Taking a Gander at the Music of 2009

I have listened to...11 albums this year, not a lot, but I'll tell you about some of my favorites.

White Denim : Fits
This is a rock album. It is pretty awesome. Voices echo into the forefront in the first song Radio Milk before a solid drum beat and catchy bass riff set the stage for a voice to blare in and an electric guitar to tear through the musical landscape. Fits is full of energy and continues to deliver it's catchy kinetic tunes throughout the whole album. White Denim doesn't fill their songs with lyrics and most of their songs are under 3 minutes, these things aren't bad, it merely shows that this band knows how to make a catchy song, with strong beats, striking riffs and strong vocals. Often when referring to this band I describe them as the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix split into three parts all playing with one vision.

Tim Fite : Change of Heart

Tim Fite is at another end on the musical spectrum from White Denim. This album is filled with very thoughtful and definitely personal songs that build up slowly. These are filled with mood, chronicling the progression of a broken heart. The confusion of why, trying to get by, promises from an honest man, giving up on the whole process, feeling lost, anger and finally resolve. This album covers all of these experiences using Tim's multiple harmonies laid over one another intricately and purposefully, the dissonance and sound glitches reigned in to be useful instead of randomly as they did in other albums. The one man show that is Tim Fite strikes every chord in this his most personal album, and one might also say his most accessible album, delving into the heart.

 Brazos : Phosphorescent Blues

The Brazos are cool, they make songs that sound like a good time on the beach, often the noises will build up a harmony and fullness reminding one of the wash in and out from the sea. People playing games and running around, all lit up by the glow of a warm bonfire. It is interesting that they call it blues, the smooth swooping melodies and warm accompaniment speak more of good times than bad. Brazos do bring in more tender moments with Avignon and the all piano piece Pues, however it never sinks too far into the dark before a melody brings it up to the surface. Phosphorescent Blues drifts on swapping guitar for piano every couple of songs, and eventually it drifts to a stop "content to cross the finish line on it's own terms rather than in a final sprint"*.

Grizzly Bear : Veckatimest

Veckatimest is an album that finally brings the potential of Grizzly Bear to the forefront. Unlike previous albums that sometimes sound disjointed, Veckatimest is cohesive and strays into new areas. The first song on the record Southern Point starts out quite jazzy and then turns into something more. The guitar melodies take odd turns and slides that produce very interesting progressions. The vibrating vocal harmonies accompany the slightly odd but altogether wonderful spectrum of sound that the band produces. This album strikes a blazing trail from the Department of Eagles album In Ear Park from 2008 (Daniel Rossen's more personal songs), taking new territory, expanding beyond their past endeavors and in general making one hell of an album.

Other Respectable Albums:

Sufjan Stevens : The BQE : An interesting orchestrated piece with 7 movements, 3 interludes, a prelude and a postlude. Maybe not his best, but definitely worth a listen.

Wolfmother : Cosmic Egg : A strong rock album for their sophomore effort, didn't really stick with me, as my rock allegiances were more interested in White Denim.

The Decemberists : The Hazards of Love : This is a good album working on the story telling of their previous albums to make an epic. Good on them for making me interested in their band again.

Phoenix : Wolfgang Amadeus : Is a very well produced pop album that I enjoy, but it was only just recommended to me by Matt, so it hasn't had the time to seep into me like the other albums have.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs : It's Blitz : Definately an improvement over Fever to Tell, which was the last album of theirs I listened to, but the same goes for this as Phoenix.

Illinois : the adventures of Kid Catastrophe : I'm actually quite excited about this album, I hadn't been able to find it before so I couldn't really review it. I've seen the videos which were cute, but I want the full experience of the album before I can comment on it. They tried releasing their songs in 6 different chapters, which is good marketing probably but made it hard to track down which songs I hadn't heard yet. Now that I have the album it will probably be mentioned again soon.

Keep an eye out for further TGM articles, hopefully I'll start listening to some albums from this decade.

* I'm stealing this line from Aquarium Drunkard because it's awesome.