In Review – My Top Albums of 2009

I figured I may as well jump on the list bandwagon. Everyone who knows me well, knows music is my “thing”, so I’ve done a lot of listening this year. It’s a tough decision limiting myself to this year as it omits more recent discoveries such as Deer Tick’s  “War Elephant” and Delta Spirit’s “Ode to Sunshine” but hey, it’s my blog and I can make more lists, in fact I feel some coming on already…

U2 – No Line on the Horizon: I admit I am ridiculously biased as U2 are my favorite band but I think I’m just one person among quite a few that thought this was a pretty fantastic little album. It’s got a sort of energy I haven’t felt in the last few albums. Mind you I do say this with some guilt as I am an avid, dedicated U2 fan (lost my voice for two days after the last concert) but there is some extra spark here that takes them a little higher. There’s also some real optimism woven into these songs.

Karen O and the kids: Karen O is a much more recognizable figure as the lead singer of indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but her dynamic presence lets her move effortlessly into different incarnations of songwriter. This album was the soundtrack for the recent film re-imagining of Where The Wild Things Are and does actually feature children’s voices, but the mix of youthful energy and bittersweet sadness ultimately results in an album of children songs every adult can identify with.

Rocco Deluca and the Burden – Mercy: Rocco Deluca and his band have the interesting and somewhat bizarre distinction of being promoted by actor Keither Sutherland. Almost in spite of this, the band manages to keep things gritty on their second album. Like their first, this album suffers from a few unexciting inclusions but when Deluca nails it, he really nails it. Check out the track “Save Yourself” to see what I mean…

Fiction Family – Fiction Family: This one is arguably my favorite album of the year. I’ve listened to it over and over again. The combo of Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins is so auditorally satisfying. There are some bizarre musical intros and outros that don’t suit the collective atmosphere created by the music, but overall, this is the perfect little album.

Swell Season – Strict Joy: Most listeners will be most familiar with Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard from their roles in the movie “Once”. Swell Season was the real musical pairing that came into being after the film was made. Widely noted was how real life imitated art – the two musicians started as lovers and ended as friends. This album is a diary of sorts documenting the twists and turns in their personal relationship. It can be heartbreaking at times to listen to, but honesty can be powerful

Avett Brothers – I and Love and You. This album is deceptively simple and sweet with lots of life learning thrown in for good measure. The instrumentation on this album is beautiful – layered full sounding arrangements  paired with sparsity at the right moments. The songs also further thrive from their strong lyrics. Definitely not one to miss.

Mute Math – Armistice. The interesting problem with Mute Math is their recorded albums are excellent, but can’t even touch their live performances. So I’m more of an advocate of their performance of this album than the album itself. As usual, the band creates a new batch of songs that are overall alluring, not the least due to the their ability to bring in a lush layering of sounds in new and innovative ways.

Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew. Hannigan was the beautiful haunting voice that brought an extra layer of power to Damien Rice’s albums. Hannigan however has struck out on her own and  succeeds with an album full of a surprisingly different sort of songs that takes the listener to unexpected places.

A Fine Frenzy – Bomb in a Birdcage: A Fine Frenzy is really a grandiose name for one Alison Sudol, the creative force behind A Fine Frenzy. Her first album was lavish and beautiful but on this sophomore effort, the beauty is also joined by a sense of fun and playfulness

There was a lot of  excellent albums put out this year I just didn’t get to listen to enough but warrant some honorable mention:

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

Various Artists – Dark Was the Night

Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, David Lynch – Dark Night of the Soul

Mute Math Acoustic

Two great Mute Math acoustic performances to follow-up my last post:

 

Mute Math, As Tall As Lions – House of Blues Armistice Tour 2009

Last Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 As Tall As Lions took the stage to open up for Mute Math.

I wasn’t familiar with them, but I ran into a friend at HOB (House of Blues) who had come just for them, which is always a great sign. My friend also told me that the lead singer had a polyp or something else equally uncomfortable going on with vocal chords recently. Luckily, we seemed to catch the band in full recovery. Their sound is really lush, with really pleasant vocals and the addition of horns on many of the songs. There doesn’t seem to be any videos posted from the performance I saw, but this clip of their song “Go Easy” from the Luxury Wafers Sessions should give you the idea:

The Mute Math part of the show was just indescribable. I’ve seen them four times and they’re definitely in my top five for live shows (and I’ve seen quite alot of shows…). There is this halo of unbelievable energy surrounding their performances. In terms of their sound, they remind me of a sort of cross between the police and radiohead. Their albums are really pleasant to listen to but the music requires the live experience to breathe a real life into it. Paul, the lead singer, is generally hopping around stage and jumping on top of his piano to play keytar. Darren is a fast drummer; so fast, he tapes his headphones around his head with duct tape to keep them from flying off. The band effortlessly switches instruments with one another during portions of the show and produces intensely rhythmic sonic moments. Instruments have been broken and concussions have been incurred during some of their shows. The most rock-n-roll moment of the evening was when Darren beckoned the crowd close, sturdily set his bass drum on top of their eager hands, stood on top of the drum (with some looks of concern from both the crowd and the band members on stage), and dove into awaiting arms to crowd surf. Very, very, cool…

 

Here’s a few clips from the Boston show. Sound is reasonable, and shaking on the videos are minimal. :

Partial Clip of “control”:

“Plan B”:

“Spotlight”, the end is indicative of the energy of their shows:

“Clipping”:

Alway’s their closer, “Reset”, they let the crowd play this funky homemade sort of instrument: