The Best Albums of 2009

10: Phoenix: Lisztomania - They've been around 15 years, but I've just discovered this French band. This album has received high accolades for the pop, indie-rock sound that has become so prevalent these days (for better or worse). Bottom line is that this is simply a fun album to listen to.




9: Andrew Bird: Noble Beast - I saw Bird perform awhile back at the Hollywood Bowl and was amazed with how he would record violin or guitar lines during a song then loop it and layer it to use as accompaniment. Impressive.




8: Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion - This album was the critics darling of 2009. Undoubtedly one of the most important bands of the naughts with their idiosyncratic rhythms and harmonies, they sound like nothing else that has ever existed. But when you are this out there, the music is not very approachable and takes some discipline to get into. The payoff is there for the patient listener.





7: Loney, Dear: Dear John - Loney, Dear is essentially Swedish singer-songwriter Emil Svanängen. Sounding like he recorded it in his living room, he works with programmed drum beats and synth orchestration. The result is a modern, toe-tapping sound.




6: Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz! - Karen O and gang push forward with their genre-bending sound that blends punk with dance and electronic elements.




5: Wilco: Wilco (the Album) - The latest album from my favorite band combines elements of every Wilco period. From the alt-country of A.M. to the bombastic pop of Being There and Summerteeth to the envelope pushing experimentalism of Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot to the kraut-rock jams of Ghost is Born and the hushed beauty of Sky, Blue, Sky. The drawback of this is that the album lacks cohesiveness. It is still good fun and has strong tracks such as "Wilco (the song)", "Bull Black Nova" and "You and I" (with guest vocalist Leslie Feist).




4: Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest - Yellow House was one of my best of picks in 2006 and three years later I am still entranced with their sound. Combining approachable melodies with experimental blips, bleeps and unusual production, they have developed a unique, interesting and satisfying sound.




3: Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca - They take the frat-boy Afro pop of Vampire Weekend and combine it with the experimentalism of Animal Collective to come up with an accessible, yet utterly unique, collection of songs and musical ideas. These guys are firmly in the center of the new wave of genre-defying bands that are grabbing the critics attention these days.







2: The Decemberists: Hazards of Love - Props to Colin Meloy for going after the ridiculously ambitious goal of creating a concept album that tells the enigmatic story of a woman's relationship with a mystical creature fusing elements of chamber music, folk and heavy metal and succeeding. At first glance it seems to surely be a joke, not to be taken seriously. But Meloy's poetic word smithing, along with the use of musical elements to reinforce the dramatic elements, serve the song and story perfectly. Colin and gang pulled off an amazing accomplishment with Hazards of Love.






1: Various Artists: Dark Was the Night - How can you go wrong with a double album that includes tracks by Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, David Byrne, My Morning Jacket and more great bands and for a good cause to boot. A consistent and satisfying collection of songs from start to finish.