Best Albums 2009

Many a ‘Best of 2009’ list is coming out this time of year. Guess what? Here’s another! The difference you must accept here is I’m a flawed yet wonderful person, not some god awful critic. So here goes. Remember you are free to disagree, and I welcome discussion but don’t be lazy about it. [Deep breath]

10: Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! – Various
Ben Folds’ music is the stuff which music geeks adore, so it seems a fitting and touching gesture to his fans that he would record reworked versions of some of his best loved songs as done by college a cappella groups. The results turn ‘Not the Same’ into an epic, ‘Brick’ into a hymnal, ‘Jesusland’ into an angelic choir (by the stellar all-girl group of the University of North Carolina, The Loreleis) and the wit and humour in ‘Army’ becomes more evident with tongue planted firmly in cheek. What we have here is the greatest ‘best of’ ever.

9: Ignore The Ignorant – The Cribs
To the uninitiated, this post punk band of brothers is seeped in indie cred. Their previous album (2007’s “Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever”) was produced by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. In the interim, Johnny Marr (the Smiths’ legendary guitarist) joined the band. And then they topped it all off by writing an album full of anthems for the well-dressed hipster inside us all, the whole thing topped with Marr’s distinct guitar ringing out clear (as demonstrated by Smiths tribute ‘We Share The Same Skies’).

8: Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear
One thing the world does not need is one more word written about how you can “hear the Radiohead influences on this album”. That is an insult to the quartet from Brooklyn who created such a beautifully crafted set of songs and named the whole thing after an island off Cape Cod that is a haven to grizzly bears. Not one part in twelve songs sounds out of place, as harmony upon harmony sweeps over you.
Ed Droste’s plaintive croon and Daniel Rossen’s quavering folk troubadour voice compliment each other beautifully, but it’s the band’s “pop” songs that offer the biggest satisfaction. ‘Two Weeks’ screams of Beach Boys, ‘Ready, Able’ swings between two different moods violently enough to shock the system and ‘While You Wait For The Others’ is a lost 70’s AM gem to a tee.

7: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix
After years of being “that awesome French band that not enough people listen to”, Phoenix rose to the public’s attention with this little album that did. Produced by Phillipe Zdar - the dance impresario of Paris- Phoenix’s golden sound was made even more interesting (the two-part epic “Love Like A Sunset”) and the whole thing is propelled forward with an energy impossible to describe (like on ‘1901’, ‘Lisztomania’ and ‘Lasso’).

6: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum – Kasabian
If 2006’s pleasure-fest “Empire” was a promise to deliver, have these boys Delivered. It swaggers (‘Underdog’, ‘Vlad The Impaler’, ‘Where Did All The Love Go?’), it gets dirty (‘Fast Fuse’), it gets a little crazy (‘Swarfiga’, ‘West Ryder Silver Bullet’) and boy oh BOY does it get epic (‘Fire’). In the year Oasis called it quits, it’s a pleasure to know that the next generation of loud-mouthed rockers are going to keep their banner flying high and proud.

5: It’s Blitz! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Synth was the weapon of choice this year, and the howlin’ Miss Orzolek and friends were no different. Although the album never quite recovers from the one-two punch of openers ‘Zero’ and ‘Heads Will Roll’, it still is a weighty testament to the band’s versatile sound, from the Celtic flavour of ‘Skeletons’ to the barnstormer ‘Dull Life’, Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase control their own chaos, and the result is more upbeat then their previous albums.

4: Kingdom of Rust – Doves
The heartfelt at its most grandiose, brothers Andy and Jez Williams along with Jimi Goodwin dish out something so beautiful at points it’ll tear you apart to listen. The spaghetti western influenced title track could very well be the anthem of all heartbroken sensitive blokes everywhere. Contrast that to the pounding ‘House of Mirrors’, or the slinky electronic opener ‘Jetstream’ where the giant sound is inverted.
Doves are one of the most underrated bands in the world today, constantly making great albums, yet never getting more than slight airplay outside their native England. This album, however, got them one step closer to the attention they richly deserve.

3: Horehound – The Dead Weather
Jack White’s next band did what he does with his other two: blues rock with a lot of bite. This time though, he’s a drummer, with Alison Mosshart of the Kills on synth and vocals deeper than White. The result is definitely twisted. Debut single ‘Hang You From The Heavens’ is twisted and the rest of the album gets just as mangled from there… Especially ‘I Cut Like A Buffalo’… Real twisted music.

2: Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
Ladies and gentlemen, the best album not to be released this year. Alternative troubadour Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) and renegade producer Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) teamed up together with director David Lynch and a legion of singers including Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, James Mercer of the Shins, Black Francis of the Pixies, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes Iggy Pop and Nina Persson of the Cardigans. The result is a beautiful film in music, with David Lynch’s alien vocals on ‘Star Eyes’ a standout.
But due to a legal dispute with EMI, the album may never be released. Not to be outdone, the albums website still sells the CD-R that should contain the music but it’s blank! So do your bit and find one of the many album torrents floating around. Maybe even buy a DNOTS CD-R. I’m not condoning an illegal activity. I’m trying to introduce this album to a wider audience.

1: Lungs – Florence and the Machine
Florence Welch is one crazy woman with amazing talent. From the opener ‘Dog Days Are Over’ all stomping and Welch’s voice harmonising over itself to the final XX cover ‘You Got the Love’ none can deny what is here. Her off-centre style calls to mind Kate Bush and the sultry earthen voice makes her all the more powerful.
It get quite strange on ‘Kiss With a Fist’ and ‘My Boy Builds Coffins’ and it may take a few listens to understand what’s going on. But elsewhere on ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’ and ‘Cosmic Love’ everything feels magnificent, so much so that it’s impossible to feel anything but uplifted time and time and time again.

This article first appeared on my Facebook page on January 5th 2009.