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BEST OF 2009 COMPILATION TRACKLIST!

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1. Decemberists "The Rake's Song" from The Hazards of Love
2. Fire On Fire "Hartford Blues" from The Orchard
3. Cryin' Sam Collins "Lonesome Road" from I Woke Up One Morning In May
4. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou "Malin Kpon O" from Echos Hypnotiques
5. Bat For Lashes "Sleep Alone" from Two Suns
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow "Iron Lemonade" from Eating Us
7. Units "Bug Boy" from History of the Units
8. Thee Oh Sees "Meat Step Lively" from Help
9. Linda Yong and The Silvertones "Congrats, Congrats" from Singapore A-Go-Go
10. Flaming Lips "Silver Trembling Hands" from Embryonic
11. Eric Peters "Freak Blues" from G-Spots
12. Causa Sui "Rip Tide" from Summer Sessions Vol. 2
13. Ancestors "Mother Animal [excerpt]" from Of Sound Mind
14. Sylvester Anfang II "Na Regen Komt Zondvloed [excerpt]" from Sylvester Anfang II
15. Nels Cline "Onan Suite: Interruption" from Coward
16. Nurse With Wound "The Golden Age [excerpt]" from Surveillance Lounge
17. Nurse With Wound "Untitled 5" from Paranoia in Hi-Fi
18. Bill Dixon, Aaron Siegel & Ben Hall "Hirado [excerpt]" from Weight / Counterweight
19. L'Acephale "A Burned Village" from Malfeasance
20. Aethenor "Untitled 4" from Faking Gold & Murder
21. Leyland Kirby "To The Place Between the Twilight and the Dawn [excerpt]" from Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was
22. Evangelista "Winds of St. Anne" from Hello, Voyager
23. Steven R. Smith "Black Paper Scrim" from Cities
24. Vic Chestnut "Chain" from Coward


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VINAL EDGE RECORD's BEST OF 2009 LIST!

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In no particular order...


AETHENOR "Faking Gold & Murder"
This is dark, evil stuff from members of Sunn, Current 93, and more. The undercurrent here is a dark grinding landscape of sound, with David Tibet as our vocal tour guide. Did I mention that his has a dark ominous feel to it? -ChuCk

VIC CHESTNUT "At the Cut"
I don't remember what I thought of his past releases, but after listening to this cd I will have to re-examine why that is. This is a standout of depressing rainy-day-slit-your-wrist-introspective-sounding-stuff…and yet it really is not that depressing…just sounds like it is…Weeks later since writing the earlier sentences, Vic committed suicide by an overdose of muscle relaxants on Christmas Day…wow, The darkness I had felt listing to this disc now takes on an ominous feeling. -CHuck

FIRE ON FIRE "The Orchard"
On Michael Gira's Young God label, and it makes total sense that it is. From the great state of Maine come these former members of Cereberus Shoal doing Americana-folk like some traveling hillbilly gypsy band. You get a variety of singers doing cleverly lyrical old-timey style songs. I especially dig it when the gal sings, but it's all good…REALLY GOOD. -ChuCk

NURSE WITH WOUND "Surveillance Lounge"
Stapleton and Liles appear to be doing all the heavy lifting here, but Tibet and others are on this also. This is a real sound sculpture of magnificence that I haven't heard from NWW in a while. Harkens back to their 80's stuff as it is very musique concret. From very quiet to loud, this is a wild sonic ride. -ChucK

NURSE WITH WOUND "Paranoia in Hi-Fi"
Stapleton hits another home-run with this "Greatest Bits-O-Hits-Mash-Up" 79 one minute extracts of NWW classic tracks all blended/mixed/fucked-with in a way that is entertaining and mind-boggling. I own all of this shit already in their original forms, but this super-budget introduction to the band has wormed it's way into my ears, my heart, and inevitably into my music collection. -ChuCk

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW "Eating Us"
For those who like Air, the band (we all like to breathe air), this is better than anything I have heard out of that band for a long time. Lush layered production with vocoder vocals that are absolutely sublime. This is NOT Air, but it is indeed a fresh breath of…-cHuck

EVANGELISTA "Hello, Voyager"
The latest project from Carla Bozulich finds her in fine manic form. You may remember her from the mighty fine band, "Geraldine Fibbers", whose cds are worth seeking out to this day. The last segment of this disc is so intense it can make your skin crawl. Nothing meek about this gal, she is a pure balls to the wall performer (If that is possible). -ChUCk

FLAMING LIPS "Embryonic"
Ahhh, the concept album is back. While this album may not stand as well broken down by song (Sorry song downloaders!), as a musically cohesive album it is a giant. At times it is absolutely beautiful, at other times a heavily over-distorted psychedelic bulldozer, but at ALL times there is a flow that demands you listen to every track from beginning to end The guest vocals from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer are a fun plus to this classic. -ChUck

DECEMBERISTS "The Hazards of Love"
Like the Flaming Lips cd reviewed above, this is yet another "concept album" and a poke in the eye to those who would download a single track to their iPod, thus breaking apart the artist's vision of a whole piece. Hell, this album is practically a rock opera for the broken hearted. That doesn't mean it is some melancholy downer, in fact, it is at times a totally over-the-top-rockin' disc! -Chuck

NELS CLINE "Coward"
While we know Nels primarily for his guitar work, on this disc he is playing not only guitars, but everything else too. This one is instrumental, and ranges from a Fred Frith-ish experimental guitar sound to a very Sonic Youth-ish homage entitled "Thurston County". A nice listen throughout. -cHucK

BAT FOR LASHES "Two Suns"
My guilty pleasure listen of 2009. A lush, hip, smooth recording that sounds like you might hear it on a visit to Urban Outfitters if you are lucky. The presence of lots of keyboards and programming make this a very "at home" sound on the Astralwerks label. The dueling female vocals evoking earthly pagan and mystical themes make this a haunting experience. It had me at "Dueling Female Vocalists" -chuCk

CAUSA SUI "Summer Sessions Volumes 2 & 3"
Julian Cope described Causa Sui as "sheer exhilarating post-Krautrock, post-psychedelic.... post-everything." On this second and third installment of the three-part Summer Sessions, one thing becomes instantly obvious: Causa Sui are doing something fresh and electrifying. Half way through track two you hear... what is that? ... that's not keyboards... it's ... SAX?! What's even cooler is that it's totally authentic. That is to say, there is nothing forced about it. Unlike so many of their instrumental peers, there is no sense of meandering here, even on the longer jams. The tight rhythm section keeps things moving along and allow the keys, guitars and skronky sax to shine. At moments this sounds like "Sky Valley" minus John Garcia + sax. Trust me, it's a winning formula. Causa Sui is Latin for "existing because of one's self"... like a God or supreme being. No argument here. ---Chris

THEE OH SEES "Help"
On your first listen to "Help," it would be easy to lump it in with the whole garage revival scene that was big a few years back. But this thing really grew on me since its Spring release and it became more and more clear that this band had created a real gem here. The trashy lo-fi drums, the delay/echo affect on the singer's voice, the occasional flute solo, the forward groove of the bass, and countless fuzzy, catchy-as-hell riffs sets this album apart and above most of their neo-garage rock contemporaries. It's a real up-tempo foot stomper and could easily be filed in the collection next to your Nuggets box. ---Chris

ANCESTORS "Of Sound Mind"
This one was a no-brainer for me. The combination of heavy super-fuzzed riffs and psychedelic organ will float my boat 9 times out of 10. Not to mention that half of the album's eight tracks are over 13 minutes long. At separate times, and sometimes within the same song, "Of Sound Mind" sounds like classic 70's acid rock, or 90's stoner psych, or 00's post-metal dirge. Did I mention the fucking organ? ---Chris

STEVEN R. SMITH "Cities"
If you recognize the name, Smith is a member of the California band Thuja and was a major creative force behind the now-defunct Mirza. He's been doing his brand of solemn experimental drone folk for over 15 years now, and "Cities" stands out as one of his finest works. The music matches perfectly the brown/grey solitude of the cover art and is an ideal soundtrack for any dark and desperate rainy day. There is however a quiet beauty lurking just under the surface comprised of heartbreaking piano, grave keyboard drone and acoustic guitar, but don't mistake it for hope. Smith has truly created a desolate soundscape that is at once calming and troubled ...and remarkably gorgeous. ---Chris

VARIOUS ARTISTS "G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds of the Studio G Library"
This is a fabulous compilation of library music from the early 70's on England's Studio G label. The title pretty much says it all as far as what to expect here. Killer spacey synths, slick sci-fi grooves and science-reel horror all rub shoulders on this weirdo treasure. What's even more bizarre than the music though is the idea that back in the day BBC television was actually using this stuff as themes for bowling, darts and snooker! ---Chris

VARIOUS ARTISTS "I Woke Up One Morning in May"
2009 was the year that I got hip to Mississippi Records and the fantastic archival folk/blues compilations they're renowned for releasing. "I Woke Up One Morning in May" is one such album, documenting 14 Depression Era tunes from 1927 to 1934. There's downtrodden blues, toe-tapping countrified ditties, and hopeful folk tunes. All wonderful representations of authentic Americana, and skillfully restored. If nothing else, you've got to check out Blind Blake's "Rope Stretchin' Blues," perhaps the greatest and gravest death row song you've never heard! Another remarkable Mississippi Records compilation worthy of your celebration and support. ---Chris

VARIOUS ARTISTS "Singapore A-Go-Go"
2009 was another amazing year for the Sublime Frequencies label, and while everything they released this past year was great, it was this album that really stole my heart. "Singapore A-Go-Go" is 22 tracks of wild Mandarin pop, replete with groovin' electric guitars, very off-the-wall percussion, and soaring, catchy hooks. It's occasionally so infectious that you'll be hard pressed not to attempt wrapping your tonsils around Chinese syllables in order to clumsily sing along. I gave this CD to my girlfriend, and now whenever we hear a cat meow, we, like clockwork, break out our best rendition of Chew Yan & the Styler's "Mimi Cat". ---Sam

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU "Echos Hypnotiques: From the Vaults of the Albarika Store 1969 - 1979"
Yep, more world music reissues that I couldn't get enough of! This group comes from Cotonou, Benin, and they know how to lay down some diamond-dense lock-groovin Afro-Funk. This is dangerously funky, a deadly combination of Fela Kuti and James Brown, impossible not to get into it, moving your head, tapping your feet, or just all-out dancing. ---Sam

LEYLAND KIRBY "Sadly, the Future is No Longer What It Was"
It's getting hard for me to let the years go by without adding some big multi-disc collection to the Best-Of list, but what the heck, here's the one for this year! Long atmospheric drones and sparse piano make "Sadly…" like melancholy set to tape. A drifting voyage through faded memories, the dusty corners of boarded-up houses, brittle pages of an old, sad diary… Poetic stuff, y'know? (Honestly, the best description I can give for this is "Brian Eno does the soundtrack for BioShock", but that's neither accessible nor poetic!) ---Sam

THE UNITS "History of the Units (The Early Years: 1977-1983)"
I was first exposed to this band after a friend sold me their first LP with the sales pitch "It's really excellent new wave pop with synthesizers and male/female vocals". That's really all it takes with me. I fell in love with the LP, so, when I saw this reissue had been released, I stocked it. Unfortunately, none of you cared. But that's what this list is for! The Units, not Devo or Oingo Boingo, are really the quintessential American new-wave band: Fun, quirky, danceable, and obviously computer nerds. It's really excellent new wave pop with synthesizers and male/female vocals! ---Sam

L'ACEPHALE "Malfeasance"
This is and isn't black metal. I say that because when I first checked out this album, I thought I was listening to a totally different CD. This sort of thing happens with multi-disc CD changers, you know. Anyways, it wasn't until 20 minutes in that the black metal screams started. "Oh! This is that L'Acephale band…" Up until then I'd been enjoying a dense and very creepy swarm of Romanian vocalists chanting some very evil-sounding stuff. It was very cool, but it's at "A Burned Village" that the album becomes truly menacing. The latter chunk of the album is like some sort of corrosive mixture of Merzbow and Mayhem. Squealing industrial madness interjected with screams from the bowels of hell! For adventurously minded metal heads only. Or metal appreciating noise guys… you know who you are! ---Sam

SYLVESTER ANFANG II "self-titled"
Krautrock was a big buzzword last year. I saw it on oodles of press releases, inaccurately describing practically any band that uses a delay pedal. Sylvester Anfang II isn't one of those bands; these guys actually deserve it. There's some heavy Amon Duul II worship going on (they obviously are taking the "II" motif from them), but they're adding their own dark, occult twist. This is the evil Krautrock record you always wished existed. ---Sam

BILL DIXON, AARON SIEGEL & BEN HALL "Weight / Counterweight"
This one completely slipped under the radar until a friend recommended it in early January (2010). This 2LP, while ostensibly free-jazz according to the players and instrumentation, is nearly unclassifiable due to its bizarre and unique approach. Dixon's strips his trumpet of it's melodic potential, reduces it to what it is (a tube you can blow air through), and electronically manipulates it beyond belief. Siegel and Hall (on bass and percussion) don't add anything conventional either, mostly focusing on pure timbres and untuned sounds. It's so incredibly devoid of gravity, I'm surprised they didn’t call it "Weightless". ---Sam

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