Best of 2009

The prospect of writing up a list of the best of anything is harrowing, and for a music lover, having to somehow rank music by musicians you adore is near impossible (commence metaphors about picking favorite children.)  However, it is the difficulty of the task that makes it so thrilling.  So, I’m here to try to convince you, my readers, that the albums I am about to rank off are ones you should invest your time, money, ears and hearts in.  Though one would think the following disclaimer goes without saying, I prefer to be perfectly explicit:  the albums here are by no means an exhaustive “best of” list, because I am one woman with two ears and not the most money (and yes, I still pay for my music).  These are the best albums that *I* listened to this year.  However, because they span folk-rock, indie-pop, Americana and gritty blues rock, I’m hoping there’s enough here to induce head-nodding or curiosity great enough to get you to check a band out.  Alright, now that we have all these niceties out of the way, let’s get real.

10.  The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

If you took a lavish children’s storybook illustrated by someone like Chris Van Allsburg (The Polar Express, Jumanji) and then put a Brothers Grim-and-then-some twist to the end, you’d have a good idea of what the experience of listening to the Decemberists’ opus, The Hazards of Love, is like.  It’s intricate, dramatic, intellectual – what we’ve come to expect from Colin Meloy and co. to an even higher degree.  The story is fantastical and fun, the guest spots by Shara Worden are hotly intense, and “Annan Water” might push you to tears.  A musical triumph.

9.  The Dead Weather – The Dead Weather

Pure sex.  It’s been said before, but it bears repeating – Alison Mosshart is pure sex on the Dead Weather’s debut album.  Her backing band of Dean Fertita, Jack Lawrence and some dude name Jack White paint a stark, minimalist rock background for her vocals to soar over, around and through.  It’s what punk rock would sound like if it had been born in the south.

8.  Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – Know Better Learn Faster

Thao Nguyen kicks off her fourth full-length LP by sort of shrugging to her listener:  “If this is how you want it/OK, ok, ok.”  It seems to pain her initially, but then she kicks it up and invites you into her musical world with clapping and stomping – a general ruckus.  What follows are 12 songs about day-to-day trials and tribulations most of us face, past, present or future.  The title track features Andrew Bird-like orchestral arrangements, whereas “Body”’s sensual vocals and nasty guitar have an undeniable ska swagger.  Nguyen’s voice is at once unique and comfortable, like thick, rich coffee.  This album showcases it beautifully on varied indie-pop gems.  Superb.

7.  Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

That a Scotsman can create songs so deeply infused with Americana, Louisiana blues and zydeco influences is impressive in itself.  The fact that Paolo Nutini is able to pull it off not only believably, but confidently, richly and skillfully is what makes Sunny Side Up one of the best albums of the year.  Like his first release, These Streets, Nutini focuses his lyrical attention on matters of the heart.  “Coming Up Easy” perfectly captures that wonderful lazy-weekend time you spend with a significant other, where the album’s first single, “Candy,” is a melancholic tale of lovesickness.  Nutini’s honeyed vocals can go from sultry to silly to sad, all within three tracks.  Musically, the songs off of Sunny Side Up show more musical maturity for this young artist, while maintaining fun on tunes like “Simple Things.”  Overall, the album shows a lot of growth and promise for Nutini, and is a treat to listen to.

6.  Ideal Soul Mart – Ideal Soul Mart

The first album from this Austin-based duo is a tight set of memorable indie pop-rock songs.  Though Clay Fain and Adam Luikart are the only members in the band, they still pull off a full and encompassing sound, on the album and live.  The lyrics hit at the heart of life for most twenty-somethings; confusion about the future, frustration with feeling stagnant, and coming to terms with the unchangeable past.  They are then showcased beautifully, complimented by carefully placed guitar riffs, vocal echoes, keyboard parts and driving drum rhythms.  Though this is the first album for this particular Fain/Luikart incarnation, they’ve recorded before in numerous other bands together and apart, and it shows.  The songs are complete and clear thoughts, full of life and emotion.  Now go buy this record so the guys can do another one!

5.  Kings of Leon – Only By the Night

From those dark, cautionary opening chords to the final “secret” track, Only By the Night arrests listeners and shoves super-memorable rock riffs into their brains.  It has proven to be the Kings of Leon’s most accessible album state-side to date, and there is good reason for that.  It’s the most polished-sounding record the Followills have released, too, which will surely turn off some fans of the older, grittier southern rock the guys put out.  Today, I would definitely agree – I prefer the stuff on Aha Shake and Because of the Times.  However, it took Only By the Night before I became a complete Kings convert, so I’ve gotta give it its dues.  Songs like “Crawl” maintain the attitude of older Kings songs, whereas “Manhattan” and “Revelry” prove that the guys can slow it down and rock a ballad.  “Notion” features that recognizable Caleb howl, and “Cold Desert” is a heart-wrencher for all of the cowboys and cowgirls out there.  The rockin’ kickoff to “Frontier City” belies its smooth-rock verses, once again hinting at the Kings’ growing musical diversity.  A solid album that points to a solid future for these newly-crowned kings of rock (oh yes, I went there).

4. Peter Bjorn and John – Living Thing

Peter Bjorn and John have been writing songs together for a decade now, and after so many years together, it is clear that they are becoming more and more comfortable with musical experimentation.  Indeed, for a band whose biggest hit (“Young Folks” off of Writer’s Block) featured whistling and a sweet male-female vocal duet, it was incredibly ballsy of the trio to come out, arms swinging, with their first single featuring the F-bomb. It was like a giant middle finger to the music industry; a song that would be impossible to become a commercial hit, but that was nonetheless danceable and catchy. From this first free-download forward, Peter Bjorn and John pushed the creative limits. Living Thing is both minimalist and provocative, with hip-hop children’s choruses, Paul Simon-evoking bass lines, and bare-bones love songs framed (literally?) in Picasso metaphors.  It’s a fantastic album that will get you out on the dance floor, but get your brain gears in motion, too.

3.  Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South

Perhaps it is because I was fortunate enough to watch the band perform the songs from Outer South across the water from the Statue of Liberty on the 4^th of July, but Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band’s tunes seem to spill over with strictly American imagery, folk-rock grit and down-home twang.  As Oberst’s songs do, these tend to deal with feelings of wistfulness, of being nomadic, and of being infinitesimal.  However, as Oberst has grown older, his lyrics have become somewhat more contented, or at the very least, more positive.  He’s no Pollyanna, but there is hope to be found on this record.  Furthermore, Oberst shared the staged with his bandmates on this record, which lends to a sense of true camaraderie.  Nik Freitas’ songs are the next-best on the record, with “Big Black Nothing” standing out above the rest; the piano part coupled with the drums puts you on a train barreling forward into the unknown, and the chant-circle chorus is simultaneously fun and awesome.  Taylor Hollingsworth throws down some really great tracks as well; the super-poppy “Air Mattress” is a really fun track, and “Snake Hill,” in the tradition of any good old blues country tune, will break your heart.  Still, Oberst’s stuff shines the most on this record, with songs like the intensely political and hard-rocking “Roosevelt Room,” the folksy friend anthem “I Got the Reason #2,” and one of the most beautiful Oberst-penned love songs up to this point, “White Shoes.”  It’s an album that makes you hope with all your heart for this particular band lineup to reconvene.

2.  Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk

The supergroup of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Jim James and M. Ward managed to delicately weave fifteen beautiful tracks together that are distinct enough to keep the listener interested, but cohesive enough to fit together in an album.  Some songs are clearly the brainchildren of particular artists within the group (“Man Named Truth,” “Goodway,” “Losin Yo Head”), whereas others (“Dear God,” “Say Please,” “Baby Boomer”) combine elements to showcase the gentlemen’s combined powers.  This album was wonderful for fans of the guys’ individual projects, as well as folks who’ve never delved into their deep catalogues.  The tunes are accessible and innovative.  The lyrics range from timely and cleverly critical to soothingly beautiful.  For artists with such strong personal voices, to be able to come together and produce pieces as lovely and as strong as those on this album is an impressive feat.  Strong and catchy songwriting, dynamic and moving music, and a true sense of brotherhood – the perfect concoction for a fantastic album.

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix

I swear to you here and now, based on my recent obsession with Conor Oberst and all things folk, or even my indulgence in the entire Kings of Leon catalogue over the summer, I would have told you a mere month ago that one of those artists’ albums would top my best-of list.  However, I’m going with Phoenix, and let me explain why.  Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix kicks off with an infectious, eager and peppy piano part that immediately draws the listener in and gets them moving.  The guitar and drums fill out the sound on “Lisztomania,” and when Thomas Mars’ sweet vocals soar up into the mix, exposing some kind of internal mental battle, I defy anyone to leave the album before the final chords of “Armistice.”  There is not a single clunker on the album, and although it is accessible and energetic, that doesn’t make it trite.  This is no re-hashing of past pop albums; it’s a full-bodied re-imagination of electro-pop music.  It’s not that it is a surprising follow-up to the band’s 2006 release, It’s Never Been Like That.  It just takes the accessibility of that album, and adds a unique, slightly experimental twist to it that keeps it fresh and refreshing.  Even the ubiquitous “1901” is so addictive, with its accented chorus of “fold it,” that instead of rolling their eyes, hardcore fans of the band still rejoice when it is performed at a live concert.  “Fences” wafts in gently, waterfalling into angelic vocals set to a clap-along rhythm.  When Mars acts the broken record on the word “dissident” and “miss it,” it’s simultaneously sticky and soulful, adding weight to the tune.  The instrumental “Love Like A Sunset Part I” builds so wonderfully that the “Part II” payoff is akin to watching an entire feature film.  “Part I” begins like rain in a big city; the buzz of electricity offsets the gentle drops that fall on the pavement.  Thunderous synth warns of the impending wall of noise – bright guitars alongside of a building wave of cymbal crashes, accompanying plunky guitar riffs as the synth builds and builds, almost cresting, but suddenly – the whirr of the passing storm, light cymbal crash, simulated noisiness of people try to get home for the evening.  Electronic drum beats set the scene for a city getting ready for its nightlife, and we build again, this time with heavier guitar plinking and deep synth sound.  The drums leave us expectant, with a near-panic in our chests as we wonder what’s around the corner.  Finally, with the rumble of a bass drum, we discover – we’re in the city, but oblivious as the final guitar chords signal the massive setting of the sun.  This song is epic without being heavy-handed, and Mars’ verses at the end sum it up beautifully:  “Acres/Visible horizons/Right where it starts, it ends/Oh and then we start the end/Acres/Visible illusion/Oh where it starts, it ends/Love like a sunset.”  Fantastic.  And if that weren’t enough, as the sun peacefully disappears out of view, gentle guitars duet us into night.  Then we break into the catchy nugget, “Lasso.”  This is as close to pop perfection as one can hope to reach; super memorable chorus, full, jangly guitars, interesting enough rhythm to keep the listener interested, and that ever-relatable topic, loneliness.  “Rome” starts out sparse, but adds layers of electric guitar, like different vocal choruses that eventually break into thick reverb-laden chords.  The drums steadily build, and then break suddenly to Mars’ voice, stark and honest.  At the peak of the song, the acceptance of the relationship ending, it breaks again into enveloping sound.  “Countdown” seems antithetical to the rest of the tunes on the album; it starts out with a lot going on, and only quiets at the chorus.  “Girlfriend,” a sparkly ode to the ladies of the world in relationships.  Finally, “Armistice” ends things on a dark note.  There’s a sense of danger in the song, and the lyrics riff on the frustration of a stagnant relationship.  Mars sings with frustration and desperation, and the end of the song doesn’t resolve the situation; nothing is fixed, but it doesn’t necessarily feel doomed, either.  So, in summary – this album is simultaneously accessible and innovative, addictive with substance, and incredibly enjoyable.  There isn’t a bad track to be found on the entire album, and its critical and popular acclaim have sent Phoenix into stardom.  It’s an all-around winner, and my pick for the best of 2009.

Honorable mentions:

Stellastarr* – Graffiti Eyes

MUSE – The Resistance

The Dodos – Time To Die

Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart

Silversun Pickups – Swoon

Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio

test Filed under Music, Reviews | Tags: Best of 2009, Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Ideal Soul Mart, Kings of Leon, Monsters of Folk, Paolo Nutini, Phoenix, Sondre Lerche, Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, The Dead Weather, The Decemberists | Comment (1)