2009 was a vintage year in club land – fact!

Weither you were into Nu-Disco, Tech, House, Electro, Chill, Techno, Edits, Experimental or whatever – standards were all round so high that to pick my personal Top 20 Best Tracks Of The Year gave plenty of headaches, and needed several bottles of red wine to reach the final decision.

Needless to say – since musical choices reflect whatever state you’re in this list could possibly be different tomorrow, but scrolling back through the last 12 months the following 20 tracks pretty much sums up my musical liking and choice of playing in 2009.

Here’s the Space Dust Top 20 Best Tracks Of 2009:

#1: LINDSTRØM – LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (FULL 42. MINS VERSION)

Although not arriving until December, as a bonus part of Lindstrøm’s album with Christabelle, it did however leave the competition completely behind. Not only in terms of length, in a year fascinated with 10-20 mins. versions, but equally in terms of pure guts from Lindstrøm to take on a 3 note Christmas march, and spin it into oblivion and outer orbits, where most producers would have shied away at the mere thought of the Bing Crosby classic.

Lindstrøm delivered an immense piece of work, which despite its length never got boring, and rose, spiralled and cascaded like a monumental sonic bullet.

The point at the 38. mins mark, when drums were finally fully unleashed, will remain a MOMENT of 2009.
Mp3: Lindstrøm – Little Drummer Boy (Full 42. mins. Version)

#2: THE TEMPER TRAP – SWEET DISPOSITION (AXWELL & DIRTY SOUTH REMIX)

Love at first listen when this dropped prior to summer. Fantastic song, fantastic remix and awesome lazer-reaching hookline, which you just couldn’t get enough of!

Mp3: The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Axwell & Dirty South Remix)

#3: REBOOT – CAMINANDO

The rising Tech star of 2009 – Reboot – sliced Brazilian folk-song with Berlin based coolness into an impeccable 12. mins, magical end-of-night anthem, which was the soundtrack to many an after-party summer 2009.
Mp3: Reboot – Caminando

#4: HOUSE OF HOUSE – RUSHING TO PARADISE (WALKIN’ THESE STREETS)

Back in January this incredible piece of music was the subject of a virtual manhunt considering only 400 copies had been pressed on vinyl. Its production, structure, arrangement and sheer sonic content is class from start to finish, and is the embodiment of the term “House Music” in 2009.

With a pending re-release, and an utter cool DJ Harvey mix included, this is set to run long into 2010. A Classic!
Mp3: House Of House – Rushing To Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets)

#5: HEADMAN & DIETER MEIER – GIMME (KANGO’S AUTOSTRADA DEI LAGHI MIX)

13′07″ mins. of chugging Nu-Disco Balearica with Yello frontman – Dieter Meier – sounding as cool as ever riding of a wave of arpeggios and FXs. Exactly how the Aeroplane remix of Robbie should have sounded like!
Mp3: Headman & Dieter Meier – Gimme (Kango’s Autostrada Dei Laghi Mix)

#6: 2RAUMWOHNUNG – WIR WERDEN SEHEN (PAUL KALKBRENNER REMIX)

Pure Berlin Tech perfection from the bunker of Paul Kalkbrenner weaving his off-kilter magic over the Pop-tastic of 2RaumWohnung sounding über-cool!
Mp3: 2raumWohnung – Wir Werden Sehen (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix)

#7: MICHEL CLEIS – LA MEZCLA (PAUL KALKBRENNER REMIX/ORIGINAL)

The original rocked everyone from here to Timbuktu, and all terraces between. Michel Cleis’ moment of genius, by teaming up with Toto La Momposina, had us all on our knees with shirts off. Just when you thought it couldn’t go further – this Paul Kalkbrenner remix dropped and upped the Funk factor with another 100.
Mp3: Michel Cleis – La Mezcla (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix)

#8: BURIAL – FOSTERCARE

Apart from his outstanding love-in with Four Tet – Burial – didn’t unleash that much in 2009, but this gorgeous piece of sonic-glass filtered through on the Hyperdub compilation, and – again – jaws dropped at the heartbreaking beauty of “Fostercare”.

Watch out for his forthcoming Massive Attack Dub Remix album in 2010.
Mp3: Burial – Fostercare

#9: DOVES – BRAZIL (AEROPLANE REMIX)

Aeroplane delivered some fantastic soundscapes in 2009. From their monthly mix charts to stellar remixes from Grace Jones and this one from Doves. They equally also delivered mediocredity in the shape of their Robbie Williams pile of poo, and a couple of pretty forgettable mix charts towards the end of 2009. Their December mix was perhaps the biggest disapointment of all complete with out-of-sync mixing and a lame tracklist to fall asleep over.

Thankfully their Doves remix threw in the stealth glove, and proved Aeroplane could also some some teeth amongst the sea of Italo and Nu-Disco, and it suited them pretty nicely.
Mp3: Doves -Brazil (Aeroplane Remix)

#10: JUNIOR BOYS – WORK (PRINS THOMAS REMIX)

Like his #1 sidekick – Lindstrøm – Prins Thomas delivered the kind of work any producer would like to give their right arm for to produce in their lifetime. Whatever he put his fingers on – weither it being editing or proper production work – it just turned from raw coal to raw Norwegian diamond instantly, and we just couldn’t get enough.

I could have picked his entire output in 2009, but this Junior Boys remix stands out on the back of an amazing song, great vocal and a lovingly crafted remix with the respect of its original track. In usual fashion – it came in a large 11′00″ mins. chunk with not a dry eye in sight!
Junior Boys – Work (Prins Thomas Remix)

#11 – THE JUAN MACLEAN – THE FUTURE WILL COME (CANYONS REMIX)

2009 will be remembered for the transition from hard-nosed Electro to smoother, Disco driven grooves, and who else but the DFA crew to deliver some of this years finest hours. The Juan Maclean seemed busier than most with stack loads of remixes and an album to boot, and this re-work by the Canyons, which didn’t actually drop until December, was an excellent example of the NYC experimental Disco sound.

Funky, hypnotic and mysterious – all at the same time – and it made you want to fly to NYC instantly.
Mp3: The Juan Maclean – The Future Will Come (Canyons Remix)

#12: THE UNITS – HIGH PRESSURE DAYS (RORY PHILLIPS REMIX)

Our man in London – Rory Phillips – had a roaring 2009, and his constant stream of awesome remixes, which seemed to flirt more and more with Nu-Disco during the course of 2009, was just a joy to wrap your ears around.

His joint-project with Headman, on the classic “High Pressure Days”, came with so much Funk’n'Groove in its parts it was impossible to stand still to, and it was exactly the kind of anthem which made you want to throw your beer around to and scream along to its super-catchy chorus!
Mp3: The Units – High Pressure Days (Rory Phillips Remix)

#13: EROL ALKAN & BOYS NOIZE – WAVES (CHILLY GONZALES PIANO REMAKE)

When the original of this dropped – sometime mid-Summer – people were falling over themselves, and with the partnership of two of clublands biggest names there was enough reason to do so. However – just when you thought the juice was squeezed Mr. Alkan dropped this incredible piano remake by piano goof-ball Chilly Gonzales who instantly turned the arpeggio of the original into 14 carat bliss.
Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Waves (Chilly Gonzales Piano Remake)

#14: TIEFSCHWARZ FEAT. SETH TROXLER – TRUST

A huge, raw, hairy beast of a record with the combined forces of Tiefschwarz coupled with Berlin based American DJ – Seth Troxler – which seemed to have more fun than most in 2009. “Trust” rocked every serious club worth it’s salt, and it proved that Prince certainly hasn’t lived in vain.
Mp3: Tiefschwarz feat. Seth Troxler – Trust (Original)

#15: MARK KNIGHT VS. UNDERWORLD – DOWNPIPE (CLUB MIX)

A ridiculously large record which made women want to have babies with Mark Knight and men wanting to marry Karl Hyde from Underworld. It was perhaps Underworlds finest moment in a very, very long time, and it wasn’t even their record.

No surprise why they’ve asked Mark Knight to help produce their forthcoming album in 2010.
Mp3: Mark Knight vs. Underworld – Downpipe (Club Mix)

#16: MOON UNIT – CONNECTIONS (EWAN PEARSON SLO NRG VOX MIX)

I could have picked anything Ewan Pearson touched in 2009, but settled for this slow-burning, chugging, hypnotising groover from Moon Unit, which was lucky to be touched by the hands of Pearson. It sums up the sound of Nu-Disco anno 2009 perfectly with its mid-tempo, bubbling pool of happiness and chirpy Pop-tastic vocal from Moon Unit.

Can’t wait for his forthcoming mix album – “We Are Proud Of Our Choices” – on Kompakt to drop!
Mp3: Moon Unit – Connections (Ewan Pearson Slo NRG Vox Mix)

#17: BOMB THE BASS FEAT. MARK FLANANGAN – BLACK RIVER (GUI BORATTO REMIX)

Gui Boratto seemed to kick off his procedings of 2009 in fine fashion back in January with this incredibly haunting remix of Bomb The Bass & Mark Flanangan’s “Black River”. His fully packed worldwide schedule did thankfully allow for other fine moments such as “No Turning Back”, but it’s perhaps note worthy that this remix alone led to Gui Boratto producing the forthcoming Bomb The Bass album in 2010!

And that was Tim Simenon himself asking politely! Nice work – if you can get it!
Mp3: Bomb The Bass fat. Mark Flanangan – Black River (Gui Boratto Remix)

#18: FUCK BUTTONS – SPACE MOUNTAIN

The work of Fuck Buttons were at times a test to conjure. Like a cross between the bliss of Global Communication and the experimentation of Aphex Twin their soundscapes in 2009 weren’t for the faint hearted. Nevertheless – this 8′45″ mins. WHOA-moment of a record was exactly the drop you needed between a beat and beat. It’s spiralling intensity is incredible, and that’s without ever bringing in a 4/4 kick!

Listen’n’scream – “TAKE ME TO THE MOUNTAIN!”
Mp3: Fuck Buttons – Space Mountain

#19: HOT CHIP – ONE LIFE STAND (CARL CRAIG PCP REMIX)

The solo adventure of Joe Goddard was perhaps one of the major dissapointments of the year, but when Hot Chip finally unleashed “One Life Stand” all was forgiven and forgotten. The original is brilliant, but this Acidic-driven Tech beast from Carl Craig pretty much hammered the Chip-warehouse message home.

Just like in the old days: Say “Aciiiiiied”!
Mp3: Hot Chip – One Life Stand (Carl Craig PCP Remix)

#20: SNOW PATROL – JUST SAY YES (THIN WHITE DUKE REMIX)

It’s probably fitting that Thin White Duke aka Stuart Price take the honors of being last on this years “Best Tracks Of 2009″ chart. His uncanny skill to string together End-Of-Night anthems together is unmatched. It was a toss-up between his Muse remix and this brilliant Snow Patrol mix of “Just Say Yes”.

In the end the better song won out – go hug a stranger now!
Mp3: Snow Patrol – Just Say Yes (Thin White Duke Remix)

Why? Because everyone else is doing it…

1. Passion Pit, Manners

2. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Up From Below

3. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

4. The Heavy, The House that Dirt Built

5. Dirty Projectors, bitte orca

6. Florence & the Machine, Lungs

7. Dan Auerbach, Keep it Hid

8. The XX, xx

9. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest

10. Junior Boys, Begone Dull Care

Honorable Mentions:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz!

Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be

Jay Z, The Blueprint 3

Miike Snow, Miike Snow

(embarrassed to admit, but have to mention, the Twilight New Moon Soundtrack)

There’s the debate. Here’s my oar. No prizes for guessing what I’m about to do.

This list is, believe it or not, comprised of my opinions and my opinions alone. It is also merely a collection of albums I have listened to and, considering I’m a fairly poor excuse of a music blogger (often shunning new releases on little more than gut feeling and unfounded prejudice), there are bound to be stark omissions. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ latest album, for example, was a record which, while I thoroughly enjoyed Fever To Tell, I just didn’t really listen to and have no reasonable explanation as to why.

This said, I may well have ‘forgotten’ the odd record; so feel free to leave a comment informing me of my error in however polite a tone you see fit.

I have provided a youtube stream for each artist and each header is a link directing you to somewhere where you can purchase said album.

Almosts:
Bat For Lashes — Two Suns: Daniel is a great song; but the rest of the album doesn’t really live up to it.

Major Lazer — Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do: Same as Two Suns, Pod de Floor is huge, though.

Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavilion: Good album but perhaps got hyped too much before I had chance to listen.

Spokes — People Like People Like You: Very promising, though not quite concise enough to break the 20.

20) St Vincent — Actor (4AD)

‘Marrow’

Actor is an adroit album; but what did you expect from a 27-year-old who’s already been in Sufjan Stevens‘ touring band and the Polyphonic Spree (although the latter claim doesn’t exactly put her in a selective group, does it?) I’m not sure it’s quite as good as her debut, 2007’s ironically-titled Marry Me, but this, her second album, is a breath of fresh air — aerating the many fusty, stale offerings from other female perpetrators this year.

19) The Decemberists — The Hazards of Love (Capitol )

‘The Wanting Comes in Waves’

The Hazards of Love is a rock-opera concept-album. It details a medieval love affair between a woman and a shape-shifting forest dweller. Indeed. Frontman Colin Meloy has never been one to cover old ground and, while the opening line of this blurb my put many people off (I really wouldn’t try too hard to disuade them as, if medieval concept rock operas aren’t your thing, it’s probably best to steer clear of this one), his fifth album’s staggering ambitiousness is only matched by its intertwined brilliance.

18) Martyn — Great Lengths (3024)

‘Little Things’

While most of the dubstep community continue to scratch around on the camp-fire-illuminated cave wall with their incessantly-wobbling LFOs and La Roux samples (I’m not saying I don’t enjoy this in a very guilty pleasure sort of way),  artists like Martyn and Dutch impresario 2562 are constantly charting new territory. I wanted to include the latter’s new release, Unbalence, but it has only just come out and I haven’t listened to it enough yet. Martyn’s Great Lengths boldly plots new points on the dubstep map with it’s dubstep-come-spooky-techno lonely rhythms.

17) Copy Haho — Bred for Skills and Magic EP (Big Scary Monsters)

‘Pulling Push Ups’

Okay, so it’s not an album; but as this list reveals itself to you, you will realise (if, by some miracle, you read until its denouement) this ‘rule’ is by no means sacrosanct. Copy Haho are ace, fun, Scottish and possibly many other adjectives, but you get the idea. If you haven’t already, go listen to this as well as many of the other bands Big Scary Monsters records have on their ever-growing roster!

16) Colour — Anthology (Big Scary Monsters)

‘Over the Moon’

The late, great Colour are one of the major artists I regrettably never got to see before they broke up — along with Spy Verses Spy and J.S.Bach. The are survived, however, by this: an anthology of every song they ever recorded in their fleeting existence. As well as personal favorites, songs such as Over the Moon and Chutes, we get to see this accomplished mathy-indie band’s progression through their recording career. A sad loss.

15) Shoes and Socks Off — Hand Reared Suburban Piglet (Big Scary Monsters)

(listen here)

Talking of defunct bands on Big Scary Monsters records, from the ashes of Meet Me in St Louis arose singer, Tobias Hayes’, solo project, Shoes and Socks Off. While his first record, From the Muddy Banks of  Melitzer, was a virtuoso, bedroom-esque one-man-and-his-guitar effort, the follow-up, Hand Reared Suburban Piglet, took the same great songs and embellished them. The revised versions ranged from MPC-fuled hip-hop cross-over to neo-classical serialist violin staggered genius.

14) Junior Boys — Begone Dull Care (Domino)

‘Hazel’

One of the more cultured and considered ‘indie-electro’ outfits of recent times, Junior Boys didn’t disappoint with their third album: a hazy, retro production of slick proportions. While not satisfying some fans’ of their earlier releases (mainly due to allegations of swapping good song writing for good production), there is plenty on offer here. Hazel is a disco gem; a piece of music which, it has been proven by scientists, provokes an irresistible desire to pout like you’re in one of those inescapable-at-this-time-of-year perfume adverts.

13) Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers — Songs for the Night (Ramseur)

‘Get the Fever Out’

Samantha Crain is one of the newer arrivals on the US indie-country scene. However, with Songs for the Night, she could easily be receiving the kind of acclaim heaped on Oberst, Adams, and Welch et al. There is many a whistle-friendly tune on this record and it’s the fact her band keep it simple which allows the songs, and perhaps more importantly Crains gorgeous voice, to ring through.

12) Au Revoir Simone — Still Night, Still Night (Moshi Moshi)

‘Shadows’

Another female offering at number 12 really makes me frustrated that most of the ‘girls doing it for themselves’ rhetoric we’ve heard this year has been the product of such uninspiring music (cf Florence and the Machine, Little Boots etc). Luckily, for those privy to this trio’s nuggets of casio greatness, there is salvation at hand. Still Night, Still Night is simultaneously charming and terrifyingly-cool.

11) The xx — xx (Rough Trade)

‘Stars’

The xx are named so because xx, as anyone who studied latin at an Our Lady of the League Tables school knows, is 20 in roman numerals — the average age of the band. Now, I’m not going to launch into some patronising polemic about ‘oohh aren’t they doing well’ and so forth; but xx does show staggering maturity. Just compare it to anything by Symposium for Christ’s sake. The lonely guitar-simmering drums combination works in a kind of naive way (much of the album was recorded while still learning their instruments), but it is the male-female vocal combination which sets this debut from the pack.

10) The Antlers — Hospice (French Kiss)

‘Kettering’

Hospice is a morbid tale of the relationship between a cancer sufferer and an abusive carer. Main man Peter Silberman wrote the record solo in a few lonely years living in Brooklyn, only recruiting Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci much later on. The sombre seclusion felt in Hospice is a testament to this. But doesn’t stop it being a fantastic, fantastic record. Just make sure you lock away the paracetamol and sharp objects before you get stuck in —lest you do a successful ‘Owen Wilson’.

9) Freelance Whales — Weathervanes (French Kiss)

‘Ghosting’

If this was a ’shittest band names’ list, Freelance Whales would be up there with Arctic Monkeys, Papa Roach and The Beatles. Luckily for the Williamsburg quintet, their chirpy, banjo-driven pop is just too irresistible. The vocals maybe too sweet for some — especially in an age where it’s fashionable to sound like you’ve been down a Yorkshire mineshaft all day (cf The Kooks, The Maccabees). However, what the voice may lack in weathered integrity, the music more than makes up for.

Dirty Projectors — Bitte Orca (Domino)

‘Cannibal Resource’

Dirty Projectors have been around for a while. Still, I’m sure I wasn’t alone on hearing Cannibal Resource, the first track on Bitte Orca, and thinking it was quite unlike anything I’d encountered before. While Dave Longstreth clearly pulls the strings, it is the disjointed rhythmical vibe and abstract, parallel vocal harmonies of the whole band which pricks the ears. In a year where Brooklyn, at times, seemed to dominate almost everything interesting going on in Indie music, it speaks volumes of the band that they are so lauded as innovators in the field. Fuck Florence: this is how to make pop music unique without becoming a self-parodying, ostentatious twat.

7) The Very Best  — Warm Heart Of Africa (Moshi Moshi)

‘Warm Heart of Africa’

The self-effacingly-named The Very Best exploded onto the Blogosphere in 2008 with their ‘mixtape’ of remixes. This included M.I.A’s Paper Planes and, bizarrely, The Beatles‘ Birthday. Shortly after this, the song Warm Heart of Africa started doing the rounds on radio. While the guest appearence from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig (this is the closest he’s getting to this list) had a slightly ‘Paul Simon‘, African-music-made-for-the-West quality about it, this was a big tune — evoking a gleeful, carnival-like quality. The rest of the record is perhaps more authentic to the band’s cultural roots and makes a refreshing change from much of the past tourist-rock based around the continent’s culture.

6) Slow Club — Yeah, So (Moshi Moshi)

‘It doesn’t have to be beautiful’ (starts after 30 seconds)

When I first heard about this album, I thought I’d find it about as enjoyable as having the story of the nativity read to me by a fascist. Happy-happy duo erring on a bash-core vibe? No thanks. However, I listened to it and, after a fair amount of pride swallowing, I fucking loved it. It’s a great record and I think even a more austere misanthrope than this embittered blogger would find it hard to resist it — of which there are many. The harmonies are great, the melodies, even better. There is a definite charm on offer here — as well as oodles of twee. If you’re not humming on of the hooks by the end, I’d break out the chest paddles.

5) Cougar — Patriot (Counter)

‘Stay Famous’

Fans of bands who ‘do vocals’ look away now. Fans of amazing, electronica-influenced, beatsey indie rock, come in, sit down by the fire, meet Cougar. They simultaneously chop up guitars, turning them into epileptic, glitchy entities; and exhume a lost, almost psychedelic richness. Right from the first track, Stay Famous, which slyly decieves you, priming you for a rock assault, only to drop into a trip-hop groove, the album is packed full of instrumental goodness which just about manages to keep on the good side of self-indulgent.

4) Fanfarlo — Resevoir (Canvasback Music)

In a year which saw a curious rise in style-over-substance bow-tied singers and glockenspiel-playing guitarists, Fanfarlo convinced by wearing their twee-indie-garb over a toned physique of great songs. Some saw them as an Anglo-version of the ubiquitous Arcade Fire, but I think a more apt description would be a more upbeat Anathallo. Frontman Simon Balthazar leads from the front, acoustic guitar in hand. And while the mandolines, glockenspiel and trumpets add unique elements (although perhaps not all that unique to anyone who’s heard Beirut), they are never the meat, merely the gravy.

3) Burial and Four Tet — Wolf Club/Moth (Text)

Okay, so not technically an album; but it’s my list. This super-group pairing were always going to be good but, on Moth in particular, the talents of both producers copulate and give birth to something magical. It’s not clear what roles each party took in either song — the sleeve is plain black with no liner notes — but Burial’s tradmark beat is evident on Wolf Club, as is Four Tet’s sonic jewelry. Kieron Hebden, the man behind the latter, is renowned for his spiritually-charged performances and one would be surprised if he wasn’t the major perpetrator in Moth’s opening — a low didgeridoo-like drone. What follows is the best nine minutes of electronic music all year.

2) Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest (Warp)

A close second. I honestly don’t think there’s been an album released like this in the last 30 years. Everything from the shared lead vocal duties to the disjointed rhythms mean that it’s never anything approaching forced or contrived. It would be so easy to fuck this album right up; but Grizzly Bear pull it off with stunning élan and vivacity. Never is a note rushed; never one single element over-done. The harmonies are Beach-Boy-crisp and, when the band allow themselves, there is actually a propensity to be up-beat and radio-friendly. A joy.

1) Phoenix — Wolfgang Amadeaus Phoenix (V2)

Everyone likes this record. It works on pretty much every level and that’s why it wins. Emerging from the same scene that produced fellow Galls, Air and Daft Punk, Phoenix were the first ever French chart-topper to chantez en Anglais — and you can see why. The two singles, Lisztomania and 1901, are punchier than a Leona Lewis book signing; although I wouldn’t have liked to have chosen the singles from this release such is the standard of pop-pedigree on offer. As a whole, the nine-song delight is the quintessential indie-album-with-dancing-shoes experience. If you don’t own this record, don’t fret, just right your heinous, heinous wrong. It’s going to be okay.

There are two ways of looking at year-end lists.

Way #1: The High Fidelity way.  Both the movie and Nick Hornby’s book show us likably misanthropic music nerds who unquestionably love music, but treat records as fetish objects as much as they do actual pieces of music.  When those guys make their “Top 5″ lists, they intend them to be definitive.  Like, the empirical, objectively evaluated “Top 5 songs to listen to after you’ve had your heart broken,” or whatever.

Way #2: The way I have to see it nowadays.  Do you have any idea how many records were released this past year?  How many hip hop mixtapes were given away for free?  How many songs were recorded on people’s MacBooks and ejected into the ether through MySpace?  It is impossible to be empirical or definitive about a year-end mix.  It’s an exhausting and futile task…and objectivity in the evaluation of music is an intellectually interesting, but emotionally vacant notion.  So I have to think about the year-end mix as a random grab-bag of the songs I liked that came out this year that I’m remembering right now.  I’ll hopefully find songs I like even better than these that came out between 1/1/09 and 12/31/09 sometime in 2010 and beyond.

Here’s Part 1:

1.  Phoenix – “Armistice”

The first time I heard Phoenix was “Too Young” from their first album on a mixtape made for me by my future wife back in 2001. They’ve always been this good, folks.  Glad to see the rest of the world has woken up to what my lady knew nearly a decade ago.

2.  Miike Snow – “Animal”

Here’s another group to whom I was introduced by Erin.  You know that song, “Toxic,” by Britney Spears?  You know, the only good one.  These guys are behind it.  Man, this sounds terrific on the Sennheisers.  I love the drum fills that promise a snare on the 2 and the 4 and then choose not to give it to you.  Tension that never releases is a pop music trick that is very hard to pull off.

3.  Junior Boys – “Hazel”

I’m starting to burn out on the synth-pop thing, but I will never burn out on the Junior Boys.  Synthesizers aren’t a cool new affectation for them – they’ve BEEN the masters of that squelching sound that makes the 16 year old girls in leggings squeal when they hear “Party in the USA.”

4.  DJ Quik and Kurupt – “Jupiter’s Critic and the Mind of Mars”

DJ Quik is not afraid of you and he will kick your ass.

5.  Snap – “Vulgar Spit”

This guy’s a Houston rapper who has something to say and the skill to say it.  And what the hell is going on with this beat?  It is INSANE.

6.  G-Side (ft. Bentley) – “In The Rain”

Huntsville, Alabama is doing something worth watching, ladies and gentlemen.  G-Side can rap, but on this song, I’m all about the Block Beataz beat and that last verse by a guy I’ve never heard of named Bentley.  It’s that grown-man rap.  Headphones, please.

7.  Freddie Gibbs – “Flamboyant”

It was tough picking the Gibbs song for this mix.  I like Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs better than BoxframeCadillac… but there are so many good songs on both.  This one’s thrilling for the sheer display of mastery.  Call him derivative of Pac, call him a throwback, whatever.  He raps his ass off.

8.  X.O. – “43ver”

D.C. is my favorite rap city this year.  X.O. released a mixtape and a street album with Diamond District, and both are incredible.  The sound of the beats for this tape, Monumental are generally more big-screen than this one, which does the soul sample thing (that I never ever tire of).

9.  Kingpen Slim – “Rock With You”

More D.C. rap.  Most of the MJ tributes this year left me cold, but this one is great because the only tribute it plays is pretty much unspoken.  The verses have nothing to do with Michael – but the beat is just “Rock With You” screwed up.  If I make a summertime mix in June, this will be on it.

10.  Royce Da 5′9″ – “Shake This”

The Royce album is straight up disappointing.  I was excited after Premo got on board for both of the Bar Exam tapes, but the album is like its cover: bland.  But this song leaked before the release, and I love it.  I went through a few months this year when I really identified with it.

11.  Diamond District – “I Mean Business”

X.O, Y.U., and Odissee went about putting together an A Tribe Called Quest album for D.C. in 2009.  Mission Accomplished.

12.  Playboy Tre – “Bleachers”

Atlanta has more distinct rappers than it knows what to do with.  This is from another mixtape that blurs the line between album and “street album.”

13.  Pill – “Glass”

Besides Gibbs, Pill has been the rapper to garner the most blog attention this year.  This is why.

14.  Nosaj Thing – “Us”

I’d put this on a mix with Burial and Flying Lotus, and I mean that as a very, very high compliment.  The sound of an empty city at 3am on a weeknight.

15.  Robyn & Royksopp – “The Girl and the Robot”

My favorite song of the year.  If this doesn’t do anything for you, you and I are made of different genetic material.

16.  Jay Electronica – “Exhibit C”

I’ve written about Jay Elect here before.  Are you someone who gets a stomachache listening to rap about drug dealing but recognizes that most “conscious” rap is preachy and boring in 2009?  Here’s your new favorite rapper.  And maybe mine.

17.  Halloween, Alaska – “Be A Man”

The best band in the country is from my city, folks.  Minneapolis’s own Halloween, Alaska are like nothing else in the universe.

18.  Morrissey – “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris”

The Moz released another front-to-back great album this year.  This was the well-chosen single.  It was just so fun seeing him do his thing in concert this year.  The man rocks incredibly hard, which is hard to believe when you watch those (great) old Smiths videos.

Part 2 coming later this weekend.

Music blog, Almost Four Stars, asked me to write about my favorite albums of 2009. I’m posting it here as well but if you visit  www.almostfourstars.com the version there also includes some streaming selections from each album.

I really hate to make any kind of top 10 list before the year is completely over—especially since December is such a great time to discover the music that somehow passed you by over the course of the year—but these 10 albums (in alphabetical order) are definitely some of my favorites from 2009.

Bad Veins – Bad Veins
It was a long wait for this Bad Veins album—the demo of “Fake Baby” was on my Favorite Songs of 2006 CD—but it was totally worth it to discover such a well-crafted final product.

Bear In Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth
This album and particularly the song “Lovesick Teenagers” has been in constant rotation for me over the past few months. It’s hypnotic and has these moments that are sort of off but exactly right.

Beaujolais – Admirations
Born out of a broken relationship with his wife and former band mate, Beaujolais is Joe Ziemba’s follow-up band to The Like Young. I slightly prefer last year’s Love at Thirty but this follows well in its narrative footsteps.

Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
There didn’t seem to be a lot of love for this solo debut by Strokes frontman, Julian Casablancas but I found myself totally immersed in it’s idiosyncrasies.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
This one seems to be universally loved and rightly so. An album of beautiful pop perfection.

The Harlequins – Baron von Headless
Cincinnati has a lion’s share of great bands and I’ve included three local releases on this list but these aren’t consolation prizes—these bands are the real deal. Bad Veins and The Pomegranates are already well onto their way of crossing over to larger public consciousness and I hope The Harlequins aren’t far behind. This, their debut album, does a fine job of capturing some of the energy that makes them one of my favorite Cincinnati bands to see live over and over again.

Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care
The album art is kinda boring but the music isn’t. Junior Boys create a mood that I found myself wanting to revisit all year long.

LoveLikeFire – Tear Ourselves Away
I’ve been obsessed with San Francisco’s LoveLikeFire ever since Koala Fires played a show with them in October 2008. At that point they had released a few EPs and were still figuring out how they would be releasing their full-length debut.  Heist or Hit Records gave it a UK release in August and I went ahead and purchased the import, knowing it would be worth the extra expense. From the opener “William” to tracks like “I’ve Pissed off My Friends” and “Boredom”, Ann Wu’s achingly beautiful vocals are backed by epic melodic rock that reminds me that I do actually have feelings.

Metric – Fantasies
Fantasies seems to get everything that I’ve ever liked about Metric right on the same album. A welcome surprise after what I considered to be the slightly disappointing Live it Out.

Pomegranates – Everybody Come Outside!
A recent live performance helped remind me why I love the Pomegranates so much—they are a perfect example of being so good at something that they make it look easy even though it’s not. Watching them, you get the impression that they’ve been playing their instruments and singing sweet melodies their entire lives. It’s like watching a magic trick and not caring what the secret is because you’re hypnotized by it’s flawless execution. I’m proud to have them represent Cincinnati as they travel the world with their music.

So, here ’tis! My best-of-2009 mix!

In other words, this is a tracklist of my highest played that just squeaks in under 80 mins. Keep in mind these are my fave tracks of the year. For fave albums, see below High Rotation under “Top 10 Albums of 2009.”

High Rotation 2009 – By Lena

Click here to listen to my entire playlist. (Still figuring out how to embed this stuff. SUPER frustrating!)

And here’s what I have to deal with when I’m listening to/writing/reading/watching stuff online:

Cat steals chair!

Huff…

Anyway, Top Ten Albums of 2009 – According to me:

(And yes, they are in a specific order)

1.) Fever Ray - Fever Ray

In a word: Magic

Perfect for: Creating art/self expression. This album is a glimpse into the mind of a true artist. I always put together a great outfit if Fever Ray is playing while I’m choosing clothes. Karin Dreijer Andersson, you make me amazing!

2.) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

In a word: Brilliant

Perfect for: Listening/writing. The organic, enveloping nature of this album makes it a completely faultless listening experience. Gets the creative juices flowing.

3.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (Deluxe Edition)

In a word: Emotional

Perfect for: Experiencing all the highs and lows of love. I laughed, I cried, I hurled.

4.) Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue

In a word: Optimistic

Perfect for: Thinking/nodding head. The mixture of folk and electronic is stimulating to the mind. I’m excited about the future of music based on this album.

5.) Memory Tapes - Seek Magic

In a word: Kinetic

Perfect for: Transportation, either forward or backward. Drive, bike, bus, walk, think with this on. Mentally transport yourself back to times you were happiest/saddest and live there for a bit.

6.) Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer

In a word: Warm

Perfect for: Analog time. Sitting in a sunbeam wrapped up in a blanket; toasting in front of a fire with good book/magazine; generally feeling fuzzy towards oneself.

7.) Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care

In a word: Playful

Perfect for: Getting ready to go out! Or, simply staying in and singing and dancing in front of the mirror (if you’re into that). Have fun with it.

8.) The xx – xx

In a word: Sexual

Perfect for: Sexy times/daydreaming on bus about sexy times. Not that I’ve done this, ever.

9.) Atlas Sound – Logos

In a word: Shy

Perfect for: Walking around all dreamy and introspective-like; being watched from afar.

10.) Major Lazer - Guns Don’t Kill People … Lazers Do

In a word: Manic

Perfect for: Twisting and jerking yourself awake on dark, freezing winter mornings – oh, and shakin’ what yer mamma gave ya on the dance floor, too. Commagain!

In four words: GO BUY THESE PLEEZ!

All photos by me.

 
I am happy to present Inaudible’s first annual end of year listy list.
 
 
TOP 23 ALBUMS OF 2009
 

 

23. Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day (GOOD Music)

Kid Cudi’s proper debut is solid collection of nu-skoool hip-hop jams and pop anthems – and when it came out a few months back I listened hell out of it for about two weeks straight. Originally, I thought it was going to end up way higher on my list, but in the end, it’s levelling off at the bottom. The main reason for this is that it unfortunately lacks lasting power. I don’t want to listen to it anymore. I feel I’ve exhausted it of all its charms. Still, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” does have some great tracks, and at its best moments shows Kid Cudi’s potential as a force to be reckoned with in mainstream hip-hop.

But where does the Solo Dolo go from here? I’m afraid his recent gigs with Lady Gaga are showing us exactly where . . . but ya never know, he could still surprise us. Cudi is worth listening to, but so far he ain’t changing the game, he’s just going along with it. At least I discovered Chip Tha Ripper because of this album.

22. Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care (Domino)

The Hamilton, Ontario duo Junior Boys return with their third album and present more of the same lush and textured emo-electro-pop. There’s something about Jeremy Greenspan’s voice that I am absolutely and completely fed up with, but this album gets a nod on the list for its ridiculously smooth production and the number of times I kept returning to it over the year. “Begone Dull Care” is great for dinner parties, morning hangovers on the TTC, and dates with girls who don’t really like electronic music. And that is exactly the Boys’ problem. They are playing it way too safe, veering off into the terrifying world of muzak instead of delving deeper into the world of next-shit electronica. These boys are audiophile nerds to the extreme, which is why their albums sound so goddamn good, but is also why I want them to push their sound further. And I want Greenspan to try something other than his trademark breathy crooning. His voice on Morgan Geist’s “Double Night Time” was a welcome addition, and a nice teaser as we waited for a new Junior Boys release, but he sounds exactly the same in every song. His timbre, tone, emotion, and pitch does not vary one bit from the opening track on “Last Exit” to the last track on “Begone Dull Care”.

Still, I do give the Junior Boys props, they’re an excellent duo, but all I ask is for them to step it up in future releases, especially if they want me to show more than just dull care. (I know it’s a cheesy end but I’m going with it.)
 
 

21. Sleeping Me – Lamenter (Hidden Shoal)

Sleeping Me is the moniker of guitarist Clayton McEvoy who makes sweeping ambient compositions that are reminiscent of Stars of the Lid, Harold Budd, and Brian Eno. McEvoy uses only guitars and an array of pedals to create his droned out sound. The result is a relaxing and dulcet lull that is perfect for morning coffees or an absorbing book before bed. McEvoy also put out an album entitled “Cradlesongs” earlier this year, but it is hard to find, so I have not heard it in its entirety. However, if “Lamenter” is any indication, it too is sure to be ideal listening for shoegazers, just in the horizontal position.
 
 

20. Telefon Tel Aviv – Immolate Yourself (BPitch Control)

In late fall of 2008, I finally saw Telefon Tel Aviv live, and was given a sneak preview of “Immolate Yourself” as they played the album almost in its entirety. Although, I was a tad dismayed at their stripped-down sound, I was still happy to finally see one of my all time favourite electronic duo’s play live. And when this album came out in January, I picked it up immediately. TTA are meticulous producers – their early releases and 2007’s excellent “Remixes Compiled” disc clearly illustrate their amazing attention to the slightest glitch, hiss, and frequency. While still arranged and produced with the same hyper attention to detail, “Immolate Yourself” seems much more restrained and unadorned. Even so, this is dark electro-pop at its moodiest. I think it’s worth owning this album for opening tracks “The Birds” and “M” alone. Fun late night experiment: smoke a joint and try to figure out exactly what Cooper and Eustis are saying over and over in “The Birds”.

Fans of the group will unfortunately know already that just a few days before the album was released Charles Cooper committed suicide in Chicago. This was upsetting news, yet ironically helped give the album even more emotional resonance. Telefon Tel Aviv are an ambitious and forward-thinking band and it’s a sad fact the duo won’t be on any more top lists in years to come.
 
 

19. Mokira – Persona (Type Records)

Andreas Tilliander returned this year with a beautiful release under his Mokira moniker. Andreas Tilliander has put out some of the finest and most genre-defining electronic releases of this decade: “Ljud” and “Elit” under his own name and “Cliphop” and “Plee” under Mokira. Now a seasoned and respected veteran in the electronic music world, Tilliander’s 2009 release on the lovely Type Records may be his finest album to date. With such strong work backing him up it makes it almost impossible to truly gauge, but suffice to say “Persona” is a brilliant piece of static-warbled and absorbing ambience. Opening track “About Last Step and Scale” begins very much like a Basinski loop, but then after a minute or so, you feel like you’re being pulled downwards, deep below the ‘disentegrated loop’ and into Mokira’s territory. He operates miles below the surface, creating dark bass rumbles, enigmatic rhythms, and low-frequency bleeps and bloops, yet still keeps it melodic at all times. It’s an album I can write to, fall asleep to, but also listen carefully to and get lost within. Andreas Tilliander stole my robot heart years ago and “Persona” reminds me exactly why.
 
 

18. The Field – Yesterday and Today (Kompakt)

It took me awhile to get over my initial fears that Axel WIllner’s second album would fail in comparison to “From Here We Go Sublime”. But once I was finally swept into the looped brilliance of “Yesterday and Today” I was hooked, and now think it’s a much more fully realized vision of his musical aesthetic.

The second track “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” slows the tempo down and adds lush vocals in the mix to fantastic effect, and then “Leave It” comes next – a sprawling and emotive track of 4/4 techno bliss – and when the bass hook drops at the 3 minute mark, I am fucking sold. Wooh. One of my fave songs of the year for sure. The title track is also fantastic and features John Stanier from Battles adding some live drums to the mix. Another fine piece of work from The Field and yet another solid release from Kompakt.

17. CYNE – Water For Mars (Hometapes)

Gainsville, Florida’s, CYNE released the fantastic “Water For Mars” this year on Hometapes, and it quickly turned into the most satisfying summer album of the year for me. The production skills of Speck and Enoch are bass-heavy and hip-hop smooove. MC’s Akin and Cise Star play off each other’s rhymes, always trying to compliment each other’s lyrical dexterity. “Pretty Apollo” begins with a Fender Rhodes tinkle and snare pop and quickly builds into one of those hazy summer jams. CYNE’s overall feel is that of next-level hip-hop . . . ain’t no gangsta shit here, just intelligent rhymes, dope production, and positive energy. This was one of my most listened to bike ride albums for sure. I’m such a boombox pimp, pimp, pimp, pimp.
 
 

16. Passion Pit – Manners (Frenchkiss)

Passion Pit’s full-length debut fits in with a long line of “dance rock” or “synth rock” bands that I enjoy listening to when a) I want to have a good time, b) I am getting ready to have a good time, or c) I am already in the process of having a good time. Think Hot Chip, Cut Copy, Bloc Party, Phoenix, Hall & Oates et al. It really is quite surprising that a band mixing uber-falsetto lead vocals, a children’s choir, and chipmunk synths, actually sounds this goddamn good. Thanks to the slick production, ridiculously infectious hooks and refrains, and the band’s youthful energy and emotion, “Manners” is a through and through winner of an album, and one I dig a little more with every listen.

Fave track: “Let Your Love Grow Tall”. Lovely.
 
 

15. Rameses III – I Could Not Love You More (Type Records)

“I Could Not Love You More” is a soothing and pastoral album full of lush drones and ambient soundscapes. Combining acoustic guitar, lap steel, loops, voice, synths and field recordings of idyllic summer days, the London-based trio have released a relaxing and intimate album reminiscent of Mountains, Helios, The Green Kingdom, and Klimek.

Like all good ambient and modern classical, there’s a sense of weightlessness to Rameses III’s music, yet there’s still an inherent feeling that a band is playing this music – it’s not overly produced, it’s soft and very organic. Tracks like “The Kindness in Letting Go” and “Cloud Kings” play up the trio’s love for sprawling drone, while tracks “Across The Lake Is Where My Heart Shines” and “No Water, No Moon” are more song-like in composition, where the instruments maintain their sonic shape, rather than morphing into a whirr of sound. Overall, Rameses III has released another fine album and one of my favourite ambient, home listening albums of 2009. C’est tellement beau, le!
 
 

14. DJ Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Blues (Mule Musiq)

I have consistently returned to “Midtown 120 Blues” throughout the year and find it one of the smoothest house albums in recent memory. This is house music that conjures up the classic sounds of Chicago and Detroit and is very rewarding after repeated listens. There’s soul here, techno, nostalgia, and rich ambience. The monologues and voice snippets are interesting and introspective and deal with the politics of music and identity. Tracks “Ball’r (Madonna Free Zone)” and “House Music is Controllable Desire You Can Own” are highlights that play just as well in a party setting as they do in a horizontal one. Sexy, sad, deep, smart, and emotional music. Smoooove.
 
 

13. Moritz Von Oswald Trio – Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon’s)

One could argue this is electronic music’s answer to rock super group Them Crooked Vultures, because the trio is made up of a) Moritz von Oswald of Basic Channel, Maurizio, and Rhythm & Sound legend, b) Sasu Ripatti, better known as Luomo and Vladislav Delay and Uusitalo and c) lesser known but still prolific, Max Lodenbauer of Sun Electric and NSI fame.

Jesus Christ!

Early releases from Ripatti under his various monikers define some of my finest moments listening to music ever (especially on drugs for Delay and on a dance floor for Luomo), and don’t even get me started on Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound – the definitive forerunners of stripped down minimal techno and dub techno respectively, and also up there as some of my finest listening experiences ever! So suffice to say, I was stoked and intrigued when I found out the trio, being hyped as a live improv jazz meets dub ensemble, were releasing an album.

Each of the four tracks are simply called Pattern and all range around the ten-minute mark, and they do have a jazzy feel to them. The type of stuff a later Miles would have made if he was, ya know, an android. Pattern’s 1 and 3 both keep the pulsating, rolling percussion throughout, while Pattern 4 is the most dub-like in execution, working at a slower more languid clip and builds hazily, ending with a strange burst of synth. Pattern 2 is the most atmospheric of them all, and sounds like robots slowly building other robots in a factory that has absolutely amazing acoustics.

The fact that “Vertical Ascent” is a live album is also something of note. Especially in a genre of music where many “live” shows consist of nothing more than staring at Powerbooks. These three musicians have been innovating for close to twenty years and show no sign of stopping. Brilliant!
 
 

12. Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw)

No other album this year made me smile as much as Mayer Hawthorne’s instant classic “A Strange Arrangement”. This LP is so much fun and infused with the smoothest soul I’ve heard in years. Meshing the sounds of Smokey, Marvin, Curtis, and the Temps, Mayer Hawthorne’s debut plays like a warped 33 from your parents old LP collection, but also manages to sound like the next shit at the same time. Seeing him live was also a great experience, and I hope he continues to refine his throwback sound and innovate a bit more with his next release, but overall when the Mayer’s in town, you know it’s gonna be a good time.
 
 

11. Tortoise – Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey)

Post-rock darlings Tortoise release their first album of new material in 5 years and it’s a complete return to form. Sounding like the proper follow-up to 2001’s “Standards”, “Beacons of Ancestorship” truly is a prog album. It is dirty and crisp, sounding like it was recorded underwater and in an air-tight studio at the same time. And as always, their sound is undefinable – dub, post-rock, lo-fi, electronica, dance, spaghetti western, jazz, classic rock, punk, it’s all here in a tight 45-minute set. What more can I really say? Tortoise’s musical influence really knows no bounds. They are one of the best bands in the biz and one of my all time faves. Catch them on their belated North American “Beacons” tour in early 2010. Love it.
 
 

10. Memory Tapes – Seek Magic (Rough Trade)

Dayve Hawk took the blogosphere by storm in early 2009 putting up free releases as Weird Tapes and Memory Cassette, and by summer he had wed the best aspects of his two projects to become Memory Tapes. Instead of building tracks with layers of sound, the songs on this album are filled with catchy hooks, choruses and refrains, in proper pop song fashion. Guitar licks reminiscent of New Order, and analogue synths suggestive of Aphex Twin are meshed together to smashing effect in “Green Knight” and “Bicycle”. The choruses of “Stop Talking” and “Graphics” are so infectious and hooky you’ll find yourself singing them for days. Album closer “Run Out” is a perfect come down track, it’s emotional and harmonious, and could easily be stretched out to ten minutes in length and I’d still want to play it over again. Props to Hawk for his musical output this year, and let’s hope 2010 sees him playing some live shows in our respective local areas.
 
 

9. Dog Day – Concentration (Outside Music)

It was great to discover an amazing east coast rock band this year, because it’s been many a moon since a group from the Maritimes has really piqued my interest. But in the tradition of bands like Eric’s Trip, Hardship Post, and Elevator to Hell, Dog Day have the lo-fi power pop indie rock thing down to a beautiful science. The vocal interplay is great, and the album is chock full of catchy melodies, smooth synth lines and angular guitars licks. Their live show at The Horseshoe in Toronto was also a great concert and proved the band excels not just in the studio but also on stage. Best band outta the Maritimes since Shotgun and Jaybird for shizz (and they don’t really even count because they orig from the Yukon). Gimme more!
 
 

8. Mountains – Choral (Thrill Jockey)

Brooklyn duo Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp have released my favourite ambient/modern classical album of the year. Mountains are up there with Marsen Jules and Loscil for me, because with “Choral” they have crafted a beautiful album that expertly blends the organic with the digital – seamlessly meshing acoustics with electronics to fantastic effect. I have been lulled to sleep by this album more than any other this year, but have also enjoyed it in the early mornings, and while reading and writing. Their live show at The Music Gallery in Toronto was one of my favourite live shows of the year. Using guitars, synths, accordion, melodica, voice, two Powerbooks, and lots of other toys, they created a whitewash of introspective and hypnotizing ambience.

In October, the duo released another album entitled “Etching” that was limited to 1000 copies, and I’ve unfortunately been unable to get a hold of it, but I’m sure it’s just as warm and abstract as the fantastic “Choral”. If you can find it, buy it.
 
 

7. The xx – The xx (Young Turks)

Oh youth! In all your angsty, moody, cigarette filled ennui! Let’s write an album so deceptively simple and void of emotion that it will end up being one of the most complex and emotional albums of the year!

Lucky for us, the bloodsuckers behind the “Twilight” travesties weren’t quite hip enough to know about The xx yet, otherwise “Crystalised” would probably be playing during some anti-climactic softcore vampire porn moment in “New Moon”. They already stole Death Cab, Bon Iver and St. Vincent from us, and forever tarnished their musical credence as fodder for vampire-related garbage, and no doubt The xx’s lethargic pseudo-goth sound would have fit right in.

But I digress. The debut album from this young band is a very good one. It’s been hyped to death, and deserves at least most of it. I unfortunately showed up late to their Toronto debut at The Phoenix with Friendly Fires on December 2nd and missed their brief half an hour set. I was upset to have missed them and received mixed reviews from various people at the concert. Perhaps the recent loss of keyboardist Baria Qureshi from the band had something to do with their hasty and as one person said “lackluster” performance. I can’t say for sure, but I think I would have liked their live show. I’ve returned to this album many times since its release and think it’s a melancholic grower worthy of repeat listens.

Fave tracks: “Stars” and “Night Time”
 
 

6. Nosaj Thing – Drift (Alpha Pup Records)

Jason Chung aka Nosaj Thing made quite a name for himself in 2009 with the release of his first full-length album “Drift”. While he’s being lumped in with the LA hip-hop scene, “Drift” is far from being simply a hip-hop album. There’s just as much dubstep and leftfield IDM as there is hip-hop. The beats are spastic and crisp, the bass deep, and the synths dark, murky, and atmospheric. This album has continued to surprise me all year with its depth and range. The last half of the album gets a bit more heady, pulling the listener in with its offbeat compositions. Sonically speaking this is one of the best sounding albums of the year with its many layers and intriguing use of samples. I caught his show in Toronto earlier this year and although the turnout was few, Nosaj’s set was great. I look forward to more new music from this young and talented producer.
 
 

5. Wax Stag – Wax Stag (People in the Sky Records)

Reminiscent of Solvent, Plaid, Marc Houle, and early Autechre and Aphex, Rob Lee’s debut as Wax Stag is a veritable analogue bubblebath for your ears. Synths, moogs, hand claps, and 8-bit bleeps and bloops help make this album a charming and sonic winner. And for those of us who’ve been listening to IDM and leftfield electronica since before the new millennium, it may churn up some serious nostalgia too.

Rob Lee also records music under the moniker Tack Till, a more subdued indietronic solo project, which is really awesome stuff as well. It reminds me of the very first Savath and Savalas album. Check it out and if you haven’t heard Wax Stag yet, please do so.
 
 

4. Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue (Warp Records)

Stephen Wilkinson aka Bibio released his first album for Warp Records and with it his musical aesthetic expanded twofold. Bibio’s earlier releases “Fi” and “Hand-Cranked” were excellent skewed folktronica, but as he continued to release new music, the sound was getting a bit samey and uninspiring. Definitely not the case with “Ambivalence Avenue” though – Bibio keeps his indie folk roots but tosses soul, hip-hop, and techno in the mix, to create one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, as well as, one of my fave releases. The production is amped, the song writing more structured and deliberate, and the juxtaposition of genres works like a charm.

The remix album “The Apple & The Tooth” also features four new tracks from Bibio, as well as some dynamite remixes by Wax Stag, The Gentleman Losers, Eskmo, and Leatherette, and I find it just as satisying a listen as “Ambivalence Avenue”. A great year for Wilkinson’s musical output, and I look forward to further evolutions of his sound.

3. Lusine – A Certain Distance (Ghostly International)

Jeff McIlwain returned as Lusine this year with “A Certain Distance”. The album is full of Detroit-tinged synths and beats, as well as the addition of vocals from Finnish singer Vilija Larjosto on “Two Dots” and “Twilight”, and Caitlin Sherman on the absorbing “Gravity”. Although, McIlwain doesn’t break any new ground with “A Certain Distance”, the album does an excellent job of straddling the divide between electronica and pop music. The production is smooth and has been tediously tinkered and tweaked with by McIlwain, and in the end it tops my list because it epitomizes that type of melodic techno I like to listen to no matter what mood I happen to be in.
 
 

2. POLVO – In Prism (Merge Records)

Chapel Hill, NC post rock legends POLVO returned this year after a twelve year absence and dropped the fantastic “In Prism”. Barely missing a beat in a dozen years, the band (with new drummer Brian Quast) have written my favourite “rock” album of the year. Now, this may partly be because Polvo are one of my all-time favourite bands, and the mere fact that they got back together and put out a new album is enough to warrant them a place on my list. BUT, the album is really fucking good, it’s a dark, and moody and off-kilter. However, I do usually skip the first three tracks of the album and start at “City Birds” because the opening tracks sound like a “new” Polvo, all polished and mature, whereas the rest of the album transports me back to the mid-90’s, to halcyon days, to my youth, where things seemed happier. Or better. Or funner. Or I don’t fucking know. More carefree or something.

“Lucia” has some amazing guitar work, with Ash Bowie’s skewed chord progression and Dave Brylawski’s classic rock riffage mixed with Eastern sensibility. The following track “Dream Work/Residue” sounds as if mined from “Exploded Drawing” B-sides and does a good job of churning up the post-rock nostalgia I apparently have become an eternal sap for. Polvo were probably the most influential band for me during my own music making days, with their crooked tunings, fucked-up time signatures, and stoned energy… and so Polvo’s “In Prism” is topping my list for 2009, because like Wax Stag and Tortoise and Lusine, it reminds me of days gone by and the many memories that come with . . .
 
 

1. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Warp Records)

. . . Grizzly Bear’s “Veckatimest”, on the other hand, reminds me of the future and the past in asynchronous chorus.

Sometimes when a band gets too much hype I will refuse to listen to them. Take Fleet Foxes for example: I just recently began listening to their self-titled debut and now a year after its release I love it. My cousin Chris did the same thing with Burial. While everyone around him was going ape-shit over “Untrue” in the fall of 2007, he staunchly dismissed it, not ready to embrace the dubstep sound that was beginning to inflect electronic music. But a year later, like me and Fleet Foxes, Chris and Burial were having a torrid aural affair…

The way I see it, if a good band puts out a good album, I will eventually get into it, and I don’t care if I’m riding the crest of the hype-wave or not.

Which brings me to Brooklyn based quartet Grizzly Bear. I have never listened to “Yellow House”. Or the “Friend” ep. Or seen them play live. Or really know anything about them. All I do know is that when I finally gave “Veckatimest” a chance, I quickly realized that Grizzly Bear was one of the best young bands composing music in our present day. A throwback to “White Album” era production, elaborate songwriting with many hooks and changes, and amazing vocal work reminiscent of The Beatles, Beach Boys, CSNY, The Guess Who, Bjork and more.

Now this is not to say that they sound like The Beatles, it’s just that the ambition displayed on this album reminds me of the fab-four’s further aspirations for the White Album. Plus, the production value of “Veckatimest” is comparable. The drum toms in “All We Ask” sound like they were stolen from Ringo’s set, and the deep bass slides at the end of “Fine For Now” sound like they must be coming from a Rickenbacher. Yet, Grizzly Bear have appropriated none of Paul’s schmaltz, they’re very much more rooted in John’s sonic textures, rather than Paul’s sentimentality. But enough comparisons to a band it’s stupid to make comparisons to in the first place…

There isn’t a throw away track on “Veckatimest” and it’s subtle infectiousness grew on me slowly but surely. Album opener “Southern Point” starts with a jazzy guitar riff with simple Rhodes chord accompaniment that gets your head bobbing and then builds to a beautiful chorus with strong vocals that remind me of The Guess Who. Second track “Two Weeks” is probably the most accessible track with its sing-along refrain and mid-tempo beat. There’s something to be said for every song on the album. Standout tracks for me are “Fine For Now”, “Ready, Able”, While You Wait For the Others” and the beautifully sparse closer “Foreground”.

What an assured, and matured collection of songs, yet, it’s clear the band is still experimenting with their sound(s) and overall aesthetic. No other album this year in any genre has given me a glimpse into the future of music for the next decade like “Veckatimest”, and Grizzly Bear do so by first taking one step backwards into the past and then a strong hop, skip, and jump forward into what’s to come. Fucking awesome. I made it to the end.
 
 

BEST NEW ARTIST OF 2009

Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points

Look at that baby face! The fact that he already sounds so goddamn good at the young age of 22 makes me very excited about his future in music. I am already assured of his deftness for sound. Shepherd’s got an ear for sonic composition like Spencer Tunick’s got an eye for the visual. A natural is what I’m calling him.

Everything he’s put out this year has been a warmer, a burner, and a mafuckin’ killer – and still just footnotes to the amazing music he’s going to produce in the next 5 years!

My wish for 2010: A Floating Points full-length please. I imagine it sounding so good it’ll be inaudible.
 
 
RIP MJ (1958-2009)

Merry Xmas.
Happy 2010.

Thanks for reading…
 

ml
 
 
 
 

Some people bake cookies and take them to the neighbors. I make mix-CDs. They’re a lot less tasty, sure, but you don’t have to feel guilty about the calories! You don’t even need to feel guilty if you don’t listen to the CD. It’s really just a glorified holiday card, and a chance to flex my design and production chops. It’s my way of baking.

But chances are, if you’ve made it this far, you’re giving my cooking a try. So let’s take a closer look at the ingredients, shall we?

1.) Polonaise from Eugene Onegin – PETER TCHAIKOVSKY » When you see Tchaikovsky’s name on a holiday compilation, you probably expect a selection from The Nutcracker, or at the very least Sleeping Beauty. That’s precisely why I settled on Eugene Onegin, instead. Incidentally, a polonaise owes its form to a festive Polish dance, the polonez.

2.) Young Pilgrims – THE SHINS » If you’re entering into your quarter-life crisis, currently embroiled in it, or just coming out of it, gather courage from those lofty tales so tried and true… Otherwise, this modern thought really can get the best of you.

3.) The Privateers – ANDREW BIRD » Chicago musician Andrew Bird writes, sings, plays violin, and whistles (although not on this particular track). What’s not to love?

4.) Northern Sky – NICK DRAKE » How essential is this track? Well, it contributed one half of this compilation’s title. So there.

5.) We Three Kings – WESTMINSTER CHOIR » Out of deference to the many differing denominations and beliefs of friends and family, as well as the timing of this compilation (almost no one gets this in time for “the holidays”), I always try to keep the tracks as secular and non-holiday-related as possible. But sometimes one or two slip through the cracks. This is one of my favorite traditional Christmas songs, and the only actual “hymn” on this CD. That “star of wonder” was, presumably, Polaris, the north star, which has been guiding wise men, sailors, pilgrims, and travelers of all sorts since time immemorial.

6.) White Winter Hymnal – FLEET FOXES » To listen to Seattle-based band Fleet Foxes is to enter a world that only exists in fantasy, a sort of mythical Ozarks where barefooted hill people practice magic deep in enchanted thickets and commune with claymation animals. The claymation thing is probably the fault of the music video for this song. Check it out.

7.) If You Find Yourself Caught in Love – BELLE & SEBASTIAN » Why this track? Mostly because of the line, “you should thank Him for every day you pass / thank Him for saving your sorry ass.” But also because this band’s country of origin, Scotland, is pretty northward by my standards. This and the following track make a sort of double Scotch, if you will.

8.) Eleanor Put Your Boots On – FRANZ FERDINAND » The moment I first heard this song, I created my holiday 2009/2010 mix playlist in iTunes, and it was the first thing I dropped into it. It’s probably the most beautiful song I’ve heard all year long. It’s very atypical of Franz Ferdinand, from what I’ve heard (many of you have probably heard Take Me Out on the radio). It’s more typical of the Beatles, actually, which is why I put this track right before the next one.

9.) Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) – THE BEATLES » From the Rubber Soul album, this song is credited as the first instance of a rock band using a sitar in one of their songs. George Harrison plays it, and of course would go on to expand upon the use of sitar in rock music, studying with Ravi Shankar and eventually joining the Hare Krishna movement.

10.) Tangled Up In Blue – BOB DYLAN » This year, a long-running joke of mine will be put to rest. I used to wonder what a Bob Dylan Christmas album would sound like, and I would torture friends and loved ones with my impressions of Dylan doing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and so on. But now he actually has a Christmas album out! So, in honor of this legendary troubadour, I’ve included one of his classics. It seems to flow organically from The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood, telling the details of another off-kilter romance, and even including the phrase, “like a bird that flew,” although apparently his song “4th Time Around” is the more direct reference.

11.) Tangled Up With You – THE MUMLERS » If you’re like me, you might hear this and think it’s a forgotten track from a bygone era, brought out from obscurity and dusted off as a novelty item. But actually, The Mumlers are a contemporary group from San Jose, California. So contemporary are they, in fact, that searching for the lyrics of this song netted nothing, and I had to go by ear. I think I have everything pretty much right except one line, which is just inscrutable to me. Send me your best guesses! If this New Orleans jazz-infused song is anything to go by, I’m going to have to look into The Mumlers some more.

12.) Entr’acte – DUKE ELLINGTON » I love The Nutcracker. I love jazz. Jazz versions of The Nutcracker? Sign me up! I can’t get enough. But the arrangement to beat is Duke Ellington’s, and this all-too-brief snippet is from his Three Suites work, which also includes a swingin’ version of Grieg’s Peer Gynt suite. If you’re able to keep from snapping your fingers or swaying your shoulders or bobbing your head, you have no business listening to music anyway. (Did I put that too strongly?)

13.) Dull to Pause – JUNIOR BOYS » What can I say about this track? Um… Oh, hey! They’re from Canada!

14.) Baba O’Riley – THE WHO » I always wondered why this song was called “Baba O’Riley,” when those words never appear in the lyrics. You’d think it would be called “Teenage Wasteland.” Well, I looked up the answer to this question on Wikipedia, but found that the explanation was too long-winded (and not even all that enlightening) to include in these liner notes, which I’m trying to keep brief. The curious among you can look it up for yourselves; everyone else, just hitch up your britches and prepare to do an Irish jig.

15.) Missed the Boat – MODEST MOUSE » Clever lyrics. Irresistible hooks. Upbeat tempo. “Missed” is Modest Mouse at their immodest best.

16.) Plescheyevo Lake (Song about Alexander Nevsky) – SERGEI PROKOFIEV » Prokofiev’s score for Alexander Nevsky remains one of the best scores I’ve ever heard, and I’m pleased to include a part of it on this mix, where it is so much at home among these other tundra-tinged tracks. This particular song is so quiet and beautiful that I was a little surprised to find the lyrics translating to such grim imagery! I went back and forth on whether to include them in the booklet, but I eventually ran out of time to make up my mind, and went ahead and included them as a sort of humorous inconsistency. Let’s not forget that the history of early Russian cinema is practically inextricable from the history of propaganda. (Happy Holidays!)

17.) Neighborhood #2 – Laika – ARCADE FIRE » What better way to follow up a track from Alexander Nevsky than with a track which opens, “Alexander, our older brother / set out for a great adventure”? From there on, the lyrics get progressively weirder (vampires? what?) but the beat remains engaging, and you may find yourself wanting to join the neighbors dancing in the police disco lights. If you’re wondering, Laïka is the name of a dog the Russian space program sent into space. Laïka was the first living creature to orbit Earth. Ah, it’s all clear now…

18.) Building All Is Love – KAREN O AND THE KIDS » Spike Jonez hired Karen O, his ex-girlfriend and lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to write original songs for his live-action adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. “The Kids” are comprised of other Yeah Yeah Yeahs band members, as well as members from Deerhunter and The Raconteurs — and actual kids. The result is a charming blend of indie pop sound, animalistic whoops and growls, and completely disarming children’s voices singing and humming. And that’s exactly what Maurice Sendak’s children’s book is: independent, ferocious, and innocent. (Incidentally, the trailer for the film featured a re-recorded version of Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up,” the original recording of which was on last year’s winter mix!)

19.) They All March Together from Peter and the Wolf – SERGEI PROKOFIEV » Note that the same theme used to represent the wolf here is used in the holiday classic, A Christmas Story, whenever the bully appears. (The bully’s last name, “Farkas,” is Hungarian for “wolf.”) In fact, I think several of Prokofiev’s themes from this work are echoed in A Christmas Story.

20.) Winter Windows – SEA WOLF » Having “Winter” in the title makes this track suitable for a winter mix, and sounding a bit Russian to me makes it suitable for this winter mix specifically.

21.) Back in the USSR – THE BEATLES » The Beatles identified The Beach Boys as the group they had to beat if they were going to be successful in America, and this is their tongue-in-cheek tribute to “California Girls.” As such, it serves to bridge any ideological gap you might perceive in a mix entitled “Northern Hymns” coming to you from sunny Southern California. Here’s wishing you more comfortable conveyance between your various destinations this season than BOAC was able to afford the Beatles.

22.) End Credits from Doctor Zhivago – MAURICE JARRE » On a logical level, I recognize that falling snow makes no noise. So why does the music from Doctor Zhivago sound like snow falling? That’s the genius of the best composers, whether it’s Prokofiev evoking a prowling wolf or Jarre evoking a sleigh ride across the frozen Russian tundra.

23.) Donna & Blitzen from About a Boy – BADLY DRAWN BOY » Okay, this is my second (and final) Christmas-centric indulgence on this mix. It’s not a traditional Christmas song, which seems appropriate since the movie it’s from is about a man living off the royalties of a novelty Christmas tune his father wrote and is endlessly played in supermarkets and shopping malls. So, this may not become a standard of holiday music, but the case of Badly Drawn Boy’s soundtrack for this film is, like Karen O and the Kids’ soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are, a case of a rock musician being as inseparable from the tone of the film as Simon and Garfunkel’s music was from The Graduate. Pop soundtracks often date badly, and turn otherwise salvageable movies into unwatchable dreck in a matter of just a few years (has anyone tried watching Lady Hawk lately?). But when they work, they defy changing styles in music and film, and become part of the lasting texture of the movie itself. I think Badly Drawn Boy’s style is so deft and so unique that it will stand the test of time. It will, it will, it will, it will…

**If your CD was damaged in the mail, or if it skips, or if I forgot to actually burn it, or it is defective in any way, just let me know, and I’ll issue you a brand new one!

Here I am making your hymnal. Or possibly starring in an Ingmar Bergman film.

Photos courtesy of my beautiful partner in crime, Camile. The rest of the set is on her Flickr account, here.

2009/ Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care

______________________________________

00’s/ Vitalic – OK Cowboy

[direktlink]

album: begone dull care
year: 2009

[via electru]

Well, o fim do ano está próximo e como já repararam a atenção caíu sobre os nomes que ilustraram o que de melhor se fez este ano (e ainda se faz e se fará, claro).

A faixa Bits and Pieces foi presenteada com um videoclip, dia 9, com realização de Stephanie Comilang.

www.myspace.com/juniorboys

http://www.zshare.net/download/549679452d668afb/
ou

http://rapidshare.com/files/191927232/JB-BDC.zip

Here’s the latest video from Junior Boys.

Bits & Pieces – Junior Boys

4-color, hand screenprinted gig poster for Lotus, RJd2 & Junior Boys. (Click for more info or to purchase.)

Float on in.

This is my all hand screenprinted, limted edition poster for Lotus‘ show with RJD2 & Junior Boys DJ Set on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at Terminal 5 in NYC, NY.

Mega chillout Lotus psych-style. Reverberation, symmetry and green dreams.

This is my 4-color hand screenprinted poster with light-green, yellow, and black hand-mixed, non-toxic water based acrylic inks.I have a very imited number of this poster for sale, as most of the edition was sold by the band on the night of the show. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Edition of 125. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

Click the above image to visit my website and for more information or to purchase. And hey! Below are some process photographs of this poster being hand screenprinted at my Flickr site:

1st color printed here.

3rd color printed!

Registering the 4th & final color.

Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care (Domino, 2009)

‘Hazel’

When is an electro record not an electro record? Probably, listeners of Junior Boys’ Begone Dull Care might answer, when its idiosyncratic brand of nonchalant ennui provokes, not the floor-filling ‘2003′ vibe elicited by some of it’s more rambunctious cousins, but a soporific, hypnotic foot-tapping.

Indeed, the retro haze achieved by Canadian duo Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus on their third album seems like it was only realised via the discovery of some ancient synthesizers — such is the feeling of scrap-book polaroids and disco-chic cool achieved here.

The song writing is less articulate than on their previous two records, yet there is much on offer to please fans of indie-styled electro. The album is named after Norman McLaren’s 1950 pulsating, abstract animation and, while this explains the superb minimalism of Begone Dull Care, 1980s sexual groove is still its overture. “Work it baby, work it,” hushes Greenspan on the seductive Work.

Hazel, the standout, potential radio-botherer, is the only moment where Greenspan’s vocals raise to anything above a hushed aside. Elsewhere, The Animator conveys a similar marriage of laid-back disco and breezy, detuned, electronic pop which can only be described as Boards of Canada playing electro in a 1980s cocaine’n'cocktails bar.

The arpeggiated bass-lines, basic synth bleeps, and languor-inducing vocals are enough to keep heads nodding as much as anything served up by the ubiquitous Postal Service or the aberration that are MGMT. Although this is a few steps ahead in a watered-down genre, its lackadaisical approach may see it lose out to more obnoxious pretenders when vying for the attention of the dance-floor.

iPod shuffle winner when:
Trying to pull off a detached, 1985 vibe and looking for something to accompany your white chinos, big watch, and blasé, far-off gaze.

iPod shuffle sinner when:
Your house party’s music is being taken care of by DJ iPod and, after an assault on the senses (and on good taste) by Pendulum or some such, Parallel Lines drops and leaves everyone who isn’t a French android feeling mildly flat.

Stimulate your ear drums with these fine tracks my friends:

*Highly Recommend

ENJOY

Still see you in bed,But I’m playing with myself,All the things you’ve got
That you’ll never need.All the things you’ve got………………….

1.-Portishead – The Rip
2.-Junior Boys – Dull To Pause
3.-massive attack – unfinished sympathy
4.-Interpol – Pioneer To The Falls
5.-Radiohead – Idioteque
6.-Rio En Medio – Pictures Of You
7.-Kleerup – Until We Bleed (Feat. Lykke Li)
8.-Tracey Thorn – Grand Canyon
9.-The Cinematic Orchestra – To Build A Home