The wonderful AU crew have joined forces to choose the best 5 albums of the 2009! Plus, selected contributors give you their personal choice for album of the year. It may surprise!
Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing
One of the hidden gems of 2009, Manchester Orchestra’s third LP Mean Everything to Nothing, showed the young band bringing their music to a more mature, highly evocative level. From Andy Hull’s hauntingly powerful lyrics and vocals, to the sheer scale of instrumental splendour, this is very much a concept album, and I couldn’t be happier to see my favourite album of the year to make it into the top 5. LARRY HEATH
Muse – The Resistance
The Resistance divided hardcore fans but one thing’s for sure – Muse are brilliant at drawing from various genres to make their songs work, they even gave us a pop-R&B feel with ‘Undisclosed Desires’ which is one of the standouts on the album. Love it or hate it, The Resistance continues to showcase Muse’s undeniable talent. CHRIS SINGH
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Joy! Fun! Dance! On first listen I remember these being the three words and feelings that kept revolving round my head as I listened to this exquisite collection of alternative dance pop rock (genre mashup!) by the epitome of Gallic cool. What strikes me is that, seven months later I can still pop in my head phones and listen to the thrills of Lisztomania, the driving guitar of 1901 or the pounding drums of Countdown with my feet tapping along the whole time, just itching to bust out some Sixteen Candles esque moves on any makeshift dance floor. The hallmark of a great album is that every listen brings something new and fresh to your experience of the music and since it was released in May I have explored every nook and cranny of this album and fallen in love with it more and more. The ultimate soundtrack to Summer, just sit back and feel the love as the sun sets on 2009. ASHTON JONES
The Antlers – Hospice
The Antler’s Hospice is one of the year’s most hauntingly beautiful albums. Upon hearing it, I couldn’t escape the yearning and mournful lyrics possessed by Peter Silberman. Hospice an album that slowly binds itself to your subconscious, especially ‘Bear’ with one of my most unforgettable melodies of this year. It also helps that the final track ‘Epilogue’ also shares the same melody and chord structure. So if you are an album listener you get two shares of the same melody and in my case listening to the album several times over and over, it definitely was stuck in there. AARON DIAZ
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
When we put together a time capsule to remember 2009 by, we’re going to put in a picture of Michael Jackson, the box set of Glee, a swine flu mask, Matt Bellamy’s messiah complex…and this. Merriweather Post Pavilion may come from Animal Collective, a group that is fearlessly eclectic and confrontingly experimental. the highs of the album recall an outlandish, technicolor pop summer that exudes a wide-eyed awe of the world around it. The yin-and-yang harmonies soar over the adventurous “My Girls”, a didgeridoo backs the dizzying sway of “Lion in a Coma”, “Brother Sport” provides one of the most infectious conga-line singalongs of the year… Merriweather gleans a series of shining, blissed out moments of eerily relatable euphoria and arranges them in a way that you can pick up the record at any point from its beginning to its conclusion and invariably find something that relentlessly stuns and amazes. It’s nearly been twelve months since its release, and possibly one of the very few disappointing things about 2009 was the fact that even with such an early release, nothing else came close to matching what MPP had to offer – intelligent, boundary-shoving explorations through time, space and a brief history of both experimental and popular music. Cliche’d “album of the year” choice? Maybe. But little else was more deserving of the hype it received than this very album. DAVID YOUNG
Honourable Mention
The debut album from Aussie band Closure In Moscow, didn’t disappoint. The CD starts with a bang, showcasing the bands ear for melody, crazy instrumentals and the amazing voice of Chris de Cinque. The record also showcases the bands versatility with punk driven tracks they became known for, as well as mixing in more diverse sounds, such as song ‘A Night at the Spleen.’ Ever heard a punk type song that you can just get up and dance to? – (yes dance, not mosh). The chorus is ridiciulously catchy with Chris’ falsetto vocals ‘dance with me through the night, we’ll feel alright, we’ll make it last all night’ will guarantee you’ll walk around singing it for the next couple days. A promising first release from the boys – excited to see how well they can develop and extend on their sound on their sophmore album. TAHLIA PRITCHARD
Best of the Rest
So while this is a good cross section of the AU crew’s favourites, we asked a few of our contributors to comment on their favourite album of the year. Here’s what they had to say.
The Scare – oozevoodoo
The Scare’s Oozevoodoo is my number one for 2009 because it is probably the one album I have been waiting for, for the longest amount of time! The Scare’s first album, Chivalry was an awkward account of some tough-times-had, and when I saw the band perform the song from it, they seemed nonchalant and tired, but that first show I saw them play with all new songs from the then-impending sophomore release was a whole new experience. They were excited, energetic and gave the performance they have always been accused of being able give! This new album gave my favourite band a new lease on life, it made them dangerous as well as engaging. Oozevoodoo is an amazing punk record with this ingenious pop sensibility running throughout it that forces you to dance. It feels like a liberation, you can sing, scream and punch your fist in the air! While Chivalry said ‘Fuck You’, Oozevoodoo says ‘Fuck Yeah!’ ALEXANDRA DUGUID
7 Worlds Collide –
The Sun Came Out
When you get a line up that includes luminaries such as Neil Finn, KT Tunstall, Bic Runga, Liam Finn, Johnny Marr, Ed O’Brien & Phil Selway (Radiohead), Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche & Pat Sansone (Wilco), Glenn Richards (Augie March) & Lisa Germano all on the one album it is very heard not to notice and appreciate the talent on offer. Even more satisfying when it all blends together to make one beautifully cohesive album. That’s what makes The Sun Came Out collaboration album of 2009. JOHNNY AU
A Loss For Words – The Kids Can’t Lose
A Loss For Words have produced one of the best pop punk albums of 2009, expect to see great things from this band in the future. DANE WANG
Getaway Plan – The Best Of
If you are anything like me, and were absolutely gutted when these incredibly talented Melbourne lads broke up, then you’ll understand my choice. From featuring their hit singles off the successful album Other Voices, Other Rooms as well as including all the tracks from their first demo and their first EP Hold Conversation, with b-sides from singles also thrown in, it is a perfect mix of The Getaway Plan, showcasing the versatility they had. Whether it’s the passion displayed in with the screaming vocals in ‘The New Year’ or the soft, haunting piano and vocals on ‘Melophobia’, the boys never fail to disappoint. RIP. TAHLIA PRITCHARD
Paul Dempsey – Everything Is True
After moving on from Something For Kate, Paul Dempsey has created this raw treasure of beautiful songs, taking you on a journey from love to loss, whilst leaving his heart wide open on the table. Featuring the hit ‘Airlock’ and his most recent single ‘Ramona Was A Waitress’, Everything is True tops my list for 2009 and makes me proud to be Australian – I salute you Paul Dempsey. RIKKI LORGER
Frank Turner – Poetry of the Deed
Frank Turner’s latest album released in September for me is perhaps the stand out release for this year. There are no “filler” tracks on this album which spans a number of genres and styles and one which will bring the protest song kicking and screaming into the next decade. SIMON CLARK
