HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 1-5

4) Assembly of DustSome Assembly Required

Key Tracks: High Brow, All That I Am Now

Sounds Like: Burritos-era Gram Parsons and a lot of the artists who make guest appearances

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Skinny: As always, Reid Genauer’s voice goes down like buttery toffee, but adding to the ease this time, the songs are stronger than ever. Coupled with the helping hands (and voices) of some of the finest musicians around, like Mike Gordon, Jon Scofield, Grace Potter, Bela Fleck and standouts from Al Schnier and Richie Havens, Assembly left the jamband stigma in the dust and dropped a widely acclaimed alt-country record.

3) Animal CollectiveMerriweather Post Pavilion

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Key Tracks: My Girls, Summertime Clothes

Sounds Like: The Beach Boys if they grew up in San Francisco in the ’60s

Skinny: After years of being indie cult faves, this Baltimore-bred act finally gained some mainstream success, mostly because their latest album was a bit easier to digest than some of their previous work – which had critics anointing this the record of the year way back in January when it came out. The album – whose name is an ode to the famous Maryland amphitheater – is a heady mix of psychedelic soundscapes, layered acid drenched harmonies and general weirdness that would have given anything The Merry Pranksters put together for their (in)famous Acid Tests a run for their money.

2) Black CrowesBefore the Frost…Until the Freeze

Key Tracks: Good Morning Captain, Appaloosa, So Many Times

Sounds Like: The Band, Shake Your Money Maker-era Crowes

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Skinny: Let’s face facts; the Black Crowes got it back. For some, maybe they never lost it, but the addition of Luther Dickinson and an inspired idea for recording their latest album – gather your biggest fans into Levon Helm’s legendary barn and share in the recording process with them –  gave them the late career shot in the arm they needed, pulling them out from an “every album sounds the same” funk. The result speaks volumes as the band feels jammy and revived, while Chris Robinson of course ties it together with his signature vocals. Before the Frost proves that there’s  a reason the Black Crowes are about the only thing resembling a jamband that ever learned to sell records.

1) Avett BrothersI and Love and You

Key Tracks:
I and Love and You, Perfect Space, Kick Drum Heart

Sounds Like: Americana Ben Folds

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Skinny: Super-producer Rick Rubin’s courtship and the major label hit polish paid off  – scoring a coveted counter-top display at your local Starbucks – as the Avett Brothers finally put the inaccurate bluegrass tags to bed.  Steeped in piano and contemplative one liners, the Avett’s released a gem of a reflective record, whereby those who really like it, love it. People come away with that cathartic feeling of coming out of a great movie (i.e., doing crane kicks or singing Kimya Dawson), taking the widely applicable themes and quasi-cinematic instrumentations and applying them to their own lives. For some fans, they scoff at the departure from the frenetic banjo strums and drunken romps, but bands evolve, and this time it’s for the better as I and Love and You contains nary a bad song and a number of timeless ones.

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7 Responses

  1. Nice to see Animal Collective getting some Luv from HT. I personally thought this was album of the year and was pretty surprised at how many lists snubbed Merriweather for Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca.

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