It has been pointed out to me (by someone who apparently takes the time to browse my blog archives - I feel embarrassed) that I never did post my list of favourite albums from 2009. Yes, it has become a habit of mine (to those who know me well, anyway; and some who don't) to take part in this slightly pretentious, highly narcissistic practice of the year-end list. While I'm rather happy with my 2008 effort, I simply didn't have the time last Dec to put together anything similar. Exchange preparations, and, well, the fact that 2010 quickly started careening by, kind of took my mind off any notions of publishing a quick 2009 list.
Well, 2009 was an exceptional year (which contributes in part to the difficulty of actually ranking albums) with the pop renaissance of 2008 in full bloom, and a continuing breakdown of the dichotomy of the indie aesthetic and mainstream accessibility. It is heartening - regardless of which was the cause and which the effect - that people are listening to better music, and good music is making itself increasingly easier to find and appreciate. The year is littered with success stories which would have been anathema to the snobbish high-brow art-rock atmosphere of the early 00s.
I could go on and on, especially about the lo-fi and abrasive noise trends, but I don't really want to spend the time doing so. In any case, knowing that my regular musings on this topic results in plenty of consternation - or at least confusion - for readers, I have judiciously applied the KISS principle to this list. If you wish for a more detailed opinion, kindly message me. Without further ado, my very belated list of favourite albums of 2009:

10. St. Vincent - Actor
Fantasy soundscape startlingly realized in Technicolour, populated in equal parts with lush orchestral arrangements and menacing guitar leads. A smorgasboard of inventive contradictions and unsettling personas with an undercurrent of anxiety and panic, anchored by Annie Clark's deceptive mutability. Like a satisfying short story collection, Actor unveils a rich, uneasy splendour upon retelling, shedding light on the troubled and eerie lives of its inhabitants.

9. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
Classy and alluring, Two Dancers' debonair art-pop is finely balanced with lyrics speaking of the disenfranchised and outcast of society. Purposefully ambiguous and sometimes ominous, the album is tempered by a thinly-veiled cheekiness and a cleverly-restrained sense of passion. The band's patient, often-metronomic approach dovetails beautifully with frontman Hayden Thorpe's falsetto, often culminating in grand, exhilirating anthems.

8. F*** Buttons - Tarot Sport
A wildly successful mash-up of sweeping post-rock and meticulous house, Tarot Sport is an euphoric, monumental explosion of dance music made for a stadium-sized experience. Compared to debut Street Horrrsing, Tarot Sport isn't so much a further venture into accessible noise territory as it is a hyperspace jump into mainstream concsiousness - the likes of NME and Q gave it year-end nods - which to me represents a small but significant truimph for the avant garde.

7. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
I find Embryonic immensely difficult to digest, but remain fascinated by its grisly mix of forceful, even brutal, noise and Wayne Coyne's increasingly-ironic sense of existential bleakness. Over 70 minutes of fractious sounds - seemingly designed to drive your classical music teacher mad - and fatalistic lyrics signal yet another sea change for a band which has come to be known not for their garage roots or psychedelic rock experimentations, but the grandiose symphonic pop of their two rose-tinted, life-affirming landmarks. Long may their eccentricity continue.

6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Drowned in Sound - among others - have suggested that YYYs have been the defining band of the decade. As irksome a concept as that may be, it is fitting that it was in 2009 they released the album that will probably cement their place in history. It's Blitz! is a remarkably brilliant record that many will consider to be the perfect example of "true indie rock". It's got everything a convert could want - ebullient new wave dance-rock, an unexpected embrace of synths in favour of guitars, heady but tender ballads, and all the poised urgency of the New York garage scene that YYYs blasted out of at the beginning of the decade.

5. The xx - The xx
It is a point of satisfaction for me that I caught on to The xx early. It seems frivilous, now that they're famous, but I remember my excitement at discovering a new band making the sort of music every bedroom musician with a delay pedal or 4-track sequencer wished they could. This Young Marble Giants minimalism is what appeals to many, but it's the record's immaculate sense of space and restraint, along with guitarist Romy Madley Croft and bassist Oliver Sim's irresistable chemistry, that makes it such an accomplished, mature debut - a sensual, austere soundtrack of lovers' dialogue.

4. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Universally loved - fans range from Kanye West to Michael McDonald - Veckatimest catapaulted Grizzly Bear from hugely-respected indie art-rockers to international superstars solely on the strength of its indisputable musicianship and intricate arrangements. Despite the current mainstream trend of lauding ostentatious art-school noodling and sh**gaze fuzzworks, there is no denying the elegant, effortless genius of Veckatimest. Its dense, ethereal textures, beckoning harmonies and graceful nuances all strengthen the notion of Grizzly Bear being musicians' musicians; and their warm, sepia-drenched sound harkens to days when music was chiefly considered as an art.

3. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
David Longstreth's voice, along with his almost-conceited academic approach to songcraft, means Dirty Projectors are probably destined to forever divide opinions. They have always been brilliant, but in an alienating, awe-inspiring sort of way - like a work of art to be admired, rather than adored. It was with alarming ease, then, that Bitte Orca wormed its way into the collective bossoms of milliions of slack-jawed listeners. Impossibly gorgeous, the album is an astounding display of songwriting acumen and instrumental virtuosity. Their most accessible album by far, Bitte Orca sheds the band's previous obfuscation for overtness, and their at-times frantic embellishments for bucolic bliss. A huge part of this is due to cover pin-ups Angel and Amber being given way more mic time - they provide the album with much-needed empathy, and help make even the intimidatingly complex passages seem like a whimsical breeze.

2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
It seems strange to discuss this album - the sort of pop masterpiece heretofore always being resisted by "serious" critics. Despite its strong showing in various publications' year-end lists (second place, in fact, based on Metacritic's Best of 2009 summary), I have the suspicion that many are embarrassed to admit just how much they love it. A perfect burst of effervescent pop-rock, Wolfgang... is the sort of instantly-addictive, hook-filled guitar record primed for chart success. Does it matter that an established indie band has become famous, licensed their song for a Cadillac ad, or played at the prosaic Eiffel Tower? Sophisticated songwriting at its tightest best, the album sheds all excess in favour of a pristine, precise rendition of life's simplest pleasures. The stark, conflict-laden lyrics, delivered without a hint of irony, suggest that the band know exactly what they're on about; and it has nothing to do with commercial sell-out - it's about engaging the muse of unfulfilment.

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
A high water mark in a watershed crossover year, Merriweather...'s success is the most compelling because unlike similar chart-busting (ugh, what a term) indie records, it didn't adopt any traditional mainstream conventions - be they strategic iPod tie-ins or watering-down their sound - but instead was simply a well-timed, perfectly-porportioned culmination of all their years of experimentation and sonic touchstones. Even more accessible than Strawberry Jam, Merriweather... flaunts the group's freak-pop streak while charmingly straddling the edge of enigmatic, inscrutable psychedelia. Significantly, Avery Tare's volatile yelps have given way to genuine, almost tender proclamations of love and friendship, which also serve to accentuate the band's effulgent, mercurial mix of electronica, ambient and avant-pop as great songs, rather than simply great music. Feverishly anticipated and almost flawless, it heralded a joyful start to the year and paved the way for countless imitators. As it turned out, nothing since has came close to it, but oh do we look forward to the day a record surpasses this.

The casualties of whimsy and caprice:
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Antlers - Hospice
Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plagued Lovers
DM Stith - Heavy Ghost

And some harmless fun:

Favourite songs I didn't expect to like
5. Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
4. Taylor Swift - You Belong with Me
3. Big Boi - Shine Blockas
2. Lily Allen - The Fear
1. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Most annoying songs incessantly broadcast by the radio
5. Owl City - Fireflies
4. Black Eyed Peas - I gotta Feeling
3. Kings of Leon - Use Sombody
2. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
1. Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA

Albums I tried hardest to love but didn't
5. The Horrors - Primary Colours
4. The Decemberists - Hazards of Love
3. Mew - No more stories are told today / I'm sorry they washed away / No more stories the world is grey / I'm tired let's wash away
2. Wavves - Wavves
1. Wilco - Wilco (the album)

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so goes the backing track of all the sighs we ever sighed