2009′s Top Eleven Albums

As 2010 dawns on us in a few short weeks, and seeing as I can’t really think of any new albums coming out between now and then, I decided to take the time to comment on my personal top eleven favourite albums of 2009. Because ten wasn’t enough, obviously. Of course, as I’m sure many of you will know, my tastes are extremely eclectic and my choices are obviously relative to me and my tastes. Please leave your feedback and your personal favourite albums of the year in the comments below

11. Lady Gaga – The Fame (released 19th August)

Say what you want about Lady Gaga – she has written some of the most catchy songs you will ever hear. Infectious singles ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face’ dominated TV and the radio, with their abstract inane lyrics and catchy hooks and helped to solidify her position in the charts. Her live performances are exceptional, you get a real show, complete with costume changes, dancers, and boobs that shoot sparks. What more could you possibly want? My favourite track has to be ‘Paparazzi’, a real no-bones-about-it pop song that works both as a pop hit and a rock anthem when backed by her band of extremely talented musicians when performed live.

10. Marilyn Manson – The High End Of Low (released 20th May)

Marilyn Manson returned to music after 2007′s controversial and generally poorly received ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’, reunited with former bassist/guitarist/partner in crime Twiggy. With a recording lineup that included former NIN keyboardist Chris Vrenna and long time drummer Ginger Fish (after being absent for the recording of ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’) the album focuses on the themes (not but necessarily musical style) of 1998′s glam-rock masterpiece ‘Mechanical Animals’. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, love and heartache are all hot topics, delivered with a catchy classic rock styling. The albums heaviest number is covered with second track ‘Pretty As A Swastika’, a two minute track filled with pounding drums and a bassline to make even the most frigid of people orgasm instantly. This is contrasted with track seven, the stunningly beautiful and tragic acoustic ballad ‘Running To The Edge Of The World’, the best acoustic song since 2001′s ‘In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death’. Another surprise I was delighted to hear was track fourteen ‘Into The Fire’, a piano ballad composed entirely by drummer Ginger Fish. I was so pleased to see his talents put to use outside of the drum riser. As I’m sure many fans will know, Ginger has been responsible for a lot of the electronics and loops since 1995′s ‘Smells Like Children’. The song is complimented by Twiggy’s incredibly moving guitar solo closing the song. To quote Manson himself, “It made me weep.” Whilst certainly not the best effort from the band (personally I don’t think they’ll ever be able to top 2001′s ‘HolyWood’) it’s certainly laid the foundations for them to achieve great things again in the future.

9. The Fray – The Fray (released 3rd February)

Was never that big a fan of The Fray, aside from the hit single ‘How To Save A Life’ until their single ‘You Found Me’ was used in a trailer for season 5 of Lost. Loving this track, I headed out to purchase the new album and was extremely impressed. Building upon the previous album’s strengths, and ditching it’s many weaknesses, The Fray created a beautiful 40 minute epic that is diverse in sound and rich in texture. As previously stated, ‘You Found Me’ is an album highlight as well as the poignant ‘Never Say Never’, progressive ‘Say When’ and arguably one of the most depressing songs ever, album closer ‘Happiness’. Very much looking forward to hearing what this band has to offer in the future.

8. Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us (released 25th September)

British gothic metal founders Paradise Lost returned this year with an album that built upon the heavier sound of 2007′s ‘In Requiem’, truly bringing them back to their metal roots, after many years of experimenting with electronics. Whilst personally I’m more of a fan of their electronic era, their heavier sound is what made me fall in love with the band, so it’s nice to see them experimenting with it again and doing it so well in a time where a lot of metal sounds identical and boring to me. The album opens with ‘As Horizons End’, a furious and shaking song that introduces the listener to their heaviest work yet, whilst maintaining their melody. The album peaks at track six ‘The Rise Of Denial’, coincidentally the opening song for the current tour. Nick Holme’s vocals are on form, switching between hard and soft with precision unmatched by any vocalist I can think of. The album is noticeably devoid of any electronics, but the superb orchestration makes up for it – noticeably, for the time ever, the band recorded with a live orchestra and it certainly shows in title track ‘Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us’. On another note, I had the pleasure of seeing them for the eighth time in October, with new drummer Adrian Erlandsson (ex-Cradle Of Filth) and they are as finely tuned as ever, providing a fantastic and fun night for all. This band has been going since 1988 and I hope they have many more years left in them.

7. Snow Patrol – Up To Now (released 6th November)

Wasn’t really too sure about having a compilation album in the top ten, but in this case I’ll just do it, seeing as it’s one of the best compilations I’ve ever seen. The typical compilation is comprised of hit singles and a B-side or two and not much else. This is where Snow Patrol have outdone themselves, as well as pretty much every other band that have released a half-arsed compilation album. ‘Up To Now’ spans over two discs and includes (typically) hit singles such as ‘Run’, ‘Chasing Cars’ and ‘Spitting Games’ but it’s not riddled with much more than that. Instead, the band have taken that extra time and effort to compile the literal best-of, spanning all five albums; 2008′s ‘A Hundred Million Suns’, 2006′s ‘Eyes Open’, 2004′s ‘Final Straw’ as well as lesser known albums ‘When It’s All Over We Still Have To Clear Up’ (2001) and ‘Songs For Polarbears’ (1998) as well as several new tracks, unique live versions of classic hits and the odd B-side here and there. This is how compilations should be done and many other artists should take note.

6. Mumford And Sons – Sigh No More (released 6th October)

I was introduced to this London-based folk band quartet by Carl and was pretty damn impressed. In a genre where most of the leading artists are quite frankly, shit, Mumford And Sons have probably single handedly saved their respective genre from both over-saturation and extinction. There’s not a great deal to say about their debut album ‘Sigh No More’ except that it excels in every style they experiment with. It’s rare for folk to be catchy, but after one listen of songs like ‘Little Lion Man’, ‘I Gave You All’ and ‘Roll Away With Your Stone’ you’ll have to listen to more, over and over. Great debut from an extremely talented band and hopefully will offer more great things in the future.

5. Between The Screams – Our Last Days On Earth (released 5th October)

Debut album from Southend based Between The Screams was a particular highlight of my year, not only because they’re all sexy, sexy boys, but because quite simply they are the best local band that is around, or has been around in a fucking long time. ‘Our Last Days On Earth’ provides the best in progressive metal, tuned and refined from extensive touring both locally and across the UK. There’s something on their debut effort for everyone, brutal riffage, inspirational ambient soundscapes and superb melodic vocals, as well as screams that make you feel afraid to listen in the dark, courtesy of vocalist Adam Ralph.

4. Morrissey – Years Of Refusal (released 16th February)

Former Smiths-frontman returned to form in February after the hit-and-miss effort of 2006′s ‘Ringleader Of The Tormentors’. Opening with catchy, fast-riffed ‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull’ detailing the downfalls of depression and the evil medication that can come with it leaves you with that feeling that 2004′s opener to ‘You Are The Quarry’ left you with; this is going to be good. Highlights come in the form of ‘Black Cloud’ featuring guitar work by Jeff Beck and previous single ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’, a sombre, lonely song that invokes the same emotions as a classic such as ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’. The ballad ‘It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore’ provides the best in Mozza tragic dry wit with the chorus lyric, “It’s not your birthday anymore, there’s no need to be kind to you, and the will to see you smile and belong has now gone, it’s not your birthday anymore, did you really think we meant
all those syrupy, sentimental things that we said?” No future album from Morrissey can top ‘You Are The Quarry’ in my opinion, but this comes bloody close.

3. The Veronicas – Hook Me Up (released 12th October in the UK)

Whilst technically this album has been out for over two years, hardly anyone had heard it, nor the band until this year. No dispute, Brisbane-born twin sisters Lisa and Jess Origliasso make infectious pop music. And they’re fucking great at it. To quote Jess on her Twitter profile, they’re “Spreading pop like an STD”. Lead single ‘Untouched’ was a sensational hit that came completely out of blue and paved the way for further singles ’4ever’ and ‘Take Me On The Floor’. Whilst the album has a strong electronic sound, the songs take on a completely new life when performed on stage with a stupidly talented live band that includes drummer Vik Foxx, of Vince Neil Band fame. This is a truly talented group who can sound as commercial and manufactured as possible on record (out of choice, might I add) then rock as hard as the rest of them live on stage. I should know too, I was there. And it was incredible.

2. Paramore – Brand New Eyes (released 25th September)

After 2007′s sensational hit ‘Riot!’ and the following year’s rough non-stop touring schedule which almost led the band to calling it a day, Paramore returned with ‘Brand New Eyes’ in September, stronger, more mature and tighter than ever. Gone for the most part are the catchy pop-punk anthems that dominated ‘Riot!’ (although some still remain in tracks such as ‘Where The Lines Overlap’ and ‘Looking Up’) and they’ve been replaced with more technical and honest songs. A strong theme on the album is the band themselves, and the difficulties of the previous year’s events, especially in lead single ‘Ignorance’ on which vocalist Hayley Williams commented, “In my eyes, this song is a huge turning point for the band. The truth of it is, growing up is not easy. We’re five different people who have to work towards the same goal on a daily basis. There were a lot of times when I felt really alone or angry or insecure. I don’t always feel good at confronting people, especially people that I love, like these guys. Sometimes it takes songs to get the point across. The song is from one person’s perspective. It’s unfair that I’m the one who gets to talk about it but it helped me a lot.” The biggest and the best surprises from the album came from acoustic ballads ‘The Only Exception’ and ‘Misguided Ghosts’, probably the most unique and diverse songs they’ve ever written. Similarly, whilst not in theme with the previously mentioned acoustic tracks, album closer ‘All I Wanted’ is simply the most moving song in their entire discography, beating 2005′s ‘My Heart’ hands down.

1. Moby – Wait For Me (released 30th June)

An interesting choice for me, especially for my number one. I had always been a casual fan of Moby, but hadn’t really been impressed by anything he had recorded since 1999′s ‘Play’ and always thought 2006′s ‘Go – The Very Best Of Moby’ would always be the definitive collection of his material. How wrong I was. I checked the new album out after seeing the TV commercial and being impressed with the orchestral song that was featured on it. I bought the limited edition which featured an ambient version of the album and I was simply blown away. The album begins with ‘Division’, a beautiful orchestration leading into second track and first single ‘Pale Horses’. Moby has crafted so much emotion in his attention to detail and with his choice of vocalists, especially on ‘Study War’ and title track ‘Wait For Me’. The ambient version of the album is exactly that, the core songs stripped of electronics, and makes for the best chill out album I’ve ever heard. The second half of my year would have been completely empty without this album, and I urge everyone to give it a listen.

2009's Top Eleven Albums, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Filed under: Music by Tom Case
Tags: 2009, albums, between the screams, eleven, lady gaga, marilyn manson, moby, morrissey, mumford and sons, Music, paradise lost, paramore, snow patrol, the fray, the veronicas, top