threevue

Every year, I stumble upon albums that weren’t released that year but are still damn good. Some are new acquisitions, some are albums that I’ve had for a while but never gave them their due; either way, here is my list of non-2009 albums that were part of my 2009.

10. Made for TV Movie – The Story of My Heroics
I stumbled upon Portland’s Made for TV Movie a few years ago, because of their connection to Kind of Like Spitting (I think some of them were at one point part of KOLS’ backing band). I had a few songs from a compilation which were really good, and this past year I finally picked up their only album, 2000′s The Story of my Heroics. It’s a loud and courageous album, mixing fuzzy pop with noise rock and that dreaded “emo” word; it deftly culminates in a sound that hearkens to other Pacific Northwest bands of the time, like 764-HERO, Juno, and Eyes of Autumn.

9. Jawbox – For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Other than their seminal hit “Savory” which I had discovered through covers by Onelinedrawing and Far/Deftones, I’ve avoided Jawbox for 15 years. Thanks to a reissue this year, I finally gave them a shot, and was instantly hooked. It’s the most accessible post-hardcore album I’ve ever heard, straddling the innovation of Fugazi while embracing the simplicity of mid-90′s contemporaries like Nirvana and Jawbreaker. It’s a must-have for any fan of post-hardcore, post-punk, or post-anything.

8. Pinback – Summer in Abaddon
I also avoided Pinback over the years, for the simple fact that I expected their music to be inaccessible. Turns out they make some of the easiest-to-pick-up music out there, and Summer in Abaddon is their best and most cohesive output. This 2004 album showcases the subtle discord found in their pop songs, and it syncs perfectly. In most cases I hate drum machines, but with Pinback is helps reign in their sound into a predictable and comforting lull.

7. КИНО – Песни под гитару / Акустика 84
In 2008 my friend Jeff burnt me a mix CD of КИНО songs, an influential Soviet-era Russian group whose career was cut short when singer Viktor Tsoi died in a car crash in 1990. At some point last year I had enough of only having some random songs on a mix CD, and went download-crazy. My favorite album is a live acoustic session recorded in 1984, which contains stripped-down versions of most of their hits. In this setting, you can hear the intricacies of the melodic turns that Tsoi did best. I’m pretty sure that even if you don’t speak Russian, you’ll like this album.

6. The Little Ones – Sing Song EP
Discovering The Little Ones was quite a surprise for me. I was a big fan of late 90′s/early 00′s band Sunday’s Best, and when they broke up in 2003 I thought that was the last I’d heard of them. Turns out their singer formed The Little Ones in 2006 and has released three records of 1960′s indie pop that draws comparisons to The Zombies and The Shins. Sing Song EP is my favorite of the three, but all three are excellent and diverse records. It doesn’t hurt that I’m already intimately familiar with the singer’s voice, too.

5. Wintersleep – Welcome to the Night Sky
Wintersleep and I were formally introduced through former reader/current writer Steve, and I was immediately impressed by the dense, mature sound of this Halifax-based band. What’s most alluring about 2007′s Welcome to the Night Sky is that it sounds like a mopey band trying its hardest to be a happy band; and the resulting output, especially songs “Archaeologists” and “Weighty Ghost”, are fist-raising anti-anthems that both bring you up and set you down.

4. Collections of Colonies of Bees – Birds
Collections of Colonies of Bees, besides having a ridiculously overcomplicated band name, is the other 6/7 of Volcano Choir (the other 1/7 being Bon Iver). CoCoB also features the guitarist and drummer of Pele, one of my favorite instrumental post-rock bands. Birds is only four songs but clocks in at 37 minutes, which means you can look forward to long, dizzying instrumental post-rock flourishes which seem a little more atmospheric than Pele was, but otherwise it’s more of what I love.

3. Interpol – Antics
I wish I could remember whoever it was that told me to avoid Antics, because I would like to punch them in the face. Interpol’s second album is nearly as good as their classic debut, and it’s a shame that I’m only now hearing it. If you like the dour post-punk of Turn on the Bright Lights, you’ll be happy to find that Antics is a little less dour but still considerably strong. Someone told me to avoid their third album, too. Now I’m wondering if I’ll give it a listen in 2010.

2. The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms
To be honest, I’d never even heard of The Feelies until their re-issue this year. Granted, I was the ripe age of ZERO when this album came out in 1980, but considering I’ve enjoyed every similar 1980′s band I’ve found, I thought I would have stumbled upon them by now. Crazy Rhythms isn’t dissimilar to early R.E.M., The Velvet Underground, and Television, and in many ways it’s even more accessible than those bands. The fact that they can cover both The Beatles (“Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)”) and The Rolling Stones (“Paint it Black”) on their debut and make them complement each other is a feat in and of itself. It’s punk rock written by anti-punks, and it took me about two songs to get hooked.

1. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
The Midnight Organ Fight narrowly missed being a 2009 release, but it still showed up on a few best-of-08 lists, which is where I picked them up. This Scottish band evokes several bands for me, including The Long Winter’s penchant for striking vocal melodies and the density of fellow countrymen The Twilight Sad, but the final product is something that is truly unique. Frightened Rabbit released a live version of this album in 2009, called Quietly Now!/Liver! Lung! FR!, which strips down The Midnight Organ Fight further, and is a perfect compliment to this studio release. Their follow-up is due this year, and here’s to hoping it’ll be on my Best of ’10 list a year from now.