2009 Halftime Score Card

Jul 6, 2009 Boys With Guitars, CD Reviews
Posted by tdouglas woomble

My picks for the 5 best albums of the year… so far.

1. Andrew Bird, Noble Beast. Knotty lyrics about aubergines, flailing fetal fleas and proto-Sanskrit Minoans + frequent whistling should = disaster. Somehow, though, this Chicago indie wiz has fashioned an array of alarming quirks into a riveting whole. More tuneful and tightly structured than Bird’s previous solo work, Noble Beast nevertheless scampers off in a hundred exciting directions yet never strays far from perfection. Even the eggplant-phobic won’t be able to resist. Featured track: “Fitz and the Dizzyspells.”

2. Doves, Kingdom of Rust. Like their fellow Mancunians in Elbow did last year with The Seldom Seen Kid, these U.K. veterans have silenced critics who deemed them washed up by releasing their awesomest album to date. Combining U2’s penchant for larger-than-life melodies with a Radiohead-like moodiness, Kingdom of Rust stays with you long after the last song fades. And with its countrified cadence and evocative lyrics about searching for love in a bleak industrial landscape, the title track may be the band’s most captivating composition yet.

3. U2, No Line on the Horizon. Speaking of the aging Irish super-combo, who would have thought Bono and the boys had another masterpiece in them at this late date? U2’s best album in more than 15 years begins on familiar ground—“Magnificent” would fit neatly on any of the band’s early albums. But the songs veer into uncharted territory in the atmospheric second half, culminating in the haunting closer “Cedars of Lebanon.”

4. (tie) Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and Franz Ferdinand, Tonight. These guaranteed party-starters are testaments to the notion that the best medicine for hard times may be dancing your ass off. The French foursome Phoenix hit mainstream consciousness this year after a decade in the pop underground. It’s about time. The world needs bubbly, offbeat tunes like “Lisztomania” now more than ever. After weathering the standard sophomore slump, Scotland’s best dance band, Franz Ferdinand, comes roaring back with an air-tight third set that boasts catchy hits (“No You Girls”), cheeky decadence (“Ulysses”), even a hypnotic, extended synth solo (“Lucid Dreams”). Get down tonight indeed.

Other notable releases:

Moby, Wait for Me
Bob Dylan, Together Through Life
Kasabian, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream
Antony and the Johnsons, The Crying Light