In my humble opinion, anyway. It's worth noting that these are all more or less obscure compared to mainstream radio bands. People should get exposed to new music (new GOOD music), and it's hard to do that sometimes when the radio plays the exact same stuff. So don't complain because Boys Like Girls or some such shit isn't on here. This is written so people can discover new bands.
There's no specific logic to the order (this is not a ranking), just music that you really should listen to.
One more thing: I fucking hate when Pitchfork (music review site) and similar reviewers insist on loading their reviews with as many obscure references to other indie artists as possible and really unneccesary, overstated descriptions (It sounds like an esoteric sonic amalgamation of pre-LCD James Murphy and last year's nu-Disco superstars, Hercules and Love Affair, with a decidedly Jeff Mangum veneer glossing over the entire affair, which is occasionally transformed into a glistening landscape of aural complexity by elaborately spiralling production values). Yeah. Shit like that sucks. It's a lame attempt to out-indie your readers (I know more bands than YOU do), and all it serves to do is alienate readers. Who honestly is aware of each and every band's sound referenced? And why the hell must all be music be endlessly measured against the meterstick of what has come before? This comparative form of reviewing is obnoxious and self-defeating; nobody knows what the fuck you're talking about half the time. It's also lazy: it allows you to merely compare instead of actually describing.
So I'm trying to write these mini-reviews for the average reader. No inscrutable reference, no pretentious, overly-poetic descriptions. And maybe THAT way, good music will get more listeners, instead of alienating them right out of the gate.
1)'Dragonslayer' by Sunset Rubdown
So quick background: this band is the side project of Spencer Krug, a really prolific, really creative, really dense musician. His lyrics are elaborate, allusive, and often inscrutable, but even when you have no idea what the hell he's talking about you feel what he's trying to make you feel. He's a very talented songwriter, both lyrically and music-wise, and both talents are showcased very well in this album. The arrangements are occasionally ingenious, the instrumentation unique and appealing.
The album is also just a great album; the songs fit perfectly with each other and, at only 8 tracks long, Krug seems to have successfully resisted the temptation to pad it out with any unnecessary filler songs. The songs represent a variety of styles; some are upbeat, some moody, some evocative, some soft and gentle, others actually kind of rocking out. It's a difficult album to really describe if you haven't listened to any of Krug's previous work. The albums greatest flaw is perhaps that it takes a while to get into: this one might sit on your harddrive or iPod for maybe a month, get played 4 or 5 times through before it suddenly clicks. From there it's history: the songs that once seemed overwrought and chaotic unravel more and more with each consecutive listen until, gradually, you come to see and appreciate the precise, brilliant musicianship that went into crafting this album.
Also, it has nothing at all to do with dragons, or slaying them.
TRACKS TO GET YOU HOOKED: Silver Moons, You Go On Ahead, and the 10 minute epic "Dragon's Lair".
2)'The Pains of Being Pure At Heart' by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
If you want something that is immediately, instantly, and completely fun to listen to, look no further. Okay, it's a bit poppy, but AMAZINGLY so. It feels a lost bastard stepchild album from the 80's. The songs are distorted, guitar-y, almost unanimously upbeat, and make you feel inexplicably happy and content within their first 6 seconds. Lead vocals are a guy/girl alternating, usually very appealingly; lyrics, however, take a back seat to the band's sound; they are usually not mixed in too prominently, take a few listens before you know what the hell they are saying, and are not especially complex (although they are not especially simple either).
The Pains are a band that don't sound quite like anybody out there right now, and thank God. Moody, weighty self-gravity, stringent, folksy vocals, and sparse, lo-fi instrumentation is really starting to supersaturate the scene, and the Pains are, in that sense, a kind of rejection of that sound. There music doesn't have much empty space in it; there's lots of noisy distortion and pounding bass. Again: if you don't like this album, you are more or less musically soulless. It's very accessible, but is still layered enough to grow on you over time. It has driving bass, it has distorted guitars, it has thumping drums, and it's pretty much the most fun album of the year.
So seriously. Download/buy/whatever it.
TRACKS TO GET YOU HOOKED: 'This Love is Fucking Right', 'Young Adult Friction, 'Everything With You'.
3)'xx' by The xx
This is going to be on a lot of people's end-of-the-year best album lists. It has everything an album needs to get critically lauded: First off, it's a debut album, and critics love nothing more than great debut album. The sound is unique and fresh, not-quite-gloomy, not-quite-dreamy but somewhere between the two, only (usually) laid over fairly complex beats which gives the whole thing a sort of delightfully incongruous feel. Or, in other words, it feels like 5 different bands have been successfully mashed together into one awesome one.
The band is made up of four Brits who are barely into their twenties, yet still manages to feel mature and accomplished.It has dual, often cleverly-playing-off-each other male/female lead vocals, and, surprisingly in this post-rock day-and-age, the ensemble consists pretty much solely of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals--just not in way you've ever heard before. If you want to feel thoughtful, if you want to space out, if you want to just vibe with some really, really affecting music, get this shit.It is super atmospheric, and in the best sense possible. One of those albums that will be transporting years down the road, taking you immediately back to where you were the first time you heard it.
Highly rated albums are often overrated. Not so with xx. Download/buy/whatever it immediately.
TRACKS TO GET YOU HOOKED: 'Intro', 'VCR', and the somewhat overrated "Crystallized" (also the first three songs on the album).
4)'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' by Phoenix
So earlier I said that 'The Pains of Being Pure At Heart' is pretty much the most fun album of the year. I might have to redact that already. Driven by the popular single '1901' (and it DESERVES all the attention it's been getting), 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' is the fourth album by the French band (singer is English, have no fear). The album is part rock, part pop, part dance, but never generically or mindlessly so; everything seems constructed by very wise musicians who set out to achieve a specific effect and succeeded beyond their expectations. This is everything a great summer album should be (though it's great regardless of when you listen to it): catchy hooks, half-mindless, half-evocative lyrics. They sound like Phoenix always have but at the same time completely new.
The songs are almost all dynamic; they all sound sonically unique from one another while still managing to maintain a feel of cohesiveness that gives the album that essential 'album feel', as opposed to an assembly of songs. Every song is a small masterpiece; they are catchy, complex, upbeat, thoughtful, inspiring, melancholy; Phoenix is damn near irresistible on this album. The entire album makes you want to get up and do something: exercise vigorously and mindlessly, finally ask out that girl you've been to shy to talk to, maybe just drive somewhere really really fast. It's one of those rare albums that is poppy enough to have mainstream appeal but eclectic enough to maintain an underground credibility. It has perhaps the broadest appeal of any album this year.
This is the one you don't want to ignore. Acquire this shit immediately.
TRACKS TO GET YOU HOOKED: 'Girlfriend',' Lasso', and DEFINITELY '1901'.
5)'We Sing the Body Electric' by The Lonely Forest
Okay, you've gotten through all the artsy, upbeat, and atmospheric recommendations, and now you're left with this. 'We Sing the Body Electric" is a very principle-driven record. Over drawling basslines and rollicking piano-playing, the singer moans, laments, and rages against the state of modern society: the mindless drone-like pointlessness of industry jobs, the false, inflated value we place on beauty and material wealth, the heedless disregard that has large corporations wreaking havoc on the environment; this is political, weighty stuff. The Lonely Forest (not to be confused with Andy Samberg's completely different Lonely Island) approaches all of this very maturely and occasionally poetically. They don't whine, they don't complain, they don't loudly beseech you to care. Their songs often come across more as laments than protests; a sad reflection of the way our world is headed instead of a jutting finger pointed accusingly at any particular target.
It's also musically unique. Very piano driven, and often very organic sounding, but it's not quite lo-fi.The guitar, completely absent on some tracks, is surprisingly driven and vigorous when it is present; the drumming is very, very good and precise, and, back to the piano, the hooks are melodious and very catchy. There's some pretty enjoyable harmonizing going on in a lot of the songs; while the vocals are not incredible by any means, they are much better than tolerable, which is more than can be said for many other otherwise-musically-sound bands. You can listen to this one for it's heady lyrics, or you can listen to it for it's very unique, appealing sound. Either way, this is one that a lot of people are going to miss, and so I can only say: don't make that mistake. Find it, listen to it, digest it. It's by no means a perfect effort, but it is thought provoking and musically appealing enough to make it a must-listen for 2009.
TRACKS TO GET YOU HOOKED: Centenniel, WSBHBWA, and We Sing In Time.
Okay, that's it for now, but I thought of like 20 albums when I was writing this, so there will probably be at least one "5 More Albums From 2009" sometime soon. Hell, this was fun, I'll probably branch out and do "5 Electronic Albums You NEED To Own" or "5 Amazing Albums From the 2000's You Should Feel Ashamed For Not Listening To" and so on. Later all.
Crusty VGchartz old timer who sporadically returns & posts. Let's debate nebulous shit and expand our perpectives. Or whatever.
