a.m.p.m.'s Best of 2009

Like Marc, my initial 'best of' playlist for 2009 was big enough for two albums (and then some). After painstakingly cutting selections to narrow it down to a sub-80 minute collection, here's what I came up with. I think it works pretty well in the order presented, but that's just personal taste. Click on the artist for the MySpace page, the track name for the mp3.

1. jj - things will never be the same again

2. Japandroids - Sovereignty

3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction

4. Wild Beasts - This Is Our Lot

5. Lightning Dust - Wondering What Everyone Knows

6. Bibio - Lovers Carvings

7. Mew - Beach

8. St. Vincent - The Strangers

9. Julian Casablancas - Glass

10. The xx - Crystalised

11. The Very Best - Kamphopo

12. Girls - Lust For Life

13. The Antlers - Sylvia

14. Mos Def - Priority

15. Animal Collective - My Girls

16. Fever Ray - Seven

17. The Cribs - Cheat On Me

18. Grizzly Bear - While You Wait for the Others

19. Phoenix - Armistice

20. Handsome Furs - Radio Kaliningrad

21. The Rural Alberta Advantage - In the Summertime

Grab the whole thing here as a zip file.

I'll post the runners-up as a separate mix shortly.

Marc.E.B.'s Healthy Serving of 2009

I've been tracking my favourite songs all year and I literally had a enough to fit two albums worth. This got me thinking that next year I may produce a multi-volume "best of". As with everything in life, music is best in moderation. So, I forced myself to ration my servings of this year's best tracks.

I agree with G.R.O. that this year left no shortage of quality tracks and I hope that you enjoy some of my faves.

Enjoy!

A Healthy Serving of 2009 (Download here)

Settler - Balmorhea
Havin' My Baby - Think About Life
You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II) - Sunset Rubdown
It's Thunder and It's Lightning - We Were Promised Jetpacks
Dust - Crystal Antlers
Swim (To Reach the End) - Surfer Blood
Pretty Girl - White Wires
Lust for Life - Girls

Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin' - Mayer Hawthorne
Heartbreaker - MSTRKRFT
Ghosts - Silver Starling

Tender Torture - Islands
Armistice - Phoenix
Drain the Blood - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Radio Kaliningrad - Handsome Furs
Lowiza - The Lovely Feathers
Serious Bedtime - The Balconies

Music for Distracted Drivers Everywhere

As seen in Poole Park, Dorset.

First post in a while, I've been globetrotting since mid January. Saw Handsome Furs in Frankfurt, Soulwax's 2 Many DJs in Manchester, dreadful Chicks on Speed set at Fabric in London, and some South Indian men playing traditional song to hippies and yuppies alike on the beaches of the Arabian Sea. Neato.

Here are some songs that have had more play riding the rails in India and Europe. They won't do shit for your parking ability.

Black Lips feat. GZA - The Drop I Hold
Glasser - Glad (Dolorean Remix)
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
Phosphorescent - Wolves
Damn Arms - Destination Pt. II
Lower Heaven - Knife
Simian Mobile Disco feat. Chris Keating (Yeasayer) - Audacity of Huge
(Amazingly random lyrics - Bill Murray and Peter Tosh namechecked??)

-brad

New Music Monday: Black Hat Brigade

Don't know how many of you own the first EP release from Black Hat Brigade, but it's well worth your coin.  I had the pleasure of seeing this very talented group open for the Handsome Furs a couple weeks back and I was impressed.  Energetic and on point, these guys have knotted some tight tracks.

Got my hands on some exclusive tracks from the upcoming Fathers EP as well as a great acoustic version of "Zombie City Shake".  The boys are using the sampler as a way to raise money to finance the release of the EP.  You can contribute here, $5 gets you a sampler and a thank you in the liner notes, $10 gets you the sampler and a pre-order copy of the EP.  Help these good-looking boys out!

Black Hat Brigade - Zombie City Shake

Black Hat Brigade - Zombies (Basement Session)

Friday Five

Here are some tracks rocking my world.

Yeasayer - Tightrope

Yeasayer is such a great band and this track come from the solid compilation Dark Was the Night.  The album was put together in support of the Red Hot Foundation which is an AIDS-related charity.  Great cause and I'm psyched to hear something new from these Brooklyn boys.

Crystal Antlers - A Thousand Eyes

Crystal Antlers' 2008 EP is on regular rotation on my Zune, but this track is huge!  Also anticipating the release of full-length release Tentacles.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Contender

Such feel good music.  The Pains... reminds me of the first time I heard Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks".  I immediately wanted to sing along.

Handsome Furs - I'm Confused

Handsome Furs kinda sounds like Wolf Parade, for obvious reasons, but substitute the prominent keys for sampling.  Really loving the new album Face Control.  Sheer danceable rock music.  If you have a chance to see this group live, DO IT.  Last night I saw them here in Ottawa and it was one of the most energized shows I've seen in a while.

Coeur de Pirate - Le Long du Large

She's Quebec's answer to Adele.  I know she was featured on Perez Hilton and Coeur de Pirate is not for everyone, but I love the feel-good vibe and her voice is cute as hell!

Have a great weekend ladies and gents!

Friday Five

Trying to maintain some order, here are five dope tracks that are on high rotation at the moment.

North America South America (aka N.A.S.A.) are just two guys: a DJ and a skateboarder but they have tonnes of great hook-ups. Like how the one guy is Spike Jonze's brother. And how they have some of the most insane guest features on their forthcoming debut, The Spirit of Apollo.

N.A.S.A. feat. Kanye West, Lykke Li and Santogold - Gifted

It's way to early to call any new album 'Record of the Year', but I'll be damned if this isn't one of Animal Collective's best songs to date.

Animal Collective - My Girls

Baltimore's mad scientist of batshit electronic music, Dan Deacon, has his second full-length set to drop in March. "Get Older" the closer to his forthcoming Bromst, takes it's time to build up to his recognizable layered beats. You might even call it an epic soundscape.

Dan Deacon - Get Older

I don't have cable television, so I miss out on what's being killed over and over again through commericals and Top 40 nonsense. Then I went home at Christmas to find everyone and their mother keeping this one on steady rotation.

Passion Pit - Sleepy Head

Handsome Furs, the husband-wife duo of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, return with their sophomore disc, Face Control, in March. This first track reminds me of Apologies...-era Wolf Parade but without so much going on.

Handsome Furs - I'm Confused

Stay fly.

New Wolf Parade Album Imminent; Live Versions of New Tracks Surface

It's been way too long since the last Wolf Parade album. Sure, member side-projects Handsome Furs, Sunset Rubdown, Johnny and the Moon and Swan Lake have all produced wicked awesome albums in the interim, but it's been some two and a half years since the band's brilliant debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary was released.

And now the wait is almost over. Dan Boeckner has confirmed that recording for the new album, speculatively titled Pardon My Blues, is all wrapped up and it's slated for release in March or April. Better yet, I managed to get my hands on live versions of tracks from said new album recorded at Wolf Parade's performance at L.A.'s El Rey theatre back in September. I've included a few below, but you can still grab the entire set here thanks to rewriteable content. And best of all, an unofficial live album of unreleased material from various other shows was made available by Snakes Got A Blog last week. Get that here.

For those seeking official releases, the band collaborated with Oakland hip-hop group Subtle on a track for their Yell & Ice album last October and it's a great stop-gap for any Wolf Parade enthusiast.

Subtle with Wolf Parade - Middle Class Haunt
Wolf Parade - Telephone (live)
Wolf Parade - Radio Song (live)

- a.m.p.m.

Shut Up I Was Dreaming

When I first heard of Spencer Krug's other band (not Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes or superstar project Swan Lake), Sunset Rubdown, I merely expected it fill the gap until Wolf Parade's next release - however, that was almost two years ago. Sunset Rubdown released one of my favourite albums of 2006 with Shut Up I Am Dreaming and are poised to do it again with Random Spirit Lover, this October. Their sound is a touch more subdued but at the same time heaps more manic than Wolf Parade, accredited largely to Krug's contrasting songwriting and singing styles. I've always thought that a lot of Wolf Parade's rocking out came in the songs by other singer, Dan Boeckner - who shows his other side musically through minimalism in the Handsome Furs.

Despite great live reviews, I've yet to see Sunset Rubdown on stage, however reports show them touring this October with a stop in Victoria, BC - my new home as of the middle of September - so I recommend all to check them out. Random Spirit Lover is out October 9 on Jagjaguwar. Here are two of my favourite tracks off the recently leaked album - but it's unquestionably buy-worthy in this critic's opinion. These show off both the urgency and melancholy moods Krug has succeeded in creating with this band. Enjoy.

Sunset Rubdown - The Mending of the Gown

Sunset Rubdown - For The Pier (And Dead Shimmering)

-A.W.

June Tunes

Summer's almost here, again. It feels like I was just saying that at the end of April, but now I'm saying it again about the summer course on Bollywood cinema I'm taking for two and a half more weeks. That combined with a bi-weekly commute to the camp I work at make for a lot of traveling and iPod charging.

Here are some tracks that have been in high rotation recently:

Kanye West - Stronger (feat. Daft Punk)

Justice - Phantom Pt. 2

The New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours
Handsome Furs - Dead+Rural
LCD Soundsystem - No Love Lost (Joy Division cover)
- LCD was solid-sounding live and played most of Sound of Silver along with a couple older tracks, like Movement, Yeah and Daft Punk (obviously).
Feist - Sea Lion Woman
Arcade Fire - Antichrist Television Blues
- I agree with Bowie that these guys are the best band in the world. I had a brutal seat but it was so worth it.

-Andrew W.