#22: Metric – Fantasies

Metric self-released Fantasies across pretty much all the globe – Lord knows if they had too, after all it’s not as if Live It Out was a flop. In the four years since the Canadians unleashed that effort (they released their unpublished debut Grown Up And Blown Away in 2007) they honed their knack for anthemic, punchy indie pop. Fantasies is full of it, the most consistent record of their career thus far – and their second Polaris nomination. The pace barely lets up, from the growling opener Help I’m Alive through to the ever-so-aptly named Stadium Love each track is poised to make you dance. Fantasies gives the overall impression though, that next time round, Metric are going to need a much bigger dancefloor…

Metric – Stadium Love

Metric Myspace

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Photo: El Diano @ Metropolis, Montréal Canada, 10/09

When Zero surfaced early on in 2009, it didn’t sound like anything the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had produced before – it was more electric, more synthy, less shouty, less YYYs. But hey, if you’ve got Karen O on vox you can pretty much get away with anything and by the release of the album it started to look a canny trick; a sound re-invented and shot through with urgency and bass, leaving the band with yet another smashing single and reputation further enhanced.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (mp3)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (video)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Myspace

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Photo: Mick Orlosky @ Coachella, CA, 04/09

Out of the chaos that forms much of their back catalogue, Animal Collective have finally made sense to me. Merriweather Post Pavilion is an album of fractured pop beauty, easily their most accessible record to date. Within it’s pulsating cover lies snatches of glorious harmony, glitchy riffs and pummelling basslines. It’s a hypnotic listen, and like a good comedy reveals something new to enjoy on each revisit. This has grown and grown on me throughout 2009, after first dismissing it on the basis that everything they’d done previously left me flat. Boy, I’m glad I did.

Animal Collective – In The Flowers (mp3)

Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (video)

Animal Collective Myspace

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Photo: Peter Mooibroek @ Vera – Groningen, Holland, 07/07

#24: Florence + The Machine – Lungs

Florence Welch was a revelation in 2009. The signs were there from 2008; her first few limited singles were a blast, then there was her success in the BBC’s Sound of 2009 poll. No-one could have predicted the level of exposure she would gain however. Her’s was easily one of the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in the Radio 1 tent at Reading, support slots for Blur’s Hyde Park mega-gigs, countless spots on adverts: 22-year old Welch was everywhere in ’09. Underpinning all of that was a highly creditable debut LP, an album full of huge choruses, massive hits and that clarion call of a voice out front. Tracks veer from Bat For Lashes style percussion driven torch pop through to the quicker paced, almost White Stripes-esque bash Kiss With A Fist – and they meld together to form a compelling introduction to one of Britain’s brightest new stars.

Florence + The Machine – Kiss With A Fist

Florence + The Machine – You’ve Got The Love (Live @ Bestival) (video)

Florence + The Machine Myspace

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Photo: Anne Helmond @ Lowlands, Netherlands, 08/09

There’s a noise in this track that I can’t get out of my head. It sounds like a bent out of shape guitar being pulled backwards through a hedge, dragging a full board of pedals behind it. It comes into my peripheral thoughts when other stuff is on, if only many pop tunes had a hook half so memorable! I struggle to comprehend how these two guys make music with such depth of sound, whilst maintaining a pop knack that escapes so many of their contemporaries. They only put out the Losing Feeling EP in ’09, just four tracks, but it was enough to keep their name on so many lips. Their preceding two long-players were fantastic too, which raises expectations for a third to fever pitch. Can’t wait.

No Age – You’re A Target (mp3)

No Age – Losing Feeling (video)

No Age Myspace

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Photo: Cassie @ Wexner Centre, Columbus OH, 11/08

Oh, the sound of 2009′s summer of dampness! Not quite as psych as MGMT, not quite as preppy as Vampire Weekend, yet still eminently danceable Passion Pit brought some true anthems to the festival circuit this year. Debut album Manners is stuffed to the gills with indie-slash-electro tunes, each one borrowing from a thousand bands previous and still sounding fresh as a daisy. Even when listening back in the dank recesses of a London winter the album still evokes memories of the summer, only a tad faded – something that previous ‘summer’ albums have never managed for me. Picking a standout isn’t easy but I’d probably plump for the hugely catchy Little Secrets - which adequately sums up what you can expect from this album. Suspend your seriousness for a while, sit up and embrace the fun.

Passion Pit – Little Secrets (mp3)

Passion Pit – The Reeling (video)

Passion Pit Myspace

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Photo: Kate Millet @ Phoenix Theatre, Toronto, Canada, 08/09

#26: Annie – Songs Remind Me Of You

Annie hasn’t had too much luck so far, despite a clutch of superior pop tunes. Songs Remind Me Of You and parent album Don’t Stop follow several years after her glorious full-length debut, Anniemal. It wasn’t supposed to be so long; her old record company got cold feet and Annie was dropped. Despite this setback her new clutch of sparkly tunes still shine, none more so than this bittersweet beauty. Sleek, catchy and effective – after all there’s not much worse than hearing “your song on the radio” after a break up is there?

Just a quick afterthought; does anyone else hear the beat to 80s smash Japanese Boy in this? No? Just me then.

Annie – Songs Remind Me Of You (mp3)

Annie – Songs Remind Me Of You (video)

Aneka – Japanese Boy (video)

Annie Myspace

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Much has been made of Beth Ditto’s dominance of The Gossip, her media presence dwarfing that of the other members. Fact is, it’s with very good reason. Her voice is one of the decade’s most distinctive; a cross between Dolly Parton’s country warble and Tina Turner. Married to lyrics that blur so many boundaries it may as well be Kashmir and barnstorming disco backing and it’s a tremendously potent weapon. Music For Men followed the band’s huge success of Standing In The Way Of Control (album, but single in particular) and much was expected of it. A lot of what it contains borrows from the same base materials, the exception seemingly a much wider canvas for Ditto to paint her tales of lust and lust all over. What separates this new record from the last is the changes of pace in the music;  but also an increased subtlety in the voice – less clarion call and more siren song, but with enough kink to keep things interesting. An excellent step forward for an ever-improving band.

Gossip – Love Long Distance

Gossip Myspace

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Photo: Mic Wernej @ Koko, London, 11/06

#27: Little Boots – New In Town

One of the standout pop tunes of 2009 from one of the year’s big breakthroughs, Victoria Hesketh aka Little Boots. Kicking off her chart career with this stomping tune resulted in a first top 20 hit, although maybe not a huge suprise – she was named as top choice in the BBC’s Sound of 2009 chart. As with her other cracking singles, Earthquake and top-10 smash Remedy, New In Town is a heady mix of thumping bassline and distinctive vocals. In a year that saw a string of British women scale the charts, Hesketh shone brightly in the crowd with her synth led style and infectious tunes. The only slight taint on the glimmering pop sheen was that the attendant album, Hands, couldn’t quite last the pace set by this blistering opener.

Little Boots – New In Town (mp3)

Little Boots – New In Town (video)

Little Boots Myspace

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Photo: Linda Flores @ SXSW, Austin TX, 03/09

#27 – Asobi Seksu – Hush

Following up 2006′s acclaimed-from-all-quarters Citrus was never going to be easy for Asobi Seksu. Good thing, then, that Hush doesn’t try to imitate the success or sound of Citrus. Instead they’ve sailed into somewhat dreamier waters, more Cocteau Twins than My Bloody Valentine. Whilst the noisier side of the band is missed, what they’ve replaced it with works too, especially on tracks like In The Sky, Mehnomae and single Me & Mary. Yuki Chikodate’s vocals definitely seem to fit with this style – a cross between Liz Fraser and Kazu Makino, still sultry yet with more restraint than before. A great dreampop addition to their repetoire.

Asobi Seksu – In The Sky

Asobi Seksu Myspace

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Photo: Oliver Lopena @Maxwells, NJ, 08/06