EJP's Favorite Albums of 2009

OK, I've been on a very long hiatus. The last two months have been nuts. Normally I'd stretch my favorite music of the year out over several posts, but since this post is over a month late, I'll just pound out my top 20, with minimal explanation (there are links to everything that has appeared in earlier posts). As usual, the top 20 basically reflect the albums I played the most. I'm not saying everyone should go out and buy these albums, but this is the stuff I gravitated towards in 2009. I won't say it was a great year for music, but it was alright, and there are some definite keepers on here.

20) Phoenix--Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
This album might have scored higher if didn't hear its single played 5 times a day on the radio station at work. Thanks for nearly ruining a perfectly good album for me, radio station!


19) Grand Duchy--Petits Fours
Clyde Squid didn't post much this past year, but this was a great recommendation. Easily the best thing Frank Black has put out for a long time.

18) Lilly Allen--It's Not Me, It's You

17) Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears--Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!
It's retro to the point of being a bit gimmicky, but it's also fantastic and you can shake your ass to it. This one should probably be higher up on the list, but I just recently got it, so it's here. Just give it a listen...

Sugarfoot

Black Joe Lewis | MySpace Music Videos

16) Madeleine Peyroux--Bare Bones

15) Art Brut--Art Brut vs. Satan

14) Neko Case--Middle Cyclone

13) Lightning Dust--Infinite Light
Amber Webber's voice is totally wack, but I like it. Their song "I Knew" will probably go on every mix I make for a while, but the vast majority of songs on this album are excellent.



12) We Were Promised Jetpacks--These Four Walls

11) Yeah Yeah Yeahs--It's Blitz!
Yay! A good Yeah Yeah Yeahs album! It's incredibly different than their debut album (which is still my favorite), but fun nonetheless.



10) Dan Deacon--Bromst

9) The Mumlers--Don't Throw Me Away
This album caught me by surprise. I just kinda liked Thickets & Stitches, this band's debut from 2008, and I was hesitant to even check out their sophomore effort. I'm glad I risked it. This album has received far more play time than I ever anticipated.


8) the boy least likely to--the law of the playground

7) Devendra Banhart--What Will We Be
Pitchfork hated this album, which figures, because I think it's the best album this dirty hippy has put out in years. WWWB is easily his most accessible album ever (which is probably why Pitchfork hates it), and I would consider it a good introduction to this profoundly weird artist.

6) Todd Snider--The Excitement Plan

5) Built to Spill--There Is No Enemy

4) Telekinesis--Telekinesis!

3) Andrew Bird--Noble Beast

2) Ida Maria--Fortress 'Round My Heart

1) Forro in the Dark--Light a Candle
I can't even understand most of the lyrics on this Brazilian-by-way-of-Brooklyn band's album, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it immensely. I loved their first album a few years ago, and I love this follow-up. If you like the song in the video below, consider that it's probably one of my least favorite songs on the album. Not to say that I don't like it (and it's the only video I could find of theirs from this album), but most of the other songs are even better. Good stuff all around.