Honorable Mentions: Albums that I enjoyed but didn't have the mojo to crack the Top 10.
HM 1: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca - An interesting experimental album. A tad overrated in my opinion, but solid nonetheless.
HM 2: Mos Def - The Ecstatic - In a bad year for Hip Hop, Mos Def's latest release stood out for it's lyrical ingenuity, varied musical styles, and commitment to sampling.
HM 3: Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane - A great effort from Jon Foreman and Co, one that convinced me they weren't the same bunch of hacks that gave us Nothing is Sound and Oh! Gravity.
HM 4: The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You - What a difference Rick Rubin in the booth can make. This is musically the best Avett Brothers album yet, and could have cracked the final 10 if the lyrics didn't leave me disappointed.
HM 5: The Mars Volta - Octahedron - The result of stripping back the noise and effects and just playing music. This is the best TMV album since Frances the Mute back in '05. Unfortunately for TMV, it came in at number 11 on this list.
The Holy 10.
10: The Flaming Lips - Embryonic - An acid-rock tour de force. This album plays like Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, except with words. What set this album apart for me was it's staying power. I liked it more after the 2nd listen. Of course, rock odysseys are not for everyone, but for those of us who like to sit down and listen to music, no matter how long it takes, Embryonic is 70 minutes of greatness. Definitely worthy of a spot in the top 10.
9: Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - The catchiest album on this list by far. Phoenix reminds me of what MGMT could be if they used real instruments. Great hooks, tap your feet beats, fun sounds, great textures. Thanks, France.
8: mewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright - I distinctly remember listening to this album after reading a review of it in Relevant. mewithoutYou finally let their lyrics write the music, rather than adding lyrics to the god awful noise of their previous albums. The result is a brilliant sound, much like The Decemberists crossed with The Shins, I like to describe as "symphonic alt-folk" with some of the most inspired lyrics on this list.
7: Andrew Bird - Noble Beast/Useless Creatures - A lot like Andrew Bird's previous efforts, and just as impressive. His musicianship is stunning, as is his sense of texture and mood. Bird's songs are captivating. His lyrics are the usual nonsensical fare, but they don't have to make sense to be meaningful. Just think of his voice as the final instrumental piece of the puzzle. Useless Creatures is the accompanying instrumental disc and is an absolute gem if you can find it. Where else in music will you find a singer-songwriter who plays guitar, mandolin, violin, glockenspiel, and whistles?
6: Modest Mouse - No One's First, And You're Next - You know a band has officially become the best in the biz when their EP of castoffs and b-sides makes an end of the year list. The tracks on this EP are remarkably cohesive even though they have been floating around since 2004 for some. "The Whale Song" is an instrumental powerhouse and has become one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs. I'm glad that it didn't make the final cut of We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank because I don't think it would have fit that album as well as it fits this EP. That's the case for all the songs on this disc; they are good individually but would have been out of place on previous Modest Mouse albums, but together on this EP they all work beautifully. Also gotta love the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on "King Rat".
5: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest - This album is beautiful. I love it. Grizzly Bear thrives on creating an atmosphere in their music. It's perfectly evident that they recorded this album in a cottage in New England. You can almost hear the ocean in the background, as well as the beautiful reverb of the room they're in. What sets Grizzly Bear apart from other indie bands is their creativity. Much like mewithoutYou (I got their albums at the same time, wow!) Grizzly Bear takes the instrumentals to a whole new level. They use xylophones, glocks, accordions, and all manner of instruments. And topping it all off are Ed Droste's pure vocals and human lyrics. At the end of the day, that's why this album scored so high. All parts work together to form great music. The instrumentals are brilliant but subtle, in your face but restrained, and above all are perfectly in tune with the lyrics.
Before we get to the Wondrous 4, I would like to take a moment and give a shout out to the other albums that were up for consideration for this list. These were good efforts by their respective artists, but in the end didn't quite impress me enough to give an HM too. Here they are: John Mayer - Battle Studies, Blakroc - Blakroc, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul, Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King, The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love, Lupe Fiasco - Enemy Of The State: A Love Story, Maybeshewill - Sing The Word Hope In Four Part Harmony, and Wale - Attention Deficit. Thank you all for making music. Try harder next time.
Now, my friends, the 4 Best Albums of 2009
4: Various Artists - Ben Folds Presents: University a Capella - This choice may seem like it came out of left field, but if you haven't heard this voices-only album or haven't even heard of it let me give you some background. Ben Folds held a contest where any a Capella group could send in videos of their performances of Ben Folds' songs. The result is wonderful display of voice and emotion. There's just something about the power of the human voice acting as an instrument that tugs on your heartstrings. The groups selected recorded these tracks as if they were a live performance and the result isn't always perfect, but that's part of the beauty of it. The standout track, one that does use modern recording techniques, is "Magic", performed by The University of Chicago's Voices In Your Head. This track is the ultimate example of the emotion the human voice can elicit.
3: Muse - The Resistance - Muse's newest release moves along like a golden locomotive. Drummer Dominic Howard and bassist Christopher Wolstenholme keep the songs driving as Matt Bellamy layers the guitar and keyboard sounds on top. This album succeeds because of that balance between driving rock and textural alternative. While I would like to act like "Undisclosed Desires" never happened, the remainder of the tracks are wonderful. The first 3/4 of the album are the more typical Muse tracks. The standouts are "Uprising", a protest anthem for this millenium; "United States of Eurasia", which shows that Muse has been listening to a lot of Queen; "Guiding Light", which has the most epic short-form guitar solo of the decade; and "MK Ultra", a song about the paranoia of being watched by the government. Look up MK Ultra on Wikipedia and you'll understand. The last fourth of the album is the 3 part "Exogenisis: Symphony." This is easily one of the most beautiful fusions of classical music and rock ever. A little research into the background of this piece gave me a little more perspective. The lyrics tell the story of a group of astronauts tasked with spreading human life to other planets as the Earth dies. Their struggle culminates in the realization that even if they succeed, the cycle will continue forever unless humanity changes its destructive ways. Phillip Glass' influence is evident, as is Pink Floyd's. "Exogenesis" is the crowning jewel of Muse's talents and their magnum opus to date. The truth is that without it The Resistance would have been a strong Honorable Mention, but with "Exogenesis" Muse's newest album is the third best of the year.
2: The Bad Plus - For All I Care (With Wendy Lewis) - I know what you're thinking. 'Who are The Bad Plus?' The Bad Plus are the best jazz artists around right now. A piano trio of epic proportions whose defining characteristic over the past decade has been their jazz interpretation of rock and pop songs, from "Iron Man" to "Life On Mars" to "Heart of Glass" to "Theme from Chariots of Fire". They are, quite simply, the jazz equivalent of rock stars. On previous albums they have combined covers with their own creative originals, much like Charlie Parker would have in 1953. On For All I Care they abandon originals and add Wendy Lewis, a vocalist well known in the Minneapolis indie rock scene (which means not well known at all, right). On this album they cover artists Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Wilco, Yes, Bee Gees, Heart, Roger Miller, and The Flaming Lips, as well as three 20th century classical pieces (without vocals). One thing about The Bad Plus, when they cover a song they don't play it note for note, they completely rework it as a jazz song. Every song is a masterpiece so choosing highlights is like choosing the hottest Stars Ice Girl (no easy task). But the absolute best songs are their cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love?" and Roger Miller's "Lock, Stock and Teardrops". Nobody does ballads, original or cover, quite like The Bad Plus, so it fits that the best tracks are all slow, emotional pieces. "Comfortably Numb" is played with a simple bass part and brushes on drums before Lewis' haunting vocals enter. The piano takes a backseat in this song, allowing Lewis' pure voice to resonant completely. She is joined by bassist Reid Anderson on the chorus to form a gorgeous harmony. Their voices blend together perfectly with the bass to capture the feeling of isolation Roger Waters intended. The cover of Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love?" is perhaps the most heartfelt song on the album, and is completely different feel from the original. The Bee Gees' version is an upbeat motown dance ballad, while The Bad Plus have turned it into a tragic plea for unrequited love. Her voice is perfect for these ballads because it is completely without vibrato, much like Miles Davis trumpet on "Blue in Green" or "Flamenco Sketches". (By the way, you know a jazz album is a winner when it conjures memories of Kind of Blue). Roger Miller's "Lock, Stock and Teardrops" is the most creative of the covers. The original is a country twang ballad; The Bad Plus' version is almost avant-garde in its musicality. Lewis sings the song straight ahead for the most part, while the left hand piano gives the chords every so often. The bass and drums are on their own, and give us accents and texture until the restrained climax when it all comes together in a deep bass chord. Before listening to this album, get the track listing and make sure you have listened to all the originals, especially the classical pieces, or the creativity of these guys won't make as much sense to you. This album is magnificent.
1: David Crowder Band - Church Music - Before I get into the review of this magnificent piece of art and worship, let me preface by saying that I don't really like Christian music that much. I think CCM sold out a long time ago to profits. They parade out Chris Tomlin's bubblegum worship that lacks any musical creativity or lyrical freshness. Not to hate on Tomlin, but his stuff has sounded the same for a decade. And a lot of people like it, which is a good ministry and certainly has a place. I just can't stand it. Luckily for Christians who want their worship music to have teeth and not sound like U2, there is David Crowder Band. Since 2003's Illuminate, DCB has evolved musically, releasing the Christian album of the decade in 2005 with A Collision that had bluegrass as well as anthem rock influences, followed by Remedy in 2007 which drew more from acoustic pop and electronica. Church Music fully embraces the electronic and fuses it with rock and gospel to produce the most musically creative album Christian music has seen in a long time. The lyrics don't fail to live up. Throughout the album Crowder tells the listener about the misery found in sin, the joy found in salvation, and the love found in the church. The album's flow is astounding. It is fully sequenced, making it like a 73 minute song of worship to God. The tracks ebb and flow together, introspective and restrained for a while then upbeat and happy then dark and heavy. The work these guys put into this album is also unbelievable. Basically they wrote the lyrics and instrumentals for each song, then electronically programmed them as one whole album without breaks, then had to go back and replace the programmed music with live instrumentation. The result is the most well thought out album on this list. There are no filler tracks and no awkward transitions. Church Music draws you in and does not let up for 70 minutes. In the end it leaves you feeling both musically awed and spiritually uplifted. The first standout track is "Alleluia, Sing", a no bones about it call to worship. The synthesizer dances on top of the anthem rock guitar chorus as the drums and keyboard pound away in response. The next song of note is "Shadows", which has the most uplifting hook on the album. The song is about finding encouragement and rest in Christ even in hard times. The glitch drums evoke Radiohead, while the chorus harmony might evoke 70s pop. "SMS (Shine)" is my second favorite song on the album. I'm guessing from the lyrics that SMS stands for Save My Soul. The song is a electronica with piano ballad calling God to shine his light on us. The subtle layering of electric guitar in the chorus is a nice touch. I'd like to know who sings backups on these tracks, because she has a magnificent voice. "God Almighty, None Compares" is the penultimate track and is a guitar-rock odyssey. A thunderous riff worthy of Muse starts the first verse off, while the chorus is backed by a heavy chord progression. After the vocal part of the song ends the instruments enforce Crowder's point with 4 minutes of flat out hard rock, guitar solo and all. I'm not kidding when I thought of a Christian version of Led Zeppelin. This track flows beautifully into the final track "In The End (O Resplendent Light), which assures the listener that salvation is found through Christ (Our bodies die, but our souls will shine). If I haven't convinced you of this album's merits, both spiritually and musically, let me tell you about one more song. John Mark McMillan's "How He Loves", my favorite song on the album, is preceded by a beautifully simple cover of Flyleaf's "All Around Me" which flows directly into the piano intro. "How He Loves" is simple in its lyrics and beautiful in its instrumental. The piano and voice are joined by the full band in the second chorus and crescendo up to a climax worthy of Sigur Ros. The song poetically describes the simple beauty of God's love for us (He is jealous for me/loves like a hurricane, I am a tree/Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy) while the bridge gives us the most heartfelt lyrics on the list:
We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way…
That He loves us
That's the kind of spirituality you're getting on this album. The most musically sound album and most lyrically complete album. The most engaging album and most profound album. The most thoughtful album and most thought out album. It is your 2009 album of the year.
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