Since we're about halfway through the year, I thought I'd take stock of the 2009 albums I've listened to so far. This is more a reference list than anything, I'll write a quick sentence but no extensive reviews or anything.
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast: solid, I generally like Andrew Bird, will keep.
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion: Amazing. The first 2009 album I listened to, and my favourite so far. Saw them in Montreal in May.
Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light: really like it. Beautiful arrangements.
Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan: only listened a couple times, not a huge fan, will give a couple more listens before deleting.
Bat For Lashes - Two Suns: great, probably in yearly top 10 so far. A couple of really really good tracks.
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle: pretty good, doesn't blow me away, but I'll keep it around.
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career: an interesting record, they have a unique sound and a wide variety of styles even within the album. A keeper.
Dan Deacon - Bromst: pretty sweet, and often pretty funny too. Seems like Dan Deacon is a cool guy, would love to see him live sometime. Probably in top 10.
Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King: I've heard it called DMB's best album, but I definitely disagree. DMB's become a little too adult contemporary or something. Carter Beauford still rocks out though.
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca: one of the most recent albums on my playlist, and the one I'm currently obsessed with. Probably the album with the most stunning moments, though not as consistent as some others. Contender for top 5.
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand: solid, a couple of great tracks, a keeper.
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest: so far, I haven't fallen in love, but there are 2 tracks that are probably in my top 10 songs of the year, so I can definitely see myself really liking this eventually.
Isis - Wavering Radiant: it's very rare for me to get into heavy metal (though it has happened before), so I don't fault these guys for their quick deletion.
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care: really like it. Saw Junior Boys in Ottawa in May (with Max Tundra), and they put on a great show - the duo adds a drummer for their live show, which is an excellent decision.
Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum: listening for first time right now, not particularly enamored. (wait, did he just say "the loonie's on the rise"? I thought these guys were British.)
The Lonely Island - Incredibad: amazing, though obviously in a category of its own.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: meh. It's good enough I've kept it around for a few months, but after a couple more listens I might get bored, candidate for deletion.
Passion Pit - Manners: in the early stages of my listening, but very solid so far.
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: another one I've only listened to a couple times, and I didn't really like it the first time, but it's grown a bit since then. Probably not top 10 material but maybe a keeper.
St. Vincent - Actor: awesome. Top 5 contender.
Wavves - Wavvves: I'm just not a fan of the lo-fi. Deleted. The whole Wavves blowing up at that music festival in Spain thing was hilarious though.
Woods - Songs of Shame: only 1 or 2 listens, wasn't blown away.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!: pretty solid, probably top 10 but not top 5 contender. 'Zero' is one of my favourite tracks of the year, and 'Runaway' is up there as well. Really looking forward to seeing them at Bluesfest.
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