Best albums of 2009, Part I

30. Mocky, Saskamodie

What I said then: "70s soft rock, with maybe a bit of French pop thrown in for good measure...Mocky has made an album that's undeniably cool."

Download "Somehow Someway"


29. Male Nurse, Everything's Amazing No One's Happy / My Friends Are All Assholes

While some aren't quite sure what to make of Male Nurse, all it takes is a few listens to his two EPs to realize that, beneath his oddball exterior, Davey Quesnel is actually one heck of a songwriter. He plants his musical flag pretty firmly between '90s alt-rock and Hayden, and he inhabits that area extremely well.

Download "I Could Never Ever Be Sweet To You"


28. Ohbijou, Beacons
What I said then: Beacons is a truly stunning album. The arrangements are as delicately lovely as ever, and whatever the band may lack in dramatics they more than make up for with sheer gorgeousness. Honestly, you could pick a song at random here ... and you'd be guaranteed to pick a track that's beautiful and gentle and a pleasure to listen to.

Download "Black Ice"


27. TMDP, TMDP
What I said then: "(I)t's an album I enjoy from beginning to end...TMDP have made an album that I'll be going back to again and again.

Download "Push It"


26. Green Go, Borders
What I said then: (W)hen the band is at their dancefloor-friendliest best... they're a force of nature that's impossible to resist. The beats are explosive, the howled vocals are compelling, and the whole package is just amazing to hear.

Download "Bang"


25. MSTRKRFT, Fist Of God
What I said then: (T)here were plenty of albums that came out this past year that weren't anywhere close to being as good as this one. ...If you're having a dialogue about the best Canadian albums of the past year or so, it makes sense to be as inclusive as possible...and by that standard, by virtue of the fact it is one of the best Canadian albums of the past year or so, Fist of God deserves a much better fate than it received.

What I'll add now: As I said back when I reviewed Fist of God, I get some of the hate directed at MSTRKRFT's sophomore release. I just don't think that hate is entirely deserved, since, all things considered, it's a pretty decent album.


24. Leonard Cohen, Live In London
What I said then:

What is there to say? It's Leonard Cohen performing all the songs that made him into a legend. It should go without saying that the resulting album is one of the best of the year.

Download "Closing Time"


23. Leif Vollebekk, Inland
What I said then: Given the sheer number of people with guitars who fancy themselves to be folk singers, there's certainly no shortage of competitors that Vollebekk needs to stand out above in order to make his voice heard, but Inland should be good enough to help him do that.

What I'll add now: Vollebekk is an incredibly talented performer, and in truth his album is more Patrick Watson-esque folk-pop than straight-up folk. With Inland getting a re-release on Nevado Records in a few weeks, I have no doubt it'll be popping up on quite a few year-end lists next December.

Download "Quebec"


22. Little Girls, Concepts
What I said then: As much as it pains me to say it, it's good. Really, really good.

Download "Tambourine"


21. Bahamas, Pink Strat
What I said then: Pink Strat is one heck of a strong way to announce (Bahamas') arrival, and also contains ample evidence to suggest that he's got enough talent to keep it up for many years to come.

Download "Hockey Teeth"


20. K'Naan, Troubadour
What I said then: (W)hile he's obviously not created the best hip-hop album ever, K'naan has crafted one that's accessible enough that even someone as rap-ignorant as me can appreciate it. While I can't say that I have any idea what Top 40 radio is playing these days, I can say with some certainty that Troubadour is crammed full of songs that deserve to be huge smash hits.

Download "Dreamer"


19. CFCF, Continent

I loved CFCF's first EP back in January (more on that later in my list), and Continent showed that he was more than capable of translating his skill to a full-length.

Download "Monolith"


18. Magneta Lane, Gambling With God
What I said then: All the things that were great about the band on the first two albums -- specifically, frontwoman Lexi Valentine's snarl over top of incredibly catchy hooks -- are still there. ... More importantly...they've also figured out how to make slower, quieter songs that sound just as interesting as their louder, harder ones.

What I'll add now: The band just finished a short tour with Sloan, Gambling With God is doing well on both the CBC Radio 3 and earshot charts, and there's apparently talk of a massive spring tour, so all the pessimism I've been feeling about Magneta Lane finally living up to their potential may prove to be unfounded. There's still time for them to squander it all, of course, but it appears that, at long last, Gambling With God may have pushed the band to where they deserve (and ought) to be.

Download "House of Mirrors"


17. Burn Planetarium, Burn Planetarium
What I said then: (Burn Planetarium) do what they do so well that I can't help but listen to the album start-to-finish over and over again.

What I'll add now: As I said in my Best Songs of 2009 post a few days ago, the touchstones for Burn Planetarium are obvious, but they do what they do so well that it doesn't matter very much. Their self-titled EP is extremely strong, and I've little doubt that they'll follow in the footsteps of those other bands to achieve the same level of success.

Download "Death Death Death"


16. Still Life Still, Girls Come Too
What I said then: Girls Come Too may have a weak moment here and there, but as a singular work of art, it's pretty impressive. Still Life Still...will undoubtedly have to contend with all sorts of comparisons and expectations by dint of what label they're on, but with this kind of talent, I've no doubt that they'll have no problems making people look beyond that.

Download "T-Shirts"