Best of 2009: Top 30 albums

Contrary to popular belief, the full-length album format is not in agony, at least considering the amount of quite-good releases during 2009, so much so that I actually had some difficulty in shrinking this list to just 30 entries. Again, there was a general lack of categorizations, which is something expectable in an age when almost every music ever made is easily accessible to everyone. Thus the only tendency is actually having no preconceptions towards all kinds of music styles. Really all kinds.

30. Oneida - Rated O (review)
29. Rihanna - Rated R (review)
28. Jeremy Jay - Slow Dance (review)
27. Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor (review)
26. Girls - Album (review)
25. Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Songs From The Beehive (review)
24. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport (review)
23. Grammatics - Grammatics (review)
22. Japandroids - Post-Nothing (review)
21. Theophilus London - This Charming Mixtape (review)
20. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms (review)
19. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (review)
18. Fever Ray - Fever Ray (review)
17. Drake - So Far Gone mixtape (review)
16. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (review)
15. The xx - xx (review)
14. Muse - The Resistance (review)
13. Discovery - LP (review)
12. Frankmusik - Complete Me (review)
11. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic (review)
10. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young (review)
9. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (review)
8. frYars - Dark Young Hearts (review)
7. The-Dream - Love vs. Money (review)
6. Passion Pit - Manners (review)

5. Zomby - Where Were U In '92?



For a few moments, Zomby freezed his natural evolution inside dubstep codes and invented a parallel universe that brought us back to a very specific period in time (1992). Sounding like a lost rave classic loaded with infectious drum'n'bass beats, we didn't know if this was a nod to the past or a sign of the future to come. It didn't matter anyway: everything sounded so damm powerful that it was impossible to stand still, as if there was no tomorrow.

Zomby - Tears In The Rain (mp3 via Neonized)



(review)


4. Erik Hassle - Hassle



Let's be honest in here, there's a bit of a boy-band member in Erik Hassle: the clean production, the ultra catchy melodies... And let's be even more honest: there's also a lot of emo in Erik Hassle: the recurrent topics about falling in love and being in pain because of that. But there's also something unique which takes his universe much (much) higher: his sincerity, so big that it ends up melting even the coldest heart. This is perfect pop music with no shame to touch us, and all the better for it.

Erik Hassle - Bitter End (mp3)



(review)


3. jj - Nº 2



The 2009 summer soundtrack of a few people including myself, there is a lightness in these songs that ends up being almost ethereal. Whispered melodies, subliminal influences (techno, house, balearic, hip-hop, folk) and a sense of intimacy as if we were enjoying a private beach party with only our closest friends. To top it all, there's also that sweet melancholy which seems an exclusive attribute of Sweden's best music.

jj - Ecstasy (mp3 via Abeano Music)



(review)


2. Jamie T - Kings & Queens



An amazing collection of contagious songs, all of them sounding like life-changing anthems, that is what Jamie has achieved with his sophomore album. In a constant state of emergency, Kings & Queens is a full-speed journey into the world of someone like us, a guy with whom we can totally identify with, all supported by the biggest amount of sonic and lyrical hooks per minute that we've seen this year.

Jamie T - Spider's Web (mp3 via AWmusic.ca)



(review)


1. The Horrors - Primary Colours



With their second album, The Horrors let some light in their universe, which until then was a very dark and closed one... and we all had a win with that. External influences were also broaden to unusual styles like krautrock, motorik rhythms or, yes, sixties pop, to enrich even further their ambitious psychedelic vision. And then there were the songs themselves, with a new found melodic sense that was a surprising but very welcome new element.



(review)

Jamie T - Kings & Queens

Talk about living in a constant state of emergency... everything in Kings & Queens, the second album from 23-year-old south-Londoner Jamie Treays, makes me believe that yes, this guy lives life at full speed and you bet he does it with a smile. And even when not taking things too seriously (which he doesn't), his songs exude a sense of vitality that sounds too damm contagious to become indifferent. Starting things the most charming way possible, a voice repeats "He's three hundred / three hundred and sixty eight"... which, for a fact, is the amount of beer needed to reach inebriation. And from here on, the party never stops, with each song sounding like a gigantic anthem on its own, touching everything from punk to hip-hop to folk and including a multitude of textures and layers of addictive sounds. Hook after kook, we're taken into a travel narrated by a real-life guy with a big will to tell us some amazing stories. And at the same time, he's also guiding us through a roller coaster that goes from one so-damm-catchy chorus to another, while never abandoning a witty sense of humour and cockney attitude that we've seen in The Streets' best days. The fact that everything seems like a highpoint is not to be overlooked. This really feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, at least when it matters most, i.e. right now. Talk about living the moment... (9/10)

Jamie T - The Man's Machine (video)



www.jamie-t.com
www.myspace.com/jamietwimbledon

Music Videos # 44

Jamie T - Calm Down Dearest



Speaking of Jamie T songs that can save a day, here's one of them with the corresponding video. Very low-budget, of course, a guy has to keep his attitude.

Jamie T - Panic Prevention

Like Plan B last year, here's the most recent english candidate for spokesperson of the younger generations. Musically he's not so futuristic as Plan B, preferring to insert more traditional genres like folk, blues, reggae or rockabilly in his raw pop vision, but the way he mixes all his references is intriguing, to say the least. And then there's his voice, half-singing-half-rapping, with a very british I-don't-give-a-fuck insolent accent and his tales of decadence, rudeness, urban poetry, humour, daily routine, drunkeness, London pubs and sex, using words as weapons of mass destruction. And, in case you don't identify with his attitude, at least you have to admire the fierceness of it all (there are not many albums starting with the words "fucking croissant!" shouted loud, right?). Truth to be told, somewhere in the middle the album seems to slightly lose its otherwise strong inspiration and can get a bit tiring to listen to if you're not in the right mood, but those are small details, as "Panic Prevention" does have some moments that are pure genius. My personal vote goes to "Salvador", "If You Got The Money", "Alicia Quays" and the uber-catchy "Calm Down Dearest", songs of the sort that can save a day. (7,5/10)