Honorable Mentions for 2009

Here are several good albums released this year that almost made my Best of 2009 list. In no particular order:

Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors. Listen to Dirty Projectors’ debut, The Getty Address, then Bitte Orca, and you would hardly tell that this is the same band. Trust me, it is good thing. The Getty Address was too avant garde for its own good. Bitte Orca still has some eccentricities but it is more of a straightforward indie rock record. Whether paving regular indie territory with songs like “Cannibal Resource” or creating melting ballads like “Two Doves”, Dirty Projectors prove they can drop the overly artsy guise to produce something entirely enjoyable and listenable.

The Crying Light, Antony & the Johnsons. Antony Hegarty has an achingly beautiful voice that is almost operatic in quality. Some people might say it is too pretty, but fuck them this dude has golden pipes. On his third album, Antony expands on the chamber pop sound he created on 2005’s I Am Bird Now. Wearing his emotions on his sleeve on every song, he doesn’t need lyrics to invoke what he wants you to feel. The theatrics wear a little towards the end, making you immediately reach for the happiest album you can grab.

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand’s third album has the standard disco-y beats, slick guitar hooks, and polished, sexy sound. It is also the make-out album of the year. The songs tread the same ground as the last two albums (Franz Ferdinand and You Could Have It So Much Better), but doesn’t go anywhere. These songs could be interchanged from any other Franz Ferdinand album. Example: my favorite track, “Bite Hard” echoes the slow build and explosion of “Jacqueline”, from their debut. However, with an album of carbon-copied Franz Ferdinand songs, you know what you are getting.

Tight Knit, Vetiver. Unfairly lumped into the “freak folk” movement started by Devendra Banhart, Vetiver has so much more to offer. Tight Knit has the perfect album name. The songs are great, laid back, psychedelic folk songs. Good for sitting on the front porch, drinking a cold one, and chillaxin’. The album does leave you wishing they could pick up the pace, but songs this “tight knit” (yep, I went there) it’s hard to be too picky.

Middle Cyclone, Neko Case. I love Neko Case. I LOVE her. So, I was more than pumped for Middle Cyclone. The opening track, “This Tornado Loves You” didn’t disappoint me at all, but the album never really took off for me from there. The rest of the album is standard Neko Case fare, showing off that beautiful voice, and excellent songwriting skills. However, “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth” is hands down one of her worst songs… ever. What makes it stand out more is the song is sandwiched between two infinitely better ones (“Vengence Is Sleeping” and “Middle Cyclone”). Take that out and you have a solid album from start to finish, which is more than you could ask for these days.

Actor, St. Vincent. Sufjan Stevens and Polyphonic Spree collaborator, Annie Clark, really impressed me with her debut, Marry Me and continues here with Actor. Much like the Thermals’ new album (Now We Can See, see below), Actor is a consistent album and enjoyable to listen to. It flows in a very dream-like state; the kind of dream that involves walking down the street, eating donuts with your high school art teacher. Like Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent has some arty eccentricities that begin to wear on you (“Actor Out of Work”), but it is nice seeing a very talented artist taking these leaps to find their sound.

Now We Can See, The Thermals. Alright, this album is good; probably the best out of the Honorable Mentions. I guess I was expecting awesomeness on the level of The Body The Blood The Machine. I should have lowered my expectations a little; how often can a band release an album of that magnitude. I agree with the great Jason Adams, saying: “…it is the best album written from a dead man’s perspective.” Here is the ultimate problem I had with this album: I listened to it from start to finish (as anyone would normally do) and thought: “That was good.” No track really stuck out and blew me away. Like Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone, it was consistent, but consistently middle ground. If you are looking for a good post-punk album, give it a shot, I encourage you. It just won’t change your life.