in installments! the wait will kill you.

please provide all the derision you can btw. These are the worst reviews I've ever written.

25-50 unranked pt. 1



Alex Cline - Continuation
(Feb. 10) (Cryptogramophone) (Myspace)
RIYL: Free (yet peaceful) avant-garde-leaning jazz

Nels Cline - Coward
(Feb.10) (Cryptogramophone) (Myspace)
RIYL: Guitar experimentations and effects pedals and maybe some jazz and ambient

Twin brothers Alex and Nels Cline released what can probably be considered the best albums of their careers this year. Coinciding with Cryptogramophone's 10th anniversary, these albums allowed the brothers to show their artistic merit in their own (similar) ways. Percussionist Alex Cline's Continuation is a five-piece peaceful free jazz excursion, laden with shades of buddhism and giving back to the earth. The album seamlessly moves between traditional jazz sounds to passages of folk and ambient music. Cline and his backing band (featuring cello and harmonium along with piano and bass) keep in step with each other throughout, providing a truly engaging listening experience.

Nels Cline, perhaps best known as the ripping guitarist on recent Wilco albums (or his past 30 years of work as a leading avant-garde jazz guitarist) offered up an album that is a bit different from his brother's, but not lacking in ambition at all. Coward is a complete solo affair, with Nels playing more instruments and loops on the release than most talented musicians get to try in their career. The record also has a feeling of loss, despair and beauty, dedicated to the Cline's loss of their mother in 2008. Tracks range from ambient and feedback-laden soundscapes, to electric/acoustic instrumental moments to tracks that feel like the backing track of an excellent rock song. As a pure artistic statement, Nels' compositions on this record showcase what I consider likely his best material and perhaps some of the best and most interestingly composed music of the entire year.


Asobi Seksu - Rewolf
(Nov. 10) (Polyvinyl) (Myspace)
RIYL: Hope Sandoval, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins

I didn't agree with guitarist James Hanna's decision to follow-up the awesome and heavily guitar-drenched Citrus with this year's Hush, an album devoid of guitar entirely. Wanting to try something new, the band focused on synthesizers and other instruments. It sounded awful and was one of the most disappointing albums of the early part of the year. However, in November Asobi Seksu released Rewolf, an album featuring acoustic reworkings of their past material (and a Hope Sandoval cover). The album shouldn't work, it's not as though the band writes songs that should be considered special enough to warrant acoustic renditions. However, the fey, dreamy sound that these versions create are just thoroughly pleasant. The melodies and harmonies really shine through with the minimal instrumentation. Every song sounds like the backing track of a love scene in some new hip indie film. It's not going to be for everyone (and most critics panned it), but to me, it's much better than their proper album from this year and more pleasant than some other light indie-pop records from the year.


Ben Frost - By The Throat
(Nov. 10) (Bedroom Community) (Myspace)
RIYL: Coil, Pan Sonic, soundtracks to your impending murder

Looking through reviews of Ben Frost's music, you will find some reference or phrase similar to "disturbing but beautiful", "scary yet serene", "abrasive yet gentle." How can one construct music so contradictory? I don't know, but Ben Frost does. The Icelandic native and member of the Bedroom Community collective (home to some of my favorites: Sam Amidon and Nico Muhly) has followed up his brilliant Theory of Machines with an album full of more contradictory musical segments. Layering beautiful, serene, gentle string instruments (with the help of his accomplished friends) with the howling of wolves and the sonic equivalent of buildings exploding, By The Throat holds your attention. With his near mastery of blending these disparate sounds, Ben Frost might very well be the current leader in the creation of truly creepy music. That is, the beauty he weaves in an out of the monstrous synths only adds to the entire creepy spectrum. It is a brilliant album from one of the most forward thinking musicians around right now.



Ben Klock - One
(March 9) (Ostgut Ton) (Myspace)
RIYL: Pantha Du Prince, Shed, Sascha Funke (I don't know really. Good techno?)

If nothing else, 2009 was a year in which I really attempted to gain a proper introduction into the worlds of techno and classical music. Whereas I live a life that is rife with classical music, techno has and will remain a "scene" that I am not associated with. Though every year I have done this list, there has been at least 1 or 2 techno or dance music releases, it was really not until this year that I began to actually explore the genre a little deeper. As a singles based medium, I still don't have a clue what is hot and what is not. I don't know where the scene is going, I hardly know where it's been. I can rarely tell the difference between the regional sounds that producers create. I'll never be a techno guy, but I can cheat and read some blogs and read some websites and gather a few things here and there to enjoy. Last year, Ostgut Ton put out Shedding The Past which I consider to likely be the most complete techno LP I've heard this decade. Early on during this year, they released One by Berlin-based producer Ben Klock - and it's near the top of that best LP list as well. Like Shed's release, Ben Klock has put together an album that is perfectly sequenced. This isn't a collection of songs - this is an album. For 71 minutes, you are taken through the course of an album that only the best can do. There may be a narrative, there may not - I'm never good at trying to describe or guess what DJ's are trying to accomplish. But when it comes to mood, pacing and equal parts mixture of dance, groove and some headphone-only trips, Ben Klock's debut LP is second to one. Check back a year from now, this might be at the top of this list.



Blues Control - Local Flavor
(July 14) (Siltbreeze) (Myspace)
RIYL: Michael Rother/Neu! but dirtier and based in "blues"

Joe Colly's review of Local Flavor on Pitchfork ended by stating the album "feels like an album that a few will love and a larger majority will find head-scratchingly opaque." Now, I don't know what opaque actually means in this context, but the point is: if few love this record, then I am one of the few. In fact, if you would have asked me about a week after this album was making it's way to me, this would've been top 5 material. I took a bfreak from listening to this for a while, though in the last couple weeks have become semi-obsessed again. I find this to be much better than their previous LPs, which left me a little in the dark as to what I'm supposed to find interesting (I guess they are, I just didn't love them like this). I knew on first listen that this was a good album. There's more to it. Maybe it is the addition of Kurt Vile playing sax, maybe it is the true Krautrock feeling that "Tangier" has. I don't know, it's 35 minutes of great instrumental music. Distorted guitars, stabbing piano, shar synths, drawn-out synths. It's all here and it sounds really good.


Borah Bergman Trio - Luminescence
(Jan. 27) (Tzadik) (Myspace)
RIYL: John Zorn/Masada uploads from my blog. Piano based ethni-jazz

Despite the fact that I uploaded the entire Masada "Book of Angels" series (sans the latest installment) earlier this year, I'm not a die hard Tzadik records fan. I think they produce a lot of great jazz releases, but with the plethora of stuff that gets released every month on the label (such is a way of life with John Zorn), there is a whole lot of shit in those releases. The "Radical Jewish Culture" series often turns me off. I seem to give as many of the releases I can a try (good luck keeping up) and most don't do it for me. I like jewish music, I guess. I just don't need to listen to 43 new albums of avant-garde Jewish jazz every year. 2009 was no different from 2008 in this regard, except for Borah Bergman's second release under the RJM subheading. Luminescence features not only the always brilliant pianist Bergman, but the equally adept Kenny Wollesen and bassist Greg Cohen. I really enjoy these three and as a trio they work great. As a jazz release, this might be my single favorite of the year, it was certainly the one I listened to the most. The Jewish aspect certainly runs through the entire length, but's not overpowering the improvisation and traditional jazz elements that keep this release so pleasant. There is nothing abrasive on here, but it's not light. Bergman weaves in and out, improvises as only he can and really keeps the spotlight on himself. If you like piano jazz, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not giving this a try. It's the one Tzadik release this year that truly stood out to me.


Clipse - Til The Casket Drops
(Dec. 8) (Columbia) (Myspace)
RIYL: Most people know what the Clipse sound like.

When you are a hip hop group with 4 classics under your belt in the span of about 4 years, you're eventually going to disappoint. Anyone who is anyone knew this album wasn't going to compare to Hell Hath No Fury and undoubtedly would lack the impact of game changers Lord Willin' and the We Got It 4 Cheap series. But it is still a good album. The Neptunes handle production on 8 of the 13 songs, though none of them are as exciting as the bare-bones yet sonically intense work of the previous two full lengths. The divide between Malice and Pusha seems to have grown. You can tell the two apart more than ever. Whatever, I don't need to describe this. The fact is that it's a Clipse album and most of it is enjoyable. 3 songs ("The Was a Murder", "All Eyes On Me" and "Champion") I find to be no good, but the rest is still top tier rap. Is it disappointing? Yes. But that is almost entirely because it's the Clipse we're talking about here.


CYNE - Water For Mars
(Aug. 11) (Hometapes) (Myspace)
RIYL: Early 2000's underground hip hop.

CYNE has been steadily doing their thing on the "underground" hip hop scene since 2003. Their previous 4 LPs have all been good, providing songs that don't meander around bullshit and just go straight into that "true" hip hop those geeks want. Last year, they released Starship Utopia and Pretty Dark Things which expanded their sound into a little more jazz and experimental territory, letting grooves ride out. This year, they are back to the forumula that made their even earlier release Evolution Fight really stand out in 2005. 20 songs, all pretty short, minimal yet pretty beats and backing music and just allowing Cise Starr and Akin to rap about what they want, how they want. It's smooth. It's quick. It's hip hop. I don't know of any other group out there that is more aligned with what kids with crooked caps called "real hip hop" and if CYNE is loved by these groups, so be it. They know what they're good at and they continue to put out good records. I just wonder how much longer this formula can work, maybe pushing even further than Starship Utopia would bring about truly exciting results.


Eilen Jewell - Sea Of Tears
(April 21) (Signature Sounds) (Myspace)
RIYL: Neko Case, Emmylou Harris, that song from "True Blood"

Lately, I've been finding the world's favorite jazz-style country singer Neko Case to be a bit much. She's great, I don't doubt it - but it has just reached a point where I don't really ever want to hear her stretch words out as long as she can, no matter how pretty her voice is. Eilen Jewell is much more in line with what I'm looking for right now. Musically, this album drifts from jazz to tin-pan alley to country to pop to some gothic sounding stuff. Vocally, Eilen Jewell is pretty subdued, almost a tease. Her voice is pretty, you know she's packing pipes - but it would probably ruin the music. And the music is dark - not dark and foreboding, but country music that works better as a nightcap. A little bit of swamp boogie is thrown in, a lot of the late 1960s, some references to dark colors, but topped with a beautiful sheen. There's no reason that Eilen Jewell shouldn't be one of the biggest acts on the adult contemporary chart. Maybe she's just too good.



Emeralds - What Happened / Emeralds
(Jan. 19 / September) (No Fun / Wagon)
RIYL: Ash-Ra Temple, Vangelis, Growing, Zombi, etc.

I suppose on the underground synth and guitar-based drone scene, you don't get much bigger than Ohio's own Emeralds. Since 2006, the group has put out countless releases, if not under the Emeralds banner than perhaps under their own names or another similarly themed drone project they are a part of. We're talking real limited quantities here. I like Emeralds. I have for a couple years now and though I don't go and try gobble up everything the collective puts out, they definitely have a lot of great stuff. Their major "LPs" from this year, What Happened and the the self-titled are great. What Happened was probably their most blogged about release to date and is the easiest release of theirs to get a copy of. It's 5 tracks, 3 of which hover around the 15-minute mark. Opening with shimmering synths fading in and out, the album does a great job of balancing minimal sounds that build to huge crescendos. Though they get labeled as ambient by some nutjobs - don't be mistaken, they're not. Listen, this music isn't for everyone and a good portion of the people who read this list probably have both of these releases and many more from this group of musicians. Don't tell me these aren't their best - I don't care. The point is that they are still good and with the amount of releases these dudes put out, that's a feat in itself.



Freddie Gibbs - Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik
(Aug. 27) (Self-Releasd) (Myspace)
RIYL: Young Buck, some members of Dungeon Family and Killer Mike, Eightball & MJG

If you forgive the horrible article itself, the fact that Sasha Frere-Jones wrote about Freddie Gibbs in The New Yorker is pretty cool. For those of you aren't down with datpiff.com and don't follow allhiphop and all the other mixtape shit that's out there: Freddie Gibbs is the real deal. I mean it. Releasing mixtapes himself that play way more like albums than mixtapes. Nice production, some extaordinary rhymes and a flow that can hardly be matched, Gibbs should be on top of the hip hop world. To me, the dude has a voice like Young Buck but a bounce in his flow that reminds me of Big Gipp from Goodie Mob. It's gangster rap from Gary, Indiana. Better than most of the gangster stuff that gets play these days, I don't know how the mainstream part of the world can ignore Freddie Gibbs much longer. I suppose he doesn't put out songs that would be successfucl singles, but it shouldn't matter. The people in the know won't be able to hold him much longer.

speaking of which, did Kon give up on his?

maybe he got a job?

talk about me more, i post reviews

Hey guys, contradiction is awesome.

you're all over the place with hip hop.

Gibbs is the real deal though.

yeah, i really like that gibbs album.

clipse should be nowhere near here though.

jay-z will also be on my list

ugh.

and raekwon won't be in the top 25!

change your name to rodney dangerfield.

I'm going to check a few of these out.

And here is part 2. My reviews might start to progressively shorter and/or more non-sensical, but shit guys Christmas is coming up.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
(May 26) (Honest Jons) (Myspace)
RIYL: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Band Jazz, Horns

I used to think the prospect of a horn-based big brass band doing hip hop songs would be so cool. Then, it started happening. Happening quite a lot. I still like some things (I mean c'mon even though every marching band in America does a version of 'Jesus Walks'-it's still pretty awesome), but in reality the actual thought of a shitty rapper doing his thing over awesome music no longer works. In fact, I guess it never really did. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble ditches the rapper, and instead just gives us 8 brothers who play different horns and a drummer and they throw down a party for 52 minutes. The songs can blend into each other and start to sound the same, but if that's so - it's a good one. Turn the shit up loud, and just get down. It's funky, it's jazzy, it's hip hop if you want to call it that. It's just excellent.


Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
(Sept. 8) (Roc) (Myspace)
RIYL: Jay-Z

I'm officially a Jay-Z apologist at this point. Well I don't know if that's true. If I thought that Kingdom Come was a good album, then I would be a Jay-Z apologist. If I thought that both albums with R. Kelly were good, then I would be a Jay-Z apologist. If Blueprint 3 was truly as bad as lots of critics and people have claimed it to be, then I would be a Jay-Z apologist. But it's not as bad as some have claimed. In fact, it's rather good. Sure it's not as good as The Blueprint, but I will say that it's slightly more cohesive and a better listen than Blueprint 2. You've heard "DOA", you've heard "Run This Town", you've heard "Empire State of Mind" - the fact is that these are 3 of the best singles of the year. The album isn't perfect, there are some bad tracks. But for sheer joy, Jay-Z put out some of my favorite rap songs of the year. Sue me.


Lotus Plaza - The Floodlight Collective
(March 24) (Kranky) (Blogspot)
RIYL: Deerhunter, My Bloody Valentine, Ride

It's sort of funny to include a Deerhunter side-project when I've never really given a shit about Deerhunter or Bradford Cox's other projects. That's not to say that I don't like Deerhunter. I thought Microcastle was good. I even thought that the Atlas Sound album from this year was good, but I still don't really give a shit about them. Lotus Plaza is the work on Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt. It's safe to say I don't really give a shit about him either. I would never say I was anticipating this album prior to its release. What I can tell you is that for the last 9 months, I had been tempted to delete it from itunes more than any other 2009 release. "Why should I give a shit about this guy? It's just some hazy, shoegaze bedroom product." Suffice to say, I didn't ever get rid of it and in the month of December, I actually value it. It's comfortable, as bad as that sounds. And sometimes comfort is all we need from an album.


MF DOOM - Born Like This
(March 24) (Lex) (Myspace)
RIYL: Kool Keith, Madlib, Ghostface

Half a decade ago, Doom was the most prolific dude in hip hop. He was probably the weirdest and least likely underground rapper to catch fire and almost break the mainstream. He almost did. Then he disappeared. Over time, the effect of his albums and various projects seemed to have lessened. "Yeah, dude is cool - but..." I've said it. Madvillain was the undisputed best album of 2004 and halfway through the decade would probably have it in the top 3 albums of the year. Where does it land now? I don't know, I hardly listen to it. The point is that Born Like This is better than anything he has released since. It's better than MM...FOOD and DangerDoom and whatever else you want to throw out there. I'm not going to get into the fact that lots of the beats are recycled Dilla and Madlib beats that can be found on other releases, I don't care. They work here. Will I ever love DOOM the way I did in 2004? No, probably not. But if he puts out albums like Born Like This every once in awhile, I'm not going to forget about him.

Mimicking Birds - Mimicking Birds
(???) (???) (Myspace)
RIYL: Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, those Echo-laden vocal groups

I saw Mimicking Birds open for The Tallest Man on Earth sometime in 2008 or early 2009. Looking at these super regular looking northwest guys, I thought "fuck, this music is going to suck," but they stole that show. At some point early in 2009 this "release" made it's way online (sorry Nate Lacy). I don't know if it's an actual release or if someone just collected a bunch of the songs on myspace and zipped them up. There's no album art to speak of. Whatever. The songs speak for themselves. It sounds like My Morning Jacket at their most low-key (you know, the real good stuff). Not everything is perfect, but it is definitely pretty. Sometimes I get a Dave Matthews vibe from some of the music which is a bummer, but the strength of most of it really made this release stick with me throughout the year. Definitely one of my most listened to things for the duration of 2009. Oh, check out this performance of them on OPB and you can decide you like it or not. Apparently they are release a proper debut LP on Glacial Place in February, so hopefully that happens.



Neokarma Jooklo Trio - Time's Vibes
(March 24) (Conspiracy) (Website)
RIYL: Acid Mothers Temple, Hawkwind, Krautrock and lots of hippie shit

This list could use some real hippie shit. You like hand percussion? Well this album is probably for you. Hopefully you like it riddle with awesome droning electric guitar and random other sounds here and there and you like your jams to last for like 10 minutes. Listen, I don't really know a lot about this group. I know there are lots of different incantations of this group, I know different experimental musicians help out here and there, whatever. I've heard one other Neokarma Jooklo release and it had nothing on this. For real one of the best droning, awesome, psychedelic records of the year. I didn't listen to it a whole lot and that is the only reason it's not in the ranked portion of the list. Every time I've listened to it, I've loved it about as much as any other record released this year. JAMS



Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II
(Sept. 8) (Ice H2O) (Myspace)
RIYL: Wu-Tang, Dr. Dre, New York

Before you break out in a fury and tell me it's criminal that the best Wu-Tang album since Supreme Clientele is not even in the Top 25, let me say that I already agree with you. It is criminal. If this had been any other year and I'd been in my right mind, this would be a top 3 album. The point is that I only listened to it the whole way through a fraction of the times I listened to the other hip hop on this list (except maybe Clipse, but that's because it's been out only a couple weeks). This is Wu-Tang in top form. This is an album that the fans have been waiting for and it delivers as well as any Wu-Tang album post-1993 can. The beats are classic Wu-Tang, whether handeled by Pete Rock, RZA, Dr. Dre, Alchemist or J Dilla. The guests are top form whether they are Wu-Tang members (Inspectah Deck drops some dope verses) or other rap stars whose have been falling off (I'm looking at you, Jadakiss). 10 years from now, I'll go ahead and say that this will be looked at as one of the great hip hop albums of the decade - it just didn't have the effect it should've had on me this year in which it was released.


Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
(Sept. 22) (Mute) (Myspace)
RIYL: Scott Walker, Tindersticks, Nick Cave, Pulp

Looking back on the decade, Richard Hawley has almost no competition for the title of most underrated musician of the decade. Since 2002, he has put out 5 really good records, with 2005's Coles Corner likely being in my top 10 of the entire decade. He makes the most perfect late night music: beautifully orchestrated pop songs topped fronted by his crystal clear and emotive vocals, singing some of the most image-inducing lyrics that I know of. A modern day Sinatra for the sleazebags and the hopeless romantics. Truelove's Gutter is probably his sparsest album to date. Hawley is a master of creating songs that fit in a specific time/place. For me, he's always been someone for the early morning or the late night. I cannot tell you the amount of times I listened to Coles Corner or Late Night Final after midnight. Truelove's Gutter is much the same in this way, but can fit at other times as well. Everyone can get something different from it, but it's never going to be the music you blast from your car stereo. It's time to stop ignoring Richard Hawley and recognize him as one of the most consistent forces in the music world.


Six Organs of Admittance - Luminous Night
(Aug. 18) (Drag City) (Myspace)
RIYL: Robbie Basho, Grateful Dead, Current 93

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ben Chasney is one of my very favorite musicians. While listening to this album recently, my girlfriend told me she had never heard me mention him or his Six Organs of Admittance moniker. I pointed out he's been on just about every top 50 I've conceived in some way or another. The point is that she's never heard me listen to him when she's in the room. That makes sense. Six Organs of Admittance is and has been personal music. It's not music you're going to put on with a group of people unless you are really creepy when stoned. That's not to say it's particularly deep and/or dark, it's just music that you listen to on your own. Headphones in particular, work great. Luminous Night is a bit less electric than his other recent outings, but it veers into that territory every now and then. The album is however, an excercise in hippie forest jams. The guitar is great, the vocals are well-there. It's not my favorite Six Organs album, but the fact is that it IS a Six Organs album and there's yet to be a poor one.


Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
(June) (HoZac) (Myspace)
RIYL: Guided By Voices, T. Rex, Exploding Hearts

By 2009 I was mostly over the lo-fi punk thing that had been going on for the last few years and really exploded in 2007 and 2008. Some of the best acts were getting less good, some were getting better - but really, I just grew tired of most of it. Cool, it's lo-fi, way to go. The problem was that a lot of the music just wasn't any good. The Smith Westerns break that idea in a big way. Writing genuinely classic power pop songs that are reminiscent of T. Rex's glam days, just with a much smaller budget. Terribly catchy, well written songs. The lo-fi sound still won't be for everyone, but I can say right now that this is much better then where lo-fi went with the whole chillwave thing that is big right now. Probably one of the best pure rock n roll records of the year.



Taken By Trees - East of Eden
(Sept. 8) (Rough Trade) (Myspace)
RIYL: Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn & John, Sweden

I still think that "Young Folks" is a good song. Sure it overstayed it's welcome, but it for me - the fact that broke through the mainstream was one of the real success stories of the decade and even though PB&J haven't created anything as good since, the track still stands solidly on it's own. Victoria Bergsman is the female voice on that song. Before that she was the female voice for indie pop band The Concretes. Since then she's been a solo artist called Taken By Trees. I paid almost zero attention to her 2007 release Open Field even though I heard the Tough Alliance remix of "Too Young" a handful of times. All of this is irrelevant because East of Eden is the best thing she's ever been a part of. The story goes that Victoria and her engineer traveled from Sweden to Pakistan to record this album, ran into some trouble, she was almost kidnapped, they hooked up with a Pakistani musician and essentially recorded a Swedish indie-pop album entirely with Pakistani instruments. What we get is something that is much more organic sounding than much of the pop music that Bergsman has previously been involved with. Her vocals are still cold, but the music has a warmth that she hasn't had since "Young Folks". It basically sounds like Lykki Li singing over Animal Collective arrangements, which is funny considering that Panda Bear does backing vocals on "Anna" and the standout track and reason I checked out this album in the first place is her cover of "My Girls". The album may be a bastardization or gentrification of native music for some, but to be - in a world where modern Western music often tries to blend with that of other culture's - this hardly even sounds like the point was to go to Pakistan and record. It sounds natural.



Intelligence - Fake Surfers
(May 18) (In The Red) (Myspace)
RIYL: The Fall, Liars, more Lo-Fi stuff too

The second best lo-fi album of the year behind the Smith Westerns, though this one is decidedly different from that. Drum machines, weird sounds, lots of different styles and experiments, this album is sort of all over the place. Seems a little less serious than a traditional rock n roll record and more like "we don't give a fuck - we will do whatever we feel like." It doesn't all work on it's own, but taken together as a whole album it does work. Some songs are a bit more acoustic and echoey, some are heavy on just about everything, some float here and there, there's feedback, there's sharp riffs. It's a lot of fun whatever it is.


Thomas Köner - La Barca
(Aug. 31) (Farlo) (Myspace)
RIYL: Brian Eno, Harold Budd, the best of ambient composers

For years, Thomas Köner has been considered one of the best ambient composers on the planet, but with La Barca, the man may have reached his highest achievement yet. La Barca is an hour long meditation of sound in which Köner employs many different instruments and effects and wonderfully placed found sounds/field recordings. I never read much about the album, but with every track titled with certain coordinates, I can't help but think these recordings mean something personal to the composer - remind him of these places - and I'm assuming the field recordings on each track are from these locations. Tokyo, Nice, France, Venice, La Palma, Roma, Damascus, Paris. I've never been to any of these places nor the places the other tracks reference. But I want to go. And I'll bring this album with me. Beautiful.



Vitalic - Flashmob
(Sept. 29) (Different) (Myspace)
RIYL: Justice, Röyskopp, Daft Punk, Simian Mobile Disco

All this heavy hitting French electro disco shit is out of style right? Probably. It's all about minimal now or Balearic again or whatever we want to call whatever we want to listen to. This album is great. I'll say that right now. In between all the trippy, head-messing, drug-induced techno and electronic music I've enjoyed this year, I needed something to just rock my world, make me want to dance and be a lot of fun. Flashmob is that album. I don't remember what critics said about this album, I don't really remember what they said about Ok Cowboy, I just know that this album hits hard. One of my favorite listens front to back. Vitalic seems equally at home doing things that he became famous for in the first place, but the real bread and butter of the album are the new things he tries here and there. Put on the strobe.

Ok, well. There ya go. 25-50. I don't know when I'll get the Top 25 up. Sometime, I guess.

btw this can all be seen a lot better if you go to my blog i guess

whatever dorks

1. animal collective - mpp
2. mountains - choral
3. the-dream - love vs. money
4. mos def - the ecstatic
5. a sunny day in glasgow - ashes grammar

6. mastodon - crack the skye
7. dirty projectors - bitte orca
8. phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
9. jon hassell - last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street
10. bonnie prince billy - beware

11. tyondai braxton - central market
12. andrew douglas rothbard - exodusarabesque
13. wilco - wilco (the album)
14. the xx - the xx
15. grizzly bear - veckatimest

16. junior boys - begone dull care
17. svarte greiner - kappe
18. dj quik & kurupt - blaqkout
19. skyramps - days of thunder
20. clark - totems flare

21. redshape - the dance paradox
22. here we go magic - here we go magic
23. william basinski - 92982
24. ryan leslie - ryan leslie/transition
25. mulatu astatke/heliocentrics - inspiration information 3 and jimi tenor/tony allen - inspiration information 4

I haven't given albums like love vs money or the ryan leslie a fair shake just because I kind of know I won't like it, but I should give those a listen anyway.

I just recently heard that dirty projectors album and I did enjoy it, I'll have to give it a few more listens to see if it belongs in my top 20.

that mos def is great, but I got burnt out on it and forgot about it a little.

i think i like The Ecstatic better than Black On Both Sides. Ryan Leslie is fairly standard r&b, i just really like his production style/personality. the-dream's album is fantastic. i didn't want to like it and i still don't really like his first one in nearly the same way, but its really good.

Props on the Thomas Koner. Lots to learn from this list.

i'll write reviews for the top 25 eventually

Yeah, a lot of good stuff on here.

Emeralds-No better band out there right now (I have this ranked a good bit higher).

Thomas Koner-Beautiful record. Nice call on that.

Ben Frost- Think he's come into his own nicely. I might like this better if it wasn't for William Fowler Collins putting out a remarkable dark record this year, so yeah, came up in short by comparison for me, but still an artist to keep an eye on for sure.

Six Organs-Agree with you that Chasney has never let me down.

Basinski-Brilliant as always, nothing much to say there.

Ty Braxton- I think dude is way too often overlooked. The things he does with vox, whether with Battles, or solo are just remarkable.

Svarte Greiner-I go back and forth on whether I prefer him or solo or with Deaf Center. I didn't spend much time with the record this year, I should probably go back and listen to it now seeing how high you have it.

Blues Control-Like I said in my review, I think they are painfully close to something really good, but just seem a bit disjointed to me. When they lock in though, it is great stuff.

I need to check out the Neokarma album. I have heard nothing of it before now, but sounds right up my alley.

I'm surprised to not see that killer Eluvium vinyl issue on here, figured that would be right up your alley.

Great stuff as always man.

I counted the Eluvium box as a reissue and I don't include reissues

#25
William Basinski - 92982
(April 27) (2062) (Myspace)
RIYL: Brian Eno, Tape Music, breathing

Sound artist William Basinski became a superstar of the ambient music world with his Disintegration Loops 4-cd series of 2004. Chronicling the decay of decades old tape loops as Basinski attempted to remaster and digitize the originals, the music that resulted was hours that somehow touched everyone who listened to it. It also became the unofficial tribute music for 9/11. I love those compositions and since then I have tried to acquire any and all of Basinski's music I can. His long-form pieces have been my go-to bedtime music for years. 92982 is Basinki's first of two releases from 2009. Due to the fact that of the 4 tracks on this release, two are previously composed pieces from the 80s, one is an 80s composition redone and one is a shortened version of a recent piece, the album title is likely a reference to the date it indicates. Let me state that there are better and more engaging/interesting ambient albums that were released this year, this is Basinksi being Basinski. Simple piano chords looped endlessly, fuzzy ambience permeating the recording, the sounds of NYC sprinkled throughout. It's not perfect, it's not his best work, but it still had an effect on me. He seems to have a knack for that. In times of stress, it's nice to come down with some Basinski.


#24
Ryan Leslie - Ryan Leslie / Transition
(Feb. 10 / Nov. 3) (Casablanca) (Myspace)
RIYL: Neptunes, Usher, modern R&B

Most of us have probably heard the Ryan Leslie story. A boy genius, Leslie scored perfect on his SATs at age 15, graduated from Harvard at age 19, became a bit of an internet phenomenon with his production skills and musical prowess, wrote and produced songs for some of the biggest names in pop music, got his debut album shelved in 2005, produced all of his then-girlfriend Cassie's album, including "Me&U" aka one of the most addicting songs of the decade, released some music from his upcoming album, finally released his self-titled proper debut in February, experienced all sorts of shit with Cassie, where I don't know the whole story, who left him and is with Diddy. His star rose a bit, he had the internet blowing up (check youtube, for real), had a fling with some girls during the summer, released Transition and by now the guy should be taking over pop music (he isn't, but he should be). Now for my story: it actually took me a while to actually appreciated Ryan Leslie. Yeah I'd heard "Diamond Girl" and "Addicted" and "Gibberish" here and there, but I didn't really understand why some people thought this stood out from other r&b. Then I realized that the fact that it barely does is part of the genius. Leslie has ultimate crossover appeal. He's a great musician, a more than competent singer who reaches the high and middle ranges, and the dude raps better than any of the other singer/rapper types. To top it off, his production is as exciting as a Neptunes production was back in 2002. His style is similar to Chad and Pharrell, but unmistakably rooted in modern, radio-friendly r&b. Oh and I enjoy Transition more and loved it the first time I heard it, but I really like them both a lot.


#23
Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics - Inspiration Information Vol. 3
Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen - Inspiration Information Vol. 4
(April / Oct. 26) (Strut) (Website)
RIYL: the soundtrack to "Broken Flowers", Fela Kuti, Funk, awesome shit all the time

Strut Records should win some sort of award this year or something. Of all the many excellent labels popping up in the last few years that specialize in reissuing compilations of african funk and other world music, Strut Records is one of the best. It also helps they put out some real good releases in other genres too. But their award for the year should go to the Inspiration Information series they started at the end of 2008. The idea is putting into work something that music fans have thought about forever: "if you could take a current musician and pair him with a legend, who would you choose?" For volume one, Strut Records helped team together neo-soul/funk pioneer Amp Fiddler with Sly & Robbie. The second volume teamed Ashley Beedle with Horace Andy (though it wasn't very good), but volumes 3 and 4 are unbelievably awesome. Volume 3 teams up the king of Ethiopian music, Mulatu Astatke with up-and-coming avant-funk musicians The Heliocentrics. The result should in reality be the album of the year (hell, Bob Boilen from NPR said so and surprised me). Mulatu's blending of west and east rhythms on the keys and vibes blends almost too perfectly with the Heliocentrics firepower of drumming and anything else they want. Volume 4 teams Jimi Tenor, who already had a great album from earlier this year with Fela Kuti alum and the king of all African drummers, Tony Allen. Tenor and Allen do some speaking and singing throughout the record, resulting in an album that needs ass-shaking to be truly successful. The funk is hard-hitting, the horns stab. The lyrics are funny and sexual. It's just a great time. Contrasting the two is great as well. Wildly different, but both essential.


#22
Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic
(Feb. 17) (Western Vinyl) (Myspace)
RIYL: The Shins meet Animal Collective, My Life in a Bush of Ghosts

As an actual full-length album, Luke Temple's debut release under his Here We Go Magic moniker doesn't really work. The music is all over the place, often with little connective thread linking tracks together. Getting from track 1 to track 9, noticing the difference between the two and then recognizing those other 7 tracks were a part of the same album can cause some head-scratching upon first listen. Yet this ALBUM stuck with me longer than almost any other album all year. There are three reasons why this Here We Go Magic works for me. 1. The haze that runs through the album. We can call it lo-fi again if we want, but it is far removed from what usually gets labeled as such. 2. The thought that despite the diversity of tracks on the album, that if I were to make music during this decade of my 20s, based on a lot of my influences and where I wanted to take them: that album would sound much like this. 3. Let's work this out: "Only Pieces", "Fangela", "Ahab" and "Tunnelvision" open up the album and are four of my favorite pop songs all year. "Ghost List" comes out of nowhere, doesn't fit with those songs but turns out to be one of my favorite and most listened to ambient tracks of the year. "I Just Want To See You Underwater" is probably the best Animal Collective song not by Animal Collective. "Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore" and "Nat's Alien" are two more ambient tracks that aren't quite as good as "Ghost List" but still hold my attention as misplaced as they are, and "Everything's Big" wanders further from any other track - sounding like a mix between Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams and other alt. country troubadors being backed by a parking lot carnival band and delivering an emotional tin-pan alley standard. If this didn't get your attention, you're lost. It's not a great album, but it is a great collection of songs.

#21
Redshape - The Dance Paradox
(Oct.) (Delsin) (Myspace)
RIYL: I don't know. Berlin techno?

I always cop out when it come to writing reviews of techno records because it's probably the genre I'm least familiar with. Or at least, the genre in which I could make a fool of myself with faster than any other. Techno fans are serious fans. I like techno, but I'm real casual about it. As I said before, I don't really subscribe and seek out hot singles, even though that is what electronic music is geared towards. I'm still an LP guy, so when a full-length techno release as good as The Dance Paradox finds me, I get real excited. The once mysterious Redshape creates classic-style techno that maintains an original voice throughout. He's not just ripping into the last 25 years of electronic dance music, but you can certainly follow a thread to see who some of his influences may have been. Incorporating live drums on certain tracks, spacy pads, stabbing synths, it is beautifully produced. We've heard similar things before, but perhaps there has been nothing quite this good that has coalesced a lot of different familiar influences into one unique whole. For me it is instantly the most enjoyable techno offering this year. I don't typically like quoting other reviewers more than once a year in a list, but I thought that RA's Chris Mann summarized the album nicely in his review, "The Dance Paradox is rich with cinematic atmosphere, invention and aural sleight-of-hand. At once familiar it is also disorientatingly new and it sets itself apart by its remarkable sound design with plenty of fuel left over for the dance floor. It's one of the year's best albums, and reinforces and reinvents Redshape's previously held awe of mystery and unknown."