Regardless, I'll get myself back into things with this list of ten of my favorite albums from 2009 (that I've heard).
1. Japandroids - Post Nothing
I absolutely love this record and there's not a single wasted second on it. It's a complete celebration of youth and it defines what it is to be "young" better than any other record I've ever heard. Their sound is sloppy but their song writing is tight. The lyrics rarely (if at all) deviate from talking about drinking or women, but they do it with an emotional complexity that perfectly defines the endless optimism and temporary defeatism of youth (best displayed on the song "I Quit Girls"). From a personal standpoint, this album hit me at the perfect time of my life and I can't think of any other record that would define my year better than this one.
2. Flaming Lips - Embryonic
I'll admit that I'm listing this one from a slightly biased perspective. The Flaming Lips are my favorite band of all time, and I've probably listened to their most obscure (and worse written) tracks more times than I've listened to the major tracks of my other favorite bands. With that said, since its release, my feelings have been all over the place with Embryonic. The first time I heard it, I loved it-but on the second listen, I hated it. On the third round, I loved it again but on the fourth, I felt completely indifferent. This cycle of emotions continued and it was completely underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. No other album has challenged me more this year or held more of a long-lasting impression than this one has, and that's what good art should do. Maybe this is because they're my favorite band and I hold them to a much higher standard than I do for other artists, but I consider this record a huge accomplishment and a great step forward from the radio-friendly fare of their last album. (I wrote a full review here).
3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Undoubtedly the most hyped album of the year, Merriweather Post Pavilion found the perfect median for Animal Collective's pop sensibilities and sonic experimentation. Their extremely self-indulgent live show and the uninspiring late-year EP release, Fall Be Kind, have warped my good feelings for this band somewhat but that doesn't change the fact that Merriweather Post Pavilion was an album I played non-stop for five months after its release. It's a unique experience, and that's a very rare thing in music these days.
4. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
AV Club describes Neon Indian as "Blade Runner meets Sonic the Hedgehog" and there's probably no better description than that. Alan Paloma, who helms the band, drenches great pop songs in distorted vintage electro. For a band that just came to rise in 2009 because of hip bloggers spreadin' the word (like me, ya'll!), it is my hope that Neon Indian can outlive the limited shelf life "blog bands" have and keep growing as an artist.
5. Sparklehorse/Dangermouse - Dark Night of the Soul
While it never actually was released this year due to a undisclosed dispute between the band and the label (which may or may not be because EMI is finally getting back at Dangermouse for all those unused Beatles samples on the Grey Album several years back), a Sparklehorse/Dangermouse combo is a very potent force. The separate styles of Sparklehorse and Dangermouse compliment each other very well here, and the multiple contributions of other artists never threatens to destabilize the cohesion of the album. The Beatles remasters this year made me realize how much The Beatles have formed my musical tastes and how I'm constantly chasing some derivative of their psychedelic pop sound. This album is direct evidence of this.
**At this point, a lot of what I say will be redundant to what I've said already so the next five will be pretty brief**
6. Cotton Jones - Paranoid Coccoon
Bringing up the great Dangermouse again, it's a wonder that he didn't produce this album. Everything about his style of soulful folk hip-hop is very prevalent on this record. Even though he didn't, though, Paranoid Coccoon feels like a cousin album to the Dangermouse-produced Black Keys' album, 2008's Attack & Release, but much more dreamy and mellow.
7. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
Very diverse record, from 70's funk breakdowns to Boards of Canada-inspired beats.
8. Passion Pit - Manners
I could very well hate these guys within the next year, but so far they've demonstrated themselves to be much better songwriters and have much more staying power than other "flavor of the month" bands like Vampire Weekend or Black Kids.
9. Flight of the Concords - I Told You I Was Freaky
While the songs aren't as good as their first album, "Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor)," "Sugalumps," "Fashion is Danger," and "Hurt Feelings" is enough to hold the album down...ok, so maybe I shouldn't list this album here and should list those songs on my favorite tracks of 2009 instead, but whatever.
10. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
The album gets dragged down too much at the end by its longer, slower tracks but everything else before that is just as good as any Yo La Tengo album...which is still 90% better than what is put out there today anyway.
