My top 50 records of 2009...

Oh hi. It's been awhile! A year, in fact... so it goes.

A while back I promised that I'd get back to spending months working on this list, and while I have been on it since October, writing a bit on each record, Wordpress recently ATE IT FOR DINNER. Screw those dudes. Seriously. Lesson learned : don't trust the internet.

So, I'm gonna just leave it at this: The 50 records that most captured my ears' attention this year, the albums that swept me away and made me thrash, dance, mellow out, bum out, dance some more + then some. I'd love to know what you discover via this list, so let me know what you think about it! Please n Thanks!

The Top 10:
1. The XX : S/T – Young Turks
2. Phoenix : Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Glassnote
3. Dirty Projectors : Bitte Orca - Domino
4. Martyn : Great Lengths - 3024
5. Gentleman Reg : Jet Black – Arts & Crafts
6. Jay Reatard : Watch Me Fall - Matador
7. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart : S/T – Slumberland Records
8. Grizzly Bear : Veckatimest – Warp Records
9. Passion Pit : Manners – Startime/French Kiss
10. Handsome Furs : Face Control – Sub Pop

And the rest...
11. Stimming : Reflections - Diynamic
12. Buraka Som Sistema : Black Diamond – Enchufada
13. Converge : Axe To Fall - Epitaph
14. Patrick Watson : Wooden Arms – Secret City
15. Tiga : Ciao! – Turbo Recordings
16. Health : Get Color – Lovepump Unlimited
17. Girls : Album – True Panther
18. Lukid – Foma – Werk Discs
19. Antony & The Johnsons : The Crying Light – Secretly Canadian
20. Moderat : S/T – BPitch Control
21. Micachu & The Shapes : Jewelry - Rough Trade
22. Major Lazer : Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do – Downtown/Mad Decent
23. Bill Calahan : Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle – Drag City
24. Bibio : Ambivalence Avenue – Warp Records
25. The Rural Alberta Advantage : Hometowns – Saddle Creek
26. Tortoise : Beacons of Ancestorship – Thirll Jockey
27. The Antlers : Hospice – French Kiss
28. Metric : Fantasies – Last Gang
29. We Were Promised Jetpacks : These Four Walls – Fat Cat Records
30. Juan Maclean : The Future Will Come – DFA Records
31. Future Of the Left : Travels With Myself And Another – 4AD
32. Ghislain Poirier : Soca Sound System EP – Ninja Tune
33. Andrew Bird : Noble Beast - Merge
34. Bahamas : Pink Strat - Nevado Records
35. Nomo : Invisible Cities - Ubiquity
36. Nosaj Thing : Drift - Alpha Pup Records
37. M Ward : Hold Time – Merge
38. Yo La Tengo : Popular Songs – Matador
39. Apostle Of Hustle : Eats Darkness – Arts & Crafts
40. Sonic Youth : The Eternal – Matador
41. Nathan Fake : Hard Islands – Border Community
42. Mos Def : The Ecstatic – Downtown Records
43. White Rabbits : It's Frightening - TBD Records
44. Now Now Every Children : Cars - Afternoon Records
45. Circlesquare : Songs About Dancing & Drugs - !K7 / Boompa
46. Toddla T : Fabric Live 47 - Fabric
47. Pissed Jeans : King Of Jeans – Sub Pop
48. God Help The Girl – S/T – Rough Trade
49. DOOM : Born Like This – Lex Records
50. Polvo : In Prism – Merge

Honorable Mentions, in no order:
1. Four Tet + Burial : Moth/Wolf Cub split 12" - TEXT Records
2. jj : jj no. 2 – Sincerely Yours
3. Discovery : LP – XL Recordings
4. Pink Mountaintops : Outside Love – Jagjaguwar
5. Depeche Mode : Sounds Of The Universe – Mute Records
6. Cymbals Eat Guitars : Why There Are Mountains – Self Released
7. Various Artists : Dark Was The Night – 4AD/Red Hot
8. UUVVWWZ : S/T – Saddle Creek
9. The Breeders : Fate To Fatal EP – Self Released
10. Lindstrom & Prins Thomas : II – Feedelity
11. YACHT : See Mystery Lights – DFA Records
12. Little Girls : Tambourine EP - Paper Bag
13. Baroness : The Blue Album – Relapse Records
14. Kings Of Convenience : Declaration of Dependence – Virgin
15. Black Mold : Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz – Flemish Eye
16. Zeus : Sounds Like Zeus EP – Arts & Crafts
17. Bon Iver : Blood Bank EP - Jagjaguwar
18. Sleigh Bells : S/T EP – Self Released
19. Toddla T : Skanky Skanky – 1965 Records
20. J Tillman : Vacilando Territory Blues - Western Vinyl
21. Black Meteoric Star : S/T – DFA Records
22. Delroy Wilson : Dub Plate Style (The Prince Jammy Remixes, 1968) - Pressure Sounds
23. King Midas Sound : Waiting For You... - Hyperdub
24. Tim Hecker : An Imaginary Counrry - Kranky
25. Clipse : Till The Casket Drops - Re-Up Records


Well, actually I hated you:
1. Animal Collective : Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Bat for Lashes : Two Suns

Any glaring omissions? Anything I completely slept on?
Lemme know!
Love to love you, friends!

The Top 50.

Instead of taking three months to write goofy repetitive reviews, here's the skinny. Below are 50 records that made my year, the year encompassing the biggest changes of my life so far. The soundtrack has been:

1) Bon Iver : For Emma, Forever - Jagjaguwar
2) The Mae Shi : HLLLYH - Team Shi / Moshi Moshi
3) Black Mountain : In The Future - Jagjaguwar
4) TV On The Radio : Dear Science - Interscope / 4AD
5) Girl Talk : Feed The Animals - Illegal Art
6) Fucked Up : The Chemistry of Common Life - Matador Records
7) DJ /rupture : Uproot - The Agriculture
8) Diplo/Santogold : Top Ranking - Mad Decent
9) Benga : Diary of an Afro Warrior - Tempa Recordings
10) Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair - DFA
11) Passion Pit - Chunk Of Change EP - French Kiss
12) Raveonettes : Lust Lust Lust - Fierce Panda / Vice
13) Deadbeat - Eastward to Mecca EP/Versionist Carmot EP - Wagon Repair
14) Cut Copy - In Ghost Colors - Modular
15) Man Man : Rabbit Habits - Anti
16) Chad Vangaalen : Soft Airplane - Flemish Eye/Sub Pop
17) Lykke Li : Youth Novels - LL Recordings
18) Stars : In Our Bedroom After The War - Arts & Crafts
19) The Bug : London Zoo - Ninja Tune
20) Yeasayer : All Hour Cymbals - We Are Free
21) Marnie Stern : This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That - Kill Rock Stars
22) Sebastien Grangier & The Mountains : Sebastien Grangier & The Mountains - Saddle Creek/Outside
23) Vampire Weekend : Vampire Weekend - XL Recordings
24) Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist - Planet Mu
25) Fuck Buttons : Street Horrrsing - ATP Recordings
26) Nomo : Ghost Rock - Ubiquity Records
27) The Dears : Missiles - Dangerbird/Maple

28) Beck : Modern Guilt - Interscope
29) Matmos : Supreme Balloon - Matador
30) Arkells : Jackson Square - Dine Alone Records

31) Women : Women - Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar
32) Cadence Weapon: Afterparty Babies - Upper Class/Anti
33) Okkervil River : The Stand-Ins - Jagjaguwar
34) Kings of Leon : Only By The Night - RCA
35 ) Duffy : Rockferry - A&M/Polydor
36) The Hold Steady : Stay Positive - Vagrant Records
37) Portishead : Third - Island
38) Stereolab : Chemical Chords - Duophonic/4AD
39) Shad : The Old Prince - Black Box Recordings
40) MGMT : Oracular Spectacular - Columbia Records
41) Of Montreal : Skeletal Lamping - Polyvinyl
42) Kelley Polar : I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling - Environ
43) Lil'Wayne : Tha Carter III - Cash Money

44) Crystal Antlers : EP - Touch & Go
45) Morgan Geist : Double Night Time - Environ
46) Lindstrom : Where I Go You Go Too - Smalltown Supersound
47) 2562 : Aerial - Tectonic
48) Noze : Songs on the Rocks - Get Physical
49) Booka Shade : The Sun and the Neon Light - Get Physical
50) Falko Brocksieper : Heavy Day - Sub Sonic

And that's that.

Also getting some major earplay are these three to-be-released records coming out in '09 that sound seriously promising:
-Gentleman Reg : Jet Back - Arts & Crafts
-J Tillman : Vacilando Territory Blues - Western Vinyl
-Circlesquare: Songs About Dancing and Drugs - K!7 Recordings

Check it.

When I have some time over the holidays I'll post some standout tracks from this list. Until then be well, party safe and dance dance dance.

Assessment.

I am having an excellent summer.

That's my only excuse for not writing for the last, er, 8 months. Either way, here's WHY things are pretty rad right about now.



I'm getting married in less than 5 weeks. The project of the wedding is unlike anything I've undertaken in my life, ever. I know that in the end it'll be rewarding, but in the meantime, balancing the needs of family, friends, florists and rabbis is an intense challenge. It goes without saying (but I'll do it anyways) that I'm immensely excited about the prospect of spending my life with a certain Ms Leah Rajesky. We have plans. Lots of them. Big ones that will dwarf the effort of getting married...but for now, eye on the prize. The day(s) (because there's never just ONE), the party, the crying my eyes out in front of everyone I love for hours and hours. I'm a sensitive type.


Photo by News46.

This summer has also reminded me how much I love my new(est) home. Toronto never ceases to impress upon me how diverse and open minded and beautiful it can be. It's fast and crazy and up all night and doesn't stop all day. I plow through traffic on my bike every day, weaving in and out, sucking in smog and exhaust and I don't wish I was anywhere else. I've spent afternoons on islands, nights on beaches, early mornings in misty ravines - and I'm never more than 30 minutes from my front door.

My feet have led the way, literally. Little did you (or I, before 6 months ago) know that in me lies a sleepy athlete. It's slowly awakening, and I've started to love exercise. It's insane. I bike to work every single day, rain or shine. I've been running upwards of 20km a week for the last 3 months. For a while before it got nice out, the gym was the place I'd go first thing in the morning and love watching the collective effort of feeling just as good as I did about sweating my ass off. The last of my teenage baggage (the physical, that is. The emotional took flight a while back, thank god.) is falling off of me. I feel amazing.

My job is also ruling. It's like getting to hang out with all your friends and talk music all day, and then you get to go hang with them, at gigs or parties or whatever...five days a week. The festival season has brought good times too...Edgefest was the same it was when I was 17. Full of sweaty teenagers and 90s rock. An admittedly fun timewarp. The Picnic at Fort York (aka) was a massive step up and forward from last year. Mega kudos for great shows in shite weather. Hillside was as it was last year, mellow vibes and full of stunning performances.

Speaking of...Toronto also keeps bringing the jams. I've seen some amazing shows this summer...10 shows that stood out, in no order:

-Nomo @ The Elmo: WTF is post-afrobeat? Nomo knows. I learned. You should too.
-The Bug @ The Drake: Heaviest dub/reggae throwdown in recent memory. The walls were sweating.
-Bon Iver @ Lee's: I've never seen a crowd hang on every note like that night. It was moving.
-Arkells @ NXNE/Horseshoe: This band will force itself into your ears in 2009 if not sooner.
-Leonard Cohen @ Hummingbird Centre: Still reeling, 3 months later. The legend did not disappoint.
-Propagandhi @ The Phoenix: 15 years of being a fanboy and they kill me every single time.
-Danton Eeprom @ MUTEK: I'd never heard of him and his techno tore my mind in half.
-Municipal Waste @ Opera House: Thrash is reborn, and it's about bloody time.
-Lee "Scratch" Perry @ Harbourfront: Another legend who did no wrong. People lost their shit.
-Gonzales @ St. Lawrence Centre: Weird dude puts on a weird (brilliant, eclectic, bizzare) show. Immense enjoyment ensues.

That's my summer in a nutshell. Wedding. Running. Rocking. It's been the best in years. Travel to see friends in Vancouver and Montreal, cottage weekends, rooftop tall cans, lazy beach Sundays...I'll do my best to try to write more, but I can't help the delays. I'm drowning in how good life is.

The top 30, part two.

...and so it continues.

15) Matthew Dear: Asa Breed - Ghostly International
Following the release of Backstroke in 2005, I had an opportunity to put on a Matthew Dear gig, and afterwards he told me of his plan to get a full band together for his next record. Live, it was to be called The Matthew Dear Big Hands Band, and on record, it was going to be called Asa Breed. Apparently, he succeeded. This is some of the most lively and forward-thinking techno I've ever heard. From the funk shuffle of "Pom Pom" the minimal shake-shake of "Don & Sherri", this album is the perfect step ahead for Dear. I say this in consideration of past releases and the general direction of electronic music in 2007 - embracing lyricism, organic songwriting and discovering full studio production, rather than locking oneself to a laptop and machines.


14)Feist: The Reminder - Arts & Crafts
Feist opens this record by saying "I'm sorry"...almost warning you that what follows WILL BLOW YOUR MIND. There was no better vocal pop record release this year - I don't have to remind you about her increasing ubiquity in pop culture, her FOUR Grammy nominations, or the fact that she did this all without losing a shred of indie cred...but if you have written this off without hearing it because "its so popular"...give yourself a shake. The cover of Nina Simone's "Sea Line Woman" (reworked here as "Sealion Woman") is the standout track here for me, as it boldly confronts the structures we consider 'pop' by giving it a chanty cadence, a tribal groove full of falsettos and handclaps. This track stands out as a testament to what is destined to become a timeless classic of an album.


13) Menomena: Friend And Foe - Barsuk Records
It's true, I'm sucker for saxophone rock. In the 90s I was obsessed with Morphine, and have loved the resurgence of horns in rock arrangements in bands like Beirut and TV On The Radio...and now in Menomena, this embracing of jazz arrangements in indie rock is seeing genuine life. Songs like "Muscle n' Flo" deliver beautiful harmonies over snapping snare drums and cacophonous guitar melodies, while "Evil Bee" drops a funky sax line over slamming cymbals. If there is one band to 'discover' this year, it's Menomena.



12) Two Hours Traffic: Little Jabs - Bumstead
Read my (internet) lips: this is the best powerpop record in the last 10 years, maybe since Weezer broke the scene open with their Blue Album. Every track is single-worthy, every track is a summer anthem, a fall breakup hit, a winter rockout. Pitch-perfect ooohs and lalalas cruise over "Nighthawks", with The Beach Boys conjured up on tracks like "Jezebel". This band delivers live as well, in a way that indie-pop acts like The New Pornographers cannot - jadedness is drowned out by enthusiasm and earnest songwriting, with results ranging from completely infectious hooks to lyrics that won't leave your head for days. LISTEN to this band already, wouldja?


11) Digitalism: Idealism - Kitsuné Music
In a year where everyone and their dog claimed to play 'electro rock' (or is it 'rock electro' in this case?), Digitalism actually did it. Angular guitar jangles ride over wide-load bass wobble, with the high ends sitting perfectly between a digital and acoustic hi-hat. Rock song structures dominate on tracks like "Pogo" and "Anything New", while full-on dancefloor assaults like "Digitalism in Cairo" send bass lines deep into your gut. 2008 is going to be an interesting year now that the rock-dance crossover has been fully realized - Erol Alkan has produced the forthcoming Mystery Jets album, and the sound of French touch is simply obligated to evolve in a post-Justice environment. Digitalism will help carry that torch far into the future, starting with Idealism. An apt name, nes pas?

10) MIA: Kala - XL Recordings
This one takes the cake for the most creative release, in that everything about this album was NEW. New rhythms, new song structures, and hip-hop tropes spun into world beat with laser-quick rhymes and clever word play. "I put people on the map that never seen a map/I show 'em something they ain't never seen/And hope they make it back", MIA raps on the track "20 Dollar", noting her past, her plan for the future, and perhaps a promise of further exploration. The shape of tracks like "Bird Flu" nod to the favellas, ghettos and shanty towns of the third world, while the second single, "Paper Planes" samples The Clash and raps about what rap is often about: M O N E Y.

9) Okkervil River: The Stage Names - Jagjaguwar Records
The lead single off The Stage Names is called "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe", a telling name for a record that blurs fictitious characters and real-life scenarios, as Will Sheff's lyrics draw vivid pictures for us. Among the dozens of bands the Springsteen reference was thrown at this year, Okkervil River are the band that's stopping one step short of tributing The Boss, but rather giving a nod, keeping an eye ahead. This disc has full, mature production efforts, highlighted by brilliant horn arrangements. This is a full step forward from Black Sheep Boy, and proves the band to be one to watch in '08.


8) Of Montreal:Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?: Polyvinyl
I had NO idea what to make of this when I first heard it. I admit, I was slow getting on the Of Montreal bandwagon, and this was this record that finally got me on board. It's nearly perfect in that it achieves what it sets out to be: a great pop record. Harmonies soar over funk bass on "Gronlandic Edit" and perfectly delivered keyboard punches through on the 12-minute "The Past is a Grotesque Animal". In it, Kevin Barnes describes said beast, as reflective of the darkness in all of us, while the band coos and wails on synthesizers, creating a perfect psychedelic pop moment. This whole album is streaming on their Myspace, check it out.

7) Burial: Untrue - Hyperdub
2007 saw dubstep reach new heights, as the South London scene exploded worldwide, and breakthrough artists like Skream and Vex'd caught the worlds feet and ears by surprise. The dark horse in the race was Burial, the anonymous champion who introduced many to the genre this year. With a nod to early trip-hop, 2-step and garage, this album is rooted in slow broken beat, HEAVY basslines and thin, wispy high end. The minimalism here rarely fails to sound full and warm, keeping a steady bounce in the dub, always conscious of making you shake, just a bit. This is truly beautiful dance music.

6) Electrelane: No Shouts, No Calls - Too Pure/Beggars' Banquet
Speaking of beautiful, the latest from Electrelane blew me away. I've been a fan of the band since their debut Rock it to the Moon broke the instrumental post-rock mold apart, mixing surf guitar and dub bass. Two albums later, which explored more vocal contributions, the ladies of Brighton, UK have assembled a rich and rewarding listen for their fans old and new."To The East" is the stand-out track for me, with Verity Susman's cooing voice lilts over Mia Clarke's guitar shreddage. Their warmth oozes from every song here, and makes their current, indefinite hiatus all the saddening.

5) Radiohead: In Rainbows - XL Recordings
I, like everyone else, was caught off guard by the news that Radiohead was to release a new album...in the following 48 hours, for free. This effort will remain in the history books of the music industry as the signaling of a paradigm shift, where the artist takes charge, despite (or perhaps in spite of) the major label's wishes. Now, if the album SUCKED, it could have been a different story, but people all over the world have embraced the band's warm and ethereal rock vibe. Standout tracks "Faust Arp" and "Bodysnatchers" don't overshadow other strong efforts, but rather are the best illustration of just where the band is at in their songwriting careers - seeking diversity, strength and a future-conscious mindset. Their fans are paramount to they being able to do this how they wanted, and the results are endlessly rewarding for all. Among the best is this fan video for "All I Need", a mashup of the song with imagery from the French documentary Microcosmos. Check it.

4) Spoon:Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga-Merge Records
One of my favorite things about music in 2007 is that the revisionist desires of the listening audience became less about content rather than context. Think back to '05 or '06 when discopunk was the hot shit; it wasn't about paying tribute, it was about THE BEAT (ie: the content). In the case of Spoon (and Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, Vampire Weekend, etc), the effort now is to reflect production trends of the 50s and 60s to make a music which sounds much more...organic, if you will (ie: the context). The live-off-the-floor feel of "Don't You Evah" harkens back to James Brown coaching his band through opening riffs, while songs like "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" showcase a fat-bottom sax line and reverb-ed tambourine, reminding us that in this, "the future", the past will always exist. Spoon are at a point in their career where this kind of album isn't made without a certain degree of risk, but in 2007 the listeners were ready to have old tastes rekindled. Lucky for them.

3) Justice : Cross - Vice/Ed Banger
Cross is an instant classic. If you didn't hear "D.A.N.C.E." in almost every DJ set(/clothing store/mobile phone ad/grandma's garage sale) this summer, you were living under a rock. The lead purveyors of French touch were everywhere, from magazine covers to late-night TV, and in the ears of every clubber in the world. This album absolutely KILLS, from the first string blast of "Genesis" to the fade-out beat of "One Minute To Midnight", every track is a new thrust towards the future of dance music. The vocal funk of "DVNO" collapsing into "Stress" is one of those moments where you could sit around for hours, listening to the break drop over and over again. The classicism here will be regarded for years to come alongside Daft Punk's Homework as important contributions to moden music. Hopefully Justice's longevity will be as strong as their French house forefathers.

2) Les Savy Fav: Let's Stay Friends - Frenchkiss Records
Les Savy Fav has crafted their angular post-hardcore to a precise art, and the evidence is within every track. From the storytelling meander of "Pots & Pans" to the party jam "Rage In The Plague Age", the diversity LSF have matured into is astonishing. Vocalist Tim Harrington has struck a perfect balance between the growl and the croon, the shout and the melody, evident in the roughness of "The Equestrian", which slides smoothly into the falsetto of "The Year Before The Year 2000". Syd Butler's bassline beefs up "Scotchguard the Credit Card", one of the best tracks on the record, helping close off one of the best rock albums of the last 5 years. This album is the sound of your own ass getting kicked. Get used to it.


and finally...#1:

1) LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver - DFA
The first words spoken on Sound of Silver are "Get innocuous" - an instruction to lose one's presuppositions of what might follow. This is a dance record, a pop record, and a rock album all in one, with every track different from the next. The themes are clear: politics (in the self-conscious "Noth American Scum", and the ballad "New York I Love You") and what it means to grow older. "All My Friends" is a gorgeous song, an epic melding of piano and highhat, while James Murphy waxes poetic, "It comes apart/the way it does in bad films/the except the part/where the moral kicks in". Aging also plays a part in "Watch The Tapes", a raucous MC5-esque rock jam where gang vocals shout the title between jittery lyrics about being in your midtwenties and being just a little terrified of the future. I think I can relate. Murphy never loses sight their mission to BE a dance band, and every single song achieves that end. This release is not just the best album of 2007, or the best LCD Soundsystem album yet, its also a vitally important record in the evolving relationship between dance rhythm and rock music.


Honorable mentions, in no order...

HEALTH : S/T - Lovepump United
Sea Wolf: Leaves in the Winter - Dangerbird Records
White Williams: Smoke - Tiger Beat6
Battles: Mirrored - Warp
Miracle Fortress: Five Roses - Secret City/Rough Trade
Cobblestone Jazz: 23 Seconds - !K7 Records
Tussle:Warning EP - Smalltown Supersound
Beirut: Lon Gisland EP - Ba Da Bing Records


phew. done.

The top 30, part one.

Holy crap, why do I put myself to the painful and arduous task of making this list year after year? Part of it is for myself to remember what's what, to recollect what made my booty shake and my head nod...unlike last year's lists, what's below and to follow is oddly lacking in hip-hop and acoustic jams (last year, discs from Quantic and M. Ward ruled my ears), while this year's list is a bit heavy, a bit minimal, a bit...eclectic. It's in that spirit that instead of breaking it down by genre, I've assembled what I think are the best 30 records released in 2007...here we go.

30) Pela: Anytown Graffiti - Great Society Records
This record had me from the first second, with its railcar snare drum, chugging along beneath finger-picked guitar...and then came the yelp, "I had a sideways stare like a signal flare!". Ballads, rockers, jams, anthems - this record is chock-full of the new brand of sprawling Americana-meets-indie-cool championed currently by Pela tourmates The National, and previously by XTC and Wilco. This record is hard to find, but is available online at emusic.com and via mail through the band's myspace.


29) Municipal Waste: The Art of Partying - Earache Records
This might be the funnest metal album of all time. This is not a rip-off of 80s thrash, it's a tribute, a homage to the bloodline that carries Suicidal Tendencies and Anthrax, but here its played without a shred of revisionism. It's honest in its aim; this is, as the title suggests, jams to get wasted and wreck shit to. It's fast and heavy, complete with monster riffs, face-melting solos and epic drunk chants, resulting in a dozen excuses to do totally awesome hair whips. As the chant says, "MUNICIPAL WASTE IS GONNA FUCK! YOU! UP!"...they really will.


28) The Locust: New Erections - Epitaph
If I had never heard The Locust before hearing this record, I'm not sure what I'd think, but as an old fan, I'm fascinated to see that some of their songs have managed to cross the 3-minute mark. The spastic pummeling that makes up most of their frantic noise often clocks in at just over a minute, but here sees new life as fuller songs, with lyrics throughout. The snotty tone of past releases feels angrier now - less desperate, more focused. One of the standout tracks, "We Have Reached an Official Verdict: Nobody Gives a Shit", is streaming on their myspace. This is a fantastic release that none of your friends will want to listen to with you. Bummer.


27) Baroness: The Red Album - Relapse Records
Like the mythical dark places this album's lyrics describe, the music is vast, sweeping and mysterious. It's prog-conscious but not noodley and self-indulgent, while remaining full, dense and mean. The anthemic riffs of "The Birthing" show an tip of the hat to the sound of Rollins Band, Megadeth-size guitar solos and southern US muscle rock. Metal in 2007 should sound like Baroness. Destructive, forward thinking, and oh-so-heavy.



26) Bumps: Bumps - Stones Throw
Dan Bitney and the Johns, McIntire & Herndon, set out to make an album of straight rhythms, and so they did. If you were already a fan of their experimental post-rock in projects like Tortoise, A Grape Dope, & Brokeback, this disc strips away all the niceties of those groups and delivers raw, crunchy beats built for loops and raps. The concept is simple - no track over 2:00 in length, touch on as many drum break shapes as you can, and keep it slamming. Latin, funk, afrobeat, samba and jazz beats are deconstructed and reconsidered over 24 tracks; "Can You See?" is a logical extention of Tortoise's "Seneca" (from Standards), while "Tryplmeade Gorsmatch" is new ground broken, yet again, not to mention an excellent opportunity to tap those toes.


25) Patrick Wolf: The Magic Position - Loog Records
Of course an epic orchestral pop record should begin with an overture, and of course you should crank it up off the top with a catchy-as-hell title track, and obviously the key to left-of-centre, gay, showoff-y music is to have a loud, insane live show and costumes to match. Its a good thing that Patrick Wolf knows all the rules, and how to break them. His music has never sounded so big and bold as it does on this disc, with showstoppers like "Accident & Emergency" and the spooky ballad "Bluebells". Fans of Final Fantasy, Morrissey, Rufus Wainwright and New Order take note, Patrick Wolf is coming for your heart and mind. Lock up your sons.


24) New Young Pony Club: Fantastic Playroom - Universal/Island
23) Klaxons: Myths Of The Near Future - Polydor
I'm going to write about these two discs together - two shades of the unfortunately-named "nu-rave" genre that emerged in 2007...it's both sad and humorous to me that hype will eventually kill off these bands, as new wave before it (A-Ha? Split Enz anyone?)...that said, these albums are fulfilling listens, full of catchy hooks, singalongs and tunes to inspire shaking...but for different reasons. Klaxon's remix-ready indie rock was marketed to be more about what the band WORE rather than what they PLAYED. On the other hand, NYPC were thrown at the dance crowd as one of their own, to be thrashed about to in clubs and open-format DJ throwdowns. Unfortunately, I didn't hear much of either on the dancefloor this year, aside from the 9 billion "Atlantis to Interzone" remixes with that piercing 1990s rave horn and the cut "DJ! DJ!". Fantastic Playroom was, to be sure, the dancier of the two records, with snappy house basslines and sample-worthy lyrics ("I can give you what you want/I can make your heart beat short", from "Ice Cream"), made jagged with post-punk guitar stabs not unlike those heard on records by Gang of Four and The Slits. We can only hope that the bands' sophomore releases will stand up as well as these impressive debuts.


22) Modeselektor: Happy Birthday! - Bpitch Control
If stand-up comedy could be danced to, this would be the soundtrack. It's not often that dance records actually make you LAUGH (though the horn tweaks on any release by Crackhaus are enough to inspire giggles), but this totally silly record takes its' aim seriously - a set of tracks aimed at the dancefloor. "Hyper Hyper" builds up from echoey, dubstep-inspired snare crashes giving way to heavy trance horns and a throbbing 4/4, while "The Black Book" is the duo's tribute to the the heyday of acid techno. Thom Yorke guests on "The White Flash", a surprising place to find the giant of melancholy, awash in subfrequencies and gleeful chimes. Could this be the funnest electronic record ever? I say YES.


21) Boys Noize: Oi Oi Oi - Last Gang/Turbo
If the image of a disco ball in the shape of a skull isn't indicative enough of what lies within, a scan through the tracks on Oi Oi Oi show you a side of techno that is distinctly UNfunny. Taking cues from hard-edged French touch, German techno and the sounds of computers themselves, Alexander Ridha delivers an album of moods, and none of them good. The anger of "The Battery", the uneasy Kraut bass of "Frau" make for an album you shouldn't listen to unless you want to be taken down the rabbit hole of punked out heavy rhythm. Nonetheless, this is an excellent record, the icing on the cake of which is his flawless remix of Feist's "My Moon My Man", which caps off the disc.


20) Clipd Beaks: Horse Lords - Lovepump United
I can't and won't claim to know much of anything about the LA noise scene - I know of an all ages venue called The Smell, where bands like No Age, HEALTH, The Mae Shi and Abe Vigoda, along with Clipd Beaks, have made an absurd racket this year, both musically and critically. This record stands out among all for its complete lack of restraint. Tribal drums thump below arcing, screeching guitar and gut-wrenching wails, all with a pace and momentum akin to Suicide or This Heat. "Melter", the opening track sees the band trading keyboard and guitar distortion aside a rolling crash cymbal and waddling bassline. The vocals are almost indistinguishable from the mechanical chaos, and its a good thing. A really, really good thing.


19) The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour - Epitaph/Anti
I admit that this may only be on the list because I feel like The Weakerthans can do no wrong. Their brand of poetry-positive Canadiana is unmistakable and timeless, and this record expands on John K. Samson's innate ability to tell stories. In this case, they are about busdrivers and professional curlers and a cat named Virtue. "Relative Surplus Value" tells the story of a hungover victim of middle management who notes that "the graphs in the boardroom show/by the time that the market opens in Tokyo/I'll be worthless..." Even in capitalism there is poetic melancholy, and Samson knows exactly how to channel it.


18) Stars: In Our Bedroom After The War - Arts & Crafts
It's impossible talk about this band and not mention these words:
1) Romantic
2) Grandiose
3) Dramatic
This album has all three in spades, delivered through 13 songs of soaring pop gems, drenched in synthesizers and monumental drum lines. The lead single, "Take Me To The Riot"(video) delivers on the title by building up slowly toward chaos, as Toquil Campbell and Amy Millan harmonize as they know best to - romantically, dramatically and in a grandiose manner...


17) Apparat: Walls - Shitkatapult/Finetunes
In my opinon, forward-thinking music is SO important, and this album is so ahead of its time, its mindblowing. If you were a fan of his Orchestra of Bubbles project with Ellen Allien, this gorgeously textured album will only drag you further into his complex and layered soundscapes. From the dubstep of "Limelight" to the gritty drone of "Fractales *(Pt 2)", this collection breathes diversity. There are places where xylophones and strings form the low end of the beat, while wispy rhythms shimmer around them, leading one to see that there's an unspoken theme here - futurism. To match this theme, the album cover depicts organic streams of color, perhaps an imagining of what this music would look like, the shape of pop sensibilities and lush electronic spaciousness.


16) Attack In Black: Marriage - Dine Alone Records
Mark my words, this band is going to be fucking huge. They have all the right elements from the perfect 'na-na-nana-nas' and handclaps to Springsteen-inspired pop tropes, resulting in a total gem of a record. One of the key ingredients is Ian Blurton's production, who puts the finishing touches of what is already surprisingly mature songwriting. "Young Leaves" is an apt title for the lead single, the story of band on the road, as they answer their call, "there's a void / begging desperate as a lie / for us to make it feel alive". With bands like Sparta, The Weakerthans and Built To Spill singing their praises, its only a matter of time before Attack In Black explode.


The top 15 is to follow...but for now, think ahead to the new year... here are 10 artists (in no order) you won't be able to ignore in 2008:

1) The Ting Tings
2) Vampire Weekend
3) No Age
4) White Williams
5) Kate Nash
6) Gotye
7) O'Death
8) DatA
9) Fuck Buttons
10) Jay Reatard

Hopefully I'll get a chance to post the rest before the end of the year, but if not...have a safe and happy holidays!

This machine kills...?

I work in the music industry because I support artists and their art. I work with their best interests in mind, and try to remain conscious of what other influences and pressures they are under in regards to their label, manager, agent...how much they have to tour, how many records they are contracted to sell...endorsements, radio play, merchandising - its all part of the mix.

Everyone knows labels are drowning under the weight of P2P file sharing, blogs dropping records eons before the release date - most people don't care...but the labels are scrambling, and have shat out something called a "360 deal". You may have heard about a big one recently.

The NY Times just wrote about it this week...obviously a self-conscious and subjective approach...but it lays out the groundwork.

Of course, Bob Lefetz has something to say about it...and how.

He's livid, and I'm...unsure. Don't get me wrong, I GET IT; I get why the labels are freaking out and why bands are desperate for a sense of security, for some feeling of accomplishment and career-building. I get where the concern for Artists lies - that's my camp...I can't help but feel this is bad news. Why is that? Your 2 cents, please?

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I leave you with something I've been loving this week - a band called The Mae Shi, and their track "Eat The Prize". Fitting, nes pas?

Have a good weekend, superfriends.

Ciao, friend.

Reese Rakleinsky 2003-2007

Reese, our good pal, the clever (yet ineffective) little mouser, the big eater, the cat that ruled, the infamous bitch, best friend to many (and enemy to some), passed away suddenly but quietly almost a week ago. She was the first cat I'd had in my life since Mebs, a black-and-white tabby I grew up with until I was about 10. I wasn't a cat person; dogs still rule the school in my mind - but Reese was different. All sass, no time for bullshit, she always made time for play, and she always made time to headbutt me.

In the photo above, she is nestled in what became her perch, atop a stack of boxes, suitcases and a lampshade, in the back of our car as we drove from Edmonton to Toronto a year ago. During that trip she almost killed us by crawling under the pedals and then jerking the wheel with her paw, sending us into oncoming traffic, when we dragged her out of there. She lived on her own terms. If she wanted to be where it was most inconvenient and dangerous for her to do so...common sense be damned, she was going to get what she wanted. Essentially, she was punk rock, and I loved her for it.

I'll miss you, cat.