Grizzly Bear: "Two Weeks" [live video]

Fever Ray: "When I Grow Up" [video]

Dirty Projectors: "Stillness is the Move" [video]

Dinosaur Jr: "Over It" [video]

Best albums of 2009...so far

Okay, we're just over the half-way point of 2009 so it's time to list the top albums of the year so far:

1. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
3. Fever Ray: Fever Ray
4. Isis: Wavering Radiant
5. Mastodon: Crack the Skye
6. Metric: Fantasies
7. Various: Dark Was the Night
8. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
9. PJ Harvey and John Parish: A Woman a Man Walked By
10. Art Brut: Art Brut Vs. Satan
11. Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
12. Heartless Bastards: The Mountain
13. Bat for Lashes: Two Suns
14. Dan Deacon: Bromst
15. Dinosaur Jr.: Farm
16. Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light
17. Cymbals Eat Guitars: Why There Are Mountains
18. Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career
19. The Horrors: Primary Colours
20. Bloodhorse: Horizoner
21. Handsome Furs: Face Control
22. Sonic Youth: The Eternal
23. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz!
24. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: The Century of Self
25. Tombs: Winterhours
26. DOOM: Born Like This
27. DM Stith: Heavy Ghost
28. Manic Street Preachers: Journal for Plague Lovers
29. Morrissey: Years of Refusal
30. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
    

Fever Ray: Fever Ray

Artist: Fever Ray
Album: Fever Ray
Date Released: March 24, 2009
Genre: indie electronic
Rating: 8.8

Review: Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer, lead vocalist of the electronic music duo The Knife. Well, calling it a 'solo project' is not entirely fair; Dreijer is getting help from co-producers Christoffer Berg, Van Rivers and the Subliminal Kid. The end result is a sound not too dissimilar from what Knife fans have come to expect.

But as Fever Ray, Dreijer is able to explore a sonic space with much darker and eerie overtones. The album is an intimate and spooky journey that's as distinctive as anything bound to come out this year. Dreijer's vocals are intermixed with brooding electronic swells and an often minimalist percussive arrangement. Fever Ray's extremely tasteful use of sonic space adds to the album's over all intimate tone and its hints at alienation.

One of my favorite lyrics are featured in "Seven":

I've got a friend who I've known since I was seven
We use to talk on the phone, if we have time, if it's the right time

Accompany me by the kitchen sink
We talk about love, we talk about dishwasher tablets, illness
And we dream about heaven

Definitely one of the year's best.

The Mars Volta: Octahedron

Artist: The Mars Volta
Album: Octahedron
Date Released: June 23, 2009
Genre: experimental rock, prog-rock, neo psychedelia, post-hardcore
Rating: 7.6

Review: For their 5th studio release, prolific neo psychedelic rockers The Mars Volta have decided to take a deep and cleansing breath -- a welcome change after their spasmodically frenetic but brilliant The Bedlam in Goliath. Octahedron still features their characteristic power and trippiness, but the pace is taken down a considerable notch. The end result is a more listenable and intricate album where the band can showcase its song-writing talents. It's also an opportunity to hear Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals in a more intimate atmosphere (check out "With Twilight As My Guide" which features some gorgeous singing alongside an acoustic guitar and spacey guitar effects) . The Mars Volta remain one of the most fascinating and distinctive bands in the world.

Dinosaur Jr.: Farm

Artist: Dinosaur Jr.
Album: Farm
Date Released: June 23, 2009
Genre: indie-rock
Rating: 8.4

Review: With an album cover right out of the 70's and a sound characteristic of the early 90's, indie-rock veterans Dinosaur Jr. have released a gem worthy of comparison to their best work. The tracks are strong and dynamic, but it's the guitar work that makes Farm stand out. Those pining for the good ol' days of grunge (J Mascis is sounding like a very sleepy Eddie Vedder on this one; or is it the other way around?) and no-nonsense guitar rock will be very happy with this release.

Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca

Artist: Dirty Projectors
Album: Bitte Orca
Date Released: June 6, 2009
Genre: indie-rock, experimental rock
Rating: 8.5

Review: Their most accessible work to date, Bitte Orca retains the experimentalism of previous releases while showcasing the Dirty Projectors' talents for complex vocal arrangements, melodies and harmonies. Bitte Orca is absolutely exploding in ideas; take "The Bride," for example, which intertwines Beatlesque harmonies and Led Zeppelin-like acoustic guitars with a modern indie touch reminiscent of Grizzly Bear. Stick with this one: it's a complex and rewarding release.

Sonic Youth: The Eternal

Artist: Sonic Youth
Album: The Eternal
Date Released: June 9, 2009
Genre: indie rock, alternative rock, experimental rock
Rating: 8.2

Review: Veteran alt-rockers Sonic Youth return with The Eternal -- an album that features many of their hallmarks (including Kim Gordon's acerbic delivery, de-tuned guitars, and flirtations with dissonance), but also a characteristic new direction established by Thurston Moore on his recent solo album, Trees From Outside the Academy (e.g. "Antenna"). One of my favorite lyrics of the year comes in "Sacred Trickster": "What's it like to be a girl in a band?/I don't quite understand/That's so quaint to hear/I feel so faint my dear."

The Phantom Band: Checkmate Savage

Artist: The Phantom Band
Album: Checkmate Savage
Date Released: February 3, 2009
Genre: indie-rock, alternative rock
Rating: 7.8

Review: Hailing from Scotland, The Phantom Band's first studio release, Checkmate Savage, displays some very capable song-writing, but the arrangements could use some work. Musical influences on this album include Pavement and Stereolab. Track highlights include the extremely hooky "The Howling" and "Folksong Oblivion". Checkmate Savage sounds like an album that was produced by a veteran act -- definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Au Revoir Simone: Still Night, Still Light

Artist: Au Revoir Simone
Album: Still Night, Still Light
Date Released: May 19, 2009
Genre: indie-pop, indie-electronic, dream pop
Rating: 7.4

Review: Dream pop trio Au Revoir Simone's third studio album may not be a radical departure from their previous work, but it's the finest expression of their talents to date. Still Night, Still Light is sad, introspective and down-tempo. If the lyrics don't grab you, the songs will; the tracks are finely crafted, minimalistic and laden with vintage, lo-fi electronic sounds.

Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest

Artist: Grizzly Bear
Album: Veckatimest
Date Released: May 26, 2009
Genre: alt-rock, indie-rock
Rating: 8.6

Review: Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear's fourth studio album may be its finest yet. Veckatimest features complex arrangements and harmonies, a strong melodic sensibility, and some stellar sound design. Overall, however, it's lacking in song strength and track-by-track dynamics.

Absu: Absu

Artist: Absu
Album: Absu
Date Released: June 9, 2009
Genre: black metal, death metal
Rating: 8.5

Review: Texas-based Absu is back and ferocious as ever after an 8-year hiatus. Easily the best black metal band to come out of the United States.

Bloodhorse: Horizoner

Artist: Bloodhorse
Album: Horizoner
Date Released: May 26, 2009
Genre: sludge metal, post-metal, stoner metal
Rating: 8.3

Review: Bloodhorse weaves together a fantastic mix of metal sub-genres, touching upon everything from Black Sabbath right through to Kyuss, Hellhammer, Hawkwind, High on Fire and Raised Fist. Those searching for experimental and post-metal qualities will also find what they're looking for. Horizoner thunders.