1. "I Can't Be True"- The Ettes
This song is a perfect foil for the Stones' "Satisfaction" because it takes on female sexuality with the same prowling bravado (and semi-coy lyrics) that Mick Jagger had in 1964. Lindsay Hames' fiery vocals are what put the Ettes lightyears ahead of other fuzzed-out Nuggets disciples like Thee Oh Sees and King Khan's Shrines. Lyrically and musically the Ettes have captured the essence of rock and roll in one two minute gem. Hooray!
2."Stillness is the Move"- Dirty Projectors
The vocals on this song are immaculate, and the pseudo-R&B backing make this glorious... with a bullet! Dirty Projectors' ability to consistently find talents like Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian must only be testament to Dave Longstreth's flawless songwriting. Still not sure why there are llamas in the video though...
3."My Girls"- Animal Collective
Glitch, glitch, glitch, glory... the only album that comes to mind when comparing this record to others is Brian Wilson's "Smile" but even Beach Boy #1's unreleased sunny LSD/chamber pop mélange couldn't top this record's potent salvia/synthesizer cocktail. More than just music to moog by, Animal Collective again unleashes something that can't help but seem slightly spiritual.
4."Crying Lightning"- Arctic Monkeys
Shapeshifting guitar lines that seem more at home in the Mojave desert where they were recorded than New York or London... Alex Turner's best lyrics to date... avoiding the adjective "clever" is almost impossible, but at risk of sounding trite, is it possible that each album is indeed more "clever" than the next? Apparently so.
5."The Lisbon Maru"- Fuck Buttons
The ability to make nine minute songs that are not only listenable, but continue to be interesting after repeated spins is a gift whose absence sounded the death knell for prog in the mid 70's, but whose presence has made Fuck Buttons one of the best groups of the last few years.
6."Walkabout"- Atlas Sound
A brilliant sample of The Dovers' "What Am I Going to Do?" and Noah Lennox not inconsiderable contributions make this track Bradford Cox's best work by far. A brilliant counter melody replaces The Dovers' chromatic croon and makes this a shoegazers' delight. Yum.
7."Two Weeks"- Grizzly Bear
Perhaps the quintessential "indie rock" song of the year from perhaps the hippest group of 2009, replete with violently awkward video, slow over eq-ed piano, and lots of vocal harmonies, wowie zowie. Wowie. Zowie.
8."The Strangers"- St. Vincent
Probably the most innovative music ever to emerge from the Sooner State, Annie Clark's latest creation is a vocal delight nearly on the same level as "Bitte Orca", however with woodwind arpeggios, electronic beats, and Annie's sputtering guitar work it has a texture all its own.
9."I'm In Love With A Ripper"- Yacht
With "guilty pleasure" written all over it, Yacht sails straight for the land of vocoders, synth bass, and plasticine indie dance beats, and makes port somewhere betwen LCD Soundsystem and Annie. Nerdy dance fests never sounded so inviting...
10."Hysteric"- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
While you could probably call this the anti "Bang" the YYYs have ventured far from the days of "Tick" and "Pin" but prove that Karen O had more earnest and tender in her than just "Maps". The cut and dried beats still seem warm and the synth pads couldn't be better. Wonderful wonderful...
11."Sun King"- Gomez
It goes without saying that Beatles' covers are generally iffy at best and total shit on average, however Gomez's reading of this little known winner that originally checked into the world as part of the legendary "long medley" that makes up the b side of "Abbey Road" is reverent of the original without being another mindless copy, the texture in this song makes it not only an excellent cover, but makes it easily as good as anything else Gomez has recorded to date.
