Tara

albums

Fever Ray Fever Ray
Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
Blackout Beach Skin of Evil
Pains of Being Pure At Heart Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Tim Hecker An Imaginary Country
Azeda Booth Tubtrek [EP]
Chet Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home
Wild Beasts Two Dancers
Espers III
Hildur Guðnadóttir Without Sinking
Wolves In the Throne Room Black Cascade [EP]
Fuck Buttons Tarot Sport
Taken By Trees East of Eden
Shogun Kunitoki Vinonaamakasio

anthemic tracks

Yeasayer “Ambling Alp” from Ambling Alp [12”]
Wild Beasts “All The Kings Men” from Two Dancers
Blk Jks “Lakeside” from Mystery [EP]
Balacade “Partitions” from Pocket Escapes
Bat For Lashes “Glass” from Two Suns
Fever Ray “If I Had a Heart (Fuck Buttons Remix)” from If I Had A Heart [7”]
Flaming Lips “Convinced Of The Hex/Watch The Planets” from Embryonic
Pink Mountaintops “Execution” from Outside Love
jj “Masterplan” from jj n° 2

appealing palettes

Tiny Vipers Life on Earth
Moderat Moderat
Mt. Eerie Wind’s Poem
Blues Control Local Flavour [EP]
Nadja Radiance of Shadows
Cass McCombs Catacombs
Dreamboat Fun Fools [EP]
A Sunny Day In Glasgow Ashes Grammar

past embellishments

Arthur Russell World of Echo, Springfield and Love Is Overtaking Me
Nick Cave Henry’s Dream, Lyre of Orpheus/Abbatoir Blues and The Good Son
Orchestral Manoueuvres In the Dark Dazzle Ships
Arvo Pärt Alina

early UK folk:
… Vashti Bunyan
… Shirley Collins
… Pentangle
… Fairport Convention

biggest letdown

Daniel Rossen taking to Grizzly Bear’s frontlines while Ed Droste… drank coffee?
Fuck Buttons “Lisbon Maru” equating to Sweet Love for Planet Earth, v.2.
The contagious spread of lo-fi chic.

gracious (vinyl) re-issues

The Feelies Crazy Rhythms and Good Earth
Kraftwerk Autobahn, Tour De France…
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
Galaxie 500 On Fire, Today and This Is Our Music

most epic live musical experience

Philip Glass at Theatre Royal Norwich, May 15/09

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Craig’s List

top 5 new releases of 2009

Antony & The Johnsons The Crying Light
Blackout Beach Skin of Evil
Chet Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home
Sunset Rubdown Dragonslayer
Swan Lake Enemy Mine

top 5 vinyl reissues of 2009

Death For the Whole World To See
Faust IV
Faust So Far
Raincoats S/T
Robert Wyatt Rock Bottom

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Kellen

top 10 albums of 2009

1. Grizzly Bear Veckatimest
2. The Flaming Lips Embryonic
3. Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
4. Animal Collective Merriwether Post Pavillion
5. Fever Ray Fever Ray
6. Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
7. Pains of Being Pure at Heart Pains of Being Pure at Heart
8. Neon Indian Psychic Chasms
9. Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca
10. Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career

honourable mentions

Mr. Oizo Lambs Anger
Girls Album
Atlas Sound Logos
Blackout Beach Skin of Evil
Lonely Island Incredibad
Handsome Furs Face Control
Julian Casablacas Phrazes For The Young
Thom Yorke Hollow Earth [12”]
Doom Born Into This
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis White Lunar
Moderat Moderat
Pink Mountaintops Outside Love
Various Five Years of Hyperdub
Modest Mouse No One’s First & You’re Next
Wale Attention Deficit
Lightning Dust Infinite Light
Chet Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home
Antlers Hospice
Cave Singers Welcome Joy
Zombi Spirit Animal
Sonic Youth The Eternal
The xx xx
Fuck Buttons Tarot Sport

top ten gigs of 2009

1. Leonard Cohen at Save On Foods Memorial Arena
2. Grizzly Bear & Foreign Born at Commodore
3. Animal Collective at Commodore
4. Flying Lotus at Element
5. Beach House (Rifflandia 2009) at Sugar
6. The Killers at Save On Foods Memorial Arena
7. Holy Fuck & Donkeydong (Rifflandia 2009) at Element
8. Frog Eyes & Immaculate Machine (CFUV 25th anniversary) at Element
9. Joel Plaskett & Friends at Alex Gooldin Hall
10. Anti-Pop Consortium & Truth Becomes Audio at Lucky

top 10 boxsets/reissues

1. Big Star Keep An Eye On The Sky (Box)
2. Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (Box)
3. The Feelies Crazy Rhythms & The Good Earth (vinyl reissues)
4. The Vaselines Enter The Vaselines
5. V/A Factory Records: Communications
6. The Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique (20th ann.)
7. The Stone Roses S/T (20th ann.)
8. R.E.M Reckoning
9. Simon & Garfunkel Live 1969
10. The Raincoats S/T (vinyl reissue)

top 5 TV shows of 2009

1. Mad Men
2. Curb Your Enthusiasm
3. East Bound & Down
4. True Blood
5. 30 Rock

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Longshanks

read about Chris’ reflections on DJing in 2009 here
download his 2009 round-up DJ mix here

albums I enjoyed to the most in 2009

Tortoise Beacons Of Ancestorship (the absolute champ)

Grizzly Bear Veckatimest
Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca
Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
Elephant Island Don’t Say You Don’t know What You Want
The xx xx
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Bad Plus For All I Care
Anti-Pop Consortium Fluorescent Black

electronic albums that held my attention

Hudson Mohawke Butter
alva noto Xerrox Vol. 1 & 2
FaltyDL Love Is A Liability
Modeselektor Body Language 8
Shackleton Three EPs
Dam-Funk Toeachizown
Martyn Great Lengths
Various 5 Years Of Hyperdub

albums I wish more people would have listened to in 2009

Sa-Ra Creative Partners Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love
Mountains Choral
Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics Inspiration Information

tunes that got stuck in the head

Rain Machine “Give Blood” from Rain Machine
Dirty Projectors “Stillness Is The Move” from Bitte Orca
La Roux “Bulletproof” from La Roux
Hudson Mohawke “FUSE” from Butter
Wild Beasts “All The King’s Men” from Two Dancers

entities that irritated

Passion Pit
Miike Snow

2008 releases that are still getting love

Flying Lotus Los Angeles & L.A.X3 EPs
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! & Grinderman
Gang Gang Dance Saint Dymphna

older albums that connected more than most 2009 releases

Nick Cave The Good Son, The Boatman’s Call & No More Shall We Part
Bert Jansch Jack Orion & Black Swan
Robert Wyatt Old Rottenhat, Rock Bottom & Shleep
Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Uhm, Pithecanthropus Erectus & Blues & Roots
Ornette Coleman Ornette! & The Shape Of Jazz To Come

live revelations

The Bad Plus at Alix Goolden Hall
Flying Lotus at Element
Skream & Hrdvsion at Element
Anti-Pop Consortium at Lucky Bar
Nadja & Shearing Pinx at Open Space

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JR

most listened to

Nick Cave (mid & late)
Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 Box
Beg, Scream & Shout!: The Big Ol’ Box Of 60’s Soul
Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977
Cardigans (later albums)
Aretha Franklin
Fleetwood Mac (Green to Buckingham)
Otis Redding
Townes Van Zandt
Elliot Murphy
Jason Molina
Carole King Tapestry
Moody Blues, Rush, ABBA, April Wine
Linda & Richard Thompson

albums I liked that came out this year

A Camp Colonia
Blackout Beach Skin Of Evil
Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis White Lunar
Cave Singers Welcome Joy
Chet Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home
Fever Ray Fever Ray
Jon-Ray Fletcher Oh, Maria
Handsome Furs Face Control
Iron & Wine Around The Well
jj No. 2
Kings Of Convenience Declaration Of Dependence
Lightning Dust Infinite Light
Ida Maria Fortress Round My Heart
Mountains Choral
Noah and The Whale The First Days of Spring
Pink Mountaintops Outside Love
Regina Spektor So Far
Tiny Vipers Life On Earth

reissues

The reissue reservoir ain’t what it used to be, but there is still undiscovered gems to be uncovered by enterprising labels, as well as long needed remastering of classic titles. When you thought the 60’s & 70’s couldn’t be mined further, the consistently impressive Drag City dug up the great Stooges inspired album by 70’s band Death. The fresh & growing vinyl market continued to generate excitement with freshly minted wax of wonderfully old gems including the Vaselines, Fairport Convention, The Feelies & the legendary Anthology Of American Folk Music. My favorite U2 album got much improved sound for it’s 25th birthday, Bob Dylan finally tidied up his last remaining catalog pieces, Big Star got boxed, Neil Young stormed the vaults, the Stone Roses reclaimed their pre-brit-pop throne and the greatest band of all time capped the CD era with one of the more commendable remastering campaigns.

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