It would be embarrassing to admit how long I've waited to put this image on The Show.

Each of the few reviews I’ve read of Punch Brothers‘ sophomore effort (or 3rd record, depending on how you count, which I’ll discuss more later) Antifogmatic has had a serious portion of its body devoted to the explication on the title of the album given in the press release which accompanied it. At first, I was annoyed by the repetition, and then I realized that each review had missed the mark just a little with their interpretation. Luckily, here I am to offer mine. Is it all right if I say I think I hit the nail right on its head?

Before I go any further, I suppose I should do the obligatory and include the blurb Nonesuch has given us:

Of choosing the title, Thile notes, “’Antifogmatic’ is an old term for a bracing beverage, generally rum or whiskey, that a person would have before going out to work in rough weather to stave off any ill effects. This batch of tunes could be used in much the same way, and includes some characters who would probably benefit mightily, if temporarily, from a good antifogmatic.”

Establishing a thematic element, Thile is trapped to read exclusively reviews playing off the title. This one will be no different.

Punch Brothers first saw the light of day with a previous name, anonymously backing Thile in 2006’s jubilant solo project How to Grow a Woman From the Ground, where the core group that would be Punch Brothers (Noam Pikelny on the banjo, Gabe Witcher fiddling, and Chris Eldridge playing guitar, all virtuosic in their own right) was intact, even as the name was not. From there, the “How to Grow a Band,” as they were called on tour, were whittled down to a tightly-knit quintet for 2008’s official Punch Brothers debut Punch, a masterful album centered around the incredibly powerful 4-part central “Blind Leaving the Blind” suite.

In their own right, these two albums represented part of the boozing cycle. How to Grow a Woman was a night with the boys, swimming in a sea of whiskey, singing along to the Strokes at the top of your lungs, and maybe even crashing into a healthy dose of the ol’ beer tears with the title track. The pieces were all there well enough, but the end result was a little scattershot for better or for worse, a fun variation with just a little bit of missed memories around the edge — perfectly thematically appropriate.

Then came the crash, heavy and dark with Punch. The lustre had worn off, the light of day harsh and over-bright, the misery acute. A hangover in an album, a breakup swan song for the ages, adroitly looking back with grace while moving forward purposefully as out of a thick rye whiskey-induced sleep. Yes, we sweep ourselves off and pick up the pieces, but not without first lying around for a while.

Punch represented musical and thematic maturity that seemed unattainable for a second time. It put “bluegrassical” on the map in its timeless and genre-less blending of sonic elements, and did so with a humanity that was refreshing. Thile has the chops to hang with the best of them — see 2008’s duet album with Edgar Meyer if you’re not an apostle of the church of Chris yet — but he manages to convey his genius in a way that’s accessible to even Joe Casual Listener. The man has pop sensibilities that pair impressively with his classical training. Perhaps the finest example of this comes in the melody line from the final Nickel Creek album standout “Eveline”, where notes come out of what feels like nowhere, both jarring and somehow pleasing to the ear. In the chorus repeat, as Thile sings “Eveline, take care of your father,” he and Sara Watkins briefly sail off into uncharted waters before tacking back to a slightly more conventional path, like Bill Russell throwing one elbow just to show his opponents he could.

Antifogmatic is also a slightly more conventional path, sticking to radio-friendly 5-minute tracks instead of the 10+ minute monsters on Punch. And it’s peppier than Punch, a remedy for that Woman-induced hangover, taking the best of each album and learning from them. Album opener “You Are” could be the average of the two, rock-inspired yells pepper the song in full Woman fashion, and yet it’s distant and with a hint of untouchability in its lyrics, like much of Punch. The end of the album could easily have served as an epilogue to Punch, and its meaty middle (where the true goodies are) is purely vintage Thile fun.

The highlights of the album are definitely when the guys seem to be clowning around. Antifogmatic, unlike its predecessors, has its songs credited to all five members of the band, and it shows in several of the performances. “Don’t Need No” has an ensuite feel that would fit in with “The Blind Leaving the Blind,” but when it gets to the vocal section it changes pace radically and becomes a jammy breeze, jovial and chummy. “Rye Whiskey” was the first song I had heard off Antifogmatic, and charmed me straight away, seeming to keep intact the sort of banterish quality that distinguishes many live favorites (cf: “If You’re Gonna Leave Me”). And before that Punch epilogue comes in, we get the palette-cleanse sorbet that is “Next to the Trash,” a goofy singalong that’s pure bluegrass goodness.

Paired with the somber and more serious stuff, like the beautiful “Alex” or “Missy” or the incredibly beautifully crafted “Me and Us,” these songs make up an album that’s rich and varied, shaken up and served over ice with a twist of lemon. Gulp it down quick — it’s good for what ails you.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Alex – Punch Brothers (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Next to the Trash – Punch Brothers (YSI)

Antifogmatic is out now via Nonesuch. Get it there.

Related posts:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice
2. Covers that Reinvent the Wheel: "Spit on a Stranger"
3. Wilconey Island and Other Elisions

It’s quite regrettable that anyone who croaks their weighty lyrics to the tune of an acoustic guitar immediately draws comparisons to the godfather of folk/blues/rock, Robert Zimmerman. This practice is both restrictive and close-minded, often leading to the collapse of an artist under the immense pressure. Swedish born crooner The Tallest Man on Earth, also known as Kristian Matsson (suck it Sultan Kosen), has been plagued by such comparisons his entire career. Matsson, who actually stands at a paltry 5’9’’, will forever be associated with the legend (Dylan not Kosen). After The Wild Hunt, however, Matsson proves his brute strength and exceeds even the perilously high expectations. The album is composed of brilliantly emotive lyrics, austere accompaniment, and perhaps the most raw and unadulterated performance since acoustic Springsteen.

From the initial seconds of the opening and title track, “The Wild Hunt,” the listener is taken on a journey by a guitar, interspersed piano and the tremendous croon of the Swedish “giant.” The album manages to avoid monotony through the alternating intensity of guitar and piano, but most of all due to the tremendous range of Matsson’s wail. The fantastic opener directly precedes the even superior “Burden of Tomorrow,” which with just two complementing guitar parts maintains an evocative and profound sound. On the upbeat (among its peers) “King of Spain,” The Tallest Man on Earth nourishes his Dylan comparisons by mentioning “boots of Spanish leather,” a not-so-subtle homage to the Times They Are A-Changin’ great. Rounding out the marvelous sophomore release is the outcast anthem “Kids on the Run.” Matsson ditches the guitar for one last time, and with the accompaniment of his piano croons out some strikingly Springsteen-esque lyrics. The Tallest Man on Earth concludes the album with his strongest track yet, but the album’s meager 34+ minute run time leaves the listener begging for more (much like this review).

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

The Wild Hunt – The Tallest Man on Earth (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Burden of Tomorrow – The Tallest Man on Earth (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

King of Spain – The Tallest Man on Earth (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Kids on the Run – The Tallest Man on Earth (YSI)

No related posts.

There comes a time in every man’s life where he must confess that he has lied to a person (how about that for politically correct) that he’s attracted to, and I am no exception. A few months ago I was chatting up one such lovely lady, tossing music knowledge grenades aplenty, with my infantry of charm and wit making coordinated assaults. While this is normally a flawless wooing technique, the expansive galaxy of music, especially the ever-expanding indie planet, leaves colossal room for error. When my splendiferous female mentioned Mumford & Sons, I nodded and confirmed my shared affinity for their music. Sadly, my ears had not yet been graced by their stirring and refreshing debut Sigh No More.

Obviously, I sprinted (read: hopped in the Prius) home to uncover these burgeoning stars. What I discovered on that snowy January day will forever change my perceptions of time and space (or maybe just introduce me to a new enticing group, your call). They don’t employ synthesizers or production heavy beats but rather mandolins and a folk-induced country sound. Fronted by Marcus Mumford, Mumford & Sons are an older, more British, folk-heavy and entirely gentlemanly populated Nickel Creek. While I am certainly not suggesting that Mr. Mumford boasts the same Mandolin prowess as your favorite and mine, Chris Thile, I do believe that Mumford & Sons possess the same pop/country crossover that led one southern trio of prodigies into all our hearts.

The Irish-bred folkers released their rousing debut in February (in the US) and have been steadily acquiring their deserved following since. With poignant lyrics chronicling the more tumultuous times in their private lives, the listener senses the intense potency of each word. Beyond quality song writing and stirring vocal performances, Mumford & Sons also turn in harmonious and affecting instrumental accompaniment. The only glaring fault of their otherwise enchanting freshman album is the monotone sound that their lesser tracks take on. The weaker songs become lost in a sea of folk, without even a lifeguard of lyricism to buoy them. However, those tracks are doubtlessly the minority and the album is nonetheless magnificent. After all, when Ray Davies (who you all knew was the front man for The Kinks) heard Mumford & Sons would be collaborating on his latest album, he announced that he was “more excited about that than [he has] been about anything before in [his] life.”

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

The Cave – Mumford & Sons (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

White Blank Page – Mumford &  Sons (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons (YSI)

Related posts:

1. Cover City

Those familiar with my oeuvre will know that I wrote my inaugural article about the esoteric “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.” And while I initially determined Das Racist’s music to be bizarre lunacy atop stifling beats, I have since begun my adoration of the hilarious avant-garde duo. Das Racist, comprised of Queens native Himanshu Suri and the San Francisco-bred Victor Vazquez, met at the crucible of artistic expression and innovation, Wesleyan University (see MGMT and Lin Manuel Miranda for additional evidence. And no, I sadly do not attend).

The now Brooklyn-based pair are often mistaken (I had to say often to comfort myself) as addle-pates, but are truly ingenious hipsters making dance friendly critiques of contemporary culture. When New York Magazine asked about the seemingly foolhardy “Combination” (almost a month after my article, just saying), Vazquez responded, “We could have written a structured treatise attacking corporate proliferation, or we could just say ‘Pizza Hut Taco Bell’ over and over. That shit’s way funnier.”

In addition to their witty rebuttal to criticism, Suri acknowledges that their music does not instantly call to people, like that voice of a generation Fiddy Cent. “We’re not making music that’s instantly appealing. We dabble with nonsequitors, dadaism, repetition, repetition. We make dance music while talking about not-dancey things. We say things that on the surface can seem pretty dumb but it’s a mask on some Paul Laurence Dunbar shit for actual discontent with a lot of shit in the world… A lot of people hear ‘Pizza Hut Taco Bell’ and then have preconceived notions about our entire body of work, that falls prettty flat if you ask me.”

I could write for miles about how incredible these vanguards are, however, I’ll stop pandering and get to the purpose of the article. Have I mentioned yet that they dropped a new mixtape on Monday? Due to the holiday season I have been strapped for time to listen to it in all of its glory, but I can now proudly say that its hot shit (sorry mom for the gratuitous use of expletives, I’ll give you a quarter later). Shut Up, Dude, which can be downloaded for the steep price of free, is relentlessly mind-blowing. The duo described their recent release to be, “comprised of roughly half old joints and half new bangers with an overlapping Venn diagram center of weird shit.” There’s no doubt this mixtape is experimental, and I may lose some of you for giving it such a gushing review, but Das Racist manage to improve upon every fantastic facet of “Combination” and turn it into an entire album. In one sentence, this mixtape is a Webster Hall destroying, intellectually impressive, 17-track extravaganza that will keep you guffawing and bouncing for days (but I’ll return to more mainstream material tomorrow… probably…).

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Who’s That? Brooown! – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

You Oughta  Know – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Nutmeg – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Shorty Said (Gordon Voidwell Remix) – Das Racist (YSI)

Related posts:

1. Not as good as Taco Bell Doritos, but close…

How many hipsters does it take to fix a leak?

Since I have been voted commander in chief of your musical enlightenment (by myself), a responsibility I very nearly take seriously, I spent the better part of my Sunday night (about 3 minutes) isolated for profound reflection and diligent research. In that seemingly interminable time, I had storyboarded an entire weeks worth of articles, only to be awoken by a cyber blitzkrieg of music news. I was so consumed by my prolific plans that I did not check the news wires until Monday morning (very late afternoon). For those of you who are not on spring break and do not have immeasurable time on your hands, She & Him’s Volume Two and MGMT’s Congratulations both leaked over the weekend. Now one of these album’s leakage is far more noteworthy than the other. Many of you are probably asking, “did he write that sentence because he had always dreamed of using the word leakage in a public forum?” Absolutely I did, but I also think that it really is the proper conjugation in this context. I digress. Volume Two was intended to be released today anyhow, so its slightly premature arrival does little for anyone outside of those select individuals who believe Zooey Deschanel and Sonic the Hedgehog to be on neighboring levels of awesomeness. Congratulations on the other hand, was not supposed to be released for another 21 days (but who’s counting). The two albums not only represent polar opposites in terms of content, but also in what they mean for the careers of their respective creators. Now because I know most of you care more about MGMT, I’ll begin with She & Him.

Volume Two is exactly what one would expect as the sophomore release from Queen of the Hipsters Zooey Deschanel and her ever-so-talented compatriot M. Ward. Her Royal Highness Deschanel diverges little from her successful Volume One except perhaps in exhibiting more shrewdness about her range. She continues to perform her classic lighthearted lyrics sung in her raspy, smile inducing voice. And while the album sounds nothing like an archetypal M. Ward release, his producing and arranging fingerprints are strewn about the record. The majority of the record is given a 60’s and 70’s oldies arrangement to accompany Zooey’s vintage voice, which is often layered atop itself for smile inducing harmonies. There’s absolutely something Beach Boys-ian in many of the melodies, in addition to heavy influences of early R&B. This volume, much like its predecessor, goes down exceedingly smoothly, like my pick up lines on the hard of hearing, until of course, they are told what I said.

On it’s first listen, Congratulations goes down about as smoothly as ten year-old dfjacobs trying to get into the 20/20 club or the highly explicit diatribe I gave to my 5th grade English teacher. It’s distant, completely unexpected and at some points abrasive. MGMT depart from their idyllic dance-pop on Oracular Spectacular and morph into futuristic psychedelics. The Brooklyn duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden responded to the leak by streaming it on their own website with the message, “Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn’t make sense to anyone but us.” whoismgmt.com seems to be a genius web address, mirroring the thought process of most of the band’s listeners. The album requires many listens before its endearing qualities are fully appreciated, and for those of you waiting for the “Kids-ian” or “Time to Pretend-esque” song, you will be heartily disappointed. The duo said that they didn’t truly understand why Oracular Spectacular became so popular on mainstream airwaves, and that they did not believe themselves to be a pop group, but rather a rock band. Whether you love the new direction or hate it, you have to respect their gravitas. They could have easily created the mainstream dance-pop follow-up and sold a million more records, but they tried something different. While I’m still on the fence about how fantastic their creation is (it’s growing on me massive amounts with every listen), I respect the hell out of them for trying it.

I apologize for writing such an epic, and I promise to return to my Zooey Deschanel-esque light-hearted elegance tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite tracks from each record.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

In the Sun – She & Him (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Me and You – She & Him (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Someone’s Missing – MGMT (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Brian Eno – MGMT (YSI)

Related posts:

1. New M. Ward: "Never Had Nobody Like You" featuring Zooey Deschanel
2. My Top 10 Albums of 2008

There’s a delicate balance struck in the best writing between excessively stark and overly florid. In cinematography, there’s a tension between too dramatic and too impersonal. Visual art ranges between too inexpressively vague and disinterestingly matter-of-fact. In music, however, comes one of the thinnest wires to tread. All popular songs exist on a spectrum: at one end, there are the catchiest melodies whose lyrics are essentially meaningless — the “ra ra ah ah ah, ro ma romama”s of the world — and, at the other, are the Leonard Cohens, whose words are the true meaning, and whose tunes exist only as subtle enhancement of the written word underneath. It is in the center of this spectrum that the very best of popular music falls. Every musician, whether consciously or not, seeks to make a song such that the lyrics are enhanced by the music and vice-versa. The ones who succeed are the names probably most familiar to you — precious few artists are capable of passing with one or the other, and only then by the overwhelming merit of their one strength. Henry Jamison’s compositions straddle this line perfectly, creating an album in his Milkman’s Union’s Roads In that is both deserving of listen upon listen and which asks for it of its own musical merit.

It seems almost unfair to compare Roads In to his earlier works — indeed, based on the availability of the previous albums released under the name the Milkman’s Union (now no longer available on either CD Baby, the iTunes store, or Amazon), it would seem that he’s tried exactly to distance himself from those previous albums — and necessarily so, since both were released some 3 years ago, a significant chunk of lifetime to a 22-year-old. Yet it’s easy to assert that this is by far the most varied and mature work that Jamison has released, even without those previous points of comparison available to the hoi polloi. The songs are fantastically diverse, ranging between experimental and familiar, raw and polished.

The Milkman’s Union have created an album which is truly the best sort of collection of songs an album can be. Each is different than the previous, each leads elegantly into the next, each shows a band who have taken more time and energy into sculpting a fantastically finished product than most college groups would ever find or make the time for. (It should be noted that this, unlike previous “The Milkman’s Union” songs, represents the work of more than just Henry Jamison, but rather of 5 musicians, whose influence is undeniable when compared to the home recordings Jamison had previously released.) The result is so overwhelming that I almost feel as though each time I allude to the age of the band I do them a disservice, as I know well that each time age comes up it is read a compensation for a lack in something.

It really is in Jamison’s lyrics that the Milkman’s Union find what makes them as a band so undeniably well-rounded. He has certainly found the balance between florid and sparse, and does so in a way that’s delightfully witty and literate without much baggage of pretension. Yes, I could complain about how the instrumental “A Kidney for Bloom” comes off as a little show-off-y, but would anyone other than the son of a Joycean really find a bone to pick with a Ulysses reference, most of all having that bone be about how obvious the reference is?

There are lines scattered throughout Roads In that I keep returning to, or find myself thinking of in conversation. My favorite of these is probably “How many gentlemen does it take to screw you in?” a deft put-down from “Emerald Flares.” Another comes in “St. Petersburg,” where Jamison works in a pairing similarly shocking: “She has her way with words / and then she has her way with me.”

In my opinion, the album highlight comes in “America,” a song whose stark lyrics are perfectly counterpointed by the slow build of its instrumentation and harmonies. Its lines find a simple beauty in the mundane, and create a perfect nostalgia in few words:

It occurs to me that I am America

That I am your front yard, your tree

It occurs to me that I am America

and everything from sea to shining sea.

The fadeout from the radio broadcast into album-closer “Percy, Lost at Sea” create a mood more ideal than can be fully expressed in words, a perfect blend of all that the Milkman’s Union can do so well. It’s an ending that leaves the listener wanting more, and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that the place the Milkman’s Union is in at this point in time ought to be good enough to get them wherever they might want to go.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

The Milkman’s Union – Roads In (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

The Milkman’s Union – St. Petersburg (YSI) (Download removed at band’s request. If you dig the stream, follow the links below and buy the damn thing.)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

The Milkman’s Union – America (YSI)

If there ever were an album truly worth buying (you know, as opposed to “acquiring”), this is it. Find it at CDBaby, iTunes or Amazon.

Also, The Milkman’s Union is currently touring the northeast, with dates in NYC upcoming. Check the dates out at their website.

Related posts:

1. The Milkman's Union: A Name Totally Un-pun-able
2. Rock and Roll; Complete Control — Vampire Weekend’s Contra in review
3. Cooler than Cornell, Hipper Than Brown, Less Fratty Than Dartmouth: The Ivy League's "The North Star" In Review

It’s no small feat following up an album as critically acclaimed and overwhelmingly backlashed as Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut. Even in a vaccuum, expectations for sophomore efforts run rampant, and the challenge is to stay consistent to the sound present or impression given by the first album while growing and making something decidedly new and different.

In many ways, Vampire Weekend is the truest blogosphere buzz band. Back in the summer of 2007, when a blue CD-R with “Vampire Weekend” scrawled lazily on it began to make the blog rounds, it was almost universally accepted that this was the ever-elusive “next big thing.” Long before Vampire Weekend ever came out, bloggers were predicting it would be the best album of 2008. Naturally, the backlash coming the requisite 90 days after the album’s release was as overwhelmingly negative as the prereviews had been positive. And, when news of the followup broke, you could already hear the whispers of “overrated” creeping up from the formerly faithful fans.

The beauty of Vampire Weekend was that it grabbed you from the first line of the first song. It was undeniably catchy, a delicious assortment of pop-punk, afropop, and twee, and the erudite upper middle-class prep school bunch had never seemed so cool. The band had a persona too — they’d marketed themselves about as well as any quartet this side of the mophead Beatles, with their preppy do’s and keffiyeh lyrics. Contra spins out of that perfectly, popping the collars of their Lacoste polos and heading west into the sun.

I admit that I was very skeptical when I heard about the “California flavor” of Contra. It seemed like a cheap trick, an unnecessary additional buzzword to add to an already overblurbed band (see above for examples). But it turns out that the theme is only there as much as you want it to be — perhaps the better way to understand it is that Contra on the whole is more spread-out, experimental, and atmospheric than Vampire Weekend was. VW’s great strength was its power melodies; here, production reigns supreme. Rostam is the lead every bit as much as Ezra, having spread his wings on Discovery’s LP. The resulting product is more varied and mature than the debut — a gift as well as a curse.

The hardest part of Contra for me was the fact that it doesn’t have the same instant gratification that Vampire Weekend did. The first time I listened to it all the way through I wasn’t even sure if I liked it. But on listen two it began to click, and by the fourth time I spun it I was ready to put it on repeat. Ultimately, the growth the band has experienced in the whirlwind 24 months between releases has brought us a richer, more textural sound, a little less catchy and a little more beautiful. It’s a sound that’s decidedly Vampire Weekend, but a more refined and unique Vampire Weekend.

Ultimately, and unlike the debut, Contra tends to fade out of memory, as fleeting as the 80’s aesthetic it tries to live up to. It’s no Vampire Weekend, but what is? The attempt is a step in an interesting direction, and shows promise for the eventual 3rd effort.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Giving Up The Gun – Vampire Weekend (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

I Think Ur A Contra – Vampire Weekend (YSI)

Related posts:

1. We’re All Contras.
2. Golden Retrieving Some Rock
3. Africa, this is Morningside Heights. Morningside Heights, Africa.

There’s usually a tendency for year-end lists to lean towards more winter-feeling albums — Bon Iver syndrome. I couldn’t be happier that our top 5 albums were all released before 2009 even hit its daylight apex. In hindsight, we probably could have predicted in January that 2009 would be a great year for music, but it’s hard to know these things. I can’t recall the last time I was so pleasantly surprised by a year in music — great debuts, strong followups, game-shaking mood changes. It’s a diverse list, and one which I couldn’t be happier with. Make the jump to see how they all shook out when push came to shove:

#5: Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear

Rarely have I ever heard an album that tried so hard to be perfect. Grizzly Bear clearly spent hours meticulously debating every sound and layer, and you know what? They came damn close to creating a perfect cd. Was the album hyped beyond belief last spring? Definitely. Was the hype completely accurate and warranted? I say yes. You know why, because although Grizzly Bear may have contested Sufjan for most hours spent in the editing room (surely an admirable distinction), they sounded just as polished live. Their performance at NYC’s Town Hall was just as mesmerizing and stunning as Vecky is on my Bose Companion II speakers. Ed Drost and Daniel Rossen were incredible, and their mic-less encore of “All We Ask” was truly mind-blowing. Grizzly Bear created one of the most sophisticated and striking albums of the decade, that also lent itself to the best mashup (“Two Weeks of Hip Hop” by the Hood), and the best remix/cover of the year (“While You Wait for the Others” by Michael McDonald and Grizzly Bear), which should count for something. – DFJacobs

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

While You Wait for the Others – Grizzly Bear (YSI)

#4: Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors

No album of 2009 was quite so beautifully bizarre as Bitte Orca. Dave Longstreth squares up at the mound like your everyday indie fastballer, but every pitch he throws comes like a Tim Wakefield knuckleball, darting and flitting unpredictably with such efficiency that you’re still swinging blindly even deep into the 8th inning. The harmonies on album opener “Cannibal Resource” grab you on your first at bat, as they come somewhat screechily and eerily harmoniously, a little off-tempo and yet undeniably perfect in their own idiosyncratic way. The transition into “Temecula Surprise” is similarly jarring, hard to follow, and yet beautiful. And it’s that way through the album — each song is a twist from the previous one, each seeing a different genre getting Dirty Projected, from afropop to electropop to new age to R&B and back again. The highlight may come in “Useful Chamber,” where an explosive chorus of “Bitte Orca”s leaves me with goosebumps every time. Bitte Orca shows a band developing its own sound and hitting its stride as a cohesive unit. A real gem. – Edward

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Useful Chamber – Dirty Projectors (YSI)

#3: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix

I listened to no album in 2009 as much as Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, an album so pop-perfect you can’t help but want to listen to it again by the time the synth riff of “Armistice” fades out of focus. Phoenix took their incredibly well-balanced formula from 2006’s phenomenal It’s Never Been Like That and inexplicably improved upon it, stringing together 9 songs which are each catchier than the previous one. I probably listened to “1901″ 50 times in the first two weeks I had it, and I honestly still get excited every time I hear the opening squelches of that synth line. That’s the albums real strength — each hook is brilliantly crafted, and each song in the album sequences perfectly with the previous and the next. Take, for instance, the slow build of “Love Like a Sunset,” which melts deliciously into the snare-kick pairing of “Lasso,” which itself snaps into the ticking guitar attack of “Rome.” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the kind of album where, by the time you reach the end, you realize your voice is completely shot from singing along. And, damn, it feels good. – Edward

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Lisztomania – Phoenix (YSI)

#2: Why There Are Mountains - Cymbals Eat Guitars

When discussing Cymbals Eat Guitar’s phenomenal debut album it is simply impossible not to mention the pastiche of influences that makes up their sound. Hints of Pavement, early Modest Mouse, Cap’n’Jazz, Jesus and Mary Chain, Explosions In The Sky, Guided By Voices, Tullycraft, and other 90’s indie superstars can be heard, but only in snippets, which makes it difficult to call Why There Are Mountains ‘derivative’ or ‘a rip-off of [instert band here] like so many of 2009’s revivalist bands were (yeah, try and tell me that The Pains of Being Pure At Heart isn’t dependent on their 90’s Twee Pop derivation…). Instead, CEG take these influences and profoundly expand upon them, creating an expansive sound that is lead by singer Joseph D’Agostino’s amazing vocal range. So many of their tracks sample vastly differing sounds and genres that it’s amazing that the album retains cohesiveness the whole way through, never slipping into a song that sounds out of place or too reliant on its influences. In that regard, the album truly is, as Pitchfork describes it, ‘the ultimate road trip album’: Why There Are Mountains travels over hills and through valleys, creating spectacular soundscapes and epic transitions that takes the listener on a true emotional journey.

Exploding out of the driveway with “…And The Hazy Sea,” the album happily descends down through the upbeat hillsides of “Some Trees” and “Indiana” before continuing through the brooding distortion filled valley of “Share” and creeping up the depressingly steep hillside of “This Is What Dogs See” to the pinnacle of the album: the beautiful scenic overlook of “Wind Phoenix.” Along the way D’Agostino’s surreal poetry gives the album a meaningful narrative aesthetic, with his emotional crooning and energetic screams pushing the album through any potential muddy ruts. Why There Are Mountains is truly a masterpiece of baroque pop, and a prime example of musical talent being more important than connections. Cymbals Eat Guitar’s sound is currently so perfect that to press stop once the album has started should be a felony offense. Truly an unlikely gem in a year filled with great music. -Marquis Meowmers IV

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Some Trees – Cymbals Eat Guitars (YSI)

#1: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective

2009 began with a bang, as, on January 2nd, Marquis Meowmers and I received a delicious post-Christmas bundle of joy, which saved our own souls as much as any carpenter could: a zip folder containing 2 new Animal Collective songs. I can still remember the little shiver that crawled down my spine as I heard the first minute of “Brother Sport” for the first time. From the “ooh,” I was hooked. The other song was “My Girls,” and Marquis Meowmers and I argued for hours about which was the better song, him picking “My Girls”’s polyrythmic brilliance, and me pulling for “Brother Sport”’s undeniable catchiness. At this point, I probably agree with Marquis more, but we can both agree on this much: no album contributed as much to music in 2009 as Merriweather Post Pavilion. – Edward

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Brother Sport – Animal Collective (YSI)

Related posts:

1. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #10-6
2. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #15-11
3. Top 10 Songs of 2009

The trek towards our favorite album of 2009 continues, as today we give you numbers 10 down to 6, available after the jump.

Here we go:

#10 – Circle of Fifths – Milkman

The two greatest mashup albums to date were released this year. While this is excellent news for mashup addicts and college-aged partiers alike, it’s quite unfortunate for Circle of Fifths. Because Milkman’s sophomore release arrived in the same tragic year (think Billy Mays and Tiger’s career) as Ethan Ward a.k.a E-603’s Torn Up, the Show has designated Circle of Fifths second best. Milkman is truly a master of his craft, and he creates some of the most seamless and technically sound mashups ever made. The album is perfect for those diagnosed with “musical ADD,” filled with eclectic, “Prius-shaking” tracks galore. The standout of the cd is definitely “Rap Music is Beneath Me,” featuring an unbelievable mash of “Still D.R.E.” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” that WILL bring tears. – DFJacobs

Milkman – Rap Music is Beneath Me (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#9: Hospice – The Antlers

The first time I listened to this album, I was struck by how pleasing it all sounded, and yet, no single song separated itself from the rest.  I figured that eventually this feeling would fade, and the continuous fabric of the album would turn into patches woven together.  Even to this day, though, this has not come true.  Sure, I have songs that I like on the album more than others (the song “Bear” comes to mind), but I can’t sit down and listen to one song on Hospice without letting the rest play out.  As the title suggests, the album lyrically tracks the care of a terminally ill patient, and as the content would suggest, the narrative goes from care, to love, to death, to the deep contemplative haunting that only death can provide.  It provides it all at once, with impressive subtlety.

But it doesn’t limit itself to its own lyrical constraints.  I found out for myself one day when I was at the South Orange, NJ train station on Halloween, waiting for a train to take me into New York.  The day was gray, and all were sullen faced except for one woman in her mid-twenties on a cell phone who possessed a voice so sharp MacBeth may have effectively used it to stab Duncan.  Eventually, more people eventually filed in—groups of college age girls dressed in slutty maid costumes giggling in noisy clusters, even happier looking couples waiting with weekend suitcases.  Everybody there, from the sullen, to the content, to me, at the train station waiting to be transported somewhere else.  I watched this entire scene form before my eyes, and Hospice provided me with the perfect soundtrack to such dynamic discord.  It chronicles not only death, but a clarion clear message of displacement—a struggle to hold on indicative of today.  Its sounds echo through those train station walls as support for all of those in transit somewhere or towards something.  These days, isn’t that everybody? – Dave

The Antlers – Bear (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#8: Album – Girls

The new Girls cd was so wild that it was rumored to have been produced by Joe Francis (I apologize for making a “Girls Gone Wild” joke, but this was too easy). Indie critics and fans alike have “gone wild” for the aspiring lo-fi group who made bursting onto the Indie scene quite easy for themselves by making a truly great record. The standout for me, was the “Costelloesque” vocals of Christopher Owens. I was able to convince almost every prehistoric (over 35) family member that Girls was really a new Costello-helmed project. And really, that’s a huge compliment. I love Elvis (Costello), and Girls really took the sound so much farther than simply Costelloesque, creating a fun and promising debut. – DFJacobs

Girls – Lust For Life (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#7 Ray Guns Are Not Only Just the Future - The Bird and the Bee

It’s a clunky name, and it’s not even true: ray guns don’t exist—yet.  I voted this album as the best album of the year.  It is not.  Not even by a long shot.  But I think that The Animal Show’s scoring methods nicely balanced out my folly, and this album landed in the seventh place, where it more or less belongs.  This is me, cheating the system (and grammar rules).  In any case, this album is definitively good, in my opinion.  My only regret is not doing this for Hospice instead.  In a year where I feel as though music tried way too hard without commensurate reward, I found Ray Gun’s sound really quite pleasing, and I would much rather listen to it than, say, Merriweather Post Pavilion (and I realize this discredits my opinion and all future opinions I offer in life).  Listening to it is like transporting yourself into the opening credits of a Sean Connery-era James Bond film, and you never have to put yourself out too far to gain this experience.  While some pieces of the album have their more melodramatic moments that are worth listening to, it’s really at its strongest when you don’t necessarily think while listening.  Songs like “Diamond Dave” and “Love Letter to Japan” are great fun, and the title track “Ray Gun” has an electro-lounge cool that’s not necessarily innovative, but it’s extremely well done. - Dave

The Bird & The Bee – Ray Gun (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#6 Torn Up – E-603

It would not surprise me if, at some point in the future, I were to look back on 2009 as the year in which I last had any interest in long-form compositional sampling. There are certainly serious restrictions on the genre — namely, that there is an alarmingly finite number of good acappella tracks, and one can only hear a mashed up version of “Jump Around” so many times. However, the biggest nail in The Coffin Gillis Built may be this monsterpiece of an album, which nailed the rollercoaster ride every good mashup cd should be. Others may point to Feed the Animals as mashup’s finest hour, but I’ll hold tight to Torn Up. No mashup artist has E-603’s fine-tuned command of pairing up emotional peaks, and every ounce of tension and release possible in a song is present in Torn Up. While Something For Everyone perfectly played to the typical mashup elation of “hey, I know both these songs! And they work surprisingly well together!,” Torn Up creates a new rhythm and drama for the genre, teasing samples in and out and making the climaxes that much more example. From top to bottom, the album weaves magnificently through genres and years, all while maintaining the professional sheen and personal grace we’ve come to expect from E-603. It’s hard to imagine the genre getting taken much further. – Edward

E-603 – Lights Out (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

CHECK OUT THE STUNNING CONCLUSION TO OUR LIST HERE

Related posts:

1. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #5-1
2. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #15-11
3. Top 5 Mashups of 2009

Well, folks, that time of year is upon us yet again. The Animal Show returns from its examtime hibernation to bring you our favorite albums of 2009, giving you a handy guide for using all the iTunes, Amazon, and local independent record shop gift certificates you got for that holiday you just celebrated.

This is how this is going to go down: today, we’re counting down from #15 to #11. Tune in at this time tomorrow for numbers #10 to #6. Then, on the day after that, we’ll hit you up with #5-#1, and then finish out the week with our favorite songs and mashups of the year.

Unlike last year, this year’s list had input from all of the writers (even that asshole icebergxc, who cast votes for one album and 20 mashups). We split up the blurbs between writers, so that whoever was most excited about the albums at hand ended up writing about them. Make the jump to see the first five

#15: Tarot Sport – Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons won over my heart in 2008 with Street Horrsing by booming with an electro beat while humming with a brutal harsh noise that commanded you to turn your speakers to 12 or 13 or whatever was higher than your highest setting. Well executed and masterfully mixed, the record was unique in that the only critique I could launch at it was that it was too expansive, lacking the cohesiveness of a more mature album.

2009’s Tarot Sport accentuates the British duo’s spectacular ability to clash beautiful melodies with crushingly heavy drone and noise, while adding the sense of cohesiveness that their 2008 debut lacked. My favorite moment of the album comes two songs in: after establishing a sense of energy on the first two tracks, the album slows a bit, opening up into a deep groove on ‘The Lisbon Maru’, which builds upon itself in both layers of sound and intensity, until it explodes into a gooey and dreamy mess of high pitched screeches, low drones, and the continually marching melody. Be careful with this album, it’s easy to put it on only to realize that 58 minutes have slipped away from while you floated along with this masterpiece. – Marquis Meowmers IV

Fuck Buttons – The Lisbon Maru (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#14: Up From Below – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe & rhe Magnetic Zeros blew up the only way a band playing a jangly brand of alt-country influenced pop could: by genuinely professing their emotions with simple vocal hooks and extremely catchy melodies. On From Below’s opening track, lead-vocalist Alex Ebert professes, “I’ve been sleeping for 60 days / nobody better pinch me / bitch I swear / I’ll go crazy,” a seemingly goofy line, with such honesty in his voice that it’s impossible to not feel an emotional connection with him (assuming that you have a. the capacity to feel and b. that you have experienced [or wish to experience] the kind of love he is describing). Of course, it helps that his female vocalist and frequent duet partner Jade Castrinos is his current love interest, making their chemistry on songs like ‘Carries On’ and epic closer ‘Om Nashi Me’ simply sublime to hear. The album’s peak is the mind-blowingly catchy ‘Home’, a track on which Jade and Alex trade expressions of  love for one another with such authenticity that it is nearly impossible to not feel the hairs on your neck stand on-end as you recall the last time you entangled your limbs with those of a significant other’s. This album is an ode to true love, and one of the most honest portrayals of an emotion that is notoriously difficult to express. – Marquis Meowmers IV

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Home (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#13: Dragonslayer – Sunset Rubdown

If I were to describe this album in one word, it’d be “epic.”  If you were to give me multiple words, I’d say, “Almost every song is like Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Jungleland’ in proportion and ambition.”  I’ll come back to the one word again.  “Epic.” – Dave

Sunset Rubdown – Silver Moons (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#12: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I can’t necessarily speak for their hearts, but their sound is pure.  And by pure, I mean pure The Cure-type alt-rock.  They almost sound late 80’s-mid 90’s to me.  Add some Cranberries to The Cure.  I don’t mean that to discount what they’ve accomplished here on their debut album.  This is an awesome album that’s great to listen to, and they’ve even managed to pull off the coming-of-age love story thing without seeming cliché.  They are lyrically clever on tracks like “Young Adult Friction.”  The sound is catchy and untiring, as there are many layers here, yet they all lie flat and seem distinct.  My main complaint with the album is that, unlike a debut album like Why There Are Mountains by Cymbals Eat Guitars, the diversity of the sound just isn’t there.  It feels like they picked one thing and stuck with it.  But why am I complaining?  What they stuck with is pretty damn good. – Dave

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

#11: When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV – Nadja

When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV is, indeed, Nadja’s attempt at a compilation of covers, an endeavor which often ends tragically for most artists. The album opens with a reinterpretation of dream-pop’s most iconic moment: the 1-2-3-4 count off on the snares before Kevin Shields and co. launch into the opening track of Loveless, ‘Only Shallow’. Nadja slows this to half-time, and reduces the dreamy nature of MBV’s layered guitars, replacing them with a simplistic heavy drone, which literally crushes the listener with an immense weight. This isn’t to suggest that the album is aggressive; on the contrary the only song which sounds remotely threatening is the Slayer cover (which is to be expected, it’s motherfucking Slayer). The album is simply heavy, using low tunings and tons of distortion (but never hitting the point of gratuity) to create a unique reading of each song’s source material. And, of course, the sources are unique. Acoustic numbers like Codeine’s ‘Pea’ and Elliott Smith’s ‘Needle in The Hay’ get elegantly loud drone metal treatments, while faster or upbeat numbers like the aforementioned cover of Slayer’s ‘Dead Skin Mask’ and A-Ha’s ‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’ are slowed down and reduced to slow and heavy melodies. The fantastic thing about Nadja’s sound on this album is that the Canadian duo refuses to remain rooted in drone or stoner or dream metal, adding in elements of shoegaze (‘Only Shallow’), grunge (‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’), death metal (‘Dead Skin Mask’), and straight rock (‘Needle in The Hay’) making each song sound unique while never losing a sense of cohesiveness. Having sampled some of Nadja’s other work, I can safely say that When I See The Sun Always Shines on TV is both their most accessible and accomplished album, and possibly one of my favorite albums of the decade. - Marquis Meowmers IV
Nadja – Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine) (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Related posts:

1. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #5-1
2. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #10-6
3. Top 10 Songs of 2009