My Favorite Albums of 2009

[D_Davis]

I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

[Melville]

Key Tracks: “Powerless”, “Convinced of the Hex”,
“Watching the Planets”

I like all three of those more than any other Flaming Lips song I've heard, except "The Gash". Good stuff. I'm not sure if I'll get the album, though, as a perusal of samples from it makes me suspect that it has a lot of songs I wouldn't like.

I was a bit disappointed by Dragonslayer. It doesn't have the verve and wild inventiveness of Shut Up... and Random Spirit Lover.

[Derek]

I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

Good, because I have no intention of arguing about production with a guy who owns more money worth of music equipment than I have in my bank account.

I like all three of those more than any other Flaming Lips song I've heard, except "The Gash". Good stuff. I'm not sure if I'll get the album, though, as a perusal of samples from it makes me suspect that it has a lot of songs I wouldn't like.

It's a hard album to judge from 30-second samples - I do think it works better as a whole. If you like those three tracks, I'd at least pick up a "free" copy and see if it's worth your hard-earned dough.

I was a bit disappointed by Dragonslayer. It doesn't have the verve and wild inventiveness of Shut Up... and Random Spirit Lover.

I'd put it on par with Shut Up... It really took me a while to warm up to it and hearing most of the songs performed live did help as well. I was surprised critics seem to favor it over Random Spirit Lover though as I think that album is on a whole different level of awesomeness.

[Derek]

2



Circulatory System - Signal Morning

Key Tracks: “Round Again”, “Rocks and Stones”, “This Morning (We Remembered Everything)”

If Embryonic is a bit scatterbrained, then Signal Morning is downright schizophrenic. An overwhelmingly complex blend of psychedelic rock, folk and electronic music, it is album that defies categorization as its chameleon-like tendencies not only make for an album full of a ridiculously wide array of sounds, tempos and moods, but songs that are themselves almost constantly transforming. But this is not free-form or improvisional music, although it is made with only the slightest barriers of separate and structured tracks. What the album lacks in discipline, it more than makes up by the sheer propulsive force of its songs, which are unpredictable, exciting and, most importantly, thoroughly engaging. Will Cullen Hart fills the album with a creative anxiety born that may at first leave the album appearing to be messy, but it is a messiness that reveals a multitude of possibilities within single songs and allows them to double back on themselves, pick another fork in the road and discover what lies ahead. I do not use the word visionary lightly, but if one album this year deserves that title, this one is it. Signal Morning doesn’t knock down barriers so much as completely ignore them, resulting in a finished project that is truly adventurous, mind-bending and challenging.

[D_Davis]

Circulatory System - Signal Morning

Hey, these guys sound great! Really cool. Kind of like the good old days of the Elephant Six collective. Good pick.

[Derek]

Hey, these guys sound great! Really cool. Kind of like the good old days of the Elephant Six collective. Good pick.

Oh wow, that's a nice surprise. I thought you'd hate them! Definitely let me know what you think of the whole album if/when you check it out...let's say Spring 2011?

A shocking, shocking #1 choice coming up...

[Derek]

1



Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Key Tracks: “My Girls”, “Brothersport”, “Summertime Clothes”

And now for the inevitable. It was Animal Collective’s year even before the year officially started as I heard Merriweather Post Pavilion last December and quickly knew that it was virtually insurpassable. Admittedly they are one of, if not the one, my favorite bands, so watching their progression a more DIY-aesthetic with a healthy dose of screaming to the brilliantly produced electronic goodness of Merriweather has been a joy. The Collective have changed a lot as band, here all but abandoning the guitar in favor of lush, layered electronic beats, vocal harmonies and a dense atmosphere of creative rhythms and sounds that, for me, create the sensation of flying underwater while dreaming. But as much as it is an album to get lost in, it’s equally danceable, upbeat and, for the AC, surprisingly accessible. By crossing the boundary into, *gasp*, “popularity”, many fans are confronted with the difficult task of evaluating the albums worth now that it put the public spotlight, to some degree at least, on Animal Collective. No, they are underground no more, but their move towards accessibility comes not from sacrificing their own creativity but rather from a conscious effort to make their music more fluid and inviting. Their calmness, perhaps due to their moves towards domesticity and away from running around the forest tripping balls, does leave the carnal energy of some of their earlier songs in the dust, but it also allows for a more creative experimentation within the production booth, taking full advantage of their newfound studio freedom. What makes Merriweather such a special album often lies in the details buried in the mix and the beauty behind its meticulously crafted harmonies. Lyrically, it may leave a bit to be desired, but with Animal Collective, words have always been more a way of channeling feelings and, now here, setting the mood. And in doing that, there’s simply no album in 2009 that makes me as happy as this one. It is a great band coming into their own, shedding their old skin and showing all the doubters that they’re capable of more than just dicking around in the basement with nothing but drums and masks.

[D_Davis]

Still don't get AC. An entirely unremarkable band to my ears. But I realize that I am in the vast minority on that one.

Cool list though - nicely done.

[D_Davis]

It's funny. Even though you and I like a lot of the same kinds of music, we diverge greatly when it comes to the stuff we really love.

[D_Davis]

Oh wow, that's a nice surprise. I thought you'd hate them! Definitely let me know what you think of the whole album if/when you check it out...let's say Spring 2011?

Good songs, catchy melodies, interesting instrumentation, and a nice lo-fi, but listenable, production.

[Acapelli]

couldn't really get into mpp at all. love my girls, but found the rest of the album disappointing

give me sung tongs any day of the week

[Milky Joe]

2



Circulatory System - Signal Morning

Nice! This album was a long time coming, but ended up being worth it. Now if the Olivias could just reunite...

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yeah, I quite disliked that album as well. Haven't heard any other AC, so I dunno what I'm missing, but it didn't sound like much).

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Yeah, I quite disliked that album as well. Haven't heard any other AC, so I dunno what I'm missing, but it didn't sound like much).

Try this song, as its about the complete opposite of MPP (plus its my favorite song of theirs):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c6VKN2oISM

[Boner M]

Well, I loved MPP and it'd be in my top 5 as well. Poo you all.

The Circulatory System one's on my radar now.

Good writeups Derek, even though our taste in recent-ish music are increasingly divergent.

[Winston*]

Atlas Sound - Logos

Pretty


The Antlers - Hospice

:sad:


Mount Eerie - Winds Dark Poem

Like a boring nightmare

St. Vincent - Actor

Feel I should like her more. Eh.

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

Dumb name, awesome band, epic musics.


Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Liked Yellow House, don't like this

Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

Not Random Lover but still good


Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

These dudes are really really white.


Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

My favourite's Feels, is that wrong?

[Winston*]

The Horrors - Primary Colours

More like the Bore-ors. LOL!