Best of 2009: 10 - 1

The best of the best albums released this year in my humble by usually correct opinion:

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10: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Veckatimest is the second great album by Grizzly Bear and - in some ways - a more ambitious work than its predecessor (though it's difficult to say which is really better). With its detailed arrangements, mind-blowing vocal harmony and just exceptional songwriting, Veckatimest is a truly accomplished album.

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9: Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Snake

There's a certain primal element to the music of husband and wife duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums that isn't capture often in music. Their limited palette of drums and vocals (mostly) is striking, and somehow never feels lacking or bare on The Snake, which is a uniquely fantastic record. (More from me)

There Is No Light (MP3)

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8: Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

Dragonslayer is Sunset Rubdown's most epic statement yet, an indie rock album made in the fashion of late 80s metal records - eight songs totaling 48 minutes of grandiosity and excess. Yet somehow it doesn't seem too over-the-top or dramatic, it's just a thoroughly compelling experience. (More from me)

Idiot Heart (MP3 via Pitchfork)

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7: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

A divisive record among fans of the band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz is, to me, their most accomplished record yet, despite the very different approach used here. Instead of jagged guitar lines and yelping, we mostly get a mixture of synths and beautiful melodies - I'll take it. (More from me)

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6: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Another band that broke out in a big way this year is Dirty Projectors, who had previously existed more on the fringe before vaulting themselves into the indie spotlight with tunes like "Stillness is the Move." Bitte Orca finds just the right balance between the group's avant-garde style and pop accessibility.

Solange Knowles' cover of "Stillness is the Move" (via Stereogum)

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5: P.O.S. - Never Better

Stefon Alexander (P.O.S.) hasn't really made a rap-rock album with Never Better, he just bleeds a punk attitude into his stellar rhymes and organic beats. He's ferocious yet positive, abrasive yet approachable, disgusted at the current state of affairs but hopeful for a better future. Simply amazing. (More from me)

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4: St. Vincent - Actor

Annie Clark, a former Polyphonic Spree member, has made serious headway with her sophomore solo effort, Actor. The arrangements are strange, but entrancing, and her lovely voice adds a layer of mystique to the music that begs for repeated and careful listens. It's a wholly absorbing and beautiful album. (More from me)

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3: The Antlers - Hospice

I just kept coming back to Hospice, the latest from indie newcomers The Antlers, coming away each time feeling more affected by the experience than the last. From the opening wash of "Prologue" to the echoed refrain of "Epilogue," it is a haunting and emotionally rich listen unlike any other.

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2: DM Stith - Heavy Ghost

It's difficult for me to overstate how much I love this album. DM Stith's debut, Heavy Ghost, sounds like nothing I've heard before. It's dark and moody, yet expressive and full of life - and full of remarkable musicianship from a guy I hope to hear much more from in the future. (More from me)

Pity Dance (MP3 via Asthmatic Kitty, upper right corner)

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1: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

I'm kinda tired of writing about Animal Collective, but they deserve all the praise they've received for this truly special album and their great EP, Fall Be Kind, which came out late this year. Released in January, the LP remains the best of this year and one of my favorite of the decade. (More from me)
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Review: P.O.S. - Never Better (* * * * 1/2)

Disclaimer: I don't listen to rap music. Well, not usually anyway, but occasionally a rap artist comes along with a sound, a style...something that resonates with me and captures my attention. P.O.S. is one such artist. Born Stefon Alexander, P.O.S. is a Minneapolis-based rapper with punk-rock roots and an agenda based much more on social and political issues than self-aggrandizing braggadocio. Apparently, when Alexander was a teenager, he played bass, guitar, and drums in various rock bands before settling on rap, though he never lost his love for punk intensity and the underground scene. His third album, Never Better, was released on Rhymesayers earlier this year and has quickly become a favorite of mine this year across all genres.

The album's first track, "Let it Rattle," a dense, noisy tune, serves as something of an introduction to the record before the explosion of the appropriately-titled "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)." The song features frenetic drumming and squealing guitar under P.O.S.'s spitfire rhymes that grab hold of the listener and refuse to let go for two and a half minutes. The punk attitude and production continue throughout the record, especially on the intense "Graves (We Wrote the Book)," the abrasive "The Basics," and a rap-rock song, "Terrorish," which features vocals from hardcore singer Jason Shevchuk. It might be something of an acquired taste for many, but I was immediately hooked.

Never Better also includes more standard rap fare, which P.O.S. does equally well. "Savion Glover" has an old-school hip-hop feel and "Goodbye" features more grandiose production while still maintaining an organic base, as does "Low Light Low Life," which includes several members of the hip-hop collective Doomtree that P.O.S. founded in Minneapolis. The softer-edged tunes balance the album and keep the 55 minutes from becoming tiresome or heavy-handed, though this is not a 'light' or 'fun' album. This is music intended not simply to provide a good time, but to deliver a message, a statement. At every turn, P.O.S. stays sharp, struggling with political issues, family matters, and the ills of society in a way that offers a great deal more than just fancy wordplay (though there's plenty of that, too).

P.O.S.'s unique background combined with his talent as a rapper and musician make for a record unlike anything I've ever heard before. It's gripping, fascinating, and challenging, an album that pushes boundaries and explores new territory with exciting results.