Driveway To Driveway, Drunk: List-omania: The 25 (or so) Best Records of 2009
Here is part 3 (15-11) of the best records of 2009. Part one can be found here. Part two can be found here.
15. Times New Viking – Born Again Revisited
Times New Viking are a band I have been unable to shut up about. Sure, they are part of the new lo-fi scene, but they were cutting records before the Vivian Girls were even graduating high school. This, their fourth record and second for Matador, comes a little over a year after their certified masterpiece Rip It Off, and it is their third record in three years. Sure because the music is so simple, they can produce records at a rapper’s pace, but the quality has never slipped.
Born Again Revisited is not as loud and blown-out as Rip It Off, and nowhere near as “polished.” Well, it is polished for TNV; you can hear the vocals, and understand some lyrics, but it is nowhere near as slick as Guided By Voices’ Isolation Drills, or even Mag Earwhig! for that matter. The songs remain tight, “No Time, No Hope” is a shouty sing-along, but the gentle night recap “Those Days” is one of their most perfect songs. While they thrive in the loud and punky numbers, TNV also kill in the slow burners (see Dig Yourself’s “Indian Winter”).
14. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms /Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
Neon Indian perfected the made-up genre of the year which shall remain nameless. Every year has its trend (remember Nu-Rave?) and each trend has its cornerstone album. Psychic Chasms delivers on a genre record, and as a great listen. I don’t know what I would’ve done without the summer jam “Deadbeat Summer,” or the unbelievably blissful “Terminally Chill.” I’ve spilt lots of digital ink hyping Neon Indian, and it is all well-deserved. Lord knows if they can follow up this monster, but let’s hope they do.
NEON INDIAN-TERMINALLY CHILL from escalatorfantasy on Vimeo.
On the other hand, Sunset Rubdown, two years after their wacko-masterpiece Random Spirit Lover, had little to prove, but Spencer Krug and his band play like underdogs. Sunset Rubdown will no longer just be a Wolf Parade side project, but a place where Krug can deliver his best material. Creating a perfect balance between the extreme, and the pop side, where his other records teetered the edge, Dragonslayer is a record with unbelievable repeatability. “Idiot Heart” is the most bizzare single of the year, as it twists and turns, and the full-band version of “Paper Lace,” which also appears on another Krug project—Swan Lake’s Enemy Mine—outshines the original. Sunset Rubdown even do the impossible: make a ten-minute song sound like five.
13. Micachu & The Shapes – Jewellery
No, this is not a record by a Pokémon, but one of the year’s biggest surpirses and best debuts. How does a 21-year-old, crazy musician make a record so awesome? Matthew Herbet! Herbet is the only producer who can take a band of ukuleles, odd electronics, bottle drums, detuned guitars, and strange vocals and make a pop record. But it also takes the talent of the band, and Mica Levi is fucking talented as all get out.
Jewellery has undeniable jams in “Golden Phone,” “Calculator,” and “Just in Case,” but tracks like the brooding “Curly Teeth” and “Eat Your Heart” stay with you. How can you go wrong with lyrics like, “and I won’t have sex cause of STDs”?
Micachu & The Shapes – Golden Phone from Drew Norton on Vimeo.
12. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Three reasons why this record kills: “Two Weeks,” “Cheerleader,” and “While You Wait for the Others.” Those three songs alone make Veckatimest great, but what make it excel are songs like closer “Foreground” and “Dory.” Veckatimest is a grower of a record, much like Yellow House. Once it seeps in, it is hard to get it out. Though I only really go back for the aforementioned three songs, there aren’t many records this year with three songs that can hold them as high as this one.
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks from Suspicious Sounds on Vimeo.
11. jj – No 2 / Fever Ray – Fever Ray
Who the fuck are jj? Who the fuck is Fever Ray? Funnily enough, jj are anonymous. Much like the Knife were. Key word, were. The Knife have “revealed” themselves per se, and with her Fever Ray project Karin Dreijer Andersson steps into a spotlight of her own. Though she wears sunglasses, you can see more of her face.
jj’s music doesn’t need a face. Their(?) blend of world music, Balearic ice, found samples, hip-hop references, and sweet female vocals are the perfect blend for both rainy afternoons and sunny days. The 28-minute record weaves through eight tracks like the bouncy, “From Africa to Malaga,” Lil’ Wayne rip “Ecstasy,” until the Taylor-Dane-“Tell it To My Heart”-referencing closer, “My Hopes and Dreams.”
Fever Ray’s music is like being trapped in a dark carnival. While some of the tracks are brighter than the Knife, they still retain the dark qualities that made Silent Shout amazing. “Triangle Walks” and “Coconut” showcase the brighter side, while “If I Had A Heart” can be summed up in one word—haunting.
The music isn’t the only awesome thing about this album. Fever Ray can be considered the visual record of the year. If you are gonna shell out dough for this, buy the deluxe edition with the DVD containing all the amazing music videos.
Fever Ray – Triangle Walks from SimonMA on Vimeo.
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