Top Albums of 2009: Part I

[scarred]

Weezer's next album cover:

[Scarychips]

They look dirty. 

[Retrospectre]

I keep trying to not listen to Embryonic so much and the muthafucker keeps finding it's way into my CD player.

[20 jazz funk greats]

But fuck a band for naming a song "Lust for Life" when there is already a perfectly good song already named "Lust for Life" 32 years ago.

this this this.

[Koremora]

Blue + Pinkerton are the only records Weezer made. After this, they were hit by meteorites. What is this "new Weezer" you guys are talking about? Sounds like some hoax bullshit to me.

[valley_parade]

That new Weezer is really terrible. Like, All-American Rejects bad. How did they go from "Only In Dreams" and "Across The Sea" to "The Girl Got Hot" and "I Can't Stop Partying"? Depressing.

a) The band that REALLY went TAAS this year was American Steel. So much so that they're now OPENING for the All American Rejects. Then again, "Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts" might just make my top 5 at the end of the year.

b) Can't Stop Partying was a great song when it was Rivers acoustic. Adding Lil Wayne fucked everything up.

[Johnny C]

Nah, the Jermaine Dupri production is really terrible, the dude phoned it in. it probably would have worked* if it was just a straight Weezer track. "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" is a pretty rad song though! I don't have high hopes for the rest of the record but at least it's one of the best singles they've had in a while.

*Well, worked better.

[Inlander]

So some day we're gonna get to Part II of this thread, right?

Anyway, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced that the best two albums I've heard this year have been Casiotone for the Painfully Alone vs. Children and Grand Salvo's Soil Creatures. Neither differ greatly from anything the artists concerned have done in the past, but both represent the best thing that each artist has so far put out (in my opinion). The Casiotone album, in particular, is clearly the encapsulation of everything he's been working towards so far while also being an astonishing leap forwards in both the depth and quality of his songwriting.

[Lummer]

Well, guys.. It's still "Agorapocalypse" for me.

[David_Dovey]

TAAS

Cool Freudian Slip, Bro

[pogonrudie]

Were you aware when you wrote that that Rivers actually collaborated with the All-American Rejects on this steaming shitpile of a record?

Are you serious? Haaaahaha, wow. Suddenly it all makes sense.

All this hullabaloo about "oh, if only Weezer could make an album that was as good as Blue/Pinkerton" is complete cock and is much like hoping your scumbag boyfriend isn't gonna cheat on you again when he does so repeatedly. Rivers sucks, the whole band sucks, AHHHH C'MON FUCK THIS BAND, let's just forget that they ever existed. If you don't believe in them they can't hurt you anymore!

I don't expect any new albums from them to be as good as Pinkerton...in my opinion, few albums are. But I do expect them to not be embarrassing. First time I listened to Raditude I had to keep it the volume low because I was scared somebody would walk by and think I was listening to All-Time Low or something.

And for the record, I'm not one of those people who think Weezer's streak of good music ended with The Blue Album/Pinkerton. I think that The Green Album and especially Maladroit are criminally underrated records. Their past couple though...

[Zombiedude]

I bought the new Weezer album today. As much as they are hit and miss these days I will ALWAYS buy a new Weezer album... Thoughts to follow.

Did you also get the snuggie with it?

[michaelicious]

My favourite part of the Snuggie commercials is when the mom is all swaddled up in the Snuggie keepin' "snuggly warm" while the baby is left to the elements in the apparently frigid living room.

[valley_parade]

TAAS

Cool Freudian Slip, Bro

Whoops.

especially Maladroit are criminally underrated records. Their past couple though...

I have been saying this forever. I fucking LOVE Maladroit.

[DynamiteKid]

I've got the new Robbie Williams album and it's pretty fucking impressive.

[Theriandros]

Rammstein - Liebe ist fur alle da.

Best album of 2009.

Trying to decide if this is serious.

[scarred]

[Theriandros]

I actually liked the musical evolution displayed by that album, but I really don't know a lot of other people here that like Rammstein...

Also: Diablo Swing Orchestra's "Sing-Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious" is making a really good case for itself this year.

[evilbobthebob]

Personal favourites, no particular order:

Coalesce - OX
Converge - Axe To Fall
Baroness - Blue Record
Pulling Teeth - Paranoid Delusions Paradise Illusions
The Hope Conspiracy - True Nihilist (really an EP, but whatever)
The Arusha Accord - The Echo Verses

[scarred]

Finally got around to listening to the new Fuck Buttons.



whoa.

[SleeperCylon]

1 White Denim- Fits
2 Animal Collective - MPP
3 BLK JKS - After Robots
4 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
5 Flaming Lips - Embryonic
6 Mos Def - The Ecstatic
7 St Vincent - Actor
8 Florence + The Machine - Lungs
9 Rodrigo & Gabriela - 11:11
10 Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

[ElDavido]

Horse Feathers - House with No Home...ah that was last year but I'll wave my hand and none of you will notice....*waves hand*...did it work by any miniscule chance?
Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight / Quietly Now...again last year but I still love it.
The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead. God I love that album.
Datarock - Read. Im getting low on albums released this year Im a huge fan of so I'll stick that in.
MONO - Hymn To The Immortal Wind. Recent listen but getting into it well.

Utter Let-Downs:
Editors newest
Muse newest
Julian Casablancas newest

[DarkAvenger]

Album that should be on everybody's list: "Real Size Monster Series" - Police Teeth.

[Christophe]

Album that should be on everybody's list: "Real Size Monster Series" - Police Teeth.

+1,000,000,000,000

[Scarychips]

Utter Let-Downs:
Editors newest

I totally agree with you on this. I'm not sure why, but the "indrustrial-ish" twist on their music doesn't work with me. Maybe I still need another listen or two.

[ElDavido]

Just sounds like god awful 80s synthy pop now. We already had to listen to the Eurythmics...why make us again!?

[AanAllein]

Yeah that was pretty much my experience. It basically sounds like it came straight from the '80s. I mean, it's an okay '80s record I guess, but that's hardly what I was looking for from a new Editors release.

I don't mind the Julian Casablancas album though. I mean, it's nothing special, but it's quite listenable.

[Scarychips]

Talking about solo stuff. Interpol's Paul Banks' Julian Plenti record is really good. I really liked it.

[ElDavido]

Ah I heard Plenti was bringing out a solo record recently, is it out yet?

[Scarychips]

It's already out actually. Since August 4th. I think it's in the Mediaf!re thread, but if it's not, PM me and I'll post it.

[ElDavido]

Jebus I'm behind on my Interpol chat, need to check that out cheers.

[byebyepanda]

GIRLS - Album

[MrDorman]

From the top of my head:
Muse - The Resistance
The Engineers - Three Fact Fader
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
Orenda Fink - Ask the Night
Memory Tapes - Seek Magic

[tender]

Since I doubt there will be a Part II of this thread any time soon (not that it's really needed), here's what I've been enjoying this year:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
4. The Antlers - Hospice
5. Girls - Album
6. The Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning
7. The xx - The xx
8. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
9. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
10. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
11. Passion Pit - Manners
12. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
13. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
14. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
15. Japandroids - Post-Nothing

Looking back at my previous list, MPP and WAP are still my #1 & #2 (for all the aforementioned reasons). I'm completely in love with It's Blitz, and have been pleasantly surprised how much it's grown on me. So fucking catchy. Hospice is a beautiful record, The Girls pull all my silly heartstrings, and I still can't get over how much I love Ritzy Bryan's voice. The xx was another grower for me. It started late one night, and I've been hooked ever since. Catacombs, Veckatimest, yes, yes, and Dinosaur Jr., of course. "[Their] music is so formulaic; all they ever do is KICK FUCKING ASS." I'm glad I got to see them and Built to Spill live this year. Manners is my (not-at-all) guilty little secret, Bitte Orca is pleasureful, Embryonic's a stunning return to form, Tarot Sport feels very special to my ears, and Post-Nothing reminds me so much of a fun part of my life I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't include it here.

[StreetSpirit]

Polvo - In Prism

[KvP]

Here's my list. I'm not bothering to number them beyond the top 10, they're all pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

1. Plaid - Heaven's Door: The Soundtrack
2. FaltyDL - Love Is a Liability / Bravery
3. Ramona Falls - Intuit
4. Few Nolder - New Folder
5. Silkie - City Limits Vol. 1
6. Baroness - Blue Record
7. Luke Vibert - We Hear You / Rhythm
8. The Black Dog - Further Vexations
9. Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
10. Moderat - Moderat
Runners-up:
The XX - XX
Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence
Atlas Sound - Logos
CFCF - Continent
Helado Negro - Owe Awe
The Horrors - Primary Colors
Mew - Long-named album.
Sticklips - It is Like a Horse, it is Not Like Two Foxes
Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts
Mapstation - The Africa Chamber
Yuuki Matthews - Music for Savage Tropical Imagery
Helios - Unreleased Vol. 1
Paul Baran - Panoptic
Sunken Foal - Fermented Condiments
Black Dice - Repo

[Johnny C]

PORTICO'S NEW ALBUM, FIRST NEIGHBOURS, IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS I'VE HEARD THIS YEAR HANDS DOWN. PLEASE VISIT http://www.myspace.com/porticonation FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND SLINT-Y MUSIC W/ A GIRL SINGER

[DavidGrohl]

For me :
The Engineers - Three Fact Fader
Passion Pit - Manners
Ramona Falls - Intuit
Fun. - Aim & Ignite

[tricia kidd]

Crippled Black Phoenix - 200 Tons of Bad Luck

As expected from a "supergroup", it's all over the place in a good way. You've got a couple traditional post-rock epics, a few Matt Elliott-esque depressing ballads, some heavy stoner riffs, and all of it is executed with amazing production values and great little touches that become more apparent with each listen.

Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Album of the year, will probably end up in the running for album of the decade. Their best work since Clouds Taste Metallic, bar none. After Mystics I honestly thought I wasn't part of their target audience at all anymore, but this thing is a monster.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t

Never has such unabashedly catchy retro-pop been so elegantly good. It's fucking scary how easy they make this shit sound. At times I've listened to this thing on repeat in excess of three times in a row on car rides.

Dan Deacon - Bromst

Not only an insane, eclectic, fun record but the live show was even better. If you have the chance, SEE THIS MAN IN ACTION.

The Horrors - Primary Colours

Largely abandoning their previous aping of Gun Club-era punk and embracing influences from Can to Spiritualized, this album is both truly derivative and truly brilliant. It's good to see a band that finally lived up to their hype.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

I feel like this album does for me what The Shins do for their fans. There's a definite comparison, but these guys hit higher notes and have a tighter sense of songwriting, with just enough curveballs to keep it from being pure pop.

Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

It's a Mono album, I think that's all that really needs to be said.

A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head

Not particularly different from their Jesus and Bloody Mary Division debut, but every bit as effective, if not moreso.

We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

The best of the New Scottish Sound, easy. Beating The Twilight Sad at their own game, though...

The Twilight Sad - Forget the Night Ahead

...is still an amazing, cathartic record.

The xx - s/t

I love this shit.  So mellow, so natural, so beautiful, so retro, so futuristic.

[Johnny C]

Real talk that Phoenix record is unassailable.

[Lummer]

I've really been trying to be open here, but I just can't get that goddamn ANb record out of the top spot.

Anyway, how is it possible NOT to love a record with a song called "Druggernaut Jug Fuck" and another song with the greatest Iron Maiden pun ever?

[David_Dovey]

It's probably not dogg

(actually I've got some disease where grindcore doesn't click to me at all but don't hold against me please)

[Johnny C]

PORTICO'S NEW ALBUM, FIRST NEIGHBOURS, IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS I'VE HEARD THIS YEAR HANDS DOWN. PLEASE VISIT http://www.myspace.com/porticonation FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND SLINT-Y MUSIC W/ A GIRL SINGER

WHO READ THIS POST, I'M SERIOUS

[Spluff]

(actually I've got some disease where grindcore doesn't click to me at all but don't hold against me please)

This is actually quite a common problem. The layman's term for it is 'ears'.


In all seriousness, this is a pretty good album, though it'll never get into my 'most listened' list on last.fm. It's diverse, interesting, and musical enough to justify the longer track lengths. The hidden track is actually very good, too (albeit not very grindcore).

[DavidGrohl]

WHO READ THIS POST, I'M SERIOUS

I approve this message.  Not the best of 2009, though.

[Johnny C]

if you don't think that album is one of the best album's you've heard this year then we've got words to have my friend, because there are so many parts that disagree with you: the crescendo of "my mother was born here, stoney indian" in "the battle of duck lake"; the sudden shift into an eerie major-key chiming guitar riff in "first neighbours" that totally belies the grimness of lines like "like a corpse we settle in"; the eruption of about seven measures of straight time into "i heard there's proof"; the way the drum line playfully mimics rhythm of the vocals in "unreunion" (or vice-versa, maybe); the way the intro cascades into three ringing melodies in "a year between the wars"; the absolutely amazing dissonance of the horns and strings in "frank slide," maybe the most effective use of those elements that i've heard in a few years, never mind the way that the song's rhythm suddenly changes from a strut to a weird, creepy shuffle; the surprisingly delicate nature of "bachelors, unite!" and the crisp lightness of the plucked guitar in that song; the sleater-kinneyish punk charge of "hallmark poultry limited" that's unexpected simply because of how brisk and straighforward it is; the "ooooos" that make "my teenage best friend's death in welland" more beautiful than it should be; the ghostly "we wait still" in "laura secord,"; the cinematic broadness of "louis riel leaves the college de montreal" that becomes terrible and awesome in the biblical sense during its horn-laden chorus; the martial rhythms of "spanish dance" that turn into a series of instrumental washes reminiscent of last year's excellent self-titled record by women.

i missed one song in there just cause i was thinking of all those parts off the top of my head. this is one of the most memorable records i've heard in a long time, and it's an album where absolutely no song, no section, no note is out of place. lean and cleverly-written and catchy, and some of the most incredible lyrics.

if that isn't enough for you, i'm perfectly willing to go through the last few pages and name the 2009 albums that don't hold a candle to this one.

[Johnny C]

seriously if you profess any love at all for guitars or the album spiderland you need to be all over first neighbours

[Zombiedude]

PORTICO'S NEW ALBUM, FIRST NEIGHBOURS, IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS I'VE HEARD THIS YEAR HANDS DOWN. PLEASE VISIT http://www.myspace.com/porticonation FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND SLINT-Y MUSIC W/ A GIRL SINGER

This is pretty awesome.

[tricia kidd]

spiderland really isn't all that great though.

[michaelicious]

The general mood of that Portico album reminds me a lot of The Cape May upon the first few listens.