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.

Let's Pretend It's Friday Five

A few tracks I've been listening to lately:

Bibio's album Ambivalence Avenue is one of my summer favourites. Remember Badly Drawn Boy? This track is like that, but better.

Bibio - Lovers Carvings

Slow Club's much-anticipated album Yeah, So was released on Moshi Moshi earlier this month. It's really good.

Slow Club - Trophy Room

Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig finally teams up with Esau Mwamwaya for his project The Very Best - how amazing is this album going to be?

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa

You can take the boy out of Canada but you can't take Canadiana out of the boy. I'm a huge fan of the Tragically Hip's more recent work; it seems they've really hit their stride since In Violet Light and new album We Are The Same is incredible.

The Tragically Hip - The Last Recluse

You'd be forgiven for assuming that three white Australian dudes would create god-awful hip hop. Hilltop Hoods are happy to prove everyone wrong. State of the Art was released last month and it's actually very, very good.

Hilltop Hoods - Still Standing

Too Many Y's

Lymbyc Systym - Birds (zShare)
Lymbyc Systym - Truth Skull

Lymbyc Systym's debut full-length, Love Your Abuser, is out now on Mush Records. Despite the vaguely sadomasochistic implications of the title, these instrumentals are richly textured, tempo shifting pop. Particularly on "Birds," we find swelling percussion sections breathing life into simple keyboard melodies, creating songs that bloom and recede with seamless precision. If you like what you hear, Montreal's Hylozoists are making similarly serene instrumentals.

Hylozoists - Strait is the Gate

Also on Mush, a personal favorite track of mine:

Bibio - Zoopraxiphone

-Brad