Was Music Better Ten Years Ago?
The best albums of 2009
Here are the albums we loved back then, with the original blurbs and our updated thoughts.
14 | Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
2009 review: “25 years and quality-control still working! No surprises (except for the funk-flavored opener) but solid Yo La Tengo all through, up to the amazing monster of an ear-shredding rave-up that closes the album.”
Yo La Tengo would continue to pop up in our lists for the following years. No stopping these guys!
13 | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
2009 review: “Each of the 80s/90s revivalists aped a particular group or style, but these guys just throw everything into the blender! My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain, Smiths, Shop Assistants… it sounds like them all at once. The trick : making it sound fresh!”
It was good while it lasted, but we haven’t really thought about it much since then. Still the best album by the band.
12 | The Horrors – Primary Colours
2009 review: “They quit their mix of garage-punk and 50s horror b-movies for the more sophisticated krautrock/post-punk (Can, Neu!, Joy Division…) Contains one of the year’s best tracks : ‘Sea Within A Sea‘ ”
The Horrors would continue to evolve but they never topped this. And we haven’t listened to much of the album besides that brilliant track since then.
11 | The XX – XX
2009 review: “Also stuck in the 1980s, but leaning more towards the lesser known Young Marble Giants. Minimalistic moody music wit a great use of negative space. A pretty assured debut for these 19-year-olds!”
A second, slightly disappointing album would follow, before leader Jamie XX went on to a hugely successful solo career as DJ and producer. An unexpected excellent third album in 2017 had a perfect mix of Jamie XX’s signature style and the original sound.
10 | St Vincent – Actor
2009 review: “She writes, she plays, she sings, and she is incredibly beautiful. Great second album from Annie Clark. “Actor Out of Work” is nearly the song of the year”
It would take a couple of more albums for St Vincent to become ubiquitous, and unfortunately less interesting musically. Still her talent is considerable and we are always keeping our ears open for a return to form.
9 | Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue
2009 review: “Bibio used folksy guitar and funk samples for a collage of sounds over which he laid beautiful dreamy melodies. Simple, and sublime”
This album has soundtracked every one of our summers since then. Probably will continue to for a long time.
8 | The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa
2009 review: “You could accuse WHOA of surfing the wave of interest in world music, and specifically African music, spearheaded by MIA and Vampire Weekend respectively. But they don’t shy from that, collaborating with these very artists on their first proper album. This trio from France, Sweden and Malawi who met in London (where else?) are the epitome of globalization!”
An album we have loved more with every passing year, a favourite in our parties. Alas, the last great record by this band.
7 | Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2009 review: “French musicians getting unanimous praise in the English-speaking world? Unheard of since Air and Daft Punk. But it is well-deserved!”
This one actually grew old pretty fast.
6 | Fever Ray – Fever Ray
2009 review: “Karin Dreijer, one half of brilliant brother/sister Swedish duo The Knife, delivers her first solo album. Dark, haunting, melancholy… and totally mesmerising!”
Another enduring favourite from that year. Fever Ray would finally return after seven years of keeping us waiting with a very decent, yet underwhelming record compared to this classic.
5 | Yoko Ono – Between My Head and The Sky
2009 review: “At 76, Yoko can still show all these young show-offs a thing or two about being totally cool! Veering from electronica to hard rock to jazz to oriental chanting and back again, this is the most perfect balance of her experimental and pop sides. At her age, the ear-piercing screams have been replaced by moans and groans, but it still works and we love her for it!”
What can we say? We idolize Yoko and this was her last powerful record-length statement.
4 | Atlas Sound – Logos
2009 review: “Bradford Cox sets aside Deerhunter for this one-man-band. He invites members of Stereolab and Animal Collective to the party, but the result is unique and rather lovely!”
Still sounds great today, and its best track is one of the best of the century.
3 | Mos Def – Ecstatic
2009 review: “After several lost years in Hollywood, Mos Def comes back with the best hip hop album since… his first album! Mos is back as a sort of world ambassador for peace and groove, using music from South America to the Middle East as a foundation for his rhymes about war and peace!”
There is probably no other album from that year that we have listened to more, end-to-end, than this one. Mos Def’s last great stand, before an erratic later career.
2 | Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
2009 review: “Glam guitars underscore the disarming falsetto and crooning of the Beasts’ two lead vocalists, who give us tales of decadence and depravity, laced with wicked humour. Delicious!”
As wowed as we were back then, we lost our taste for the Wild Beasts pretty quickly for some reason.
1 | Flaming Lips – Embryonic
2009 review: “Another total change of direction for the Lips in over 20 years of defying expectations! This time around, dissonant freak-outs are overlaid with dreamy harmonies; hard-rocking krautrock is balanced with spaced-out psychedelia; electric noise crackles under delicate chanting. At over 70 minutes and 18 songs, this album is impressive in scope and size… and is totalling engrossing from beginning to end.”
Maybe it’s the daunting length, but we haven’t really listened to this too many times since then. We have vivid memories of really loving it, but not enough to move us to giving it a full review. Maybe someday.
Looking back, three albums have definitely stood the test of time and infinite replays: the dark moody electronica of Fever Ray‘s eponymous debut, the soothing, joyful folktronica of Bibio’s Ambivalence Avenue and the globalist politically engaged hip hop of Mos Def’s Ecstatic. Long may they reign!
Noize Annoyz 