for banjo.
9. Rock Plaza Central - At the moment of our most needing... - I'm a sucker for banjo. Still.
10. The Morning Benders - Talking Through Tin Cans - OK this is a bit of a ringer. It is not from 2009, it's from 2008. And at this point I don't know if I can honestly assess if it is good or not - all I know is that it has been on constant play in my car for over two months (I don't drive much) and I CAN'T take it off...but I CAN sing along, badly. Extremely well written pop, that's for sure.
PHEW - done!
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5 comments:
Oh yay! Excited to finally see the list! And excellent choices, indeed. And you gave me some new albums to check out, as well. I've been on a bit of a music tear since Christmas- iTunes cards! If you don't have it, get "The Beat Stuff" by Hannah Georgas, and "The Line" by The Weather Station. So good! Hope your Christmas was great, and New Years is even better.
Thanks for the suggestions! Will use up my next batch of downloads...
Great list! I'm with you on Veckatimest as the #1 album. Haven't heard of Rock Plaza Central (I'm also a sucker for banjo) - will definitely check that out. Here are a few other good ones from 2009: Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career; Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (collaboration with Beck); the Decemberists - The Hazards of Love; Beirut - March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland; and Neko Case - Middle Cyclone.
Good suggestions Chris - few there I haven't listened to yet but know I need to. Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms almost made it as well - as did Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion (likely not your first choice ;). Also have yet to hear all of Wilco's album from this year, that may have been in there too.
oh this looks so good! (i need you to make me a best of mix please!) xo
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