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Top 10 Albums of 2009
Holy crap, was this hard. Despite the constant whining and bitching about the decline of rock and pop music, when it comes time to compose a top 10 list, it’s a struggle to keep the number down. The records making up the top half usually speak loudly enough to be obvious choices, but once I get into the nitty-gritty of the second half, I start to feel guilty about leaving off so many worthy albums. I could make a list of runners-up, but it would be a damned long document, so I’ll spare you. Just remember that the ten records listed here are by no means the only great records released this year. Ignore Billboard, American Idol and the radio and you’d be surprised how much excellent music is out there. This is some of it.
The Music Lovers – Masculine Feminine (Le Grand Magistery)
MATTHEW “TED” EDWARDS and his San Francisco-based band hit a new peak with their third full-length record. I’ve been preaching this group’s gospel for a few years now, as its (to be simplistic) SCOTT WALKER + DUSTY SPRINGFIELD + TRASHCAN SINATRAS + SERGE GAINSBOURG sound is pretty distinctive and I genuinely believe Edwards is the strongest songwriter working right now. This lovely, wrenching masterpiece is a good place to start. I envy anyone discovering this band for the first time.
Ike Reilly – Hard Luck Stories (Rock Ridge)
I almost feel like I’m cheating by including this; it was released digitally this fall, but gets a physical release (which still feels more “legitimate” to us old farts – sorry, kids) next year. Chicago singer/songwriter Reilly finally downloads the great work he’s been threatening us with for years. Great lyrics and an immensely appealing folk rock sound with an emphasis on the rock.
Lions in the Street – s/t (Hand to Mouth)
Every year a new combo hits the streets boasting a blatant homage to the sounds of the ROLLING STONES and the FACES, a sound that admittedly turns me into Pavlov’s pooch. Canada’s Lions in the Street do it better than just about anybody, including the current version of the Stones. This is easily the most irresistible record I heard this year.
The New York Dolls – ‘Cause I Sez So (Atco)
While I liked the Dolls’ first reunion record, the greasy One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, it didn’t hit me with the power of the 70s recordings. ’Cause I Sez So, however, reacquaints the band with its R&B-derived glam rock swagger (not to mention the hooks), while still demonstrating a surprising maturity and creative ambition. Proof that rockers can grow and adapt with going soft.
Nikki Sudden & Phil Shoenfelt – Golden Vanity (Troubadour/Easy Action)
This could just as easily fit on the reissue list, I suppose, since it was recorded in the 90s and went unreleased until this year. On the basis of this album, the late Sudden’s brief partnership with his friend and fellow decadent singer/songwriter Phil Shoenfelt was as fruitful as his on-and-off liaison with DAVE KUSWORTH in the JACOBITES. What really makes this record for me is the craftsmanship Nikki put into the tunes, presaging the more classic approach he’d take in his twin aughties triumphs Treasure Island and The Truth Doesn’t Matter. Shoenfelt, who’s even more obscure than Sudden, more than holds his own. One of Nikki’s best.
The Drones – Havilah (ATP)
Australian musicians have a habit of celebrating American roots music by both continuing its storytelling tradition and burying its musical attributes under a sheet of abrasive noise. The Drones have become masters of that delicate balancing act, and they’ve never been more graceful than on the oft-stunning songs on their fifth record.
Porcupine Tree – The Incident (Roadrunner)
After the conceptual ambition of its popular breakthrough Fear of a Blank Planet, it was inevitable that Porcupine Tree would attempt an album of thematically and musically interconnected tracks. Unsurprisingly, leader STEVEN WILSON and his merry men succeed in anything they set their imaginative minds to, and if the band’s melodic sweep is beginning to feel somewhat familiar, it still sounds too good to complain.
Joe Henry – Blood From Stars (Anti-)
Henry has long used jazz musicians in his bands, giving his atmospheric, challenging singer/songwriter rock a distinctive flavor. But this is the first time he’s made an album that comes so close to being out-and-out jazz, and it doesn’t shock me in the least that the genre fits him like a warm, lived-in overcoat. Different enough from the rest of his oeuvre to be exciting, but familiar enough to hit the usual pleasure buttons, Blood From Stars is another peak in a career full of them.
Shrinebuilder – s/t (Neurot)
Forget the MONSTERS OF FOLK – this was the supergroup of the year, at least to me. Consisting of members of NEUROSIS, the MELVINS, OM and SLEEP, and driven by the visionary creative mind of the great SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH (who also issued his excellent, long-awaited solo debut this year), the psychedelic metal of Shrinebuilder is that rare example of a supergroup that’s a true collaboration between equals, not a collection of unused songs each member happened to have lying around. Brilliant and heavy as Godzilla’s footsteps.
Robyn Hitchock & the Venus 3 – Goodnight Oslo (Yep Roc)
Eccentric singer/songwriter (let’s avoid the “q” word, shall we?) has been on a real roll this past decade, writing his best songs and hitting peaks both with collaborators (PETER BUCK, GILLIAN WELCH and DAVID RAWLINGS) and alone with only his guitar for company. His creative arc culminates with Goodnight Oslo, his latest album with the VENUS 3 and his finest electric rock/pop record since his heyday with the EGYPTIANS.
