2009年 01月 15日 木曜日 00:04

39. The Calm Blue Sea - s/t

38. Fleet Foxes - s/t

37. Crystal Castles - s/t

36. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer

35. Firebrand Boy - PopNaive

34. Johann Johannsson - Forlandia

33. sgt. - Stylus Fantasticus

32. Innerpartysystem - s/t

31. Euphoria - Silence Is Everywhere

30. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends

29. Firewater - The Golden Hour

28. Pg.lost - Its Not Me, Its You!

27. Sweatshop Union - Water Street

26. M83 - Saturdays=Youth

25. Woven - Designer Codes

24. The Evpatoria Report - Maar

23. Lakes of Russia - Stars Decorate The Fire

22. Metaform - Standing On The Shoulders of Giants

21. Deadly Avenger - Blossoms and Blood

20. Ef - I Am Responsible

19. Ours - Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy)

18. Pitchblend - The Lines of Unreason

17. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead

16. The Seven Mile Journey - The Metamorphosis Project

15. The American Dollar - A Memory Stream

14. Ebu Gogo - Worlds

13. Demians - Building An Empire

12. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

11. Russian Circles - Station

10. Amos Lee - Last Days At The Lodge
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drk700/k794/k79423uy58r.jpg

Another gem from Amos. This album seems to be his most cohesive work to date as far as incorporating his band is concerned which does take away a bit from the intimacy of the album but widens his appeal. You can still feel his soul/gospel roots which is what attracted me to his music in the first place. As long as he maintains this I don't think the man can go wrong.

9. Apes & Androids - Blood Moon
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/25743.jpg

Hard to give an accurate description of this album. It's unlike anything I've ever heard before. I suppose its a huge mashup of David Bowie/Queen/cheesy 80s music with amazing synth/effect work on the instrumentation. Has to be heard to fully understand my weak description.

8. The Reign Of Kindo - Rhythm Chord and Melody
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drl500/l553/l55390hlibb.jpg

I had really been looking forward to this full release and wasn't disappointed at all. I'd describe it as flowing, jazz-influenced, pop-rock (don't let the 'pop-rock' label scare you away…its intelligent music). This album will bring you places. The drumming is a huge highlight for me.

7. Ani DiFranco - Red Letter Year
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EwCpoAXsL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Ani continues to bring out creative, intelligently stimulating music. This album definitely has marks of maturity that are likely a reflection of the settling down that tends to come with getting married (and having a child). Its great to see her continually re-inventing herself even after almost 20 years.

6. The Flashbulb - Soundtrack to a Vacant Life
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/26412.jpg

"Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is an immense collection of songs meant to tackle the broad spectrum of human emotion." I struggled to find a statement to describe this album and figured this guy put it best. Benn Jordan is mostly considered an electronic artist but he could have fooled me with many of the great tracks on this album. He mixes together spanish guitar with idm beats with piano with synths with together drumming with grinding power chords and on and on and on (run-on sentence anyone?). If anything just throw on the track 'Hello, I'm Benn' and imagine yourself floating around in space. The tracks are long enough for enjoyment but short enough that those with wandering attention spans will be satisfied.

5. Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/26384.jpg

I hadn't heard anything previous to this release but likely will after hearing this record. Incorporating many string instruments, electronic gadgets, and piano, Cloud Cult crafts Modest Mouse'esque music. Singer Craig Minowa's lyrics
and voice make for a soft, introspective feel, contrasting the wild, energetic songs that splatter the album. There are a few slower songs that I feel match Craigs vocals much better but he still makes it work.

4. Foals - Antidotes
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/26031.jpg

Dancy album of the year for me. This album goes to show you that you don't need over-the-top technical skill on your instruments to craft a great album. These guys compliment each other perfectly using basic drumming, effect driven
guitars, and solid chugging baselines.

3. Mutyuma - il y a
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/29482.jpg

This album made its way to my top ten very quickly. They did it by creating a very cohesive album that somehow blends genres like metal, hardcore, classical, and post-rock. I do believe they meant it to be a concept album but as it is sung in japanese its hard to say from a lyrical standpoint. The music definitely reflects it. Don't let the metal and hardcore references scare you away, they only encompass a small part of this album. There are some amazing and beautiful violin/piano breakdowns that take you away.

2. The Pineapple Thief - Tightly Unwound
http://www.coco-records.nl/catalog/images/5448337m.jpg

For those who are unfamiliar with Pineapple Thief the best explanation of their sound would be Radiohead meets Porcupine Tree. They have somehow managed to release a record a year for the past three. Up until Tightly Unwound I felt it was to their disadvantage. This album contains much of what I enjoy in music…….atmosphere, electronic assistance, acoustic guitar, grinding electric guitar, great drumming, breakdowns. This albums sets melancholy moods, blows them out of the water with soaring guitars, then brings them back down to joyful resolution.

1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/images/albums/30682.jpg

This album makes me a) happy b) want to dance c) sing out loud. That is all that is required of my description.