The point behind this blog is that the entire thing should be a best-of list; so, for all of you who are inclined to number and rank the creative works you’ve consumed this year, here you go.
That being said, just because this blog is intended to be a best-of doesn’t mean that we’ve put up all the best albums from 2009, because, to be honest, 2009 was a KICK ASS year for music. There is always more to come, from the past, present, and even (near) future!
Hearing all the hype for the new Yeasayer album made me remember what little time I spent with their first album, All Hour Cymbals. Yeasayer is a psychedelic band from Brooklyn, and originally sounded like a much poppier version of Gang Gang Dance or a much more trippy version of TV On The Radio. All Hour Cymbals now reminds me (in the best parts) of 2009’s most under-appreciated act Here We Go Magic, which released their soft-spoken debut this year. It’s a well-executed and yet stubbornly unobjectionable psych rock album. Great for fans (and you may well become one!), but yesterday’s news for many others.
Now that the kids are going with the dance music, crossover success for an “experimental” band like Yeasayer means including electronic beats a la Animal Collective, which the lead single Ambling Alp does fairly well. The rest of the album follows in this vein by focusing on tight song structures that allow for experimental (and increasingly electronic) flourishes. If this album signals anything, it’s the arrival of post-Animal Collective indie music, which is at once accessible and experimental, sonically diverse yet technically focused on a pop aesthetic. It’s appropriate that it arrive at the beginning of 2010, as this firmly cements Animal Collective’s reputation as one of the most influential indie acts of the past decade, and decidedly thrusts the door open for a whole new generation of post-AC popsters. This is sure to hit big with the critics as did similar efforts from Dirty Projectors and the aforementioned Animal Collective this past year. And it should. It’s good. Above all, it’s a danceable freakshow, which is my favorite kind! Tracks like Ambling Alp, One, Mondegreen, and Rome will make you dance all jumpy-like and simply beg for remix treatment, while slower movers are lyrically interesting enough to keep you listening closely until the next beat kicks in. My bet is that 2010 will be a good year for Yeasayer.
For the uninitiated, Owen Pallett is a brilliant violinist and singer known for his solo work (formerly under the name Final Fantasy) as well as his string arrangements for bands such as Arcade Fire and Beirut. His solo output consists of orchestral pop songs, and he often performs with just his violin, voice, and loop pedal. On this album, his first for Domino (which had a great year in 2009, featuring releases by Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts, and Arctic Monkeys), he ventures off into even more whimsical avant-pop territory. The entire record is a concept album about a farmer named Lewis in the fictional world of Spectrum. Each song is “a one-sided dialogue with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.” I’ve always been a fan of Owen Pallett for a lot of reasons, but this album is intricately composed in a way which reminds me of the elaborate routines on display at a circus. He borrows from a much wider palette of sounds, letting keyboards and electronic percussion bleed into a beautiful arrangement of piano and strings in “The Great Elsewhere”. One of my favorite tracks, “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” begins with another giddy and playful measure on the keyboard which he completes with a steady refrain of “I’m never gonna give it to you.” Pallett is deft at combining wit and sparkle in equal measure, and they make for a fantastic escape into a fairy tale of an album.
I had the good fortune of seeing Owen Pallett perform with Mountain Goats this November (back when he was still Final Fantasy). He played a great deal of new songs from this album, and after listening to the recorded version, it’s hard to say which I prefer. Pallett’s flawless technique and emotion translate on a different level in his live performances, so I recommend you make it your New Years’ Resolution to go see him.
I’ve previously mentioned my love for Delphic, but upon hearing that they signed to Universal for the release of their debut album, Acolyte, I feared they would go the route of many over-hyped bands (like Passion Pit) and reduce their sound to a more comfortable exercise in dancey electronic pop, palatable to the coveted 18-34 set. Instead, they’ve refined their sound and vision, and emerged a more determined post-dance electrorock band. This strong debut combines the most energetic moments of bands like Friendly Fires with beautifully composed electronic sounds a la Hot Chip. Old favorites Counterpoint, This Momentary, and Doubt remain relatively unchanged, but new songs such as Red Lights and Remain provide a enticing look at a pulsing, anthemic Delphic that screams for life on the stage. Check them out on their tour of Europe this winter and be sure to keep an eye on Kitsune for more artists that can make you dance to practically anything.
This video is so accurate. I want to grab a pair of kick-ass headphones and go dancing in the streets to this all day long. Too bad it’s so short!
Seefeel is old. I don’t even know if they are still around. They make dreamy ambient IDM, and were signed to Warp before I hit kindergarten. “Plainsong” is one of the most beautiful songs in the world. I forgot how much IDM I have (and like); hit me up with other similar bands - I know a lot of old IDM but has it passed its heyday? Is there any new great IDM scene I’m missing? Let me know in the comments.
This is the Reality EP by Real Estate. It’s a little more ambling than their previous efforts.
Mos Def is already incredible, but when you combine production by Madlib, Oh No, and J Dilla, you get one of the best albums of the year. This album sounds equally personal and political, but Mos Def’s talents collapse the distinction between the two. Every track on this album is great. (Guess which track is Dilla’s - if you get it I’ll give you a hug.)
This band is made up of an American songwriter and two producers from Sweden, who together make up Bloodshy & Avant and have given us pop gems such as Toxic, by Britney Spears. It’s pronounced “Mike Snow” but spelled Miike because, as they said at Lollapalooza, “It’s too late to change it!” This is really perfect pop music, with crisp synths that know what they’re doing. Not a note sounds out of place. It’s almost too perfect, until you realize that there’s no such thing. It’s not that deep but it’s pretty addictive. Their song Animal was one of my favorites this summer. They plan on touring North America with Delorean this spring, be sure to check them out!
Favorite tracks: Animal, Black & Blue, Cult Logic
Also, as with all great new bands, I first heard of these guys because they got remixed by a bunch o’ people, so here are two of those remixes (more on their myspace)..
This is probably one of the more essential disco sets you can get. Larry Levan is one of the most famous DJs of all time. Together with Frankie Knuckles, with whom he used to spin at the Continental Baths, Levan is often seen as one of the progenitors of house music, creating a dub-influenced blend of disco, hip-hop, funk, and European synth pop during his infamous sets at the Paradise Garage. I’m not gonna wax nostalgic about Paradise Garage since I was never old enough to visit, safe to say that Levan’s tastes in music were eclectic enough to bring in crowds with a little more color than the superficial, sanitized Studio 54 set, keeping disco where it started: underground. Sadly, his profile waned after the Garage’s closure, though he still made contributions to the ever-evolving club culture, such as designing Ministry of Sound’s sound system in London.
Some of the best songs include “At Midnight” by T Connection, and “Get On The Funk Train,” by Munich Machine, which just sounds like sex (”OK, blow my whistle”).
Disco never died, but its geniuses did. Russell was one of those geniuses. Originally trained as a classical cellist in Iowa, Russell studied with Ali Akbar Khan in San Francisco in the 1970s. On his own, he split his time between avant-garde cello compositions and funky disco productions for Loose Joints, Dinosaur L, and Lola, but his passion for both shines through in each. This includes such hits as Wax The Van, Is It All Over My Face, and Pop Your Funk. My absolute favorite song, however, is not any of the disco singles but rather Keeping Up, a curiously subdued experimental pop song which features an electric cello, hush-hush harmonizing vocals and a lot of space to wander. This album should make you dance, think, then wonder why you’re not dancing, and then dance some more.
Like many awesome people, Arthur Russell died of AIDS. He had collaborated with people like Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, David Byrne, and John Cage. In the month of his death, Kyle Gann from The Village Voice wrote, “His recent performances had been so infrequent due to illness, his songs were so personal, that it seems as though he simply vanished into his music.” Even if his life ended too soon, at least he was able to truly collapse into his life’s work; now a part of him lives on forever.
This is the first release from Salem, and the first release from boutique label Acephale, which likes Memory Tapes, CFCF, and Air France (and so do I!). It’s a slightly different sound from Water, but that’s no problem since Salem is one of only a few people making this kind of music (that I know of). Let me know of other Salem-like groups, I’m eager to hear more.
If you throw around the terms “electronic,” “shoegaze,” and “dubstep” when describing a band, I’m inclined to listen closely. Salem has been making big “crunk-waves” with their brand of dark electronic music that borrows equally from deep rap instrumentation as it does from pop. There is certainly something ominous afoot in these droning, gloomy jams. Fuzzy dubstep interweaves with forlorn, destroyed vocals and suddenly it’s on repeat. The cover art should give you a clue to the aesthetic of this enigmatic group - each picture looks like a dastardly clue handed out by some mysterious cyber video serial killer. This came out on Merok, a label run by Milo Cordell from The Big Pink; Merok has been on a roll with awesome releases by Telepathe, Titus Andronicus, Rainbow Arabia, Comanechi, and Mi Ami, among others. The band is out of Michigan, Chicago, and NYC simultaneously.
This is driving, dark fuzzy electronic. I first heard it described as the “R-rated” Passion Pit, which is kind of a dorky description but I need to open the post so I’ll run with it. Coming out of Denver, Pictureplane is Travis Egedy. he’s on the same label as Crystal Castles, and it’s safe to assume that if you like one you’ll like the other. This album would go really well as the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic disco revue set in a dilapidated space frontier. If you don’t believe me, listen to Trance Doll. Zombie dance pop is in - because if the dead can walk, they sure as hell can dance!
Favorite tracks: Goth Star, Solid Gold, Trance Doll, Cyclical Cyclical (Atlantis), Gang Signs
He’s apparently playing a show in Brooklyn tomorrow at the Market Hotel with Future Islands, Tanlines, and Reading Rainbow!
glofi shmofi, this year had some damn chill music that felt like drugs without being drugs which is so much cheaper. this is the first of two planned releases on Carpark, a beautiful little label that puts out music by artists like Beach House, Casino Versus Japan, Dan Deacon, Belong, Ear Pwr, Marumari, Kid 606, and other fun stuff. The man’s name is Chaz Bundick, and he lives in South Carolina. There’s a pretty smooth disco vibe runnin’ through the whole thing too, which never hurts. I love Blessa and Fax Shadow, and the track “Talamak” is (and i quote), “TAGALOG (THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF THE PHILIPINES (MY PEOPLES RACE) MEANING CHRONIC/DRUUUUUUUGS). THE SONG’S SAYING GET HIIIGH MUTHA FUCKA.”
with that, enjoy.
this album is also really chill. i don’t quite know what else to say but if the song “landrunner” doesn’t make you feel like the coolest person in the world when you listen to it then maybe you’re already cool. but i doubt it.
this is my favorite Ducktails album. i like the fun dot pattern cover with pan-african colors on them. i originally got into Ducktails because someone described his music as “tropical” and who doesn’t like the tropics. this is the solo project of Matt Mondanile, who plays in Real Estate and Predator Vision and Parasails and fifty other bands I’ve forgotten. i suggest you put this album on to get yourself out of bed in the morning.
here are two prior releases. they’re pretty good too. i think the song “old folks” on the 7″ is awesome, maybe you will too.
these peeps are from Jersey. they have a song called Atlantic City. i fell in love with ac this summer, it’s an awesome place to go and buy tons of m&ms and meet famous trashy people. this is some surf-pop psychy lackadaisical music that i challenge you not to enjoy. all you really need are the 7″ and atlantic city expressway, but the s/t sounds nicer all together and has a few great tracks near the end. the reality ep on mexican summer (one of my favorite labels with releases from ariel pink, kurt vile, washed out, pearl harbor, weekend, and more) is really great as well.
