Album of the year in 2009 goes to...

[MarkGrace]

Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. Ok, so I'm kidding, but I did just get done listening to it, and it's pretty good. Not sure if it will replace Sung Tongs as my favorite AC album, but we'll see how it progresses during the year. There were a handful of tracks that felt very much like Panda Bear's solo album, which is good since I really liked that record.

Anyway, maybe this thread can be a 2009 music discussion thread. You know, talk about new releases, maybe a discussion of albums released in a particular month, etc. Here's some of the stuff that I'm anticipating this year:

Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Working On a Dream by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Keep It Hid by Dan Auerbach (lead singer of The Black Keys)
Years of Refusal by Morrissey
Middle Cyclone by Neko Case
Face Control by Handsome Furs (side project of Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade)
Bromst by Dan Deacon
Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
The Bluepring 3 by Jay-Z
Never Better by P.O.S.

And still untitled albums from the following bands:

Wilco
The Wrens
Patrick Wolf
Depeche Mode
Blur
The Avalanches
Built to Spill
Eminem
Junior Boys
Massive Attack
M. Ward
New Pornographers
Pearl Jam
The Postal Service
The Gossip
Grizzly Bear
Clipse
Jay Reatard
Sonic Youth
Arcade Fire (possibly)

[jay santos]

U2

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdail...-rubin-tracks/

[MarkGrace]

I may give that one a listen.

[RobinFinderson]

Sweet! Faith and I were able to pick up tickets for Andrew Bird on Feb. 18th. I have seen videos of Bird's live performances at KCRW, and I have to say it looks like he puts on an interesting one-man show (though I hear he will have a full backup band for the tour).

Gillian Welch is playing with Dave Rawlings tomorrow at Largo, so we will try to catch that too.

[YOhio]

And still untitled albums from the following bands:

The Postal Service

The new Postal Service album can take the place of Tim's Chinese Democracy joke.

[MarkGrace]

I missed the joke.

[YOhio]

I missed the joke.

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=442

[MarkGrace]

You've been waiting a long time for it? I guess it's going on about five or six years now.

I've read that they are trying to incorporate Jenny Lewis a bit more into this album. That would be nice.

[MarkGrace]

'09 is off to a great start. The Animal Collective is pretty darn good. In a way it feels more like the follow up to Panda Bear's awesome solo album (Person Pitch) than it does the last AC album (Strawberry Jam). Definitely poppier and more accessible than records like Feels and SJ, which at times were a bit abrasive. This one could definitely challenge Sung Tongs as my AC favorite.

The new Andrew Bird is also pretty good, as we've come to expect. Not sure how I would compare it to previous albums because I haven't listened to any of his records in a while. This album doesn't have any songs that I love as much as Imitosis, but solid overall.

But the album that has stolen the show is Fever Ray by Fever Ray. She's one half of the Swedish electro group The Knife, and her debut solo record kind of came out of the blue. Dark, gritty beats a la Portishead, but in the album's more delicate moments it reminds me of the Bjork classics Homogenic and Vespertine. Great record.

[Coach McGuirk]

The new Andrew Bird is also pretty good, as we've come to expect. Not sure how I would compare it to previous albums because I haven't listened to any of his records in a while. This album doesn't have any songs that I love as much as Imitosis, but solid overall.

I love bird on disc. His live performance gets tired very quickly.

[UtahDan]

Animal Collective is like a Pollock painting. I understand the aesthetic, context and artistry intellectually, but I would never hang one on my wall. I'm old fashioned but I need to walk away humming a tune. I did listen to Bird and he is appealing. I will need to listen more.

[SoCalCoug]

Blue October's coming out with a new one in March.

I thought Foiled was brilliant.

[UtahDan]

Blue October's coming out with a new one in March.

I thought Foiled was brilliant.

Into the Ocean was one of my favorites in 2006.

[MarkGrace]

Animal Collective is like a Pollock painting. I understand the aesthetic, context and artistry intellectually, but I would never hang one on my wall. I'm old fashioned but I need to walk away humming a tune. I did listen to Bird and he is appealing. I will need to listen more.

I read this article the other day about how AC is one of the most polarizing bands in music -- people either love them or hate them. I found myself thinking that I must be part of the minority that finds itself in the middle. They've done some stuff that I really dig like Sung Tongs and selected portions of other albums, but I have difficulty with much of their work for the same reason you mentioned. I'm ok with the abstract and ventures into noise, but at times they just get way too far out there.

If you've listened to Panda Bear's solo records, of the members in the group he's clearly the one with the greatest leanings toward pure and straightforward melody. Plus, I love his space-aged Brian Wilsonian vocals and I think the innovation in his harmonies is almost unmatched in current music. When he's at the forefront of AC, that's the stuff that I really like.

I'm actually making my way through it right now for about the 6th or 7th time, and as I mentioned above, this album feels very Panda Bearish. I could really see this being a bit of a breakout album for them as there is more to grab onto in this one than some of their previous stuff. My Girls, Bluish, Summertime Girls, and Brother Sport are outstanding tracks.

This is definitely their most accessible album to date. Like any of their records, it's still going to take a handful of listens to crack, but this thing is pretty damn good.

[frank ryan]

Sweet! Faith and I were able to pick up tickets for Andrew Bird on Feb. 18th. I have seen videos of Bird's live performances at KCRW, and I have to say it looks like he puts on an interesting one-man show (though I hear he will have a full backup band for the tour).

Gillian Welch is playing with Dave Rawlings tomorrow at Largo, so we will try to catch that too.

i saw andrew bird at the free salt lake summer outdoor series. the guy who opened for him ,josh ritter, was more my style. if you like whistling you're set, but i was disappointed