----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Whitby" > It strikes me that we're just into July which means we could have a > 'Best of Audities' for the first half of '09. > > Might that stimulate some debate? Fair enough. Given some thought without getting too precious about it, here's my Top 20 so far: Bricolage -- BRICOLAGE: Scottish indie kids that, true to their name, are all about taking influences from various eras of pop history and putting them into new contexts. What makes them different from a lot of similar bands is that they don't just recreate these favorite old sounds, they make fresh, new songs that nod to the past but still sound contemporary. The Bird and the Bee--RAY GUNS ARE NOT JUST THE FUTURE: Second album from L.A. duo whose s/t debut was one of my favorite albums of recent years. Contains no songs as perfect as the debut's "Again and Again" or "I'm A Broken Heart," but is arguably a bit more consistent. Family tree alert: the singer is Inara George (daughter of Lowell George) and the multi-instrumentalist is Greg Kurstin, who co-wrote and produced Lily Allen's latest album. Neko Case -- MIDDLE CYCLONE: Her most musically varied album so far, and the one on which she sounds like she's having the most fun. The Decemberists -- THE HAZARDS OF LOVE: Having been rather disappointed by THE CRANE WIFE, I approached this full-on rock opera with great trepidation, but damned if it doesn't work a treat. Part of me is going to miss their early indie-pop days, but you have to admire a band who makes the jump from an indie to a major label and immediately gets even less commercial than they'd already been. Camera Obscura -- MY MAUDLIN CAREER: Previous albums had had a handful of great songs each, mixed with a lot of blah, samey filler, but this is a very strong collection of tunes throughout. Sonic Youth -- THE ETERNAL: Lost in all of the "great indie comeback!" hype is the fact that this is actually the continuation of a midlife renaissance that started with MURRAY STREET back in '02: they didn't just suddenly make a great album out of nowhere, it's just that for the first time in a long time, the press has noticed that Sonic Youth is on a creative roll that's already lasted longer than their much-vaunted late-'80s string of albums. Grizzly Bear -- VECKATIMEST: I worry that the level of hype this album got will engender a backlash, if it hasn't already. While I disagree with all of the "Album of the Year!" plaudits (obviously, since there's at least six albums I like better), I do think it's a big leap forward from their previous work, and the chorus of "Two Weeks" still gives me chills every time. Bonnie "Prince" Billy -- BEWARE: In which WIll Oldham finally loosens up a bit and even cracks a hint of a smile. Abe Vigoda -- REVIVER: This five-song stopgap EP is not that record, but something about these guys tells me that their next album is going to be the DAYDREAM NATION of this era. Seeland -- TOMORROW TODAY: Guys from two of my favorite indie-electronic bands of the '90s, Broadcast and Plone, team up to -- improbably -- recreate the overall vibe of ARCHITECTURE AND MORALITY-era Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Equally improbably, it's brilliant. Wavves -- WAVVVES: I worry about this guy's future -- he apparently had some kind of drug-fueled meltdown at a European festival gig and has checked into rehab -- but he gives hints that he could end up being this generation's Beck. Metric -- FANTASIES: Interestingly, the vibe of this album is closer to Emily Haines' mildly depressive, minor-key solo albums than the new wavey dance-rock of Metric's earlier albums, and it suits them. St. Vincent -- ACTOR: I didn't get all the hype about Annie Clark's first album, MARRY ME, at all, but for some reason, this album caught me immediately. Inexplicably, the album I keep thinking of as a point of comparison is Thomas Dolby's THE FLAT EARTH: they sound nothing alike, really, but there's a similarity of mood. Black Sea Hotel -- BLACK SEA HOTEL: Traditional Balkan vocal music as sung by four women from Brooklyn. The sort of thing I never would have listened to before I married someone who used to sing this stuff semi-professionally herself. Prefuse 73 -- EVERYTHING SHE TOUCHED TURNED AMPEXIAN: Collage-like electronica (29 songs in about 48 and a half minutes) that makes much more sense if you just think of it as one long and extremely hyperactive piece. Akron/Family -- SET 'EM WILD, SET 'EM FREE: At first, my biggest disappointment of the year -- apparently the member who left following the last album was the guy who provided the droney psych-folk stuff that I'd liked so much on their earlier arecords -- but once I recalibrated my expectations, this is probably their most direct and effective album so far. M. Ward -- HOLD TIME: I was shocked at how much I liked last year's She and Him album given how dull and ponderous I had found M. Ward's earlier solo records, but this one has a similarly lighthearted feel to it, and again, it suits him. Animal Collective -- MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION: Will go down as one of the most overhyped albums of the year -- again, it's one of those things where it's a big creative leap forward for the band (see also Grizzly Bear) without necessarily also being one of the year's greatest albums -- but it does prove that you can venture towards the mainstream while maintaining a healthy experimental streak. Various Artists -- DARK WAS THE NIGHT: The most consistently enjoyable compilation I've heard in ages. Ida Maria -- FORTRESS ROUND MY HEART: The Ting-Tings of 2009 -- just a good old clattery, unpretentious, bratty noise-pop record from someone we'll probably never hear from again, but it's a hoot for the 30 minutes or so that it's on. S