Top 30 Albums of 2009: Part Three (10-1)
by Jonathan Doyle, Neil Karassik and Ken Stuebing
10. Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
Black Mountain chief Stephen McBean rocks no less feedback in this side-project, but Outside Love's an accomplished, decidedly feel-good album, a reprieve from Black Mountain's usual assault. Some of the tunes could even work as wedding songs. McBean's in fine voice, offering a hip drawl similar in style to Beck, but it's his Lee-and-Nancy-style duets with Jesse Sykes and kick-ass singer Amber Webber that truly elevate this record. Ms. Webber continues to be this troupe's secret weapon and, if you like Black Mountain/Pink Mountaintops, don't forget to check out Lightning Dust. Incidentally, I tend to snicker a little since someone tipped me off that the band's name is code for nipples. -- KS
9. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
On 2006’s shapeless I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, Yo La Tengo seemed like they were losing control of the album form. That album included many quality songs, but it felt confused and never really gelled as a whole. How appropriate, then, that this captivating return-to-form works first and foremost as an experiment in album structure. The first LP is true to the record’s title, consisting of nine diverse, catchy and compact Yo La Tengo tracks, but the album’s real triumph is the epic triple bill that makes up LP two. In these thirty-six-plus minutes, YLT goes on a pilgrimage through sixties and seventies rock -- from Led Zeppelin to Brian Eno -- emerging on the other side with one of the most memorable and coherent albums of their career. -- JD
8. Atlas Sound - Logos
Like a stunningly photographed horror film, Bradford Cox’s music is at once frightening and beautiful. His solo project, Atlas Sound, sounds a lot like his work with Deerhunter, but its slightly more stripped-down vibe augments the raw spirit at the center of his oeuvre. On Atlas Sound’s sophomore effort, Cox's songs rival some of his best Deerhunter material. One thing Cox has that many other indie rock innovators lack is his steady balance of experimental sounds and appealing melodies. His (frequently improvised) lyrics are drowned-out by feedback and he often incorporates long stretches of ambient noise, but there is focus behind these stark, insular songs. Logos is an intellectual hallucination unlike anything you’ve heard before, further proof that Cox is one of the most impressive musical talents to emerge over the last decade. -- NK
7. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Sixteen albums into their career -- give or take a few experimental records -- Sonic Youth continues to be taken-for-granted by critics, who were unfairly muted in their praise for the band's return to indiedom. You won’t find this release on many best-of-the-year lists, which is dumbfounding considering how palatable (but never conventional) The Eternal really is. Sonic Youth scales-back on some of their more experimental urges, but they still incorporate everything that places them among the foremost art-rockers of the past three decades. Since 2002’s immaculate Murray Street, Sonic Youth has been on a roll and The Eternal is the culmination of the most impressive decade in this incredible band's epic career. -- NK
6. Girls - Album
Setting aside the band's fascinating backstory for a moment -- not to mention that strange band name -- this album is a fantastic slice of pop rock. There's so much warmth on this quirky debut, exhibiting talent and energy to spare. The songwriting is confident, yet the band has a deliberately fragile sound. These are tales for young people, earnest tributes to the childlike playfulness that life is supposed to give. Considering how impossibly catchy Girls' songs are, I can't shake the similarities to The Apples in Stereo. Such a comparison is not drawn lightly, but as a high compliment. I can't wait to see what these boys do next. -- KS
5. Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
My personal favorite of 2009 is the Akrons' masterpiece. You could say this is their Hail to the Thief, a culminating synthesis or template for all that their particular brand has to offer. These melodies are all Beatles, but their execution is all bombastic Led Zeppelin gone apeshit. As a double LP, it actually works in four distinct, uniquely purposeful slices of rock (a la Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti). Highlights include: 1) lead-off track "Everyone is Guilty," a funky statement of intent, 2) "River," a lilting love song and 3) "Gravelly Mountains of the Moon," a phenomenally dramatic, progged-out finish to the pretty acoustic second side. I can't help chant-singing along with abandon, even though I have no idea what these guys are chant-singing about. For the most thrilling, killer rock hooks of the year, look no further. -- KS
4. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
How much darker can this horse get? Just as everyone's year-end lists were being finalized, BAM!, The Flaming Lips release a career-defining space-rock opus that touches on all of their defining triumphs from Priest Driven Ambulance through Yoshimi. Embryonic's greatness lies not just in its epic collection of endearing prog-rock jams, but in the breadth of distinctly Flaming Lips sounds that are present throughout this, one of 2009's brightest sensations. In fairness, this may not be everyone's cup of tea -- the songs are largely based on spare riffs or fractured rock grooves -- but make no mistake, if you're a fan of seventies prog (ie. Gong, Pink Floyd) or otherwise enjoy a little space adventure with your hi-fi, this tour-de-force is a formidable soundtrack for your travels. -- KS
3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
The French electro pop rockers’ fourth English language album finally earned them the international attention they so clearly craved and deserved. Toe-tapping chart-toppers like “Lisztomania” and “1901” were essential to this success, but Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is more than just a collection of dance-inducing party-starters. It also features some of the year’s most inventive, richly-textured tracks. How impressive that, rather than water-down their sound, Phoenix managed to win-over mainstream listeners by simply enhancing their unequivocally retro pop style. Providing delectable ear candy in just about any context, this is the year’s most agreeable album for any age bracket or music palette, from teenage girls to middle-aged rock snobs. Whatever your tastes, its hard to argue with one simple fact: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is impossibly infectious from start to finish. -- NK
2. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
First impressions of Brooklyn collective Dirty Projectors’ latest-and-greatest might not do justice to this ambitious band's undeniable skill. But after getting acquainted with the band's jarring, difficult sound, what initially seems atonal emerges as something surprisingly melodic and harmoniously eloquent. It also helps that Bitte Orca is easily the band’s most accessible effort and a terrific ice-breaker before cranking into their intriguing back catalogue (which includes Rise Above, a bonkers, interpretive cover of Black Flag’s Damaged in its entirety). This was the year’s ultimate summer anthem record and it still hits the spot six months later. There were only two things in 2009 that were better than Bitte Orca: hearing it live... and the final album on this list. -- NK
1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective has always walked a fine-line between experimental, alien tendencies and more earthbound pleasures. With the monumental Merriweather Post Pavilion, they finally found just the right balance, which surprisingly did little to alienate those who prefer their wilder side. Truth is, Animal Collective’s more “accessible” sound makes better use of their experimental impulses, giving this side of their personality a greater sense of purpose than ever before. Sure, the rougher edges that made Sung Tongs, Feels and (especially) Strawberry Jam so fascinating are missed, but it’s a fair trade-off. In their place, we get Animal Collective’s most unified and thrilling record to date, that rare album that instantly earns its place in the pantheon of crucial, era-defining albums, alongside similarly accessible acts of musical space exploration by Radiohead (Kid A) and Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon). It’s hard to imagine where these constantly evolving master innovators will go next, but their late-year EP, Fall Be Kind, proves they’re feeling hungrier and more adventurous than ever before. Merriweather Post Pavilion is a tough act to follow, but something tells me Animal Collective will figure it out. -- JD
