10. Atlas Sound - Logos
I'd love to be able to see Bradford Cox play live, whether it's with Deerhunter or as Atlas Sound. But you see, the sight of him makes me nervous. Diagnosed with Marfane syndrome, Cox's body is thin, tall and fragile looking. Though I know he is otherwise healthy, I'm still afraid that something could happen. The cover of Logos depicts Cox's bare concave chest, with his face lit up, a flash of blinding light. The duality of radiance and frailty is made also through the music Cox composes. Sugary pop confection in "Sheila" attracts yet reveals to be a romantic tale of an elderly couple burying themselves together. The music throughout is swathed in reverb, loops, samples, atmosphere but still lay bare the wounds Cox writes of. In "Quick Canal," Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier sings, wisdom is learned and Cox seems determined to make his journey transparent. His songs of revelation and redemption highlight process and as Noah Lennox sings in "Walkabout": Forget the things you've left behind / Through looking back you may go blind.9. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
I can see how The Decemberists can be an incredibly polarizing band. They're nerdy. They like Prog rock. They create concept albums that aren't so much albums as they are narratives, stories. So it was only a matter of time that they created an opera of sorts. And that's what The Hazards of Love is, you see, it's really an opera disguised as a rock album. It's not quite a leap of faith as Colin Meloy's songs had always been thinly veiled short stories. With that, The Hazards of Love is Meloy's tale of love and jealousy. The music is not exactly revelatory - it's pretty much what The Decemberists have always done only bigger. In fact, I wouldn't even call it the best Decemberists albums, so why is it on my list? Simply put, I loved listening to it. The bookworm in me relished the language Meloy uses. Most of all, it was the dual showstopping performances by Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden that propels the album into my top ten. It was Worden's powerhouse vocals in particular that won my heart. She pounds, she commands, she pretty much blows everyone else out of the water.8. St. Vincent - Actor
Recently I was talking about St. Vincent and what it was that I liked to much. After some false starts and altogether empty statements, I said that I loved her voice - how beautiful it was, angelic even - and how she contrasted that beauty with harsh guitars, with noise, fuzz. Annie Clark's confident vision was brought to attention on Marry Me, but truly came into fruition on Actor. Dominated by contrast - the meticulous arrangements are disrupted by a crunch of the guitar or squirm of a saxophone. Clark's complex and fully realized sound sometimes obscure her knowing and acute character studies. Her cool demeanor and delivery underplay the inventiveness of her compositions and her writing. Actor is an album that is truly singular - from the biting "Actor Out of Work" to the seductive "Save Me From What I Want" - with a vision that is truly unique, that it's difficult to guess what Clark will do next but whatever it may be, it will be her own.7. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Inhabiting the persona of Pearl (inspired by Patricia Arquette's blonde femme fatale in David Lynch's Lost Highway), Natasha Kahn sings, my name is Pearl and I love you the best way I know how. Devastating yet toxic words, this line encompasses all that Two Suns is about: impossible desire, frustrated love, and dark romance. Swathed in evocative atmosphere and shadows, Kahn's theatrical compositions are rich with layers of synths, harpsichords, guitars, drum machines, and perhaps best of all, Kahn's own voice. Her performance is expressive, shifting to fit the tone of each song, of each character - at times passionate, feral, melancholy, haunting and cold, her range is truly stunning. It's Kahn's performance that keeps these songs from veering to absurd theatrics or overwrought tragedy. Rather through her performance and her keen sense of melody, Two Suns is rich with mystery and romance - never over the top and always a pleasure to listen to.6. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
After 25 years together, would it now be appropriate to call Hoboken's own Yo La Tengo old timers? Their albums are so consistently good that it's a given that I'll be picking up a copy with each new release. Popular Songs sees the trio fine-tuning their eclectic sound—everything from funk to '60s fuzz pop to noisy epics, they're all here. There aren't any huge shockers here – no massive game changers in the Yo La Tengo oeuvre but at this point in their career, that's not even the point anymore. What is the point is to make great music that is singularly Yo La Tengo, and Popular Songs more than fills that requirement.Written for Treble Zine's Top 50 Albums of 2009.
5. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix had been slapped with the "soft rock" label before - is that fair? Maybe, but is that so wrong? With songs like "Lisztomania" and "1901," I'll take the soft rock, please. Phoenix's songs are so tightly, meticulously crafted but manage to sound so easy, so effortless, you almost have a hard time believing Thomas Mars' diaristic struggle with writer's block in "Lisztomania." In any case, like on It's Never Been Like That, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix proves that tried and true indie rock tropes have a place on the dance floor and the pop charts. Tight, angular guitars can easily blend with sleek synths, introspective lyrics can become sing-along pop anthems to dance to. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is about Phoenix crafting beautifully infectious songs, giving in to the pleasure of pop, the romance of dance and at the end of the day, it isn't about soft rock or whatever label you try to affix on them. It's about really good songs to nod your head to.4. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
I couldn't possibly articulate what a relief and joy it is to be writing about a Mos Def album as one of the best of the year. After years of false starts, disappointments, and bizarre tangents, Mos Def delivers a return to form with The Ecstatic. While in no way equal to the amazing Black on Both Sides (and considering my own obsession with that album, I doubt there ever could be), The Ecstatic was the album so many Mos Def fans have been waiting for. While on The New Danger and True Magic he seemed to be phoning it in, Mos Def brings in a tangible hunger and ferocity that we haven't seen since, well since Black on Both Sides. Had The Ecstatic just been about Mos Def's sharp, wordy flow, it would have still been great, but coupling that with great Stones Throw samples, rich with the crackles of the record was a genius move. Embedded in beats by Madlib and Oh No, Mos Def sounds perfectly at home in everything from Middle Eastern inflections to J Dilla soul samples to Brazilian funk. The Ecstatic isn't just a return to form, it's a whole new and engrossing chapter in Mos Def's career.3. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
On the cover for Middle Cyclone, Neko Case is perched on top of her own bitchin' car (natch), brandishing a sword – subtle, this is not. Yet I can't think of a more fitting cover image. Her red hair blown back by the wind, Case looks gorgeous, powerful and even a little dangerous. The image matches the stunning physicality of her voice and Middle Cyclone takes full advantage of that. In Middle Cyclone, Case embodies a killer whale, an elephant, and a tornado – brazen and fervid, the tracks are darkly romantic, wildly evocative and more troubled than those on Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Beyond the powerhouse tracks like "This Tornado Loves You" and "People Got A Lot of Nerve," Middle Cyclone is a grower – each track slowly revealing its gifts at each listen. "Vengeance Is Sleeping" and "Polar Nettles" are mysterious and beautifully descriptive. Middle Cyclone is a work that couldn't have been made by any other artist – Case's voice, writing, and personality reverberate through, crafting an album that is cloaked in shadows and nature and likely the most gorgeous I've heard all year.Written for Treble Zine's Top 50 Albums of 2009.
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
If Yellow House was like a meandering walk through a desolate country field, then Veckatimest is like walking through busy city streets - brimming with little details that come together to form a dazzling collage of imagery and sounds. Grizzly Bear was always noted for their intricate compositions and Veckatimest takes that to another level. Their elegant arrangements sounds more immediate, there is a stunning clarity in their sound that while they still meander and flow, there's more presence, more oomph to these songs. From the dreamy stomp of "Two Weeks" to the fantastic acoustic guitar breakdown of "Southern Point" and the off-kilter bounce of "Cheerleader," Veckatimest has a looseness and comfort to it; the sound of band completely at ease with each other. Each member contributes to the glowing interlocking sound, creating a dense, rich collage - easy to get lost in, but one that is worth it.1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
There must be something special about an album that was released in January of 2009 to become unanimously praised and top year end lists, almost across the board. Indeed, Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion is beautifully bizarre - it's arguably their most accessible album to date, yet it's still rooted in their experimentation and flights of fancy. It's an album that stays absolutely true to their sound but also managed to end up in the Billboard Top 20, and outsell popular label-mates Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys' most recent albums. Just how did this happen?It could be safe to say that everyone just happened to catch up to what Animal Collective fans have known already: their music is unequivocally unlike any other band, always interesting and always arresting. With Merriweather Post Pavilion, there was no change to their sound - maybe a sharper focus on the twin harmonies of Avey Tare and Panda Bear - but nothing that would be deemed mainstream by any means. Each song here is reminiscent of prior Animal Collective songs - the yelps, the psychedelic washes, the West African beats - treading the line between accessibility and experimentation, the songs on Merriweather Post Pavilion are wonderfully listenable and create full and livable atmospheres that envelop you. Couple that with some of the most emotionally honest Animal Collective lyrics they have ever written, and you have an album of cacophonous sounds, intricate compositions, and heartfelt and poetic lyrics. After writing all of this, I can't help but think, 'of course it was this album. How could it not be?' And there it is.
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