My Favorite Albums Of 2009

It’s that time of year again folks. It’s coming in way late, but due to last year’s lack of income, many of the albums I wanted to get under my listening belt didn’t make their way into my collection until early this year.

2009 was an amazing year for music. Many of the artists I listen to put out very inspiring albums this year, so narrowing my list down was a little more difficult than last year.

You may notice there are a few more popular acts not on my list. Rise Against’s “Appeal To Reason” is a decent album, but so far the least impressive in their catalogue. Hey, even Bad Religion put out an average album over their thirty-year history. Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown” is a piece of shit. Easily the worst album they have put out; it’s almost as if the band members hoped their fans would forgive a sub-par album after their innovative “American Idiot.” I’ve been told the songs on the album make more sense when you go see the play based on “American Idiot,” but standing alone, it sounds like a group of junior high students wrote this album. It killed me not to put Kill Hannah’s “Wake Up The Sleepers”, Poison The Well’s “The Tropic Rot”, and CKY’s “Carver City” (which are all great albums) on the list, but after going over them several times, I feel like there was one little thing missing. To reiterate, there is nothing sub-par with these albums, I just didn’t feel like they stood out like the rest.

Much like last year, a couple of albums I listened to immediately caught my ear and rocked my mind, while a few others took a couple of spins to recognize their genius. This year I’m going to do things a little different. I’m going to give you a little review of each album on my list, supplying a little insight as to why they made my list, culminating with the runner up and album of the year. So without and further adieu, here are my choices for my favorite albums of 2009.

Whole Wheat Bread – “Hearts Of Hoodlums”

Utilizing the raw energy and cultural background these three African-American musicians bring to the table, WWB have released one of the best punk albums I’ve listened to in a very long time. Combining the spirit of Bad Brains with a slice of southern rap, WWB have changed the landscape of classic punk music. Instead of combining these two differing styles, WWB simply compose both style songs independently of each other, seamlessly bouncing back and forth between the two styles. Also, “Bombs Away” is easily the strongest opening track on any of the albums I will talk about this year.

P.O.S. – “Never Better”

P.O.S. does it again, pushing the boundary of what true hip-hop is. Flaunting his punk roots, within the first three minutes of “Never Better", P.O.S. takes stabs at the government, laughs at the recession, uses Macho Man as a verb, references The Dude, and shout-outs to his crew and his label. Like always, P.O.S. not only breaks the mold, but also shows the worlds of punk and hip-hop were never made in one.

Silverstein – “A Shipwreck In The Sand”

The last, great screamo band. I give Shane Told props for taking a massive creative step, penning the bands first concept album. Two paralleling stories weave through the album, one of a crew set sail on a course for the new world before getting lost at sea, and one about a family losing it’s dream of living in America when their house burns down. Silverstein does an amazing job writing aggressive and poetic music, bringing out the true emotion of the characters in the story.

Thrice – “Beggars”

I saw Thursday play last fall at the Glasshouse in Pomona. Geoff Rickly mentioned their band has been together for eleven years, equally as long as Thrice, and they promised to keep trekking as long as Thrice did the same. After the interesting concept album(s) “The Alchemy Index”, Thrice is back, pushing their sound to even greater lengths. You notice a definite grown up feel in “Beggars”, but Thrice draws upon a lot of the old emotion you felt on “Illusion of Safety” and “Artist In The Ambulance”. “Beggars” effectively showcases each musician’s talent greatly. If Thrice continues on this way (and brings Thursday along with them), they will definitely go down in history as one of the two greatest bands in the history of post-hardcore.

Alexisonfire – “Old Crows/Young Cardinals”

With three years off since their last effort, Alexisonfire is back as the powerful post-hardcore machine that they are. The one-two-three punch of vocals from George Petit and guitarists Dallas Green and Wade MacNeil has long-elevated Alexisonfire over many of their contemporaries, and “Old Crows” continues this long tradition. The most noticeable difference on this album is George Petit’s voice, which has been switched out from screams to a more grating vocal style. While at first, it’s a big jarring, but after a few spins, you find this new direction very comforting, and honestly, there is no loss of aggression or energy.

Converge – “Axe To Fall”

Hardcore at it’s finest. The melting of hardcore punk and metal, which Converge is known for, has matured greatly both lyrically and musically. Through everything that Converge brings to the table, there is a hint of order and meaning lingering in the background to each and every track, making for a remarkable album.

Every Time I Die – “New Junk Aesthetic”

ETID have done it again. I didn’t think a better, full-on fist pumping metal album could be written after “The Big Dirty”, but the boys from Buffalo pulled another one out of their ass. With each subsequent album, ETID has gotten better and better, and you think they can’t outdo themselves, and each time, they surpass themselves. Something about the energy ETID bring to both stage and album always drives me to thrash and run into a pit like a madmen.

Patton Oswalt – “My Weakness Is Strong”

It’s all there. Everything that made Patton Oswalt one of the best stand-up comedians of the last five years is all well accounted for on his latest album. There are moments of volatile enthusiasm and bewilderment that positively contradict his sense of bitter, aggravated disappointment with himself and the rest of the world around him.

Between The Buried And Me – “The Great Misdirect”

The way Between The Buried And Me composed their latest album is almost symphonic. The composition is divided into movements rather than songs. They followed up their masterpiece “Colors” brilliantly, again showcasing the talent encased within BTBAM. Perfectly balancing beauty with brutality, BTBAM give us another faultless album. It is musically the best album of the year.


RUNNER UP:

Strike Anywhere – “Iron Front”

“Iron Front” brings me back to why I fell in love with punk in the first place. Bursts of pure energy fueled with the type of political lyrics making one want to get up and make a difference; change the world for a better place for future generations. Strike Anywhere have found their niche as a punk powerhouse, and with each album, continue to point out the foibles of our government and society. Lead by Thomas Barnett’s commanding voice, “Iron Front” begins with some harsh Amerikan propaganda, “The blood for your freedom / The horror that you taught to them / To kill all your sheep / In the fold your power fades without control” (Invisible Colony). Strike Anywhere have produced an album, which not only resonates with history, but also gives a new future generation looking for their anthem, a home.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Thursday – “Common Existence”

I had to do it. Honestly, if this album didn’t drop, Strike Anywhere would have easily won this award. With “Common Existence”, Thursday continues to pushes a genre of music forward. Instead of trying to mature with this new album, Thursday went back over their career, and the careers of their peers, and wrote an album which brings it’s listeners back to the classic era of punk and hardcore (and post-hardcore), while still evolving as artists. Thursday has composed their best album since their masterpiece, “Full Collapse”. Geoff Rickly has again written some of the most poetic lyrics of his career. To find the “maturity” in this latest release, the New Jersey quintet branches out to include a powerful political psalm, “Friends In The Armed Forces”, and even invoke the spirit of the legendary eNVy with “Circuits Of Fever.” Even aesthetically, the album artwork is a callback to the model punk cover: simple, black and white, of two nuns walking through construction scaffolding. Thursday has produced the most diverse album of their career, which is at the same time, of the purest albums of their career. “Common Existence” is one of the best arguments I have for Thursday not only being my favorite band, but also one of the greatest bands of all time.

They want to know which side you’re on… But it doesn't matter because we're all being used… To train, to fight… To disregard all human rights…