Tops

2009 was a really great music year for me. Amidst recording a handful of DJ mixes, I discovered a lot of great new music representing all genres. I haven't been this in love with my headphones and great albums since high school bus trips on the soccer team where I spent a lot of long hours on school nights traveling with my Sony Discman.

I've compiled a synopsis of my favorite albums that were released this last year and hope that you'll take time to enjoy them as well. I love perusing people's "album-of-the-year" lists and discovering new music and am excited to sit with band such as Animal Collective, Bat For Lashes, DJ /rupture, Jason Lytle, Neko Case, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Raekwon, The Swell Season, Thieves Like Us, and Volcano Choir. All have released great albums in 2009 which I've either overlooked, need to give a second listen or are completely new to me.

Freelance Whales - Weathervanes

This band out of Queens has really excited me this last year. I was fortunate enough to get to see them live at the Rickshaw Stop and I'm so thankful. I don't know that I've ever seen a band so joyful, humble and thankful. At only ten bucks, I felt like I was almost stealing from them. Glad to report that they've just been signed with Frenchkiss/Mom & Pop Records.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

I went to the ten buck concert to see the Freelance Whales and stumbled upon Fanfarlo! Really great surprise and I've been listening to their new album on repeat ever since. Although on the border of too "tortured, hipster" band, at least they're from London, so they dress different than the hipsters here.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

2009 was the year of Phoenix for me. I got to catch them live at the Warfield, which although I was stuck in the rafters, was loud, flashy and full of aisle dancing. There new album is close to perfect and has also helped shoot this French band into the mainstream spotlight. Rock on, rock on.

Drake - So Far Gone

I've written in depth about Drake in the past and shared some of my excitement. I probably listened to this mixtape more than any other album this past year and am curious to see if he can capture that magic again in 2010 with his debut with Cash Money Records.

The Antlers - Hospice

I stumbled upon the Hospice album during my weekly NPR podcast listen and was haunted by it. This is a headphones album and I've enjoyed getting lost in this ode to the passing of a close friend. Downside: always come away a bit solemn.

Passion Pit - Manners

I've previously written about Passion Pit in my ode to painful vocalists. Manners ended up carrying through the months for me and It's a really comfortable blend of pop/rock/electronic that I tend to gravitate toward.

Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

I thought no one had heard of the Great Lake Swimmers until I tried to go to a small show her in the city at a very low-key venue and got turned away by a sold out show. This album is beautiful in a spacey, folky sort of way. I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys show up at events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in coming years.

Wilco - Wilco (the album)

I've spent a lot of time with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot over the years, as have every college student, and this new album has got me re-excited about Wilco. Every time one of these songs plays I feel like Jeff Tweedy is sitting on my sofa singing, maybe even with his family as backup vocals.

Lovely little morsels

It's been a bit of a hiatus from the blog world. Not so much that I've been uninspired or uninterested, just a little busy. Luckily, I still get a daily listen into the music world (while doing other work) whether through following about 20 blogs, getting acquainted with the weeks new releases on tuesdays, or reading up in magazines. I really love finding new artists, albums and sounds. Unfortunately, for every enjoyable song I hear, I probably sit through at least portions of twenty truly terrible ones. Lucky for you, you won't find in this blog post any of those musical equivalents of a class of third graders learning "hot cross buns" on the recorder.

Recently I've been fortunate to stumble upon three new bands that I'm excited to share. First up: Free Energy out of Philly. I think they had a song featured on IMEEM at some point and it really struck me. This is that music that just feels good to me. It's fairly simple and playful and has those shades of Weezer accessibility that I remember first introducing me to a serious love of music when I was a young lad in Kansas. They recently had a west coast tour fall through but said they'll probably be in Cali in early 2010. Should be a fun show.

Free Energy - Dream City


Free Energy - Free Energy

Oh man do I love this band this week. Even better is the fact that I have tickets to see them at the Rickshaw Stop on November 22 for a mere $10. Freelance Whales are out of Queens and put out a beautiful album, Weathervanes, recently. Chock full of songs influenced by the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service and just a great listen.

Freelance Whales - Location


Freelance Whales - Generator ^ 2nd Floor

Quebec Antique released their debut album, The Abbey Tapes, and are relatively unknown out of Oregon, Texas. It's another really beautiful album, much sleepier and moody than the previous two, but check out the songs on their myspace page and I'm sure you'll really appreciate the build of their music and the swelling textures.

Quebec Antique - Right As Rain

_Michael