Top 10'er.....

01 animal collective - merriweather post pavilion - 2009
02 the pains of being pure at heart - the pains of being pure at heart - 2009
03 doves - kingdom of rust - 2009
04 franz ferdinand - tonight - 2009
05 antony & the johnsons - the crying light - 2009
06 tribulation - the horror - 2009
07 the horrors - primary colours
08 phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix - 2009
09 kreator - hordes of chaos - 2009
10 andrew bird - noble beast

Good to see Lotus Plaza make your list. It really took me several listens to finally get it. It's quite subtle.

This is overrated. Every blog I've read jizzed over this album and it's really nothing special.

I really need to hear this. Anybody got a 160-192 kbps rip they could share?

It's pretty subtle, but I honestly think most of the vocals are too weak. The mix is a little too murky on the front end of the album, too, but somehow the back half seems clearer. There a couple of standouts just past the middle of the album, I think. That's my impression after a few listens, anyway. It may grow on me more over time.

Hopefully the new Mastodon and Dan Deacon albums will arrive in the mail soon. I'm also toying with the idea of picking up that Wavves album and possibly the new Doom. I'll probably download Kylesa, and I'm sure I'll get around to the M. Ward, Vetiver, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy albums eventually.

I think you'd probably be into the Wavves, but you should listen to a track or 2 before buying.

The DOOM is really uneven (as are most of his non-collaboration records), and some of the songs are old / don't even have DOOM vocals, but there's still some really good stuff on there. Relistening right now - not sure how much I like it (not top 10 yet), but it's definitely good to hear from him again...

overrated? really?

this is a seriously great album.

i thought the new kylesa was really boring, but i'd never heard them before.

3-4 KILLER tracks, but overall it kinda drifts off to nowhere.

Yeah, I've liked the samples I've heard from this album more than the stuff I heard from the debut.

I thought that Horrors was disappointing. I liked their first one better. Sheena Was A Parasite was a good song and some other interesting stuff. This one bores me so far.

yeah i definitely like their debut better but this one wasn't as bad as i was expecting it to be. could probably lose 3-4 songs and i'd like it more.

Everything I've listened to:

1. Dan Deacon - Bromst
2. Abe Vigoda - Reviver EP
3. Times New Viking - Stay Awake EP
4. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
5. Mi Ami - Watersports
6. Condo Fucks - Fuckbook
7. Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
8. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t
9. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
10. DOOM - Born Like This
11. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
12. Various Artists - Dark Was the Night

Want to get the new Bill Callahan and possibly Wavves. Maybe not. The live clip I saw of Wavves was beyond awful.

iran dissolver
bat for lashes two suns
mi ami watersports
p.o.s. never better
future of the left travels with myself and another
dan deacon bromst
andrew bird noble beast
doom born like this
st. vincent actor
the skull defekts the temple
clues s/t

This was really buried.

Anyway:

1. Dan Deacon - Bromst
2. Cryptacize - Mythomania
3. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
4. Condo Fucks - Fuckbook
5. Abe Vigoda - Reviver EP
6. Times New Viking - Stay Awake EP
7. Vetiver - Tight Knit
8. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
9. Woods - Songs of Shame
10. Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
11. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
12. Mi Ami - Watersports
13. Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
14. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
15. Mika Miko - We Be Xuxa
16. Marissa Nadler - Little Hells
17. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t
18. Wavves - Wavvves
19. DOOM - Born Like This
20. M. Ward - Hold Time
21. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
22. Various Artists - Dark Was the Night

I still like all of these. The biggest gaps are probably between 8 & 9 and 15 & 16. Top 3 are very solid, pretty definite Top 20 end-of-year stuff.

I really love Cryptacize.

Top 5
1. Caetano Veloso
2. Joe Bataan (a close second)
3. Son Volt
4. Justin Townes Earle (distant fourth)
5. John Doe & the Sadies

Need to listen to more:

Terry Callier
Lhasa (although was bored by on first listen)

Big Disappointment:

Robyn Hitchcock

Can't think of any others i've heard.

So would you would you say this is best thing he's done in a really long time? This decade, at least?

I thought his last album was the best thing he's done since the 70's. This is similar in style with the same band and his son Moreno producing again. I haven't listened to it enough to say its as good though.

Man, really?

This has been the most pleasant surprise for me this year so far. Granted, I'm not very familiar with his solo work. I did hear that B-sides and rarities disc, "Shadow Cat", and thought it ranged from bizarre to borderline embarassing so I guess my expectations were low.

Regardless, I picked it up after reading a couple of reviews and I think it's a keeper.

1. Roman Candle Oh Tall Tree In The Ear
2. 1990s Kicks
3. Vetiver Tight Knit
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz
5. The Weight Are Men
6. Beads No One Knows
7. Dead Trees King of Rosa
8. The Damwell Betters Coming In Hot
9. The Smoke Orange Blood
10. Noisettes Wild Young Hearts

Still liking:

Findlay Brown Love Will Find You
Neko Case Middle Cyclone
Loxsly Tomorrow's Fossils
The Kilians They Are Calling Your Name
Robyn Hitchcock Goodnight Oslo
The Right Ons Look Inside Now
The Takeover UK Running With The Wasters
Tragically Hip We Are The Same

It's turning out to be a fairly decent year.

That "Shadow Cat" comp pulls the b-sides and rarities from the worst period of his career. The albums from that period were mostly filler so if those songs didn't make the cut, its saying something. I skipped Shadow Cat for that reason.

I've been a big Hitchcock fan though since the mid 80's. His solo work can be spotty but almost all of his stuff recorded with a full band is really good. I thought his last album was his best since the early 90's so I had high expectations for the new one. I've only listened to it a few times but nothing grabbed me from it.

1. m. ward
2. neko case
3. wilco
4. art brut
5. thermals

Top Albums Of 2009 Are:

Bill Callahan
Grizzly Bear
Phoenix
Animal Collective
Neko Case
Wilco

So far:

1. Tragically Hip - We Are the Same
2. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
3. John Doe & the Sadies - Country Club
4. Von Bondies - Love, Hate and Then There's You
5. Dawes - North Hills
6. Cracker - Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
7. Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face
8. Son Volt - American Central Dust
9. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
10. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - It's Blitz

10.5. The Weight - Are Men

And the others still under consideration:

Black Joe Lewis - Tell 'Em What Your Name is
Twisted Wheel - Twisted Wheel
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
The Right Ons - Look Inside Now
Neil Young - Fork in the Road
Booker T. Jones - Potato Hole
Grand Duchy - Petits Fours
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Doves - Kingdom of Rust
Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear

This is getting a LOT of plays from me lately.