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Coup De Main's BEST ALBUMS OF 2009: 10-1...

Written by Shahlin Graves, Elle Hunt, Sarah Mudgway & Luke Oram

Sunday, 03 January 2010 21:47

50-41  40-31  30-21  20-11  10-1 10. BAT FOR LASHES - Two Suns [ EH ] Natasha Khan is the moon to Florence Welch’s sun: although both upper-class English songstresses with otherworldly visions, Welch is fierce and passionate, giving as good as she gets (“you hit me once, I hit you back”), while Khan is more inclined towards the dark and mysterious. Just consider her second album, ‘Two Suns’: even though it strays into more synthesised territory than the alt-folk of her debut, ‘Fur And Gold’, it’s just as spellbinding. ‘Two Suns’ opens with ‘Glass’, in which Khan sings of “a thousand crystal towers, a hundred emerald cities”, building up to a full-bodied howl over a primal drumbeat. It’s a dramatic opener to the album, but this is familiar ground for Bat For Lashes, whose songs are built around epic narratives, and equally powerful imagery. Indeed, ‘Daniel’ - the album’s lead single and its best track - alludes to the title character of the cult ‘80s movie ‘The Karate Kid’. ‘Fur And Gold’ received such critical acclaim that it would have been a hard act to follow - but as it is, ‘Two Suns’ is a perfect example of how a sophomore album should be: a development from its predecessor that wins the artist new fans, without alienating her existing ones. MUST-LISTEN: ‘Glass’, ‘Pearl’s Dream’, 'Daniel', 'Moon And Moon'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Florence + The Machine, My Brightest Diamond, Cat Power, St. Vincent, Lykke Li... and exploring the Joshua Tree Desert. WATCH: 'Daniel' live on Later. 9. JULIAN CASABLANCAS - Phrazes For The Young [ LO ] Damn new-wavers getting their album titles from Oscar Wilde; I can’t keep up. With The Strokes on unofficial hiatus and Albert Hammond Jr. proving his chops as a solo hotshot, it was only a matter of time before multi-instrumentalist Casablancas showed off what was under his hat - breaking into his electronic toybox and emerging with armfuls of synths, and the hooks that put The Strokes on the map. Leading single ‘11th Dimension’ sounds like a Casio-tone tribute to your childhood, while ‘River Of Brakelights’ could be the next Bond theme... If Bond was a robot. MUST-LISTEN: ‘11th Dimension’, ‘River of Brakelights’, ‘Out Of The Blue’, 'Left & Right In the Dark', '4 Chords Of The Apocalypse'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr., Julian Plenti, The Virgins... plus Casiotone For The Painfully Alone on acid and Lou Reed on speed. WATCH: A late Christmas treat, Casablancas-style; 'I Wish It Was Christmas Today' live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. (You can get this bonus track on iTunes). 8. DEMI LOVATO - Here We Go Again [ SG ] No longer the unknown cast opposite Joe Jonas in the Disney franchise 'Camp Rock', Demi Lovato came into her own in 2009 with the release of her second album 'Here We Go Again' which debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Album Chart. Lovato swapped Jonas Brothers co-writers of her first album 'Don't Forget', for the likes of John Mayer, Jon McLaughlin and William Beckett (of The Academy Is...) - giving rise to sing-your-heart-out numbers such as the jazzy 'Every Time You Lie', feisty 'Solo' and the '90s hark back of 'U Got Nothin' On Me'. 'Here We Go Again' is sparkling proof that Lovato can - and will continue to - outshine her Disney counterparts. Not since the Jonas Brothers' 2007 self-titled album, have Disney trusted true vocal talent and left auto-tune well-alone. Lovato boasts an album that effortlessly waltzes from fierce diatribe, to endearing diary-reminiscent thoughts. Yes, every song is slick-full of saccharine angst - but 'Here We Go Again' is more winsome, than tooth-rotting... and anyway, why grow up when you can be having as much fun as this? MUST-LISTEN: 'Every Time You Lie', 'Solo', 'Here We Go Again', 'Falling Over Me', 'U Got Nothin' On Me', 'Stop The World', 'Catch Me'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Ashley Tisdale, The Veronicas, Skye Sweetnam, Ashlee Simpson... and late-night heart-to-hearts with your best friend, or crush. WATCH: 'Every Time You Lie' live at a pre-show soundcheck. 7. YEAH YEAH YEAHS - It's Blitz! [ LO ] Seems NYC’s Holy Trinity can do no wrong. Their debut 'Fever To Tell' was rated NME’s #5 album of the decade. Since then, their post-punk party-your-pants ethic has continued to evolve, from the grimy clubs to their tribute to disco 'It’s Blitz!'. Granted, TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek can take a lot of credit for his brilliant treatment of the three-piece’s unique vibe; cutting up Brian Chase’s drum tracks to a sweet bastardization, melding Nick Zinner’s buzzsaw-guitars with trance-like synths, and releasing Karen O’s bittersweet howl over the top of it all. From the dancefloor explosion at the end of ‘Zero’ to the charming vulnerability of ‘Skeletons’, the combination of edgy studio treatment and the triple-hit chemistry of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'It’s Blitz!' is about as masterful and attention-grabbing as Karen O’s tiger-skin unitard. Raowww. MUST-LISTEN: ‘Zero’, ‘Runaway’, ‘Hysteric’, 'Dragon Queen', 'Heads Will Roll', 'Soft Shock'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Siouxsie And The Banshees, TV On The Radio, Metric, The Kills, girl power... and strutting the pavement like it's a catwalk. WATCH: Yeah Yeah Yeahs getting all cut up... 'Heads Will Roll' music video. 6. ARCTIC MONKEYS - Humbug [ LO ] Infamous for their mischief as much as their music, harbingers of some of the biggest hype the music scene saw this decade, Sheffield lads Arctic Monkeys took leave in the Mojave Desert to record 'Humbug', with the help of an unlikely ally and their biggest hero - Josh Homme, 'Crooked Vulture and Queen' Of The Stone Age. The resulting album is a witches brew of the Monkeys' signature Sheffield Shuffle, along with Alex Turner’s warped street poetry, run through a filter of hot desert hallucinogens. A darker, more sinister whole, reeking of Homme’s dirty fingerprints – reverb-soaked guitars and distant wolf-howls. Almost a version of Homme’s desert sessions, featuring the Arctic Monkeys – it shouldn’t work, but it does. Gone are the crisp, clean-cut hooks of the Homeland. The Monkeys weren’t in Kansas anymore, oh, but they were... File under: Warped and filthy geniuses find their Frankenstein partner. MUST-LISTEN: ‘Potion Approaching’, ‘Dangerous Animals’, 'Dance Little Liar’, 'Crying Lightning', 'Cornerstone'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Queens Of The Stone Age, Cream, The Last Shadow Puppets... and Jim Morrison’s long-lost English Love-child. WATCH: The Boatmen Of The Apocalypse... 'Crying Lightning' music video. 5. OWL CITY - Ocean Eyes [ SG ] The fairytale success story of 2009, Adam Young finally rose to fame as Owl City thanks to chart-topper 'Fireflies' - lifted from Young's third album 'Ocean Eyes'. There's something undeniably special about an album charting in the Top Ten in the States; that references birds, fishy-friends, dentists and the infamous, hugging lightning bugs... At face-value it seems ridiculous, but Young is clever with his metaphors - the kind of artful 'clever', that evokes the brightly coloured pages of your favourite childhood picture books. Critics have bloated themselves silly over Owl City having been signed to major label Universal Republic, before even having played live - but like earlier scapegoats Panic! At The Disco, music is still music, no matter the actual count of blisters, cuts and bruises that have gone into its creation... and traditional van-tours are no longer the be-all end-all. This generation of bedroom studio-iste's have formulated their own system of paying 'dues' - and who's to argue their indifference of an arduous undertaking that takes just as long as any other right-place-at-the-right-time - this is Young's third album. I for one, have been observing Young and his touring band practising away 2009 on the road - and am very, rather excited to experience it all first-hand for myself come March (with Cobra Starship). MUST-LISTEN: 'Vanilla Twilight', 'Tidal Wave', 'The Bird And The Worm', 'The Saltwater Room', 'Dental Care', 'Cave In'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: The Postal Service, Lights, The Secret Handshake, Bad News Bears, NeverShoutNever!, PlayRadioPlay!, Hellogoodbye... and daydreaming of the evolution of hearts into compasses, pointing to your one true-love. WATCH: 'Vanilla Twilight' live at Rocketown. 4. THE BIRD AND THE BEE - Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future [ SG ] There was no new album from She & Him in 2009... but! There was a new album from The Bird And The Bee. Inara George ('The Bird') and Greg Kurstin ('The Bee'), create picture-perfect, jazz-influenced electro-pop - complete with handclaps galore, coquettish magic and genteel charm. Kurstin has an impeccable musical pedigree; having worked as the musical director for Gewn Stefani's live and television performances, as well as having played and performed with the likes of Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction and Ben Harper. Kurstin has also written and produced for Lily Allen, Peaches, Flaming Lips, Karen O - even our very own Ladyhawke. George met Kurstin while working on her debut album and thus, the partnership was founded. MUST-LISTEN: 'What's In The Middle', 'My Love', 'You're A Cold', 'Birthday', 'Diamond Dave', 'Ray Gun'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Inara George, Imogen Heap, Metric, Lykke Li, Jem, Feist, Rilo Kiley, She & Him... and polite dance-songs. WATCH: 'My Love' live at The Natural History Museum, Los Angeles. 3. PARAMORE - brand new eyes [ SM ] Considering that their Auckland show sold out in a matter of hours, it’s pretty clear that Paramore need no introduction. With the addition of long time touring guitarist Taylor York, and a walk on the brink of band-death, Paramore came back fighting in 2009 - and in frontwoman Hayley Williams' own lyrics - “it’s not a dream anymore". Read our 'brand new eyes' review HERE - it’s all you need to know about the band who have stepped out of Warped Tour's shadows and into the mainstream (hi, 'Twilight' soundtrack) - seizing well-deserved success in its purest of forms. This is a band that began recording their debut album 'All We Know Is Falling' when Williams was but sixteen years of age, and drummer Zac Farro only fourteen. MUST-LISTEN: 'All I Wanted', 'Looking Up', 'The Only Exception', 'Playing God', 'Turn It Off', 'Where The Lines Overlap'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Meg & Dia, The Weekend, Lillix, Fefe Dobson, Hey Monday, New Found Glory, Cartel, Boys Like Girls... and Hayley Williams finally writing a love song. WATCH: 'The Only Exception' live with J.T. from Paper Route. 2. REGINA SPEKTOR- Far [ SG ] Regina Spektor was forced to leave behind her very first piano (her Mother's, given to her by Grandfather Spektor) in Moscow, when her family were permitted to emigrate, away from the ethnic and political discrimination that Jews faced in the USSR. The Spektor family settled in New York City's The Bronx - with Regina's only piano-practicing options a piano in the basement of her synagogue, tabletops and other hard surfaces. Spektor industriously studied classical piano until she was seventeen, writing her first a cappella songs at sixteen, then her first piano and vocals songs at eighteen. Spektor then graduated with honors from a four-year studio composition program in 2001, also studying abroad for a semester in England. 2001's '11:11', 2002's 'Songs' and 2003's 'Soviet Kitsch' albums were self-published by Spektor and sold at performances, until 2004 when the Warner Brothers label Sire Records inked a contract with Regina... and the rest as they say, is history. 'Far' makes the world a better place with its very existence - whimsical introspectives, beatbox flourishes and acerbic pizzazz. MUST-LISTEN: 'Dance Anthem Of The 80's', 'Folding Chair', 'The Calculation', 'Eet', 'Genius Next Door', 'One More Time With Feeling'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Rachael Yamagata, Kate Nash, A Fine Frenzy, Laura Marling, Amanda Palmer, Joanna Newsom, Gregory And The Hawk... and papier-mâché forts and rainbow-coloured boomboxes. WATCH: 'Dance Anthem Of The 80's' viral music video. 1. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE- Lungs [ SG ] Oh, Florence... Here we are at #1 and let us be honest amongst friends - it was never going to be anyone else. No other came even close in 2009. This was the only album that all four of us [ SG, EH, LO & SM ] who wrote this list, could agree upon loving. Florence Welch hit gold first try; with a spectacular debut, the likes of which has not been seen in a long, long time. 'Lungs' lures listeners into a cosmic domain of Welch's own creation and ruling; her bewitching musings and vocal athletics, spellbindingly incisive. Whether Welch be simpering at a star-crossed love, or sniping at mythical monsters, Florence's 'Machine' faithfully accompanies in perfect harmony - wherever hammering, bell tolls, or harp-plucking may be required. If you don't already have your ticket to February's Laneway music festival, you'll have to live with the eternal regret of having missed Florence + The Machine steal the entire show. I can predict it now; SWOON. MUST-LISTEN: 'Kiss With A Fist', 'Between Two Lungs', 'You've Got The Love', 'Dog Day Are Over', 'I'm Not Calling You A Liar', 'Girl With One Eye'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Bat For Lashes, Feist, Marina & The Diamonds, VV Brown, Ellie Goulding, Jamie T, Noah And The Whale... and pretending to be Max or a creature from 'Where The Wild Things Are' - "I'LL EAT YOU UP, I LOVE YOU SO." READ: Our interview with Florence + The Machine frontwoman Florence Welch - click HERE. WATCH: 'Kiss With A Fist' live on the Late Show with David Letterman.

 

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