Actually, Top Eleven (Twelve?), IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
Propagandhi – Supporting Caste
My love for Propagandhi is unabashed and unapologetic. While some fans whine about/yearn for the days of How to Clean Everything and Less Talk More Rock (which are definitely both albums on my list of “Best of anything ever”) I have been excited to follow the progression, politically and musically, of these 4 humble Canadians. From interviews I’ve read with the band, Supporting Caste is the kind of album they’ve been striving to make since they were 15 years old. The album kicks off with the song “Night Letters,” one of the most passionate, aggressive, passionately aggresive songs I have ever heard. The subject is one rarely heard in popular music – about the struggles and heartache of immigrants fleeing their oppressive/unlivable homelands and landing in the middle of a culture that is unaccepting, a climate that is unforgiving and feeling the pain of leaving loved ones behind. Propagandhi is definitely a band that practices what they preach (the song comes from the feelings stirred from actually working with recent Canadian immigrants) and the song is written from the perspective of someone who realizes their own luck at not having to have had their life play out that way. Other songs on the album tackle the subjects of “humane” meat, asshole commentators injecting their silly nationalism into a beloved sport, going to see childhood idols, and Francis the Pig’s brave attempt at freedom.
The lyrics on this album, as always, are PhD dissertation-worthy. I am constantly amazed at Chris Hannah’s ability to meter these words to music. There’s a theme of recognizing the futitlity of trying to make a change in the world around you, yet not having any other choice but to try. Propagandhi’s combination of pessimism and hope is one that I feel I really connect with, trying to find the balance between ideals and reality, and existing in the space that that creates for you.
Musically this album shreds like no other Propandhi record has (although there were definitely some shred-heavy moments on Potemkin City Limits). The aforementioned opening track is both lyrically and aurally heavy hitting. I don’t know enough about music terminology to accurately describe some of the other headbanging moments on this record, but it is a beautiful testament to guitar-driven punk rock. Most of the songs are still heavy on the melody and old/whiny fans of Propagandhi should still find plenty to love on this album. Rumor has it that they are already hard at work on another album, and I can’t wait to hear it.
Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
Erika Wennerstrom is the voice, guitar and principal song-writer behind Heartless Bastards. With a smoky, deep voice somewhat reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders, Wennerstrom weaves bluesy influences with mandolins, banjos and rock ‘n roll. Produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead), The Mountain really sounds fantastic as well. This album is generally an easy sell for me in the store, if I put it on it seems people are compelled to ask what it is and just as compelled to purchase it. IN FACT, ODDLY ENOUGH, as I finished typing that last sentence a couple that had been in here a few weeks ago came in specifically to purchase the beautiful, 180 gram vinyl edition. That actually kind of freaked me out how coincidental that was.
Future of the Left – Travels With Myself and Another
Here is a story of one of the best things that happened to me this past summer:
After watching two of my absolute favorite bands (Fucked Up and Mission of Burma) play on the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn, NY the plan was to eat some tasty vegan food and then head back to crash out for the night because we were worn out from standing in the sun all day. As we’re heading back to the Subway, we pass a smallish bar that is eminating rowdiness. As we’re approaching it the music begans to sound strangely familiar. It makes mere moments to realize that Future of the Left is playing in that bar, right now. Kyle and I had been jamming Travels With Myself and Another a whole lot in the weeks previous to our trip, so this was a really, really awesome surprise show. Earlier in the day we had seen a flyer advertising a FotL show in NYC a few days after we were leaving and we were bummed that we would be missing it. But, surprise! Here’s this free show!
Travels With Myself and Another is well described as “melodically brutal.” The rhythms are really tight with bursts of aggression and bizarre lyrics. Bitter leadman Andy Falkous strikes me as someone I would probably not get along with IRL, but his snotty attitude makes me laugh when I read interviews and articles about the band. This album is full or energy, tension, and grit and pissed off Welshmen.
Paint it Black – Amnesia & Surrender 7″s
After determining that the 7″ is the ideal format for hardcore releases, Paint it Black gave us two of them this year – Amnesia and Surrender. Dan Yemin’s ferocity mixes well with his philosophical ruminations and his songs are quickly making him one of my favorite lyricists. The Mission of Burma reference in Amnesia‘s last song “Bliss” is a cherry on top of a coconut ice cream sundae of an EP. Surrender‘s song “Worms” contains an awesome encapsulation of an outlook I share with Yemin: “We discern at day’s end we’re just food for the worms, so we work at what we love, and live on our own terms.” Paint it Black’s style, sound and words stand head and shoulders above most hardcore bands of past and present. I hope we’ll get 2 more 7″s next year. Waiting for each one feels kind of like being a kid anticipating Christmas morning. I can’t help sometimes but feel like these songs were written special for me, to speak to or reinforce something that I’ve currently been thinking about.
Kylesa – Static Tensions
Kylesa makes my favorite kind of heavy music, sludgy metal with pounding drums, radass melodies, and a bit of psychedelia. Kylesa has 2 drummers and 3 vocalists but it’s never overkill. The drums on this album sound absolutely amazing compared to their previous albums and the dual drumming really stands out as a percussive masterpiece. In fact, the drums are the very first thing you hear on the album, on their own for about 15 seconds before the rest of the band kicks in with what is immediately recognizable as Kylesa. And the riffage, have I mentioned the riffage yet? The call-and-response guitars in “Running Red” will get stuck in my head for days. This is my favorite heavy album of the year. You know what is so disapointing, though? Kylesa played here, in Traverse City, a couple years ago and almost no one was there. Their live show is blistering and I’m really excited about the next time I can see them so I can see songs off of Static Tensions live.
Baroness – Blue Record
Even with his geographic innaccuracy, Jack’s Baroness review already said all that needed to be said about this album. This Baroness album is a MUST for fans of guitar-worship. Also, check out how much badass album artwork is contained within this list.
Converge – Axe to Fall
As Converge enters their 20th year of existence they’ve released another metal touchstone album with Axe to Fall. The first four songs are relentlessly, face-meltingly brutal. It seems as though Converge has gotten bored with defining a genre all on their own and so almost every song featuress a guest musician from bands like Disfear, Genghis Tron, Neurosis and Cave In, but they are not overwhelmingly obvious, sometimes not obvious at all. I don’t even know why people bother with most other metal while Converge exists.
Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
An awesome follow up to 2007′s Beyond, Farm is more of the awesome guitar-driven rock we’ve come to expect from J Mascis and Lou Barlow, with plenty of the obligatory 45 second guitar solos. This album seems really thoughtful, and although kind of sad, it puts me in a really pleasant, mellow mood. This record is another example of “awesome album art released this year.”
Mission of Burma – The Sound The Speed The Light
“1, 2, 3, Partyyy” is a classic Mission of Burma jam that kicks off an album totally reminiscent of MoB in their original heyday. That familiarity isn’t a bad thing, it also lends to this shit sounding almost flawless it’s so well put together. I’m so glad these guys got back together this decade and not only because it gave me the opportunity to see them live.
Pink Mountaintops – Outside Love & Lightning Dust – Infinite Light
These two albums, both released by the awesome Jagjaguwar label, are side projects of members of my favorite-album-of-2008-band Black Mountain. Lightning Dust is Amber Webber and Joshua Wells while Pink Mountaintops is the effort of Stephen McBean. These two albums are pretty different, but still feel like natural extensions of the awesomeness of Black Mountain. Pink Mountaintops is kind of a stoner country album with a dose of Pink Floyd. Lightning Dust is more of a classical pop influenced style, sometimes reminiscent of the best aspects of theater music. A borrowed Steinway grand piano motivated/inspired most of this album. Amber Webber’s voice is obviously a standout in anything she does and Infinite Light is no exception. Both albums are hazy and joyous, with a complexity that isn’t immediately apparent on first listen. I’m happy that 2009 added these two albums to the Vancouver space rock canon.
[Resized the images and fixed the line break problems. -Tony]
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