Yeah, I know, it's been a long wait, but finally, here are my twenty best records of 2009. I listened to as much as possible, obviously I'm sure that there's a few I just didn't know about or something, but I tried my best, promise. Sorry for the delay.
I know that no one will read this, especially with the huge delay in its release – but feel free to comment, argue, etc. Also, if anyone who lives near me wants a copy of any of these, just gimme a yell.
Before I start, I want to mention a few records that were released this year but didn’t make the final cut, probably because I couldn’t quite squeeze them in:
- "Journal For Plague Lovers" by Manic Street Preachers
- "Them Crooked Vultures" by Them Crooked Vultures
- “Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix” by Pheonix
- “No One’s First And You’re Next” by Modest Mouse (missed out because it’s an EP.)
- “The High End Of Low” by Marilyn Manson
- “I Wanna Hld Yr Handheld, Vol. 1” by 8-Bit Operators
- “Above The Earth, Below The Sky” by If These Trees Could Talk
- “Desperate Living” by HORSE the band
- “Veckatimest” by Grizzly Bear
- "Sound Awake" by Karnivool
- “The Other Truths” by Do Make Say Think
- “Dark Night Of The Soul” by Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
- “A Real Diamond In The Rough” by Buckethead
- “Sagarmatha” by the Appleseed Cast
- “Octahedron” by the Mars Volta
- “Dark Side Of The Moon” by the Flaming Lips, Stardeath And White Dwarfs, Henry Rollins and Peaches
- “Merriweather Post Pavilion” by Animal Collective (really, not all it’s cracked up to be.)
There was definitely heeeeaps of records to be listened to, and cutting it down to just 20 was impossible (just look at all my ‘honourable mentions :P). I have no idea how I’d have managed 10 as was my original plan.
Anyway, time to get into the real deal:
20. “Backspacer” by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam’s ninth effort was released well after their 1991 breakthrough “Ten” (obviously, I know it was a stupid thing to say, but I had to start somehow). Earlier in 2009, we saw a re-release of their classic “Ten” – maybe this meant we were going to see a return to their original, raw, rock/grunge style of music? Alas, we did. Their latest has some of the heaviest songs of their career, as well as the best ballad since Black. (Which is Just Breathe). A nice, raw rock album. Plus, it has some of the coolest art of the year.
19. “The Crying Light” by Antony & The Johnsons
I’d go so far as to call them the most original, unique artist in music today. Hegarty and his band have continued their eerie, odd, cabaret style in their third LP. They are minimal yet packed with texture, uplifting yet depressing, haunting yet hopeful. Hegarty’s voice is one of the most powerful and emotionally charged voices I’ve ever heard, and he doesn’t change this on this album. The Crying Light is certainly a fitting follow-up to their amazing 2005 sophomore.
18. “Live at Reading” by Nirvana
I’ll admit it, at first I was a little hesitant to include a live album on this list, especially when it’s just an official release of a concert and 90% of Nirvana fans have bootlegged anyway. But even though it’s live, and even though everyone already has a sub-par quality copy of it, it’s still amazing. Live at Reading really highlights Nirvana at their best as a live grunge band that acts like they’re a punk band. They fuck up on stage, and laugh about it with each other, and that happens a lot more than you’d expect from the world’s biggest band. This has all the famous songs and all the fan favourites. Essential, for any Nirvana fan, from those just dipping their toes in the water to those already drowning.
17. “And So I Watch You From Afar” by And So I Watch You From Afar
Yeah, I know, it’s a really, really cool band name. This Irish quartet have been labelled under ‘post rock’ by the music press, but their unique brand of instrumental music is something different to that. Sure, it’s epic, and sure, there’s no vocals, but it hasn’t got that majestic quality that other p-r bands like Mono have. ASIWYFA are more of an intricate, complicated rock band, without a singer. And it works. Wow, does it work. Hey, when was the last time that you can remember when a post rock band got a hugely positive review from Kerrang! and Metal Hammer?
16. “Aurora” by Litmus
This underground space rock group are a band not to be reckoned with. Litmus has created the best true space rock since its creators Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. It’s epic, it’s sleepy, it’s alive and it’s uplifting – if you can get your hands on a copy of this album, then for God’s sake, please do.
15. “Years (By One Thousand Fingertips)” by Attack In Black
Attack In Black moved from punk band to indie folk band in the space of two or three albums. While it’s not as good as “The Curve Of the Earth”, their latest record is still a brilliant work of art. A record to mellow too. Put your headphones on and chill.
14. “Humbug” by Arctic Monkeys
They may have one of the stupidest band names I’ve ever heard, but Arctic Monkeys have definitely put there name on the scene as a good, hard-rocking, indie band. Their latest effort, however, displays a remarkable change in direction. There aren’t as many fast-tempo, emotional-range-of-a-teaspoon, dance songs as their previous two records feature; their song writing, both musically and lyrically, has matured light years. And I don’t even care that a light year is distance, not time. The Monkeys (note the y, not a second e) have grown up, and with their maturation, have released, in my opinion, their best album yet.
13. “Monoliths & Dimensions” by Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) are not for everyone. This is drone music as drone music should be. A masterpiece of a metal album – but if you don’t like slow, heavy, doom music, then you won’t like it. If you do, then this album is brilliant. Eh, screw you all, this album’s brilliant whether you like drone or not.
12. “No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry, They Washed Away, No More Stories, The World Is Grey, I'm Tired, Let's Wash Away” by Mew
Excuse the ridiculous title. They smoosh bits and pieces from all sorts of genres – shoegaze, post rock, dream pop, space rock, progressive – put it in a blender and away they go. They truly have their own distinctive style, a claim that very few bands can make. This record (I won’t name it again) is lush, epic while not extreme, and, quite simply, good. Just a good album.
11. “Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons
I’m sure you all expected to see this in there, you probably expect to see this in every top-of-09 countdown. And so you should. Mumford and his Sons have created a folk masterpiece that truly deserves all the spots in the countdowns that it is being rewarded with. This album deserves such recognition just because of its introduction of the banjo as an instrument that is acceptable in pop music, and doesn’t make everyone go ‘ewww, country!’. It also rattles the foundations of pop music to its core, as, hey, they’re a 4-member rock band with no drummer. Subtle and sweet melodies, as well as beautiful lyrics, give this record its well deserved spot.
10. “The Ichthyologist” by Giant Squid 
Everyone calls them post metal, but I still can’t help but wonder why. I suppose that it’s because there’s no other label that they fit under. Taking elements from progressive metal, post rock, doom, sludge and even bits of emo, Giant Squid create a style that is their own. They are as epic as is humanly possible. Their sophomore album is a concept album, involving a man stranded in the ocean who adapts non-human methods of survival, eventually becoming something more like a sea creature than a human being. Giant Squid chant, scream, sing, growl and megaphone their way through alternative metal, on their way to greatness. And boy have they achieved it – something rare for an album released independently (not even an independent record label, they released it out of their own backyard, completely unsigned).
9. “The Hazards Of Love” by the Decemberists 
They just keep getting weirder and weirder. But who’s complaining? This time, the Decemberists have come up with a sprawling, almost progressive, concept album that will be split their fanbase. The Hazards of Love is, as the title suggests, a love story. Margaret falls in love with a shape-shifting forest dweller, with other characters such as a jealous queen and evil rake (not a garden rake) taking part in the story. A good, weird, and highly original concept album, melding indie rock with medieval-style music. And I have to take this opportunity to point out the track entitled “The Rake’s Song”; I won’t give it away, but it’s an amazing, hauntingly creepy song that everyone should listen to.
8. “Tertia” by Caspian
Okay, so I’ll admit maybe a slight bias towards post rock. I think I’ve done fairly well on this countdown however (this is the second). And Tertia really deserves it. Completely lyric-free, as every post rock album should be, this record opens with about three minutes of epic ambient noise, before launching into an hour’s worth of huge, grand, epic-ness, and ending with possibly the greatest end to an album this year – throughout the last bit of the final track, you notice how fucking amazing the drumming is, and with a minute or so left the drummer takes the limelight and the rest of the instruments slowly stop, resulting in an amazing, epic drum solo that caused me to go back and play the last minute again; I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Ten tracks that meld into one, thickening and building on each other, twisting and curving and bending, embodying all that we love about music.
7. “Hope Is For Hopers” by Philadelphia Grand Jury
I first heard of the Philly Jays on Triple J, through their “I’m Going To Kill You”. I heard it a few times and had absolutely no idea of who made it, I just knew I liked it. Eventually, I found out, and went to extreme lengths to get (through downloading O.o) their debut record. Then I found out that they also made other songs I’d heard a lot, “The Good News” and “When Your Boyfriend Comes Back To Town”. The whole album just rocks. It’s short, sharp, gritty, dirty, pounding, heavy, and fun.
6. “Hymn To The Immortal Wind” by Mono
No one can end a proper listening of this album without wet eyes. Strap some headphones on, dim the lights, close your eyes and lie down. Listen. Mono are one of the very, very few bands that can really capture every emotion with the change of a chord. You’ll walk away from this album the same way you walk away from a movie that moves you. Mono makes you happy, sad, helpless, loved. They give you hope and then, with something as simple as a crescendo, make you feel hopeless. People go to Mono concerts, and cry. No other band has such power over the listener’s emotions, especially without using vocals.
5. “Riceboy Sleeps” by Jónsi & Alex 
This collaboration between Sigur Rós lead singer Jón Þór Birgisson and his boyfriend Alex Somers is exactly what you’d expect it to be – ambient, ethereal, and amazing. It’s divided into tracks but it doesn’t feel as if it is, it runs like one whole piece of music, and it seems to be over before it starts. That’s probably because you fell asleep when it started, not because it was boring, just because it’s so ambient and amazing that it lulls you into that state between sleep and awake. One to fall asleep to, that’s for sure.
4. “フォグランプ” (“Foglamp”) by Ogre You Asshole
When asked what was the main factor of their (very moderate) success, vocalist Manabu Deto stated “I’m not sure, I guess it is because of our name”. Their name was given to them after a drunk encounter with Modest Mouse bassist Eric Judy – the band themselves love Modest Mouse, and didn’t know that Judy had quoted Revenge of the Nerds until much later. Ogre You Asshole are a band that are not afraid to be poppy or commercial, and it pays off. The whole record is full of magnificently bright, bubbly pop songs, minimal like Modest Mouse, weird like Talking Heads, post-punky like Fugazi. And, the record has the song “Stage” (“ステージ”), which is an amazing, amazing, amazing song. But don’t think that it was the only reason for the ranking :P
3. “Mean Everything To Nothing” by Manchester Orchestra
This record is epic. The Orchestra have created a big, booming, grunge-y, almost stadium-like rock record with tracks like “I’ve Got Friends”, “The River” and “Pride”, yet they have also explored a softer, more melodic and melancholic side through tracks such as “I Can Feel A Hot One” and “Everything To Nothing”. Songwriter Andy Hull’s work has quite obviously matured since the group’s debut 2006 record, his lyrical themes becoming more emotional and his melodies and textures more lush, thick, and heavy. His songs are now full with the huge vocal chants, lush guitars, sweet whisperings and booming sounds that their first record only hinted upon. Manchester Orchestra have created a commercially-accessible yet somehow still underground record that has become one of the best of the year. Truly a very recommended listen.
2. “Embryonic” by the Flaming Lips
Any of my past readers (however few of you there are) already know of my love for the Lips – just read the super-positive review I wrote for this record when it was released. And my opinions haven’t changed. While some subsequent discoveries of the year may have overtaken this one in awesomeness, the album that I claimed in September would be the year’s best has managed to still retain an important spot in this highly prestigious countdown. The Lips’ latest masterpiece is definitely very Lips-y – in short, they take their weirdness to an even higher level. If science fiction was a genre of music, this record would be it. This is the soundtrack that will be playing when we make contact with aliens. Best listened to as you travel to Mars.
1. “Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night)” by Yusuf
Yusuf, previously known as Cat Stevens, is a genius of a songwriter. His latest album, the second album after his return to pop music in 2006, is most definitely the better of the two – it may well even one of Cat’s best ever. It opens with one of the best tracks… well, at least of the year, and continues this awesomeness throughout the whole album. It also runs at a short-but-sweet 30 minutes long, which prompted 7 whole-album repeats from me on the day that I bought it. After listening to the magnificent records from his past, notably Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat, it is an almost chilling experienced hearing the same man, no longer a teenager, sing songs reminiscent of his earlier work but with the wisdom that comes with age. Steven, Cat, Yusuf, whatever name he’s going by, will always be remembered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and Roadsinger shows that he has no intention of slowing down.
