Best albums of 2009, Part II

Click here for the first part of this list!


15. Evening Hymns, Spirit Guides
What I said then: (N)ear-perfect orchestral folk-pop...an album that's so engaging, its creator is able to veer off into a completely non-musical direction, and you still feel as though it makes perfect sense.

Download "Lanterns"


14. Centretown Cripplers, Motor Points of the Face
What I said then: Motor Points of the Face (is) an exemplary album, and Centretown Cripplers (are) one of those rare bands who are able to translate the energy and fun of an incendiary live show onto disc.

What I'll add now: It's not often a band is at their best when they're at their sloppiest, but Centretown Cripplers are definitely at their most enjoyable when they play dirty, messy, chaotic garage rock. Nowhere is that more evident than on their debut EP, which is dirty, messy, chaotic...and awesomely fun.

Download "Waves"


13. Said The Whale, Islands Disappear
What I said then: (T)here's not really a weak moment to be found. There are some songs that are incredible, for sure, but there's not a huge drop in quality from the great songs to the merely good ones.

Download "Goodnight Moon"


12. La Strada, La Strada
What I said then: La Strada definitely fall in the category of "good music"...This is astoundingly good for a first album, and it's most definitely worth picking up.

Download "The Sun Song"


11. The Wilderness of Manitoba, Hymns of Love and Spirits
What I said then: What Hymns of Love and Spirits lacks in volume, however, it more than makes up for in sheer "being awesome"-ness. Every single one of the tracks, from "Bluebirds" on through to the aforementioned bonus song, "Evening", is completely and utterly gorgeous.

Download "Dreamcatchers"


10. CFCF, Panesian Nights
What I said then: (P)retty outstanding.

What I'll add now: I may not have gained any of the vocabulary necessary to go into detail as to why I like Panesian Nights so much, but I think its longevity on my iTunes and Zune playlists speaks for itself. There aren't many albums I've listened to more over the past twelve months than CFCF's debut EP.

Download "Call Girl"


9. Charles Spearin, The Happiness Project
What I said then: Had I been told a few months ago that one of my favourite albums of 2009 would be an experimental concept album that demonstrated the musicality of people's speech, I never would've believed it. But here we are, a couple of months after Broken Social Scene/Do Make Say Think sideman Charles Spearin released an album devoted entirely to that purpose, and it's one of my most listened to albums of the year. Even if the subject matter isn't always as happy as the album's title would have you believe, it's still an uplifting and inspiring experience.

Download "Mr. Gowrie"


8. Black Hat Brigade, Fathers
What I said then: (O)ne of the best full-lengths of the year...Black Hat Brigade are now, unquestionably, a force to be reckoned with.

What I'll add now: I've got to admit that my enthusiasm for this album has been tempered somewhat by the uncertainty surrounding the band's future. After all, it's hard to really put an emotional investment into a band that may not be able to repay it. Then again, if Fathers is Black Hat Brigade's swan song, it's one heck of a way to go out.

Download "Zombie City Shake"


7. Amos the Transparent, My, What Big Teeth You Have

My expectations for Amos the Transparent's second album were sky-high, given how much I adored their debut. It's a testament to the skill of Jonathan Chandler and co. that My, What Big Teeth You Have... found that meeting and exceeding even my wildest hopes. The band may have added a few members and gotten a little heavier for this EP, but the end result was every bit as spectacular as their first album. My only problem with it? It's two tracks or three and a half minutes too short to have been eligible for Polaris consideration...and believe me, this would've been right at the top of my ballot.

Download "Greater Than Consequence"


6. Handsome Furs, Face Control
What I said then: The beats on Face Control are much more aggressive and overt than they were on Plague Park, creating a nice sense of conflict between what (Alexei Perry) is doing and what (Dan Boeckner) is doing -- not so much that it's distracting, but enough that the music has enough tension and moodiness and darkness to it that the album could realistically be called...well, better than what her husband has done with his other band.

Download "Evangeline"


5. Dan Mangan, Nice, Nice, Very Nice
What I said then: Nice, Nice, Very Nice truly is something to behold...the songs on here are incredibly good, and at times are even great.

Download "Robots"


4. Giant Hand, Coming Home
What I said then: (I)t's one of those albums that I can't help but want to rave about as much as possible...(Giant Hand is) a skilled storyteller and lyricist, to be sure, but he's even more gifted at creating a certain mood and conveying a specific emotion. With Coming Home he's demonstrated that he knows how to carry out his ideas over the course of a full-length album.

What I'll add now: Coming Home's placement on my Polaris ballot gets earned more every time I listen to the album. It's an astoundingly good debut, and I've no doubt that it marks the beginning of an exceptional career.

Download "No Son Of Mine"


3. The Racoon Wedding, Gather Gather Bones Rattle Rattle Truth
What I said then: (O)ne the funnest, most gloriously ragged albums I've ever heard....(O)ne of the best albums I've heard this year...There's something joyful and spontaneous in these songs.

Download "Young Flesh"


2. The Balconies, The Balconies
What I said then: It's almost mind-boggling how good and how talented The Balconies are. ...The Balconies have put together an album that defies any conventional wisdom that says the album as an artform is dead...at least for me, since I really can't imagine listening to the thing in any way other than front-to-back, beginning-to-end.

What I'll add now: There's not a lot more I can say about this album that I haven't already said. But I think it's worth adding that The Balconies just keep getting better and better. They were their usual incredible selves last Friday, when they tore the roof off Cafe Dekcuf...but at the same time, they were an even better kind of incredible than before. Whereas even back in October, at Pop Montreal, the band was unquestionably Jacquie Neville's, now her brother, Steve Neville, has improved by leaps and bounds to the point where he's just as charismatic and talented. It's kind of scary that a band this good could only get better, but they've done it, and I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be The Balconies' year.

Download "Serious Bedtime"


1. Young Galaxy, Invisible Republic
What I said then: Invisible Republic is an amazing album that sounds better and better every time you listen to it...Invisible Republic may just be one of my favourite albums of all time.

Download "Queen Drum"