The Braves - Los Bravos ep (2001?)

By the time I caught wind of The Braves, Rockford, IL's greatest export Cheap Trick, I had missed their first ep, Los Bravos, which functioned as an appetizer of sorts for their phenomenal 2003 platter, That's the Hot Part.  When the noisome but jangly five-piece rolled into town in 2004 (or thereabouts), I approached them about obtaining a copy of Bravos.  Not surprisingly, this was a self-released demo of sorts that had sold out, but one of the Braves was kind enough to send me a CD-R copy.  The artwork presented here is black and white, though I can't vouch for this being the actual color scheme, as I was furnished with a photocopy (not that I'm complaining).

Six fleeting cuts are presented here, including an early take of the passionately melodic "I Am a Patriot," which later found it's way onto That's the Hot Part.  "I'm a Sad Girl," bears one of the most delicious hooks the Braves ever put their stamp on, but it clocks in at only a teasing 50 seconds.  A faithful cover of the Velvet's "Candy Say" closes this affair out with class.  If you're curiosity is piqued, click on the link in the first paragraph to learn more about the Braves, and download ...Hot Part.  Braves vocalist Joe currently fronts Wire Sparrows, while his former bandmates have embarked on La Historia.

01. I Am a Patriot
02. You Harlot
03. Barley on the Ground
04. I'm a Sad Girl
05. Are We Kings
06. Candy Says

Hear

The Braves - That's the Hot Part (2003, Arms Reach)

That's the Hot Part, issued on the now defunct Arms Reach Records label, was my first exposure The Braves, and though it pales slightly to the quintet's bolder follow-up, Love & Mercy, it's remarkable in it's own rite, albeit something of an acquired taste.  The group's rather indigenous blend of emotive fervor, gently smothered melodies, and unconstrained delivery all come together fluidly (and fluently) on this immensely promising half hour of power.  If you're still unconvinced, read what Big Takeover magazine had to say:

I’d love to ghettoize this album with a convenient, dumbed-down catchall tag, like “jangle-core” “mid-fi” or “inide rock,” but alas I’m out of luck.  There’s something immense going on within these five inches of aluminum that defies applying such mundane designations.  That’s the Hot Part pulses and breathes with the kind of sparseness and downbeat purity the Spinanes and Inbreds have made their calling card, but an average song length of a scant two minutes lends a detached and mildly fragmented template to the Braves performances.  Perhaps it’s not by coincidence that “Hear, Say!” lifts a good chunk of the melody from REM’s Murmur classic, “Catapult,” as The Braves’ strongest songs mesh with the refreshingly disassociated and atmospheric context of that album.  In this day and age, I’d say that makes That’s The Hot Part all the more vital.

You might still be able to obtain copies of TTHP through the always reliable and reasonably priced Interpunk.  Johann's Face Records who released the aforementioned Braves sophomore album, Love & Mercy should still have plenty of those in stock, as does Interpunk.

01. This is My Wife
02.  And These Are My Wedding Day Shoes
03. You're No F- Jazz Guitarist
04. Your Car
05. Young Loves
06. I Am a Patriot
07. We Haven't
08. Oh Wait, Yes We Have
09. But a Lieutenant
10. I Want to Build Us a Big White House
11. Young Lies
12. Gentlemen's Blues
13. Hear, Say!
14. Your Harmless Disposition

Hear

New noise: Paper Waves - Give Me the Moonlight and Present Tense - Nothing So Far.

Picking up roughly where his last project, Wire Sparrows left off, former Braves frontman Joe Reina has bestowed not only a new album, but a new endeavor Paper Waves, a quartet who also boast another Braves alum, drummer Jesse Carmona.  That aforementioned Rockford, IL combo that I've doled out so much praise to over the years were responsible for three stellar albums throughout the '00s, including the particularly riveting 2004 sophomore stunner Love & Mercy.  Since then Reina has donned the head honcho hat for three subsequent combos, The Bernadettes, Wire Sparrows and now Paper Waves. 

Though less spontaneous and wrenching than "Los Bravos," this trifecta has evoked an emotional charge that's equally parallel, albeit in a lucid and more measured framework.  Paper Waves debut, Give Me the Moonlight is a heartfelt surge of unpretentious indie rock, that at it's apex manages to balance the contemplative with the cathartic, ably evidenced on the strident "Some New Hand of God" and "The Careless Lifestyles," both equipped with hooks worthy of severing a limb for.  The most discernible moment of tenderness here arrives in the guise of "Waking Up Birds" a wholly sincere tear-jerker, originally composed and performed by Reina's second-to-last project, The Bernadettes.  I would be remiss if I failed to point out that the Paper Waves roster also features one Marcus Spitzmiller, a gentleman who featured prominently in the lineup of bygone local yokels God's Reflex.  Spitzmiller has a knack for jazzy guitar progressions, quite tasty ones at that, spicing up many a nook and cranny on this disk.  In fact, Give Me the Moonlight is pretty delicious in itself, whether consumed in one song snacks or as a full course, thirty-odd minute meal.  You can hear and purchase it yourself over yonder at Bandcamp or iTunes.

That brings us to our next subject, Present Tense, who I'm informed contain alumni from an unheralded New York left-off-the-dial aggregation called Sunday Puncher.  I really enjoyed that band's '90s full-length propositions, For Your Everchanging World and The Livid Eye, not to mention a 45 of theirs I put up several moons ago.  To my recollection SP were going more for the noise/distortion thing, whereas Present Tense seem to skew more towards the avant, and dare I say disquieting.  Nothing So Far their premiere effort, is an unpredictable melange of bendy riffs, undulating rhythms, asymmetrical keyboard maneuvers and often deadpan vocals.  Dissonant post-punk riptides prevail amidst PT's dense, sonic currents with brief forays into coldwave ("Our Largesse") and occasionally into something resembling a pop tune ("It's Visual").  There's a lot to dissect on any given tune in Nothing's... complex, shape-shifting arsenal, but if the likes of Mission of Burma, Rollerskate Skinny, recent Wire, and solo Robert Pollard tend to persuade you look Present Tense up on Bandcamp, and perhaps a record rack near you down the road.

The culminaton of a story and a goodbye session: My favorite albums of the decade from hell.

It's all too convenient to say that the '00s was the weakest decade for rock music. As someone who operates a blog dedicated to the sounds of the good 'ol twentieth century it makes such a claim all the more viable and tempting. I will say this however. Back in December of 1999, eons before this page sprouted up, I put together a list of my 100 favorite albums of the '90s, purely to disseminate among my friends and peers. In that decade, and ditto for the 1980s, there were roughly 200-300 quality albums that could have realistically vied for one of those coveted top-100 spots. This time out, I absolutely struggled to come up with 100 worthy titles. Ultimately I didn't, but I'll come back to this dilemma in a few moments.

The aughts were not about trends, at least as far as I was concerned. Though many were represented, to this set of ears this was the first decade of my existence that was devoid of any bona fide genre-breaking. Just as it's convenient to proclaim the music of the past ten years was comparatively inferior, another wholesale realization was that virtually everything dispelled in the post-Y2K era entailed: a) an obvious throwback; b) a rehash; c) a nifty melange of multiple genres of yore, or perhaps more overarching, technological advancements applied to any of the three variations I just rattled off.

For me, the appeal of music in the past decade often pivoted on what struck my fancy during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This was also the scenario for a lot of people I'm acquainted with, but unfortunately, many of them took the lazy way out and subconsciously (or not) ceased exposing themselves to new artists, rather almost exclusively supporting established acts from the century past. The truth is, there was a lot of commendable music being churned out during this rather miserable ten-year span, but given the noticeable dearth of innovation, the bulk of it went in one ear and out the other...or was dismissed entirely. And as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm as guilty as anyone else I'm referring to out there.

After you take a gander at my 90 or so picks, I know what a lot of you are bound to be scratching your head over. Saves the Day? Dashboard Confessional? Owl City? The Juliana Theory? No less than all three Motion City Soundtrack albums? Even a Fall Out Boy disk? All these out-of-place monikers on a best-of the decade list from a chap that fancies utter obscurities from the golden age of college radio? Yet some, if not all of the aforementioned and their associated ilk outlined in the list below bestowed some of the finest pop songs and albums of this decade that will resonate with me for many more to come. These were hardly guilty pleasures (though at first they certainly felt like it). In fact the aforementioned were the lifeblood of my soundtrack over recent years.

As to why I cut the cord at 95 albums instead of 100, I believe that over the next couple of years (perhaps beyond) I'll find another five albums at least from the '00s that I haven't stumbled upon yet. Instead of "dropping" albums from this list as more preferable ones make it into my stereo and MP3 player, leaving things open-ended with built-in placeholders seems pretty logical - something I failed to do with my 1990s album list, but I digress. Anal and self-indulgent as hell, I know...

In parting, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a little critique and backgrounder for my number one pick of the decade. Around 2005 or so, a lot of you may have caught wind of an intercontinental, slightly raunchy blues/folk duo known as The Kills. Additionally, even more of you are probably familiar with The Dead Weather, a side endeavor of Jack White. The link between these two groups is one Alison Mosshart (who opts for the assumed name of VV when in Kills-mode). As it turns out, I have been following Allison since the mid-90s when as a teen/early-twenty something she was fronting a fledgling indie pop-punk crew based in Vero Beach, Florida called Discount. By the time they got to their third and final album, Crash Diagnostic, they weren't merely "fledgling" anymore - in fact, they had wholeheartedly arrived. Diagnostic was an OK Computer-savvy kiss goodbye and simultaneous kiss-off to the emo/punk scene that bore Discount, soon to be watered down for the masses over the course of the forthcoming decade. Bristling with 13 raw, exposed nerves (i.e. songs), seeped in oblique lyrics, arresting dynamics, not to mention more Fugazi worship than you could shake a stick at, Crash Diagnostic was something of a grower at first, but would soon become an inseparable part of my life. While the facets I laid out in that last sentence comprised the meat and potatoes of the album's aesthetic, the glue stringing all of it together was of course Alison Mosshart's frenzied, about-to-careen-off-the-track vocal aplomb that she has yet to employ in her post-Discount ventures (but I'd say masterminding the album of the decade is enough of an accomplishment). Incidentally, Crash Diagnostic was literally the first release of the year 2000 to fall into my hands, and I would be dumbstruck if you told me at the time that nothing coming down the pike in the next nine years and eleven months would top it. You can listen to the whole thing here. Enjoy, and remember, it's only a list.

01. Discount – Crash Diagnostic (2000, New American Dream)
02. My Vitriol – Finelines (2001, Sony)
03. Passion Pit – Manners (French Kiss, 2009)
04. Mike Viola – Hang on Mike (2003, Sony)
05. The Stereo – Rewind + Record (2002, Fueled By Ramen)
06. The National – Boxer (2007, Beggars Banquet)
07. Local Rabbits – This is It, Here We Go (2001, Brobdingnagian)
08. Element 101 – Future Plans Undecided (2000, Tooth & Nail)
09. Panic! At the Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005, Fueled By Ramen)
10. Sig Transit Gloria – s/t (2000, Johann’s Face)

11. Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (2003, Dirtnap)
12. The Lives of Famous Men – three eps: Rehearsal/Modern Love/Sunshine (2007-09, self released)
13. The Strokes – Is This It? (2001, RCA)
14. Dashboard Confessional – The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2001, Vagrant)
15. Motion City Soundtrack - Commit this to Memory (2005, Epitaph)
16. Saves the Day – Stay What You Are (2001, Vagrant
17. Amusement Parks on Fire – Out of the Angeles (2006, V2)
18. The Braves – Love and Mercy (2005, Johann’s Face)
19. Fall Out Boy – Take This to Your Grave (2003, Fueled By Ramen)
20. The Anniversary – Designing a Nervous Breakdown (2000, Vagrant)

21. The Doleful Lions – Song Cyclops Vol. I (2000, Parasol)
22. Ben Kweller – Sha Sha (2002, ATO)
23. Paul Westerberg – Stereo/Mono (2002, Vagrant)
24. Rooney – s/t (2003, Interscope)
25. The Mary Onettes – s/t (2007, Labrador)
26. Nada Surf – Let Go (2002, Barsuk)
27. Hey Mercedes – Everynight Fire Works (2001, Vagrant)
28. Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman (2005, Sony)
29. Stew – Guest Host (2000, Telegraph)
30. Taking Back Sunday – Where You Want to Be (2004, Victory)

31. The Lillingtons – The Backchannel Broadcast (2001, Panic Button)
32. Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (2008, RCA)
33. Phantom Planet – The Guest (2002, Sony)
34. Motion City Soundtrack – I Am the Movie (2003, Epitaph)
35. Mike Viola – Just After Dark (2005, Good Morning Monkey)
36. Jack’s Mannequin – Everything In Transit (2005, Maverick)
37. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (2009, Slumberland)
38. Elliott – False Cathedrals (2000, Revelation)
39. Damien Jurado – Ghost of David (2000, Sub Pop)
40. FM Knives – Useless and Modern (Empty, 2003)

41. Motion City Soundtrack – Even if it Kills Me (2007, Epitaph)
42. Ben Folds – Rockin’ the Suburbs (2001, Sony)
43. Tugboat Annie – The Space Around You (2000, Big Top)
44. Emm Gryner – The Summer of High Hopes (2006, Dead Daisy)
45. The Juliana Theory – Emotion is Dead (2000, Tooth & Nail)
46. This Is Me Smiling – s/t (2005, The Vinyl Summer)
47. Mew – …and the Glass Handed Kites (2005, Sony)
48. Owl City – Ocean Eyes (2009, Universal)
49. The Braves – That’s the Hot Part (2002, Arms Reach)
50. Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends (2002, Victory)

51. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (2005, Sony)
52. The Marked Men – s/t (2003, Dirtnap)
53. Dashboard Confessional – The Swiss Army Romance (2000, Drive-Thru)
54. Cockeyed Ghost – Ludlow 6:18 (2001, Karma Frog)
55. Cruiserweight – Sweet Weaponry (2005, Doghouse)
56. Bad Astronaut – Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem (2002, Honest Don’s)
57. Lightweight Holiday – s/t (2003, Porterhouse)
58. Amusement Parks on Fire – s/t (2005, Filter/BMG)
59. Pedro the Lion – Control (2002, Jade Tree)
60. Lifetime – s/t (Fueled By Ramen, 2007)

61. Hot Hot Heat – Elevator (2005, Warner Bros.)
62. The Straylight Run – s/t (2004, Victory)
63. Pete Yorn – Day I Forgot (2003, Sony)
64. Jets to Brazil – Four Cornered Night (2000, Jade Tree)
65. Rhett Miller – The Instigator (2002, Elektra)
66. The Stryder – Masquerade in the Key of Crime (2000, Equal Vision)
67. Reeve Oliver – s/t (2004, Militia Group)
68. Something Corporate – North (2003, Drive-Thru)
69. Blake Babies – God Save the Blake Babies ( 2001, Rounder)
70. Graig Markel – Hard Grammar (2001, Mag Wheel)

71. Saves the Day – Under the Boards (2007, Vagrant)
72. The 101 – Green Street (2005, Limekiln)
73. Hellogoodbye – Zombies!, Aliens!, Vampires!, Dinosaurs! (2006, Drive-Thru)
74. The Bon Mots – Le Main Drag (2003, Mellifluid)
75. Kevin Tihista’s Red Terror – Don’t Breathe a Word (2001, Parasol)
76. Chamberlain – Exit 232 (2001)
77. Jon Auer – Songs from the Year of Our Demise (2006, Pattern 25)
78. Maritime – Heresy & the Hotel Choir (2007, Flameshovel)
79. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (2007, Sub Pop)
80. High Speed Scene - s/t (2005, Star Trak/Interscope)

81. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Pershing (2008, Polyvinyl)
82. All Systems Go! – s/t (2001, Cold Front)
83. Turin Brakes – The Optimist (2001, Astralwerks)
84. Two Tongues – s/t (2009, Vagrant)
85. Daysleepers – Drowned in a Sea of Sound (2008, Clairecords)
86. Mark Kleiner Power Trio – Love To Night (2002, Mint)
87. DrugMoney – Mtn Cty Jnk (2004, Hybrid)
88. Young Sportsmen – Death to Palaces (2007)
89. Interpol – Antics (2004, Matador)
90. Red Fox Grey Fox – From the Land of Bears, Ice and Rock (2007, Afternoon)

91. Schatzi – 50 Reasons to Explode (2002, Mammoth)
92. House & Parish – One, One-thousand ep (2007 Arena Rock)
93. Steven Mark-Wright – Pop Motel (2006, Not Lame)
94. Drag the River – Closed (2002, Upland/Suburban Home)
95. Broadfield Marchers – When the Lifted Connive (2006, St. Ives)

96-100 ?????

2012. The year in rear view - obligatory commentary and lists.

Before proceeding further I would like to extend a Happy New Year to everyone.  I'd be remiss if I failed to thank all of you for visiting Wilfully Obscure, and extra special gratitude is in order for those of you who were generous to provide me with music to review, whether it was physical or otherwise.  I don't get to everything, but I am listening.

If I was really stoked about current indie music, I wouldn't be placing such inordinate emphasis on music from twenty to thirty years ago.  So why am I so jaded?  Probably because everything has been seen and done to the nth degree and I require something extra stimulating - akin to that extra dosage of medication that's necessary once the body has built a tolerance to once normal allotments.  Actually it isn't quantity so much as quality that I crave. So what constitutes quality?  Like many of you, I privately "grade" albums/singles on a scale of 1 to 10 all the time, and ideally my Top 20 lists should consist of all 8's or above.  Well, 2012 wasn't exactly ideal, as was 2010 or '11.  There were in fact many, many 7's, but I could only wedge so many into my admittedly self indulgent list.  The majority of slots are occupied by repeat offenders (Ben Folds, Motion City, Ringo Deathstarr, et al), and for good reason given the quality of their records, but this year I'm coming up embarrassingly short in terms of fresh faces.  Could be that I'm not looking hard enough, or that my expenses don't allow me to take chances as I so often used to.  Then there's all the folks who put out new product this year that I simply didn't get to: Gavin Guss, Ken Stringfellow, Bailter Space, Cloud Nothings, NOFX, and oodles more.  I'm sure I've missed some good 'uns, and every new year, without fail, I subsequently find albums from the previous year that in a perfect world would have made it into my Top-20 in time.  Thankfully, none of you are keeping track. 

Though I didn't add any titles to my all-time desert island list, Japandroids came damn close to making the cut.  Had the entire Ben Folds Five reunion disk been as consistent as it's first half it would have probably made my number one pick.  Spotlight Kid's purist dream-pop revivalism was near stunning at times, and Nada Surf clocked in with their most satisfying album in about a decade.  Graig Markel's new acoustic solo platter was a spare and emotional, analogue-tracked delight, rounding out a very solid top-five. Joe from one of my fave '00s enterprises, The Braves reemerged in Wire Sparrows, Pop Zeus brought the fuzz in fine fashion, Songs for Snakes picked at the carcass of Jawbreaker, much to my delight, and Dot Dash may very well have delivered the most gratifying pure-pop album of the year.  As for reissues, I'm going to let my list speak for itself, but I've got a major beef with Moss Icon's supposed Complete Discography, which leaves off songs - and no tracklist, are you kidding me?  At any rate, enjoy.  There is no music accompanying this post.

2012 Top-twenty albums

01. Japandroids – Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)

02. Ben Folds Five – The Sound of the Life of the Mind (Sony)

03. Spotlight Kid – Disaster Tourist (Saint Marie)

04. Nada Surf – The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (Barsuk)

05. Graig Markel – s/t

06. Passion Pit – Gossamer (Sony)

07. Dot Dash – Winter Garden Light (The Beautiful Music)

08. Silversun Pickups – Neck of the Woods (Dangerbird)

09. Wire Sparrows – The Love of A Loved Life

10. Everyone Everywhere – s/t

11. Pop Zeus – s/t (Burger)

12. Motion City Soundtrack – Go (Epitaph)

13. Bob Mould – Silver Age (Merge)

14. Beach House – Bloom (Sub Pop)
15. Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope)

16. Machines Learning – Pendragon’s Lullaby ep

17. Songs For Snakes – Charcoal Heather

18. Ben Kweller – Go Fly a Kite (Noise)

19. Retisonic – Robots Fucking (Arctic Rodeo)

20. Ringo Deathstarr – Mauve (Sonic Unyon) 

20 worthy reissues (in no particular order)

Blur – 21 box

Archers of Loaf – Vee Vee, All the Nations Airports, White Trash Heroes (Merge)

Medicine – Buried Life, Shot Forth box + Always Starting to Stop tape (Captured Tracks)

Feedtime – The Aberrant Years box (Sub Pop)

Best Kissers in the World – Yellow Brick Roadkill (Hail the Sound)

My Bloody Valentine – EPs 1988-1991

The Late Show – Portable Pop (Trashy Creatures)

Candy – Whatever Happened to Fun (Rock Candy)

Moss Icon - (in)Complete Discography (Temporary Residence)

Primitons – Don’t Go Away: Collected Works (Arena Rock)

Interpol - Turn on the Bight Lights, 10^th Anniversary Edition (Matador)

Orange Roughies – Detroit (Gangplank)

Cotton Mather – Kontiki Deluxe Edition

The Velvet Underground and Nico – S/T 45^th Aniv Deluxe Edition

Sloan – Twice Removed box set

The Trypes – Music for Neighbors (Acute)

Wool – Lunar Momento: Lost Rancho Session Vols. 1 & 2 (Dine Alone)

Smashing Pumpkins – Pisces Iscariot deluxe

Sugar – Copper Blue/Beaster (Merge)

Various – Buttons: From Champaign to Chicago (Numero)

And everything is going to the beat... 2009: The year in rear view, and the genius of Passion Pit.

Everybody seems to be pretty tight-lipped about it, but not only are we at the close of another year, but a decade as well. Who can blame them, right? I need not go into that I suppose, but as an annual tradition that began last year, I would be remiss without charting the best albums and reissues of 2009. This blog is predominantly about the past, but you'd be surprised at how well I can multi-task with the current slew of music as well. For me the '00s were a steady downward trajectory, with each succeeding year producing a less enticing crop of new albums and bands. Then from out of the blue, something quite amazing happened this spring.

To this set of ears, no other band dominated '09 more than Passion Pit, perhaps the single most arresting band to roll outta Boston, MA since the Pixies. I'll be the first to admit they're a puzzling pick given my usual pallet. In fact, I've never been so stoked on a band so utterly diametric to who I normally wax about on Wilfully Obscure, past or present. Nevertheless, their debut, Manners is by far and away the most convincing proposition the year had to offer, and for that matter, the past three or four years. Specializing in engulfingly, hyper techno-pop, Passion Pit are more attuned to the dance floor than just about any other environ I tend to frequent. Upon hearing “The Reeling” on a sampler compilation this spring, I immediately succumbed to Michael Angelakos gleeful, unremitting falsetto and his band’s dizzying keyboard arrangements, penetrating harmonies, carefully choreographed glitches, and even a reoccurring kids choir. Think the Gibb brothers fronting New Order on overdrive. This is a band that mesmerises full-bore on all fronts, but the bizarre thing is, a year ago I wouldn’t have believed my gonzo reaction to an album of this ilk. Simply put, Passion Pit posses a prowess light years beyond their 2007 infancy (conceived no less in Angelakos bedroom as a Valentine’s Day gift to his sweetheart). Furthermore, Manners ironically bids adieu to a sheer pisser of a decade on an ultra celebratory crescendo, not a whimper. My only concern? I don’t see how they'll ever top it.

Though far from mainstream, the band is hardly underground at this point, which means a lot of you have already experienced them firsthand. While I’m not at liberty to share the readily available Manners, I’ve opted instead to put together a “starter kit” of sorts, containing remixes of four crucial album cuts, and two outtakes from their 2008 ep Chunk of Change, “Batty Lashes” and “Tons of Guns.” As most remixes go, they’re not exactly representative of the LP versions, so to round things out a little more, I’m also sharing their entire live set from this years Glastonbury festival! The links and tracklists are at the tail end of the post.

Yes, there was other stuff occupying my CD player and turntable this year. Also of note was the equally out of character indulgence, Owl City, yet another Casio-kissed contender churning out sublime (in fact, downright utopic) keyboard confections. Superdrag brought forth a great reunion disk, Industry Giants, while Taking Back Sunday, Built to Spill, The Marked Men, and Thermals unleashed reliably satisfying albums as well. Inspired newcomers like Japandroids, Telekenesis, and I Was a King sweetened the pot to fine effect. Mission of Burma delivered their most roiling post-reunion album yet, and Julian Casablancas (of Strokes fame) stunned with a bracing debut solo effort that I never saw coming. There was also Waking Up Birds from the little discussed Bernadettes, the latest endeavor from the ex-frontman (who shall remain unnamed) of The Braves/Evergreen Trio, an album only available via e-mail request for an extremely limited time. Thankfully, for your sake, there's a Rapidshare link to the whole thing below. Alongside my Top 20 and honorable mentions, are my fave reissues and such of 2009. I'd say that's enough typing for one day. Enjoy, and if you're up for more Passion Pit visit them on Myspace, and check out a plethora of live goodies and sessions on Peenko blog.

20 albums that made 2009 more tolerable:

01. Passion Pit – Manners (French Kiss/Columbia)
02. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (Slumberland)
03. Owl City – Ocean Eyes (Universal)
04. Two Tongues – s/t (Vagrant)
05. Built to Spill – There is No Enemy (WB)
06. Superdrag – Industry Giants (Thirty Tigers)
07. Japandroids – Post-Nothing (Polyvinyl)
08. The Bernadettes – Waking Up Birds (self released)
09. Taking Back Sunday – New Again (WB)
10. Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young (RCA)
11. Marked Men – Ghosts (Dirtnap)
12. I Was a King – s/t (The Control Group)
13. Tinted Windows – s/t (S-Curve)
14. Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers (Sony UK)
15. Vinyl Candy – Land (self released)
16. Telekenesis – Telekenesis! (Merge)
17. Mission of Burma – The Sound, The Speed, The Light (Matador)
18. Silversun Pickups – Swoon (Dangerbird)
19. Thermals – Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)
20. Doves – Kingdom of Rust (Astralwerks)

Bubbling under:

Doug Gillard – Call From Restricted
Citified – Absence ep (Eskimo Kiss)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars ep (Slumberland)
Pete Yorn – Back and Fourth (Sony)
Dinosaur Jr. – Farm (Jagjaguar)
Mew – No More Stories (Sony)
Superchunk – Leaves in the Gutter ep (Merge)
Bostons Spaceships – Zero to 99 (GBV Records)
Mansions – New Best Friends (Doghouse)
Chad Price – Smile Sweet Face (Suburban Home)

Top reissues, deluxe editions, anthologies, etc...
01. Big Drill Car – A Never Ending Endeavor (Variant)
02. Close Lobsters – Forever Until Victory! The Singles Collection (Fire)
03. Big Star – Keep and Eye on the Sky box (Rhimo)
04. The Stone Roses – s/t (Silvertone/Legacy)
05. Jane’s Addiction – A Cabinet of Curiosities box (WB/Rhino)
06. Loop – A Gilded Eternity/Heavens End (Reactor)
07. The A’s – The A’s/A Woman’s Got the Power (American Beat)
08. The Vaselines – Enter the Vaselines (Sub Pop)
09. Volcano Suns – The Bright Orange Years/All Night Lotus Party (Merge)
10. V/A – Souvenirs: Little Gems of Pop (Sound Asleep)
11. The Undertones – s/t (Salvo/Union Square)
12. The Neats – 1981-84 The Ace of Hearts Years (Ace of Hearts)
13. The Sinceros – The Sound of Sunbathing (Cherry Red)
14. The Ergs! – Hindsight is 20/20 My Friend (Dirtnap)
15. REM – Reckoning (IRS)
16. Pylon – Chomp (More) (DFA)
17. Nirvana – Bleach (Sub Pop)
18. The Passions – Thirty Thousand Feet Over China (Cherry Red)
19. CIV – The Complete Discography (Equal Vision)
20. Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary/LP2 (Sub Pop)

Passion Pit starter kit:

01. The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix)
02. Sleepyhead (Neo Tokyo Remix)
03. Little Secrets (Hey Champ Remix)
04. To Kingdom Come (Artwork Remix)
05. Batty Lashes (Chunk of Change outtake)
06. Tons of Guns (Chunk of Change outtake)

Passion Pit - live at Glastonbury 6/27/09:

01. Better Things
02. Make Light
03. Let Your Love Grow Tall
04. Folds In Your Hands
05. Moth's Wings
06. Sleepyhead
07. Smile upon Me
08. The Reeling

Passion Put starter kit: Hear
live at Glastonbury: Hear