Album #18: The Blue Depths by Odawas
This record came out of nowhere. I’d never heard Odawas before but The Blue Depths became my Go To Nighttime record in 2009. It’s a reverb drenched album that moves at a snail’s pace which means these songs were the last thing I heard before drifting off an awful lot this year.

Download:
Odawas – Harmless Lover’s Discourse

Song #18: Introducing Palace Players by Mew
No other song wanted me to pick up my guitar more this year (gotta love those angular guitar lines!) but it’s the trademark synths and ethereal vocals that really set the song apart.

Watch:

Album #19: Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown
Against all odds, Spencer Krug put out an album this year that didn’t annoy me at all. I think, as I said previously, the thing I like most about this record is that it sounds like an actual band rather than Spencer dictating to his underlings. This gives the record vitality. Dragonslayer invited me into its world and I must say I enjoyed my stay.

Download
Sunset Rubdown – Idiot Heart

Song #19: Slush by Jarvis Cocker
I suppose the Pulp fan in me would be most likely drawn to the most Pulpy song on Further Complications but that shouldn’t diminish my opinion of this grandiose song. Epic and kinda slow, like the shrinking glaciers it alludes to, Slush marks the pinnacle of Jarv’s solo career thus far.

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #20: Fantasies by Metric
If I’d had more than a couple days with it, the new Charlotte Gainsbourg would be here and in a few months I will likely regret having Fantasies on the list. But here it is. Metric aimed for the middle with this record – there’s no denying that. But at least a few of the songs on Fantasies really stuck with me this year, including album opener, Help I’m Alive. Metric sound incredibly confident on Fantasies; it will be interesting to see where they take their expanding audience next.

Download:
Metric – Gold Guns Girls

Song #20: Velvet by The Big Pink
If only the rest of the album was as solid as this.

Download:
The Big Pink – Velvet

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #21: A Woman A Man Walked By by PJ Harvey & John Parish
After the relative quiet and calm of White Chalk, the schizophrenic nature of PJ Harvey’s collaboration with John Parish was most welcome. While there are moments of beauty on the record, it’s Harvey’s vicious vocal on the title track that remain seared in my memory: “I want his fucking ass.” She frightens me. However, Black Hearted Love was one of my favourite videos of the year.

Watch: Black Hearted Love

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #22: Islands Disappear by Said The Whale
The perfect record to welcome me back to Vancouver. I’ve said it before but I will say it again: the songwriting is just fantastic. One of those records that will always remind me of a particular time in my life.

Watch:

Song #22: Bull Black Nova by Wilco
I must admit there wasn’t a whole lot that got me excited about this year’s Wilco album. Bull Black Nova, therefore, stands out big time. Picking up where the krautrock of Spiders (Kidsmoke) left off, Bull Black Nova opens in a trance, continues through Nels Cline Guitarland and then climaxes with enough distortion and feedback to satisfy every YHF fan. The best the band have sounded in years.

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

Album #23: In And Out Of Control by The Raveonettes
In the five years I’ve been counting down my favourite albums and songs of the year on A Reminder I don’t think I ever missed a day like I have this year but it’s pretty tough to fight a broken arm. Time to catch up. Anyway, this year marked The Raveonettes return onto my musical radar with their really enjoyable In And Out Of Control. This band know exactly what they’re doing and they’re doing it extremely well.

Download:
The Raveonettes – Suicide
The Raveonettes – Last Dance

Song #23: Gimme Sympathy by Metric
Crappy lyrics blah blah blah. I disagree (sort of) and I don’t care. This is a massive singalong pop song and every time I heard it this year I was happily singing along.

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

I finally saw Japandroids last night. And they totally slayed. Everything I hoped they would be. And the crowd was great. But since the gig I went snowboarding and broke my arm…so typing is tedious. And that will be it for the review. For now anyway.

Setlist
The Boys Are Leaving Town
Rockers East Vancouver
New Song (”Sorry”)
Heart Sweats
Darkness On The Edge Of Gastown
Young Hearts Spark Fire
Racer X (Big Black cover)
Crazy/Forever
Sovereignty
To Hell With Good Intentions (Mclusky cover)

However, here is the band ending their final gig of an epic 2009 with Mclusky’s To Hell With Good Intentions.

I’ve put up some photos from the gig here.

Also, the end of year countdown is on hold for a bit.

Album #24: Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
While I had heard of the Dirty Projectors before this year, I had not actually heard them until their collaboration with David Byrne on the Dark Was The Night compilation. That song, Knotty Pine, is fantastic and it was enough to get me pretty excited for the release of Bitte Orca. When the record finally arrived it took some time before it clicked with me…but when it finally did it clicked loudly. And now I love it (in fact now that I look at this list this one should be a bit higher, but I’m not running NASA here). This record sounds like nothing else I heard this year. And Cannibal Resource…what an opener.

Download:
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move (via KEXP)

Song #24: Through & Through & Through by Joel Plaskett
I actually haven’t heard Three but I heard a lot of its lead single thanks to CBC Radio 3. Joel Plaskett has a knack for writing insanely catchy melodies with clever lyrics and Through & Through & Through is no exception. “You be Israel, I will be Palestine.”

Watch:

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.

A Reminder is currently in an odd place. After moving back to Vancouver from Sydney the blog has been sort of caught between two worlds. And it might always be that way. A couple days ago I published Australia and New Zealand’s Top 25 Bands 2009 despite the fact that I no longer reside in Australia. In all likelihood this will be the last year I do the list (unless we end up back in Sydney which isn’t completely unlikely).

While I will do my best to keep up with some of my favourite bands back in Australia, my coverage of that scene is, obviously, changing. So while I appreciate all the PR emails I keep getting regarding bands touring Australia, those dates are never going to be posted on A Reminder. However, if you’re in a band from Australia and New Zealand and want to continue to send me music, by all means please do. I will still do my best to give it a listen.

The Australian music scene will always be a part of A Reminder but I hope that people in Vancouver will find this blog a little more applicable to their lives now. I’ve finally updated the About page to reflect these changes.

I’ve also started my annual countdown of my favourite albums and songs of the year. As always, it’s a Top 25 countdown, one a day, until Christmas day. I think I mention it every year but I do it this way as some friends and I count down our records this way and I’ve just carried it over to the blog. It’s a nice way to make sure I get some mentions in for bands and songs that I just never got around to writing about over the course of the year. The albums are given much more thought than the songs. The songs could be more accurately called, 25 Songs By 25 Different Bands That I Liked A Lot This Year (But I Probably Easily Could Have Chosen 25 Others).

Anyway, it’s a listy time of year. Hope you enjoy it. And thanks for those of you still reading in Australia. And all you Vancouverites, I hope to see you at Japandroids tonight.

Album #25: Logos by Atlas Sound
In which the Atlas Sound project expands beyond the bedroom with exceptional, and sometimes surprising, results. Who knew Atlas Sound would put out a song like Quick Canal? Or a piece of summer pop perfection like Walkabout? Bradford Cox is firmly cementing his status as one of the most talented and prolific songwriters working today.

Download:
Atlas Sound – Walkabout (featuring Panda Bear)

Song #25: Last Dance by The Raveonettes
Those girl-group backing woo-ooo-ooo-ooos in the chorus KILL ME EVERY TIME. One of the finest pop songs of the year.

Download:
The Raveonettes – Last Dance (via KEXP)

—> See the rest of the 25 for 2009 list here.