The Drones, Havilah
Handsome Furs, Face Control
The Marches, 4 a.m. is the new midnight
Megafaun, Gather, Form and Fly
Metric, Fantasies
Sunn O))), Monoliths and Dimensions
Sunset Rubdown, Dragonslayer
The Very Best, Warm Heart of Africa
The Very Best, Warm Heart of Africa
M. Ward, Hold Time
Woods, Songs of Shame
Woods, Songs of Shame
And without further ado, the Top 50:
50. Pearl JamBackspacer
I think I’m finally coming to grips with the fact that the days of Pearl Jam releasing difficult albums like Vitalogy are over. No longer is the band challenging its audience with rewarding experiments like “Who You Are.” But I can’t really complain when I have songs like “Got Some.”
Key Tracks: "Got Some," "Just Breathe"
Years of Refusal
Key Tracks: "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris," "Mama Lay Softly On the Riverbed”
48. Super Furry AnimalsDark Days/Light Years
Key Tracks: "Inaugural Trams," "Where Do You Wanna Go"
47. Dan DeaconBromst
Dan Deacon lives in his own crazy world. It’s a world I don’t think I’d want to live in, but it’s fun to visit.
Key Tracks: "Build Voice," "Paddling Ghost"
46. U2No Line on the Horizon
Those of us who braved No Line on the Horizon despite hearing “Get on Your Boots” were rewarded with an otherwise solid album (sorry U2, you could not have a picked a worse lead single). I count myself lucky to be loyal in this case (a lot luckier than when I shelved out $13 for the last Interpol record).
Key Tracks: "Magnificent," "Moment of Surrender"
45. Dinosaur Jr.Farm
Key Tracks: "Plans," "Pieces"
44. Cymbals Eat GuitarsWhy There Are Mountains
Key Tracks: "…And the Hazy Sea," "Some Trees (Merritt Moon)"
43. YACHTSee Mystery Lights
Key Tracks: "I'm In Love With a Ripper," "Psychic City (Voodoo City)"
42. Manic Street PreachersJournal for Plague Lovers
Key Tracks: "Jackie Collins Existential Question," "Journal for Plague Lovers"
41. A Sunny Day in Glasgow Ashes Grammar
Connecting the dots between the Cocteau Twins and their Warp Records counterparts.
Key Tracks: "Close Chorus," "Nitetime Rainbows”
40. Various Artists
Dark Was the Night
It’s been referred to by many as “a who’s who of Indie Rock” (and you have to admit with the Arcade Fire, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, et al., the talent pool here is impressive). Even the greatest double disc compilation is bound to have some filler, but as compilations go this one is unique in that, although not all of the 31 tracks are essential listening, the great majority are quality songs. There is a wealth of excellent material here including some neat collaborations, not to mention some tracks are just downright extraordinary (see Sufjan Stevens’ “You Are the Blood” or Grizzly Bear’s “Deep Blue Sea” to name a couple).
Key Tracks: "You Are the Blood," "Deep Blue Sea," "Knotty Pine"
39. jjjj n° 2
This album has a pot leaf on the cover and the third track is called “Ecstacy.” So, obviously the band’s strengths must be pretty overwhelming if their pre-occupations with getting high haven’t ruined the album. And they are, I’ll just leave it at that.
Key Tracks: "Ecstacy," "Things Will Never Be the Same Again"
38. Alela DianeTo Be Still
Key Tracks: "To Be Still," "White As Diamonds"
37. Florence and the MachineLungs
Key Tracks: "I'm Not Calling You a Liar," "Dog Days Are Over"
36. MewNo More Stories…
Key Tracks: "New Terrain," "Cartoons and Macrame Wounds"
35. Bill CallahanSometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
The artist formerly known as Smog turns in one his best efforts to date under his real name, Bill Callahan.
Key Tracks: "Too Many Birds," "The Wind and the Dove"
34. The HorrorsPrimary Colours
Every year the UK picks a handful of albums and hypes them up beyond belief while US critics all but ignore them. There were plenty of albums that fell into this category in 2010, but this year’s honor (or should I say honour) goes the Horrors. They seemed to be the band raised up by NME that has the distinction of being ignored by the US the most. It’s a little unfortunate but I guess it balances out (after all they’re overrated in most of the world), the fact of the matter is this album is a better album than even seemed possible by the Horrors based on their debut.
Key Tracks: "Sea Within a Sea," "Three Decades"
33. WilcoWilco (The Album)
Key Tracks: "Wilco," "I'll Fight"
32. BibioAmbivalence Avenue
Key Tracks: "Ambivalence Avenue," "The Palm of Your Wave," "Fire Ant"
31. DeerhunterRainwater Cassette Exchange EP
Key Tracks: "Circulation," "Disappearing Ink," "Famous Last Words"
30. Neon IndianPsychic Charms
Key Tracks: "Deadbeat Summer," "6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)"
29. Micachu and the ShapesJewellery
Jewellery comes close to replicating the chaos in my head. Its spontaneous mish mash of genres and sounds is utterly unique.
Key Tracks: "Vulture," "Eat Your Heart," "Calculator"
28. Arctic MonkeysHumbug
Key Tracks: "Cornerstone," "The Jeweller's Hands"
27. Real EstateReal Estate
Key Tracks: "Beach Comber," "Suburban Dogs"
26. RaekwonOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx 2
Key Tracks: "The New Wu," "Mean Streets," "Kiss the Ring"
25. The Big PinkA Brief History of Love
Key Tracks: "Dominos," "Count Backwards From Ten," "Velvet"
24. Bear In HeavenBeast Rest Forth Mouth
Key Tracks: "Lovesick Teenagers," "Fake Out," "You Do You"
23. DM StithHeavy Ghost
Key Tracks: "Isaac's Song," "Fire of Birds," "GMS"
22. Memory TapesSeek Magic
Key Tracks: "Plain Material," "Bicycle," "Graphics"
21. Neko CaseMiddle Cyclone
Key Tracks: "Vengeance is Sleeping," "The Pharaohs," "Don't Forget Me"
20. Passion PitManners
Passion Pit filled in the gap left by the Black Kids lackluster full-length. Anthemic, synthesizer tinged rock done right.
Key Tracks: "Make Light," "To Kingdom Come," "Sleepyhead"
19. JapandroidsPost-Nothing
Key Tracks: "Young Hearts Spark Fire," "The Boys Are Leaving Town," "I Quit Girls"
18. F:)©Ħ ButtonsTarot Sport
Key Tracks: "Space Mountain," "Flight of the Feathered Serpent"
17. Marissa NadlerLittle Hells
Key Tracks: "The Hole is Wide," "Loner," "Mistress"
16. Wild BeastsTwo Dancers
Key Tracks: "All the King's Men," "The Fun Powder Plot," "We Still Got the Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues"
15. The Pains of Being Pure at HeartThe Pains of Being Pure at Heart
What this band lacks in originality they make up for by simply being extremely enjoyable. This album deserves to counted amongst the great twee and shoegaze albums of the past.
Key Tracks: "Contender," "Young Adult Fiction," "A Teenager in Love"
14. Atlas SoundLogos
Key Tracks: "Walkabout," "Quick Canal," "An Orchid"
13. Camera ObscuraMy Maudlin Career
Key Tracks: "French Navy," "Swans," "Honey In the Sun"
12. Yeah Yeah YeahsIt's Blitz!
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs ran the risk of taking a winning idea and overusing it to the point that they sound like a parody of themselves (Our Love to Admire comes to mind again). It’s Blitz takes their garage rock and gives it a rewarding new wave reworking.
Key Tracks: "Zero," "Hysteric," "Little Shadow"
11. The Antlers Hospice
The paradox of Hospice is that it is as hard to listen to as it is cathartic and satisfying. Although the concept and details of the album are terrifyingly specific (a harrowing account of losing a loved one to bone cancer), it’s laid out in way anyone who has dealt with loss and grief can relate to. Chilling.
Key Tracks: "Kettering," "Sylvia," "Bear"
10. St. VincentActor
St. Vincent’s (AKA Annie Clark) fantastic debut Marry Me received just enough fanfare to incite a reasonable amount of anticipation for her follow-up, but not enough to insure that even if it was only slightly less impressive than her debut, she wouldn’t wind up fading into obscurity. Luckily for all of us Actor proved superior to her debut on nearly all fronts. The arrangements are more elaborate, buzzing synths and other interesting production touches have been added into the mix, and, of course, the songs themselves are amazing. Furthermore, on Actor, Clark has truly mastered the art of shifting from the hauntingly stoic vocal we’ve come to expect from her to the anxious and expressive. I don’t know what album #3 holds, but you can sign me up for a copy now.
Key Tracks: "The Neighbors," "Actor Out of Work," "The Strangers"
9. The Flaming LipsEmbryonic
I’ll admit I was already starting to write the Flaming Lips off after At War With the Mystics, which was a bit unfair. Surely a band with such a rewarding back catalogue deserves to be able to make at least one misstep without being cast aside as though their best days are over. But then they brought us the shocking career twist that is Embryonic, a dense, psychedelic freak-out trapped in a miasmic vapor.
Key Tracks: "Watching the Planets," "Gemini Syringes," "Silver Trembling Hands"
8. PhoenixWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
So all of a sudden Phoenix are popular, they’ve got a modern rock hit, they’re selling like hotcakes. It all seems awfully random given they’ve been around for a decade and have been consistently churning out Indie pop rock gems (in fact, I hear they will make your stomach explode if you mix them with Coke. Okay yeah, that’s bad, sorry). Although the recognition is long overdue, I can’t say it hasn’t come at the right time given that Phoenix are completely on top of their game, delivering their second set of flawless songs (the first being 2006’s superb It’s Never Been Like That). Which album ranks as the better of the two? The decade end list is just around the corner, I promise.
Key Tracks: "Lisztomania," "1901," "Girlfriend"
Fever Ray
Against my better judgment, I will confide to you that I didn’t realize that all of the Knife’s vocals were handled by Karin Dreijer Andersson until listening to her solo album Fever Ray. I had always just assumed that the deep voices heard on the Knife’s records had been sung by her brother/band mate Olof Andersson. So I was a little troubled upon that first listen to Fever Ray, coming to realize that those were in fact Karin’s pitch-shifted-to-the-point-they’re-disturbing vocals. But let’s face it, even the cover of this album is mysteriously ominous. All this to say that Fever Ray is Silent Shout’s hushed little sister and just about as successful of a follow up to that album’s genius as one could reasonably hope for.
Key Tracks: "If I Had a Heart," "When I Grow Up," "Seven"
6. Bat for LashesTwo Suns
Bat For Lashes' Two Suns shows off Natasha Khan as the rightful heir to the dramatic space occupied by Bjork, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey. It's a brooding work that's that takes the listener into some mysterious alternate reality. New wave and goth flourishes abound, and there are various electronic elements, but Two Suns is strikingly original. And Scott Walker makes a guest appearance, what else could you ask for?
Key Tracks: "Daniel," "Glass," "Travelling Woman"
5. Dirty ProjectorsBitte Orca
The Dirty Projectors have always been a band bursting with technical skill, but on Bitte Orca, they turned their virtuosity into a handful of immaculately arranged, immensely enjoyable songs unparalleled in their rather large back catalogue. But the band didn’t trade their more difficult tendencies for accessibility. As approachable as Bitte Orca is in respect to their older work, it still offers plenty of curve balls and twisted takes on R&B, folk and indie rock. Bitte Orca stands as one of 2009’s truly singular works.
Key Tracks: "Stillness Is the Move," "Two Doves," "The Bride"
4. The xxxx
The xx’s use of space is a tradition that harkens back to minimalists like the Young Marble Giants and beyond. But the xx aren’t mere retreads, the band has a sense of drama that is all their own. They leave their emotions hanging in mid-air as the spare interweaving parts burrow their way into your brain. In fact, XX feels about as intimate as an album can get and yet, like many a good film, in the end you’re left attempting to fill in the blanks.
Key Tracks: "Shelter," "Crystalized," "Infinity"
3. GirlsAlbum
Who here thought Girls’ back story was a farce? I certainly couldn’t blame you, it definitely seems like a PR scheme far too outrageous to actually be true. But after hearing Girls’ debut I’m not sure I want to question it. The longing for a father, the failed relationships, the longing for a pizza, it all feels like a desperate plea for some semblance of a semi-normal life (okay, maybe not the pizza part, I’m longing for a pizza right now and I wasn’t raised in a cult). And though this may sound like a rather despondent affair, Girls keeps their sense of humor intact and it’s played splendidly through a mixture of 60’s pop, Spiritualized and Guided By Voices.
Key Tracks: "Hellhole Ratrace," "Laura," "Lust For Life"
2. Grizzly BearVeckatimest
Grizzly Bear were as shocked as anyone when Veckatimist landed in the US Top 10, but truthfully it shouldn't have been that great of a surprise. In a world where it's not out of the question for the Shins to land themselves in the Top 3, one would hope that the gorgeously nuanced sounds of Veckatimist would land themselves somewhere north of number 10 (number 9, to be exact). Veckatimist is made up of perfectly placed interlocking pieces that are at once aching and hypnotic. Truthfully, Grizzly Bear’s lyrics could be pages from the dictionary (thankfully, they’re not) and it would still be worth listening to with music this beautiful.
Key Tracks: "Two Weeks," "Cheerleader," "While You Wait for the Others"
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Ultimately, the choice for 2009’s album of the year was an easy one, one of the decade’s most original artists turned out an unparalleled masterwork that has now come to be the crown jewel of their increasingly brilliant catalog. Animal Collective’s unique vision remained undisturbed despite the fact that Merriwhether Post Pavillion’s accessibility managed to convert many of the band’s naysayers. Warm, swirling samples and Beach Boy harmonies co-mingle with ecstatic dance rhythms. 2009, was indeed, Animal Collective's year, arguably releasing the year's first significant album and its last (the brilliant Fall Be Kind EP). MMP is the culmination of this immensely unique band's strengths onto one album, redefining electronic pop's boundaries in the process.
Key Tracks: "Bluish," "My Girls," "Brother Sport" (also from the Fall Be Kind EP: "What Would I Want? Sky")
