Powerline A.D.'s Best of 2009

The following is our Best of 2009. Some of us simply picked Best Albums, Best Songs, and then our disappointments. Some of us went a little further with our picks. Check it out. And leave comments if you feel strongly either way.

Pat Prince

Best Albums:
1. Dead Weather - Horehound
2. Pearl Jam — Backspacer
3. Them Crooked Vultures — Them Crooked Vultures
4. Muse - The Resistance
5. Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

Best Songs:
1. Muse - "Unnatural Selection"
2. Pearl Jam - "The Fixer"
3. Cursive - "From the Hips"
4. Clutch - "Motherless Child"
5. Art Brut - "Alcoholics Unanimous"

Biggest Disappointment: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

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John Curley

Best Album: A Woman A Man Walked By by PJ Harvey and John Parish
This second collaboration by PJ Harvey and John Parish was a seriously eclectic effort, containing tracks as disparate as the very commercial “Black Hearted Love” to the bizarre, off-kilter “Pig Will Not.” It is a brilliant piece of work.

Runners Up:
Ignore The Ignorant by The Cribs
Horehound by The Dead Weather
Them Crooked Vultures (self-titled)
Music For The People by The Enemy

Best Single: “Cheat On Me” by The Cribs
To my ears, this isn’t only one of the best songs of the year but of the decade as well. A rip-roaring piece of guitar magic anchored by The Cribs’ newest member, Mancunian guitar legend Johnny Marr, “Cheat On Me” absolutely shimmers. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, what the hell are you waiting for?

Runners Up:
“Black Hearted Love” by PJ Harvey and John Parish
“Check My Brain” by Alice In Chains
“Poetry of the Deed” by Frank Turner
“The Fear” by Lily Allen

Best Band: Them Crooked Vultures
The biggest buzz in rock this year was created not by a new band but by three rock veterans who joined forces to form a supergroup. John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme make up Them Crooked Vultures. Their live shows and self-titled debut album received rave reviews from critics. It’s not surprising then that the three rock legends are already planning for a second album.

Best Solo Artist: PJ Harvey
Polly Harvey, now 40, continues to confound and excite, no matter what musical road she decides to follow. One of the bravest people in music for her constant change in style, Harvey is a must-see in concert.

Best New Artist: Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine
Florence’s debut album, Lungs, is a masterpiece. Florence Welch received rave reviews for her performances this year. Look for Florence and the Machine to make a big splash in America in 2010.

Best New Band: Mumford and Sons
British folk rockers Mumford and Sons made a big splash in the UK this year with tracks like “Little Lion Man” and “Winter Winds.” An incredibly talented band, Mumford and Sons will likely make inroads into America in the New Year.

Best Video: “Black Hearted Love” by PJ Harvey and John Parish
Polly Harvey jumping up and down in slow motion in a bouncy castle in the pouring rain seems like a bizarre idea for a video. But the images work so well with the song.

Best Live Gig: The Pretenders at Central Park Summerstage, New York City, August 10
Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers, and two new recruits delivered an incredibly entertaining show on a brutally hot night in midtown Manhattan. It is pure joy to listen to Chrissie Hynde sing. She remains one of rock’s best vocalists. See my review of this concert elsewhere on the site.

Best Rapper: Jay-Z
Jay-Z’s performance of “Empire State of Mind” with the incomparable Alicia Keys before Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium was definitely one of rap music’s highlights of the year. And my pick has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a Yankee fan. No, seriously, it doesn’t!

Biggest Disappointment: Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album
In theory, the pairing of Josh Homme and Arctic Monkeys seemed like a solid one. But the results say otherwise. The Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug album contains a lot of meandering, atmospheric rock that brings to mind late 1960s Pink Floyd. It’s just not that exciting. The lukewarm reception that the Humbug material received at an Arctic Monkeys gig in New York City in August was very telling.

Best Comeback: Alice In Chains
More than a decade removed from their last album together, Alice In Chains regrouped and delivered the solid Black Gives Way To Blue. The lead single, “Check My Brain,” is a brilliant piece of hard rock and one of the best singles of the year.

Artist To Watch Out For In 2010: Pixie Lott
The 18-year-old British pop singer Pixie Lott had a pretty amazing year in 2009. Her debut album was released in the UK and her first two singles went to number one in the UK singles chart straight out of the box. Her album will be released in America in 2010 and will likely be accompanied by a big promotional push. It will be interesting to see if the lovely Ms. Lott can replicate her UK success on this side of the pond. Blessed with a powerhouse voice that makes her stand head and shoulders above most other pop singers, Pixie Lott will probably be a household name in America by this time next year. See my Q&A with her elsewhere on the site.

Biggest Music News of The Year: The Death of Michael Jackson (Honorable Mention: Noel Gallagher Quits Oasis)
Without question, the biggest story in music in 2009 was the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson’s death received saturation coverage for weeks. Millions of words have been written about it. I don’t have anything original to add to it, so that’s all I’m going to write about it.

While it didn’t make many headlines in America, one of the biggest music stories involving still-living musicians was Noel Gallagher walking out on Oasis following a nasty row with his brother Liam. While the brothers had fought often in the past with one brother or the other temporarily walking out on the band, this rift seems like it could be permanent. Noel and Liam have not spoken since the incident in the summer. Liam has given numerous press interviews in which he spoke of making new music, and Liam has retained all of Oasis except for Noel to work with him in his new endeavor. Noel has remained mostly silent about his plans as of this writing. As a longtime Oasis fan, I am very curious to see what both of the brothers come up with. Whatever it is, I’m sure that both Noel and Liam will have a lot to say about it.

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Marc Garrison

Following the absolutely stunning number of excellent releases in 2008 across the entire rock/metal spectrum, I had little hope that 2009 would perform up to said years standard. Pleasantly, I could not have been more wrong! With releases from numerous talented newcomers as well as titans of pretty much every genre one could imagine, there is more than enough ear candy to satisfy any music lover’s need for ballads and brutality alike. The following list constitutes the best of the best of the past year, yet only scratches the surface of the killer material released.

Scar Symmetry - Dark Matter Dimensions:
I was extremely hesitant approaching this release, as it was the band’s first without the spellbinding Christian Alvestam on vocals. As previously reviewed, far from crippling the band, Christian’s departure was just the beginning of a completely revamped, renewed, and reenergized Scar Symmetry. The album simply blisters with melodic, heavy, and brutal tracks, all seamlessly integrated into one hell of a release. Definitely a must listen, and my fifth place album of 2009.

Bloodbound - Tabula Rasa:
Another superb release from one of my favorite Progressive/Power metal bands, Sweden’s Bloodbound struck home hard with Tabula Rasa. Marking the return of original vocalist Urban breed, the album is brimming with the perfect fusion of melodic, catchy hard rock and the more intricate, thought provoking aspects of progressive metal. Look out for tracks like Sweet Dreams of Madness and Twisted Kind of Fate, and one can easily see why this one takes fourth place.

Amorphis - Skyforger:
Finnish metal heads Amorphis continue to defy categorization, time and time again releasing albums that push boundaries and often shatter expectations. Skyforger is the culmination of the band’s directional shift over the last three releases, a virtually flawless album of shifting emotions and dynamic composition. As always, the highlight of the release is the gorgeous, soaring vocals of Tomi Joutsen, and he brings a new level of depth to the music never before seen. Amorphis is a natural choice for third place.

Katatonia - Night is the New Day:
It is difficult to put into words how good this album really is. Sweden’s Katatonia have been raising the bar for deeply layered, strangely accessible music for years, yet never before have they crafted so magnificent of a masterpiece as their newest album Night is the New Day. Falling somewhere between alternative/experimental rock with hints of their death metal roots, the album contains astoundingly complex compositions, riddled with emotive triggers and some of the most morose, depressing hooks that have ever been written. A meticulously sculpted piece of art, Katatonia lands second place for this year.

Epica - Design Your Universe:
This one came as a surprise. Being a more or less casual fan of Epica’s previous albums, the fact that this album is in the top five list of the year is a wonder in itself. Design Your Universe takes everything about Epica that makes them stand out in the deluge of female fronted goth-tinged metal bands that seem to come and go with the change of the seasons, turns it on its head, tears it to pieces, and remakes it as the year’s most impressive album and far beyond the band’s previous releases. Leaning away from the mid tempo, synth-laden epics of earlier works, this is one aggressive piece. Simon Simone is as angelic as ever, and her voice skillfully executes an impressive variety of styles with remarkable grace. From the predominant reliance on guitars to carry the melody, the significantly increased presence of growling vocals, to the absolutely pummeling intricacy of Arien van Weesenbeek’s percussion, this is a new Epica, and they are in their finest creative and technical form. Design Your Universe is hands down the best album of 2009.

Biggest letdown of 2009: Old Man’s Child - Slaves to the World:
As with any year, you will have the good ones and a few duds. It is always unfortunate when that dud happens to come from a band one has enjoyed consistently for well over a decade. Old Man’s Child has been somewhat of a bedrock of quality music, with main man Galder employing numerous talented hired guns from all across the metal spectrum to add their own flavor to each release. So it was with profound sadness that Slaves to the World, despite having the talented Peter Wildoer of Darkane fame on drums, really fails to deliver on virtually all accounts. Sounding little like the blackened extreme metal of old, but rather a watered down thrash album better suited to wash up revivalist groups, Old Man’s Child wins the dubious honor of biggest disappointment of the year.

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Ray Hogan

Best Album:
1. Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue
2. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
3. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
4. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
5. Warbringer - Waking into Nightmares

Best Song:
1. U2 - "Moment of Surrender"
2. Kings of Leon - "Use Somebody"
3. Bat for Lashes - "Daniel"
4. Jay-Z with Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"
5. Alice in Chains - "Check My Brain"

Biggest Disappointment:
The death of Les Paul. I had nearly 20 years to see him play his weekly gig in New York and never did. Shame on me for never experiencing one of music's truest innovators - and a great guitarist!