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Each year I put together a list of my 20 favourite records from the preceding 12 months; here's 2009.
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2009
#20. John Frusciante –
The Empyrean Even with a lengthy discography to his name you still can‟t
really talk about this record without calling it a solo album,
and that‟s a shame because it bears absolutely no
resemblance to Frusicante‟s work in RHCP1. This is a
record full of thoughtful and thought-provoking tracks
played and sung soulfully by a man unafraid to pour his
heart out on tape. Before you get to that however there‟s
the sublime „Before The Beginning‟; essentially a nine
minute guitar solo it‟s a virtuoso performance and sets the
tone beautifully for an album in which Frusciante allows
tracks the length and depth they need to unfold without
ever outstaying their welcome.
Frusicante‟s voice is not his strongest weapon, but he
knows how to use it. Multi-tracked and deadpan vocals are
nicely balanced with some louder moments and a lot of
melodic vocal lines nicely compliment superb guitar
playing throughout.
1 Since the time of writing Frusciante has reportedly left RHCP.
#19. Muse – The
Resistance Although Black Holes & Revelations didn‟t make The List it
has grown on me somewhat since and I had high hopes
that Muse would be sitting in the upper reaches again this
year. These hopes were bolstered when I first heard
„United States of Eurasia‟ and got swept up in its majestic
lunacy. Alas, it was not to be. This is now a stadium band
making stadium albums, and whilst there‟s nothing wrong
with that for what it is, it feels to me like an important part
of what once made Muse great (circa Origin of Symmettry) is
now missing: something intimate and angry and
uncomfortable. The heart of Muse for me will always be
„Stockholm Syndrome‟ and „Hysteria‟, and those guitar-led
riots are missing from The Resistance, replaced by grandiose
ballads and the continuation of the disco-rock-stomp line
which arguably began with „Supermassive Black Hole‟.
There‟s still a lot to enjoy here, including some outstanding
musicianship – no one could ever say that these boys don‟t
fully command their instruments – and they keep hitting
that outlandish kitsch note right on the money, the
equation just feels like it has fallen out of balance to me
now; Muse have become too comfortable as stadium giants
to retain the urgency of those early records.
#18. Nisennenmondai –
Destination Tokyo Here‟s something which came out of nowhere this year
and deserves a place on The List just by virtue of having
taken up so much time on my iPod. A trio from Tokyo
who seemingly learned their craft from listening to a CD
player with a serious skipping problem and a radio tuned
to static... they sound like nothing else I‟ve ever heard.
Actually they sound like everything I‟ve ever heard, all
rolled into some kind of giant Katamari-esque ball and
then shot through the Large Hadron Collider.
One listen to the 13 minutes of intense noise that is album
opener „Souzousuru Neji‟ will reorientate your entire
musical landscape – to me it sounds like untrammelled
exuberance and it‟s easily the newest sounding thing I‟ve
heard all year.
#17. Lady Gaga – The
Fame In a year when the most impressive live show I saw was
Britney Spears at the O2 this album sat in my CD player
for a long time.
My favourite of this year‟s crop of synth-flavoured female
solo artists Gaga‟s record is blatant, shameless, shallow and
riotously so. There‟s so much fun to be had here, from the
twisted romance of „Paparazzi‟ to poverty anthem
„Beautiful, Dirty, Rich‟ by way of all the other (justified)
hits: „Poker Face‟, „Love Game‟ etc which you are probably
sick of hearing everywhere if this album didn‟t hook you
like it somehow did me.
#16. Bat For Lashes –
Two Suns Natasha Khan had me from that Donnie Darko-esque video
for „What‟s a Girl To Do?‟: eerie, beauitful, subtle and dark
it mirrored the best attributes of the song perfectly and led
to me picking up an album which explored all of those
qualities and which I enjoyed very much indeed. No
surprise to find the follow-up making The List this year as
it pretty much picks up where the previous album left off
and refines Khan‟s ideas whilst expanding her sound.
The first song I heard was „Glass‟ and the instant the
percussion came in properly (00:43) I remembered the
atmosphere I loved from the first record (see also the bass
line on „Pearl‟s Dream‟). I can live without the alter-egos
and symbology, but sometimes you have to look past that
stuff to some great music.
#15. The Mars Volta –
Octahedron Last year‟s The Bedlam in Goliath was the album I‟d been
waiting for The MarsVolta to make since the beginning,
and judging from this it was the phantom they‟d been
chasing too.
Octahedron continues all that was marvously off-kilter about
Bedlam..., with songs too big to contain just one chorus, or
two musical styles or lyrics that make any sense. I have to
believe that Omar and Cedric‟s relationship at this point is
near psychic: it‟s the only way this music could be played
live and probably the only way to commit it to record –
this stuff must just flow out of them when they hit the
studio and turn the amps up. That‟s not to say it comes
across as rushed, or anything less than meticulously
constructed; some of these songs take such tight turns in
unexpected directions that your head almost spins your
headphones off.
Five albums in it‟s difficult to know what else to say about
The Mars Volta. They do what they do and they do it
better than anyone else, not least of all because no one else
is doing this.
#14. Keith Jarrett –
Yesterdays Jazz was big for me this year. For a long time I‟ve been
looking for the correct spot on its beaches from which to
dip in a toe, with the aim of eventually wading on out. This
year I heard an interview with Richard Williams, author of
a book on the legacy of Miles Davis‟ Kind of Blue. As part of
that interview Williams commented to the effect that there
are two jazz records everyone owns: Kind of Blue and Keith
Jarrett‟s Koln Concert recording from 1975. I was missing
the latter so picked it up and found just what I was
searching for: a way in. I picked up numerous Jarrett
recordings this year and he must be one of my most played
artists of the last 12 months.
Yesterdays is a fine example of the piano-led jazz I‟ve come
to like most and there‟s plenty of variety within its nine
tracks. The title track is a little mournful and melancholy;
„Shaw‟nuff‟ gets carried away with itself, leaving drummer
Jack DeJohnette breathlessly cycling the cymbals to keep
up, and „A Sleeping Bee‟ is a nice mid-paced jaunt
exploring some interesting melodic avenues. It‟s by no
means my favourite Jarrett album, and it does showcase his
regrettable habit of vocalising a melody line with odd
grunts and groans, but it‟s sublime stuff nevertheless.
#13. Humcrush – Rest At
World’s End A coincidence that these two ended up next to each other.
Humcrush are a duo from Norway who take experimental
jazz, put it into a blender and then feed the result to a
synthesiser. What you get is choppy, glitchy beats, frenetic
drum loops and bass that threatens to knot up your
intestines. It isn‟t background music but it‟s a wonderful
headphone record to marvel at and disassemble.
Alongside the Nisennenmondai album it has been the
most expiremental long player of 2010 for me and has
helped me get a grasp on the sheer variety of jazz which is
being made right now.
#12. Green Day – 21st
Century Breakdown Amongst my first reactions to this album was feeling sorry
for the band. After the success of American Idiot, which for
all intents and purposes gave them a second lease on their
career, it seemed to me that following up with another
punk-pop “opera” in the same mould suggested that they
felt they had no other choice. Add to that the release last
year of the more free-and-easy, fun-loving, surf-pop tinged
Stop, Drop and Roll!!! under an alias and it feels even more
apparent that Green Day walked into the studio knowing
that “just another album” wouldn‟t cut it with the swathe
of new fans they‟d just won.
First single „Know Your Enemy‟ inspired very little
confidence and remains the least impressive track on the
record. The rest took time to win me over but in the end
the music here still possesses enough charm and energy to
be irresistible on some level. Stand-out tracks for me are
„East Jesus Nowhere‟, „Horseshoes & Handgrenades‟ and
„The Static Age‟ – the last of those outclassing anything on
American Idiot. That album was the #1 on this list in 2004
and the comparatively low placing for this record is
reflective less of a loss of quality than the fact that the idea
no longer holds its novelty value.
#11. Cursive – Mama, I’m
Swollen Tim Kasher is always foremost in my mind when it comes
to songwriters, and particularly lyricists, whom I admire.
Over the course of Cursive‟s now 12 year, seven album
existence he has penned some exceptional songs and ranks
alongside ex-labelmate Conor Oberst in my mind as a folk-
rock musician whose primary weapon is his words.
Now 35, Kasher has written an album of songs about
encroaching middle age. This is a record for a generation
led to believe by MTV that it was living in one long music
video and who must now come to terms with the relative
drudgery of their day to day lives. In some respects this is
the perfect album for the economic downturn: part
admonishment of consumerism, it is seeking a new set of
ideals like Palahniuk‟s Fight Club was in an angrier fashion a
little over a decade ago.
Quite why Cursive aren‟t huge is a mystery; we‟re lucky to
have Tim Kasher out there putting down our feelings so
eloquently.
#10. Bike For Three! – More Heart
Than Brains
I pretty much worship the ground Richard Terfry walks on.
Ever since I stumbled upon 2002‟s Square and immediately went
back and picked up the entire Buck 65 catalogue I‟ve been
firmly of the opinion that there‟s no one else out there who can
match what he‟s doing in hip-hop. Buck is also a phenomenal
producer and beat-maker, each record comes out sounding a
little different, and it‟s that component which is missing from
this album.
Bike For Three! is a collaboration between Terfry and
Belgian producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, also known as
Greetings from Tuskan. The two have never met, putting this
whole record together over the net, and the result is pretty
different from a traditional 65 album where Buck has complete
control. The lyrics are still top-notch of course, but here they‟re
set to synthy loops and the kind of Casiotone sound palette you
don‟t usually find Buck using. There are a few effects applied to
the vocals here and there and in places the music nods towards
an electronica direction with which it took me a while to come
to terms. Take the percussion on „There Is Only One Of Us‟: it
gets a little Linkin Park at some points and draws the mind away
from Buck‟s lyrics – not the usual power balance on a Buck 65
album where the two aspects are used in complete harmony.
The end result though is a very interesting album from a unique
collaboration.
#9. Pearl Jam – Backspacer
1991-1996: six years, four albums and in my book PJ can
do no wrong.
1998-2006: nine years, four albums and the results are a
little more mixed.
2009? If nothing else Backspacer has to serve as irrefutable
proof that Pearl Jam still know how to do this post-grunge
rock thing. Get past the awful cover art (reminiscent of
Americana era Offspring) and you‟re in for a record which
nicely balances the two eras of Pearl Jam outlined above by
bringing some of those new sensibilities for mid-paced
middle of the road rock to bear on the grunge template of
old – with results less embarrassing that that might sound.
„Gonna See My Friend‟ is a storming statement of intent,
and the one-two punch of „Got Some‟ and „The Fixer‟ is
like a hand held out by an old friend. The slower stuff
works equally well: „The End‟ is their finest ballad since
„Thin Air‟, and „Just Breathe‟ runs it a close second. There
is influence on these tracks from Vedder‟s solo turn on the
soundtrack for Into The Wild and the fact that it can be
seamlessly worked into a PJ release just shows the
effortless range this band is now capable of.
#8. Paramore – Brand
New Eyes When you have a weakness for colossal hooks and power-
chords like I do, sometimes you have to do things that
you‟re not too proud of, such as admitting that a) you
bought the Paramore album, and b) you like it quite a lot
despite it bearing a strong resemblance in places to the sort
of thing Avril Lavigne might put out if she had a good
band behind her.
There‟s not much I can say to defend myself here. This is a
thoroughbred pop-punk album of dubious artistic merit. It
is also crammed full of three-minute gems that get better
each time you listen by virtue of their having laid eggs in
your brain. „Ignorance‟ must be one of my most hummed
songs of ‟09 and that deserves some kind of recognition.
#7. The Dirty Projectors –
Bitte Orca Ask me what any one of these nine songs is about and I
will look at you blankly, but that‟s not necessarily a pre-
requisite for great music (see also #15). Bitte Orca is a
Rubik‟s cube of an album where the arrangements are
constantly shifting so that you get staccato bursts of
percussion or a blast of horns where previously there had
been softly cooed vocal or plucked strings. Songs like
„Temecula Sunrise‟ seem to tumble over themselves to get
out of your speakers. Not graceful but arresting, this is
music best enjoyed by aiming your full attention at it and
then forgetting all of your preconceptions and just
enjoying the ride.
Only „Two Doves‟ approaches conventional
instrumentation, and it is completely alluring, providing a
welcome respite from the controlled chaos elsewhere. This
is an album barely reigned in, and all the more interesting
for it.
#6. Tegan & Sara –
Sainthood In one respect this is quite a disappointing album: it isn‟t
Earth-shatteringly wonderful in every conceivable respect
like 2007‟s The Con or 2004‟s masterpiece So Jealous.
Held to any reasonable standard though Sainthood is a
brilliant album full of three-minute bursts of spiky pop. It
contains songs every bit as amazing as the best tracks on
those other albums („The Ocean‟ is mature and assured
songwriting making use of two voices that harmonise and
intertwine perfectly; „Hell‟ is one of the best songs they‟ve
ever put out) and continues the winning production
partnership with Death Cab‟s Chris Walla. The problem
perhaps (if it can be deemed a problem) is that to some
extent this feels like The Con 2.0 and that‟s what keeps it
out of the top five. Listened back now to Radiohead‟s
Amnesiac it sounds every bit as inspired as Kid A, but
following a stone-cold classic hurt it in terms of how it was
perceived. To my ears Sainthood sounds like a step sideways
instead of a step forward. That still leaves the Quinns in an
excellent spot, but I have to hold them to a higher
standard.
#5. The Decemberists –
The Hazards of Love There are those who would tell you that Apple has killed
the conventional album structure with the advent of the
shuffle function (though CD players and then multi-CD
players allowed you to do essentially the same thing), and if
one was to make that argument records like The Hazards of
Love should be exhibit A.
Less showy than its “rock-opera” brethren like American
Idiot this is sophisticated storytelling neatly woven into
album form. Multiple voices provided by guest vocalists,
use of leitmotif, reprise and melodies highly evocative of
the emotion behind them all come together to form an
hour of music that it is a shame to listen to in pieces. That
said, there are standout tracks. „The Rake‟s Song‟ -
seductive, dark, powerful and downright creepy - has to be
one of the best songs of the year, and „The Wanting
Comes Waves‟ is maddeningly infectious.
The absence of this album from the AV Club, Pitchfork, Q
and NME end-of-year lists baffles me.
#4. Pure Reason Revolution –
Amor Vincit Omnia There was a point, after a handful of listens, when I really
didn‟t think this record would make The List. The
difference in this album‟s overall sound as versus 2006‟s
The Dark Third was too much for my brain to process at
first and truthfully something of a disappointment. Gone
are the dreamy synth soundscapes and in their place harder
electronic tones have given the new tracks edges and
angles where the earlier material simply flowed.
It took a while but, obviously, PRR won me around.
Although I was saying “it‟s not The Dark Third” to myself
each time I listened to it, I found myself listening to it a
lot. And once I got past the tonal switch I found another
beautiful, complex and hugely ambitious record. „Les
Malheurs‟ and „Deus Ex Machina‟ are the vanguard for
that newly mechanical sound with driving synthesisers and
syncopated cymbals; „Victorious Cupid‟ and „The
Gloaming‟ call back to the previous album‟s tones with
great effect. Regardless of which mode they choose (or
where they go from here) PRR have an uncanny ear for
strange rhythms, Jon Courtney and Chloe Alper‟s voices
still melt together perfectly, and the whole band is
comprised of formidable musical talent.
#3. Crazy Arm – Born To
Ruin How can a band have such an utterly terrible name and
then give their debut album such a perfect title? Just from
those three words you know what you‟re getting and Crazy
Arm deliver it in huge quantities, direct to your brain, time
after time. Riffs that tense every muscle in your body as
they pass through you; choruses that make every hair on
your neck stand to attention... this is straight ahead rock
music from the Reuben school of doing things simple and
direct, and recalls for me Hundred Reasons at their best
mixed with Against Me‟s New Wave.
The standout moments are sprinkled throughout every
track and number almost too many to count. Right from
the first time the riff properly kicks in on opener „Asphalt‟
through the spine-chilling bridge in masterful closer „Christ
In Concrete‟ there‟s so much to love on your thousandth
listen. „Blind Summit‟ is part drinking song / sea shanty
gone wrong; the title track is a heartwrenching call to arms;
the band wear that titular Springsteen influence on their
sleeves on „International Front‟ and „Kith and Kingdom‟
has one of the year‟s best sing-along sections. This is a
masterful album of uncut rock and roll happy to be exactly
what it is.
#2. Manic Street
Preachers – Journal For
Plague Lovers The single album I have listened to the most this year,
including for about three weeks straight when it came out,
something about Journal... caught my attention where other
Manics albums had failed. I own The Holy Bible and like it
very much but by the time I caught up with the band it
seemed that was the sound of their past and they were now
putting out U2-esque chart singles like „Australia‟. Perhaps
I‟m wrong and the albums have always had more to offer
than the singles, but I had never suspected the depth and
the brilliance on display here.
There is a distinct sound of the late-90s about this album,
but without it ever feeling dated or gimmicky. Anyone
coming to this record without any of that baggage would
still find 13 exceptional songs with a lot of range. The
stylistic difference between opener „Peeled Apples‟ and
closer „William‟s Last Words‟ is staggering, but a full play
through doesn‟t feel in the least bit disjointed. Only a band
with 20 plus years and nine albums to their name could
pull this album off in such assured style.
#1. Biffy Clyro – Only
Revolutions I loved Puzzle and I‟d been waiting pretty impatiently to see
where Biffy Clyro went from there. On the release of Only
Revolutions I saw the band described somewhere as
“Scotland‟s Foo Fighters”, and if that‟s the case Puzzle is
their Colour and the Shape and Only Revolutions is the next
step, their There Is Nothing Left to Lose.
All signs pointed in the right direction. 2008 saw the
release of epic-sounding single „Mountains‟ and in early ‟09
we got „The Captain‟ and an EP headed by „That Golden
Rule‟ – all of which did everything that could be asked
from this band and more. Not to belabour the Foo
Fighters comparison but I remember when every Foos
single had b-sides better than other bands‟ album tracks.
That‟s what Biffy are doing at the moment, and it‟s made
all the more interesting by virtue of the fact that they are a
profoundly strange band.
Only Revolutions is full of colossal rock songs both
subverted and rejuvenated by odd twists. The swinging-
pendulum string coda that becomes a huge guitar riff at the
end of „That Golden Rule‟ seems oddly out of time. The
building melody in „Bubbles‟ seems to be missing a note
somewhere. There are plenty of those moments on the
record, where something sounds familiar but just a little
off, where you become aware that any other band would
have done it slightly differently, slightly less strangely.
Using a horn section on your rock album is nothing new,
but through Puzzle and now this album Biffy Clyro have
expanded their sound so much that orchestration has come
to feel less like adornment and more like an essential
component of their sound. This band is now sounding so
comfortable and they are seemingly capable of anything,
including turning out this record in November and it
soaring effortlessly to claim my album of the year.