What a year, what a year! A year of change, a year of history, and of course, a very filling year of music. Last year boded good news with the coming of 2009, and musically, it was far from a let down. And though Voilà! took some breaks here and there, more than I would have liked, it never stopped following the music! To recompense for our substantial absence, a toast to a year gone by. Voilà! presents the best music of the past year!
All of the following albums/bands are in no particular order - we're just going with the flow - but all made their mark specifically in the last 365 days. Just like last year (when possible), I'll provide the link to buy the album from the well respected folks at Insound.com, in my opinion, one of the best music purveyors on the net. But in these tough economic times, you may want to send your money to a more "renowned" business. Never fret, because most of the music that made our list can probably be found on Amazon.com! But, before we begin, let's have a short review over how Voilà! handles our Music Wrap-Up.
Here's how it works:
The Top 10 - The best 10 albums of 2009.
The Bottom 10 - The best 10 albums that didn't make the Top 10. Hence, Bottom 10.
Obscure Recommendations - Some more obscure or interesting albums released in 2009 that were worthy of mention, whether they simply didn't make The Top or Bottom 10, or were just nifty finds.
Best Bands of 2009 - The best of the best that Voilà! was enthused by all year round.
Best Bands For 10 - Some awesome folks you should really pay attention to starting January 1st.
Top 10:
[the best of the best]
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Daisy by Brand New - The record begins slowly, soothingly. Daisy, such a sweet name. As the listener sways to the slow, melancholy introduction, their expectations are unremorsefully shattered with an antonym release in Brand New's discography. The music is dense and heavy, pressurizing your mind with its weight. Maintaining the continually intriguing esotericism developed in The Devil and God..., Brand New changes their tone from distant and lonely, unleashing with guttural, violent, unrestrained anger, heard both in the lyrics and music. Despite the criticism Daisy has been attributed, don't judge. Listen to one of the best records of the year, and hold it to no expectations.
Reservoir by Fanfarlo - From the moment the drum beat and tamberines crash on "I'm a Pilot," in their marching rhythm, you know that your listening of Reservoir is due to be an experience. And you are far from disappointed as you experience Fanfarlo's imaginative, endearing creativity from beginning to end. Fanfarlo's expert arrangements and mixing of an array of different instruments is sonorous, and variation from song to song is extraordinary. Reservoir is a work of love, by Fanfarlo in their prime. If you listen to no other album on this list, make sure you listen to this one. You will be amazed.
The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists - Folk opera. Just the phrase makes one curious; makes one imagination. Three years long, Decemberists fans waited, and they were rewarded. Expanding on lengthy, wildly imaginative songs like "The Island" and "The Crane Wife" seen on The Crane Wife, maintaining The Decemberists continuously more progressive musical style, The Hazards of Love is a conceptual masterpiece, telling medieval tales lovely damsels, proud heroes, dastardly villains, and evil witches. Playing out like a movie, using countless musically thematic elements and some of the most verbose and articulate lyrics written in modern music, The Hazards of Love is one of the most vibrant creations by The Decemberists, and is a must have album of 2009, no argument withstanding against.
As Seen Through Windows by Bell Orchestre - The ability to convey feelings, thoughts, and ideas through nothing but music is a powerful talent to master. And none other than Montréal's instrumental collective of, Bell Orchestre, can so accurately capture that. The long awaited As Seen Through Windows is a complex expression of musical art. The aging of Bell Orchestre is audible from their previous release, Recording A Tape..., to As Seen Through Windows, which offers a much more developed, intricate presentation. From near-quiet walls of sound, Bell Orchestre is extremely successful of exciting and astounding with this year's release.
Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective - It's hard to predict new Animal Collective records... for obvious reasons. But with a noticeable change in the esoteric attitude of AC on Strawberry Jam, could one have accurately predicted what would erupt from the speakers as Merriweather Post Pavilion plays? Merriweather is by far Animal Collective's most accessible album, moving away from their extreme experimentalism, and filling their sound out with pop music techniques, such as solid verse-chorus-verse structure. But still retaining their emphasis on being as weird as freakin' possible, Merriweather Post Pavilion manages to please old fans while opening their sound up to an audience of people who never thought they'd be grooving to Animal Collective, myself included. As an aside, the only reason their latest EP, Fall Be Kind, didn't make it on the Bottom 10 is because it's an EP. It also requires your attention.
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand is unique in the sense that their sound is always in evolution, yet never fails to please those who have grown accustomed to what a Franz Ferdinand song "should" sound like. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is the Scottish blokes' third phase of musical evolution. Likening toward more funky, electronic sound, Franz Ferdinand literally has you busting moves on the nearest dance floor with songs that fill your nervous system with an unshakeable groove. This is probably the most fun, unpretentious album of the year, and will have you smiling from ear to ear, from start to finish.
It's Blitz by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz blitzes straightaway, leaving you no chance to get your footing. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs release all their kinetic energy, making It's Blitz an extremely progressive, forward-moving album. Dense in its composition, but with the elements and style that is to be loved in Yeah Yeah Yeahs, listeners are allowed a full, unique experience that can only be labeled as awesome.
Jam Dreams by Dr. Manhattan - Jam Dreams is probably one of the most charmingly surprising albums released in 2009. From their early tracks, you may expect something wild and crazy, loads of heavy tunes. And when you let the album play through "Electromaumatized" and "Texas," you'd like to keep hold of that opinion. But listening into Jam Dreams, Dr. Manhattan graces us with everything from cute and silly love stories, bubbly and bouncy tunes, hip hop (yes, I did say hip hop), to heavy and high energy, raucous songs. Jam Dreams is has a strong sense of "party and rock out," and can't be compared or judged.
Sainthood by Tegan & Sara - Following their release of The Con two years ago, Tegan & Sara showed a steady progression in their sound their release of Sainthood. Featuring straightforward, well textured, no-fuss indie-pop, with tonnes of standout tracks, shows further development of the sound they experimented with on The Con. Notably, this is the first T&S album to feature a co-written songs by the Canadian twins. Starting on "Alligator," the tone of the album significantly switches to a more novel sound coming from Tegan & Sara, and which can only bode great things about their musical future.
Yeah So by Slow Club - Debut albums are tricky, because you've got a lot of people waiting to be impressed. Slow Club aims to please! The English duo presents a good 45 minutes of love songs hitting every end of the emotional and musical spectrum. The density and complexity of Slow Club's arrangements is astounding, and it's easy to forget you're only listening to two people. It's records like this that put other duos, like Mates of State or The White Stripes, some major competition to worry about. There are not enough ways to describe how wicked Yeah So is.
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Bottom 10:
[the albums that almost made it]
The Other Truths by Do Make Say Think - Canada's talented musicians never cease to please these days. Their renaissance, which began several years ago, has produced some of the most beautiful music of the decade. But while the notorious Broken Social Scene has a quiet year, their protégés make headway. The Other Truths is a beautifully composed post-rock album that spans great lengths and feelings on it's mere four tracks. But with the tracks, "Do," "Make," "Say," and "Think" reflect on the band at all, it reflects well. If you're into instrumental albums, Do Make Say Think's latest is something you don't want to miss.
Manners by Passion Pit - I've been doing this Music Wrap-Up ever year since 2007. This being the third edition of the series of articles, I'm faced with the realization that there is one consistent trend: there is always one really awesome, very dancey album every single year, that is given lots of great public reception. Last year, MGMT's Ocular Spectacular swept the world by storm. 2009 belongs to Passion Pit's Manners. "Sleepyhead" was featured in Skins, and this band took hold of the world's grooving feet; their album, brimming with pulsing beats and high notes wiggles your body in rhythmic ways that you can't help but love.
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Say Anything by Say Anything - I was really unsure about Say Anything's self-titled album fitting into the top or bottom 10 this year. Such a fickle album, it is; contradictory in the sense that it fuses pop aesthetic so closely with Say Anything's silly, antic-filled punk rock style so close-knit. But in truth, Say Anything is an extremely full, fun album that does its very best to make you wish it wasn't amazing. And knowing "Crush'd" is all about Sherri DuPree of Eisley only adds to its cuteness.
Lungs by Florence + The Machine - Strong, sweet, and soulful. You can't really go wrong, and all three combined are like a delicious cup of chai. "I have this breath, and I hold it tight, and I keep it in my chest with all my might..." And a powerful voice indeed, as Florence Welch belts out her incredibly magnificent voice over the soul inspired Lungs, filled with progressive indie rock to some delicious results. As if you hadn't heard enough of their extravagance on Skins, take a listen to Lungs, straightaway.
Fantasies by Metric - As mentioned back on Do Make Say Think's review, while the Broken Social Scene hides away, their smaller entities shall come out to play for their eager fans. This holds true for Metric as well, who have waited patiently, four years, to release their 4th studio album, Fantasies. The wait was worth the result; Fantasies follows the same groove as It's Blitz by Yeah Yeah Yeahs: steady and danceable, and well composed straight through.
No One's First, and You're Next by Modest Mouse - As if Modest Mouse wasn't one of the most legendary indie rock groups, going on two decades strong, and as if they hadn't already treated us to We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank last year, the guys treat us to a brand new EP. Honestly, though, No One's First plays like a full album, holding its own with B-Sides from both We Were Dead... and Good News For People Who Love Bad News. If you haven't heard the sickly banjo and gutteral singing of the contorted, dark "King Rat," you've been missing out.
Beacons by Ohbijou - Ohbijou's latest release shows the natural progression of these Canadian souls' sound. Brimming with a unique blend of orchestral rock, Ohbijou's style has been rounded out since their debut, Swift Feet for Troubling Times. With much more power and objective in their sound, Ohbijou presents a very deep, lulling, beautiful album with Beacons, a must have of the Toronto collective.
Blood Bank by Bon Iver - Once again, Justin Vernon presents some of the most delicate, full, expansive tracks in Bon Iver's ever expanding repertoire. The title track, "Blood Bank," didn't fit onto For Emma..., and retains the same lonely, cold sound. But as said by Bon Iver's label, Jagjaguwar says, "As much as Emma is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection is about the warmth that gets you through it. You can feel the air move. Like a fire you've been stoking for hours and finally got to sustain itself, the heat blisters your face while your back is frozen solid." The 3 brand new tracks reflect a strange sense of ambien noise throughout, to appealing results. The deep and powerfully repetitive, "The Woods," is my favourite song of the entire year, and one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.
Changing Horses by Ben Kweller - Putting out a new album is one thing, but Cowboy Kweller has taken the ultimate switcheroo on his fans with his release of the straight-up country album, Changing Horses. This genre shift shows us a completely new side of Ben Kweller as he gets back in touch with his Texan roots, to some very amazing results! This is not an album you should lightly pass by.
Chronicle by フジファブリック - I can only explain how ridiculously impressed I am with フジファブリック's progression as a band. Ever release in their discography shows the steady progression of fuller sound and skillfully orchestrated music that gives the standards in J-rock a run for their money. Chronicle is no exception. フジファブリック rocks out a storm of significantly faster, heavier tracks than is typical of their style. Think of Chronicle as raising the stakes on complexity and intensity we heard on Teenager; less bubbly, more down to earth rock from one of the coolest J-Rock bands around.
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Obscure Recommendations
[some folks who made enough noise to be heard]
Open Your Mouth by Mount Righteous
In The Unlikely Event by The Fall of Troy
New Junk Aesthetic by Every Time I Die
Warm Heart of Africa by Esau Mwamwaya
The Open Door EP by Death Cab
Vandalize by アリス九號.
Wake Up The Sleepers - Kill Hannah
Bandages For The Heart by Lacrosse
I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose by Bombay Bicycle Club
Field Studies EP (with Lymbyc System) by This Will Destroy You
Me & My Uke / The Summer by Nevershoutnever
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Labyrinthes by Malajube
Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
Fall Be Kind by Animal Collective
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Best Bands of 2009
[the ones Voilà! watched closely]
Fanfarlo
Mount Righteous
Dr. Manhattan
Bell Orchestre
Animal Collective
The Decemberists
Brand New
Bew Kweller
You, Me, and Everyone We Know
Minuscule Hey
Best Bands For 2010
[the ones you should start watching closely]
Eisley - The Texan troupe just completed their tour with Say Anything, and released the Fire Kite EP, all in support of their forthcoming album, due out sometime in the first half of the year.
Vampire Weekend - Contra is slated to be released 12 January! Excitement ensues.
Fleet Foxes - The folk quartet was too busy touring this year to release their second full length. But they're promising a new album sometime in the second half of 2010!
Bell Orchestre - The Canadian instrumental group is due to release a new EP sometime in late summer!
Crystal Castles - The Canadian electronica duo is prepped to release their still nameless sophomore LP sometime in April!
Nevershoutnever - Chris Ingle is busy working forward toward his next record! We can only hope his freshman LP will astound us with the beginning of the decade.
Uffie - FINALLY, this ridiculous woman will be releasing her debut album, Sex Dreams and Skinny Jeans, on Valentine's Day 2010. FINALLY!
Hellogoodbye - The boys just released their latest single, "When We First Met," from their forthcoming untitled album, hopefully due out sometime in 2010.
Broken Social Scene - The huge collective is filming a film, This Movie Is Broken, and is rumoured to start recording their next album in summer.
Arcade Fire - The Canadian orchestral rock legends are due to release their third LP sometime in May!
