Our Top 5 Albums of 2009!

Dr. Dave's Top 5 Albums of 2009 and why he is right:


5. Declaration of Dependence by The Kings of Convenience
This Norwegian duo is so fucking cool and smooth, they make me want to become gay and sex up their voices. Now neither of those are possible because I am the paradigm of manliness, but it is a testament to their Scandinavian suave-ness. This is the kind of album you put on to seduce a hot nerdy chick who is hott (note the double T) but doesn't know it. Try it sometime. Totally effective.


4. To Have & To Hold by The Glowfriends
I wont lie, I have been totally in love with the Glowfriends (and their singer April) since I first heard them at the Kalamashoegazer 3 show earlier in 2009. This album is slow and melodic and tugs at the ol heart strings. Being that we work at a radio station, it is quite a feat to get on to my top 5 albums of the year list. Not only are they local but they kick ass!


3. In Deference to a Broken Back by The Daredevil Christopher Wright
The WIDR music director, Jers turned me on to The Daredevil Christopher Wright while we were booking this year's Barking Tuna Fest. I couldnt stop listening to this album for months, it was so good!



2. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
This is a fucking catchy album from a bunch of French dudes. It came out of left field, blew up, went to MTV, then car commercials, and now I am embarrassed to love this album. Damn it Phoenix! Your album is just too fucking good!


1. The Ruminant Band by The Fruit Bats
This is my sleeper hit album of the year! Michigan born Fruit Bats brought a happy, poppy, and light album with The Ruminant Band. Though the whole album is great, my favorite track by far is "Singing Joy to the World" (track 8 if you were curious). These fellas reside in Chicago now, but if you get a chance to see them, do it. Even better, bring your significant other. Then bang them.



Honorable mentions: Wilco (the Album) by Wilco, Grrr... by Bishop Allen, and Run Rabbit Run by Osso & Sufjan Stevens

Ghostdog's Five and Why He's Right


5. Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic
Here We Go Magic's debut album is a kind of lo-fi alternative-folk-electronica that never stops haunting. And that's about as good as I can describe it. What I can say is that it's consistently fascinating, and that each song is like losing yourself in a great maze. This is how I imagine Grizzly Bear or Animal Collective sounding if either band matched their hype.


4. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
Phoenix is catchy. Hopelessly catchy. And it's a true testament to their new album's powers that, after countless listens since getting the album in the summer, it hasn't lost it's edge and it still sounds good. It's great for cheering you up in the morning, for getting a party started, for having an indie-romance--it's music of a thousand uses! It's the Shamwow of albums!


3. The Ruminant Band - Fruit Bats
Sure, with the Fruit Bats toplining Barking Tuna last year, we may be a bit biased in praising their album. But fuck it, this is some great shit. And you can't argue with an album that gives out morsels of wisdom like, "You'll always have smokes if you always give buckets of love."


2. Actor - St. Vincent
It took me a month's worth of listens to truly appreciate the genius of Annie Clark's second album. It's wonderfully weird, beautifully jarring, and altogether fucked-up-in-the-best-ways-possible. This is music that's equal parts challenging and entertaining; a great mixture of the whimsical and the dark, the likes of which haven't been seen since the fucked up boat ride in "Willy Wonka."


1. Dark Night of the Soul - Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
But no album this year was quite like the internet exclusive all-star extravaganza from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse. It's like Tom Waits' makeshift circus is here and it's only open at 2am on the shady side of town--it's dark and delirious but a shit load of fun. Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Blank Francis, Iggy Pop--there's something for everybody. It also makes lesser musicians (Julian Casablanca of the Strokes) sound inexplicably good, and any CD with two tracks from David Lynch deserves a special place on my mantle.


Honorable Mentions: Romanian Names - John Vanderslice, Wilco (the Album) - Wilco, Grr... - Bishop Allen, The Hopeful and the Unafraid - Jason Anderson, In Deference to a Broken Back - The Daredevil Christopher Wright, A Strange Arrangement - Mayer Hawthorne, Popular Songs - Yo La Tengo, Dark Was the Night - Various Artists.