Songs of 2009 part 7: Top 10 Albums of 2009

Argh! Running out of time to get this up before the end of the year... (okay, I didn't really make it. Happy 2010!)

Below are my favourite albums of the year. Most of these I knew I loved upon first listen, and only grew to love even more as I listened and relistened and played each to death over the year, in the car, on my ipod, while studying, doing my chores.

First, some honourable mentions:

About Time (EP) by Straylight Run

More upbeat and yet at the same time angrier and harder than before, Straylight recovered from the disappointment of being dropped from their major label with a great four song EP. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Buy: About Time (for only US$4!)

Lost in Pacific Time (EP) by The Academy Is...

Following on sonically from their underappreciated third album Fast Times in Barrington High, this is a great five track EP, all jangly guitars and a driving rhythm section overlaid with great melodies after a pop sensibility.

Buy: Lost in Pacific Time (AU$6)

Dark Was the Night

A compliation two disc album where the proceeds went towards HIV/AIDS work. The contributors read like a who's who of indie music, an amazing list of artists and songs and collaborations. I highly recommend getting a copy for yourself, it's worth checking out for Sufjan Stevens' reworking of 'You Are the Blood' or for Cat Powers' lovely version of 'Amazing Grace' or for Gillian Welch and Conor Oberst together on 'Lua'.

Buy: Dark Was the Night


And now, to the actual list... *drumroll*

10. There Is No Enemy by Built to Spill

A return to form for veteran band BtS. The album has that fuzzy guitar sound, Doug Martsch's yelp-like voice, and some almost-alt-country melodies as the lyrics contemplate the fears and worries of the everyday and this world.

listen: 'Things Fall Apart', a standout track; slow, and slow-building, almost-dreamlike.



9. New Again by Taking Back Sunday

It's a patchy album, but when TBS are good they're really good. Bookended with the best songs: the 1-2 punch of the album opener 'New Again' and lead single 'Sink Into Me'; and the revengeful, regretful closers 'Capital M-E', 'Carpathia' and 'Everything Must Go'. The latter is particularly bitterly heartbreaking as everything - the lyrics about the end of a dream and Adam Lazzara's angrysadbrokendown voice and all the rage and regret - comes together in one fantastic song.

Listen: 'Everything Must Go'



8 Middle Cyclone by Neko Case

Her voice is so beautiful, and it rings through the alt-country tinged songs of this album, soaking it in an atmosphere of smoke and tenderness and longing.

Download:
People Got A Lot of Nerve (click to download)


7. Hold Time by M. Ward

I love the sound of this album, all lo-fi and folky, matched perfectly with the lazy huskiness of his voice. There's something for everybody, from the upbeat collaborations with Zooey Deschanel like 'Never Had Nobody Like You' to slow, grand songs like the sombre, beautiful title track.

Download:
Never Had Nobody Like You


6. Zounds by Dappled Cities

Dappled have gone with a more electronic, darker sound on this third album, but they haven't lost their touch at building great songs: there's the same great grasp of melodies, blending shimmering synths and layers of guitars and dreamy vocal calls over evershifting drumlines.

Download:
The Price


5. I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers

Late to the party, but oh, I'm so glad Al pushed them time after time at me. A little folk, a little Americana, a little alt-country, but most of all, plenty awesome. From beautifully sweet songs like 'I and Love and You' to the fun, witty 'Kick Drum Heart', the songs are perfect in their simplicity.

Watch/Listen: 'Kick Drum Heart'

The Avett Brothers - Ch 7: "Kick Drum Heart" (Official Music Video) - Watch more top selected videos about: The_Avett_Brothers


4. Brother's Blood by Kevin Devine

Kevin Devine is a singer-songwriter who says his influences are "comic books, 90's guitar rock over and underground, good folk and country music, punk rock, social justice, books in general, books and books and books", which comes across most strongly in his way with words. He writes great songs about things going wrong (with the world, with relationships, himself) with an angry, weary passion and I love the way this album makes me feel; that yeah, even when sometimes we're bruised and hurt we press on the bruises, we go back for more.

I really really recommend the two tracks below; they are fantastic, complex songs, lyrically and musically.

Download:
Brother's Blood
Carnival


3. Hazards Of Love by The Decemberists

Not content with having one concept album under their belt (previous album The Crane Wife, based on a Japanese fable), the Decemberists returned with a full rock-opera, originally planned as a musical. Having seen them perform this in its entirety, I can say unequivocally that it is meant to be enjoyed in this form. And the more I listen to it, the more I am amazed that a band has the guts to make such wonderful anachronistic music and be celebrated for it.

Buy:
The Hazards of Love

When it came down to these two albums, I couldn't justifiably rank one above the other. So I cheated; I have two absolute favourite albums of the year.

1. = Daisy by Brand New

Still moody, but maybe even more angry and frustrated and resigned this time around. I was surprised by the relative simplicity of Daisy compared to the more accessible but complex previous album The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, but I love it all the same for the directness of emotion that comes across in the harsh, restless music. It's the sound of a breakdown in process, an unravelling; it's raw and painful and mesmerising. I will always remember the first time the hymn slid without warning into the screams on 'Vices', surprising and shocking me into the mood of the album.

Watch: a stripped back version of 'At the Botton' in the studio

Brand New - At the Bottom (Daisy Sessions) from The Old Man and the Seymour on Vimeo.

1. = Mean Everything to Nothing by Manchester Orchestra


I was sucked into this from the moment Andy Hull sings the first line: "I am the only one who thinks I'm going crazy". The first half of the album is packed with layered, intense rock songs, howling and powerful and almost overwhelming, save that it's balanced by a sense of insecurity and worries in the lyrics. The latter half of the album, however, is more contemplative; softer and more vulnerable and emotionally painful. Andy Hull's voice is amazing; it roars over the pounding guitars and drums, and cracks in the softer moments, tender and broken. I listen to this album when I'm feeling down, bruised, and scared; not because it tells me that everything will be okay, but because it gets how I feel.

Download:
I've Got Friends


Songs of 2009 part 6
Songs of 2009 part 5
Songs of 2009 part 4
Songs of 2009 part 3
Songs of 2009 part 2
Songs of 2009 part 1