Top Albums of 2009: #9 and #10

January 11, 2010

#10) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart [Slumberland; released 2/3/2009]

“Don’t you try to shoot up the sky, tonight we’ll stay alive.”

“Stay Alive”

There were many fine debut releases in 2009 and one of the best comes from the Brooklyn quartet The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.  This self titled album is a nostalgic throwback to the twee days of C86 and while TPOBPAH’s brand of fuzz-pop certainly isn’t breaking any new ground, it does possess the melodies and clever lyrics to help it stand out on its own.  No song better exemplifies this than “Young Adult Friction”, one of the best songs of the year with its indie-pop brightness and lyrical wittiness of capturing some sort of love encounter in a library. (Young Adult Friction…get it now?)  The album as a whole is a fusion of those indie-pop stylings and shoegaze to create a supremely confident album as infectious as any this year.  The group released a follow up EP late in the 2009 which contained possibly their greatest song to date, and only shows that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart should have no problem meeting the increased expectations that inevitably comes from being one of the year’s breakout acts.

[“Young Adult Friction” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart]

#9) Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light [Secretly Canadian;  released 1/20/2009]

“I need another place, will there be peace? I need another world, this one is nearly gone.”

“Another World”

Upon hearing Antony Hegarty’s Nina Simone-like vocals, you would be excused if you thought he was about to break into tears while recording his music. Hegarty’s voice contains a tremble that is one of the most unique in the business and creates and affecting listen that is sure to put a lump in your throat even if it’s missing from Hegarty’s. However, after watching numerous performances on Youtube of Hegarty’s performances with an accompanying symphony from this past summer, I think there’s little doubt that the emotion gets the best of him too.  The Crying Light is Hegerty’s third release as Antony and the Johnsons and the follow up to 2005’s very well received I Am a Bird Now and is another hauntingly beautiful group of songs from Hegerty’s catalog.  It’s a poetic and moving listen that hits you in the gut, attacks your heart, and sinks into your mind all at the same time.

[“Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground” – The Crying Light]

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Mid-2009 Music Awards

July 6, 2009

A little something I like to do every year is dole out some awards for the music up to the halfway point of the year.  Nothing too detailed, just a little summary.  As usual for all my lists, the only albums I’m including are albums that I own and are currently in my itunes library.  And of course all this can change as I listen to albums more, but this is what I’m feeling so far for 2009.  Enjoy!

Animal Collective

Animal Collective

Best, let’s say, 7 Albums (in order of release date):

Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light

  • It’s a beautiful and affecting listen, which was to be expected from Antony Hegarty.  It was the first great release of the year and has stuck around to now.  I already mentioned in my 1st quarter of ’09 wrap-up…nothing more to add to that really.

[“Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground – The Crying Light]

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

[“My Girls” – Merriweather Post Pavilion]

The Antlers – Hospice

  • Once again, check my 1Q of ’09 post that mentions this release as well.  People are starting to pick up on its brilliance but it will surely gain even more of a following once Frenchkiss reissiues it this August.

[“Two” – Hospice]

Passion Pit – Manners

  • A very fun listen and impressive full-length debut from the Boston, Mass band that I already featured in my review here.

[“Little Secrets” – Manners]

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

[“1901” – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix]

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

  • About as perfect as an album gets.  The review goes into more detail.

[“Two Weeks” – Veckatimest]

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

  • The only album of these 7 that I haven’t mentioned on the blog yet.  The first 6 songs are hard to top.  Longstreth tones down the weird just a bit, and it gets album of the year hype…go figure.

[“Stillness is the Move” – Bitte Orca]

Most Overrated:

Japandroids – Post-Nothing

  • It’s a fun, rockin’ little album, but the 4th best reviewed release of the year?!…come on!

[“Young Hearts Spark Fire” – Post-Nothing]

Most Underrated:

Loney, Dear – Dear John

  • One of my most listened to albums so far this year.  It doesn’t deserve any album of the year or even top 10 talk, but I think it deserves more attention than it’s getting.

[“Airport Surroundings” – Dear John]

Biggest Disappointment:

The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha

  • They left behind their melodic pop hooks that made Peregrine so good, and went back to their post-rock instrumental days with bland results.  Best description I’ve heard was that it’s like Explosions in the Sky tried to make an Appleseed Cast album…not what I was hoping for.

[“The Summer Before” – Sagarmatha]

Biggest Surprise:

Maria Taylor – LadyLuck

  • Already mentioned this one here, but the more I thought about it, the more I concluded that it probably is my biggest surprise of the year.

[Time Lapse Lifeline – LadyLuck]

Need to give more listens:

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

  • I just haven’t put enough time into this one to get a reading on it.  Some of it has some early Built to Spill indie feel to it, which deserves my attention.

[“Indiana” – Why There Are Mountains]

Notable albums I still need to get:

Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

St. Vincent – Actor

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