Top 10 Albums of 2009

Go on, don’t deny you hadn’t been waiting for it. Fervently holding back that spare tenner in your wallet for the record you so glaringly overlooked. Well you can release your breath of anticipation and break out the world’s smallest horn section to begin the pomp and ceremony of our very own end of year list.

Normally we’d reel of a list of contributors and respected music-industry persons who helped assist with compiling this list, but you know as well as we do that it’s pretty much just us. Nevertheless this shouldn’t detract from what will definitely be the definitive analysis of the sounds of 2009.

10

The Maccabees – Wall Of Arms

Defiantly remaining ‘indier than thou’ in spite of the common concession to an 80s synth sound, The Maccabees embraced their darkness and in turn surpassed the playful naivety of their debut. By no means did this Eel Pie Island five piece reinvent the wheel with but they did create a record that runs like a dream from start to finish.

[Spotify]

9

The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love

Yes, it’s the Xbox ad band, but The Big Pink are far more than musical whores to the gaming industry. Having won NME’s best new act award, the group’s debut album feels as clad in leather and hoodies as singer Robbie Furze himself. Love songs never sounded so masculine- just make sure you have some speakers loud enough to do this thing justice.

[Spotify]

8

Doves – Kingdom of Rust

It feels like it was only yesterday we were letting Some Cities hold our hand through those tough GCSE revision sessions, yet Doves have already reached their Elbow-esque stage of maturity with an album that’s almost made for the world of Mercury Music Prize nominations. It’s a record you can fearlessly put on with your parents in the room, and that’s good enough for most people.

[Spotify]

7

Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

In a year where the quirky female musicians ruled it took the old hand to show Florence and the rest of the bunch how it’s done. Weird, wonderful and with a strong contender for best single of the year in ‘Daniel’, Two Suns raises the bar even higher for Natasha Khan’s follow up. One final push and Kate Bush’s mantle should be a steal.

[Spotify]

6

Girls – Album

What hasn’t been written about Girls’ biography would fit on a pin-head with room to spare. By far one of the year’s most interesting acts, their debut album isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s an emotional package supported by homo-errotic music videos and rich doses of nostalgia. If you’ve had your hysteria jab to ensure immunity against the over-the-top hyperbole the act seem to attract then you’re sure to enjoy Album for the brilliant first effort it is.

[Review]

[Spotify]

5

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

Back with a bang after the mushy squelch that was his Last Shadow Puppets side project, for his latest trick Alex Turner transformed the Monkeys into Queens Of The Stone Age circa Lullabies To Paralyze. What this record lacked in immediacy it made up for in crunching rhythmical rhetoric that occupied a world somewhere between Cadbury World and Camden’s kinkiest S&M parlour.

[Spotify]

4

XX – XX

Mesmerising in their minimalism, London’s The XX produced the best debut album of the year by stripping back to the bare essentials. Cue a lusty undercurrent of husky exchanges between guitarist Romy Madley Croft and bassist Oliver Sim which crest on a set of razor wire synth and six stinged riffs.

[Spotify]

3

Noah & The Whale – First Days of Spring

From the heart swelled strings of it’s swooning self titled opener we’ve been sold on this record. A concept album based around the demise of frontman Charlie Fink’s relationship with Laura Marling eschewing both the twee and overblown nature of their debut. Enthralling from start to finish, don’t let this fabulous LP slip away under the radar.

[Spotify]

2

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Almost before the ink had dried on the reviews for this Baltimore three piece’s eighth album the chatter began to grow as to its possible merits as the best record of the year. That it falls short of such an illustrious title shouldn’t detract from splendid ‘Beach Boys meet the space age’ sound of ‘My Girls’ and ‘Summertime Clothes’.

[Spotify]

1

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

Now that’s what I call reinvention! Taking Blondie’s Parallel Lines and showering it in glitter coloured vomit It’s Blitz! is everything that Show Your Bones wasn’t. In tribute to Karen and co. every time we hit the dance floor we endeavour to “shake it like a ladder to the sun”. An unexpected but nevertheless truly worthy winner of this year’s prize.

[Spotify]