Best of 2009, Pt. 2
Jan. 4th, 2010 03:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urgencytobleedI've decided to make it my goal to post everyday this week until I've milked 2009 for all it's worth; this is a rather ambitious goal because I still have a lot of writing to do (and, as we all know, I am physically incapable of brevity) but I'm going to try to stick with it. In accordance with that, here are eleven more... honorable mention-ish songs. There might be one more (much smaller) set of these before I get to my actual list; I haven't decided if there are enough songs left to warrant that yet. Also, if you download something, maybe take a couple of seconds to leave a quick comment? Of course I'm not forcing you to but it does make me feel like I'm doing some good when I get one every so often.
Well, I suppose if a band is going to release a brand new single that is not on their album just months after said album is released, it's most warranted if that song sounds completely different. And that's definitely the case here. "Double Negative" is far more aggressive and abrasive than anything on Grammatics' self-titled debut (except for maybe the second half of "Relentless Fours") and that turns out to be a very good thing. It's a ridiculously addictive song and, even at their shoutiest, Owen Brinley's vocals are astoundingly flawless and beautiful.
It's probably not very fair to all of these other bands for me to excessively gush over a select few but I just can't help it. The only legitimate reason I can see for this song being relegated to b-side status is that there are a couple rather similar acoustic guitar-based ballads on the album already. But, in my opinion, this one is the best of the bunch (even though I adore "Cruel Tricks of the Light" very nearly as much) - the melody is gorgeous, Brinley's voice is gorgeous, the lyrics are gorgeous, etc., etc. I've got chills by the time it ends no matter how many times I've heard it: "Hell, and I feel something now/Even if it's a lie/There's a greater truth emerging."
Though I enjoy listening to Ellipse for the most part, it also leaves me with the feeling that Imogen Heap is reaching back into the same bag of tricks she's been using for years now and trying to dress them up as something new. There's really not much here that we haven't heard from her before - and often with more engaging results. This song and "Canvas" are both refreshingly sparse and chilling and, for that reason, are the album's obvious highlights. If the rest of it would have continued in the same dark vein, I imagine it would have turned out much more interesting. As it is, Ellipse is simply pleasant and that's about all.
A lot of people seem to be crazy about this soundtrack but I am not. I love Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I love Karen O, but I cannot say that I love this at all. It probably works really well in the context of the movie but outside of that, to me, it's rather pointless, repetitive, and even annoying 85% of the time. However, it does contain two truly beautiful and touching songs, "Worried Shoes" and this one, which are the only tracks I ever care to listen to again.
A great little unsigned band from Chicago; I've mentioned them before here and if you haven't given them a listen yet, you definitely should. Their debut album isn't perfect but not many are and it's got some awesome songs on it, including this one, which is a nice combination of aggressive, rough male vocals and pretty, smooth female vocals. I suppose the closest comparison to draw would be to early Rainer Maria or a more melodic, less synth-y the Anniversary. I am very much looking forward to what these guys and girl have to offer in the future.
This is an extremely intense album, so intense that at times it's actually uncomfortable to listen to. Not only is Andy Hull's voice wildly passionate but the lyrics are too: "I felt the world begin to peel off all my skin/And I felt the weight within/Reveal the bigger mess that you can't fix." It doesn't get much more honest and raw than that. I imagine I would probably like this album more if I had actually taken more time to listen to it but, unfortunately, there was always something else distracting me. Maybe I'll finally give it the attention it deserves in this new year, even if it is a bit belated.
I hate to say it because I love Maria Taylor to bits but I was terribly underwhelmed by this album. Her music has never been particularly exciting but I like to think of it as quietly intense - there's a lot of emotion brimming beneath the calm, still surface of her songs. However, LadyLuck is a different story; aside from three or four glimmers of promise, it sounds completely uninspired. This song is one of those glimmers. Though the lyrics are rather simplistic and the verses are delivered in a slightly disjointed, almost cold manner, it sounds so much more alive to me than the majority of the album. Maybe just because it's entirely out of place, and therefore a breath of fresh air, among so many near-identical hushed ballads and listless midtempos. Also, obligatory Andy LeMaster shoutout! Because he could very well be the reason too.
She didn't even release an album of her own but, somehow, 2009 managed to be a rather impressive year for Shara Worden anyway. Apart from completely stealing the spotlight as the Queen on the Decemberists' Hazards of Love (not to mention during their live show in support of it), she also gave us this spine-tinglingly gorgeous, sexy, and entirely bad ass cover. Just sit back, close your eyes, and prepare to have your mind blown by not only Worden's massive voice but also how brilliantly she uses it to inject each and every line with the utmost intensity - it doesn't get any more flawless than that.
Hey, listen, I may have just posted this a couple weeks ago but that shouldn't disqualify it from also appearing here, should it? After all, it is one of my favorite songs of the year. This isn't just a cover, it's completely reimagined - so much so that it basically becomes an entirely new song. And Suzie Zeldin's gorgeous vocals are just icing on top of an already delicious cake. Now, these guys had better get around to releasing an album soon because the longer I wait, the higher my expectations get, and I'm already pretty much expecting it to be so epic that it will cure cancer and bring about world peace all in one go.
Between this collaboration with Scalpelist aka Cedric LeMoyne and her second solo album, Ask the Night, Orenda Fink has been busy this past year. "High Ground" got me prematurely excited about Ask the Night but the album turned out to be full of dreary, half-realized acoustic ballads that are forgotten as soon as they end. I can't say that I absolutely love this album either but the electronic elements and sampled found sounds at least make it a far more interesting listen. In the end, it's all about execution: the songs on O+S aren't all that dissimilar from those found on Ask the Night at their cores after all but where O+S sounds like it's been carefully honed to perfection, Ask the Night sounds more like it was written, performed and recorded in a massive rush with little thought given to how well it would hold up to repeated listens.
Regina Spektor is at her best when she doesn't take herself too seriously, when she lets loose and embraces her silly side, as in "Dance Anthem of the 80's" and, to a lesser extent, "Machine," or when she manages to find that perfect balance between her signature quirk and bald sincerity, as in "Blue Lips" and this song. However, Far is so littered with heavy-handed, emotionless, and deadly dull midtempo schlock that sticking it out for a few diamonds in the rough more often than not feels like a massive waste of time. Let's just say I won't be losing any sleep if I never hear "Laughing With" again and leave it at that.
Well, I suppose if a band is going to release a brand new single that is not on their album just months after said album is released, it's most warranted if that song sounds completely different. And that's definitely the case here. "Double Negative" is far more aggressive and abrasive than anything on Grammatics' self-titled debut (except for maybe the second half of "Relentless Fours") and that turns out to be a very good thing. It's a ridiculously addictive song and, even at their shoutiest, Owen Brinley's vocals are astoundingly flawless and beautiful.
It's probably not very fair to all of these other bands for me to excessively gush over a select few but I just can't help it. The only legitimate reason I can see for this song being relegated to b-side status is that there are a couple rather similar acoustic guitar-based ballads on the album already. But, in my opinion, this one is the best of the bunch (even though I adore "Cruel Tricks of the Light" very nearly as much) - the melody is gorgeous, Brinley's voice is gorgeous, the lyrics are gorgeous, etc., etc. I've got chills by the time it ends no matter how many times I've heard it: "Hell, and I feel something now/Even if it's a lie/There's a greater truth emerging."
Though I enjoy listening to Ellipse for the most part, it also leaves me with the feeling that Imogen Heap is reaching back into the same bag of tricks she's been using for years now and trying to dress them up as something new. There's really not much here that we haven't heard from her before - and often with more engaging results. This song and "Canvas" are both refreshingly sparse and chilling and, for that reason, are the album's obvious highlights. If the rest of it would have continued in the same dark vein, I imagine it would have turned out much more interesting. As it is, Ellipse is simply pleasant and that's about all.
A lot of people seem to be crazy about this soundtrack but I am not. I love Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I love Karen O, but I cannot say that I love this at all. It probably works really well in the context of the movie but outside of that, to me, it's rather pointless, repetitive, and even annoying 85% of the time. However, it does contain two truly beautiful and touching songs, "Worried Shoes" and this one, which are the only tracks I ever care to listen to again.
A great little unsigned band from Chicago; I've mentioned them before here and if you haven't given them a listen yet, you definitely should. Their debut album isn't perfect but not many are and it's got some awesome songs on it, including this one, which is a nice combination of aggressive, rough male vocals and pretty, smooth female vocals. I suppose the closest comparison to draw would be to early Rainer Maria or a more melodic, less synth-y the Anniversary. I am very much looking forward to what these guys and girl have to offer in the future.
This is an extremely intense album, so intense that at times it's actually uncomfortable to listen to. Not only is Andy Hull's voice wildly passionate but the lyrics are too: "I felt the world begin to peel off all my skin/And I felt the weight within/Reveal the bigger mess that you can't fix." It doesn't get much more honest and raw than that. I imagine I would probably like this album more if I had actually taken more time to listen to it but, unfortunately, there was always something else distracting me. Maybe I'll finally give it the attention it deserves in this new year, even if it is a bit belated.
I hate to say it because I love Maria Taylor to bits but I was terribly underwhelmed by this album. Her music has never been particularly exciting but I like to think of it as quietly intense - there's a lot of emotion brimming beneath the calm, still surface of her songs. However, LadyLuck is a different story; aside from three or four glimmers of promise, it sounds completely uninspired. This song is one of those glimmers. Though the lyrics are rather simplistic and the verses are delivered in a slightly disjointed, almost cold manner, it sounds so much more alive to me than the majority of the album. Maybe just because it's entirely out of place, and therefore a breath of fresh air, among so many near-identical hushed ballads and listless midtempos. Also, obligatory Andy LeMaster shoutout! Because he could very well be the reason too.
She didn't even release an album of her own but, somehow, 2009 managed to be a rather impressive year for Shara Worden anyway. Apart from completely stealing the spotlight as the Queen on the Decemberists' Hazards of Love (not to mention during their live show in support of it), she also gave us this spine-tinglingly gorgeous, sexy, and entirely bad ass cover. Just sit back, close your eyes, and prepare to have your mind blown by not only Worden's massive voice but also how brilliantly she uses it to inject each and every line with the utmost intensity - it doesn't get any more flawless than that.
Hey, listen, I may have just posted this a couple weeks ago but that shouldn't disqualify it from also appearing here, should it? After all, it is one of my favorite songs of the year. This isn't just a cover, it's completely reimagined - so much so that it basically becomes an entirely new song. And Suzie Zeldin's gorgeous vocals are just icing on top of an already delicious cake. Now, these guys had better get around to releasing an album soon because the longer I wait, the higher my expectations get, and I'm already pretty much expecting it to be so epic that it will cure cancer and bring about world peace all in one go.
Between this collaboration with Scalpelist aka Cedric LeMoyne and her second solo album, Ask the Night, Orenda Fink has been busy this past year. "High Ground" got me prematurely excited about Ask the Night but the album turned out to be full of dreary, half-realized acoustic ballads that are forgotten as soon as they end. I can't say that I absolutely love this album either but the electronic elements and sampled found sounds at least make it a far more interesting listen. In the end, it's all about execution: the songs on O+S aren't all that dissimilar from those found on Ask the Night at their cores after all but where O+S sounds like it's been carefully honed to perfection, Ask the Night sounds more like it was written, performed and recorded in a massive rush with little thought given to how well it would hold up to repeated listens.
Regina Spektor is at her best when she doesn't take herself too seriously, when she lets loose and embraces her silly side, as in "Dance Anthem of the 80's" and, to a lesser extent, "Machine," or when she manages to find that perfect balance between her signature quirk and bald sincerity, as in "Blue Lips" and this song. However, Far is so littered with heavy-handed, emotionless, and deadly dull midtempo schlock that sticking it out for a few diamonds in the rough more often than not feels like a massive waste of time. Let's just say I won't be losing any sleep if I never hear "Laughing With" again and leave it at that.
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Date: 2010-01-05 03:38 am (UTC)there's some things on these lists that i haven't listened to before so i'mma get on that. <3
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Date: 2010-01-05 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 04:31 pm (UTC)Thanks for commenting, dear. <3 <3 <3
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Date: 2010-01-06 04:17 am (UTC)