Anteater

No offense, but the fact that so many of you can only talk about Animal Collective at this point is getting kinda meh. There has been quite the variety of great releases, a couple of major standouts even, from jazz to black metal to punk to prog. to friggin' chiptune this year, but most of its not gonna get one nickel's worth a mention cause none of you have the balls to listen to anything outside of Indie or Post-whatever circles.

Also, if nobody is going to bother posting another favorite album, this thread might as well be closed...so lets see some cool 2009 records! :P

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Fruitonica

2009 hasn't been a great year for me yet, but I haven't really kept up with what was being released. Now that every site under the sun is doing end of year round ups I'll have some more to look into.

At the moment my favourite album would be split between Eskimo Snow and Dark Night of the Soul.

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN

oh god no - just think of what you could've been doing with those few hours instead.

Antonio

Favorites this Year (no real order, as well as favorite song(s) on the album)


Mastodon~Crack The Skye (The Last Baron; The Czar; Oblivion)
http://www.dryvetymeonlyne.com/wp-co...k-The-Skye.jpg
-From the first listen back earlier this year i knew this'd be an album on a list like this. from not only the band's musical evolution, but also the riffs, overarching story and overall feel of the album, this is one cd that is a landmark for me this year.

Dysrhytmia~Psychic Maps (Triangular Stare; Iron Cathedral; Festival of Popular Delusions)
http://black-legion-shop.de/catalog/...s%20-%20CD.jpg
-one of my favorite instrumental groups have found a way to combine their original post rock meets hardcore punk sound with their last record which upped the technical meter to insane heights. what you have is a cd that both bleeds precision and emotion, all while being kept in a nice little package. no song on here seems unnecessary and it really shows the band perfecting their craft.

Atmosphere~LEAK AT WILL (White Noise; CMON)
http://nahright.com/news/wp-content/...will-front.jpg
-I will go as far as to say that this is my favorite Atmosphere record, the beats and lyrics are at their peak here, imo, and to be honest, i love that it's so short. for me this insures higher replay value without getting burned out, if that makes sense.

Busdriver~Jhelli Beam (Manchuria; Scoliosis Jones; Fishy Face)
http://betterpropaganda.com/images/a...driver_480.jpg
-even when he's not at the top of his game Busdriver still finds a way to make some pretty interesting music. the beats can be both lumbering and graceful, with his ironic and abstract wordplay balancing it all out. while not a perfect record by any means, it still kicks the crap out of alot that is released today.

Andrew Jackson Jihad~Can't Maintain (Sense, Sensibility; You Don't Deserve Yourself; We Didn't Come Here To Rock; Truckers Are The Blood)
http://www.eateggs.com/photos/misc/cantmaintain.jpg
-the first AJJ album i heard really left an impression on me. the bitingly painful yet strangely funny lyrics support it's down to earth, rough around the edges guitar and upright bass combo. really a folk punk band that any fan of folk or punk would love. at least imo.

Death~For the Whole World to See (Keep On Knocking; You're A Prisoner) [yeah i know it was made in the 70s but it was released this year]
http://weru.org/images/death_forthew...dtosee_001.jpg
-This record, released by Drag City records, has really blown me away with what a proto-punk band is capable of. originally an R&B band, these guys switched over to rock after an Alice Cooper show. their musical ability really shone for me and back at a time where musicianship was not the style it felt good to know that there were still groups who gave a damn about it. if you're a fan of both classic and proto punk, this cd is for you.

M.Ward~Hold Time (For Beginners; Jailbird; Fisher of Men)
http://wersmusic.files.wordpress.com..._time-art1.jpg
-i found that this cd had both a good balance between digital and analog sound. while many of the tracks have great acoustic guitar, they are supplemented by more digital sounds, giving a well rounded sound and an overall lovely piece. i really dig Matt's singing, both gentle and grainy, as well as his simple yet effective melodies.

k-os~Yes! (WhipC.R.E.A.M; Burning Bridges; I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman)
http://www.thebestpartsofsongs.com/w...s-yes-2009.jpg
-this was actually a cd i got pretty recently, and now i'm kicking myself for not getting it earlier. i can't really put my finger on it, it may be the beats or sung parts mixed with hip hop, but something about it intrgues me and makes me want to go back for more.

Echo Nine~Too Many Hours (Precusor; Travel In Sixes; Stutter Freeze; Mute Grey Nothing)
-not many people may know who this is, but they should. this record i obtained on another messageboard earlier this year and has become one of my favorite electronic albums. recorded in a little over 7 days, it was part of a challenge to be able to create an album in less than a week. while creator Damien Clarke went two days over the limit, his loss is our gain with this cd. it's glitchy sounds are well placed and never uneccessary, really being part of the songs without being too much. the melodies and beats are catchy and at the same time well crafted. if this intrigues you, a free download from the artist is available on their last fm page. Echo Nine – Discover music, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm

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adidasss

Offense taken.
"We're" talking about a lot of different releases, but this thread is supposed to be about our favorite album, as in - singular. I can list plenty of other albums that I really liked this year, and probably have in one of the many threads dedicated to the topic, from a variety of different genres.

Now, I don't particularly care for any of the genres you've mentioned and am old enough to know my musical preferences by now. So if I choose not to listen to a particularly lauded death metal album, it's not that I'm narrow minded (or lack the balls to listen to it), it's that there's no chance whatsoever I'm gonna like listening to a bunch of Norwegians screaming about their love for Satan. It just ain't my thang.

So, I don't mind it if people don't listen to every goddamn album put out this year by an asshole with a studio in his basement, there just isn't enough time. But I would mind it if someone refused to listen to an album PURELY because of the praise it's been getting, even though they don't appear to have any hangups about listening to other albums of similar genres. That's silly and childish. But in Alfred's defense, he is like 12 or something.

FYI, I think Animal Collective and Grizzly bear have put out a masterpiece this year and deserve all the praise they're getting, haterz be damned.

And yes, I really think there are plenty of people on this forum who tend to automatically think less of an album purely because of all the critical acclaim it's been getting. Lame but true. :/

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“Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle.

Last.fm

Gavin B.

There were a lot of good albums in 2009 but I don't think I heard any great ones. No single album really connected with me like Fleet Foxes did in 2008 or M.I.A did in 2007.

That great 2009 album may still be out there and I haven't heard it yet. The oft mentioned Grizzly Bear was was an excellent album. I also thought the debut albums by XX and Cold Cave were impressive.

Alfred

Wow, nice literacy skills. Point out where I said I wouldn't listen to an album PURELY because it got praise. In fact, I'm even more inclined to listen to an album if it gets praise. But when the praise comes from the indie community, all I can do is shrug. I honestly can't hear the difference in quality from an album Pitchfork rates a 4 and an album they rate a 9.

Why indie albums have this sort of unadmitted importance among critics and music fans over albums from say, black metal or hardcore punk is beyond me.

Oh, and my fifteenth birthday is in January.

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ElephantSack

I haven't heard nearly enough of this CD yet. What I have heard, though has convinced me that these guys are continuing to get better and better.

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OF THE SUN

adidasss

The praise is pretty much universal. Merriweather Post Pavilion reviews at Metacritic.com Veckatimest reviews at Metacritic.com
Oh, my bad.

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“Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle.

Last.fm

Alfred

Some other great albums this year...

Brand New "Daisy"

I had never heard a Brand New album before this one, but I must say, when I heard it I was blown away. At one moment they're at a mellow ballad state, at the next they pack in tons of garage rock fury with full-on screaming and raging guitars. Reminded me a lot of Cursive, and that is no bad thing. My number two favorite album of this year.

Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster III

Maylene expands their reportoire on this album by throwing in some new sounds that I heaven't heard from them before. On top of that, they have made their most consistantly thrilling album yet. While they still haven't topped "Darkest Of Kin" in the song department, there's a ton of memorable numbers here.

Every Time I Die "New Junk Aesthetic"

With New Junk Aesthetic, Every Time I Die found the sound that suits them best. It's a perfect balance between the raw, sharp screamfests of their first album and the southern fried punk rock of Gutter Phenomenon and The Big Dirty. The sound is always powerful, always captivating, and the lyrics are as amusing and over-the-top as they've ever been.

Matisyahu "Light"

While it's not as solid as Youth, this could be arguably Matisyahu's most interesting album. Yes, it's poppy as hell, but his hooks are quality and he drifts away from reggae a bit more this time, often going into full-on rock and hip hop. I don't like the more commercial feel, but the amount of catchy songs here is the perfect distraction.

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