Album of the Week Mix

by Treble Staff

03.11.2009





Anyone who has been following us on Twitter probably saw this notable quotable: 2009>2008. Yeah, we're only three months into 2009, and truthfully 2 and a half, so that statement may seem a bit premature. But then again, in that time we've seen new albums from the likes of Animal Collective, Morrissey, Antony and the Johnsons, Neko Case, Franz Ferdinand and various other longtime favorites and brand new discoveries that have wowed us beyond our expectations. So, as we do every two months or so, we've compiled a sweet playlist of our favorite tracks of the year so far, from our favorite albums of the year so far, with streams, downloads, videos...all that good stuff.



Jóhann Jóhannsson
"Fordlandia – Aerial View"
from Fordlandia

"[`Fordlandia-Aerial View'] acts as a centerpiece, and will surely remind some of one of Sigur Rós' more evocative songs, `Starálfur'"

Stream

Download at


Fennesz
"Saffron Revolution"
from Black Sea

"`Saffron Revolution,' a single, closes the album with an escalating hiss and tumbling guitars."

Stream

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Animal Collective
"My Girls"
from Merriweather Post Pavilion

"`My Girls' is the early favorite, and by far the most dance-friendly, opening with a swirling "Peacebone"-like rhythm before erupting into a psychedelic dance anthem."

Video




Akimbo
"Great White Bull"
from Jersey Shores

"With the relatively brief `Great White Bull,' the ambiguous predator is embodied, as are the helpless tourists, as Weisnewski reminds us all to `remember your place in this world.'"

MP3

Download at


Antony and the Johnsons
"Everglade"
from The Crying Light

"Composer Nico Muhly's string arrangements, as they weave and dance around Antony's anchoring piano, are the most tear-inducing sounds I've heard on record in my life."

Stream

Download at


Fire on Fire
"Hartford Blues"
from The Orchard

"One particularly striking quality about The Orchard is the stunning array of vocal harmonies on display, the harmonies themselves being one of the band's greatest assets."

MP3

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Franz Ferdinand
"What She Came For"
from Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

"The lyrics denote the act of flirtation, even engaging in it, and then climaxes with the best punk riff FF have come up with in their career."

Stream

Download at


The Phantom Band
"Throwing Bones"
from Checkmate Savage

"`Throwing Bones,' come to think of it, would make another solid candidate for a single, as its bluesy riffs and upbeat progression build toward the band's catchiest moments, including a bizarre doo wop vocal harmonization."

Stream

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PPP
"Pigeon Hole"
from Abundance

"`Pigeon Hole' is a brilliant funk jam, its bubbly bassline popping and flexing beneath vibrant horns and Coultrain's incredible pipes."

Stream

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Wavves
"So Bored"
from Wavvves

"`So Bored' is absolutely fantastic, with soaring melodies and a propulsive beat..."

Stream

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Morrissey
"It's Not Your Birthday Anymore"
from Years of Refusal

"Yes, its lyrics are purely classic Morrissey, but the music sounds mined from the extraordinarily grandiose heyday of U2, with the Moz doing his best Bono, stretching his vocals farther than ever before."

Stream

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Glasvegas
"Go Square Go"
from Glasvegas

"`Go Square Go,' an early release, dating all the way back to 2006, is a rallying cry of an anthem, knee-deep in a father's advice to stand up to attacking bullies."

Stream

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Vetiver
"Another Reason To Go"
from Tight Knit

"...a true funk gem, strutting along with a bass-heavy confident swagger that is sure to charm even the steeliest of folk purist hearts."

Stream

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Mountains
"Choral"
from Choral

"`Choral' opens the album on a note of endlessness, melodic and droning, not progressing so much as becoming, re-shaping itself as it drifts and floats ahead."

MP3

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Neko Case
"People Got a Lotta Nerve"
from Middle Cyclone

"On `People Got A Lotta Nerve,' Case becomes a darkly humorous black widow of sorts, declaring `I'm a man-man-man eater/ yet you're sur-prised-prised-prised…when I eat ya.'"

MP3

Download at