11. “Carving Out the Eyes of God” by Goatwhore: This is probably my favorite pure metal effort of the year so far. From beginning to end it’s a complete headbanging shred fest! Goatwhore seemed to have improved musically this go around, as guitarist Sammy Duet adds quite a few ripping solos. Ben Falgoust’s voice sounds even stronger and his southern throaty delivery is plain evil. He proves again here why he is one of the premier metal growlers around. It’s evil, it’s heavy, it’s brutal, it kicks ass!
12. “Now We Can See” by The Thermals: Portland’s The Thermals have been a northwest favorite since their conception in 2002. Here they have made an almost perfect power pop record released this time by Kill Rock Stars instead of their long time label Sub Pop. It’s pure pop rock bliss with tons of catchy tunes, and plenty of sing-a-long moments. Once again I might be a sucker for pop rock? They’ll be playing the CHBP on Saturday, can’t wait to see them again!
13. “Static Tensions” by Kylesa: When I saw Kylesa open up for Wino’s The Hidden Hand a couple years ago my eyes almost popped out of head with jubilee. They were so awesomely heavy it was ridiculous. Over their career the band has delved into many metal genres most notably being the doom and hardcore varietals, but on this new record they expand their evolving sound with a mix of crushing sludge, psychedelia, and straight up aggression that is all Kylesa. Oh yeah and their frontman is a frontwoman, and she can scream like a demon.
14. “Help!” by Thee Oh Sees: I got my first taste of this bay area outfit a month ago when I ventured to The Crocodile on a Monday to check out Jay Reatard, turns out Thee Oh Sees stole the show for me. They play an odd lo-fi rockabilly mixed with 60’s garage rock (I hear The Cramps, myself). Their frontman John Dwyer is a riot in a live setting with all his onstage antics. The music comes across very well on record as well, “Help!” is reverb drenched and sounds like it was recorded in a basement somewhere, but sometimes there’s something to be said for that DIY quality.
15. “Keep It Hid” by Dan Auerbach: This is the first solo album for the guitarist-singer of The Black Keys. In my opinion this record doesn’t stray too far from the 2008 Danger Mouse produced record “Attack and Release” which means that once again the music continues to stray from The Black Keys’ signature fuzzed out blues rock. To be perfectly honest that’s fine because I’m not sure these guys could do any wrong at this point. If you are already a fan, just know that this record could easily have been labeled a Black Keys record.
16. “Wavering Radiant” by Isis: For my tastes this might be the best Isis record to date, but I really enjoyed 2006’s “In the Absence of Truth” as well. It’s probably the most accessible record in their catalog, but also may be the most diverse. I love the more psychedelic moments but there are plenty of heavy moments too. It’s a great record of hipsters and headbangers alike.
17. “Hazards of Love” by The Decemberists: At first listen I wasn’t impressed at all with this record, compared to their previous album “The Crane Wife” it just seemed like the lesser of the two. It took seeing the record played live in its entirety at Sasquatch this year to breathe some life into it for me. It was quite the spectacle as Colin Meloy played guitar hero with the sudo Black Sabbath riff parts and the amazing voice of My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden as the queen stole the show. I think it was the first post-Sasquatch record I tore into. I love the concept of a complete album in general, and this one is best listened to in its entirety.
18. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” by Phoenix: This record is on everyone’s shortlist this year so far, and so I decided I would be foolish to ignore it. It is a fun indie electro-pop record, with plenty of catchy danceable moments. The French band has seemed to hit the big time recently, as I caught their energetic performance on SNL a couple weeks ago. This performance may have been the tipping point for me adding this record to the top 20.
19. “The Devil You Know” by Heaven and Hell: This is the first record for the Dio-era Black Sabbath since 1992’s Dehuminizer. Due to legal issues, they decided to go with the Heaven and Hell moniker after their 1980 record of the same name. It’s amazing that these old fogies can still make a solid, vital metal record. Tony Iommi has some pretty heavy riffs left in him, and Ronnie James Dio’s voice is still strong and soaring. The rest of the band Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice anchor the group as well as any rhythm section around. I drove up to Vancouver in 2007 to see them during one of their first reunion tours and it was nothing short of fucking awesome. They play here in August but to my disappointment I won’t be able to attend.
20. “Hold Time” by M. Ward: Portland’s Matt Ward has put out a very solid record in 2009, and it’s a simple, charming slice of Americana. “Hold Time” is anchored by the instant classic “Ain’t Nobody Like You” and the Buddy Holly cover “Rave On” and in my mind it makes the list despite its mediocre status among the music press. This rock guy is a fan of Ward’s rock tendencies on this record, and even though he gets crap for staying sort of stuck in America’s rock n roll past, I dig it.
Well, thats the list as I see it Monday July 6th at 9:44pm. It could totally change with any new release or discovery. I guess that's the way I like it, I always love discovering new music and wish it could be a full time job. I now want to add a quick list of honorable mentions, they are very good records as well and deserve multiple spins. I hope this list as a whole helps fill any musical voids you may have.
Honorable mentions of 2009...so far:
"Face Control" by Handsome Furs
"200 Thousand Million" by The Black Lips
"Hordes of Chaos" by Kreator
"Time Waits For No Slave" by Napalm Death
"Bitte Orca" by Dirty Projectors
"Concrete Class" by Lonely H
"Post-Nothing" by Japandroids
"Together Through Life" by Bob Dylan
"Merriweather Post Pavillion" by Animal Collective
"Actor" by St. Vincent
"Swoon" by Silversun Pickups
"The Harvest Floor" by Cattle Decapitation
"The Age of Nero" by Satyricon
"We Sing the Body Electric! by The Lonely Forest
"Kingdom of Rust" by Doves
Any more you want to add? Let's compile an even better list. Leave some comments because I'm sure I'm missing some excellent rock, metal, indie, punk and alternative records!!
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