10 Favourite Albums of 2009

well since there's one more day left before the new year, more like less than 6 hours to go. I'm gonna cobble up a list of my favourite albums this year. 10 albums. Here goes. Alright, enjoy your new year folks!


Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence



The xx - xx



The Black Atlantic - Reverence for Fallen Trees



Miike Snow - Miike Snow



Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix



Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion



The Antlers - Hospice


Atlas Sound - Logos



Fever Ray - Fever Ray


Florence + the Machine - Lungs

50 Favourite Songs of 2009: Part II

Phoenix - Lisztomania
The term "Lisztomania" was coined by the German romantic literary figure Heinrich Heine to describe the massive public response to Franz Liszt's virtuosic piano performances. There were allegedly screaming women at these performances, and the audience was sometimes limited to standing room only. In this case, the same could be said of Phoenix - the legions of fans they're gained from the release of "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix", and subsequently the release of Lisztomania as a single. The catchy pop tunes reverberate as with the effervescent killer hooks this French outfit are making theirs. The ebbs and flows characterise this feel good indie pop number that makes us wanna dance on air.

official, myspace, last.fm


Delorean - Seasun
Tight, beach side dance song, groovy have been used to describe this track from Delorean, hailing from Barcelona. Not as frenzied as one would like to call it, nor as frenetic, it's more apt to call this house(?) track exuberant. The deep bass beats coupled with the synths, builds this song up, as it bides it's time to bloom into full glory. It doesn't throw you headlong into the vortex and let you stand on your own - it nurtures and ensures that once the awesomeness that this song is engulfs you, you would be standing and dancing to and basking in this gorgeous thing called Seasun.

myspace, last.fm


Bibio - Lover's Carvings
Pretty obscure track for the year which I feel deserved more. The lovely instrumental intro could stand on it's own. However, the song abruptly ends one third of it's way through. For a split second, one couldn't be faulted for thinking something's wrong. But as abruptly as it stops, it suddenly breaks into a upbeat musing of love and carvings on the wall. The folks-y feel blends seamlessly with the electronica employed by Stephen Wilkinson. Go ahead and feel totally at ease listening to Lover's Carvings for I too, am doing so.

maybe they're telling us
that the end
never was
never will

myspace, last.fm


Bon Iver - Blood Bank
This is what Jagjaguwar has said the following about the content of the EP: "As much as Emma is about the cold, the Blood Bank collection(or if you'd like to think, just the track) is about the warmth that gets you through it. You can feel the air move. Like a fire you've been stoking for hours and finally got to sustain itself, the heat blisters your face while your back is frozen solid." Sentimental and deeply intimate, it's almost as if Justin Vernon is baring his soul. Gentle and melodic, it's like wine. Tasted and drunk slowly, so that you can savour every bit, the nuances and the subtlety. Enjoy.

official, myspace, last.fm


Fever Ray - When I Grow Up
When I Grow Up evokes a certain rawness, coupled with measured insanity, "i put my soul in what i do/last night i drew a funny man/with dark eyes and a hanging tongue" You would give your all say, in your favourite sport, or maybe in rigorous academia, or even drawing. Yet all her soul was put into what she did, drawing a funny man with dark eyes and a hanging tongue. In the video, the tribal feel to her songs are nearly reproduced in most songs from her debut album "Fever Ray", and is clearly evidenced by her in the video. The almost manic, demented and catatonic air to the song is supplemented by an eerie soundscape which in my opinion is excellent experimentation.

official, myspace, last.fm


The xx - VCR
The xx have managed to squeezed something so delightful and wondrous into under 3 minutes. The intro piques your interest as it's almost as if the cutesy beats skim the surface of the water, begging you to catch them. They break into minimalist lo-fi instrumentation that has been the main stay of quite a number of bands, only that they exemplify this. Melancholic Romy Madley Croft has her turn, before the laidback droll of Oliver Sim takes over, and they merge together with all that samples going "I think we're superstars, you say you think we are the best thing". True to that, they're (one of) the best thing(s).

official, myspace, last.fm


The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
The lyrical content of the song starkly contrasts with their band name. Young Adult Friction muses in catchy pop hooks and frantic beats of a romp in the library "among the dust and the microfiche", but one realises it's only a girl using the guy as she probably is trying to get over an ex in "you're taking toffee with your vicodin/something sweet to forget about him". Lastly, she realises it's not working and they "go your own way i will go my own way". While Kip's vocals almost borders on twee, their fetching, whimsical pop that never fails to delight the listener seem so effortless on their part and I love it, other than their ridiculously long band name which is a hassle to type.

official, myspace, last.fm


Röyksopp - Happy Up Here
The bleeps and bloops dot this funky upbeat soundscape by Norwegian duo Röyksopp. Short of being cutesy, Happy Up Here is like an opus on how to have fun. (As you can see, I'm getting tired and lazy. Gee. )

official, myspace, last.fm


The Antlers - Kettering
A brilliant song about a guy who's hired to look after this patient in a hospital, it is littered with vivid descriptions - which evokes desolation right to the very bone. The video is just a collation of photos. But that's where I'm wrong. It is not JUST a collation of photos, but a very elegant and masterful one. A lot of thought must have been put into choosing the photos (the person who uploaded the video is not the person who took the photos). That said, most of the credit must be given to the photographer for the beautiful photos. The song and video doesn't just tug at your heart strings, it resonates deep within your soul, making you wonder how and what could have sparked such loneliness, devoid of hope as the songs tails off with "and i didn't believe them when they told me that there was no saving you."

official, myspace, last.fm


Aeroplane Pageant - Stars Still Pretty
Aeroplane Pageant have come up with a lovely track in Stars Still Pretty which goes on about what exactly I'm not sure. Amid all the cheeky playfulness as they seem to have fun, Brian Kelly's vocals stand out as unique along with that nice bass.

Things and people, things with wings
Things that scream, things that won’t

official, myspace, last.fm

chance and sow, nothing changing

Delphic - Doubt
Remember Delphic? Yes, and they are back. More epic, more intense, more futuristic. As the lyrics come spilling out, an intense gaze burns into your soul, as if etching the lyrics into you. Bullets, bubbles, crystalline shapes and whatnot, slithering over taut beautiful bodies, the various "metallic lifeforms" vibrating to the wicked beat. One is almost reminded of Michael Jackson's metallic glove as the bullet like objects cover one woman's hand. This is definitely gonna be an uber dance floor anthem, taking us humans by storm. The monotone and expressionless faces adds to the allure, and everything culminates in the explosion of these things flying off the bodies.

Missing the life gone by that I have lost/I'm missing the better times that I had lost

The Antlers - Kettering
A brilliant song about a guy who's hired to look after this patient in a hospital, it is littered with vivid descriptions - which evokes desolation right to the very bone. The video is just a collation of photos. But that's where I'm wrong. It is not JUST a collation of photos, but a very elegant and masterful one. A lot of thought must have been put into choosing the photos (the person who uploaded the video is not the person who took the photos). That said, most of the credit must be given to the photographer for the beautiful photos. The song and video doesn't just tug at your heart strings, it resonates deep within your soul, making you wonder how and what could have sparked such loneliness, devoid of hope as the songs tails off with "and i didn't believe them when they told me that there was no saving you."

Sia - You've Changed
Here's some dance from Sia. Not the usual goods from her, but fresh and dancey. It's free too! Click here.

Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader
Damn it, I always have this problem, the last few songs don't get any write up at all cos i always get lazy. It's definitely not because the song isn't good or what, i'm just LAZY. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

lost and down so fragile inside

Faunts - It Hurts Me All The Time
They hail from Alberta, Canada and are Paul Arnush on drums, Rob Batke playing the keyboard, Steven and Tim Batke providing the vocals and guitar, lastly Scott Gallant on bass. Lastly I'd recommend anybody who missed out on Feel.Love.Thinking.Of to actually go check it out.

Civil Twilight - Letters From The Sky

The Sounds - Dorchester Hotel
If you're wondering what and where's Dorchester Hotel, it is a leading luxury hotel in London, overlooking Hyde Park. It has a reputation for providing hospitality for the rich and famous.

attached but you're feeling alone/the addiction will never be gone

The Antlers - Sylvia
So haunting at the beginning before it suddenly explodes with emotion as they sing "Go back to screaming, and cursing/Remind me again how everyone betrayed you"

Elizabeth & the Catapult - Taller Children
quirky and cute song. repeating "in the end we're all just taller children" several times over.

there's no other witnesses, just us two

The Antlers - Two

The Golden Filter - Solid Gold

Phoenix - Rome
Taken from their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. And yes, that's Wolfgang Amadeus from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. More on this french outfit soon.

Deastro - The Shaded Forests