I enjoy wrapping up each year with a look at my favorite albums, although I don’t really have the knowledge base to do much musical analysis. So this year it will be a fairly basic list, with some embedded samples from each album and very brief thoughts. Without further ado, my top fifteen albums of 2009 (listed alphabetically by artist), plus a glance at what 2010 holds for my tastes.
2562 – Unbalance: This is the second LP from Dave Huismans under the 2562 moniker. It’s more or less glitchy dubstep with occasional appearances by the sorts of ethereal background vocals known to the genre.
“Flashback”:
Air – Love 2: French electronic duo Air delivers another great record that returns to a more playful sound after the darker Pocket Symphony. They’re responsible for some of the more cheerful and carefree electronic music nowadays and Love 2 doesn’t disappoint. And no, it’s not actually a sequel album.
“Sing Sang Sung”:
Dextro – Winded: Light, relaxing tunes that strike a balance between electronic and post rock sounds.
“Distance”:
Fever Ray – Fever Ray: I’ve made no secret that this is my absolute favorite album of the year. Karin Dreijer Andersson takes a break from The Knife with this solo effort and crafts an astoundingly moody, even creepy at times, sound with occult aesthetics.
“When I Grow Up”:
IAMX – Kingdom of Welcome Addiction: Chris Corner returns with his third solo album as IAMX, providing more of the dark, subversive glam rock/electro you’d expect from him. As he puts it, the album is “like Disney World but with lipstick, cynicism and wit.”
“Tear Garden”:
