Matty's Top 10 Albums of 2009

10. Apostle Of Hustle - Eats Darkness

On a very small and quiet release, this album seems to have

stirred up spicy latin explosions of AOH fame but with a new,

lean & stripped down twist - the once threesome is now

only a duo of Andrew and Dean. By no means their best work,

it is still an ultra-creative & hyper-original achievement that

says something about the state we live in. In an interview

where I asked Andrew about the album, he stated 'We eat

darkness - and we shit out the light'.

9. Amy Millan - Masters Of Burial

Complete with her usual honey-drip vocal stylings and ever

simple but unique instrumentation, Amy has made a solo

record that rivals her first (Honey From The Tombs), for

which, her listeners have waited a good many years. With

the funkily organ-accented 'Towers' that talks about the

din of big cities and the finally released, banjo-infused

cover of DCFC's 'Into The Dark', this album is pure

afternoon pleasure. This album is as delightful as Amy,

herself, is in person as I interviewed her at the Ottawa

folkfest and then pounded fists with her backstage after

she name-dropped me during the show.

8. Joel Plaskett - Three

It goes without saying that sir Joel would make this list and

for the month of May, I listened to this album on repeat on

my walks to and from the Glebe. From the bowels of Joel's

tape-purist home studio comes an album that really demands

listening from all styles of music fans. The album implements

so many ranges of genres from pure rock to metal to folk

to even...rap! Yes - Joel can bust a rhyme on time. Herding

New Yorker Anna Egge and Canadian folker Rose Cousins

into the fray of the work gives it an accent that will make it

stand out in the annals of time. From opening for Paul

McCartney to spending time with little old me after a

Kingston show at the toucan, Joel is as pure and normal

of a guy as you can get with a knack for making treasure.

7. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Although the shrink-wrapped compression of the music is so

tight that it's almost difficult to breathe while listening, this

is a pretty freaking great album. After pulling a 'Who is THIS?'

to pretty much all of North America with the first two singles,

the France-oriented, Thomas Mars-led crew is taking over.

With a vocal style that is all his own , the pop-sensibility and

implosive instrumentation of the songs leave you feeling

like you would after a sugar rush - crashed but belly-grabbing

and satisfied.

6. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

For as many critical knocks as this album took, I still stand by

my word and say it's as awesome as a possum. Tweedy's grand

gestures and ability to shake off fame as quickly as he can

muster it is inspiring. Complete with a visit from Lady Feist

on the folky, middle-road 'You and I' to swirling cacaphonic

feedback like only Wilco can channel on 'Wilco (The Song)', this

is as good as it gets when it comes to bands making music

however the hell they want, while poking fun at themselves

and not caring what the media thinks.

5. Grady - Good As Dead

Although this album wasn't a heavy rotator of mine this past

year, Grady gets their own category of 'nuff respect'. In an

interview with Gordie Johnson this past year, he referred to

feedback from his amp as 'the voice of God'. Seriously - Gordie

kicks arse and takes names. The Southern-rockabilly/shredneck

stylings of this album (complete with Willie Nelson telling

a joke before a song and a cover of the Tragically Hip's 'Boots

Or Hearts') are mind-bendingly thunderous and give you

a sound you've heard before but with a guitar-gusto that

makes your soul soar. He did it once for the fame with Big

Sugar - now he's doing it for the love with Grady.

4. Dinosaur Jr - Farm

There is no living artist today who can continue to do what

DJR have done and the way that they do it. J Mascis (in a

glorious re-unification with Lou Barlow) has brought a

new life and resurgent charm to an old band. Oddly enough,

this was one of the most praised albums on pitchfork this

year. J still sounds the same as he did in 1994 when I first

heard his magic sounds in my earphones in the basement

of bell high. There is freshness, plenty of guitar squeals

with folky undertone reflection and familiarity in this

double disc masterpiece - and I just got it 4 days ago!

3. Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs

This # 3 is almost a little too sly for my liking but I still

can't deny the fact that the highly poster-ized Hey Rosetta!

made a kick ass album (thanks in large part to their

producer - Mister Hawksley Workman). From the first

time I heard 'New Goodbye' turn from a quiet hatchling

into a loud, flapping bird of sound, I knew there was a

youth and a depth to these songs that rivals a lot of crap that

is out there today. When seeing them live briefly at the

Horseshoe this year, I wasn't disappointed with the

snippets I heard. Great concept - great album. Nuff said.

2. Metric - Fantasies

Everybody, everybody - fall in love...with Metric. There's not

much I can say except that every song on this album is a well-

crafted sonic boom of rock significance. Haines and crew

seem to get better with every album and it would be an

astonishing feat of unearthly measure if they went up from

here.

1. David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

Oh, Bazan - you sneaky weasel. You know how to steal my

listening heart. Sorry - just had to get that out, there...

As if moving from Pedro The Lion to an even more stripped

down solo career wasn't enough of a rash change, Bazan still

knows how to write conceptually and deliver in a way that

no one else can. CYB is an album that explores the guts of

the human condition with an honesty and a normalcy that is

impossible to find elsewhere. Songs like 'Bless This Mess'

will have you pumping your fist in agreement but looking

inward at the same time. Bazan knows how to make people

bob their heads in listening enjoyment and think deeply at

the same time.