Best of 2009: Top 15 Albums

We had a relatively slow year close out the decade, with this year seeing more quality reissues than new records – to say nothing of the number of great bands who reunited vs. the few good ones that debuted. Much like 1999 closed out the 90s with rap-metal and boy/girl groups, 2009 rounds out the first decade of the 21st century with equally annoying (and inexplicably popular) musical trends like auto-tune, dubstep, and ubiquitous, Pitchfork-approved bands who shamelessly rip off other, better artists (looking at you, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.)

On the plus side, the year wasn’t a total disappointment as there were some truly great releases in 2009, especially here in Toronto – just enough to put together a list, in fact. What follows is an alphabetical list of albums I thought were pretty fantastic in their own right. Why alphabetical? Well, you try explaining to your friends why their album wasn’t #1. Kidding – they’re all winners, in my eyes. Happy new year, folks! Here’s to a new decade of killer records. -Shehzaad J.

Bruce Peninsula – A Mountain Is A Mouth (Indie)
I was hooked to this record as soon as I heard those gorgeous female harmonies juxtaposed with Matt Cully’s Tom Waits-inspired growl. Melding engaging folk songwriting with elements of math rock, prog and gospel, Bruce Peninsula are quite easily one of the most interesting new bands to come out of Toronto. If I was forced to pick a #1 for the year, this would be it. The record leaves you dying to hear where they take their sound next.

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (Anti-)
This is the record that fully sold me on Neko Case. I’ve always liked her work with the New Pornographers, but her solo albums had left me a little cold – gorgeous, always, but never fully grabbing me. Middle Cyclone pulls me in like none of her other records with its warm textures, strong songwriting and impeccable arrangements. Plus, it’s one of the only records where fading out into animal noises doesn’t seem supremely pretentious.

Cave In – Planets Of Old (Hydra Head)
This is almost too obvious. Oftentimes, when a band says that their new stuff is “pretty heavy,” it’s generally a ploy to get old fans reinterested after they’ve fallen off. Not in this case, however. Planets Of Old is Cave In at their most brutal since Until Your Heart Stops was released more than a decade ago. Having them back was good enough for me, but having them back sounding this intense is good news for everybody.

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm (Jagjaguwar)
Is it still necessary to point out that Dinosaur Jr. have reunited and are back with a vengeance, or is everyone still in disbelief that Mascis, Barlow and Murph can sound this good in 2009? Apparently, Beyond was far from a mulligan, and we need to cherish the time they’re back together for as long as they stay that way. If every reunion sounded this good, Brooklyn could keep its shitty revivalists.

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Domino)
In a way, it was strange to see this band become the object of affection for so many in the Blogosphere, but in the end, I am happy about it. If any band deserves to be hailed as original and innovative, even by a demographic that is way off base way too often, it’s Dirty Projectors. This record is the culmination of all Dave Longstreth’s imaginative compositions over the years, and as long as the records continue to be this well thought-out and masterfully orchestrated, let the hipsters have them.

Future Of The Left – Travels With Myself And Another (4AD)
Future Of The Left is better than Mclusky. There, I said it. Though I appreciate Mclusky’s gritty textures (courtesy of Steve Albini), FOTL manage to sound even heavier with the use of synthesizers, clean recordings and – gasp – actual hooks. Sure, opener “Arming Eritrea” has Falco screaming at the top of his lungs as per usual, but “Drink Nike” and “Throwing Bricks At Trains” are full out pop songs as far as I’m concerned – they just happen to be performed by three pissed off Welshmen. Travels… is what aggressive music needs to sound like in the 21st century.

Great Bloomers – Speak Of Trouble (Maple)
Of all the bands that fall into the “alt-country” umbrella (a term which is getting more and more vague each year), Toronto’s Great Bloomers are a cut above the rest even at first listen, and maybe even a few years away from being the leaders of the pack. Every song on Speak Of Trouble stays with you for days, all of which could be hits in their own right. But don’t take my word for it – Gordon Lightfoot digs it, too!

Isis – Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
Isis, much like Converge, are easily one of the most consistent and reliable bands on the arty side of the heavy music spectrum. Every album since Celestial has gotten progressively more complex, melodic and ambitious, yet each one is equally listenable, never failing to deliver epic crescendoes and climaxes. There’s a reason this band is championed above so many others that fall into the “NeurIsis” tag. It’s not because they did it first, it’s because they still do it better.

Lights – Rites (Drag City)
To be clear, this isn’t the singer on UO. This Lights are a “stoner rock” group from Brooklyn, although that tag doesn’t really do the band much justice. The group is far more indebted to the psychedelic rock bands of the 60s than Kyuss or Fu Manchu. Gorgeous harmonies over hazy guitars make up most of the record, but the band shakes things up, particularly on “Fire Night” – a dance rock tune that has both a slick, Gainsbourg-y bassline and fuzzed out riff that sounds like it was written by J. Mascis. Think of the Dirty Projectors covering Heart’s “Magic Man” and you’re beginning to get an idea of what Lights are like, and why this is one of the best records of 2009.

Obits – I Blame You (Sub Pop)
It’s not Hot Snakes. It just isn’t. What it is, though, is one of the most recognizable voices in punk rock writing what is ostensibly a pop record, by his standards. Rick Froberg returns with what is quite easily the catchiest record of his career, and if it isn’t as ballsy as the Snakes or anywhere near as complicated as Drive Like Jehu, it sure does have some mean hooks. Listen to “Talking To The Dog” and tell me that it wouldn’t fit in an iPod commercial. I’m not convinced that his rightful place in a band isn’t alongside John Reis, but then again, any Froberg is good Froberg.

Pissed Jeans – King Of Jeans (Sub Pop)
I’ll never understand why Fucked Up get so much critical acclaim when a band like Pissed Jeans exists. Fusing sludgey grunge with bombastic hardcore, Pissed Jeans just keep getting louder and better with each release. Equal parts Jesus Lizard, Black Flag and Mudhoney, the quartet take everything that makes aggressive music great and then puke all over it. They may not have the complex arrangements or ambitious experimentation of Fucked Up’s last record, but they definitely rock a lot harder – and, really, what’s more important?

Polvo – In Prism (Merge)
For my money, this is the reunion record of the year. I don’t want to say “comeback,” because Polvo never made a bad record in their lives. Just as suddenly as they broke up, the band came back with a new record that is still rooted in the off-kilter math rock they helped pioneer, yet it also meanders unexpectedly into classic rock territory at times, making for a record which is at once confounding, surprising and engaging – which, essentially, is Polvo in a nutshell.

So Many Dynamos – The Loud Wars (Vagrant)
Apprently, some of the songs on The Loud Wars are just old So Many Dynamos songs, played backwards. That alone is reason enough to applaud this band. Their spastic, frenetic instrumentation has always been commendable, but it all comes together on their third full-length. The songs are much more fully realized and can exist as complete pieces of work rather than a series of interesting parts. This is technical virtuosity without sacrificing the hooks or the downright fun of their older material. By far the best record So Many Dynamos have ever made.

Sonic Youth – The Eternal (Matador)
At this point in time, Sonic Youth are, for all intents and purposes, a classic rock band. What separated them from other dinosaur bands their age is their insistence on moving forward. The Eternal, however, doesn’t step very far outside of the Sonic Youth template. It picks up where Rather Ripped left off and moves towards are more streamlined version of their patented sound, doing what they do best as efficiently as possible. It’s the first record they’ve made that sees the band getting comfortable, but that only makes the record more fun. And really, when it’s still better than bands half their age, who can blame them?

Windsurf – Coastlines (Internasjonal)
Picture a beach in your head. It’s sunny, it’s warm, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. All of your friends are there with you, and you’re all having a great time. There’s cold drinks, a barbecue going, and a whole lot of bonding. If you have trouble picturing this vividly, just pop in Coastlines, and it will take you right there. This record IS a summer’s day at the beach without being annoying about it, and if the songs seem long, it only adds to the relaxed nature of Windsurf’s compositions. It’s nice to hear electronic music taking it this easy. Sometimes dancing takes a back seat to lazing around in the sun.