Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been on a comics run, posting comics left and right with absolutely no regard for not posting comics or things that aren’t comics, like music lists. The run has been cut short, for now is the time for me to share with you my Top Ten Albums of 2009! Following the lead of one TJ Matzen, who recently numerated his picks, I’m going to list, in ascending order, my Top Ten Albums of 2009. I hope you’re ready:
10. The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists
- The Decemberists explore the fine line between overwrought concept album (each song contributes to the larger, mythical story arc), and a work with a few clearly outstanding pieces (“The Rake’s Song,” “Repaid”) that can stand alone. Each track flows seamlessly into the next, and recurring motifs, musically and lyrically, help to tie the entire album together, in addition to the narrative. Guest vocalist Shara Worden (the forest queen) steals the show from Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy, although his voice is generally not responsible for the band’s successes. I’ve unfortunately not been able to see The Decemberists perform live in the last few months, as I’ve heard that they play the album in its entirety at shows, guests and theatricality all included. Give this one a 7.4/10.
9. Noble Beast – Andrew Bird
- Andrew Bird’s fifth solo album is good. He is, as always, a talented multi-instrumentalist (guitar, violin, whistling) and songwriter. Noble Beast comes full circle, from the opener “Oh No” to final track “On Ho,” and while the intervening songs are all of a caliber, both in craft and substance, that we’ve come to expect from Andrew Bird, my biggest complaint is that the album lacks the important sign of artistic development. It’s as if, since performing as a solo artist, and maybe 2005′s Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, Bird has hit a plateau, his ability to write good songs consistent, but not exploring new territory musically. I hope we’ll see that in the future. Nonetheless, Noble Beast is an excellent album, with a few stand-out tracks: “Fitz and the Dizzyspells,” “Nomenclature,” “Anonanimal” all come to mind. I give this album a 7.6.
8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix
I like it when bands don’t self-title their debut album, but instead wait until they’re more well-established. Phoenix not only did that, but managed to reference arguably the most famous Classical composer in the same album title. There’s something charming about a band that suggests that they’re right up there with Mozart, whether sincerely or as a joke. The Classical-inspired elements of the album don’t end there: the lead single, “Lisztomania,” refers to German composer Franz Liszt, specifically audience response to his piano performances. The highlight of this album is “1901,” Pitchfork Music’s 228th-best song of the decade, and one of the better uses of a repeated “hey-ey-ey” in the chorus I’ve heard in quite a while. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix gets a 7.7 from me.
7. A New Tide – Gomez
A New Tide is most similar to Gomez’s 2006 release How We Operate. The group has matured, and mellowed over their 11 years in existence. A New Tide lacks the Southwestern-inspired faux-blues riffs of Bring It On, or the more traditional alt-rock energy of Split the Difference, but the album is more coherent than Gomez’s last few releases. With three main vocalists and songwriters in a five-man group, that’s no small feat. Past albums, while having more hit singles than A New Tide, also had more lulls in pacing, and more songs that felt incomplete. The 2009 release, on the other hand, stands as a single work that shows how well the group functions. The last song, “Sunset Gates,” is marvelous, and a perfect way bring the album to a close. I give A New Tide a score of 7.8/10.
6. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Tonight is a concept album, similar to but less cohesive than The Decemberists’ The Hazards of Love. Rather than the album being a larger narrative, though, each song on Tonight relates to the theme of the partying life, and all that comes with it. The music is more synth-based than Franz Ferdinand’s earlier guitar-driven dance rock, but in turn, that much more danceable. Apparently one of the tracks, “No You Girls,” uses a human skeleton for percussion. Pretty dark, eh? The bass/synth breakdown at the end of “Lucid Dreams” is wonderful, although it feels a bit like it should be the last track and the album continues for two songs afterwards. While it is much better than 2005′s You Could Have It So Much Better, this album doesn’t quite live up to the band’s debut album. However, Franz Ferdinand continues to show progression as a musical group, and Tonight is overall a success. I give it an 8.1.
5. Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors
Breaking into the top half is Bitte Orca, the latest release from Dirty Projectors. I have to confess that this is the first album of theirs I’ve heard, but I’m starting to explore their earlier work and am liking what I hear. Bitte Orca (taking its title from the German word for ‘please,’ and, you know, what Shamu is), while standing at only 9 tracks long, has a lot of sounds on it – boy, does it have a lot of sounds. The driving beat of “Stillness is the Move,” the gentle guitar of “Two Doves,” the alternately abrasive and welcoming harmonies of “Useful Chamber” – it’s all there. Dirty Projectors defy classification as a group. Bitte Orca defies classification as a piece of music. 8.6/10!
4. I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat – The Brighton Port Authority
Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) is the driving force between The Brighton Port Authority (BPA), whose debut album was released this February. Cook produces the songs and collaborates with a different, often British, vocalist on each track, ranging from relative unknowns such as Olly Hite and Pete York to superstars David Byrne and Iggy Pop. The first track I heard, “Toe Jam,” with a great music video to boot, features Byrne and British rapper Dizzee Rascal. Cook embraces pop, evident in the radio-friendly “Seattle” and “Superman,” but is willing to experiment (“Jumps the Fence”). The eclecticism of this album wins me over, and two of its music videos are my favorite of the year. I award this album 8.8 points out of 10.
3. Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear
TJ’s top album of the year makes #3 on my list. I saw Grizzly Bear at the end of September in Minneapolis, a great show with a Carleton-heavy audience, to my pleasure. Veckatimest, the follow-up to 2006′s Yellow House is exquisite, at once familiar-sounding but offering a glimpse of something mysterious, like its namesake island. The album’s first single, “Two Weeks,” saw significant radio play, and served to draw in more pop-inclined listeners to Grizzly Bear’s unique mix of traditional and experimental sound. The sublime chorus of “While You Wait for the Others” after the bridge might well be the best moment in music of the year. Each member of the band contributes significantly to the album, from singers Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, to bassist and woodwind player Chris Taylor and drummer Chris Bear (his real name). Veckatimest is hard to beat, and I give it a final score of 9.4.
2. Bromst – Dan Deacon
My favorite album art of the year, and an awesome, intimate but extremely energetic and fun show (at The Cave, no less), Dan Deacon not only met, but exceeded expectations based on 2007′s Spiderman of the Rings. From the slow fade in on the appropriately-titled “Build Voice” to closing track “Get Older,” Bromst continuously delivers enticing, strange sounds and rhythms in which to find yourself. I can’t hear “Of the Mountains” without remembering the interpretive dance performed at the concert in October. The glottal, vocal breakdown in “Snookered” marks an extraordinary point in the song and album: the fine combination of live recordings and computer-generated sounds that’s become Dan Deacon’s signature. In between electronic rhythms and noise, he even records a player piano, re-wired specifically for the album. Even the all-female vocal “Wet Wings,” eerie and haunting, layers over and over Steve Reich-esquely until you can hardly tell that the sounds were originally sung. That track is followed by “Woof Woof,” (Deacon obviously has a thing for alliteration), which samples a sound you might hear on a children’s toy keyboard, and which fits in perfectly. Bromst, a near-masterpiece, gets a 9.5/10: quite excellent.
1. Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective
What can I say about Merriweather Post Pavilion that hasn’t already been said by thousands of hipsters? To begin, 9.7/10. For sure. Anyway. Shackled with an unfortunate January release date, the album was hailed from the beginning as one of the best of the year, and it remains the most cohesive, well-crafted, consistently impressive work of the last twelve months. The title pays homage to Animal Collective’s home of Baltimore and its Gehry-designed concert venue. Each track on the album is sample-based, with some guitars and percussion (and a delightful jaw harp on “Lion in a Coma”). Stylistically, it is closer to band member Panda Bear’s 2007 album Person Pitch, and the band’s 2008 EP Water Curses, a transitional collection of songs. The lyrics in some songs are as impenetrable as ever, but others, especially in the singles “My Girls” and “Summertime Clothes” are downright heartfelt. “Bluish,” it must be said, might be the most romantic song Animal Collective has released to date. The arc of the album is strong, leading the listener from one musical idea to the next until the swooning “No More Runnin” gives way to the opening lyrics of “Brother Sport”: “Open up your, open up your, open up your throat”. The joyful six-minute track, a discourse on expressing one’s self in times of suffering and, implicitly, the importance of family (a theme in the album, see “My Girls” and “Daily Routine”) is the perfect ending to this album. The rhythmic break, punctuated with Avey Tare’s refrain “Whoo!” finally lead to the song’s closing chorus, a fade out stating that “You’re halfway to fully grown… won’t help to hold inside.” Some have called Merriweather Post Pavilion a tremendous step forward for Animal Collective. While the album does showcase their commitment to artistic growth and a tangible maturity on the part of the band members, I prefer to think of it as something more visceral and emotional: something that couldn’t be held inside. A long-awaited release.
