List: Best Irish Albums of 2009

A little late, but better late than never. Here's my Top 10 Irish Albums of 2009...

10. And So I Watch You From Afar - And So I Watc You From Afar

If Salvador Dali was still alive today, he may paint an album cover like that of ASIWYFA's debut album. Better still, if he was a musician, he'd probably make bizarrely brilliant instrumental tunes like the eleven shoegaze classics that appear on this debut album.

9. David Turpin - Haunted

Lauren Murphy called David Turpin's second album a disappointment, like his first. She outlined his vocals as the problem. In this opinion, she is massively wrong. Turpin has a gorgeous soft voice which perfectly matches his blissful lyrics. It's not grating in any way - no more so than Joanna Newsom - perhaps Turpin is the Irish Newsom? Divisive, but brilliant. Well, in this writer's opinion anyway.

8. Patrick Kelleher - You Look Cold

Patrick Kelleher plays a lot of instruments. Strangely enough, one of the many on here he claims to play is a door. The album itself is a mult-layered electronic triumph, which is sure to please fans of Animal Collective, Panda Bear and the like.

7. Pearse McLoughlin - Busy Whisper

A gorgeous debut filled with enchanting songs that take you back to a better time, Pearse McLoughlin has crafted out a first album that's up there with any other singer-songwriter you care to name. Yes, even that Rice fella.

6. Herm - Monsters

Another fantastic debut, this one is like an earworm that digs into your brain and just won't let go. The album is a wonderful slice of indie pop released on Catchy Go Go. I don't know about the go go, but this sure is catchy.

5. The Duckworth Lewis Method - Duckworth Lewis Method

Named after an extremely complicated way of determining scores in rain-affected cricket matches, this is the best concept album to come out of Ireland...ever. Pugwash's Thomas Walsh and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon have teamed up to make the sweetest (spot) album of 2009.

4. CODES - Trees Dream in Algebra

An album two years in the making, Trees Dream in Algebra, is the most-polished Irish debut in years. They worked with excellent rock producer Greg Halford on it, and marked themselves out as one to watch for the future. The U2 of the 2010s maybe?

3. The 202s - The 202s

Good albums don't always have to be a well-structured coherent whole. Sometimes they can just be wonderful collections of singles. That's what the self-titled debut from the 202s is. Like a greatest hits package, it's full of powerful tunes with outstanding choruses. Although as a coherent whole, it's damn good too.

2. The Holy Roman Army - How the Light Gets In

I like alt.country and rock mostly. So it takes a great album from genres such as electronica to get me to listen to it more than a handful of times. However, this debut from fellow Carlovians stuck with me all year. Songs like 'Elegy' and 'Stagger Gently Home' are immediately gorgeous, with the latter being one of my songs of the year. Fabulously addictive.

1. David Geraghty - The Victory Dance

The break-up of Juniper has given us so much. Damien Rice and Bell x1 are both extremely successful on both sides of the Atlantic. However, Bell x1 guitarist David Geraghty could well end up being the best of all. His debut was a fantastic introduction, but his second, The Victory Dance was so much better. Filled with gorgeous guitarwork, it's a cracking collection of songs. And who knew he was such a great vocalist too? Wonderful. The best Irish album of 2009.

List: Nialler9's Top 30 Albums of the Year

He's got some fine choices on there, but props to selecting The Holy Roman Army. An excellent album from some fellow Carlovians. It's the best thing to come out of Carlow this year until today, when the M9 opens between Carlow and Kilcullen!

Anyhow, check out Nialler9's list here:
http://www.nialler9.com/2009/12/21/nialler9s-albums-2009/

I'm not going to spoil it for you. (P.S. He has downloads of mp3s from each of the top twenty - nice!)

Vote for the Irish albums and songs of 2009

Once again Nialler9 is running his readers' vote for the best Irish Albums and Irish Songs of the year. Super Extra Bonus Party won in 2007 and Jape in 2008 for their albums, but what will top the list this year? You can help decide!

All you need to do is leave a comment on his blog listing your top 3 or more albums and top 3 or more songs released by Irish artists this year. Easy peasy!

Here’s how the poll works:
1. You can pick up to 10 Irish albums and songs released in 2009.
2. At least three Irish albums and songs are required in your vote to count to stop people from asking their mates to vote for them.
3. Poll closes on Wednesday 16th of December at noon.
4. 3 ways to vote
A. Leave your votes in the comments in public for all to see.
B. Use the Google form here.
C. Send an email to vote@nialler9.com with your choices.

Find out more, or vote here:
http://www.nialler9.com/2009/12/09/vote-top-irish-albums-songs-2009/

List: Mojo Magazine's Top 50 Albums of the Year

Here is UK music tome Mojo Magazine's best fifty albums of 2009. It's a strange list, with a mixture, of well, everything. Read on...

50. Max Richter - Waltz With Bashir OST
49. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II
48. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
47. Bruce Springsteen - Working On a Dream
46. The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...

45. Cate Le Bon - Me Oh My
44. Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics - Inspiration Informaton
43. Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones
42. Doug Paisley - Doug Paisley
41. Mos Def - The Ecstatic

40. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
39. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - Between My Head and the Sky
38. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
37. BLK JKS - After Robots
36. White Denim - Fits

35. Portico Quartet - Isla
34. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
33. Leonard Cohen - Live in London
32. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
31. Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens - What Have You Done, My Brother?

30. Staff Benda Bilili - Tres Tres Fort
29. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
28. Vetiver - Tight Knit
27. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
26. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

25. Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
24. Vieux Farka Toure - Fondo
23. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
22. The XX - XX
21. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

20. Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
19. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Diamonds
18. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
17. The Phantom Band - Checkmate Savage
16. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

15. Kasabian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum
14. Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
13. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
12. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
11. The Cribs - Ignore the Ignorant

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
09. Madness - The Liberty of Nolton Folgate
08. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
07. Florence & the Machine - Lungs
06. Bob Dylan - Together Through Time

05. Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions
04. The Horrors - Primary Colours
03. Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
02. Bill Calahan - Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
01. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

So, how many of these does the average listener/reader actually own?

List: Uncut Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2009

Another week, another top albums of the year list. To go with all the decade ones (The AV Club's is the best I've seen so far, btw), here's Uncut Magazine's latest from the new issue which came out yesterday.

50. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy
49. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
48. Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
47. Alasdair Roberts – Spoils
46. Broadcast & The Focus Group - …Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age

45. Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
44. Reigning Sound – Love And Curses
43. Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
42. Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter
41. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl

40. The Felice Brothers – Yonder Is The Cock
39. Cornershop – Judy Sucks On A Lemon For Breakfast
38. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
37. Dinosaur Jr – Farm
36. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

35. Tinariwen – Imidiwan: Companions
34. Trembling Bells – Carberth
33. Duke And The King – Nothing Gold Can Stay
32. Iggy Pop – Preliminaries
31. The Dead Weather – Horehound

30. Jim O’ Rourke – The Visitor
29. PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By
28. Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
27. Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
26. The Unthanks – Here’s The Tender Coming

25. Sunn 0))) – Monoliths And Dimensions
24. Micachu And The Shapes – Jewellery
23. Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers
22. Alela Diane – To Be Still
21. Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

20. The Horrors – Primary Colours
19. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
18. Graham Coxon – The Spinning Top
17. Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
16. Florence And The Machine – Lungs

15. Bassekou Kouyate And Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula
14. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
13. White Denim – Fits
12. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
11. Bill Callaham – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

10. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
8. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
7. Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
6. The XX – The XX

5. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
4. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
3. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
2. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Far from the best list so far, but at least the Felice Brothers' Yonder is the Clock is on there. What an album. My number 1 and number 2 aren't though. I'm doing preliminary listing now. So my list should be coming some time in early December.

List: NPR's ATC's Top 30 Songs of the Year so far

NPR's All Things Considered has polled their listeners to find out the top 30 songs of the year so far. It's a pretty interesting list, and you can hear clips of all the songs over on NPR here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2009/07/poll_results_best_of_the_year.html

Fantastic to see 'Knotty Pine' in there. What a tune.

1. "My Girls" Animal Collective
2. "Two Weeks" Grizzly Bear
3. "Blood Bank" Bon Iver
4. "The Rake's Song" The Decemberists
5. "Lisztomania" Phoenix
6. "Zero" Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. "This Tornado Loves You" Neko Case
8. "Sleepyhead" Passion Pit
9. "Laughing With" Regina Spektor
10. "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid" The Decemberists
11. "Train Song" Feist and Ben Gibbard
12. "Knotty Pine" David Byrne & Dirty Projectors
13. "Daniel" Bat For Lashes
14. "Summertime Clothes" Animal Collective
15. "One Wing" Wilco
16. "The Fear" Lily Allen
17. "Heads Will Roll" Yeah Yeah Yeahs
18. "Wilco (The Song)" Wilco
19. "Stillness Is The Move" Dirty Projectors
20. "Help, I'm Alive" Metric
21. "Anonanimal" Andrew Bird
22. "On No" Andrew Bird
23. "No You Girls" Franz Ferdinand
24. "I And Love And You" The Avett Brothers
25. "French Navy" Camera Obscura
26. "Magpie To The Morning" Neko Case
27. "Woods" Bon Iver
28. "Black Hearted Love" PJ Harvey and John Parish
29. "While You Wait For The Others" Grizzly Bear
30. "Panic Switch" Silversun Pickups

They also listed their Top 30 albums, although I'm surprised people haven't gotten bored with Animal Collective by now. The cover is still the only thing that captivates me:
1. Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
2. The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
3. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
4. Middle Cyclone by Neko Case
5. Wilco (The Album) by Wilco
6. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
7. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
8. It's Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Dark Was The Night by Various Artists
10. Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
11. Far by Regina Spektor
12. Actor by St. Vincent
13. Manners by Passion Pit
14. Hold Time by M. Ward
15. Reservoir by Fanfarlo
16. Fever Ray by Fever Ray
17. Fantasies by Metric
18. Two Suns by Bat for Lashes
19. My Maudlin Career by Camera Obscura
20. Dark Night of the Soul by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
21. The Crying Light by Antony & The Johnsons
22. The Eternal by Sonic Youth
23. The Ecstatic by Mos Def
24. Outer South by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
25. Swoon by Silversun Pickups
26. Together Through Life by Bob Dylan
27. No Line on the Horizon by U2
28. March of the Zapotec by Beirut
29. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
30. The Mountain by Heartless Bastards