The Albums Of 2009

Seeing as we're mostly through January already, I figured I better get my 2009 album list out before its completely irrelevant. Once again, I've continued the disturbing trend of buying fewer albums, this year reaching an abysmal 13 albums, plus one EP and one live DVD. I wasn't able to get to as many individual album reviews as I would have liked, which is unfortunate, for what 2009 may have lacked in quantity it surely made a noble effort to make up for in quality. Not to say the year was completely devoid of disappointment, certainly I found some of the albums a little frustrating. But overall, this year's list tends to skew toward the better. At their best, these albums represent monumental career achievements, but moments of brilliance can be found even at the bottom of this barrel.

1. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect: When BTBAM dropped Colors on us two years ago, I firmly believed a better album could not be written. Lo and behold, then came along The Great Misdirect, and all my assumptions about the universe were called into question. This is an unfathomably good album, displaying a further developed sense of maturity and experimentation fused with BTBAM's classic progressive metal chops. I've already written up a full review, so I won't go any further except to say that, three months after its release, I'm still having a tough time NOT listening to this album at every given opportunity.
2. Isis - Wavering Radiant: Until The Great Misdirect came along in October, this album was firmly holding on to the #1 spot in my tentative "albums of the year" list. On Wavering Radiant, Isis continues to show further improvement in song craftmanship that began with their previous release In The Absence Of Truth. Whereas on the older albums Isis relied primarily on either stark loud-quiet-loud dynamic or slow build-up with a single monolithic climax, they have finally begun to figure out how to "play in the middle". The songs tend to find a groove and work within it, finding smoother transitions to moments of texture or ferocity. The result is a collection of songs that somehow feel simultaneously fluid and structured, weaving from one brilliant moment to another.
3. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - 11:11: This duo blew me away with their self-titled debut effort, a relentless instrumental juggernaut of dueling accoustic guitar, executed to perfection. What remained to be seen was if they could avoid being so one-dimensional on their follow-up. On 11:11, Rodrigo Y Gabriela take a fantastic step forward. The overall pace is slowed down just a touch, and the songs are given a bit more time to breathe and develop. The instantly catchy melodies are still there, but are woven together in a bit more of a cohesive fashion, with careful consideration of transition. R&G also add a bit more flair on the production side as well, adding a few effects here and there, giving the material more depth. This all results in a sense of maturity about the album, and a feeling of warmth as opposed to just technical proficiency. Don't get me wrong, the classic 90-mph accoustical riffage is still ever present, but is blended nicely with the other elements to create a much more complete sound.
4. Giant Squid - The Ichthyologist: If I only considered the first 6 tracks from this album, it would be right up there duking it out with BTBAM and Isis for best album of the year. Alas, the last few tracks lose me a little, although that's not to say they are bad. I wrote up a full review, so I won't be exhaustive here. But anyone interested in seeing how much depth an eerie cello can add to a post-rock/metal foundation would be well advised to give this album a go.
5. The Mars Volta - Octahedron: Another year, another release from one of the most prolific bands out there. While most TMV albums in the past have consisted of high-energy progressive wailing with slower numbers occasionally mixed in, on Octahedron the band turns the tables. There are a couple tracks that get slightly noisier and faster, but on the whole this is an extremely mellow, atmospheric album, nicely showcasing Cedric's crooning vocals and Omar's brilliant knack for texture. While many may find this album too much of a departure to give it much credibility, I think its an admirable effort and an excellent listen.
6. Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light: I wrote up a full review of this album, so I won't go into too much detail. But overall, this instrumental post-rock/metal offering was this year's unexpected surprise. Great execution and some serious chops. I'll be interested to see what this band comes up with next.
7. Russian Circles - Geneva: After what I thought was a decent but somewhat disappointing sophomore effort, Station, I have to say I'm pretty happy with Russian Circles most recent release, Geneva. This album does feature quite a bit of the mellower, more atmospheric type passages that they began tinkering with on the last album, but they've returned with a bit more grit and heaviness this time. Not as heavy and raw as their first album, Enter (which is still my favorite), but more polished and controlled. It gives the album a nice sense of maturity, while still packing a punch.
8. Mastodon - Crack The Skye: This was a tough album to rank. There are a couple tracks on the album that are absolutely epic, and represent what is probably Mastodon's greatest work. However, the rest of the album tends to suffer, it just seems to be a bit watered down. It still features much of their trademark progressive sound, just spread a bit too thin. Overall, the album is decent, but I can't help but feel a bit of disappointment everytime I listen to it. Full review.
9. Baroness - Blue Record: Baroness' second full-length is a solid effort from start to finish. While it doesn't have an amazing couple standout tracks like their first LP did, I think this album is more consistent and cohesive. I find that I like this album more each time I hear it. I will admit, however, that I still miss the uncompromising grit of their first 3 EP's.
10. Pelican - What We All Come To Need: A nice return to heavy form for these instrumental metal pioneers. If I could base my opinion of this album on just the first few tracks, this would probably rank up in my top 3. Track 3, "Ephemeral", is particularly good, probably my second favorite Pelican tune ever, behind "March To The Sea". The album wanes a bit toward the end though, and actually delves into atrocious territory on the final track.
11. Porcupine Tree - The Incident: This sprawling 1.5 disc set (LP and EP) features some fine material by Steven Wilson and co., and is a very cohesive work overall. In particular, I think the later half of the LP is an amazing stretch. My only complaint would be about the abundance of short segue'ish tracks, that seem to spread the meaty material out a bit too much.
12. Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West: This album is fairly solid, it just didn't grab me like their past few have. There are a few songs that I found to be excellent, in particular "Motherless Child", "50,000 Unstoppable Watts", "Minotaur", and "The Amazing Kreskin". But the rest, while not horrible, just underwhelms me a bit. Any Clutch fan, including myself, will find the album reasonably enjoyable, but its certainly not in the ballpark of such works as Blast Tyrant or Robot Hive/Exodus. I would even go as far as to say it can't touch the first half of From Beale Street To Oblivion.
13. L'Homma Puma - On Remplace Les Yeux Casses: This was another random album I just happened to come across. Its some fairly well executed instrumental progressive/post-metal. What caught me by surprise was how they occasionally incorporate electronic elements. The first track in particular throws a funky little electronic twist in the middle that complements the heavy riff very nicely. Some tracks do tend to drone on a bit, but there are a couple gems in there. I'll definitely be interested in checking out their future material.