Speakertree Records

It has been an amazing year for music and a lot of new trends, labels and bands have made it quite tricky to pick a top 20.   I have included several “honorable mentions” from bands that have put out wonderful records this year (or in the Fresh & Onlys case - 2 great ones this year!) that just slightly missed my top list.  Woodsist, a small avant/lo-fi/noisy record label out of Brooklyn, had an exceptional year, putting out several must-hear albums as well as introducing the larger music world to a new crop of bands to watch.  Overall it seemed that 2009 was great for various types of music releases from the BIG releases like U2, Bob Dylan, Neko Case to lot of great mid-size indie releases (Phoenix, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors) and I feel that one of the year’s highlights was the increased importance of tiny do-it-yourself record labels (Woodsist, Captured Tracks, In the Red, Slumberland, etc) that gave a new platform to lesser-known yet fantastic bands.  2009 saw a continued resurgence in vinyl with most of my top picks not only being released on LP but many of them selling far better on vinyl than CD! …On to the list:

Honorable Mention:  Real Estate, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Megafaun, Animal Collective, Strange Boys, Sun Araw, Vivian Girls, Antony & Johnsons, Harlem, Grass Widow, Flaming Lips, Fresh & Onlys, Reigning Sound

20. Sonny & The Sunsets - Tomorrow is Alright  (Soft Abuse)  This record came out late in the year but has completely impressed me the past several weeks.  Laid back, twangy, dreamy pop music that could have come from the late 50s.  Swinging drums, piano rolls, whistling, hand snaps, and slurred, druggy vocals that are just sharp enough to seem intentional.  Tomorrow is Alright is wonderfully balanced with very simple song structures that are both easily addictive but intricately layered and rewarding.  Perfect sunny day music.

19.  Neko Case – Middle Cyclone  (Anti-)  I think the later part of this year, and the blog-world hyping of brand new bands silenced much of the glow for Middle Cyclone.  I admit it’s not Neko’s best record but it is still fantastic. I found myself loving these sophisticated pop songs for much of the springtime and revisiting them this month reminded me how super-solid of a record Case has created.  Middle Cyclone has some of Neko’s best songwriting, lavishly elaborated sounds and her untouchably beautiful voice.  A huge album for 2009.

18.  Girls – Album  (True Panther Sounds)  I think this record caught everyone by surprise in a lovely way.  Emotional, bedroom recordings that sound like they are a burned-out Brian Wilson’s ode to modern hipster-loving-nostalgia.  Very placed in West-coast 60s pop (although containing one of the years best shoegaze tracks – “Morning Light”) this record is nothing original but it’s nostalgic simplicity wears like an old blanket.

17.  Ganglians – Monster Headroom   (Woodsist)  Ganglians had a busy year releasing two LPs on Woodsist as well as a handful of other singles.  Monster Headroom is their most infectious and impressive work to date.  It combines many popular trends from this year - heavy Beach Boys/California 60s influence, weird, psychedelic vocal harmonies and lo-fi home-recording-sound – consistently better than any other band.  

16.  The Sandwitches – How to Make Ambient Sadcake (Turn Up)  Every 15 years or so we get a bombardment of awesome girl groups and this very recent wave seems to be the cute-fuzzy-garagey type (“The Vivian Girl Effect”)…With the Sandwitches, however, the music is much more diverse and dynamic showing a range of influences and style.  These three ladies from San Fransisco sound like a cross between the stomping pop-harmonies of the Shangri-Las and the sultry twang of the Carter Family.  There is no one else even coming close to this sound: Complex and brooding, yet easy to digest and so so beautiful!

15.  Smith Westerns – Smith Westerns (Hozac)  Blown-out, fuzzy garage-rock with a huge amount of Bowie and T. Rex glam to boot.  These guys are still in their teens but have definitely studied the right records.  Smith Westerns sound sloppy but with a close listen they have exact control of their jarring turns and slips.  I think their follow up to this album could really shock the music world.

14.  Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (4AD)  Tracyanne Campbell’s vocals can wisp me away to uplifting dreamland (“Honey in the Sun”) or bring me to my knees (“Away with Murder”) and very little modern musicians have such uncanny ability to do it so well.  Their newest is wrapped with such charming, sweet, huge pop songs.  This band never ceases to amaze me.

13.  Kurt Vile – Constant Hitmaker  (Woodsist)  Seeing this guy live late-summer really did me in.  I had already spun Constant Hitmaker much of the summer months but witnessing the musicianship and poise of a young Springsteen-like Vile garnered nothing but total respect.  Opener “Freeway” is one of the best tracks of the year.  The album is quite mellow with such subtle and rich guitar/sound exploration.  It is obvious that the prolific Kurt Vile is completely in love with making music.  

12.  Atlas Sound – Logos   (Kranky)  Another incredibly prolific songwriter, Bradford Cox takes us back and forth between major pop songs (“Walkabout” might be the greatest all-around song from 2009) and hypnotic dream-like voyages.  While not an obvious radio cut, “Quick Canal” with Laetitia Sadier (of Stereolab) is an absolute 8-minute meandering gem. 

11.  Cloud Nothings – Turning On  (Bridgetown)  This year was big for lo-fi bands and the obscure-to-instantly hyped band.  While fully utilizing lo-fi home recording techniques, Cloud Nothings (Dylan Baldi) have still remained almost completely under the radar (perhaps due to an extremely limited run of this album – 50 CD copies!).  Look for a larger buzz for this band next year for these are extremely catchy pop songs with the perfect amount of melodic guitar riffs and sing-along hooks.  Exactly what I want in a fuzzy pop band!  

10.  St. Vincent – Actor  (4AD)   Annie Clark (St. Vincent) is an incredibly well-rounded musician, doing almost all of the writing, arranging and playing on her fantastic, intricate recordings.  Actor is uncanny in its ability to bring emotional fury disguised cleverly in gently subtle arrangements.  Guitar whiplash peeks out from gorgeous string sections and best of all is Clark’s bold and captivating voice.  Actor is a modern pop symphony of emotion, thought and sound exploration. 

9.  Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs   (Matador)  With a lot of newer bands getting the hype these days it is so great to see timeless, consistent veteran bands still making outstanding records.  Fourteen albums later, Yo La Tengo brings enough romping groove-heavy songs and hypnotic spaced-out rock to easily warrant them rock hall of fame-type-status.  They are about as diverse and unpredictable as possible and perhaps the most rewarding band on this list.

8.  Pains of being pure at heart – s/t   (Slumberland)  I can not help but smile and want to dance when I hear this record.  Such amazingly catchy 80s dream pop (think: the Cure, Smiths).  While nothing super original, The Pains are perfectly channeling one of the most exubrant and nostalgic eras of recent music.  This is my feel-good record of the year!  (and it sounds WAY better on vinyl…yay for the return of Slumberland)

7.  Thee Oh Sees – Dog Poison (Captured Tracks)   I actually wanted to include both Oh Sees LPs from this year on my top 20 (the other one being Help! on “In The Red”) because they were both fantastic, and quite different from each other.  While Help! is a lesson on freak-out guitar weirdness over strong pop songs, I think Dog Poison falls more in line with my recent taste.  It sounds like Kinks home recordings with some of the abstract guitar quirks of the first Moody Blues record.  A quick, 30-minute album with acoustic guitar madness, muffled flutes, electric-guitar overdrive and John Dwyer’s vastly rich songwriting.

6. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note)  It takes a lot of guts to write straight up modern pop songs in 2009.  (Everyone wants to be lo-fi, or throw-back, or just weird).  Phoenix is making some of the BEST synth-pop tunes of our day that will stand up as classics to a very large audience.  Uplifting, sing-along lovelies.

5.  Grizzly bear – Vekatimest   (Warp)  I admit that I was initially quite underwhelmed by this album (against the wondrous praise).  It wasn’t until about the 15^th listen, on loud speakers that it suddenly made sense.  The layering of subtle warmth, the chants in the background, the gentle builds and wave-like crashes make this a real masterpiece.  I can see this one holding up to its hype in 20 years.  

4.  The Dutchess & The Duke – Sunset / Sunrise   (Hardly Art)   With the exception of this years’ number one pick (and Let it Be by the Replacements) I listened to this album the most this year.  I adored the first Dutches/Duke record from last year and I think Sunset/Sunrise shows even more confidence in slightly expanded sound and depth of songwriting.  This male/female country-tinged, whiskey-voiced duo are often compared to acoustic-era Rolling Stones.  Tricky to find a stand-out on this one because they all are so nice.

3.  King Khan & BBQ Show – Invisible Girl  (In the Red)  Taking the finest moments from 50s doo wop and 60s guitar-crazy, garage rock, King Khan and BBQ are in a surprisingly isolated niche of modern music.  Their addition to these overlooked past eras of sound is the raunchy, sweaty twist of lust and sexual perversion.  Somehow it all comes together into incredibly honest and lovable songs.  “I’ll be Lovin’ You” is one of the most dynamic and soulful tracks of this year while “Tastebuds” is, well, the most vulgar sing-along since Blowfly.

2.  Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca  (Domino)  This album caused a huge buzz in the music world this year but I truly think its wake will take several years to fully realize.  Bitte Orca is mindblowing in its quirky arrangements, musical scope and harmonic complexities.  African poly-rhythms, dissonant vocal fluctuations and backwards guitar chords open up into moments of the most blissfully perfect sounds that then disappear as quickly as they came.  Rightfully compared to the Talking Head’s David Byrne, Projectors’ frontman Dave Longstretch is a visionary and progressive musical genius.  Bitte Orca, a true sonic voyage, is best experienced in its entirety.

1.  Woods – Songs of Shame  (Woodsist)  Absolutely stunning!  The first time I heard this record I knew it was something special and it has continued to present itself as complex, enjoyable and timeless (must be 100+ listens I’ve given it!).  Woods make lo-fi folk rock with enough psych-weirdness to render them completely refreshing.  Front-man Jeremy Earl (who runs the label Woodsist) sings in a beautiful, high falsetto giving the perfect emotional landscape for these glorious tracks.  Haunting and exceptional.  Easily my favorite album of the past several years.

 

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