I, of course, reserve the right to change my mind about what's awesome anytime between now and the end of December. But here's what I've got for now...the top 9 of 2009, so far - in no particular order.
1) Silversun Pickups - Swoon
Swoon is a very lush, warm-sounding album despite not necessarily having a lot going on. It's some sort of dreary rock or upbeat shoegaze - more angry, perhaps, than sad. The bassist, Nikki Monninger, seems to have a more prominent role in vocals than in past albums - I think. It's difficult to tell who is actually singing - the liner notes list Brian Aubert as lead vocals, but is that really a man doing that smooth, sultry singing? It would seem so from some of their music videos, but my brain refuses to believe this.
There are some very good lyrical turns of phrase that unite the songs for me, without possessing the sort of long-winded post-punk sardonic irony that sometimes annoys me:
"When you see yourself in a crowded room
Do your fingers itch, are you pistol-whipped?
And will you step in line or release the glitch?
And can you fall asleep with a panic switch?"
The most notable tracks on the album for me are Growing Old Is Getting Old, Panic Switch, Sort Of, and Substitution. The others are certainly still solid but these possess some truly monumental choruses. All in all, not terribly difficult listening, but not necessarily simple either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q
2) Wiz Khalifa - Flight School
I've not been a huge hip-hop fan in the past, but Wiz Khalifa has essentially single-handedly converted me. A rapper from my somewhat native city of Pittsburgh, his ear for melody (or at least a good producer) and his ability to amuse me with seemingly shallow lyrics makes his music pretty irresistible. Yes, he's primarily concerned with weed and women, but every so often he drops something serious - Change Up on his last mixtape, Star Power - and on this one, my pick is probably Never Ever. I don't know if he'll ever necessarily return to the seriousness found on his first full-length, "Something To Prove", but as long as he keeps making songs of that ilk I'll be happy.
Flight School is a mixtape, and as such is full of silly introductions, random segues, and contains maybe as many outright hits as misses. I think its a format with legitimacy, as it lets musicians like Wiz experiment with different sorts of songs without worrying about the release failing as a whole.
His stuff about success from struggle is certainly the most interesting - the best songs on this mixtape are Boarding Pass, Get Sum, Kleenex, Never Ever, and Sky High.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRMzytOtrVU
3) Fact - Fact
I am not even certain what genre to try and pigeonhole Fact as. They're something like melodic hardcore - but...from Japan? I don't know either. The lead singer has a little bit of an accent, but not worth losing sleep over, considering the range and clarity of his voice. Their music ranges from moody to ferocious to hyperactive, but always with driving rhythm and a soaring voice overtop. It's been my go-to album for driving around with the windows down and the sun shining.
As far as I can tell, this is their debut release. They're remarkably talented for that - there is some fairly complex drumming and guitar work going on here and they just sound very polished. The consistent quality of the songs is pretty astounding, too - and just the sheer heartfeltness of the music. It shines through, rather than seeming overemoted, as I think is too often the case with some punk-derived bands.
There are enough good songs on the release that it's almost pointless to list them, but regardless - highlights are Paradox, A Fact of Life, Lights of Vein, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, and Stretch My Arms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDiUGLuVxCI
4) Amorphis - Skyforger
Aight, let's get to some Scandinavians. Amorphis is probably one of the most-changed bands of the early 90's death metal scene around the Sweden and Finland area, but thankfully they've actually evolved in a positive direction. Certainly this release is a little different from "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" in style but I would in no way argue that this release is inferior.
Amorphis is known for infusing strange elements into a fairly straightforward heavy metal approach - they've incorporated organs, saxophones, and Finnish folk elements with relative impunity. They made one rather lackluster album way back when (Far from the Sun) but I regard that as water under the bridge.
Skyforger finds them treading familiar territory to Eclipse and Silent Waters - strong folk-infused melodies that soar and rage. Not songs that are difficult to listen to - they're remarkably ensnaring despite the relative musical simplicity of what's actually happening. It really is all about execution in their case - everything is just done well. It certainly does not hurt that they have penned some damn catchy choruses, and that the lyrics deal with one of my favorite subjects: Finnish mythology. The songs center around the travels and stories of Ilmarinen - in the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, he is the smith of the world.
Highlights: Sampo, Silver Bride, Sky Is Mine, Majestic Beast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qjiWb1O_L4
(if the Ilmarinen from the video looks familiar to you, I might question whether he is any relation to the fellow from Kalmah's video for "Groan of the Wind"...)
5) The Sounds - Crossing the Rubicon
Damn, the Sounds are catchy motherfuckers. The opening twenty seconds of their songs reveal that, in a general way - but then their hook-laden verses and choruses slam into your skull like pink, fluffy clouds - and they will not leave. During my early morning run today with punk rock-knowledgeable companion, my friend labeled them dance punk (at least in their former endeavors). Now I'm not so sure I buy that label - I feel happier with the generi-label of indie rock because then I don't have to deal with punk nuances. Which is sort of a contradictory turn of phrase anyhow...
It's good summer music - at least the first half. The latter half of the album gets a little gloomy but not necessarily in a bad way. Just in a gloomy, more downbeat way.
Maja - the lead singer - has a good voice, and whoever their primary songwriter is has a very good ear for amping up and opening the sound of a song. The music is very deftly written.
Recommended: No One Sleeps When I'm Awake, Beat Box, Midnight Sun, Four Songs and a Fight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Muci-5Yt0o
6) The Gathering - The West Pole
Once there were beautiful trees
Now there are concrete seas
An eerie calm has befallen the land
Cacophany of wonderful sounds
Is replaced by a symphony of silence
The Gathering's latest album, The West Pole, marks their 9th release and their 20th (!) year of existence. It brings with it a new vocalist, Silje Wergeland, which doesn't really make a difference to me as this is the first release of theirs I have ever listened to.
In a way, this album bears a good deal of similarity to "Swoon", but approached from a different style. Silversun Pickups have their roots in punk and indie - The Gathering in metal. Both have an ambient sound, a warmness, to them, but the differences shine through in small ways. The drumming on Swoon has a pretty familiar shuffle pattern (often repeated, from song to song) - the walking bass line is a recurring theme. The West Pole has a much more pounding rhythm section and a more muted bass - metal, of course, being notorious for burying the bassline. The lyrical style also reflects the differences between the two musical cultures but I think I actually prefer Silversun Pickups in that regard. The fact that The Gathering are Danish may hurt them a little in this respect.
Recommended: All You Are, No Bird Call, The West Pole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpAP4wvmpWA
7) Skyfire - Fractal
Anyone who knows me to any degree of thoroughness should have expected this EP to be on my list. Only an EP of four songs, and it's included on my top albums? Oh yes. Most assuredly, monsieur.
It's been a good four years since Skyfire has released new material, and this stuff certainly holds up to scrutiny. Their previous two releases, Mind Revolution and Spectral, saw them drifting away from their debut's bombastic power-metal-esque leanings.
Fractal is a reassuring lean back towards the direction of their music on their debut album, Timeless Departure. With a lot of lineup changes and quite a bit of time passing...it's always difficult to say if an album will live up to your expectations. Fractal manages to qualm my fanboy fears.
There's a hell of a lot going on here. Skyfire's first ever released songs with guitar solos, their first with a new vocalist (Joakim Jonsson) and new lead guitarist (Johan Reinholdz, of Andromeda fame) - and certainly their first hint of their music's new direction.
It's got big keyboards all over the place. One could even say that the four songs are gratuitously filled with tinkling pianos and huge synthesizers - in addition to a howling Swede and blistering guitar. This is precisely what my heart of hearts longed for - the combination of the almost-mystical sounding atmosphere of piano and frenetic, progressive rhythm work is this band's staple, the unique stamp that sets them apart from the other hordes of melodeath pretenders.
Recommendations: Uhh...all four of the songs? If I have to choose one, probably "The Transgressor Within" or "Esoteric."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8wap5z6Lew
8) Anubis Gate - The Detached
I'm a notorious sucker for progressive bands with awesome guitar. Anubis Gate definitely possesses aforementioned 'awesome guitar' - which is not merely blinding speed but a vested interest in melody and coherence in song.
They also have a good bit of atmosphere going on in their music - letting the background be filled in with the small touches that make songs full and powerful - the echoing of a chorus of voices and the slow hum of strings.
The caterwauling of their vocalist doesn't always quite mesh with their music - but the compositions are so solidly filled with hooks that I cannot resist their clarion call. Usually his voice in the lower register is a lot more compelling. Pretty brilliant despite my small qualm about his tone.
Recommendations: Dodecahedron, Pyramids, Out of Time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY72p7CwD-4
9) Skyfire - Esoteric
I'm just going to leave this here.
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