2009 End Of Year Review

It's that time of year again where I revisit everything musical from 2009 and point my thumbs up or down. Here is my judgement on what was hot and what was not:

TOP TEN ALBUMS

1. Lungs - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
You might think this is a surprising choice, but I was really impressed by the ambition and energy of Lungs with its piano, strings, harps, handclaps and massive drums, and the way Welch’s voice jumps seamlessly from a sultry whisper to an awesome, lung-busting chorus and back again. Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), is the best example of her stunning vocal. Her delivery at the crescendo of this unapologetically grand pop anthem doesn’t so much ask for your attention as pick you up and fling you across the room. This album’s inventive juxtaposition of dark, gothic lyrics and rousing tunes blows away any burden of expectation with a flourish.

2. Em Are - I JEFFREY LEWIS
It doesn't lose anything from being more polished than his ramshackle early efforts, and his storytelling is still up there with the best.

3. Conditions - THE TEMPER TRAP
Considering how hard it was going to be to match their mesmeric live show, this debut is great, and filled with anthemic tunes.

4. The First Dance - BRIDEZILLA
The First Dance is an album of intelligence, depth and genuine beauty, and Bridezilla’s ability to create intriguing and unique music to this high standard at such a tender age suggests that they have the wherewithal to go on to be one of Australia’s most cherished musical exports.

5. Dark Days/Light Years - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
Bouncing between beautiful, melodic pop and delightful insanity, Dark Days/Light Years is SFA’s best record since 2001’s Rings Around The World and is perfectly representative of a prolific body of work that makes them one of the most inventive and intriguing bands that Britain has ever produced.

6. It Walks Like Love - LOENE CARMEN
A truly outstanding record, and Loene Carmen's finest piece of work to date.

7. Waxing Gibbous - MALCOLM MIDDLETON
Paradoxically sad and uplifting, this is an intelligent, fragile and really lovely record that finds beauty in the bleakest places.

8. Dance Mother - TELEPATHE
Because of the avant-garde approach to song structures and sound, initially it all seems a little disorientating but everything soon starts to make sense. Equally atmospheric, serious, intelligent, confusing and challenging, Dance Mother is a visionary and intriguing album, and how often can you say that nowadays?

9. Far - REGINA SPEKTOR
Regina Spektor remains a wonderfully weird treasure, even if her edges seem to be getting smoother.

10. Kings & Queens - JAMIE T
All the fun, madness and Englishness of a night’s binge-drinking. Only with Kings & Queens you don’t suffer a hangover and you want to do the whole thing all over again as soon as you’re finished.


TOP TEN SONGS

1. Sweet Disposition - THE TEMPER TRAP



2. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE



3. Broken Broken Broken Heart - JEFFREY LEWIS



4. Daniel - BAT FOR LASHES



5. The Fear - LILY ALLEN



6. Emily's Heart - JAMIE T



7. And The Boys - ANGUS & JULIA STONE



8. Lying Around - CASSETTE KIDS



9. Ballad Of Fuck All - MALCOLM MIDDLETON



10. Inaugural Trams - SUPER FURRY ANIMALS



TOP TEN ARTISTS OF THE YEAR

1. The Temper Trap
2. Friendly Fires
3. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
4. Florence and the Machine
5. Jeffrey Lewis
6. Bridezilla
7. The Cribs
8. Kirin J. Callinan
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
10. Sarah Blasko


TOP TEN GIGS

1. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Manning Bar, Sydney

It’s not an exaggeration to say it was one of the most amazing gigs I've ever seen and to attempt to sum it up with mere words seems strangely futile. Superlatives have yet to be invented for how great this was, but the guy in front of me said it succinctly enough in a text message that he sent mid-gig. It simply read: “This is the coolest thing I have ever seen.”

1. (Joint first place because I couldn't decide between the two), Camille, Sydney Recital Hall
The crowd, who started the night reserved and reluctant to embrace the singalongs, demanded three encores, which included Ta Douleur and a cover of Yes We Can Can. I'd be happy if Camille was still encoring now, as the experimental 90-minute show was moving, funny, intriguing, mesmerising and a triumph for innovation and vivid imagination. Absolutely mind-blowing.

3. Jeffrey Lewis, La Maronquinerie, Paris
Not only can he pen evocative lines, but he knows exactly how to put on a live show. The gig had pensive moments, laugh-out-loud humour and sweat-drenched punk magnificence.

4. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Latitude Festival
It's safe to say he blew every other performance at Latitude 2009 out of the water. The sound that emanated from the stage from the first moment to the last was an absolute aural attack

5. Kimya Dawson, Komedia, Brighton
Typical of Kimya, she played until the venue basically kicked her off stage long after the curfew had passed.
6. The Streets, The Forum, Entertainment Quarter, Sydney
Regardless of the general lack of diversity or of how relevant The Streets remain in 2009, the night was really all about Skinner’s interaction with the crowd. He made the gig fun. Proper fun.

7. Jamie T, The Metro, Sydney
If You Got The Money almost ripped the roof off and every word of Sheila was roared back at the stage. By the evening’s finale, Sticks ‘n’ Stones, the crowd was going absolutely mental.

8. Bridezilla, The Hopetoun, Sydney
It seemed obvious to everyone in attendance that Bridezilla's time is almost here.

9. The Temper Trap, Magnet, Berlin
A typically tighter-than-a-duck's-bumhole performance.

10. The Pretenders, Latitude Festival
Chrissie Hynde owned the entire field. I'll Stand By You and Bob Dylan's Forever Young were particularly memorable.


TOP FIVE PODCASTS
1. The Ricky Gervais Audiobooks
2. The Adam and Joe Podcast
3. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Review Podcast
4. The Guardian Football Weekly
5. The Jon Richardson Podcast


TOP TEN FILMS

1. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil

As well as being laugh-out-loud funny, this film made me cry more than once and was as touching a love story (obviously in a slightly unconventional sense) as I've ever seen.

2. Let The Right One In
A beautiful and fragile story that raised the bar for vampire movies.

3. Moon
It drew an extraordinary performance from Sam Rockwell and dealt with its themes of mortality and false reality really intelligently and subtly.

4. District 9
For a political (its message is incredibly thinly-veiled) sci-fi thriller with a brain in its head, then District 9 takes some beating. Funny, thought-provoking and with audience loyalties constantly shifting, this film had me gawping at the screen in wonder.

5. Paranormal Activity
Unbearably tense throughout and clever in its use of normality to produce well-contextualised fear.

6. Where The Wild Things Are
I don't think it could have evoked children's excitement, imagination, confusion and fear any better.

7. Zombieland
In the vein of Shaun of The Dead, Zombieland is a genuinely funny movie, made with a love for the genre that ensures it never becomes a pastiche. Real fun stuff and one of the surprise hits of the year.

8. Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood's film-making continues to be intelligent and methodical.

9. Star Trek
Cracking sci-fi action which won me over even though I grew up very much on the Star Wars side of the fence.

10. Of Time And The City
Marvellous documentary about growing up in Liverpool.


THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES AWARD (MOST OVER-HYPED)
Lady GaGa. Not fit to lace Madonna's corset.


QUOTE OF THE YEAR
“To those who did not believe in us - and ladies forgive me - they can suck it and keep on sucking it.” Diego Maradona isn’t especially magnanimous towards his critics after Argentina eventually scraped through to the world cup finals.


PREDICTION FOR 2010
Angus & Julia Stone's new album to be universally adored.


HIGHLIGHT(S) OF THE YEAR
I thought that singing an acoustic version of Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise onstage at The Latitude Festival with The Late Greats was pretty much the highlight of my entire life until, just ten days from the end of the year, I got to hang out with Superhans from Peep Show at a friend's birthday party. Best night ever.