Olive Music's Top 10 of '09: Carter's Picks

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After roughly 7 months of Olive Music's existence, I decided to just go along with Pitchfork, Forest Gospel, The Needle Drop, etc. and just hop onto the 'Top Albums of 2009' list bandwagon. I have to say that I'm glad that this site has developed a fanbase, and I'm eager to post more reviews in the near future and-- you just want to see the list, huh? Alright.

10. Bygones - by- (Sargent House)

Zach Hill is not one to disappoint, and with his collaboration spree this year, I was worried. But when you bring Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos into the picture, you can only expect the best from Bygones. by-‘s complex rhythms and melodies are sure to get your foot tapping to those catchy 5/4 time signatures. [Review]

9. Holiday Shores - Columbus'd The Whim (twosyllable)

Though many bands have the new lo-fi sound, Columbus’d The Whim is much more sophisticated in comparison. With the ghostly reverb of Women, and the pop sensibilities of The Shins and Built To Spill, this is a highly underrated album that’s undeniably catchy to any listener.

8. Rambutan/Derek Rogers - Street Secrets (Existential Cloth)

I’m floored. I recognized Rambutan from his Broken Infinity release on Stunned, but was curious as to who Derek Rogers was. Little did I know, he plays in al Qaeda. Surely enough, both artists gave equal elements of harsh and soft soundscapes that demanded to be played at maximum volume. Looks like Southern Lord’s motto applies to more than just their releases.

7. St. Vincent - Actor (4AD)

Don't let this cover deceive you. This is no happy-go-lucky folk pop, this is something different. St. Vincent (Annie Clark) is known for playing in bands like Polyphonic Spree and even in Glenn Branca's noise orchestra. So, what you can expect with this album is maybe some catchy indie pop with noisy tendencies? Sure, but you get more than that. The way the well-written melodies and heavily distorted guitars blend together just makes everything about the album absolutely fantastic.

6. Calories - Adventuring (Smalltown America)

Calories are influenced by various bands from the 90’s, though they steer in a more straight-forward direction. Calories are very skilled with melody and technicality. Not so much technicality in instrumentation, but more in the way of how the songs progress. Adventuring is just a chaotic, 23-minute rollercoaster. [Review]

5. Grooms - Rejoicer (Death By Audio)

In the same case as Girls’ debut album Album (though I’m not comparing their sounds), the idea or aesthetic of the music may not be completely original, but Grooms most certainly added their own hints of originality onto their nostalgic, noisy 90’s alt-rock presentation. Their song structure is one thing to point out; there’s nearly no chorus in any of the songs. The sounds constantly change, which gives the album replay power. Am I saying the songs are forgettable? No. As a whole, the songs are hard to remember and require frequent listens. However, there are catchy parts that occur throughout that will have you humming. A truly underrated 2009 release indeed. [Review]

4. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem (P.W. Elverum and Sun)

With Phil Elverum, it’s no surprise that a concept album was to appear in his extensive discography, but I don’t think people were suspecting this. Never mind Sunn O))), Wind’s Poem is the darkest release of this year, hands down. Black metal, piano “ballads?”; this album goes in many different directions, yet still maintaining the same atmosphere. [Review]

3. Julianna Barwick - Florine (eMusic Selects)

Julianna Barwick has one of the most diverse styles in today’s generation of music; her music is a cappella, with the exception of the track “Anjos”. Though it may seem a bit gimmicky, Florine is full of beautiful harmonies, lush vocals, and it showcases ambience in its prime. [Review]

2. DOOM - Born Like This (Lex Records)

In relation to the album in the #1 slot, I never did take rap or hip-hop seriously. DOOM, however, completely turned my tastes around. The beats are amazing, just catchy as all hell. They aren’t just “boom-boom-tap” with a single keyboard note droning over it. DOOM’s whole aesthetic and lyrical abilities are just great. I was honestly expecting poor lyrics but no; you get rhymes that are completely nonsensical and don’t depend on the relevance of today’s media. His style is great too, focusing on the idea that he’s a supervillain out to destroy… rap, possibly? I don’t know.

1. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)

I never took Sunn O))) seriously, and I really don’t think you’re supposed to. But I did when hearing this. That first riff just immediately takes you into the gates of hell. Guitar strings as loose as spaghetti, vocals lower than the cookie monster himself, etc. But that’s not what made this album so great. It’s Sunn O)))’s attention to atmosphere and variety. Floorboards creaking, orchestral vocals, broken violins; it’s all over the place, yet it doesn’t become a mind-boggle to listen to. Now, it is repetitious compared to other albums, but if you compare this to another Sunn O))) album, this has a lot of musical variety. No other album of this year sounds like this or will give you the same listening experience as other albums, there’s just one thing you need to remember before listening; this is Sunn O))), know what you’re getting yourself into. [Review]

I hope you enjoyed our lists. I mainly wanted to separate them by writers because, one of the main points of Olive Music is that everything is according to someone's opinion. We didn't want to just have a generalized list of all of our choices because, that's not our honest opinion on the album, that would be the entire blog's decision and not solely the writer. I also hope that you have a merry Christmas or-- you just want to stop reading now, don't you? Sigh.