God Help the Girl

God Help the Girl is a solo project from Belle and Sebastian front man Stuart Murdoch. I found this album to be fantastic, drawing on 60's Girl Groups as inspiration, Murdoch out did himself.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the fourth album those Parisians Phoenix. An infectous pop rock that gets you tapping your toes to the beat every time. This was easily the best live show of 2009 for me.

Together Through Life

Were does one begin when critiquing an artist like Bob Dylan? Having a long influential career, inspiring some of the greatest musicians of the last 40 years. Dylan's latest album Together Through Life does one thing, and it does that well. It is just a simple blues rock album with plenty of songs about heart break and the pains women put us through.

Eats Darkness

Eats Darkness is the third studio child from Andrew Whiteman's Apostle of Hustle. Like most of his work, it is guitar centric and a little on the far outside. I thoroughly enjoy he's near psychedelic feel and abstract musical style. As for Andrew Whiteman's take on the album "a serial poem about some struggles people go through. Battles, from the macro to the micro. Songs about tactics and attitudes needed in 'life during wartime'. Each track is like tapas at the banquet of conflict. A small contribution to the articulation of a fucked and beautiful world."

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Merriweather Post Pavilion is my first experience with Animal Collective. From the first time listening to it I found the sweeping electronic vistas to paint quite the audible picture. I really find that this album works best when listened to on a whole, bringing you up and down on an adventure that most other albums do not. It really begins with the album art, a bizzare optical illusion that really does an excellent job or personifying the music contained within. Definitely worth a listen, and something I will have in my rotation for years to come.

Top Picks of 2009

So we are rapidly approaching the end of 2009 and I figured it would be prudent if I posted a list of some of the top albums of the year. I plan on going through each of these albums and giving them another quality listen and will soon have my Top 10 up.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Apostle of Hustle - Eats Darkness

Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

M. Ward - Hold Time

Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement

Metric - Fantasies

The Most Serene Republic - ...And the Ever Expanding Universe

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Ray Davies - The Kinks Choral Collection

Röyksopp - Junior

The Thermals - Now We Can See

What a list! I plan on writing a blurb on each of these in the coming days and will have my Top 10 by the end of the month. What are your top albums for 2009?