Best Albums of 2009 (#20 – #11)

20. A Place To Bury Strangers – Exploding Head

What’s that old phrase about there being nothing new under the sun? Fact of the matter is that even though My Bloody Valentine pretty much cornered the market on shoegaze back in 1991 when Loveless came out that there can still be surprises left in the genre to this day. It’s become a template for developing new and exciting forms of psychedelia this decade. NYC’s A Place To Bury Strangers add a little more New Order and Ministry flavor to the recipe. The band’s self titled 2007 debut was a raucous and ear damaging affair that delighted many including myself. Despite the mixed reactions of a few publications, Exploding Head pretty much trumps the debut. The first time I heard the last few seconds of “I’ve Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart” push its noise levels to near Merzbow levels of cacophony my jaw dropped. – Joe Davenport

19. Pelican – What We All Come To Need

What We All Come To Need finds Pelican continuing in much the same vein as previous endeavors, though this is still a heavy and intriguing listen. Combining a more realized sound from the rhythm section with Pelican’s penchant for the riff, has resulted in the band’s most inspired and confident release to date. Crossing a couple genres (yet not being bogged down by any one in particular), What We All Come To Need is what Pelican is all about, and is most certainly worthy of a listen…and another, and another, and another. – Kyle O’Donnell

18. Superchunk – Leaves In The Gutter

Sometimes the greatest testament to a band’s longevity is when listening to their newer stuff is when you can’t place what era it sounds from. At times Leaves in the Gutter sounds like where Superchunk left off in 2001, the time of their last full length, and at times like gems from 1993’s On The Mouth. Mac McCaughan’s guitar lines buzz across the odd rhythms of Jim Wilbur’s guitar, cymbals come crashing down on every minor chord like only Jon Wurster can do, and there’s Laura Ballance’s bass, forcing you to at the very least tap your feet, if not outright jump around the room. Collecting last year’s single “Misfits & Mistakes” as well as paying homage to the college rock of the 80’s with “Screw It Up,” and adding new soon-to-be ‘Chunk classics like “Knock Knock Knock” and “Learned to Surf,” the band hasn’t lost a step. While their peers may be reforming all left and right, Superchunk continues to stay vital by never going away. If the rumors of a new album in 2010 come true, then this EP is a welcome sign of what’s to come. – Matthew Smith

17. Mastodon – Crack the Skye

With all due respect to Isis, Baroness, and Converge, Mastodon was the metal band of the year. The Atlanta four-piece built upon their breakthrough album, Blood Mountain, and went even weirder and heavier with Crack The Skye. Adding additional vocalists, 11 minute suites, and Rasputin to the mix they somehow managed to sound a little more… acceptable.  Making metal sound properly heavy again, not to mention melodic, (the vocals on “Oblivion” are a masterful touch,) Mastodon is not to be messed with. Lars Ulrich told the band after the release of Blood Mountain he felt Metallica was passing the torch and we can certainly hope so. Not only are they more powerful and innovative than Metallica were, there’s little chance of them becoming watered down versions of their former selves. And if they were Crack The Skye would still have more force than Master of Puppets. – Matthew Smith

16. William Elliott Whitmore – Animals in the Dark

Whitmore is the real deal – his seemingly effortless songwriting skills, adeptness with a banjo (or guitar), and that set of pipes that command notice. Animals in the Dark is a natural progression from Whitmore’s previous stripped-down affairs. You get the feeling that Will has exorcised a few demons from his past, and has moved on to more external themes. It has always seemed that William Elliott Whitmore’s music transcended mere genre classification and “for fans of” suggestions, and that continues to be the case with this album. While the music is based in more traditional styles (folk, blues, etc.), the voice and lyrics have much broader appeal. Will’s success playing shows with bands that couldn’t be more different in style speaks to this. Don’t think because hardcore is your thing that you can’t love the punk appeal of this tattooed farmer who gives the tree new roots. – Jenn O’Donnell

15. Six Organs of Admittance – Luminous Night

Six Organs of Admittance’s Ben Chasny has always walked a thin line between modern folk and abstract drone. His earlier works like Dark Noontide and School of the Flower saw him at his most diaphonous and may still be his best but Luminous Night sees him venturing even further into the more traditional song structures that he began to gravitate toward on Shelter From The Ash. Whether you like it more or less will depend on your personal penchant for both Chasny and this type of work in general. Listening to it now, it’s easy to see how so many young guitar slingers might want to get in on this school of Tacoma inspired fingerpicking. Even though he was kind of lumped into that whole “freak folk” thing a few years back, Six Organs of Admittance continues to grow and surprise in far better and more rewarding ways than many others affiliated with the movement. – Joe Davenport

14. The Decemberists – Hazards of Love

The Decemberists flirted with a concept album in 2006 on The Crane Wife, where a handful of songs were based on a Japanese folk tale, while the rest of the album was a trumped up version of their signature folk-pop. This year, Colin Meloy and his Decemberists have eschewed the pop song altogether in favor of a full blown concept album rife with bewitching characters, a twisting plot and a grand musical score that is equal parts artistic and captivating indie-rock, intricate and complex prog-rock and quaint folk-rock, all without losing their distinctive charm. With bouzoukis, hurdy-gurdys, upright bass, glockenspiel, hammered dulcimers and pedal steel spun together with indie-rock guitars in their unique and dramatic style, and expressively and articulately sung not only by the periphrastic Meloy but with spectacular guest vocalists Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), The Hazards of Love is intelligent, effusive and exquisite and easily one of the year’s best albums. – Matt the Raven

13. Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer

If you’ve ever had the chance to watch Sunset Rubdown live then you’d be well aware that Spencer Krug is a unique fellow. He’s provided his own fan to blow in his face, he’s rather shy and somewhat timid but when the music’s flowing, he’s undeniably magnetic. To begin Sunset Rubdown’s fourth album, Krug creeps in with a twinkling piano melody before gradually swelling into the soaring acceptance of “Maybe these days are over now,” before sneaking back to his piano. Fittingly so, that’s what Dragonslayer is about: finding your confidence, attempting new heights and, in turn, achieving them with monstrous results. Epic, sprawling, musical…it’s everything you could ask for in an album and more. For a man of such coy demeanors – he’ll come out at the end of the show and say “So what do you all think of the new album? Critics say we’re an eight out of ten. I’m not sure what that means – I never thought of my band as a number” – he’s gloriously delivered his best album to date, and deservedly so; here’s to pleading that these days never, ever end. – Bryan Sanchez

12. Morrissey – Years of Refusal

Check out Morrissey on that cover – one of the best covers of the year by the way – he’s confident, holding a baby in one arm, cool and collected and his chin firmly elevated as if saying, “So what’s next?” It’s a fantastic image because of the kind of life Morrissey has lived: his music aches with heartbreak and of never being accepting and at the same time, he’s deeply resurrected his career. With that said, Years of Refusal is just as much a strong shift towards moving on, as much as it is an outstanding array of music. He’s still very much rebellious but his diction has always stood out from the other high-caliber singer-songwriters. When recounting how life is too short to cry over a lost love, he sings “So yes, there are things worse in life than never being someone’s sweetie” and elsewhere, he sings, “Oh, something is squeezing my skull, something I can barely describe, there is no love in modern life” before demanding “don’t gimme anymore!” Ultimately, he’s hit a new stride in his career, one that showcases a fittingly poised Morrissey and why not, Years of Refusal is downright excellent. – Bryan Sanchez

11. Big Business – Mind the Drift

Two years ago the drum and bass duo of Jared Warren (bass, vocals) and Coady Willis (drums, vocals) released the monstrous Here Come the Waterworks. Hard rock hadn’t sounded this unique in ages and the group’s 2009 release was highly anticipated by fans. Mind the Drift continues this powerful, melodic edge with the addition of a guitarist, Toshi Kasai. Although parts of the album needed multiple listens to latch on – due to the aforementioned guitar, mostly – the end result is another winner. The band is just so infectious and the song’s interesting lyrics create a great departure from the droll stuff churned out in the scene today. Who knew something so heavy and so deeply imbued with sludgy bass and rapid fire drums could sound so, well, melodic? Rock ‘n roll ain’t dead, it just got pummeled into something different by this band. Any fans of the kind of rock that gives you goose bumps must check this out. – Jenn O’Donnell

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