The Guest's Best: Albums, Tracks and More!

What does it say that I don’t have a top ten albums list, but can only can pick a few that I’m certain really deserve that to be on A list? I don’t think it’s about quality –I consistently get annoyed by folks that say there’s no good music out there. But, technology has changed my listening habits – lots of playlisting and shuffling going on. And I’m more honest now than I was before and less concerned about scoring hipster points. I never really listened much to the Fugazi, Matthew Dear or Youssou N’Dour records that I put in my top tens before. They just looked cool. Check out more of what's cool after the jump.

~ Michael Krumper (Stark Guest Contributor)


ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

DIRTY PROJECTORS: Bitte Orca

Name dropper that I am–was at SxSW talking to Rough Trade records legend Geoff Travis, just before Dirty Projectors went on at the French Legation museum garden party. Geoff told me–”You’re about to see the best band in America.” Spending time with Geoff is like talking to a rock star for me (he signed the Smiths! Aztec Camera! Arcade Fire!), so this might as well as have been the word of God. But the DPs just took WAY too long to go onstage, so while I’d like to say that I fell for the band then and there–it’d be a lie. I left before they went on and STILL haven’t seen them play a full set. Dumbass.

I’d heard some of the group’s Rise Above when it came out and was intrigued, but didn’t put the time in–and as much as I like looking for the “angle” on projects we work on, I was prejudiced against liking the album. It felt like a stunt, a band getting noticed just because they’d covered an entire Black Flag album. It took the sinuous “Stillness Is the Move” to completely floor me. It’s my favorite song of the year except for one–but more on that later. (Side note: I’m fascinated by Solange Knowles’ cover. There’s many times when I’d thought that if a song I’d like was done straight, it could be a mainstream hit single. Got my wish this time–and even when produced and sung as a traditional R&B/pop hit–”Stillness” is way too out in its structure to compete with Ne-Yo, The Dream, or Rihanna. But the fact that a semi-mainstream pop act covered “Stillness” at all means that the DPs are getting CLOSE.

I pre-ordered Bitte Orca from Other Music, stood on line alone outside the store for an hour to see the band’s instore there, and revelled in their performance. I can’t remember the last time I did this for an act I wasn’t working with. Even playing acoustic they have an extraordinary groove, lots of head bobbing going on as if we were all at some backpacker hip-hop show and not watching 6 very white people play live. And their vocals are extraordinary, both on record and live. A better writer than I described them in a perfect way–they sound as if they’re being diffracted through a prism.

I’m still falling in more in love with Bitte Orca months later, discovering the depth of songs from the record as I continue to listen–like “Temecula Sunrise”, which when I heard it on the car radio early one morning reminded me of Yes and made me wonder if I missed something by dismissing prog altogether.

I’ve gotten to the age where referencing gigs I’ve seen make me sound ancient, but this happens when your love of music starts very young and continues throughout your lifetime. I saw Talking Heads in 1983 at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium right after the release of Speaking In Tongues. Seeing the DPs and listening repeatedly to Bitte Orca gives me the same feeling as being a Talking Heads fan back then. Like the Heads, this is a band that is reinventing pop music, in a way that is so well constructed and precise that they will end up being accessible. Even though Dirty Projectors have made records for a while, I’d put them at More Songs About Building and Food in their development. It remains to be seen without the twin forces of MTV music video play and “modern rock” radio whether this band will have hits as pervasive and influential as “Once In A Lifetime” or “Burning Down The House”, but I’d bet on Dirty Projectors making art that deserves that kind of ubiquity.

PASSION PIT: Manners

Where Girl Talk’s Gregg Gillis takes years of pop music and cuts and pastes it into one endless party, Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos takes much of the same material and makes something far more affecting. Obsessive in detail, manic in emotion–Manners has no shortage of high points, “Make Light” and “Moth’s Wings” being my fave album tracks…but it’s all about “Sleepyhead” as the gateway drug to this record.

Yeah, “Sleepyhead” was out last year. Whatever, I’m not voting in the Pazz & Jop Poll. It’s still the song of the year, and not just for us overgrown rockcrit type (I mean bloggers). Case in point, it was among the first 15 songs my daughter added the song to her Nano, alongside Taylor Swift, Pink and “Single Ladies’”. Here’s hoping it’ll be on the next season of Glee, as it should be–can’t wait to see Finn and Rachel try and sing it. And on the subject of covers–it already sounds kinda a KIDZ BOP song in it’s original version, no?

As for it’s inclusion in the Palm Pixi commercial; that’s friggin awesome. “Sleepyhead” jumps off the screen, and I’d bet that the searches and downloads for Passion Pit have gone off the chart after the spot started running. As mentioned in DP entry above, it probably does take ad placement (or a pivotal Grey’s Anatomy sync) to reach critical mass.

Can’t wait to see these guys play at Terminal Five in a few weeks–if I did drugs, I’d do them that night. Maybe I’ll do an extra shot of creatine right before the show.

ROMAN CANDLE: Oh Tall Tree In the Ear

This album satisfies my power-pop jones more than any I’ve heard in years; and like almost every great band in this genre has to date gotten heard far less than it should. Like their pointy-headed forebears the dBs (and their Canadian equals The Weakerthans) they are probably too damn smart for their own good.

Folks that have heard this record have gravitated to “Why Modern Rock Radio is A-OK”, but the song’s a bit too literal for my taste. Instead, start with “Eden Was A Garden” which is lyrically dense, and hooky as hell–and seek out the demo/acoustic version, which I’ve segued on playlists into “Tumbling Dice” because of its slow, shambolic ramble.

The level of songwriting craft on Oh Tall Tree In the Ear is comparable to Fountains of Wayne’s Utopia Parkway or Welcome Interstate Managers–and that’s high praise considering that a song on one of those records references someone very close to me and his wife (you can figure it out).

RIYL: Jayhawks, Blitzen Trapper, Old 97’s, Wilco.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: Merriweather Post Pavillion

Jim DeRogatis said on the year-end Sound Opinions wrap-up that MPP is the record Brian Wilson would make if he was making Pet Sounds today. I can’t say more to recommend it than that I wish I had the pair of KOSS headphones that I used to listen to records on back in high-school, because my iPod headphones just don’t cut it for the density. Also–Taken By Trees version of “My Girls” is genius.

RECORD I’M LIKING DESPITE THE HYPE: Girls: Album

LATE ON, BUT LOVING: Gaslight Anthem, Alberta Cross, Neon Indian

GUILTY NOT-PLEASURE: Wilco: The Album. Sky Blue Sky was my album of the year, but so far this hasn’t opened itself up to me. I’m gonna keep trying cuz I love these guys.

TRACKS OF THE YEAR

“Percussion Gun” – White Rabbits

First watch this Letterman performance : only Lady Gaga on SNL matched them for best performance on TV this year.

There’s something so smartly aggressive about this song..and this band. Britt Daniel’s production allowed the band to out-Spoon Spoon–hooky as hell, but without the arch aftertaste. The twin drums up front remind me of Adam and the Ants or Bow Wow Wow, and I’m moved every time I hear lead singer Steven Patterson urgently yelping out the lyrics to this song. It does piss me off that the 30H!3 get to have hit singles when songs like this don’t reach a 100th of the audience.

“Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear

I just don’t listen to Veckatimest. Grizzly Bear intrigue the hell out of me, but the echoey piano figure on “Two Weeks” and harmony vocals are pop enough to make me come back for more. This mash-up with Lil Wayne’s “Prom Queen” is great, but what’s better is that it’s credited to the album Veckaflyest.

”Zero”/”Heads Will Roll” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Not much emotional resonance for me for the Y3s on this record (nowhere near as much as on their “Maps”), but these are great pop singles, as good as Dale Bozzio or Terri Nunn ever turned out, and that is by no means a slam.

Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

The single that won me over. My wife didn’t like that our 9 year old was singing along to “Just Dance” on Z100, thought the lyric was almost as bad as Britney’s “3″, which we switch off every time. But jeez, I’ve never seen such a campaign for ubiquity since Madonna, and this is just the beginning–Miss Germanotta is so smart that she won’t make her Shanghai Surprise, although I am awaiting her Desperately Seeking Susan move–which given the times will be a You Tube clip.

Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”

They make me smile, and it’s only partially because I share an alma mater with them. They write great hooks, they’re funny, they have a lyrical point of view and a sound, which they’ve expanded on this track. Can’t wait for the album, and I’m betting the bloggerati are just waiting to slam ‘em. Fuck ‘em, these guys are better than 99% of the bands that are raved about daily.

Other tracks I loved:
Kelly Clarkson “I do not hook up”
Art Brut “Mysterious Bruises”
Matt and Kim “Daylight”
La Roux “Bulletproof”
Annie “I Don’t Like Your Band”
The Big Pink “Dominos”
Thao “Cool Yourself”
Mayer Hawthorne “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”/”Maybe So Maybe No”
Jay Z/Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind’ (I’m from the Bronx, dammit)
Tinted Windows “Kind of a Girl”
Florence and the Machine “Kiss With A Fist”
James Yuill “No Surprise"
Two Hours Traffic “Noisemaker”

BEST PAIRING OF MUSIC TO AN IMAGE:

YOU try watching the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are scored with The Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” without tearing up. I can’t.

-MK

The Antlers Take Away

The Antlers - Two / Epilogue - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

The Antlers: number one on "Best of '09" lists with Hospice and number one in our hearts. These guys can really do no wrong; from their strikingly beautiful and "hand-on-chin-inducing" live performances, to this stripped down La Blogoteque Take Away Show (See "Shiva" here.)

We had the immense pleasure of seeing The Antlers at the Bowery Ballroom last week, a show that not only solidified their number one spot on some of our end-of-year lists, but also got the attention of the New York Times who wrote a truthful and glowing review of the show. We at Stark, had many of the same thoughts as Jon Pareles (one of our favorite writers) enough so that we made this Blackberry note during the performance...

"Watching the Antlers live is like listening to Dark Side of the Moon in the dark on Sennheiser head phones...it is pretty much flawless and awe-inspiring at the same time."

The Tuesday after the show, we had the pleasure of catching up with frontman, Peter Silberman & Co. at a Brooklyn Bowl, Neon Indian show. What did we learn? They are fantastic on-stage, and even more fantastic off. Here's to a great band getting the break they deserve.

Happy Holidays from Stark!

Merry Christmas to All From JJ

[mp3] JJ "Ectasty"

Yesterday, we got word from Secretly Canadian that JJ, who made Vince's #1 record of the year and my #4 record of the year in jj nº 2, has signed to the venerable indie for their new record jj nº 3 which will come out March 9th in conjunction with Scandinavian label Sincerely Yours, who released the previous record. On a funny personal side note, several days ago an Other Music employee and I were lamenting the lack of JJ vinyl in the store. We wondered aloud why a US label wouldn't just pick up the band to give their music a proper stateside release. Well anonymous, cute, saleswoman, here's our answer. (#missedconnection?) Merry Christmas to all, from JJ. See their first US tour dates with the XX after the jump.

3/22 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
3/23 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
3/24 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
3/25 Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
3/28 Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
3/29 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church Sanctuary
3/30 Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
3/31 New York, NY - Webster Hall
4/02 Boston, MA - Paradise
4/03 Montreal, QC - Le National
4/04 Toronto, ON - Lees Palace
4/05 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
4/06 Bloomington, IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater
4/08 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
4/09 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
4/12 Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight Lounge
4/13 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
4/14 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
4/16 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill

Surfer Blood mp3 : "Floating Vibes"

[mp3] Surfer Blood: "Floating Vibes"

[mp3] Surfer Blood: "Swim (To Reach The End)

Anyone who's anyone in the blog realm knows about Surfer Blood. Sound elitist? Nah. Surfer Blood are the archetypal buzz band. Yet, as with most of these highly-touted groups there is a ton about Surfer Blood to like. "Buzz" doesn't happen without reason (most of the time). There are some great songs on Astro Coast (1/19 Kanine), and while it's not going to be the record of 2010, it's certainly an auspicious debut from a band that seems destined to be at least talked about for a good part of next year. Hype aside, the tracks above are quite excellent and well worth grabbing. "Floating Vibes" is our personal album highlight. Here's to hoping Surfer Blood the best next year. No one wants them to be the next Tapes 'n Tapes.

The Octagon Tour and New Album

[mp3] The Octagon: "Suicide Kings"

Back in September we flagged The Octagon as a band poised to have a big year. Well, here we go. The New York post-punk trio is embarking on a full tour in support of their new (vinyl and digital only) album Warm Love and Cool Dreams Forever which drops Jan 5 via Serious Business Records. All accomplished in some way outside the band, the three members, Will Glass, Zachary Mexico and bassist "The Bunny" come together as The Octagon to expel powerful bursts of melodic, gritty and downright addictive nuggets of analog rock goodness. While you can tell these tracks were recorded to tape and have that blown-out sound, the band does well for themselves to avoid paying homage to the "shitgaze" trend of '09. From what we've heard of the new album, these are merely tight three-minute rock songs of the purest sense. Highly recommended. New mp3 "Suicide Kings" above, tour dates after the jump.


THE OCTAGON ON TOUR















01/05 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire
01/06 Baltimore, MD @ The Metro Gallery
01/07 Washington, DC @ The Black Cat
01/08 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
01/09 Richmond, VA @ Plaza Bowl
01/10 Ashville, NC @ Bobo Gallery
01/11 Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
01/12 Nashville, TN @ The Basement
01/13 Little Rock, AR @ Whitewater Tavern
01/14 St. Louis, MO @ Antartica
01/15 Champaign, IL @ Mike and Molly’s
01/16 Chicago, IL @ Elbo Room
01/17 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
01/18 Columbus, OH @ The Carabar
01/22 Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls

Broken Bells Debut mp3

[mp3] Broken Bells: "The High Road"

Today, Spin debuted the new mp3 "The High Road" from the Danger Mouse/James Mercer project Broken Bells. Danger Mouse had an overexposed 2008 twiddling the knobs for tons of artists, most notably Beck. But from the sound of this single, the time off has done both Mercer and 'Mouse a ton of good, as this track is excellent. While we don't know if we can take a full album of mid-tempo slow burners such as this, the core melody and groove are truly strong, and actually unique.

Far From Christmas Leftovers

[mp3] ARMS: "Whirring"

So we forgot a few on those best of '09 lists. Can't get to them all ya' know? So, here are two albums that we slept on in the latter half of '09: ARMS' Kids Aflame and Cotton Jones' Paranoid Cocoon. ARMS is the charming bedroom project of Todd Goldstein, a member of the now disbanded group Harlem Shakes. Bummer. They were ace. Nevertheless, Kids Aflame is packed with understated songwriting gems, brimming with wistful melodies and "don't call it lo-fi" recording techniques. The sound is close in the headphones but grand in quality.

[mp3] Cotton Jones "Blood Red Sentimental Blues"

On Paranoid Cocoon, Cotton Jones offers up psychedelic 60s pop nuggets. The ocassional male/female vocal tandem mixed with reverbed guitars and melodies recall elements of the Duchess and the Duke; yet, Cotton Jones goes for more of a full-band, groove-oriented sound, while the Duchess and the Duke focus more on their crafty pop melodies and song structures. Both highly recommended albums you won't find on too many top 20 lists (unfortunately).

Videos We All Can Enjoy

The holiday's are upon us in more ways than one-- some of you may already have the luxury of being home, while some of us will be working until the somewhat bitter end. Either way, there is snow on the ground, lights in the trees and a festive atmosphere everywhere. Our Best of 2009 lists (Mine, Matt, Andrew, Winston) are all hung on the blog with care and we are getting one day closer to a Partridge in a pear tree.

We have been sitting on a few videos from artists that graced our "Best Of" lists for a while now, but it seems like the right time to watch them again. First we have "Edge of Our Lives" from the Holiday Shores (#7) -- if you can avoid seizing, than you will love this video and this fantastically cheerful song. Get Columbus'd the Whim now if you haven't already.

Check out videos from Foreign Born (#4) for "Early Warnings" and "Winter Games" (#4) after the jump.

Foreign Born - "Early Warnings"

"Winter Games"

Matt's Top 14 EPs of '09

Here's another for your list of lists Winston. I realized that I should give some love to the awesome EPs that came out this year as well as the albums. So without further ado, my top 14. That's right. 14.

Animal Collective: Fall Be Kind

I'm still convinced Animal Collective put this EP out to remind critics that they had a record out this year (who would forget?) for year-end lists. Yet, the motives do not take away from the fact that this was another excellent offering from the gods of indie rock.



Acrylics: All of the Fire

This band appeared on the radar in the spring with a few stand-out singles. The momentum continued for this duo (soon to be permanent full band) as they were signed to Chris Taylor's Terrible Records and released this stellar EP of well-written, 80s-inspired, pop-infused gems.



Best Coast: Make You Mine

Best Coast were one of the stand-outs from the cliched "summer/beach" movement that took up a lot of attention in '09. Yet, along with Real Estate, the songs here are very solid, and show a ton of promise. More to come in 2010 I'm sure.



Class Actress: Journal of Ardency

Class Actress were a late entry to the race. Also signed to Terrible Records, Class Actress are dead ringers for Glass Candy and Chromatics, but that doesn't make their songs less great. Again, another band to watch in 2010.




Delorean: Ayrton Senna

I honestly don't know too much about Delorean other than that they make infectious, dance-floor, elctro-rock jams, that really work well at parties that go past dawn. Not like I would know or anything.




Dinosaur Feathers: Early Morning Risers

Thanks to Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and The World in a Paper Cup for turning me on to this group of Philly acoustic-poppers. They purvey lazy, pleasant melodies that are at once arresting and extremely well-crafted.




Lissie: Why You Runnin'

Stark is heavy on the Lissie bandwagon. Check out our review. This EP heralds a new talent and force to be reckoned with. By far the most promising artist I've seen in 2009. Hands down.




Lissy Trullie: Self Taught Learner

This EP began what was to become a break-out year for Lissy Trullie. These songs eventually went on to become part of the excellent Self-Taught Learner LP, but the EP was so strong that it got everyone's attention and sufficiently whet their appetite for more from this fantastic new post-rock star.


Mountain Man: S/T

Thanks to Microphone Memory Emotion and Chocolate Bobka for these guys. Here is some of the most organic and well-written folk songs you'll hear all year. There is a strange ethereal quality to everything they produce, and the Vermont trios' vocals are utterly captivating and quite moving. Still haven't' seen them live, but I can imagine it's a thing to behold.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Higher Than the Stars

No one made it through 2009 without hearing about Pains. This EP could be called a victory lap, if it wasn't so goddamn good. The highlight here is the Saint Etienne Remix of "Higher Than the Stars." Worth the price of admission alone.



Sleigh Bells: Demos

Another late comer to the game, Sleigh Bells slowly released several demos which could constitute an EP over the past few months. The music is loud, trashy, catchy, annnnd LOUD. Fuck, even Sasha Frere Jones loves 'em. Did I mention that they're super buzzy right now? Yeah. That too. Oh well. It's good.


Tristen: Deceivers are Achievers
Full disclosure - Stark is in cahoots with Tristen. Does that make her EP less good? Not a chance. Tristen is the predominant talent in Nashville right now, in a field that's crowded and downright competitive as hell. Tristen turns out hand-crafted exquisite country-pop gems faster than us Yankees talk. And they are all amazing. THE artist to watch in 2010.



Washed Out: Life of Leisure

While the LP didn't deliver (like at all) this EP was a true standout in the EP collection. Call it chillwave or whatever stupid name the kids are calling it, this is good stuff, and some of the best in that whole weird genre. It's just great music, maaan.



Warpaint: Exquisite Corpse

This EP is filled with crazy, weird and boarder-line genius stuff. Most all of the time, I don't know what the hell is going on with Warpaint. I just like it.

Tim's Top 10 Top 10's (that's not a typo)

"The Editors" bestowed upon me the distinct honor of writing "some sort of a top 10 list, ya know, if I felt like it." I didn't really feel like it, but I was so overcome by their holiday generosity that I couldn't say no. Given that we here at Stark like to think of ourselves as an "emerging media conglomerate," I decided to include elements in my list beyond our normal stock and trade. I also figured everyone else in the solar system (and their mom, and their uncle Gino, and their attorney's secretary WANDA) has already compiled their "Top 10 Records Since Jesus Was Potty Trained." So, without further ado, I give you my Top 10 Top 10 lists of 2009. I hope it's your top Top 10 list of 2009.

10.) Fail Blog's Top 10 Fails of 2009 - So many dumb assholes did their thing hard this year. Thank god we have Fail Blog to rank them for us.






9.) National Geographic's Top 10 Photographs of 2009
- Sometimes I get extraordinarily tired of looking at my computer. I do not, of course, stop looking at my computer, I just go to this website.

8.) Better Business Bureau's Top 10 Scams of 2009 - Wait, you're telling me I haven't actually earned a $100,000 credit line?

7.) Trip Advisor's Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels of 2009 - I travel a lot. Do you? Might wanna read this. ps - is it wrong that I'm sort of happy NYC claims two of the top ten?



6.) Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2009 - I obviously only drink PBR (or Dales if I wanna get RIPPED!) and wine is OBVIOUSLY for chicks. But I dig chicks so I think this is might help me score with them. Bone up bro.

5.) iTunes Best iPhone Apps of 2009 - OK, a list of Top iPhone apps on iTunes may be a little biased, but c'mon, what has Apple gotten wrong in the last 10 years?

4.) Pop & Hiss (The L.A. Times Music Blog) Top 10 Rap Songs About Booze of 2009 - I just love that they did this.

3.) Top 10 Things Captured by the Google Street Cam - Google captured America acting like a bunch of retards. And then it went viral . . .


2.) Mad Magazine's 20 Dumbest People, Events and Things of 2009 - 2009 was loaded with dumb. Who better than the geeks at Mad to take a huge dump all over everybody? Seriously, stop at B&N on the way home and pick this up, it's like the Onion but meaner and with cool drawings.


1.) Time's Top Ten Everything of 2009 - Just in case you have five or six hours you are looking to burn off your work day . . .

Here's to Twenty-Ten!

Andrew's Best Albums of 2009

Well, here we are again at the end of another sensational year for music and pop culture, and here you are, reading a list of the best albums of 2009 for the umpteenth time. (It’s the third list on Stark in as many days, because that’s how we roll.) I really feel for you. These lists can get grating, and they can also get to be a little redundant, especially when they all pile up in the last few weeks of the year and tend to feature a lot of the same artists. It’s no different this year, but for the first time in a long time, the handful of albums we see topping most lists in December actually deserve to be there.

That’s why I’m referring to 2009 as the year the bloggers got it right. Go us! I don’t remember the last time so many albums lived up to the ridiculous hype that bloggers bestowed upon them prior to their release. This year, we got a couple of bonafide classics, most of which were heralded months in advance and proceeded to dominate our playlists long after they came because of how great they actually ended up being. Not so long ago on this here blog, I famously derided the band whose album tops my list this year for being noisy and indulgent. But then, after I could no longer resist the deafening buzz surrounding their upcoming album, I gave in, listened to the disc and was utterly blown away. I opened up my ears, and my throat, and my universe shifted forever.

So here are my favorite 20 albums from the last 12 months – the ones that I consider the best. I’m glad that others think some of them are, too. It was excruciatingly difficult to narrow down a list of hundreds of albums to a mere 20, and even harder to put my love for these bad boys into words. But in the end, the music makes the struggle worth it. The list begins after the jump!

20. Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career (4AD)



Sugary sweet but never to a fault, My Maudlin Career is a lush, string-laden affair that takes its cues from the Motown Sound. But beneath the sweeping production lies a profound sadness. Lead singer Tracyanne Campbell is careful to mask her emotions at first, but as the band breaks down behind her with each progressive song, her heartache becomes clear when all that’s left to hear is a morose, Scottish voice lamenting on love lost.



19. Relient K: Forget and Not Slow Down (Mono Vs. Stereo)



There’s no doubt about it: Forget and Not Slow Down is absolutely, positively Relient K’s breakup album. And if you subscribe to the school of thought that most great albums come from the dissolution of a relationship, then Forget just might be the group’s best. But there’s a twist. Instead of singer Matthew Thiessen moping around for 45 minutes, he writes a cathartic, undeniably hopeful album for himself. His credo is right there in the title track: “I’d rather forget and not slow down / than gather regret for the things that I can’t change now.” Thiessen’s bandmates provide him with just the right amount of spunk on hooky songs like “Part of It” and “Savannah” for him to pick his life back up and move on.



18. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note)



Was there a better surprise in 2009 than the emergence of Phoenix as the year’s breakout rock band? Propelled by two instant classic singles in “1901” and “Lisztomania,” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix sent the veteran French quartet to Saturday Night Live, Cadillac commercials and even a Grammy nom. How perfect that for once, there was little disparity between a band’s critical and commercial success. Wolfgang’s immediately accessible, airy synth-rock makes it the band’s best album by a mile.



17. Girls: Album (True Panther)



Forget, for a moment, the impossible hype and grossly compelling back story that preceded Girls’ debut album this year. When you cut out the perfectly nostalgic videos and lead singer Christopher Owens’ escape from the Children of God cult, you’re still left with a remarkably assured debut. The 12 songs on Album are washed in lo-fi San Francisco surf, recalling classic Beach Boys melodies sung in Owens’ heartfelt snarl. The centerpiece is the psychedelic “Hellhole Ratrace,” which finds the drug-addled and heartbroken Owens professing “I don’t want to cry my whole life through / I want to do some laughing too.”



16. Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young (RCA)



It’s far too easy to call Phrazes for the Young the best album from any of The Strokes members’ side projects, because it beats its middling competition by a landslide. (No offense, Nickel Eye.) It’s probably more appropriate to compare frontman Julian Casablancas’ first solo effort to the three Strokes albums: It can’t hold a candle to Is This It (then again, what can?), but it suits up well against Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth. Phrazes is a giant mess, with delightfully schizophrenic pop songs transforming into futuristic blues jams mid-verse. Casablancas’ familiar croon and songwriting almost make the whole thing work, if not for a few tracks of filler toward the end. Still, if this is what we’re left with in the Strokes’ prolonged absence, we could do far worse.




15. Roman Candle: Oh Tall Tree in the Ear (Carnival)



Oh Tall Tree in the Ear, the third album from Nashville-via-Chapel Hill roots rockers Roman Candle has a crisp, natural air to it. The Metheny clan – singer Skip, his brother Logan and his wife Timshel – approach each song with little to no frills, preferring to let the songs breathe as songs and not as bloated productions. And there are some mighty fine songs here, from the driving pop of opener “Eden Was a Garden” to the disc’s best ballad, “Big Light,” a slice of Americana with swirling organs. For such a wonderfully simple album, it sure went woefully unnoticed this year.

Roman Candle "Eden Was A Garden" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.

14. Wilco: Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch)



Wilco (The Album) is the most disappointing album on this list, if only for what it had the potential to be. There’s not a better opening salvo of songs this year than the 1-2-3-4 punch that begins with the joyous “Wilco (The Song)” and concludes with “Bull Black Nova,” a frantic piece of krautrock that teeters on chaos for much of its six-plus minutes. The songs that follow are certainly adequate, but none reach the kind of diverse and dizzying heights found at the top of the album. For diehards, (The Album) falls short of being essential, but for Wilco virgins, it’s a fine introductory set – a palette of styles from the band’s storied career thus far.



13. The Antlers: Hospice (Frenchkiss)



Trying to summarize the emotional weight that Hospice brings in a mere sentence or two feels cheap, so instead, try this: Listen to the entire thing from start to finish, and if you aren’t left with a giant lump in your throat (or bawling your eyes out) by the end of it, then you’re not human. Lead Antler Peter Silberman crafts a heartbreaking song cycle – ostensibly from his own personal experience – around a terminally ill cancer patient and her caregiver, detailing the fractured, complex relationship the two figures share. In the end, resolution isn’t as inevitable as death. “Some patients can’t be saved, but that burden’s not on you,” sings Silberman in the penultimate “Wake.” Hospice shows there’s no easy way to cope with loss, and while that uncertainty is rarely less than heartbreaking, it’s almost always beautiful.




12. Morrissey: Years of Refusal (Lost Highway)



There isn’t much new to be found on Years of Refusal that Morrissey hasn’t already uncovered a million times before. Yet the sad sack’s tried-and-true formula combining gloriously sardonic wit and theatric guitar pop still manages to surprise. The Moz has hardly ever sounded as aggressive as he does on “Something is Squeezing My Skull,” or more aching than on “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore,” which strays dangerously close to contemporary emo but rapidly shifts gears from syrupy verses to a primal scream in devastating falsetto. Much of Years’ success can be attributed to the singer sounding completely invigorated on the album. That excitement is no doubt spurned by his powerful band and sterling production from the late Jerry Finn, who died after recording the album last year. It’s refreshing to hear the so-called ‘pope of mope’ write and sing with such assault in middle age.



11. WHY?: Eskimo Snow (Anticon)



It must have been daunting and nearly impossible for Yoni Wolf to follow up his magnum opus from last year, Alopecia. The fact that the WHY? frontman matched, if not bested, himself on Eskimo Snow shouldn’t be a total bombshell – the man is a neurotic genius – but it’s more remarkable when you consider that Wolf wrote and recorded both albums simultaneously. Since the two works must therefore be looked at together, Eskimo is Alopecia’s quiet, more fragile cousin. Compared to its counterpart, there’s nary a trace of hip hop present. The album is almost exclusively melodic, and actually very sweet in some parts (“This Blackest Purse,” the title track). But thematically, much is the same between the two: Wolf’s fears and phobias are still uncomfortably front and center, and we still marvel at the bizarre ways in which he puts them to words. Unless the band has a third disc culled from the same sessions hidden up its sleeve, now Wolf has the unenviable task of topping two brilliant albums.



10. Manchester Orchestra: Mean Everything to Nothing (Favorite Gentlemen/Canvasback)



The second proper full-length from Manchester Orchestra is a revelation, earning just comparisons to two of the best sophomore albums from 1990’s alt-rock heavyweights: Weezer’s Pinkerton and Foo Fighters’ The Colour and the Shape. Like those two gems, this album expands upon its predecessor in every way: It's full of raw angst and unfiltered poetry from frontman Andy Hull. He captures what it's like to be a twentysomething on the precipice of a new, adult life, split between shunning that tide and reluctantly embracing it. The music is so perfectly composed of passion, quirk and feedback that the band's sound and influences are immediate: Nirvana (“In My Teeth”), Neutral Milk Hotel (“The Only One”) and Modest Mouse (“I’ve Got Friends.”) At the ripe old age of 22, Hull possesses songwriting talent far beyond his years, which is a joy for the rest of us waiting for his next move.



9. Passion Pit: Manners (Frenchkiss)



At the end of last year, Passion Pit was blowing up in the blogosphere with its infectious Chunk of Change EP, which was rife with goofy dance beats and an even more outlandish falsetto courtesy of singer Michael Angelakos. The EP was a delightful diversion, but there seemed to be a consensus that the band was little more than flash-in-the-pan, and couldn’t possibly sustain its sound – especially that inane voice! – for an entire album. Manners triumphantly proved the skeptics wrong. It beams with light and unbridled energy, weaving through an array of styles with astonishing ease. Angelakos and co. also proved they were capable of creating moments of sheer splendor, like the collision of sitar and vocal chants in “Moth’s Wings” and the enchanting final choruses of “Seaweed Song.”



8. Sondre Lerche: Heartbeat Radio (Rounder)



Somewhere out there, in an alternate universe where restrictions of time and trend have no bearing on popularity, every song on Sondre Lerche’s Heartbeat Radio is a massive radio hit. Unfortunately, today’s Top 40 airplay – hell, even modern rock – has no room for the superbly weird Lerche, the rare artist whose every left-field move gets thrown to the wall and has a habit of sticking. The young Norwegian songwriter does it all on Heartbeat, from lounge balladry (“Like Lazenby”) to Tin Pan Alley (“Words & Music”) to space-age psychedelia (“Pioneer.”) Lerche may never earn the type of ubiquity that he deserves (nor does he want it), but as a consolation prize, he’s got a long, unpredictable career ahead of him.



7. Brand New: Daisy (Procrastinate Music Traitors/Interscope)



The members of Brand New are relentless in their refusal to stay in one place for too long. After three albums that sound virtually nothing like each other, Daisy keeps to the same pattern. But for the first time, the band doesn’t just jump styles between albums – this one follows 2006’s The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me – it takes jarring leaps between songs on the same one. Daisy kicks off with the oddest and heaviest song in the Brand New catalog (“Vices,” a post-hardcore stomp with illegible screaming) and is immediately succeeded by the quietest (“Bed,” a lazy grunge ballad that finds singer Jesse Lacey doing his best Kurt Cobain impression.) It’s by far the most mystifying set by the band yet, but like each one before it, it’s dazzling.



6. fun.: Aim and Ignite (Nettwerk)



When Arizona pop maestros The Format called it quits early last year, singer Nate Reuss wasted no time in picking himself up, moving to Brooklyn and starting a new band with members of Steel Train and Anathallo named fun. Just as The Format’s final opus, Dog Problems, was a slice of sweeping, 1970's pop, so is its logical successor, Aim & Ignite. There's so much to love here: orchestral flourishes, enchanting harmonies, tinges of gospel and a wonderful dichotomy between Reuss's melancholy words and happy-go-lucky hooks. Appropriately enough, it’s really the most fun put to tape all year.



5. Fanfarlo: Reservoir (Atlantic)



Matched with the same dramatic intensity and penchant for slow-building climaxes, Fanfarlo sounds like a more twee version of Arcade Fire. Similarities between Reservoir and the landmark Funeral abound – horns and strings, male and female vocal interplay, marching rhythms – but unlike so many copycats that blatantly imitate the Canadian behemoths’ sound, Fanfarlo might actually improve it. Win Butler doesn’t quite have the tremendous pop sensibility as Fanfarlo bandleader Simon Balthazar, who effortlessly twists out charming melodies in his soothing drawl all over Reservoir’s songs. His voice rarely rises above a hush, instead honing power from the instruments behind him to drive the point home. Debut albums with such stunning focus don’t come around often.



4. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest (Warp)



Veckatimest has the potential to be a classic just from its soft, striking bookends: A dirty jazz riff gets fiddled around in the background at the start of “Southern Point,” and a haunting piano refrain fades into stillness at the end of “Foreground.” These are two amazing moments, but what about when every soaring height and lingering low that’s in between is even better? Well, that’s when an album is timeless. The four masterminds in Grizzly Bear laboriously created Veckatimest with precision and finesse, aiming to challenge our pre-conceived ideas of what constitutes beauty in modern music and succeeding more than anyone could have imagined.



3. Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca (Domino)



There’s no middle ground with Dirty Projectors. You either emphatically love or diabolically loathe them. You either want to ascend to the heavens with Dave Longstreth and company or off yourself for fear of further subjection to the band’s incessant noodling and obvious pretension. Depending on which camp you fall in, the group’s sixth album Bitte Orca is either a sprawling mishmash of fractured song ideas and odd time signatures, or an inspired masterpiece of fully formed songs with so many complex layers that you discover something new and great each time you listen. With that being said, this is the third best album of the year.



2. The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You (American)



In contrast to Dirty Projectors, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn't like The Avett Brothers. The folk rockers have been pouring their hearts out with acoustic guitars and banjos for close to a decade, building a big adoring, fan base and just as many casual admirers. For their major-label debut, I and Love and You, the group scaled down much of the raw, rollicking sound that defined its earlier albums in favor of a more polished collection of midtempo ballads. While a move like that often spells trouble, the group pulled off just the opposite: These are the best songs they’ve ever written. Every word on the album is personal to brothers Scott and Seth but profoundly universal to the world at the same time, and it takes exceptional artists to find that kind of balance in their songwriting. With I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers have given us two things: an enduring piece of work, and a collection of songs to speak for us when we can’t find the words.



1. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)



In the end, the best album of the year ended up being the very first one to be released, even though most of us were rocking the leak last December. Merriweather Post Pavilion’s January 6 arrival not only set the bar ridiculously high for every release to follow, but it made it virtually impossible for anyone else over the next 12 months to even try to play catch up. Somehow, in a perfect bit of serendipity, three experimental musicians whose prior recorded output had won them just as much ire as it did reverence happened to construct a sonic tour de force that managed to resonate with just about anyone with a pulse. It’s the first album since Kid A to render the structure of a song and the concept of a hook entirely meaningless, yet retain an unparalleled accessibility – the sort of phenomenon that unconsciously prompts you to evaluate what it is you love about music. It’s all the more remarkable when you consider that Animal Collective made the world go crazy for an album with hardly any actual instruments on it at all. Technology instead supplants live instrumentation and blends with the magnificent harmonies between Dave Portner and Noah Lennox that float through the ether of Merriweather from beginning to end. A big reason why the album struck a chord with so many kinds of listeners is its openness; unlike much of the band’s previous material, it presents us with no aural or thematic restrictions. At its heart, Merriweather is simply one giant love song. Its creators love their spouses, their children, their brothers, the nature that surrounds them, the feeling they get from the most mundane occurrences, and the idea of love itself. That’s translated through the uncomplicated words and warm, radiant sounds that pervade through our speakers, and it’s precisely why it kept our hearts beating the whole year. Merriweather Post Pavilion is everlasting. There might not ever be anything like it again.