Music Selections From 2009

I’m always listening to music, but I am not passionate about many artists. I will dig an album or a track or even a bit of a sound or concept, but I rarely go all out fanboy on any artist. I do love projects, though, like the melding of The White Stripes and The Kills into The Dead Weather and Wolf Parade’s more bold and interesting project Sunset Rubdown (who I guess would be my favorite band if I had to choose). Other favorite artists like Arcade Fire, John Cale, Nick Cave, and dEUS were idle in 2009 (non-soundtracks anyway), but never-the-less I am extremely surprised at the amount of music I bought this year.

I know the Time of Lists is over for 2009, but here is my music entry anyway.

1. Sunset Rubdown, Dragonslayer

Sunset Rubdown continues to crank out inventive narrative rock or post-rock or whatever sub-genre of the week one wants to apply to this group. Supposedly the other project for head man Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown instead out-paces Wolf Parade both in output and in ingenuity. Dragonslayer may be their best album to date and is a blast to decipher and play along with.

2. The Dead Weather, Horehound

Funky rock and snarl that harnesses the collaborative talent of Jack White from The White Stripes and Alison Mosshart of The Kills. Horehound is an album that is better than any recent album by either of the artist’s bread-and-butter groups and may answer the question: What would it sound like if Grace Slick sang vocals for Led Zeppelin?

3. Fever Ray, Fever Ray

Like Bjork for grown-ups. Fever Ray is brought to us by the same Swede bro and sis that make-up The Knife, but ditches the glitz and pop meandering of The Knife to present a macabre landscape of electronic chills and menacing confessional lyrics.

4. The Flaming Lips, Embryonic

An amazing album and one that redefines, once again, the stalwart multi-decade band. Embryonic is an ambient soundscape full of buzzes and bings and indistinct snippets of sci-fi-shrine sounds and word-salad musings. Embryonic is a haunting, complex, and satisfying record that breaks much of the last decade of The Flaming Lips structure (in fact, breaks almost all structure) and uses that break to its every advantage.

5. Jarvis Cocker, Further Complications

I’m glad that Cocker is still putting out music even after the time of Pulp. I was suspired by the 2006 solo release Jarvis due to its rather tame presentation and subject matter (though it’s still a worthy album). Well, now the perverse Jarvis Cocker is back in full swing with an album full of blatant sexual aggressiveness and back room, groupie leering, bang-happy grooves and attitude. It’s nice to hear this from Cocker again as the aging sex-pot darkly croons about sex, women, sex, and sex.

6. Modest Mouse, No One’s First, and You’re Next

This is quite simply Modest Mouse sounding like Modest Mouse. The last few albums have had snippets MM’s harsh and sprawling rock and roll sound, but too many tracks have been muted and toned down recently. Although No One’s First is an EP of recycled songs, b-sides, and cuts that didn’t make it, it is still 8 consecutive tracks of Modest Mouse being themselves. I wish it would happen more often.

7. Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures

John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), David Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) make up the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. The music sounds exactly like a Nirvana, Foo Fighters, QotSA mash-up with a little Zeppelin thrown in. I gotta ask, “Can that be bad?” I gotta answer, “No.” A nice bag of grinding alternative and classic rock sounds.

8. Piano Magic, Ovations

I don’t know a lot about Piano Magic. But I know that Brendan Perry lent his vocals on two of the tracks on Ovations and Piano Magic borrowed his inspiration for the entire album. Ovations sounds a lot like Perry’s brilliant solo effort Eye of the Hunter with mature ambient soundscapes inspired by world beats featuring contemplative lyrics. Other reviewers panned this album. Good for them.

9. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone

Neko Case is an all out knock-out when it comes to singer-songwriter/Americana music. Her voice is traditional and soulful, yet groovy and she will write and sing about anything from relationships to druids. And will write using straight narratives, allusions, or allegory. Middle Cyclone is not Case’s best album, but it is still a damn fine entry for 2009.

10. Mastodon, Crack the Skye

Stylishly brilliant and learned, sludge rock or stoner metal or whatever doesn’t come any better than Mastodan. Crack the Skye is an ambitious semi-narrative concept album about Tsarist Russia. The album is melodic and catchy and multi-layered in a way other metal can only dream of and therefore thumb its nose at. Don’t let any word of mouth from methed out slash-heads fool you though: Mastodan and Crack the Skye is intelligent and sonically interesting metal that push all boundaries until it arrives in a no-genre-land of repeat listening greatness.

11. The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love

[If you like the new Decemberists conceptual narrative, then you should love this album]

12. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, Dark Night Of The Soul

[David Lynch penned some lyrics and the super-producers provide a dark landscape for guest vocals]

13. R.E.M., Live At The Olympia

[Wonderful live performances including many older songs from the classic catalog]

14. Arctic Monkeys, Humbug

[I wanted to hate it, but didn't. The band claimed their aim was Scott Walker inspired. Haha! It falls way short on that front, but still an interesting record from a band that I wanted to dismiss as teeny boppers]

15. Doves, Kingdom of Rust

[More Doves and less waiting between albums I say.]

16. Bat for Lashes, Two Suns
17. Built to Spill, There Is No Enemy
18. Leonard Cohen, Live In London
19. Vast, Me and You
20. James Pants, Seven Seals
21. Imogen Heap, Ellipse
22. Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange Presents…Shibuya: City Lights, Vol. 2
23. Clientele, Bonfires on the Heath
24. DJ Spooky, Secret Song
25. Odawas, The Blue Depths
26. King Midas Sound, Waiting for You
27. Easy Star All-Stars, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band
28. Ben Frost, By the Throat
29. Broadcast & the Focus Group, Broadcast & the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
30. Bad Veins, Bad Veins
31. Andy Samford, There Is No Such Thing As Time & Space
32. Ume, Ume – EP
33. Bob Dylan, Together Through Life
34. Vetiver, Tight Knit
35. Record Club, The Songs of Leonard Cohen
36. Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
37. Telefon Tel Aviv, Immolate Yourself
38. Metric, Fantasies
39. Coldplay, LeftRightLeftRightLeft
40. Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You

Similar Posts:

• [Music] ‘Dragonslayer’ by Sunset Rubdown
• No One’s First, And You’re Next
• [Music] Them Crooked Vultures
• [Album Review] The Arctic Monkeys- Humbug (2009)
• Keith Richards & Jack White

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