When I woke up and read this morning that a character on Nicci’s favorite TV show had a sex tape leaked, I immediately assumed it was those two dudes who are totally gay for each other. As it turns out, it’s one of the ugly chicks in the cast giving an ex-boyfriend a “footjob”. Shit, even in real life the cast of Gossip Girl sucks. Oh well. One of these days evidence will arise which will once and for all shut Nicci up whenever I interrupt her TV watching with quips like, “Those dudes are totally gay!”.
Can you believe the 6th month of the year is almost half-over already? I don’t mean to make you think, “Jesus Christ, what have I done with myself this year?” or anything, but it’s already half-over as of this week. It’s high-time I start gathering all my promotional mailings and new album purchases in order to finger out (of a stereophonic vagina!) which are the best of the year so far. I think I’ve done this top ten each year I’ve maintained the blog, and usually it is a pretty good indication of what will be in the running for record of the year when I re-approach this list in December. So, without further ado, here is how 2009 has sound after 170 days.
The Top Ten Records Of 2009 (January – June)
Honorable Mention: Abner Jay – True Story Of Abner Jay – This isn’t a new recording, but a compilation of some amazing songs performed by one of the last minstrel showmen, a true one-man band. Abner Jay would play a six-string banjo, bass drum, harmonica, and sing some incredibly soulful, sometimes downright haunting blues numbers. “I’m So Depressed” still gives me the chills each time I hear it. (Mississippi Records)
10. Wolves In The Throne Room – Black Cascade – The best black metal band in America, and one of the only black metal bands worldwide I can actually listen to and enjoy. Their ability to meld standard rock music with ambient flourishes and pure black metal goodness (super-distortion, hyper-speed chug-a-lugging). If more bands in other genres were as innovative as Wolve In The Throne Room are with the black metal style, we would all be better off. (Southern Lord) [Listen: “Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog”]
09. Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country – Fresh off an otherworldly collaboration with Aidan Baker in 2008, Tim Hecker released his first full-length since 2006 earlier this year, and it is one of the most gorgeous, sonically intriguing records of the year. All the beautiful sun-dappled, shimmering moments that make his previous releases so Goddamned great somehow sound even better here. There is an added strength to this release that catapults it beyond his earlier work. “Where Shadows Make Shadows” is one of those tracks that demands to be heard multiple times, and studied to truly unlock all its intricate, blissful qualities. (Kranky) [Listen: “100 Years Ago”]
08. LSD March – Under Milk Wood – The “soft” period has pretty much ended for LSD March. Shinsuke Michishita has stepped away from the Empty Rubious Red rubric of gentle emotional ballads and returned to a somewhat-more…Les Rallizes Denudes formula of rock. “Dare Ga Noeru” rocks, and the 7-minute plus “Kimi No Uta Wo Kiite Boku Wa Akuma Ni Natta” corrodes until there is almost nothing left, then bursts into some heavy, heavy shit. (Important)
07. Bong – Bong – Ian told me all about Bong, and now I’m a believer. This is stoner rock for the most serious of stoner rock fans. Use of sitar played with a contact microphone through a Marshall amp gives it some kind of “what the fuck?” weird bonus points. Two side-long tracks, just the way all sludgy, doomy, slow-burning rock should sound. It doesn’t hurt that I felt pangs of nostalgia when I read about how they would set up a bong in the middle of the room during rehearsals and recording sessions. Ah, memories of life in New Jersey… (Heidenwut Productions)
06. Ilyas Ahmed – Goner – Ilyas Ahmed, he of the dreamy acoustic ambient folks records has turned “rock” on us. The uzzed out guitars and heavy delayed vocals of “Earn Your Blood” introduce us to this…new incarnation of Mr. Ahmed. The garage-y parts sound like a John Dwyer record (OCS, The Oh Sees), but the softer parts sound like…fuck, I don’t even know. It’s just really, really good. (Root Strata) [Listen “Earn Your Blood”]
05. Aidan Baker – Gathering Blue – Trying to keep up with Aidan Baker releases is like trying to keep up with, uh…something that is constantly changing or evolving. I didn’t even know he had a new double LP available until I was flipping through the new arrivals at a record store and stumbled across it. If something can sound both like it’s 20,000 leagues under the sea and 50,000 lightyears from home, it would be this record. Which I guess means it sounds like most other Aidan Baker records, but they’re all so good it doesn’t even matter. (Equation)
04. Expo ’70 – Night Flights – Somehow I went over a year without listening to a new release by Justin Wright, aka Expo ’70. The last one I heard was either Animism or Mystical Amplification. So when I saw this one, limited to 300 vinyl-only copies, I had to pick it up. Side A is very stark, as in it would sound great juxtapose to Keir Dullea floating in outer space. Side B is a different story: drum machines, glitches and other electronic elements set against Wright’s sad guitar parts, and then more black mantric swaths of noise. I’m back on the Expo ’70 bandwagon. (Fedora Corpse)
03. William Fowler Collins – Perdition Hill Radio – I expressed my own thoughts about this one yesterday, and I believe this is going to prove to be one of the most important experimental records of the year. The one-sheets call it “black ambient,” a cross between blown-out metal and deeply resonant beautiful noise. I don’t know of any regional artist that more adeptly captures their surroundings than Collins. I want it to be the soundtrack to every road trip I ever take. (Type) [Stream: “Dark Country Road”]
02. Starving Weirdos – Into An Energy – Since seeing them in ’07 after the release of Shrine Of The Post-Hypnotic I have patiently been waiting for a proper follow-up. Blue Herons was fine, but Into An Energy is an entirely different monster. This is the Starving Weirdos I love. A million different sounds competing for space and not sounding like total shit? Sign me up. “Pagan Ritual” will expand your mind without the use of psychedelic drugs. The epic nineteen-minute closer, “Ocean Seal Concentration” is a near-perfect conclusion to a near-perfect record. (Bo-weavil Recordings) [Listen: “Pagan Unity Ritual”]
01. Emeralds – Allegory Of Allergies / What Happened – Like White Hills before them in 2007, Emeralds have gone and released two unbelievable albums in a span of six months. What Happened (No Fun Productions) is like a continuation of 2008’s amazing Solar Bridge, with its improvisations for guitar, Moog and Korg. Like I keep saying, it’s Kosmiche Kuriere-era Klaus Schuzle but more intense. Allegory Of Allergies (Weird Forest) is for the extended drones, some soft and wispy and others buzzy and fuzzed out, like a prettier, listenable version of Wolf Eyes. It’s going to be super hard to dethrone this one-two punch as album(s) of the year. [Listen: “Alive In The Sea Of Information”]
