Top 10 Albums of 2009.

An odd year in music for me as I discovered so many old bands for the very first time. Robert Johnson, Talking Heads, Neutral Milk Hotel, Silver Jews, Taj Mahal. But as far as albums that came out in 2009, this is my “best of” list. It’s a better all around year for music I think but nothing near as good as Frightened Rabbit for me, no matter how hard We Were Promised Jetpacks tried. I’m no where near as rounded or as intelligent of a reviewer as this guy. But here’s my feeble attempt.

10. Noah and the Whale, The First Days of Spring: I’ll be honest, this is a stretch for any Top 10 lists. But I’m biased because I enjoyed their first album so much. This is nowhere near the overall quality of Peaceful The World Lays Me Down. But it is solid nonetheless. Love of an Orchestra is the most stand out song and most characteristic of what this band could and should be.

9. The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You: This makes it on the list by the strength of I And Love And You and Kick Drum Heart alone. Without these 2 songs this isn’t an album. They’d be much more likable if they could just settle in on one style. Every song sounds like a different band on a different album.

8. Handsome Furs, Face Control: On the Top 10 list on the vocals of Dan Boeckner alone. He’s also the frontman for Wolf Parade, one of my top 25 bands of all time.

7. Pete  Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, Breakup: I hate to even give validity to anything Ms. Scarlett touches. Despite her sexy veneer, I get the feeling that she wants to be just like Zooey Deschanel, aka taken seriously. But for whatever reasons, this album actually works. Not as solid as Pete’s earlier work, but an album that flows and works well together from top to bottom.

6. David Bazan, Curse Your Branches: The best Bazan lyrics yet. I’m ambivalent when it comes to the music. Blasphemy I know. The great thing about Bazan is that it doesn’t matter what the music sounds like. He’s the rare exception where the lyrics always win out and oh by the way they are couched in some music that doesn’t suck.

5. The Antlers, Hospice: I’m not sure how to describe these cats. Extremely mellow. Arcade Fire mashed w/ M83 maybe? I’ve listened to this album at least once a week in order to help me go to sleep. Kettering has made me want to make a music video for it about 1001 times.

4. Passion Pit, Manners: This is my trendiest pick. But they are fun. They are what I would listen to if I went to a club and got some sort of drink that had Vodka in it. The fact that I’m not a club or vodka person makes this album interesting to me. There are some very solid standouts that make you want to party and the rest is good background noise.

3. The Rural Alberta Advantage, Hometowns: This is what I imagine The Decemberists could have sounded like had they decided to actually mature as a band instead of digress.

2. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: This album is so fun and unique. They sound like no one else. Which is tough to do today when everybody sounds like somebody else. Lisztomania and 1901 are what pop singles should be these days but aren’t. Lasso and Rome are perfect compliments. The songs make you want to dance, ride with your sun roof down at night, and create for the sake of creating.

1. We Were Promised Jetpacks, These Four Walls: A heavier, darker version of last year’s faves, Frightened Rabbit. At the end of the summer, I drove back and forth from Augusta while I was training a new store opening and I listened to this album about 50 times front to back in a matter of 2 weeks. Windows down, 80+ mph, and We Were Promised Jetpacks. This is one of the rare albums these days that is an actual album. Where each song is perfectly placed and fits well from top to bottom. Where you could play on vinyl and not have to role your eyes when the next song comes up. The last time that there has been an album this good from top to bottom was The National’s Boxer. Good company.

Overrated . . .

Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest: With the exception of Two Weeks (which may be the best song of the year), there is nothing else on this album of note. It’s all overrated and forced. But Two Weeks is so stellar that my son is dancing to it on the bed right now. He’s 14 months old.

Monsters of Folk, Monsters of Folk: No way. Name power doesn’t buy you quality. This is what Paste has become. Cliched, forced folk.

This is the first year that I haven’t put Weezer on my year end list. In the past, if they came out with an album, it de facto made it to my year end lists. I still enjoy Raditude. But it is what it is. No matter how catchy and Weezeresque it is, it has Little Wayne featured heavily on it’s first single. I gotta draw the line. It’s good. Not great.