Top 15 Albums of 2009

Preface: Every year I constantly search for those few releases that truly redefine the way I think about music. More often than not, it happens at least once a year.

This year has, yet again, offered a wide variety of incredible new artists/bands and some crowning achieve­ments for already estab­lished musicians. Here are my personal picks for the best of 2009. Unfor­tu­nately, I didn’t have as much time to invest in this as last years and the write-ups suffer a bit toward the middle. Regardless, it is what it is and I hope you enjoy reading.

Listen to “Dirge Forsaken” from this record:

Xasthur is an artist that took a long time to sink-in and appre­ciate. His work has been fairly consistent, intriguing and full of depth. It has taken me ten years to digest and grow to appre­ciate isola­tionist black metal. It requires getting past the “horrible production value” — you just don’t know how to interpret it. Once digested and a foundation for under­standing exists, you begin to immerse yourself in the massive guitar layering — becoming obsessed with their hypnotic power. Each little intricate facet becomes appre­ciated and often time, leaves the listener dumbfounded by what they have experi­enced. To the extreme we have such albums as, Velvet Cacoon’s Genevieve, Burzum’s Filosofem and Xasthur’s own Nocturnal Poisoning. These dense records deserve the “headphone listening experience” to be fully absorbed. You can listen countless times and discover more layers with each listen. This offers the listener a complex, challenging and meditative soundscape.

All Reflec­tions Drained is Scott Connor’s 7th full-length release as Xasthur. It is far more instru­mental, offering less vocals, than previous releases. Some have called it an extension of 2007’s fantastic Defective Epitaph. The first track, “Dirge Forsaken” slowly builds to a more disturbing and disjointed rhythmic assault. It feels drunk and depressive — dark, ominous and almost sickening. The middle has carnival-esque keyboard melodies that further push the bleak sound­scape. These ambient tracks cycle through the above, over and over. The production on this release feels more depressive and hypnotic than previous albums. The hollow, muffled barrier between you and what’s happening far off in the distance, simply adds more intrigue. The album almost makes you feel hung-over. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but it’s good enough to land at number 15.

Stand-out tracks include: Dirge Forsaken, Maze Of Oppression, Obfus­cated In Oblivion and Inner Sanctum Surveillance.

Listen to “Coffle­locks” from this record:

Gavin Castleton holds a special place in my music collection. Since 2004’s spotty release Hypotenuse and the incredibly haunting songs “Builder” and “When You Come Home Bring Novocaine”, I have been sure to keep tabs on his progress. All his releases have been spotty but almost always have a few “hidden gems” within.

2009 brought us his most complete, compelling and overall strongest piece of work to date. Home is simply a fantastic album and by far one of my most listened to albums this year. It’s a comfortable album — a great go-to on those rough days. The vocals of Lauren Coleman (of Pebaluna) are simply fantastic. The musical conver­sa­tions between her and Gavin create a beautiful balance that achieves something special. The album is as delicate as his most intimate songs. The haunting vocals, often revolving around relation­ships and inter­ac­tions between people, while inter­acting with the listener like a play. It’s a playful concept album about love, relation­ships, zombie attacks and ridicu­lousness. Gavin’s greatest weakness has been his biggest strength, but this is the first time it’s been executed perfectly. All of his albums have been riddled with an eclectic barrage of genres, which while inter­esting, have ultimately failed. On Home he gets it right — while infusing pop, disco-like funk, hip-hop and more. I don’t know how he did it, nor do I care to put it under a micro­scope. It doesn’t feel as forced as previous efforts.

“Coffle­locks” offers a more commer­cially appealing structure and form, while “Stampede” is the afore­men­tioned disco-like funk — his vocals remind me of Justin Timberlake at times. The incredible “Layers” could provide my favorite vocal perfor­mance on the album — from both Gavin and Coleman. I mean wow, it’s a truly special trade off here. “Unpar­allel Rabbits” borrows the melody from his song “Bad Rabbits” from 2005’s FortNight­Shift EP release. To this day I still love that song. Anyway, “Unpar­allel Rabbits” is the only song Gavin raps on and is very different in tone and content than the O.G. “Bad Rabbits”.

Gavin Castelton continues to impress the hell out of me. I highly recommend this release to any eclectic music listener that simply wants something different, challenging, fun and profound. He is crazy and I love him for it. Flat-out impressive musical genius.

Stand-out tracks include: Buggouts, Coffle­locks, Warpaint, Layers and Oregon…

Listen to “2” from this record:

Most people seem to have completely dismissed Velvet Cacoon since their whole misrep­re­sen­tation fiasco in 2006 (or so). Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that Genevieve was a pretty signif­icant release. Their approach to Black Metal was unprece­dented. The intrigue surrounding their myste­rious and cryptic nature wore out it’s welcome fast. After that fiasco I stopped buying-into any drama surrounding them and simply wanted more music.

P aa opal Poere Pr. 33 does not hold up to the brilliance of Genevieve. I never expected it to — it is commonly referred to as a watered-down version of Genevieve. I can definitely see the merit in that. It was recorded shortly after Genevieve but appar­ently took 4 years to see the light of day.

With all that nonsense out of the way, some thoughts on the album. The opening track “2” is easily the most solid track on the album. The hypnotic cathartic layered guitars create that Genevieve-like feeling, the almost operatic vocal under­tones (less prominent in Genevieve). The buried screamed vocals add an inter­esting emotive depth, especially behind operatic droned voices. I truly can’t express how much I love this track. Unfor­tu­nately it is the highest high here. The album is very lethargic, it feels like Genevieve slowed-down, on drugs and approaching coma-like state.

The weakest aspect of P aa opal Poere Pr. 33 lies in the lack of musical compo­sition. The album needs more highs to contrast the lows. Every­thing is muddy and washed-out. I’d like to hear more pieces highlighted — perhaps in a more epic fashion. The albums drags rather than building, climaxing and relief. “Aventine” offers the greatest stylistic departure on the album, filled with hollow wind-chime like keyboards (maybe? not sure) and overall eerie atmos­phere. So, you may ask yourself why I put it on here? Well, I have found myself listening to it a lot, perhaps, trying to discover more about the release. Overall, I find this to be a challenging piece of work and drasti­cally different to their ultra-minimal second release of the year, the 2-disc Atropine. Supposedly, as of December 2009 Velvet Cacoon is no more. Whatever, it’s probably bullshit. Either way, I’m glad we have another fine release from them. When Velvet Cacoon have been at their best, we have seen stunning atmos­pheric passages that may rival the most revered black metal releases ever. That in itself deserves praise.

Stand-out tracks include: 2, Claverie, Aventine, Oviamoire and Sovarine.

Listen to “Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog” from this record:

Wolves in the Throne Room have consis­tently delivered stellar black metal releases. This, being their third full-length release, finds them at a familiar place. They create some of the most forward-thinking, outstand­ingly refreshing black metal being produced today. Black Cascade is a welcomed addition. It does not carry the overwhelming surprise that came with Diadem of the Twelve Stars, nor have they re-written the book, so-to-speak. They have, however, put out one of the best black metal releases of the year, again.

While, over the past few years I have become enamored with isola­tionist black metal styling of Xasthur, Burzum and Coldworld; Wolves in the Throne Room have always stood out among the regular (more tradi­tional) BM acts because they can write fantastic riffs and truly epic pieces of music. While only carrying four 10+ minute songs, Black Cascade never feels boring. It lays out brilliant guitar riffs that rise and fall through vocal barrages and raging drums. The magic lies in artistry. The metic­ulous selection of peaks and valleys, the intric­ities, often Opeth-like in epicness and contrast. Wolves continue to surprise me with their consis­tency and can still throw in some surprises. After 2 solid follow-ups, I want something that blows me away like Diadem of the Twelve Stars did.

Stand-out tracks include: every single one — all 4 of them.

Listen to “Ce N’est Pas Bon” from this record:

This album was techni­cally released in 2008, but was not released in the United States until this year. I believe I first heard it in January, so I’ll include it as a 2009 release.

Amadou and Mariam have had a long career as brilliant musicians. Not only do they write incredible culturally-spanning music, they are both blind. Listening to Welcome to Mali takes me away to an almost utopian getaway and overwhelms me with positivity. Though they have been making music for decades, they made their biggest splash in the United States this year. I am grateful to have found their music and look forward to the next release.

Stand-out tracks include: Ce N’est Pas Bon, Je Te Kiffe, Africa and Welcome To Mali.

Listen to “Pop Goes The World” from this record:

I’ll make this one fairly short, since I did an initial review on the album earlier this year. The Gossip have refined their sound with this release. Some may say it’s more commercial and more polished — those are completely true. I find Music For Men to be flat-out catchy, memorable and each track makes you want to dance your ass off. They effort­lessly create melodic musical passages that appeal to a wide variety of people — gay or straight, male or female. They have the special gift of overall appeal — not to mention one hell of a singer in Beth Ditto.

I’ve listened to this release countless times since it’s release — often on repeat for a whole work day. It keeps me focused, motivated and is just plain fun. It is a fun album that just plain kicks ass.

Stand-out tracks include: Heavy Cross, 8th Won­der, Pop Goes The World and the title track Men In Love.

Listen to “Polar Nettles” from this record:

Years ago I just didn’t get what Neko Case was all about. I liked female vocals but couldn’t get past her country roots and the influence it had on her music. After re-listening to 2000’s incredible Furnace Room Lullaby release, I began the typical obsession to absorb every­thing she’s put out. From her work with the New Pornog­ra­phers to her most recent work at that time, the brilliant 2006 release Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. I finally under­stood why so many adored her work.

From the sultry, sexy, elegant and pitch-perfect soaring vocal perfor­mances to the unique interest in frogs, Neko Case is one hell of an artist. Middle Cyclone finds her at possibly her most intimate, from both a lyrical and production stand­point. Case had recently purchased a farm in Vermont. The farm had a barn on the property, which she ended up using as a recording studio for some of the album. The result offers a unique overall sound, especially the half hour closing track “Marais La Nuit”, appro­pri­ately titled, as it means “The Night Marsh”. The overall theme on Middle Cyclone is environ­mental in nature. She keeps up past themes of the disas­trous affect humans have on the wildlife population, as seen most profoundly on “People Got A Lotta Nerve”. She seems to have an affinity for tigers and/or big cats, especially.

The piano pieces also need to be pointed out on this release. “Polar Nettles” offers very unique string and piano/organ arrange­ments. It is delib­er­ately sparse in places, effec­tively highlighting Case’s unbelievable emotive range. It’s intimate and vulnerable, but always strong and assertive. She has a rare gift for delivery and storytelling.

Tip of the hat to Neko. If we have to wait another three years and get another album of this quality, well, I’ll be a happy guy.

Stand-out tracks include: This Tornado Loves You, The Next Time You Say Forever, Polar Nettles and Magpie To The Morning.

Listen to “Slaughter” from this record:

Meshell is one of those true tortured artist types. I have listened to her albums on and off over the past 10 years and always found something thought-provoking, vulnerable and unique about individual pieces scattered throughout. I have never fully appre­ciated a complete album from start to finish, until now.

Devil’s Halo is perfectly vulnerable and intimate. It’s greatest gift lies within the gentle and harsh. Each track is delicate and fragile. The general theme is as crush­ingly focused on relation­ships as ever. She explores her desires, failed relation­ships and emotional relief from the pain she’s held on to.

“Slaughter” is just that. Slow and intimate, crushing and harsh. The contrast of violent outbursts and subtle under-your-breath insults. “Tie One On” is an appeal to stay, hold on to love and togeth­erness. “Lola” is a more lively song about lack of contentment in relation­ships and how people move on. “Did you really think you were special”. There are sparse tracks like “Hair Of The Dog” that seem almost like drunken stupers, inter­ludes between relation­ships, a break to think about what has happened. “Mass Transit” is easily the most radio-friendly, which is why it makes such a great single. The riff is unfor­get­table and infec­tious. Her voice is, arguably, the most lively in this track as well. “Love You Down” is percussively-heavy, offering an almost funked-out slowdown.

Front-to-back this is a strong release from someone with a unique voice. Always the artist, the innov­ative type. I adore her artistry.

Stand-out tracks include: Tie One On, Mass Transit, Love You Down and Die Young.

Listen to “Island, Is” from this record:

Justin Vernon is a busy man on a mission. He has been all over the place for the better part of the last decade and has never slowed down. Bon Iver was one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in years — and still stands as one of my favorite albums in the last 10 years. Volcano Choir dives into his most progressive, challenging and innov­ative music to date. This album succeeds because of Vernon’s vocals and the musical collab­o­ration with the post-rockish, meandering Collec­tions of Colonies of Bees. It’s part post-rock, part Vernon’s signature sound and for the most part works very well.

Vernon will most likely continue his career with hundreds of projects, all different names, containing various members, spanning every known genre and then some. For some odd reason I am very comforted by that. My biggest hope is to hear something that blows me away as much as For Emma, Forever Ago.

Stand-out tracks include: Island, Is, Husks And Shells and Still.

Listen to “Les Ruches Malades” from this record:

This was one of the most talked about and antic­i­pated albums of 2009, at least within some of my music micro-communities. Amesoeurs were a French band that composed a mixture of black metal, shoegaze and post-rock struc­tures, with the brutal vocal stylings of Neige (of Alcest fame) and the haunting Audrey Sylvain. I can’t speak too much about the sorted history of this band, their personal issues or ultimately why this will be their only album. This albums succeeds through it’s unique ambition — it appeals to a fairly broad music base.The only drawback I see lies in the almost too-polished production. I’d like to hear this album with a bit more grit. “Les Ruches Malades” and much of the album remind me a bit of Klimt 1918’s album Undressed Momento in production and sound. The 4th track, “Recueillement”, has typical black metal vocals, however, they create a different atmos­phere through song structure and approach. I hear glimpses of Day Light Dies in this track especially — actually, all the heavier “metal vocal” tracks do. Overall, Amesoeurs is a very eclectic experience that works very well. I strongly hope they reconcile their issues and make more music.

Stand-out tracks include: Les Ruches Malades, Recueillement, I XIII V XIX XV V XXI XVIII XIX ˆ IX XIX ˆ IV V I IV and Faux Semblants.

Listen to “Casa Bey” from this record:

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

Mos Def has been, perhaps, the most signif­icant voice of thought-provoking, intel­ligent hip-hop in the last decade (maybe ever). As Black Star, along with friend and equally prolific emcee Talib Kweli, he cemented his legendary status. His instant-classic debut, 1999’s Black on Both Sides was unprece­dented and remains a flawless album. I truly miss the power­house that was Rawkus records. Through the years he has continued nurturing the hip-hop community through acting and his residency as the host of Def Jam Poetry. I wish I could say such kind things about his albums between Black on Both Sides and The Ecstatic, but I can’t. 2004’s highly antic­i­pated New Danger was a mess, filled with throw-away generic Black Jack Johnson session tracks and mediocre rap tracks that overall felt uninspired. 2006’s awful True Magic furthered the rumored Geffen (absorbed Mos’ contract after Rawkus collapsed) “label oblig­ation” trend. Mos just wasn’t feeling the whole music thing. At least, that is the conclusion I came to. Either that or he just couldn’t create what he wanted within the confines of hid contract and/or the parties involved.

So now it’s 2009 and we finally received the Mos Def album we waited for and hoped to hear in 2004. The album cover is no longer the typical portrait of Mos Def himself, it’s a screen still (with added red overlay) from Charles Burnett’s 1977 film Killer of Sheep. What we have here is a fantastic album from start to finish. The Ecstatic brings back the Mos flow and socially-conscious lyrics we’ve missed, and once again on top of stellar production. Mos has been steadily refining his singing voice and it shows. I’ve always liked the singing attempts on previous albums (“The Panties”, “Boogie Man”, “Rock and Roll”) and he succeeds through conviction — even when it’s kind of weird and awkward, like on “Worker’s Comp”. The Ecstatic as a title really says it all, Mos is Ecstatic through liberation.

I am excited about Mos Def again.

Stand-out tracks include: Auditorium, Priority, Quiet Dog Bite Hard and Casa Bey.

Listen to “Those Beaten Paths of Confusion” from this record:

Arizmenda have created a stunning and brilliantly-crafted atmos­pheric black metal album, the best Black Metal album of the year in fact. They also get my praise for best debut album of the year. Beginning with “Those Beaten Paths of Confusion” (which is an accurate title in itself), it builds, pummels and falls — it’s tortured, haunting, dark and hypnotic. Around about the four minute mark I knew I was listening to something refreshing and special. This is an album that craves headphones. I have a hard time coming up with descriptive words that cut to the core of atmos­pheric, depressive, dense and isola­tionist albums. You either get it or you don’t and as I stated earlier, it took me a very long time to under­stand and appre­ciate albums like this. Black Metal is not unlike any other genre, you have your more obscure albums that push conven­tions and the genre forward, and you have the ones that simply exist to fulfill the given genre label. Arizmenda is luckily the former and this is the kind of album I search for constantly. It is epic in nature, bold and forceful where it needs to be and offers the perfect balance of breathing space — necessary to any composition.

Arizmenda have given me countless hours of eargasms and I look forward to coming back again and again. I really can’t further elaborate my admiration for this genius piece of work, so I’ll leave it alone and keep listening to it instead.

Stand-out tracks include: At only five songs, just listen to the whole damn thing.

Listen to “Onward Into Battle” from this record:

Katatonia have defined a style of their own. Every time they release a new album I get excited, listen to it and sometimes forget about it completely. Then the winter comes and it finds me again. Then it won’t leave me alone for months — always the perfect sound­track to aid any hint of seasonal depression. Over the past 15+ years they have perfected a unique, unmatched sound. The unique production style, Renske’s depres­sively haunting vocals, Nyström’s unpar­al­leled guitar crafts­manship and a few like-minded musicians to fill in the rest. Their production and compo­sition have always been fasci­nating in themselves. At the core, Katatonia have conformed to a more conven­tional song structure than fellow Swedes and friends Opeth, but they have done so with grace. Their songs are deceiv­ingly complex. At the surface lay brilliant melodies and song arrange­ments, backing unique and varying vocals. When you dig further and start examining each piece, well, that’s where Katatonia really become something special.

Night is the New Day is simply a solid album. It is, dare I say, the most refined and inter­esting album Katatonia have released. I believe the addition of more pronounced keyboards has completely changed the density and complexity of each compo­sition — while coming across as effortless almost over-produced pieces. Renske’s vocals have never been more perfectly aimed, refined and jaw-droppingly appro­priate. His voice has become the perfect instrument to accent a perfectly struc­tured canvas. Every single song stands out on it’s own and flows effort­lessly as an entire piece. There is also an under­lying urgency to each song.

“Forsaker” holds crushing drum passages, brilliantly executed keyboards and an overall stellar vocal perfor­mance. “The Longest Year” is insanely catchy and again, Renske’s vocal dynamics are insane. Katatonia have never been known for outstanding lyrics. Their lyrical content is usually comprised of emotional language, feelings and words themselves — rather than holding any consistent conscious stream or telling a story. However abstract or nonsen­sical they may be, they fit the music brilliantly. “Idle Blood” changes things up a bit with some acoustics and more down-tempo instru­men­tation. This highlights Renske’s outstanding vocals, yet again. This is perhaps the most Åkerfeldt-like track, as I could easily see the vocals being sung by Mikael Åkerfeldt. Actually, it is the most Opeth-like song I’ve heard from Katatonia — well, aside from Brave Murder Day, obviously. “Onward Into Battle” instantly draws you in as it builds and propels forward. The chorus is insanely infec­tious and catchy. This song plays off a few abrupt tempo changes, which come across effortlessly.

“Liber­ation” is a more typical Katatonia song, reminiscent of Last Fair Deal Gone Down or The Great Cold Distance. “The Promise of Deceit” highlights the keyboards as an overar­ching atmos­phere and background element. Once again a few abrupt tempo changes, empha­sized by Renske’s vocals. “Nephilim” is vulnerable and slow. Again, this track really highlights Renske’s more instru­mental vocal approach. No one can sing a song like Renske. Also, I’m not sure who supplies backing-vocals on this track but they are executed well. “New Night” holds the more typical Katatonia sound and furthers the under­lying feeling of urgency. “Inher­i­tance” is eerie and slow, and once again really highlights Renske’s unique vocal approach. Seriously, who changes up their vocals like he does? Each passage becomes uniquely empha­sized through vocal inflec­tions, to an absolutely fasci­nating degree.

“Day and Then the Shade” is like a final moment of clarity and freedom before the albums close. It holds a sense of immediacy — again with the urgency senti­ments. “Departer” is the most haunting and vulnerable track I’ve heard from Katatonia. It is extremely delicate, each vocal passage is delivered ever-so-cautiously. The almost charac­ter­is­ti­cally delicate vocals of Krister Linder give this track added interest and depth — though even more delicate than usual. This is one of the best album closing track I’ve heard in years.

So there you have it, my long-winded track-by-track commentary. I say this after every release but seriously, Katatonia I hope to hear a new album for Winter 2012’s soundtrack.

Stand-out tracks include: Forsaker, Onward Into Battle, Inher­i­tance and Departer.

Listen to “Another World” from this record:

Antony Hegarty could easily be described as one of the most gifted musicians living and creating music today. Not only is he, arguably, the best male vocalist alive today, he writes stunning compo­si­tions. He may be a towering human in physical form, but he is a delicately beautiful person — often seen as a “gentle giant”. Admit­tedly, he is not for everyone and is often off-putting to folks I try to initiate and expose him to. Not to mention those who aren’t comfortable with their sexuality. Watching Antony sing is one of the most haunt­ingly real testa­ments to the beauty of the human race I have ever witnessed. He person­ifies every­thing I love, neigh, adore and obsess, about music. He is why I become so enamored and immersed, why I lament over coming up with 15 favorite albums every year. Antony is among the rare breed of talent, passion and conviction. He is why I hate every­thing about mainstream music — rather, music devoid of passion, innovation and conviction.

The Crying Light is nothing short of brilliant. Each compo­sition comes to life, as an organic piece that grows with every listen. In lyrical content it appeals more to an audience than as a personal journey (I am A Bird Now). The content often revolves around nature, animals and our future on this planet. Also a strong theme of Antony finding his purpose in the world. Lyrically, he takes inspi­ration from the Japanese art of butoh dancing.

The Crying Light is far more “full of sound” than 2006’s master­piece I am a Bird Now. It is not as delicate and personal but retains Antony’s intimate under­standing of compo­sition and structure. He succeeds in volumes through the little intric­ities scattered throughout the album. Her Eyes Are Under­neath the Ground is a fairly macabre ballad about death, being buried and it comes across as personal — an event holding profound impact in his life. Epilepsy is Dancing is a spiraling whirlwind comprised of beautiful string arrange­ments and a shining example of Antony’s vocal range. The layering vocals entrance and pull you into the song. Another World appears here (from the 2008 EP of the same name) and remains one of my favorite songs he’s written — truly one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Daylight and the Sun is another plea for our earth and life as we know it. Antony writes with a haunting sense of fatality and fear of death. This is one of the reasons I adore his work so much. It is beauti­fully human, outstand­ingly fragile and devas­tat­ingly real. Aeon starts out with a beautiful piano and string arrangement, which quickly morphs into an electric guitar ballad. It steadily rises and fades. Dust and Water is the most sparse track on the album, as the backing atmos­phere merely resonates low-key hums. It effec­tively puts Antony’s vocals on display. Everglade is a strong closing track that again, steadily builds and falls.

I highly recommend you find Antony if you haven’t already. Everyone needs someone like him in their music collection.

Stand-out tracks include: Epilepsy is Dancing, Another World, Daylight and the Sun and Her Eyes Are Under­neath the Ground.

Listen to “Let It Rattle” from this record:

Shortly after it’s release earlier this year I wrote an initial impres­sions review of Never Better. I was never happy with it but chose to save any additional thought or refinement until the end of the year. As you can see my opinion of the album hasn’t changed, even after almost a full year. P.O.S success­fully outdid himself and that is no easy feat. More so than all my Doomtree fan-boyisms, Never Better deserves to be my pick for album of the year. I definitely listened to it more than anything else released this year. I typically measure my favorite albums and their subse­quent ranking on the list by how much I listened to them throughout the year. Never Better was listened to almost non-stop for the first 5 months of the year. Admit­tedly, I have not been listening to it much over the past few months, as new albums have been intro­duced to my thirsty brain. As I write this I am listening to the whole album all the way through for the first time in several months.

While nothing Stef records may ever impact me as much as 2004’s Ipecac Neat, I give him infinite praise for innovation and refining the hell out of what he creates. He has surpassed any other hip-hop artist to come out of Minnesota — in my mind at least.

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Other Notable 2009 releases

Miike Snow — S/T

I really love this record and it was hard to not include in the top 15. In retro­spect I probably could have squeezed-out an album for this.

Dirty Projectors — Bitte Orca

The same can be said for this one too. Absolutely stellar release that I listen to daily, currently.

Brother Ali — Us

This might be one of my biggest disap­point­ments of the year. I want to adore Ali. His voice is commanding, he has charisma and he crafts sometimes brilliant, thought-provoking songs. Unfor­tu­nately, since Shadows on the Sun those moments of brilliance have been mere glimpses, when I’ve wanted an eclipse.

Doomtree — False Hopes XV

While not an album, this EP is still worth many listens. This definitely exhibits Sims, Dessa and Mictlan in full force and in top form. I personally don’t care for some of the hooks, but for the most part the verses are solid.

Felt 3 — Tribute To Rosie Perez

This is possibly the best Felt release in the series. Unfor­tu­nately I’ve never found substance in any release. Even with Aesop Rock’s stellar production, I couldn’t find a place for this in the best of the year.

Eagle Twin — The Unkindness Of Crows

A massive sludge-fest of music fuckery. Yes, I said fuckery. This is one grimy-ass album full of 70’s grangely-ass dumps.

Imogen Heap — Eclipse

While I adore Imogen in brief intervals I’ve found a whole album too much to take. She has something special but it’s just not quite there…I guess?

Jeremy Enigk — OK Bear

Very solid album and I can’t really say anything bad about it. Sidenote: Mad props to Jimmy Fallon for the Sunny Day Real Estate reunion that took place this year — amazing!

Korouva — Sleepwalker

Good album, I feel sleepy.

Lushlife — Cassette City

Awesome production and some quality rhymes.

Patrick Wolf — The Bachelor

Pretty solid album that I listened to quite a bit.

St. Vincent — Actor

A nice sophomore release and I plan on listening to it more this year.

Sunn O))) — Monoliths & Dimensions

Awesome, not for everyday consumption. Massive and dense.

Tiny Vipors — Life on Earth

Recom­mended listening.

K’naan — Troubadour

I listened to this album a lot this year and I still really dig it. I admire what he has done and where he has come from. This is an excellent follow-up to The Dusty Foot Philosopher. Also, Kirk Hammett.…what!

Metric — Fantasies

One of the best singles of the year “Help I’m Alive”, too bad the rest didn’t match up.

Bat For Lashes — Two Suns

Kate Bush and Tori Amos had glorious sex. Tori’s testicular fortitude dominated their co-egg and birthed Natasha Khan. This album may grow on me more this year. It’s good but not quite digestible in one sitting.

Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest

Good album, not great.

Raekwon — Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II

Yes! Awesome sauce.

Doom — Born Like This

Pretty decent record. I’m kind of sick of MF Doom and his ridicu­lousness — though his talent is stunning. My opinion of him changed quite a bit after seeing him “perform” live at Soundset 2009. What a boring anticli­mactic mess.

Passion Pit — Manners

Solid album, just plain fun.

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There you have it, my favorites and then some.

As always, thank you for reading and please share your favorite albums of 2009.