A wee bit late but here are our best of 2009 lists! We've made our favourite tracks downloadable but as always we encourage you to go buy the tracks you like.
Anastasias top 20 of 2009
Blanche Hudson Weekend - Noise And Fury
The Letters To Daddy EP (Squirrel)
Brilliant Colors – Absolutely Anything
Introducing LP (Slumberland)
Bye Bye Bicycle - Navigation
Compass LP (Bonjour)
Crystal Stilts – Love Is A Wave
Love Is A Wave 7” (Slumberland)
Eux Autres - Under Rays
Strangled Days 12" (Where It’s At Is Where You Are)
Frankie Rose - Thee Only One
Thee Only One 7" (Slumberland)
Hari and Aino - On My Usual Catch Up With Cecilia
Pick’N’Mix Compilation (Bubblegum Records
Je Suis Animal – The Mystery of Marie Roger
Self-Taught Magic From A Book (Angular)
Liechtenstein – The End Of The World
Everything’s For Sale (Drill Building)
Moofish Catfish – Two Of A Kind
Yours To Share (Cosy)
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Twins
Higher Than The Stars 12" (Fortuna Pop!)
Pastels/Tenniscoats - About You
Two Sunsets LP (Geographic/Domino)
Sound of Arrows - M.A.G.I.C.
M.A.G.I.C. LP (Labrador)
Stars in Coma - In The Machinery Of Night
Sisters LP (Music Is My Girlfriend)
The Champagne Socialists - Blue Genes
Blue Genes 7" Vinyl (Slumberland)
The Depreciation Guild - Butterfly Kisses
In Her Gentle Jaws (Kanine)
The Just Joans – I Won’t Survive
Love and Other Hideous Accidents 3” (WeePop!)
The Legends - Seconds Away
Over and Over LP (Labrador)
The Parallelograms - Dream On Daisy
Dream On Daisy 3" (Cloudberry)
Transmittens – Meet Me At The Swings
Our Dreams 3” (WeePop!)
Album of the year:
Cats On Fire – Our Temperance Movement
(How Does It Feel To Be Loved?)
This fine Finnish lot never ceases to amaze, especially with the year’s offering of Our Temperance Movement. With a mixture of bizarre romanticism and odd cynicism, this album whooshes through emotions, lead by Mattias’ flowing vocals and remarkable lyrics (thank goodness for those sleeve inserts!). Perfect soundtrack for occasions ranging from a springtime drive in the country to a winter’s hibernation session in your room to watching your mum dance around silly in the summertime (the latter being a FACT). And let’s not fail to mention the fantastic performance by those Cats at this year’s Indietracks, including the spectacular cover of White Town’s ‘Your Woman’. Thank heavens for that. P.S.: As a lovely end-of-the-year treat, those folks at Cosy have a new Cats on Fire single free for download. Go grab it! http://www.cosyrecordings.com/cosy024.html
Gig of the year:
The Pastels/Tenniscoats performing Baby Honey at Bush Hall, September 2009. Enough said.
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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
Camera Obscura - French Navy
Veronica Falls - Beachy Head
Shrag - Rabbit Kids
Help Stamp Out Lonliness - Plastic Trash Vortex
Betty And The Werewolves - David Cassidy
The Bobby McGee's - Go Tiger Go
Eux Autres - Queen Turner
Liechtenstein - Roses In The Park
Brilliant Colors - Over There
Sourpatch - I Want You Either Way
Crystal Stilts - Love Is A Wave
The Drums - Let's Go Surfing (Knight School Mix)
Pastels/Tenniscoats - Vivid Youth
'Allo Darlin - Henry Rollins Don't Dance
The Blanche Hudson Weekend - The Last Ride
Cause Co-Motion! - Because Because Because
The Champagne Socialists - Blue Genes
Afternoon Naps - Mitten Fingers
Smittens - What Do We Do Now
Smittens - What Do We Do Now
Best Album
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At HeartYes it's the obvious one. But how could it not be? Released at the start of the year The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart's debut LP has probably been the record I've listened to most over the past twelve months and I'm still not bored of it. Fresh sounding, with immaculate pop nous and, probably most importantly, an unashamed sense of fun, this record is a modern classic that more than justified the hype.
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Daniels best of the rest 2009
I've listed all my favourite tracks at the So Tough! So Cute! blog already and you can download them here.
Best compilations
Yeti Magazine issue 7 and 8 (Yeti Publishing)
Yeti is really more of a book than a magazine and with every issue you get an absolutely amazing collection of rare and unreleased track by bands like Ty Segall, Fergus & Geronimo, Vaselines, the Great Unwashed, Fresh & Onlys. I've discovered loads of bands through these compilations and I urge you to get a copy as soon as you can. Highly recommended.
va - World's Lousy With Ideas Vol. 8 LP (Almost Ready Records)
Almost Ready have released these compilations since 2006 and I would almost like to include volumes 1-7 as well as I didn't discover them until this year and they have tracks of almost all the bands I really liked this year. All contain fantastic tracks by Tyvek, Times New Viking, Guinea Worms, Sic Alps and many more bands.
Best Albums
By the end of the year I honestly did think that where any great albums released in 2009 except for the PENS LP which blew away all the competition. Luckily I was proved wrong the last few days of the year so here are 5 more albums I really like
By the end of the year I honestly did think that where any great albums released in 2009 except for the PENS LP which blew away all the competition. Luckily I was proved wrong the last few days of the year so here are 5 more albums I really like
Home Blitz - Out Of Phase (Ritchie)
I hadn't hear about Home Blitz until my friend Martin procclaimed that it was the best album of the year sometime early December while I was gearing up to DJ at the mighty Upset The Rhythm club in London. The first song I took to was 'Is Anybody There?' (which ended up on my best tracks of 2009 list) with it's Daniel Johnston-y take on the Byrds but I kept listening to the album, even though I'm one of those who falls in love with one song and then mostly forgets about the rest, but for every repeated listen it grew on me with it's super naive take on... well Pop and Pop lyrics. Much like the PENS, Home Blitz sounds like they, actually he as Daniel Dimaggio seems to be the only member, stumbled upon some instruments while being home and bored and a tape recorder just happened to be in the room. The CD's been out for a while but the LP just came out so go order it right away. There is also an extensive interview here with Home Blitz.
I hadn't hear about Home Blitz until my friend Martin procclaimed that it was the best album of the year sometime early December while I was gearing up to DJ at the mighty Upset The Rhythm club in London. The first song I took to was 'Is Anybody There?' (which ended up on my best tracks of 2009 list) with it's Daniel Johnston-y take on the Byrds but I kept listening to the album, even though I'm one of those who falls in love with one song and then mostly forgets about the rest, but for every repeated listen it grew on me with it's super naive take on... well Pop and Pop lyrics. Much like the PENS, Home Blitz sounds like they, actually he as Daniel Dimaggio seems to be the only member, stumbled upon some instruments while being home and bored and a tape recorder just happened to be in the room. The CD's been out for a while but the LP just came out so go order it right away. There is also an extensive interview here with Home Blitz.
The Fresh And Onlys - Grey-Eyed Girl (Woodsist)
A great album through and through and actually the second (or maybe even third as there seems to be a cassette that's somehow avoided my grasp) they released this year. But this is the one to get if you like your songs filled with pop melodies and great lyrics. 'I'm Gonna Be Your Elevator' is the lost little sister to Speeding Motorcycle
A great album through and through and actually the second (or maybe even third as there seems to be a cassette that's somehow avoided my grasp) they released this year. But this is the one to get if you like your songs filled with pop melodies and great lyrics. 'I'm Gonna Be Your Elevator' is the lost little sister to Speeding Motorcycle
Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited (Matador)
Another great album that took a while to get into. 'Move To California' was the song that kept me warm during the cold snowy London days but tracks like 'No Time, No Hope', 'Hustler, Psycho, Son' and 'City On Drugs' kept dragging me back to this great album.
Chain And The Gang - Down With Liberty... Up With Chains! (K)
It's a bit uneven in places but this album by Ian Svenonius of Make-Up has some really great songs. 'Unpronouncable Name' is quite frankly fucking awesome but there are other songs like 'What Is A Dollar?', 'Deathbed Confession' and of course the 'Interview With The Chain Gang' that lift this album.
It's a bit uneven in places but this album by Ian Svenonius of Make-Up has some really great songs. 'Unpronouncable Name' is quite frankly fucking awesome but there are other songs like 'What Is A Dollar?', 'Deathbed Confession' and of course the 'Interview With The Chain Gang' that lift this album.
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