Top 10 albums of 2009

2009 has been a good year (for me) for music. This year I have got into, in a big way, Converge, Thrice, Mastodon and Lily Allen, the latter 2 artists releasing arguably their greatest work to date. For example, if Jane Doe and Vheissu/the Alchemy Index had been released in 2009, they would be my albums of the year. As it is, Axe to Fall makes the cut (no pun intended), as does Beggars, but neither are the forementioned masterpieces.

Disappointments of the year include Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings, which I forced myself to listen to a few more times, but I still think I wasted the £60 the darn special edition cost me. Porcupine Tree's The Incident, on the other hand, was worth the cash for the beautiful packaging and artwork alone, it's just a shame someone doesn't check Steven Wilson's quality control. There are, as ever, some jawdropping moments, but there is an awful lot of filler, and the chorus of Draw the Line is cringingly horrible (much the same way as RHCP's Zephyr song's lovely verses were destroyed by the hideous chorus).

The Empyrean by John Frusciante should have been up there too, but again it suffers from only having one or two (well, more than one or two) great moments (Central and Unreachable in particular) but when the artist in question's hit rate is as high and consistent as his, you expect more. The beauty of his solo work is that it sounds nothing like RHCP, but, whether to do with Flea's presence or not, a lot of this does.

AFI are to commended for again releasing an album that sounds nothing like any of their others, but these days this isn't such a good thing for them. Where Black Sails, The Art of Drowning and Sing the Sorrow were all, albeit differing, masterpieces, Decemberundergound and the latest, Crash Love, are more like just "OK". That said check out Medicate and I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here.

Finally I want to mention The Cinematic Orchestra. Their soundtrack to Disney's Flamingo documentry The Crimnson Wing was absolutely beautiful, but, and this is a big but, in the pop classical way they have long threatened to become. Gone is the jazz, the saxophone, and the experimentation, and it's a real shame.

Anyway, enough of all that, onto to the year's greatest successes:

10 - Thrice - Beggars

The wonderful thing about pushing the boundaries is that you can call yourselves the band with the varied and awesome Artist in the Ambulance, Vheissu and Alchemy Index in your catalogue. Thrice should also be very proud of Beggars, just not all of it. It's still a tad experimental but most of the time much more straightforward, especially on the first 2 songs, which are, ironically or not, the best on the album. Unfortunately by a long way as the rest of the album descends into filler, not least in the track Doublespeak, whose clever literary reference cannot make up for the fact it sounds like Starsailor. Don't get me wrong, there are some other gems in the other 9 tracks, but they are few and far between. So why is Beggars in my top 10 then? Because the first 2 tracks are so damn awesome!

Check out: All the World is Mad, The Weight

9 - The Mars Volta - Octahedron

Yes ok maybe this was inevitable, considering I've got one of their symbols tattooed on my bloody arm, but give me a break, I've put it at number 9. This is because although the album is often classic Mars Volta, it struggles with consistency, and even though it pisses all over the drivel that the arrogant and overrated Muse come out with these days, TMV are one of those bands you have to compare to themselves. Quite simply Octahedron is not as good as De-Loused or Frances. Nor is it as epic as Bedlam, often feeling like an EP and not a proper LP. That said, the songs are mostly fantastic, the acoustic guitar beautiful, Thomas Pridgen's drumming suitably restrained and Cedric's vocals up there with his De-Loused glory days (and none of the Robert Plant wannabe stuff, well maybe just a bit). It isn't pop, but it is accessible, and none the worse for it.

Check out: Since We've Been Wrong, Desparate Graves

8 - Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

Still haven't heard a post-rock album I didn't like and this one is not the exception that proves the rule. It is a masterclass in dynamics, build-up, orchestration and waves of beauty in sound. Granted you have to be in mood and maybe it might be a bit "backgroundy" for some (god I hate that expression - especially with reference to Jazz) but if you're willing to put in the time and effort you will be rewarded.

Check out: Follow the Map (it's less than 4 minutes!), Everlasting Light

7 - Antony & The Johnsons - The Crying Light

I'm going to be bold and say that this is as good as I Am A Bird Now. Well OK maybe not quite, but it certainly comes close, with more than a handful of great tracks and Antony's unique warble, albeit an acquired taste, reaching heights of goosebump-inducing power most singers only dream of acheiving. Therein lies the problem I guess, in that the music is very much second fiddle, but I guess to labour this point would be to miss the main one, which is that Antony and the Johnsons are one of the most original and uniquely thrilling groups out there.

Check out: Epilepsy is Dancing, One Dove

6 - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Xenophanes

Omar has released a lot of albums this year, solo and otherwise. This is my favourite, an album of it's own worth and merit, like Buffalo and Calibration, not something which can at best be described as "interesting", like some of the noisy ones. Where Omar works best is when he does something entirely new yet equally good. Buffalo and Calibration and Xenophanes couldn't be more different, yet they all have wonderful things to offer. In Xenophanes' case it's a more overly Latin flavour, not least because of Omar's girlfriend Ximena's lovely vocals, and indeed Omar's own, for the first time at the forefront on record. That Omar is still having exciting ideas (and more crucially, ones that work) umpteen albums into his glittering career is nothing less than encouraging, and nothing short of inspiring.

Check out: Desarraigo, Oremos

5 - Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Apparently this was a return to the roots, out with the experimentation of recent years and back to basic straightforward songwriting. Has anyone forgotten that this is pretty much exactly what was said about 2006's self-titled album? The difference being that whereas Pearl Jam had a couple of good songs on it, Backspacer has a lot. It's not an epic journey of an album, it's a unskippable collection of great songs.

Check out: Force of Nature, Just Breathe

4 - Converge - Axe to Fall

I've already said this isn't as good as Jane Doe. Well so what, listen to it on loud and prepare for a brutal but mesmerising pounding. Converge do pulversingly heavy like no-one else, but nowhere do they sound like a simple chugfest or that they're making loud noises for the sake of it. They are one of the most visceral, thrilling and genuine bands around, and this album only cements that reputation. Awesome stuff.

Check out: Dark Horse, Cutter

3 - Russian Circles - Geneva

I bought this relatively late in the year, but it has hardly left my turnta..., um, CD pla..., er, iPod since. A thrilling slice of instrumental post-metal, and with it Russian Circles prove they deserve their growing popularity. Whereas Isis' Wavering Radiant is not as good as everyone says (at least compared to what we know Isis are capable of), Geneva certainly is. Think instrumental music is only about the quiet/crescendo/loud repeat formula? Think again. A fantastic effort from the threepiece.

Check out: Melee, When the Mountain comes to Muhammad

2 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Leviathan was fantastic, Blood Mountain was fantastic. So is this. Mastodon are often exhausting to listen to (mostly in a good way) but here they've reigned in the punishing virtuosic assaults and added elements of prog, classic rock and, wait for it, melody in the vocals (to my mind previously the weak link in Mastodon's armour) to create their third masterpiece in a row. Crack the Skye is the sound of a great band becoming perfect and a shining example of what happens when virtuosity (let's face it, all 4 band members are superb musicians) meets good songwriting, and without artistic compromise. Anything you could possibly want from music - thoughtful lyrics, vocal hooks, impressive muscianships, quiet passages and bone-crushingly heavy riffs, it's all here.

Check out: Oblivion, The Czar

1 - Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

I want to make it clear from an artistic and integrity point of view that I am not ashamed to put a pop album at my 2009 number 1. The key phrase is "2009". Will I be listening to this in 5/10 years? Probably not. What about the rest in my list (and moreover the ones I mentioned above that didn't make my top 10)? Almost definitely. But if you want an album that is the very essence of the here and now (I don't mean in a fashionable way, more like open your eyes and look at the world around you) then look no further.

I might also say that a niggle I often have with pop music is that the backing music is little more than a vehicle for the singer, but Greg Kurstin has done an excellent job (with Lily) of creating music that is interesting on it's own - the synthy solo on the first track, and the rodeo saloon bar influences elsewhere to name just two examples. This is great - quirky and original without being twee.

Ms Allen is, I admit, not the greatest singer out there (but then soulless vocal gymnastics leave me cold) but whoever says all she does is talk over her music needs to clear out the earwax and give her the listen she deserves. Her voice is lovely, and her mispronounciations only add to the effect (that professer from My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins?) would be turning in his grave), even though she might argue she speaks in the voice of someone from the other side of the tracks, and isn't doing it "for effect". It's been a long time since someone's lyrics made me sit up and take notice, and Lily's are the furthest you're likely to get from perfunctory, not only in pop music, but most music I reckon, in this day and age. I have nothing but respect for someone who is clearly a very clever and talented wordsmith and um, co-songwriter. Maybe I wish she was more passionate about it (this "retiring from music" bullshit doesn't sit very well) but then this could prove a very smart move; I wouldn't want her to burn out. I might also mention that although not the greatest role model in a lot of ways, at least she is showing young women you don't have to be a size zero to be sexy, beautiful and succesful. Cheryl Cole - who dat?

I admit to be being a naysayer following her rise from myspace fame, the release of Smile, the prom dresses and trainers image etc, but after giving her sophomore album a try and falling in love with it, I revisited the debut Alright, Still and found a lot to love on there as well (Everything's Just Wonderful and Littlest Things, for example). There is simply no filler on It's Not Me, It's You. Granted a couple come close, but nearly every track is, to coin a phrase, an absolute tune. Someone wrote that Lily Allen has released an "album of the times". I agree completely. Wonderful.

Check out: Everyone's At It, Him

Thank you