LB’s Favorite Non-NW Albums of 2009
December 22nd, 2009
So, coming up with this list proved to be a bit more difficult than my Northwest version. I’m not quite sure if it was due to quantity or quality, but I had to ignore or eliminate a handful of records that in another year, I might’ve included. In the end, though, I sunk into a stack of pretty amazing albums, all with more ambient or electronic tendencies than those heavy with guitar and trad-rock ilk. Plenty of guitar, to be sure, but plenty of non-guitar, too. It was a good year for that.
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10. Le Loup – Family (Hardly Art)
“It follows suit, then, that the second record from the D.C.-area band, courtesy of Hardly Art, depicts an amorous, wide-eyed view of the universe and its indigenous contents. Entitled Family (naturally), it’s a collection of songs that should be experienced in the presence of an outdoor landscape, with a macrocosmic frame of mind, or with a circle of friends. It’s an album that is best described using terms such as ‘percussive’, ‘tribal’, and ‘folk’; or ‘pastoral’, ‘rustic’ and ‘anti-urban’. There are idyllic reverences to beach towns, open plains, mountain foothills, oceans, peaks and valleys. There is nothing pristine or rigid about these songs; their fluidity and rugged familial openness are utterly human and, ultimately, vulnerable.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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9. Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care (Domino)
It’s not quite certain whether Canadian croon-poppers Junior Boys made the ninth spot based on past memories or present-day sensation. Likely it’s a combination of the two. For inexplicable reasons, the calm and collected heart-thumping of this band sticks stubbornly to my hippocampus. First poignant memory: 2006 Yule Benefit at Neumos. Second poignant memory: riding around the trains of Germany in 2007. Third poignant memory: October 2009 at Chop Suey. Fourth poignant memory: miscellaneous geek out sessions with a party of one. Begone Dull Care might be the least attractive of the duo’s catalog, but to me, it was a graceful expansion of their commanding dance-throb, equal parts emotional blue and electric blue. Nobody does electro-beats this gallantly.
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8. The xx – xx (Young Turks)
“In sound, the music is defined by (Oliver) Sim and (Romy) Croft trading flirty, pillow-soft vocals (I prefer her endearing Londoner lisp to his sleepy schoolboy singing) over his plucky, unfettered bass lines and her lonesome, crystal-clear guitar melodies. The same kind of hi-pitched somber melodies made popular during the early 80s post-punk scene. The usual accoutrements of romantic synths and background drums round out the rest of the ear candy. The first half of the album is quite revealing, with “VCR”, “Crystalised” (watch a great live video of this song on KEXP’s blog) and “Heart Skipped A Beat” impeccably introducing the xx’s minimalist MO. But it’s the final three tracks— “Infinity”, “Night Time” and “Stars”—that really click, creating a pitch black, wide open lover’s lane that slowly seeps into the deep, never to return again.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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7. The Raveonettes – In And Out Of Control (Fierce Panda / Vice)
“Since 2003, the Danish duo has concocted four increasingly addictive albums that don’t differ terribly from one single-dose narcotic formula. That formula, for those caught unawares, is essentially created by dissolving an infatuation with lovesick, pre-hippie American pop into a trashy, drug-and-sex induced obsession with 80’s shoegaze storms…So, no, the new LP, In and Out of Control, doesn’t bring any new toxins to the table, but (Sune Rose) Wagner and (Sharin) Foo sure as hell know what they’re doing. And they sound good doing it. Right off the bat, with “Bang!”, they’re singing (in the androgynous dual-harmony style they’re known for) about teens having summer sex.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (Interscope)
It seems to me that there’s a certain sect of the population that believes the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (can we all now agree that’s one of the coolest band names ever?) have never again reached the critical climax of Fever To Tell. While nothing short of a scintillating, searing stunner, I do believe their second and third albums are just as tantalizing. Where we see the difference, however, is in the difference. From raw power to heavy power to disco power, the trio has continued to surprise and evolve with equal success, and in contradiction to the millennial status quo. The band’s latest Blitz-krieg showed us that Nick Zinner is more than just a monolithic guitar czar; he also has some slinky synths shoved up his sleeve. It showed us that Karen O not only has a soft side (albeit a zealous one), but that her Dragon Queen risk-taking—including her score for Where The Wild Things Are—has her hysterically headed to a stratospheric altitude. And it showed us that Brian Chase has zero qualms with either of them.
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5. Atlas Sound – Logos (Kranky)
“Logos, the new offering from Atlas Sound, essentially plays out like one shifting, streaming dreamscape, filled with a thousand different snippets of sound and image, unfamiliar characters making brief appearances, jarring jubilation and drifting despondency, all buoyed by (Bradford) Cox’s trademark hypnotic rhythms and doo-wop desires…“Shelia” is similar in mood to “Walkabout”, with a contagious hook and a message that’s heartbreakingly sweet: “Sheeeee-lia! / we’ll die alone together”. There’s a somber beauty that is illuminated in the guitarless “Washington School”, with a glockenspiel (one of Cox’s favorite instruments) twinkling and shimmering randomly behind a keyboard syncopation. As if singing while sinking to the bottom of an ocean, Cox continually pleas “Shine a light on me”. It’s an easy request to grant.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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4. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)
It’s no secret that Merriweather Post Pavilion elevated Animal Collective to a new found echelon of popularity. Listening to its gorgeously smeared overlays of jittery, primal pop is a sublime and eye-opening experience. Much of the record’s success was built on two songs (two songs that hardcore, longtime AC fans likely detested): the Panda Bear-led “My Girls” and the Avey Tare-led “Summertime Clothes”. Each could compete for Song of the Year in virtually any category, with the former’s mushy, adobe-stained jungle-beat pitted against the throbbing, steamy summer dreamwalk of the latter. The ultimate reward for me, however, was obtaining a deeper appreciation of the band’s earlier records: those which I had heard and respected but not fully developed a taste for. MPP‘s more accessible approach did well to fully assimilate me into their collective. (Note: I would also like to indicate my affection for the Fall Be Kind EP, also released this year.)
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3. Mew – No More Stories… (Sony BMG)
“The word “epic” often comes to mind when listening to Mew, and if you’re the type drawn to sparkling fantasy and glimmering white magic, or extreme depth and wild excitement, their operatic and incredibly inspired thunderstorm rock will be right up your alley. Oftentimes, I feel like I’ve been dreamily transported to the kid-friendly fantasias of The NeverEnding Story or Return to Oz. In composition, No More Stories… essentially picks up where 2005’s And The Glass Handed Kites left off: (Bo) Madsen’s colorful, uneven guitar treatises balance exuberant keyboard flourishes and (Jonas) Bjerre’s precocious, somewhat nonsensical choir-boy storytelling. Songs build up and break down, meander aimlessly and fly pointedly, sending listeners on enchanted journeys through implausible universes.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Warp)
“Like with any beguiling record, there are a handful of songs that truly stand out, and if you’ve spent any time at all listening to or reading about this one, you aren’t likely to be surprised by my picks. “Two Weeks” is the popular front running favorite, its exemplary video of the band members’ pasty, incandescent faces slowly exploding into Piccolo Pete-type fireworks. Daniel Rossen’s (also of Department of Eagles fame) jumpy, plaintive piano lights the match while Ed Droste’s classic tenor spirals into the ether (Save up all the days / A routine malaise). Harmonizing is key for this band, and they succeed at it without show or pretension. My absolute personal favorite, however, is “While You Wait For the Others”, a bouncy folk tune with a goose-bump-giving chorus (So I’ll ask you kindly / to make your way / Ooooooh!). Rossen provides lead vocals this time, deliberately strumming his reverberating hollow-body to absolute perfection.” [Full Review & .mp3s]
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1. Handsome Furs – Face Control (Sub Pop)
“Now we have Face Control, and if we are to believe the band’s recent synopsis, it is Eastern Europe to Plague Park’s Scandinavia. Where PP was quiet and contemplative, FC is fierce and full of swagger. Boeckner is a child of the 80’s and his music often shows it. Ever since I heard Wolf Parade’s “Fine Young Cannibals”, he now regularly sounds like Ric Ocasek to me. Here, quicker drum beats race through like hearts aflutter, glitchy synths evoke happier spirits, faux-handclaps guide the ears, all colliding with Boeckner’s often-bitter guitar seizures. Highlights would be the dance-floor ready “Evangeline”, its bump and echoey bass recalling Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”, first single “I’m Confused” with his glam-guitar screaming and careening out of control, and “Radio Kaliningrad”, which fans of the first record will surely appreciate. You know, it has that goose-bumpy, New Order-ish melancholy to it.” [Full Review]
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Honorable Mentions:
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Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Rabid)
Obits – I Blame You (Sub Pop)
Passion Pit – Manners (Frenchkiss)
Julian Plenti – Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper (Matador)
Thee Oh Sees – Help (In the Red)
Matt & Kim – Grand (Fader)
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