Lots of our friends, ex-coworkers, & business associates have also chimed in with some interesting Best Of lists!
STEPHEN SOWLEY; Electrical Audio
Bill Orcutt--A New Way To Pay Off Old Debts
Paul F. Tompkins--Freak Wharf
Vee Dee--Public Mental Health System
Blues Control--Local Flavor
Primavera Festival in Barcelona and the 5000000 "This Is Happen To Me"
moments that it entailed.
IMPLODES and everything they do.
Sunn O)))--Monoliths & Dimensions
Rich Boy--Drop 12"
Robert Wyatt--Radio Experiment Rome, February, 1981
Mayyors--Deads 12"
Pissed Jeans--King Of Jeans
Throbbing Gristle--Logan Square
Brett Eugene Ralph--Black Sabbatical
Tim Hecker--An Imaginary Country
Death--For the Whole World To See
East Bound & Down
ATP NY '09 and the 200 "this is happening to me" moments that it entailed
Fucked Up--Year Of The Rat 12"
three way tie for criminal charges: Drunkdriver--Fire Sale 45// Billy
Bao--May '08// Drunkdriver & Mattin--List of Profound Insecurities 12"
Obits--I Blame You
Jim O'Rourke--The Visitor
Group Bombino--Guitars From Agadez vol. 2
Iron Lung/Walls/Pig Heart Transplant--Public Humiliation
Richard Youngs--Under A Stellar Stream
Moritz Von Oswald Trio--Vertical Ascent
Umbrella Music Festival '09
v/a--A Orillas del Magdalena: Coastal Cumbias from Colombia's Discos Fuentes
Jack Rose is beautiful; Jack Rose is FOREVER. ADAM BARTLETT; Gilead Media and The Independent Label Collective
AARON AITES & AUDREY EWELL; directors of “Until the Light Takes Us”
1. Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds
2. Om - Pilgrimage
3. Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, The Commuter
4. MV & EE - Drone Trailer
5. MV & EE - Barn Nova
6. Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom
7. Natural Snow Buildings - Daughter of Darkness
8. Valet - False Face Society
9. Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade
10. Beherit - Engram
BRIAN CASE; The Ponys/Disappears
Top 11 in no order really except for the first one:
The Horrors - Primary Colors (XL)
Times New Viking - Born Again (Matador)
Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (Matador)
XX - XX (Young Turks)
Beak> - Beak> (Ipecac)
Nudge - As Good As Gone (Kranky)
Niesennmondi - Destination Tokyo (Small Town Supersound)
Strange Boys - And Girls Club (In The Red)
Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen - Inspiration Information 4 (Strut / !K7)
Girls - Album (True Panther Sounds)
Woven Bones - Midas Touch EP (Zoo Music)
ADAM BARTLETT; Gilead Media and The Independent Label Collective
In no specific order, my favorite records of 2009
Get Rad - What The Fuck Happened To Common Sense? 12"
Graf Orlock - Destination Time: Today LP
The Mercury Program - Chez Viking LP
Thou/Mohoram Atta - Degradation of Human Life Split LP
Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited - The Spooky Sound Sessions LP
Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware LP
M. Ward - Hold Time LP
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast 2xLP
Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough CD
Iron and Wine - Around The Well 3xLP
TORSTEN of Northern Silence Productions, Germany
1. augrimmer-from the lone winters cold
2. spiritus mortis-the god behind the god
3. rituals of the oak-hour of judgement
4. amesoeurs-amesoeurs
5. griftegård-solemn.sacred.severe
DAVE DESTROYER; Revolver distribution
1 - dam funk - toeachizown (not available through us but SO GOOD)
2 - mount eerie - wind's poem
3 - oneida - rated o
4 - mantles - s/t
5 - james ferraro - clear & discovery LPs
6 - little claw - human taste
7 - gang gang dance - saint dymphna
8 - talk normal - sugarland
9 - smith westerns - s/t
10 - tropa macaca - sensacao do principio
re-issue - serge gainsbourg - histoire de melody nelson
single - sic alps - l mansion
ADAM REACH; Touch & Go Records
2009 Best of (in no particular order):
Mayyors "Deads EP" - self released
Om "God Is Good" - Drag City
The Jesus Lizard "Pure (Reissue)" - Touch and Go
The Jesus Lizard "Head (Reissue)" - Touch and Go
The Jesus Lizard "Goat (Reissue)" - Touch and Go
The Jesus Lizard "Liar (Reissue)" - Touch and Go
The Jesus Lizard "Down (Reissue)" - Touch and Go
Cave "Psychic Summer" - Permanent
Polvo "In Prism" - Merge
Gun Outfit "Dim Light" - Post Present Medium
Slayer "World Painted Blood" - American
Tyvek "S/T" - Siltbreeze
Double Dagger "More" - Thrill Jockey
Mission of Burma "The Sound The Speed The Light" - Matador
Twin Stumps "S/T" - Dais
Sunn O))) "Monoliths and Dimensions" - Southern Lord
Death "...For The Whole World To See" - Drag City
Obits "I Blame You" - Sub Pop
White Shit - "Sculpted Beef" - Post Present Medium
Blues Control "Local Flavor" - Siltbreeze
V/A "Eccentric Soul: Smart's Palace" - Numero Group
The Black Heart Procession "Six" - Temporary Residence
Crocodiles "Summer of Hate" - Fat Possum
Shannon Wright "Honeybee Girls" - Vicious Circle
Halo of Flies "Gay Witch Abortion Sessions" - Amphetamine Reptile
Mi Ami "Watersports" - Quarterstick
Big Business "The Drift" - Hydra Head
HENRY OWINGS; Chunklet
The Mantles - all (especially the Siltbreeze LP)
Mayyors - Deads EP (Mt. St. Mtn.)
Billy Bao - May 08 (Parts Unknown) and Sacrilege (Afterburn)
Twin Stumps - self titled 12" (Dais)
Wizard Smoke - self released (www.wizardsmoke.net)
H•O•F - Gay Witch Abortion Demos (AmRep)
Home Blitz - Out of Phase (Ritchie)
Om - Live Conference (Important)
White Wires - reissue (Douchemaster)
Pride Parade - Dose (self released)
Polvo - In Prism (Merge)
Cheap Trick - The Latest (self released?)
Circulatory System - Signal Morning (Cloud)
Shit and Shine - Girls Against Shit (Riot Season)
Obits - I Blame You (Sub Pop)
Drunkdriver - Knife Day (Fan Death)
Pigeon Religion - all
Wooden Shjips - all
The Fresh & Onlys - all
Ty Segall - all
anything on Captured Tracks, Trouble in Mind and Siltbreeze
JASON TAYLOR; Redeye distribution
1 - Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
2 - Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (Domino)
3 - The Horrors - Primary Colours (Beggars)
4 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (Warp)
5 - Isis - Wavering Radiant (Ipecac)
6 – Kylesa - Static Tensions (Prosthetic)
7 - Converge - Axe To Fall (Epitaph)
8 - Ramesses III – I Could Not Love You More (Type)
9 - Cass McCombs - Catacombs (Domino)
10 - Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough (Profound Lore)
11 - Nosaj Thing – Drift (Alpha Pup)
12 - Wild Beasts - Two Dancers (Domino)
13 - HEALTH - Get Color (Lovepump United)
14 - Zu - Carboniferous (Ipecac)
15 - Absu – Absu (Candlelight)
16 - Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue (Warp)
17 - A Broken Consort - Box of Birch (Tompkins Square)
18 - Cloaks – Versus Gain (3BY3)
19 - Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue With The Stars (Candlelight)
20 - Zelienople – Give It Up (Type)
TAYLOR BRODE; Chicago Independent Distribution
1. Zola Jesus The Spoils LP (Sacred Bones)— Taking the throne of this whole dark reverb renaissance movement thing is 20 yr old girl. From Madison. Wisconsin. When every other artist on this list is an irrelevant wash-up in 1-2 years, Nika will just be hitting her stride. Take comfort in knowing the future is bright. Even if bright is referring to the soundtrack to the 2012 apocalypse that surely will be Nik’s next full length.
2. Gun Outfit Dim Light LP (PPM)- I said last year this album would be on this year’s list. And it is so. These kids are the best kids. “.”
3. Lotus Plaza Floodlight Collective LP (Kranky)- The most underrated album of the year by the most unsung, yet most important member of Deerhunter. The vocals are buried somewhere underneath Atlantis, but the chord progressions that make you want open your veins are still omniscient enough to prove who the real songwriting talent in Deerhunter has always been.
4. 5. Mayfair Set S/T 7” AND Young One EP (Captured Tracks/ Woodsist)- The 7” and EP are both equally good, “Dark House” could be my favorite song of all time actually. Mike Sniper- you are hereby forgiven for Under and Under AND for never getting me the boxset you promised me in 07’.
6. UV Race S/T LP (Argh)- Eddy Current side project. Catchier and punker than every GonerZac release combined.
7. Grass Widow S/T EP (Captured Tracks)- If you’ve been jonesing for post-Frankie Rose Vivian girls, consider yourself fixed.
8. The Cultural Decay Eight Ways to Start a Day LP (Sacred Bones)- Well normally I try not to put reissues on here but this technically isn’t a reiss, it’s a compilation. This Belgian punk band only played 15 shows, and released one single and one EP before they broke up in 1982. Luc Van Acker produced the latter, nuff said.
9. Cold Cave Love Comes Close LP (Matador Reissue)- Turn the DAF dial all the way up to Yaz and voila you have the most commercially appealing goth band since Depeche Mode. Consider the single, “Love Comes Close” the arena rock anthem of oughts cold wave. The fact that this band signed to Matador and that Mr. Windish himself is booking them after having only played 10 (close enough) shows is a pretty good barometer of the kind of impact Cold Cave’s team are anticipating on this. 2010 will be epic for them and may even include late-night tv. However it plays out though, Wavves melt-down, etc, this record deserves all the hype it gets cause this band has managed to perfectly gel every single good thing about electronic dance music from the 80’s in a way that somehow still makes it relevant in 2010, and un-ironically to boot. And big ups to Blank Dogs for planting the seed on this..
10. Atlas Sound “Logos” (Kranky)- Dammit, I didn’t want to have to put this on here. But let’s face it, were I to leave off every megalomaniacal songwriting prick based solely on the fact they are intolerable assholes this list would be quite a bit shorter. The Laetitia Sadler and Noah Lennox collabs on here are unreal but overall this record’s pace is just a huge improvement on Brad’s previous solo work.
11. Abe Vigoda “Reviver” EP (PPM)- Talk about a band growing up before your eyes. Abe V are like my own personal Drew Barrymore. And unlike the rest of my LA bros, I didn’t even know them way back when they were a h/c band from Chino. Abe have dropped the tropical punk stee in favor of a new, darker, serious-er vibe. They had me at the Stevie Nicks cover, but opener “Don’t Lie” still just completely stops my unbeating heart.
12. Former Ghosts Fleurs LP (Upset! The Rhythm)- I am tempted to make a snarky remark about how Jaime Stewart has found a way to stay relevant by surrounding himself with younger and more relevant artists. After seeing this band live however, it was clear that lead singer Freddie Rupert relies far more on Stewart than the other way around. Unfortunately, the person who adds the most interesting contributions to this record, Zola Jesus, was not able to tour with them this year. It is Nika’s parts on this record that differentiates Fleurs from an average Xiu Xiu record, thereby turning it into something deeply more profound and interesting. Weird how adding a woman to the mix somehow balances out the estrogen levels here, but whatever works ya know?
13.Kurt Vile Childish Prodigy LP (Matador)- Full band live show is amazing now too.
DOMINICK FERNOW; Hospital Productions
akitsa live
kevin drumm - impish tyrant
realicide
glass candy
desire
burning star core live no fun sweden
wolf eyes live no fun sweden
vetalla 7"
circle of ouroborus
celestia live
J COLEMAN COONEY
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
They've managed to retain their style for over 20 years, yet continue to sound fresh and adventurous. One of the best bands in existence.
Superchunk - Leaves in the Gutter EP
This EP completely rocked my shit for like three months straight.
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
I know of at least one contemporary female piano player that I like. And it doesn't hurt that she covers both Harry Nilsson and Sparks.
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
This was the year in which we see Grizzly Bear become a household name, and for good reason.
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Bill Callahan returns to his sparse, wry, and manically depressing songwriting. Because happy Smog just doesn't cut it.
Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Vol. 2
Unlike the first volume, this one is half acoustic, half electric. But it’s still completely raw and messy and awesome. What else would you expect from a Nigerien rebel group?
Piano Magic - Ovations
Girlfriend dump you? Take a bunch of ketamine? Paranoid that your heart is about to collapse into itself? Or just generally feel like offing yourself? Well, the good news is you’ve found your soundtrack.
Chrissy Zebby Tembo & Ngozi Family - My Ancestors
Technically a release from the early 70's, this album boasts simple melodies, fuzzed-out psych guitar solos, and heavy drums. This sounds a bit like Cream if they were Zambian and Clapton had any balls.
A.C. Newman - Get Guilty
Newman’s second solo album is more introspective than his first, but it’s still full of endless hooks and skillful songwriting. And it proves once again that he’s at his best when in total control.
Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows
Horn-heavy orchestrated post-rock. Less doom and gloom than some of their contemporaries, it’s at times lilting, pastoral, and ethereal. Definitely more cohesive than their previous effort.
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
The original Dinosaur Jr. line-up once again prove that they're capable of sounding exactly the same as they did 20 years ago. And who doesn't need another Dinosaur Jr. record? But if you're a fan of Mascis's guitar solos, beware. This album only averages 1.5 solos per song.
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
This sounds nothing like Belle & Sebastian! Where do people get this stuff? It's a girl singing...come on, Belle & Sebastian have a guy singer. A little wimpy one. So what if they're both Scottish bands? Wait, you're telling me that that little twee turd photographed one of Camera Obscura's album covers? And Belle & Sebastian have girls that sing too? Shit. Did Wet Wet Wet release anything this year?
M. Ward - Hold Time
Last year's She & Him collaboration hasn't hurt M. Ward's cause at all. Hold Time features Ward's familiar songwriting and production skills, with a couple of cameos from everybody's mind-mistress, Zooey Deschanel.
The Flips - That Girl Stacey 7"
Fresh out of Brew City, these girls marry the 60's girl-group sounds of the Shangri-Las and Martha and the Vandellas with the lo-fi aesthetic of the Vivian Girls (but much more classy and charming).
Mulatu Astatqe & the Heliocentrics - Inspiration Information Vol. 3
Steeped in the Ethiopian jazz that Mulatu came to patent and popularize, and coupled with the funk backbone of the Heliocentrics, this album is reminiscent of the Ethiopian Quintet’s Afro-Latin Soul.
Implodes - everything I heard on myspace
Because I don't have a cassette player anymore.
Zombi - Spirit Animal
If this album were a spirit animal, it would be a shark being eaten by a rhinoceros being ridden by Geddy Lee.
Other Animals - Other Animals
Debut from Chicago-area dudes sounds like Explosions in the Sky, but with sexy interweaving guitars.
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Battles meets 20th Century composing. Complete with Wizard of Oz munchkin vocals (and even some human vocals).
IAN HENTZER; City Hall distribution
Cass McCombs – Catacombs (Domino)
Girls – Album (True Panther)
Foreign Born – Person to Person (Secretly Canadian)
Doom – Born Like This. (Lex)
Black Crowes – Before The Frost… Until The Freeze (Silver Arrow)
Winfred E. Eye – ‘Til I Prune (Antenna Farm)
TV Mike & The Scarecrows – Spittin’ In Cursive (Brave Scarecrow)
The Moore Brothers – Aptos (American Dust)
Reigning Sound – Love And Curses (In The Red)
Mos Def – The Ecstatic (Downtown)
Reissues:
Laurel Aitken – Says Fire/Rumble In A Brixton Market/The High Priest Of Reggae (Pressure Drop)
Feelies – Crazy Rhythms (Bar/None)
Kool & The Gang – Live At PJ’s (Reel Music)
Jim Ford – Big Mouth USA (Bear Family)
Johnny Paycheck – The Little Darlin’ Years (Omni)
IAN LAWRENCE; Forced Exposure distribution
Intrusion : The Seduction Of Silence (Echospace Detroit) CD
Ben Frost : By the Throat (Bedroom Community) CD
Zelienople : Give It Up (Type) LP+CD
Shackleton : 3EPS (Perlon) 3xLP
Demdike Stare : Symiosis Part 1 + Part 2 (Demdik Stare) 2x12"
Daniel Wang : Daniel Wang Presents Balihu 1993-2008 (Rush Hour) 2CD
Broadcast : Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age (Warp) LP
Black Dice : Repo (Paw Tracks) 2xLP
Animal Hospital : Memory (Barge Recordings) CD/LP
Redshape : The Dance Paradox (Delsin) LP
Spacemen 3 : DJ Tones (The Great Pop Supplement) LP
KZA : Dig and Edit (Endless Flight) CD
Mayyors : Deads EP (Hurling Man) 12"
Jim O'Rourke : The Visitor (Drag City) CD
Brock Van Wey : White Clouds Drift On And On (Echospace Detroit) 2CD
Moritz Von Oswald Trio : Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon's) 2xLP
V/A : Eastern Standard Time (Weltraum) LP
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions : Through The Devil Softly
(Nettwerk) CD
V/A : Boogaloo Pow Wow (Honest Jon's) LP
Monolake : Silence (Monolake) LP
Ducktails : Ducktails (Not Not Fun) LP
ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU : Volume Two -- Echos Hypnotiques
(Analog Africa) CD
V/A - Raks! Raks! Raks! 17 Golden Garage Psych Nuggets (Raks Discos) LP
DOUG SNYDER AND BOB THOMPSON : Daily Dance (Cantor) LP
Kath Bloom + V/A : Loving Takes This Course (Chapter Music) 2CD
Margaret Dygas : Invisible Circles (Perlon) 12"
ROB SEVIER; Numero Group
2009 Top Ten in Alphabetical Order
Barn Owl - The Conjurer (Root Strata)
Bobby Beausoleil - Lucifer Rising Suite (Ajna)
Dolphins into the Future - ...on Seafaring Isolation (Not Not Fun)
Emeralds - S/T (Wagon)
Locrian - Drenched Lands (At War With False Noise)
Marc McGwire - Solo Acoustic Volume Two (VDSQ)
Sky Burials CD-R
Sylvester Anfang II - S/T (Aurora Borealis)
24-Carat Black - Gone: The Promises of Yesterday (Numero Group)
Wolves in the Throne Room - Black Cascade (Southern Lord)
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