Wednesday, December 16, 2009

As is the case every year, there were some trends in 2009's music releases. This is just a brief summary and not exhaustive, and should not substitute for the actual "best of" that might or might not be coming soon. Heed:

Released Their Best Album in 7-11 Years:

Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey & The Groo Grux King
Rancid - Let The Dominoes Fall
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm (even though 2007's Beyond was perfectly good)
Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

Always Great, but On Upswing in 2009:

Wilco - Wilco: The Album
Muse - The Resistance
Norah Jones - The Fall
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

Good, but Overrated:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orce
The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Somewhat Of A Let Down, But Still Solid:

The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Major Let Downs:

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
Brand New - Daisy
Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot

The Return of Good Metal:

Mastodon - Crack The Skye
Converge - Axe To Fall
Baroness - The Blue Album
Isis - The Wavering Radiant

Usually Prolific Bands with Nothing Conclusive to Show For 2009:
Okkervil River
My Morning Jacket
Ryan Adams
Radiohead
Iron & Wine

1 comment:

Patrick Copeland said...

That list is pretty awesome. However, I wouldn't even go as far as considering the Green Day album "solid." Sure, it has great production and is all nice and glossy, but man every song on that record is painful and such a let down. But, that's just one man's opinion.