Those Darlins
Here’s the next batch of our favourite albums, singles and downloads of 2009. We’re hurtling towards the top 20, as today we give you our selections from 40-21.
New York trio’s guitarless innovations strike just the right kind of chord on their third LP.
Check out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on myspace
Photo by Lucy Johnston
Some excellent Gentlemen Jesse / Malkmus style tunes on the debut Favours for Sailors EP - power pop that’s surprisingly clever. A huge fucker that they’re now defunct.
I dreamt that I dreamt that you loved me mp3
Check out Favours for Sailors on myspace
Everyone’s favourite hoover wielding sonic rascal, shaking a bag of percussive sounds around and adding wit and curiousity vocals.
Photo by Christopher Dibble
Glorious post punk noise with experimental tendencies - messy and structured at the same time, like strings of DNA.
Pic from www.brooklynvegan.com
Dee Dee and friends - sometimes a Crocodile, sometimes a Crystal Stilt - with some arty fuzzy garage punk.
Get Yours Alone for free from RCRDLBL
Check out Dum Dum Girls on myspace
Scotland’s answer to Vampire Weekend, without the smugness that the New Yorkers seem to have acquired of late. Indie pop that’s effortlessly full to bursting with ideas and a vocalist who’s not afraid of his own accent.
Check out Tango in the Attic on myspace
Photo by Rebecca Morris
There’s something very special about Nottingham band Fists. There’s a rabble feel to their indie rock, with washboards & keys adding to the Velvet Undergroundy guitar. Fists sound like a drunken art collective playing country songs they’ve never heard before. Which is meant to be a compliment.
Like quite a few of these selections, I can’t help wondering whether this should be higher up on the list. In a near parallel universe somewhere - just an atom-sized nudge to the right of here - there’s a version of me declaring this to be the album of 2009. It’s Art Brut at their best, with Eddie Argos free and cheeky and the band giving it plenty. Some extra Pixieness most likely seeped in through Frank Black’s fingers while he was at the controls, and it adds an extra welcome dimension. An album you should own, if you don’t already.
Photo by Darren Andrews
Twee without giving you a sugar rush sickness, suddenely noisy without making your ear drums bleed, The Lovely Eggs embrace the ridiculous with their Edward Lear/ Ivor Cutler pop.
Have You Ever Heard A Digital Accordion?
The Lovely Eggs | MySpace Music Videos
Check out The Lovely Eggs on myspace
If you think you don’t like country music, let the debut album from Those Darlins convince you otherwise. They have everything that’s good about the genre (the story telling, the honesty, the harmonies, the pursuit of the good times) and none of the bad (the sickly production, the tedious self pity, the leathery skinned glitz). Plus there’s punk rock spirit and a song about eating a whole damn chicken when drunk and hungry.
Check out Those Darlins on myspace
More country goodness from The Dexateens. Mark Nevers teases out the band’s more hushed tones to great effect, letting the songs be heard. There’s camp fire singalongs aplenty and as you might expect from a band who’s released albums on Estrus, there’s the odd rowdy burst. The Dexateens are an amazing live band too - one of the bands you have to see before you die.
Check out The Dexateens on myspace
Talking of amazing live bands, UMP are at number 29 with a posthumous release following their most unfortunate demise. Wired Mcluskyesque punk that will make you miss them all the more.
Download Leftovers from Tiger Trap
Check out Untitled Musical Project on myspace
A great debut from the band sub editors love to hate, Danananaykroyd. Hey everyone sounds like a lost Dischord album that was so good, Ian Mackaye decided to keep it for himself. Post punk in the truest sense, that’s more exuberant than self righteous.
Check out Dananananaykroyd on myspace
Who would have thought that Yorkshire was the home of such authentic bluegrass suss? When Serious Sam Barrett is plucking the shit out of his 12 string resonator, you’d believe that the genre was born amongst the coal pits and Bill Monroe was Sam’s dad. If you’re heading to SxSW next year, make sure you look out for him.
Check out Serious Sam Barrett on myspace
A quintessential artrocker band - in that they play arty rock n roll with twists, turns, herks, jerks and enough life affirming energy to recharge the batteries of even the most jaded cynic.
Check out Johnny Foreigner on myspace
Touches of M83, Depeche Mode and the Postal Service on this self released instrumental EP.
Download Dead Kids from Deastro’s blog
Lo fi pop-fuzzarama has been another theme for this year. PENS sound like the Vivian Girls’ younger sisters, playing pop punk with more regard for joyful exuberance than shiny production values. And thank fuck for that.
Understatement: It’s been a good year for The XX. Seems everyone has caught on to their sneaky intricacies and superior song writing. This is one album likely to feature in everyone’s best of lists, and rightly so.
Download the XX remixing Florence and the Machine
Wasted garage pop served up with lazy panache from Harlem. They have an ear for a killer tune and an intoxicated swing to their playing. Awesome.
Download Friendly Ghost mp3 from their new album
Like an early Lookout records release with loud and messy production, Lovvers play great Real Kids punk pop with contemporary scuzz. A great debut you should all purchase pronto.
> Top 100 Records of 2009: 100-81
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